It's a man thing. It must be. Have you ever noticed that men open the refrigerator door looking for something, and immediately declare that it's not there? Of course it's not there. If the item is not on the first shelf, halfway on the edge, almost falling off of it, it's definitely not there. This is our daily problem: when I ask my husband to hand me something from the refrigerator, it's almost never there, unless I give him the right coordinates, or I go get it myself. For this reason I must take inventory of the contents of our fridge every couple of days. It's just to make sure that there are no "hidden treasures" here or there, or that an item that I thought was consumed or in the freezer, is still lingering around. This inspection is very helpful: what I find in our refrigerator helps me determine what we are going to eat tonight.
FRAGRANT RICE
The easiest side dish you can make may come from what you have in your refrigerator. In my last raid of the refrigerator I came out with a box of brown rice from Chinese take out and a bunch of fresh herbs. As I told you last week, I had made a good amount of chicken Milanese to keep for the week, so my find will be the best side dish for it. It's very simple, all you need is some fresh herbs to reinvigorate the leftover rice you have. You'll need:
Brown rice, cooked
Fresh herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro
Scallions, about 3, white parts and some green
1 carrot
1/2 tbsp canola oil
In the food processor, or the small chop chop, pulverize the carrot, then add the scallions and after a few pulses, the herbs. There is no rule for these: I used what I had, and actually what I like. You can do the same, and it's safe to assume that you have around some fresh parsley and dill that you used in a previous dish and still have some sprigs left. They become fragrant when you cook them and give a nice aroma to your dish. In a non stick pan cook the mix of herbs, scallions and carrot in the 1/2 tbsp oil until tender and fragrant. Add the cooked rice, stirring frequently to make sure that there are no lumps and that all the veggies are incorporated. When the rice is heated through, remove from heat and serve.
GARDEN PASTA
We had some guests yesterday. I had a nice menu prepared, but something unexpected happened. The day started with a storm that brought us torrential rains flooding my kitchen and basement. Luckily I had some help for the cleanup, so it was done quickly and efficiently. But I had no time to cook for the guests. The only solution was to order some Italian food from the neighborhood restaurant. It came quickly, was good and plenty, and everybody was happy. Today, my husband declared that there was no need for me to cook anything and that we had enough leftovers for dinner. Yes we had a couple of pasta side dishes that nobody touched, but I was sure that, with all good intentions, my husband and mom, will eat a couple of penne and that's it. I told him that we are going to have pasta, but my way. I knew that I had all the necessary ingredients in my fridge to make a new dish out of the pasta that the restaurant sent as a side dish for the main course. You can choose what you like, and what you have in your fridge, and the ratio to the pasta that you have. You'll need:
2 cups broccoli florets
1 medium zucchini
1 carrot
1 whole turkey kielbasa
About 3 cups of cooked pasta with marinara sauce
1/2 tbsp canola oil
Bring two small pots of water to a boil. Salt the water. Peel the carrot and cut it the size of the pasta (I had penne, if you have spaghetti for example, you can cut it in bite size cubes). Cook the carrot in one of the pots. Cut the broccoli florets, if they are large, to a size closer to the pasta and cook in the other pot, covered, for 3 minutes. Slice the turkey kielbasa in 1/8 inch slices and cook them in a non stick pan in the !/2 tbsp oil. While the turkey slices are browning (about 3 minutes), slice the zucchini also the size of the pasta. Add the zucchini to the browned turkey slices and stir until tender. Drain the broccoli and carrot and add them to the pan. Stir to combine and to make sure that all liquids are absorbed. Add the pasta with its sauce. Mix and stir until completely reheated. You can serve it with some grated cheese on the side.
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