La Cucina Povera Pt 2

This is what I ended up doing

I call it 'Box wine & Morel Ribollita alla Genovese'

rehydrating the dried morels in box wine with a bit of smoked green tea leaves thrown in
taking more of the tea leaves, plus whole peppercorns from the hand mill, powderized in the coffee grinder
spice powder added to smoked paprika, mixed with flour
dredged the morels in the spiced flour, reserved soaking liquid
pan fry the shrooms in olive oil - when browned, remove to paper towel
mix shredded carrots with honey, some of the soaking liquid, garlic paste, and bit of balsamic vin.
sweat the carrot mixture in the oil
add chopped baby carrots, then crushed tomatoes, cover with chicken stock
simmer until carrots soft
add macaroni sans cheese powder
simmer until cooked through
thickened with cubes of stale hotdog bun

meanwhile

reduced remainder of mushroom soak liquid to consistency of syrup
mixed with remainder of pesto

add dollops of the morel/green tea box-wine reduction + pesto to the soup
serve with splash of olive oil

Necessity + Poverty = interesting sandwiches

I'm back in my actual apartment for the weekend, having spent the week in temporary housing provided by the medical school during my outpatient pediatrics rotation in Manchester, NH about an hour away. Being broke, with my kitchen staples divided between two residences, has left me with an interesting dilemma - namely how to feed myself on the cheap. So I decided to make a game out of it, creating meals today with only what I can scrounge from the pantry, cabinets, and fridge - i.e. out of condiments, old spices, and things not eaten for a variety of reasons (and which happen to have a near infinite shelf life). So far:

Breakfast:
Scrambled egg tortilla wrap with basil salsa
using:
the last 3 eggs in the apt
whole grain mustard
sharp cheddar cheese dried to the consistency of parmigiano
juice from a jar of capers
the 2nd to last tortilla
last of the premade pesto
and Kahlua

I scrambled the eggs mixed with the grated cheese, mustard, smoked paprika and S&P, wrapping them in the pan- toasted tortilla, then drizzled with a sauce made from the pesto, caper juice, and a dash of kahlua - which sounds strange but came out strangely wonderful.

Lunch:
Tuna melts

stale wheat bread
last cans of chunk tuna in water
capers
whole grain mustard
hippie organic vermont salad dressing
fresh cracked pepper
Velveeta "cheese"

Having used my last egg, I replaced the usual mayonnaise with a mixture of stone ground mustard, capers, and something called "Goddess" organic salad dressing. The I shaved some velveeta from a 2 pound block - a legacy of my room mate Kendall- and toasted the sandwiches in the panini press for a surprisingly decent lunch.

The interesting meal will be dinner, as protein sources are running low along with, well, everything else. I may have to break down and buy some supplies with the change from the floor board of my car.

But I still have:
1 can crushed tomatoes
boxes of kraft mac n cheese
1 tortilla
3 slices of stale bread
some dried morel mushrooms
1 quart chicken stock
half a bag of old baby carrots
spices, and condiments

I will think on this and keep you posted.

an infamous list

i) Nikki and I have decided to incorporate a not-for-profit together- which will basically be a repository for donations we can use to give away to charities we support, buy supplies for food pantries, books & art supplies for kids, and the like. It will take us a while to get the paperwork filed but until then, rather than than giftcards, or clothing, I'd like to request small donations with the designation "To Be Given Away."

ii)
1 Tyrolean hat (size yet to be determined)

iii)
1 Badger Bristle Brush


iv) Fiddle + guitar lessons

v) language lessons

vi) beer brewing supplies

vii) money to set aside for travel