Refrigerator Bingo

I have some more bakery rules for you, but I cannot focus on them tonight. Despite not leaving work until nearly 6:00 (and getting in early this morning), I fully intended to work out tonight. But my back suddenly became so painful that sitting and doing nothing is actually about a 3 or 4 on the 1-10 scale, and trying to row shot it way-the-fuck up the scale to a 5 or 6. (Especially weird because most of today was relatively non-problematic.) So I took some ibuprofen and ate some cookies, which will probably take care of the pain, but by the time it kicks in, it will be too late to work out.

This week's episode of Iron Chef: Friend's House required that I use a cabbage and some bacon as my Secret Ingredients, and the usual rules applied (make do with Friend's equipment and pans; create something that has some nutritional value in it, particularly in the form of vegetables and fiber). Friend often buys some bit of something at the local produce store--which isn't that great of a produce store, but he's enamored with it because, when he was unemployed, he'd buy the battered, bruised, brown, and/or slightly soft or moldy vegetables from the Really Really Cheap rack and create stews and otherwise feed himself for very little money--without any clear notion of what he's going to do with it. And, as with the bacon and the cheese in what follows, there may be little bits of things left from something else.

Then, when we're contemplating making dinner of a Sunday, he wants to use whatever it is he bought, along with whatever other scraps are sitting around--and, often enough, I'm the one who ends up figuring out what to do with it. Last week, for example, as I think I told you, I rescued a butternut squash that had a lot of moldy and brown spots on the outside but appeared to be otherwise okay (he cut off the oogy bits and I threw it in the oven, which was already on for the tart), and used the rest of the rutabaga, an onion, some fresh ginger that was sitting around, a little bit of leftover sweet potato (possibly from New Year's, but it wasn't moldy or anything), the juice from some oranges that were starting to go soft, and some of the applesauce he'd made from apples from the produce store rack. It made a lovely puree after it was all cooked together, it got rid of multiple odds and ends, and he now has several lunches' worth of soup in the freezer.

In principle, I like the thought exercise, and I like using what's available, and I particularly like not wasting things. I also know that having healthy lunches in the freezer, in easily grabbable packages, means healthier eating. But sometimes it feels like more of a chore, particularly when I'm the one who is doing all the work (Friend needed to do some work yesterday--several hours of it, it turned out), even though he is very appreciative of that. I was just kinda melancholy anyway yesterday (and today, too, for that matter), so that probably had an effect.

So: I cut the cabbage into thin strips and steamed it somewhat (though not till it was completely soggy). Meanwhile, I made some rice (a mix of brown and wild) and thawed a package of ground venison. The cabbage had to be steamed in batches, because of the small steamer; as I pulled it out, I put on some salt, pepper, and a little butter, as well as chopped-up cheese bits (probably no more than an ounce or two, of I have no clue what kind of cheese).

I added a can of black beans to the rice when it was done, and cut a few thin slices of semolina sesame bread, which I then cut into small cubes. I cooked the bacon and removed it from the pan, then poured off some (but not all) of the grease. I cooked a diced onion in the bacon grease, scraping up the fond as well. When the onions were soft and a little brown, I threw in the venison; when that was browned, I put the chopped-up bacon back into it. I spiced it with some venison sausage seasoning from Penzey's which is largely pepper of various sorts, I think. To assemble, in a lasagna-sized pan: a layer of cabbage; a layer of the meat and onions; a layer of cabbage; a layer of rice and beans; a final layer of cabbage, topped with some grated cheddar and the bread cubes. Baked the whole thing for a while--basically, until the top was a little crusty and bubbly, and I was guessing that it was more or less heated through, at least around the edge.

It tasted pretty good, though it does NOT retain its shape (e.g., like lasagna), and ends up being a heap more than a slice of anything. I would definitely make it again, though I would--of course--make some changes. In particular: I would use a grain other than rice--barley, farro, or cracked wheat would all be good choices--because rice isn't densely flavored enough. (If i did use rice, I'd perhaps do something with tomatos. But then you'd start losing the flavor of the venison.) Friend suggested adding corn, and you could do that, too, but I'd rather add some kind of dried fruit or tomatos. I might cook the cabbage a little longer. Definitely retain the bacon/onion/venison mix; that worked nicely to add some meaty complexity without being a big Wad O Meat. You could also do stuffed cabbage--leave the leaves whole and make the same mixture, but roll it up in the leaves--but this worked fine, even if it was less pretty.

Dessert included more of the bitter lemon tart, topped with a compote of orange juice, blueberries, and honey, and that definitely worked. I've now made that recipe at least three, and possibly four times, and each time it has had a too-bitter edge to it. I've decided I'm only going to make it if I also have oranges and can do a citrus mix. Brazen Tart has had good luck with that recipe, IIRC, but I'm not doing something right--and not doing it right the same way each time, apparently.

And, sure enough, as I've been sitting here, the pain has receded and nearly gone away completely. Which is definitely a good thing.