Variations on a theme

It's been kind of boring on here lately. Sorry about that. What I've been cooking hasn't been very exciting, either. Pantry supplies are LOW. We may just be able to squeak by with not buying any groceries between now and the time we leave for the wedding, (16 more days), but there's going to be a lot of beans and rice and spaghetti in the next 16 days.

Lately it's just been variations on a theme. I made a minestrone ("minestrone") last night that consisted of:
an onion, some garlic
two kielbasa sausages
two cans of tomatoes
lima beans
bulgur wheat
a head of broccoli
vegetable broth, seasonings
The other day, I made a hoppin' john casserole, in which I left out the rice but mixed the tomatoes in with the meat (kielbasa sausages again) and black-eyed peas and baked that all together. I also used up a bunch of green spring onions, and I think I may permanently amend my hoppin' john recipe to include green onions. That was pretty damn good.

Tonight I'll be making red beans and rice with the last of the red beans. Later this week I'll be making pasta with puttanesca sauce, using the last of the capers and anchovies. I've got just enough ricotta and mozzarella left for one final batch of pizzas. I have a side of bacon, two packages of tasso ham, one whole chicken, and a package of veal sweetbreads in the freezer, and that's all the meat I have left. The tasso and the chicken will be gone by the end of this week. I've got a final bit of milk and buttermilk to be used up, and then that will be gone. There's only two eggs left. And so on.

In another slightly amusing twist, we've been letting the liquor supplies deplete, as well. There's still plenty of wine, but we're long out of vodka, gin, rum and bourbon. We're now trying to create drinks out of what's left. I created a surprising good drink using Calvados, Grand Marnier and sweet vermouth. But you know the situation is getting desperate when you're trying to make a cocktail out of Chartreuse and absinthe.