Updates

Not a whole lot going on in Broke Foodie land these days. I haven't cooked anything since a vat of soup on Monday (which I still haven't gotten all the way through, thanks to staff meal). My temporary roommate and I are going to have an Orphans' Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, for those people without familial obligations, but it won't be anything fancy. There'll be some amazing wine, but I doubt the food will get any more sophisticated than roast chicken. I realized that it couldn't get any more sophisticated, even if I had the energy to cook an eight-course extravaganza; I don't have any of my usual kitchen tools at my disposal (no food processor, mixer, ice cream maker, souffle pan, tart pan, ramekins, etc.).

Mostly I've been eating soup, with stale leftover bread from work, and wraps, with spinach and egg or cheese. Also some cookies, though not homemade.

Christmas will be an excuse to sit around and drink amazing wine for two days, but I'll let you know what gets cooked. In the meantime, hug your loved ones. My husband is very far away today, and after yesterday's events, I really really want to hug him.

A new use for ginger beer

I keep Barritt's ginger beer around for Dark n' Stormys (and the occasional Moscow Mule), but last night I discovered another use for it.

Rye, ginger beer, lemon and mint.

Kind of like a Whiskey Smash, with carbonation.

Day-off cooking

For the first time in recent memory, I made a pot of soup and it lasted all week.

Between that soup, free staff meal at work, a pot of oatmeal, and the odd wrap, I fed myself all week long.

Is that exciting? I don't know. Not for you, since I haven't had any new recipes to post. It means my food bill will be miniscule this month.

Today I'm going to cook up a bunch of old favorites. Another pot of soup, with cranberry beans, butternut squash, venison, and maybe some green beans, as well. A batch of baked penne, with arugula and lots of cheese. Maybe some kale caesar salad, too.

Then I'll eat some of it, drink some wine, and curl up with a movie.

Goodbye, NYC

I spent yesterday saying goodbye to my friends in NYC.

We ate a lot of food, drank a lot of drinks, and laughed a lot more. I also purchased a couple of hard-to-find food items, saw an Olafur Eliasson exhibit, and frittered away part of the afternoon at Pastis, drinking wine and eating pate (and reading a book). There wasn't any haute cuisine, but that wasn't the point of the visit.

Food finds: whole vanilla beans, 3 for $5, purchased at a Middle Eastern bulk grocery on Atlantic Avenue. Pimente d'Esplette, a kind of intensely flavored AOC-designated French pepper, a cornerstone of Basque cuisine. A bottle of tiki bitters.

I still love the bustle of NYC, even though I haven't lived there in over three years. But I'm sure exploring Seattle will be equally exciting.

Out with friends

Last night some friends and I went to a local charcuterie and cheese place. I realized about halfway through the evening that it would be a while before I'd get to enjoy that level of camaraderie again. All day yesterday, I had friends texting me--"Now that you're in the city, we can hang out!"--and eventually I overcame my day-off inertia and met them. When the restaurant found out we were all in the industry, they showered us with free food. We ate non-stop for four hours, plowed through three bottles of wine (between four people) and still only paid about $75 apiece for everything.

It was outstanding. The free food, of course, but also the company, the wine, the atmosphere. It will take a few weeks in Seattle to find a job and an apartment, to get settled, to make friends, to get to the point where I'll have people to go out with (and disposable income to spend), and even longer before other local restaurants start sending over freebies. Maybe this is the universe telling me, "Why are you staying at home this month, when you have no husband and are sleeping on an air mattress? Seize the day! Go out with your friends while you still can!"

And on Thursday, I'll get to do that in NYC. One last time.

Veal and potato soup

Occasionally, the restaurant where I work will make veal for two. A big double veal chop, plus sweetbreads. The double veal chop is truly a joy to behold: brontosaurus-sized, glistening with butter and fat, enough to make any vegetarian reconsider (IMHO). But it's a lot of meat, and sometimes, people don't take the leftovers home.

The other night, two tables forgot to take the rest of their boxed-up veal leftovers with them--a few slices of the chop, plus the bones. I salvaged the two boxes, took them home, and threw them into the fridge, thinking to use the bones for veal stock.

Today, when I opened the boxes, I realized there were some good slices of veal meat in there, too. So I'm using them in a veal and potato soup.

Since the veal is already cooked, I'm just making a plain potato soup, without the cheese, with the veal bones added in while the potatoes are cooking. Once the potatoes are cooked through, I'll add the chopped-up veal, plus some herbs and salt, and finish with a little milk or cream. I'll garnish with some fresh carrot greens.

Doesn't that sound awesome? I'll drink my favorite tequila with it.

Chamucos tequila

Every once in a while, the universe throws you a bone.

During the New Mexico chapter of my road trip, I discovered this tequila. It had a devil on the bottle, and it was delicious. Smooth, floral, amazing. Best tequila I'd ever put in my mouth. I bought a bottle.

Then I couldn't find it outside of New Mexico. Not in California, not in New York. Not until my current job--the bar there carries it. Even so, it was not available to me personally; the local New England liquor stores didn't carry it, either. I despaired.

Until last week, when I discovered that the random wine shop across from my new digs had it for sale.



I'm going to drink it on my day off tomorrow. (Some of it--not the whole bottle, of course.) I will drink it neat, with no ice or mixers, because this is not a cheap tequila that you dump into a margarita. This is like drinking a little piece of a road trip. Then, I'm going to purchase an additional bottle to take with us to Seattle, because God knows when I'll be able to find it again.