Leftovers Tip #1: Leftovers Omelette

Trying to figure out how to get rid of those leftover veggies before they go bad? Make a breakfast omelette! With only a couple of eggs, some veggies, and a few spices, you can make a delicious breakfast for yourself.

This morning, I greased up a stainless steel frying pan with some oil I had left over from frying up falafel balls yesterday. As I let the pan warm up over medium-high heat, I lightly beat two eggs in a bowl, added a little milk (to give it a little more substance and to add fluffiness), and set it aside. I then scrounged through my tiny fridge for leftovers. I found a clove of garlic and a quarter of a zucchini (left over from my easy Tuscan chicken), some chopped onions and grated cheddar cheese (left over from taco night), and half a can of chopped tomatoes in sauce (left over from my Sicilian chicken thighs - recipe coming soon!). I threw the garlic, onions, and zucchini in the frying pan and sauteed them until the onions were translucent and the zucchini soft. After making sure the veggies were evenly distributed in the pan, I poured the egg mixture over top of the veggies. As the eggs cooked, I sprinkled the grated cheddar over the omelette, to allow it to melt in with the rest of the ingredients.

After a minute or so, I used my spatula to loosen the bottom of the omelette. Now the "flip" is notoriously difficult. (If you don't know how, this guy can teach you!) But I always try to work on my pan-flipping skills, so I tried to flip the omelette with one circular motion. It was pretty successful, and the omelette looked good. (Note: If you mess up the flip, or you don't want to bother flipping, you can make scrambled eggs instead of an omelette.)

I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and paprika, and added some of the tomato sauce to top it off. It was very delicious and I got to get rid of my leftovers in the process!

MG's First Attempt at a Poor-Man's Pesto

Last week I also attempted a homemade pesto sauce, based on the recipe found here: How to Make Pesto like an Italian Grandmother. Of course, I had to improvise a bit, based on what I had in the house and what I could find at the local tegut. Thus, instead of pine nuts I used crushed walnuts, and instead of Parmesan, I used a German Hartkäse that I found at te gut. (However, word on the street is that you can actually get pine nuts now at Aldi for really cheap. Going to check out their prices on Parmesan as well when I go next week.)

The recipe called for the following ingredients:

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Now most people make pesto in a food processor, but I think the taste is so much richer when you chop everything yourself. (However, the lastest episode of NPR's "The Splendid Table" has made me consider purchasing a mortar-and-pestle the next time I make a spice run to the local Asia Laden.) However, if you plan to do everything by hand, you should set aside a good 20 minutes to make sure you chop everything finely enough. As the website points out, the trick is to "chop a bit, add some ingredients, chop some more."

I started by chopping the garlic. I then added some of the basil and chopped some more:

After chopping the basil, I added the nuts, chopped some more, and then finally the grated hard cheese. At this point, everything was starting to look good:


As per the website's instructions, I packed my chopped items together into a kind of "basil cake:"


At this point, I covered the "cake" with just enough olive oil to cover it and let it sit while I cooked the pasta. When I was ready to eat, I mixed the olive oil into the cake, and ended up with the pesto sauce below:


You will notice that my pesto is significantly less green than the sauce pictured on the website. I think this was my pesto's fatal flaw: NOT ENOUGH BASIL. I picked all the fresh basil my plant could spare, but I think that more was in order because the pesto itself ended up tasting a bit bland when mixed in with the pasta. I added tomatoes to the pasta and liberally salted-and-peppered everything to give it a bit more flavor, but that should not be necessary if the pesto itself is good. So next time, I am going to use a liberal amount of basil, and we'll see how it goes. I also want to try the following pesto recipe: A Classic Pesto of Genoa.

Does anyone have any further suggestions for making cheap, homemade pesto? I'd love to hear them!

Update: I mixed the remained of my pesto pasta together with the leftovers from my Tuscan Chicken for a great (more flavorful) combo-dish.

Easy Chicken "auf toskanische Art"

I had some fun adventures in cooking last week, culminating in both satisfaction and mild disappointment. At the farmer's market last Saturday I bought a couple of incredibly tender organic chicken breasts, which ended up being a bit expensive, but well worth it. I also picked up a lot of fresh, organic veggies. I had thought about making a chicken stir fry with everything, but then I came upon this Tuscan chicken recipe in my German cookbook. This was the first time I followed a German recipe, so it was quite an adventure. I was also limited to what was in my kitchen. For example, the recipe called for cherry tomatoes and brandy. I used regular tomatoes (chopped) and white wine vinegar. I also decided to add zucchini, since I had one in the house that was about to go bad. Turns out, it was a great addition.

This dish is quick and easy to prepare (about 20 min), and you can improvise, based on what you happen to have lying around your kitchen. A great meal for during the week!

Ingredients:
1/8 c of butter
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2 tsp brandy/white wine vinegar
4 oz (cherry) tomatoes
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 zucchini, cubed
1/4-1/2 c white wine (if you use white wine vinegar, I'd stick with 1/4 c)
pepper, to taste
1 sprig fresh rosemary
fresh parsley (for garnish, optional)

Melt the butter in a frying pan or wok. Add the chicken and saute until the meat turns white, about 4 minutes. Add the brandy (or vinegar), followed by the tomatoes, mushrooms, and zucchini. Stirring frequently, cook for about 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the wine, and season with rosemary and pepper. Let simmer, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced somewhat and the mixture is slightly more concentrated. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving (optional).



P.S. I mixed the leftovers from this dish with the leftovers from my experiment with pesto pasta to make a really tasty combo-dish.

Mama Griff's Rotkrautsalat

Those of you who know me, know that I love to make red cabbage salad, especially in the summer. Red cabbage (here: Rotkraut) is very good for you, especially raw. It is a great source of Vitamin C, among other nutrients, and apparently may also help prevent Alzheimer's Disease. As with Brussels sprouts and Lima beans, many people associate the thought of cabbage with an image of their mothers forcing them to clean their plates on pain of receiving no dessert. However, red cabbage can be surprisingly tasty, as I have discovered over the last year or so. The dish below is a great side dish to bring to cookouts, potlucks, and dinner parties. You can experiment with it and see what you like best. I have made versions of this salad that include pearl onions, carrots (see photo), and even raw Brussels Sprouts. I have used different kinds of vinegars and different kinds of wine. I've made vegetarian versions and versions with fatty German Dörrfleisch. I've gone with caraway seeds and without. Play around with the below recipe to your heart's content - and put the leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch!


Mama Griff's Rotkrautsalat
(serves 6)
Ingredients:

• 5 slices bacon (or Dörrfleisch)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. vinegar (I prefer apple cider vinegar)
• 1/4 c. white wine
  
• 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
  
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. (kosher) salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. caraway seeds
• 1/2-1 whole medium onion, chopped (depending on how "oniony" you like your salads)
  
• 1-2 sliced carrots or 4-6 shredded Brussel sprouts, raw (optional)
  

Fry the bacon until very crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. (I usually take the opportunity to do most of my peeling, chopping, and shredding while the bacon is frying.) Reduce heat. Stir sugar, vinegar, and wine into bacon drippings and heat gently, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Gently sauté onions in this mixture for 1-2 minutes, or until onions look slightly transluscent. (For flavor, you can also keep the onions raw, but be ready for onion-burps the rest of the night!) Pour the mixture over the cabbage (and other raw veggies, if using). Then toss with oil, salt, pepper, and caraway seeds. (Some people don't like caraway seeds, i.e., Kümmel, but I think they really contribute to the flavor of the salad.) Finally, crumble the bacon and spread over salad.

Voila, you're done! Dig in, and enjoy!

Tip of the Day: Boxed Wine and Weinschorle (Wine Spritzer)

A wine habit can get expensive, especially if you like good wines. But in the summer, nothing tastes better than a light, fruity white wine. Personally, I go for the Pinot Grigios and the Soaves, though I have been known to enjoy a dry Riesling from time to time.

However, if you are on a low-cost budget, you may not want to shell out the big bucks for a worthwhile bottle of wine. You may also want to be outside in the summer months - camping or grilling out - which is not particularly conducive to sporting the "hoity-toity" Riedel glasses and "fancy-schmancy" Gewürztraminer you just purchased.

So go "ghetto" with it: break down and buy the boxed wine you've seen sitting there in the liquor store cooler. It's not as bad as you might think, and you're getting a lot more bang for your buck. You can get an entire liter of halfway decent wine for the price of a mid-range bottle (750 mL) of good wine. Now, of course you're going to want to stay away from the Franzias and anything resembling Boone's Farm. My recommendation is the Bandit Pinot Grigio from Three Thieves. (They also make a Chardonnay - and a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon for fans of the red).

**************
Another great way to get more bang for your buck is to make your own "Weinschorle." I recently discovered the Weinschorle after refusing to shell out another €5.50 for one more glass of some good, not-listed-on-the-menu South African wine that came strongly recommended (by the waitress, of course). Weinschorle is basically a white wine spritzer, and it's quite tasty - and cheap!

At home, you can make your own Weinschorle. Combine about 1/2-2/3 bottle of tangy, cheap wine like (again) the Bandit Pinot Grigio with 1/2-1/3 bottle of sparkling mineral water or club soda. If you want to be creative, you can throw a little fresh fruit (or fruit juice) in with it. I like using strawberries as a garnish. You will find this drink incredibly refreshing in the summer, and it can make your cheap bottle of white wine last twice as long!

Some "Essentials" for the Tiny Kitchen - Getting Started

Wanting to enjoy cooking for one on a low budget? Even in your tiny kitchen? Well, it's going to take some start-up capital. But it can still be done cheaply. Below, my top 10 list of things you need in the kitchen (in no particular order). Feel free to add your own necessary conditions for a good kitchen in the comments section!

1. KNIVES!
Since you will be doing lots of chopping, dicing, and slicing in your tiny kitchen, your knife will be one of your most indispensable items. As I live in Germany, where Brot is served at every meal, having a decent a bread knife is quite important. I also like to have a paring knife available for other uses. However, if you are going to go with just one knife, make sure to buy yourself a good chef's knife. These can get very expensive very quickly, but it is well worth the money for all the use you will get out of it. (Or you can do what I did and buy a cheap - but sharp! - Tchibo chef's knife for €7. It chops great, and until it gets too nicked up, it will do the trick. But a more expensive knife is in my future!)

2. Cutting Board(s).
I have two cutting boards in my kitchen: one for stinky stuff like onions and garlic and another for everything else. I use one side of the plastic cutting board when I need to slice up meat, and the other side takes the brunt of the rest of my chopping.

A good cutting board will also cost you mucho denero, but you can get cheap ones at Target or even Goodwill. Just stay away from the glass cutting boards. They'll dull your knife and are a bitch to cut on. Personally, I prefer wooden cutting boards, but they are often hard to keep clean. You can find some advice on keeping your cutting board clean and bacteria-free here.

3. Pots & Pans.
This is, of course, a "duh"-item, as much cooking would be impossible without pans. However, if you have limited space and a small budget, figuring out just exactly what kinds of pans you need might be difficult. I think it's important to always have at least one good frying pan and one good pot/saucepan (and - if you have an oven - one decent baking pan). Since my tiny kitchen only has two burners, this is all that fits on my stovetop. But even when I had four burners, I was usually only using two at any given time. If you have the opportunity, however, get your hands on a small frying pan for sauces and side dishes and a large wok for stir fries, stovetop casseroles, and the like.

I prefer non-stick frying pans for the ease of cleaning. I also do not clean my frying pan with dish soap. I merely rinse it with hot water and wipe it clean with a damp paper towel. This allows some of the flavor to remain "on" the pan. Over time, this can contribute to the flavors in your cooking.

4. Mixing Bowls.
Unless you're going really ghetto and mixing stuff right in your saucepan, it is going to be very difficult to get by without a cheap, plastic mixing bowl. (Stainless steel is nicer, but also more expensive.) I have one large bowl for salads, pancake mixes, and other large mixtures and one medium-sized bowl for preparing things like scrambled eggs, marinades, etc. In a tiny kitchen, you often need to use mixing bowls to temporarily housed chopped items before they go into the frying pan, since you need countertop and cutting-board space to prepare the rest of the ingredients in your dish.

5. Tupperware.
Cooking for one is difficult, and one often finds oneself with leftovers. Indeed, I often aim to have one round of cooking provide at least two meals. But to keep your leftovers fresh, having a good Tupperware set is ideal. Tupperware is super-cheap and lasts a long time. For the very frugal, it can also serve as dishware.

6. Plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
Plastic wrap is another way to keep your produce fresh in the fridge. I often use only half an onion or 2/3 of a cucumber. Plastic wrap keeps these items fresh for at least a few days, sometimes up to a week.

Aluminum foil is a necessity if you have an oven, but even if you don't, it can be used in grilling, wrapping meat, or even as a lid to a pan (if you don't have one).

7. (Wooden) Mixing Spoons and (Plastic) Spatula.
While your spoons need not be wooden, you will need something to stir with - and you can often buy a set of wooden spoons for very cheap. These come in very handy when making stir fries, salads, and anything else that requires mixing or stirring. I also need to have a (preferably plastic) spatula on hand for flipping eggs, crepes, pancakes, and the like.

8. Spices.
Yes, on the left we have my current, very meager spice shelf. Of course, I plan to build it up over the course of the year. I have also planted an herb garden (below right) with ginger mint, sage, rosemary, basil, parsley, garden cress, and St. John's Wort.

Spices are incredibly important to transforming your basic dishes into a flavorful fiesta of...well, flavor. Salt and pepper are the "duh"-spices here, but try to get your hands on a box of Kosher salt (I always keep a juice glass filled with Kosher salt nearby), and buy a cheap pepper grinder for peppercorns. I also recommend getting paprika, oregano, thyme, coriander, cumin, rosemary, and basil for your kitchen. Buying spices in bulk from a co-op or natural foods store is (surprisingly) usually the cheapest way to go here. Plus, if you buy your spices loose, it is easier to combine them to make fun spice mixtures and rubs!

9. Onions and Garlic.
I probably use onions and/or garlic in 90% of the hot dishes I make. And, to my mind, there is no reason not to keep your kitchen stocked with both. Garlic is incredibly good for you, and if you're a garlic fiend like me, you use a lot of it!

Here is a great video from Lifehacker on how to slice and dice an onion like a pro. And here is one on peeling and chopping garlic.

10. Oils and vinegars.
When cooking on a cheap budget, having some vegetable or sunflower oil in the kitchen is a must. It's cheap, and you can use it to "lube up" your pans when frying up yummies. I also like to keep olive oil and various vinegars on hand for making salad dressings, Italian dishes, and so on. I love to infuse olive oil with garlic and use it to make hummus, bruschetta, and other tasty sides.
Of course, good olive oil is expensive. I wait for the good stuff to go on sale, and then I stock up. However, you can also buy oils and vinegars in bulk at certain natural foods stores.

You can also reuse oil if it's still good - be careful! I always keep a jar of bacon drippings and fat in my fridge for use when frying up eggs and other items.

Mama Griff's Tiny Kitchen

Just to let y'all know what I'm working with here, I thought I'd give you a brief virtual tour of Mama Griff's actual tiny-ass kitchen. Keep in mind, the room itself is about 6x6 sq. feet, which makes it difficult for more than one person to be in there at any given time. It has zero windows, but luckily it has a vent with a fan for when things get a bit steamy/smokey - which tends to happen when I'm in the kitchen! Now on with the tour...

On the left side of the kitchen, we've got a series of shelves. These house all of our dried goods, glassware, cooking implements, spices, oils, vinegars, and so on. This is basically where we have to keep all our Lebensmittel that don't go into the refrigerator, plus the kitchen items that do not fit on the hidden shelves on the right side of the kitchen (see below).







The right side of the kitchen has a small counter-top, which sits over another shelf, where we keep our plates, pans, bowls, tupperware, and anything else that doesn't fit on the other shelves.


And now to the middle portion. The Germans are masters of space conservation, as can be seen in the photograph below (left). On the left side, we've got a single sink, which sits over a cupboard used for garbage and cleaning supplies. To the right of this, we've got two stovetop burners (both electric - much to my dismay), which sit atop the fridge. That's right, fellow Amis, the fridge is

indeed that small.
















So that's what Mama Griff has to work with. It's not much, but it's enough to prepare some tasty meals, descriptions of which are soon to come!

NEXT TIME: Essentials for the Tiny Kitchen - What You Need to Get Started.

Introductions - i.e., Why the hell am I doing this?

Greetings, all! "Mama Griff" here, coming at you quasi-live from Marburg, Germany. You may wonder why I am starting a separate blog just about cooking, especially given that (as those of you who are acquainted with me may know) I am no gourmet chef. But you may also know that I nevertheless love to cook. I find it very relaxing - a way to take your mind off of the stressulf things in your life. It is also a creative activity, in which you actually make something fun and exciting, which you then get to enjoy (and hopefully destroy) afterward. Construction and deconstruction - birth, death, and leftovers - tragic messes and great successes ... Call it what you will, cooking can be interesting.

But it can also be expensive. Half the fun of cooking is making big, elaborate meals that you can share with your friends, family, or even strangers. But when you're cooking for one on a limited budget, it can also take a bit of the wind out of your culinary sails, so to speak. And this is why I wanted to start this blog: to bring you the message that cooking can be exciting, even for inexperienced single chicks or dudes with ghetto kitchens and bank accounts emptier than their refrigerators. For I am a poor, single graduate student, who is currently living abroad in Germany and who is operating out of what is likely the tiniest kitchen anyone will ever have to deal with. My hope with this blog is that I can share the successes (and failures!) of my (admittedly limited) cooking experience with you - and perhaps find some excellent recipes and ideas along the way!