Sunday, July 12, 2009

Frugal foraging



What a lovely weekend. When MN weather behaves, it really behaves. I did do a little "sunning" yesterday at lake Calhoun. 75, breezy, not a cloud in the sky, unbelievable people watching... Perfection. I have a ridiculous amount of homework for my primary care clerkship. The type of homework that makes you think, "what, are you insane? You seriously expect me to do that?" Lecture after lecture after article on heath care models blah blah, bore my brains out. Breathe, serenity now. So at about 4 pm, my tummy was growling, and I moseyed into the kitchen. I'm mainly a produce girl. I opened the fringe and thought wow. I can have garlic, or pickles for dinner. Shoot. I moved to the pantry. I really needed to make something that will double for lunch tomorrow. Given my serious lack of produce, I'll probably have to make a trip after clinic. Forage away! I found pumpkin and fire roasted tomato. I can work with this. I close my eyes, and summon my inner food spaz, unafraid of dumping random junk into a pot :)

Battle of the Chilies All Purpose Goop

1 can pumpkin
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2 spoonfuls Thai kitchen red chili paste
4 cloves of garlic
Heavy dashes of poultry seasoning, chili powder
A more reserved dash of granulated onion
pinch of salt
Glugs of red wine vinegar

Simmer in a pot till sauce thickens.

This is really tasty, and hearty! It will be topping some brown rice and frozen broccoli tomorrow for lunch. Yum. I think it may be asking for some frozen shrimp to be in the mix as well. I bet you could add red wine to the pot, which would be delish. It would be lovely on pasta and, its cheap!



I'm not kidding about the foraging. Look, the garlic is trying to escape it's long imprisonment in my dark fridge. My morning will include some raspberries picked from my GORGEOUS backyard. yum, yeah. Well, at least those little morsels are pretty.

4 comments:

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

You never cease to impress me! Well done - never would have guessed that those flavors would go together. I love pumpkin, though, so I am sure I would love this. I'm planning on making some pumpkin enchiladas this week or next week. If they aren't a flop, I'll post about them!

Good luck w/ all the homework - yuck, it doesn't sound fun.

Unknown said...

I am trying to imagine how this tastes. I would be interested in giving it a try. Very inventive! One never knows what can be created by using what is in one's cupboards!!! Good for you. Maybe a trip to the store is in order, though!

qwerkyqook said...

the world has reached a balance again and I know have some "perishables" in my fridge. The sauce is yummy, sort of sweet. Would work well with cooked spinach i'm thinking too. Definitely a brown rice topper, delish. Speaking of enchiladas lisa, you've got me thinking!!!! Also, your comment about strawberries in the guac.!! Genius! No onions, just avocado, lime and strawberries. holy yum!

Unknown said...

I had a taste of this today and it was excellent! Thank you!