Cupboard Challenge! It's moving season, and Raedia writes to us with a mega challenge - polish off the contents of ALL her cupboards.
She writes: My boyfriend and I are moving to Vermont at the end of the month, to a brand new house which isn't QUITE done yet. As we'll be kitchenless for a while, I'm now forced to confront all the mysterious jars that haunt the back of the fridge... remnants of culinary experiments that only used a tbsp of whatever it was.
So I pose to you a Cupboard Challenge- what can I possible make with any of these things?
List below the jump - extra credit to ideas that use the most stuff in one go.
I'd make Wontons, Cold Grain Salad and some Little Spanish Tartlets. An odd meal, but maybe good to serve with some sparkling wine with friends.
Wontons:
Rice paper wrappers
Spicy Italian pork sausages
Red bean paste
Shrimp paste
Tamarind paste
Black bean paste
Cold Grain Salad:
Quinoa
Bulgur
Israeli couscous
Honey mustard (just a dash)
*Some kind of veg, like bell peppers if you have it
Little Spanish Tartlets:
Frozen phyllo
Chorizo
Quince paste (membrillo)
*Cabrales or Manchego if you feel like buying something
Sneak into any of the above in the name of digestion!:
Ground flaxseed
Oat bran
view Sara Kate's profile
Well, if you have extra baking stuff left over, you can make bran muffins with the oat bran, and put the flaxeed in them for extra.
I'd take either of the sausages and put the over a combo of the bulgur, quinoa and couscous (depending on how much of each you have). If I had some eggs, I'd cook some sunny side up and lay on top. A hearty breakfast or an easy dinner!
No idea what to do with the rest.
view SassySally's profile
Ooh, nice! Thanks for the suggestions - I like the idea of combining the grains with the sausages, and of making little appetizers with the phyllo. It would be great to have something to snack on while we pack all of our boxes! I'm thinking of doing fried rice with all of the miscellaneous leftovers at the end of the week... enough soy sauce and sesame oil makes anything taste good. Keep the ideas coming - I really appreciate them!
view SisterRae's profile
Wow you have some great things left over in your cupboards! Sara Kate you are a genius! My list of things to use up before we move is rather less inspiring. A jar of marmalade, a load of unpopped-popcorn, lots of arborio rice, mustard, about a gallon of orange flower water and enough garam masala to make curry for the next decade! Oh and some really horrible wholemeal strong flour which lends a delightful soggy-leather texture to everything it touches. Mmm marmalade rissotto anyone?!
view tin_angel's profile