Day Seven – My last meal.

So, yesterday was my last day of The Challenge.  As I have said, it was an interesting and educating week.

I made it through the week on $15.90 worth of groceries and an estimated $5-6 additional from my pantry (I didn’t keep track as well as some of my colleagues).  I did not, however, need to re-enforce my main foods from the store, or use any of the $50 I set aside.  (And, if any of you did see me at the store on Wednesday, I was buying shave cream and blades for my razor, so it doesn’t count.)  From my cupboard, I used flour and yeast to make bread, dried herbs and other seasonings, and a small part of a packet of bacon I found in the freezer.

To start off the week, I roasted a whole chicken, used the carcass for stock.  I went though items that are not normally in my diet (like fruit, which I know, I should change).  I found new items that I actually enjoy.  And, new ways to cook those with which I was already familiar.  And I utilized skills that I did not realize I had to stretch everything out as much as possible.

Most importantly, I learned a LOT about the Capital Area Food Bank, the amazing people behind it, and those families that depend on CAFB every week – forty eight thousand of them,  (I spelled out the number for dramatic effect.  I  hope it worked.  If not, here it is numerically  – 48,000.  At the very least, it deserved repeating.)  These are people and families that depend on CAFB to help them stretch what little they have each week.  Many are hardworking families, that do everything they can to make sure that the mouths in their homes have food, education and necessities, and CAFB helps them stretch each dollar.

The Challenge has also changed me a little.  Today I found myself wandering aimlessly around the grocery.  Well, not aimlessly, there were things that I wanted to buy.  Lots of things in fact, acting a bit like the proverbial ‘kid in a candy store’ after the restrictions of the last week.  However, as there were items that I wanted, in many instances I found myself repulsed by the price.  And no, we aren’t talking lobster or whole beef tenderloins.  My budget, like most doesn’t allow for that.  But, there were items that I put back after looking at the price tag, things that I would normally purchase.  It wasn’t until I was half-way through the store, with a relatively empty cart that the epiphany struck.  I was focusing on ‘need’ rather than ‘want’, and it all hit me like a ton of bricks.

I would like to thank all those that have supported me in The Challenge both in mention, direct message and through donations to CAFB.  Please keep in mind that you can continue to donate through the link at left (big yellow button, says ‘Donate’ – it will not bite you).  I will leave the link up for the next few weeks and transfer the funds directly to CAFB at the end of the month.  Additionally, you can donate directly to CAFB or to your local food bank.  Donations can be monetary, it can be made in the form of time, or through donations of food items.  Keep in mind that a $5 donation to CAFB enables them to acquire $25 in food items.

Oh, and what of my last meal?  Well, my family and I had been out for the day and I had little time to prepare when we got back.  I know I said I didn’t want to do it, but having all of a potato and 1/2 a bag of navy beans left I didn’t have a lot to choose from.  So, I threw that brown bad boy in the microwave, partially cooking it before I placed it in the oven to finish and get the skin the way I like it.  I topped it with anything I could find in the fridge from cheese, to bacon bits (not the good kind).  But, like the little rush you get on finishing a daunting task, it was AWESOME!

I would like mention that this evening I did go out for dinner.  It was my birthday on Wednesday and because of The Challenge, I chose not to celebrate it then.  But, in keeping with the theme here, I was frugal.  In fact, it didn’t cost me a dime.  I even walked out with a donation.  Thanks Mom and Dad! 

Day Six of The Challenge – A Curry.

Today was a rough day.  Being the last day of the fiscal quarter, I was on the phone.  A lot.  All day in fact.

I had a mere 25 minutes around lunch time (a call ended earlier than scheduled) to make and eat my lunch, so I opted to re-heat the left-over stir-fry from last night which carried me through the rest of the day.  It was still as good as I remembered.

At 5PM, I had just gotten off of my latest call with partners, when the home phone rang and the question was posed. “So, what are you going to make for dinner tonight?”  To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about it.  Saying as much, I got up from my desk, went to the kitchen and stared at my rations.  A potato, some chicken, rice and a few beans were all that were left.  I still had some work to do, and not enough time to research anything to do with the potato.  Rice was easy, as was the chicken (being already cooked), but I still had no idea.

Visions of Chicken and Rice from my extensive time (and treasured visits) in Singapore were my first inclination, but the chicken was already cooked, and it just wouldn’t be the same.  From there I started dreaming of Chili Crab, one of my favorite all-time dishes,  and things got worse.  I had to stay on focus.

The pantry revealed little.  Tomatoes, mushrooms, preserved lemons (which also sounded REALLY good but I decided they would not be appropriate to The Challenge).  There were other items that also caused me to conclude they would be inappropriate.  Off to the spice cabinet.

It was there that I found, after substantial scrounging (and a long stare at some Ras el Hanout that brought the preserved lemons back to the fore-front of my mind). Then I spied a bag of curry that had been long neglected.  Next my eyes landed on a jar of cinnamon.  Things were starting to come together.  A curry had to be made.

Now, I love Indian food.  Can’t get enough of it.  But, I am well aware that Curry Powder (and hence, ‘a curry’) is not Indian food.  Rather it is an invention of Europeans that brought the ideas of Indian cooking back to Europe after  . . . well, I’ll be nice and call it ‘visit’.  However, Curry Powder (as well as cinnamon) are a common ingredient in many kitchens, and fairly inexpensive to procure.  So, away I went.

Curried Chicken

• 1 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1/2 Onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz chicken, chopped coarsely or shredded roughly
• 1 1/2 Tbs curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• salt
• pepper
• 1 small can chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chicken stock (which I made earlier in the week)

Over medium high heat in a non-stick pan, saute the onions until the soften slightly (3-4 minutes).  Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes more.  At this point, add the chicken, curry powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Allow the chicken to heat in the pan and the spices to adhere to the mixture as well as warm the oils in the the spice mixture to bring back some of the flavor.  This should only take a couple of minutes.  Lastly, add the tomatoes and stock and allow the whole mixture to cook, reducing the heat to medium and the liquid to a stewed consistency.  Server over rice and enjoy.

Tomorrow I plan to pwn the potato.

Day Five – A can of veg.

I hate canned vegetables.  There I said it.  It’s out there. All of us now uncomfortable with the situation, those nasty words fouling the air around us.  Squirming in our seats and feigning an interest in our napkins, we pretend that statement was never uttered.  The reality being, it did happen.  And, there is nothing we can do to turn back time.

For myself, canned vegetables cause reminiscence of the ’70’s, sitting in the Walnut Hills cafeteria/gym (the tables folded down out of the walls of the gym) and eating a school lunch.  Ladies with nets on their heads scooping the vile things onto a paper tray along with other items, that I carry begrudgingly back to the table I share with friends.  Of course, no one ever ate that portion of the meal for obvious reasons.  Our focus remaining with the main dish of the day (pizza, tacos and everything else that Jamie Oliver is fighting against each Friday night).  As for the vegetables, well they followed the path of the paper tray into the trash.

Collectively, we weren’t all that ecologically focused back then.  Well, most of us weren’t.  Paper trays were convenient, didn’t require washing and recycling hadn’t yet caught on.

Actually, the majority of us had a lot of issues that I suspect were founded in our fashion sense (or more to the point, that of our parents).  Note the picture at right.  Yes, that is me on the left, arms akimbo and acting proud that my cousin Reed and I had matching outfits.  A cruel joke by our mothers.  One that many years later, my mother still attempts with my brother and I, usually around Christmas with a matching something-or-other.  Now that I think about it,  I don’t think Reed or I has had this much hair since this picture was taken.

One thing that I do remember fondly, is that my family had a garden from which we would not only pick and eat fresh vegetables (my brother ate all the strawberries), but we would can or pickle them for use later.  Peas were always my favorite, eaten fresh after picking and shelling,  along with the beets we would pickle (or ‘can’) for later.  And, as much as I have hazed my mother for her Navy Bean Soup recipe, to this day I think her pickled beats were the best.  I would eat them by the jar and her recipe is what fans my desire for the purple-y goodness to this day.

The technology of canning foods was developed during the Napoleonic Era in an effort to supply armies (specifically, Napoleon’s Army) with food on their lengthy campaigns.  And, lets be honest, the technology behind it has not improved much since that time.  Instead, we have developed flash-freezing processes that much improve the end product.

However, the reason for canned foods remains sound.  Canned foods are an invention that has very much stood the test of time.  They are shelf stable, require little in the way of preparation, and are inexpensive.  Providing frozen goods to vast quantities of people is, at best, ineffective.  At worst, it is potentially unhealthy and expensive, not to mention environmentally taxing in terms of the amount of energy required to freeze and keep frozen.  After all, the nutritional value is the necessity along with a safe method of delivery, and this is what canned foods offer.

So, where am I going with all this drivel?  Well, tonight I opened the first can of vegetables that I have opened for . . . well, I can’t remember the last time.  As part of my grocery list I had purchased a can of green beans to use during The Challenge, and tonight I did.  I was dreading it.  Dreading it almost as much as cooking the Navy Beans I had purchased.

The original dish that I had planned went out the window as soon as I opened the can.  They looked fresher than I remembered.  Oh, and french cut, which took me a second to realize (I had to look at the can for confirmation, then utter an expletive or two).  But most importantly, they looked pretty good.  Now what to do with them?

I settled on a stir-fry.  I drained the beans in a colander. Turned on the burner and started the rice.  The chicken, roasted successfully the other day, would make a fine addition.  Onion from the larder, and a couple of tablespoons of the gelatinous broth in the fridge.  Rice wine vinegar, hoisin and sambal to add spice.

Once the Rice was finished, I heated up the wok.  Adding oil and onion, I let them saute for a minute.  Next was the chicken, sliced thin, to brown and heat from the fridge. Stock to de-glaze, followed by hoisin, sambal and soy.  The excitement was mounting.  Last came the beans which were chowed briefly just to heat and toss with the luscious brown sauce underneath.  I scooped the blend and placed it over the rice in the bowl.  Then I reached for my chopsticks.

It was delicious.  And suddenly, I realized, I was wrong.

Canned foods are not the evil I remembered.  The evil was in the brutality they suffered while ‘cooked’.

And, they are a necessity for millions of people.

Day Two of The Challenge

Well, today went pretty well.  And, in addition, I think I am learning some things.

Starting out as usual with the cheerios this morning, I realized that not only am I not a morning person (no revelation there), I am not prone to eat breakfast on a regular basis.  I find that, having changed my eating habits for this challenge, I need to make sure that I have a little something (Cheerios, or more to the point, the generic version thereof) to keep me going.  Reason being, the portioning of my meals has to change.  Much, I assume, for the better.

So today, I stuck to the regimen with only one real note of significance.  I made an amazing dish for dinner. A cold chicken salad on garlic toast that was extremely good.  And within the bounds of the challenge, I raided the available ingredients from the fridge and pantry.

For the dressing:

• 1 tsp. Dijon
• 1 tsp. Mayonnaise (from a free sample I received at HEB a couple of weeks ago)
• 1/2 tsp. Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
• pinch of salt
• grind of pepper

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and allow to rest for half an hour.  I used approximately 2/3 of a chicken breast from last nights roasted bird sliced a quarter inch on the bias and tossed in the dressing.  I realized on plating that I could have probably done with 1/2 a chicken breast easily.  Toasting two slices of the bread made yesterday, I rubbed each slice with a single clove of garlic and topped each slice with the dressed chicken.  It was delicious.  Bear in mind that my family is not involved in the challenge, so this is for one serving.  Multiply it out as you need.

The last note for the day is that I made a delicious stock from the carcass of yesterdays chicken.  Included were the neckbones, thyme, rosemary, oregano, onion and garlic.  A minimal list, as the aromatics that I would normally use were not in my pantry.  I will be using the stock over the next couple of days for meals I am as yet contriving.

Cheers! Oh, and don’t forget to contribute what you can, either  on the link at left, or directly to the Capital Area Food Bank!

The Capital Area Food Bank Challenge

For those that are not aware, the Food Blogger Community in Austin is a very strong knit group.  Throughout the year we have meet-ups, potlucks, and try to amaze each other with our skills and ideas, leaning on each other to grow our culinary inquisitiveness and expand our gastronomic boundaries (and in my case, waistline).  This week we were challenged to use our evil powers for good.  And a large number of us accepted.

The Capital Area Food Bank is an amazing organization that delivers food to more than 48,000 people each week.  Receiving and processing the vast quantities of food in their 60,000 square foot facility for that many is a daunting task.  And throughout the past year, the demand has increased by 60%.  In the corporate world, 60% growth is an amazing feat.  For CAFB it is a mixed blessing.  On the one hand, it means that CAFB has the ability to influence the diet of a larger portion of those that require their assistance.  Working with those in need to not only provide the basic food necessities, but to work with their customers to ensure they are getting the quality of food and life that they deserve through a proper diet and education.

On the other hand, it means they need more help.

Addie Broyles of The Austin American-Statesman and Relish Austin, and Kristi Willis of Austin Farm to Table have extended a challenge to a number of us (Austin Food Bloggers).  Our challenge is to live for a week on a simple package of food based upon what is provided to families via CAFB.  Here is what our model package contains:

2 cans spaghetti sauce
4 cans veggies (choice of green beans and/or corn)
4 fruit cans (choice of sliced pears and/or mixed fruit)
1 meat selection: Anything and everything HEB has. Most of what was available was whole chickens, fryers and pork chops. But we really get everything from pig trotters to ham.
3 drink items: choice of large bottle of cranberry apple juice and/or powdered milk (shelf stable milk) boxes and/or apple juice boxes
1 bag spaghetti or bag of egg noodles
1 bag of pinto beans or white navy beans
1 bag of white rice
1 package of jalapeno slices
1 ready-made dinner (hamburger helper)
1 bag/container of rolled oats
1 bag of cheerios
5 lb bag of potatoes

Doesn’t look that difficult, does it? Well, I didn’t think so either . . . at first.  It wasn’t until I realized that this was a package for a family of four that I started to have my doubts.

I will begin my challenge on Sunday (4/25/2010).  This will give me a few days to pare down the list (for an individual), do my shopping on Saturday, as well as a bit of menu planning.  It will be three meals a day for 7 days, so planning will be essential.  During the week I will not only document my progress, but will hopefully comprise some unique uses for each of the items that I make (and hopefully not have any failures).  Fascinating things like adding milk to my Cheerios I do not plan to embellish on.  However, I do see some possibilities in the list, so this is a challenge that I am definitely looking forward to.

Now for the catch.  As I have accepted this challenge, I offer one to all of you . . . a kind of sponsorship.  I would like to challenge each of you to donate to CAFB, or your local food bank in whatever way you can. For CAFB, I have created a link to the left from which I will donate 100% to CAFB plus an amount that I will be donating. You can think of it as being in support of taking the challenge, or as a pledge if I complete it.  This link is provided by PayPal and is completely secure.

Another way to donate is directly of the CAFB website.  Even the smallest amounts can make a big difference in someones life.  Lastly, but equally important, is volunteer work.  From the CAFB website there are instructions on how to donate your time working to assist in food distribution.

Wish me luck, and thank you in advance for any contribution you can make.