Saturday, January 8, 2011

Gently

It is gently snowing outside. It is not a blizzard or heavy snow. It was snowing when I got up and I don't know how long it has been snowing but there is not much accumulation The cedar tree outside looks like a Christmas tree with its puffballs of snow gently rocking in the breeze. The cedar waxwings are darting in and out of the branches, munching away on the berries. Each time that one lands on a branch, the puffball explodes as if it were a ripe dandelion. The birds will visit that tree all Winter. They never eat all of the berries at once so they have a full larder all Winter. It is not a Country Buffet to them. It is more like a snack bar. Humans would do well to emulate their restraint.
So as it snows, I sit here in a place overflowing with food. The last time that I went to the grocery store I really overdid it. The refrigerator is bursting with frozen and fresh food. The counter tops are piled with food also. All this for a man that only eats one meal a day.
Today I think that I will venture once more into the mysterious world of soups. I have five different kinds of mushrooms and I have leeks and potatoes and heavy cream and butter. More things may end up in the soup as many of the fresh vegetables are starting to look a little wimpy. I detest throwing away food. I remember a Doctor telling me that the best fed thing in America was the average American's garbage disposal. My freezer is jam packed with meat trimmings, vegetable trimmings, and one beautiful ham bone that will end up as Swedish Yellow Pea Soup. I don't eat out (Two episodes of food poisoning spawned this axiom) and I don't buy prepared foods. The many cans of cream of mushroom soup are a necessary exception.
The ham bone is from a whole ham. I occasionally splurge on a ham as there is a great deal of meat for the price. I end up eating ham for a long time. The only troubling part of the ham is waking up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water. Pork Fat Rules!!

2 comments:

Art For Your Sake said...

Tell me: what trimmings do you use in your Swedish Yellow Pea Soup? We have a website, ExpendableEdibles.com with a whole section on utilizing stems, skins and stalks. Would you be open to sharing your recipe with our readers? Write back :) N & M

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sandwhichisthere said...

I use the green part of leeks, the snapped off ends of asparagus, and cheese rinds. The leek tops come out before the soup is served and sometimes the soup is only slightly yellow. At the end, I put in the frozen green peas that have sprouted a rather comely white beard. I occasionally throw in some ham fat as the market that I frequent doesn't carry smoked hocks. Leftover rutabaga cubes also go nicely. Everything but the green peas go into the blender and then the green peas are added and everything is reheated.
I miss living in the city. The availability of ethnic ingredients there is amazing. Karl's Sausage Kitchen on Route 1 in Revere is an example. Karl has fifty kinds of sausage that he makes on site. East Boston has Italian bacon made from pig cheeks. The tripe is wonderful and there are rabbits hanging in the windows. The market will even skin and clean them.
New Bedford is a world in itself. The fish is the best available anywhere and you can get frames and heads for stock. You can occasionally get scallops from a busted trip. A busted trip occurs when a boat develops trouble and has to come back early. The scallops have not been treated with the chemicals and are plump and sweet. At Antonio's on Coggleshall Street you can get octopus (scrape the black stuff off before eating) or grilled sardines.
New Bedford is a serendipitous mixture of French and Portuguese people. Talk about a match made in heaven. Across the river is Fairhaven which is almost all Norwegian. Margaret's has the best fish chowder that I have ever had.
Legend has it that the French, Norwegians, and Portuguese all arrived in New Bedford at the same time. One group could live in Fairhaven while the other would live in New Bedford with the French. They tossed a coin and the Portuguese lost.
There is also The Irish Immigrant's Pub in New Bedford. The food is not recommended but the beer and ale flow freely. The bar snacks consist of smoked kippers and a slice of raw onion on a saltine or pickled onions. One has to be careful of what one says in that place. I discovered this by telling a joke.
Two Irishmen walk out of a bar.
It's possible.