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Laziness Leads to Resourcefulness in the Kitchen

I haven’t gone grocery shopping in more than a month, and lately I’ve been surviving on the free day-old bagels that Uncommon puts out at night.  But this week I felt the need to eat a little bit better, so I searched the kitchen for those humble canned goods that got pushed back into the cupboards and abandoned during the course of the semester, while I was probably out buying new boxes of cereal and jars of Nutella.  

I uncovered the following: a can of pinto beans, a can of corn, a jar of salsa, a box of couscous, a box of pasta, a carton of vegetable broth, some old cloves of garlic, one cup left of uncooked brown rice, and one cup left of dry lentils.  And I’m proud to say that I have made many meals with these rations—meals I might even call decent.  Which is a big deal, considering that before this semester all I knew how to cook was pasta with tomato sauce… and eggs.  These three concoctions each made quite a lot of portions, and I always think leftovers taste better, anyway…

1. Rice and beans. I tossed the can of beans, the cup of rice, the whole jar of salsa, and some water into my slow cooker in the morning.  (I also had like 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery, so I chopped those up and threw them in.)  By dinnertime I had gooey, delicious, spicy RICE AND BEANS, a meal I’m not sure why I love as much as I do.  Then I found some shredded cheese in the fridge to melt right in.  Mmmm.
2. Couscous and corn. Wouldn’t have thought of the combination, but it worked. I boiled some vegetable broth, then added the couscous and corn.  I did need to consult the spice cabinet: cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, a little onion powder, and salt saved the day.  Plus I threw in a handful of spinach and greens that I swiped from my housemate.
3. Lentil noodle soup. I have to admit that the success of this one depended on me taking several ingredients from my housemates.  It was kind of like that stone soup story, yeah.  So this is what I did: sauteed chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, then added a cup of chopped carrots and sauteed for a few more minutes.  Then I added the lentils and the vegetable broth I had left, plus extra water.  I brought it to a boil, and then I basically dumped my whole spice cabinet into the pot: curry powder, cayenne pepper, and pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar… as well as some minced fresh ginger root!  I lowered the heat, covered the pot, and simmered for like 35 minutes till the lentils were done.  Then I squeezed in the juice of one and a half limes.  Done!  Then I ate it with bowtie noodles mixed in and patted myself on the back.

At the end of the day, though, it would still be nice to have some Nutella.  Or even just some milk?  Nah, I can’t give in now!