Hail and well met my friends. Welcome to another edition of the Depressed Kitchen, where I work to make a little bit of money go a long way in my kitchen with the help and guidance of a very large collection of old cook books ranging in dates from 1916-today, along with the help of Grandma Kettle who is a child of the Great Depression.
Those of you following the diaries will know that it takes 3 incomes to keep the Kettles above water due to my house burning down a couple of years back. This week I was let go from my part time job. We knew it was coming, and I thought I had cried it all off already, but when the Dean was on the phone explaining that it really wasn't her fault, (not that it matters), I began to blubber all over again. How much can one person cry!? Sometimes I am just a big fat baby. So, I have enough work to keep the family fed up until Fall. I am looking for more work, but PoliSci/History instructors truly are a dime a dozen. I have a suspicion I was let go less for monetary concerns and more for my progressive voice in all things, but it is only a suspicion. Pa says I should call HR and find out; I told him that when I stop crying about it I might.
So, we are looking for any and all possible means to take up the slack this winter. Pa might go back to school, that would be cool. He has blown off school so I could go. Now I am working on the Ph.D. and he feels like it is his turn. We might be able to get a student loan for him to take up the slack, maybe. In any case more education never hurt.
Thisweek had clouds hanging over it. I did make progress on some doctoral work that was causing me consternation. That was a plus. Now I am no longer frustrated on every front at least. That is what has struck me as odd about this current recession: all walks of life, all levels of education, have been adversely affected, except for the filthy rich. Grandma says this is how it was when she was a kid. Here I am, two degrees in history, one advanced, a teaching credential, a Ph.D. candidate, teacher of the year two different ways, and I can't get enough work to pay the bills. I am already over the shock of one job not being enough. Education was supposed to be the great equalizer. I might as well be a waitress, (no offense to waiters/waitresses, I was one for 10 years).
Ma's Clean Out the Cabinets Pasta
The rest of that bag of pasta
The rest of that celery
Any odds and ends of: mushrooms, onion, spinach, tomato, olives, artichoke hearts, zuchini, or whatever you have
garlic
one can of tomatoes
one can of tomato sauce
Italian seasonings
Trust me this will not be bad. Stir some anchovies in if you have them, or a little red wine. Be sure to toast up the rest of that bread with garlic. Add spinach and zuchini towards the end if you are using them.
My pillar, Pa, has explained things so that I can understand them. As usual his perspective helps beat back the darkness if just in my own mind. "We don't suck." I didn't understand what he meant so he went further. "Work sucks (he means job #1), losing your job sucks (he means job #2), we may lose the house if things don't get better and that sucks. But you and me baby, we don't suck. We may be living out of the back of a van with no prospects, but as long as we have each other, we don't suck." After things were explained to me, and I cried some more, I made pie.
Buttermilk Pie
1 pie crust, pre baked and cooled
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 nutmeg
4 eggs lightly beaten (I have used 3 large eggs here instead of 4)
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Stir together dry ingredients, blend in the wet ingredients, and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes until a knife comes out clean. You may need to use foil strips on the crust so it doesn't burn. This is a tangy pie that I like to eat ice cold. You may be able to substitute whole milk and lemon juice for some of the buttermilk, but I have never done that with this recipe. Buttermilk is very cheap here. About 1.25 for a quart. This, also, does not suck.
Even with the crappy situation of my world, I know that others have it even worse than I do. There is no need to abandon curtesy or civility in times of crisis. Everybody has it bad, so lets be kind to our fellow man. This was also brought home to me this week. I was at my favorite grocery store and I had to pick up some shrimp. Before I get flamed, Grandma Kettle has no teeth and even worse digestion. She specifically asked for something soft to eat and suggested shrimp, and of course the shrimp were on sale. We may not have Grandma around much longer, and if she wants shrimp then by God (or whatever deity you recognize) she will have them. This brings me to the butcher. I have known him in his official capacity for years. His name is Chris, and he knows my name. I greeted him at the fish counter, "Hi Chris, how are you?" His reply was friendly as usual. "I would like half a pound of those Mexican wild shrimp please." His reponse was unexpected. "Did you say please? I never hear that anymore. People come in and they know what they want and talk to me like I am going to argue. You know, those shrimp look really icey, let me take some weight off the scale for you." "Well thank you Chris, that is sweet of you. You have a wonderful holiday." "You too Ma, come back to see me real soon." So, I got almost a pound instead of the half I asked for just due to being polite. I think we should all give politeness a go and see what comes of it. I am not doing anything special with the shrimp, just dipping them quickly in boiling water and then peeling and deveining them. Remember, her digestion ain't up to par since she lost 3-4 ft of small bowel a few weeks ago. This brings me to a recipe I gleaned from my 1940 "America Cooks"
Shrimp (and fish) Pilau
1 1/2 cooked shrimp or white firm fish, or a combination
4 slices of bacon
1 small onion
2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
1 cup washed rice
salt
Fry bacon until crisp. Remove and put in onion and cook until soft. Add tomatoes, rice, salt to taste. Cook rice until tender. You have to watch here, and maybe add more liquid if necessary. When the rice is tender add shrimp and bacon and scoop into a baking dish (like a loaf pan) and bake for 15 minutes at 350. They suggest topping with a white sauce. I suggest that you think of the possibilities. You could omit the shrimp and add ham and green chilies and top with cheese. Or add chicken, substitute salsa for some of the tomatoes, top with cheese and sour cream. Or try some italian twist like adding italian sausage and top with cheese. Get the idea?
My grocery budget right now, for a family of 4 and a knowitall dog is $125. The federal government has that pegged at "Thrifty." I was wondering if anybody else ever compared their weekly grocery bills with the fed's idea of what we should spend. Here is the place to look http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/...
Usually I am right under the lowest plan. I don't know why I care, but it does let us know what the government thinks we spend.
Happy Easter. What is going on in your kitchens?