(In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Ingredients“.)
I first made this risotto because dinner didn’t come. And my in-laws had just arrived from another continent, and needed to be fed. Let me go back and explain – I was then living in England, my mother-in-law and her husband had arrived that morning from Canada, and my husband was supposed to get pork chops at the butcher, but ended up trapped in a meeting.
This post is dedicated to the frugal art of using up stuff you have left around. The salad above, as well as a bowl of corn and bacon chowder to go with it, were all inspired by things lying around the fridge.
Rather a glamorous name considering that what we’re talking about is plain white cake. We forget, however, the two things that made this cake exciting when it was first being made: the notoriety surrounding Lily Langtry herself, a celebrity/model/actress, and the new technologies and processes that made a white cake finally possible.
Flea markets are a great place to pick up unusual recipe books. A few years ago I was helping out at one with my mom, and I started looking through the books, and found this one. I l love cranberries, and it was only fifty cents, so I bought it.
It’s funny that my favourite dessert achieved fame because of rationing. Crumble, or crisp for North Americans, became popular in Britain during WWII because it used less fat and sugar than pie crust, and you could use breadcrumbs to bulk it out. At a time when propaganda posters warned against wasting bread, every crumb counted.
There’s a chili recipe I love making. I love it so much that in order to make it in northern Canada, I will mail order catering-size cans of tomatillos. Yes, I’m talking about chili verde, that lovely mix of tomatillos, green chilis, cilantro and pork that I can’t get enough of.
All the same, I’ve had people look at it, make a doubtful face, and say, “When I think of chili I think of beef… and it’s red.” The last time I made it one of my brothers was there, and he was game to try it, but a bit puzzled by the ingredients, until I fried the chili powder and cumin. “Well, it smells like chili, anyway,” he commented. (Side note: he cleaned up the finished product.)
