For some unknown reason, I decided to clean out our
kitchen pantry while I was right in the middle of doing our Federal and State
tax returns. Probably just to break away from the monotony of pencil pushin’
and also realizing that the extra tax burden will consistently be in the
four-figure range until retirement. But since we haven’t cleaned out our pantry
for quite a while, it was as good a time as any…
I do admit that on occasion, I’ll return from a trip to
the supermarket and simply place the newly purchased can goods right in front
without rotating the pantry stock… until I realized how prevalent this practice
was for the Mrs. and yours truly. When all of the outdated stock was purged
from the pantry, it literally cleared about three shelves. We had canned goods
that had pull dates about the time of President Obama’s first inauguration.
There also was a can of Spam hidden behind other outdated cans that looked a
little pregnant… I didn’t think Spam had a pull date or even went bad.
Of course, there was a fair amount of canned goods either
just at the pull date or newly expired within the past several months. And you
know that everyone tends to stretch manufacturer’s pull dates especially if the
can isn’t rusty or swollen. I meaning consuming milk past the pull date
especially when there seems to be something semi-solid sloshing around in the
carton is one thing. A can of tomato sauce that still appears pristine even if
the pull date was in 2015 is a whole different story. I mean, tomato sauce is
acidic so nasties like Clostridium
botulinum probably can’t propagate in that can. And I will be simmering
that tomato sauce killing off any other nasties that may have awakened during
Obama’s second term.
But what’s a person to do with this newly found plethora
or recently outdated or soon to outdate canned goods? Sample some of the
Gochiso Gourmet’s zombie apocalypse canned cuisine which doesn’t require a lot
of fresh ingredients and can even be prepared with outdated foods…
This recipe is my take of that labor intensive classic
bean based stew from Provence which usually includes goose or duck along with
pork or pork sausage. Because my pseudo version only uses canned of dried
ingredients, it’s a fast cassoulet… or fass-oulet…
Fass-oulet
Two 12oz cans of roast beef with broth
Two 14.5oz cans of chopped tomatoes
Three 15oz cans of white beans, drained
One 14.5oz can reduced sodium chicken or beef stock
2 cups of dry red wine
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence (found at most markets)
1 tsp dried chopped garlic
1 cup dried mirepoix (dried chopped carrots, celery and
onions)
2 tbsp dried parsley
3 Bay leaves
Add all ingredients to a 5 quart Dutch oven or stock pan,
bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. As an option to also
clean out your freezer, you can also add sausages you may have grilled over the
summer and simply froze for use at a later date.
I highlighted this recipe even before President Obama was
elected to his first term which again uses only canned, bottled or dried
ingredients. I made a slight adjustment to the original recipe as I initially
used just two cans of refried beans. Because I recently had several cans of
black beans that were on the verge of outdating, I simply mashed them to form a
paste but the rest of the seasonings are the same.
Bean and Olive
Spread
Two 15 oz cans of beans (kidney, black, pinto, white,
etc)
One 4.25oz can chopped olives
One 4oz can roast, diced green chiles
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried cilantro
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 heaping tbsp Goya Recaito sauce (optional)
Hot sauce to taste (optional)
Mash the beans until a rough paste forms. Mix all
ingredients in a large mixing bowl until all ingredients thoroughly
incorporated.
Serve with crackers, chips or sliced baguettes or use as
a healthy sandwich spread. Options include adding diced fresh tomatoes, cooked
brown rice or barley, fresh cilantro or roasted diced jalapenos. Use in place
of usual sandwich spreads (mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup) with sliced grilled chicken
breast or pork tenderloin with sautéed peppers for a “fajita” sandwich in a
sliced baguette.
The last recipe does include one fresh ingredient, fresh
eggs. However since it is a binder for the patties, it would be difficult to
exclude the eggs. But I’m sure you may also have some “outdated” eggs in your
refrigerator which means you’ll be ‘cleaning” out your refrigerator. I didn’t
list this recipe strictly for outdated canned goods as it’s a mainstay of the
Tatsumoto household but that one can of Reduced Fat Pringles Sour Cream and
Onion crisps invariably always outdates and I did have one can of mushroom soup
that expired in February…
Fish Patties
22-25oz of canned tuna or salmon (3 to 5 cans)
One 10.75oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
4.5 to 5oz of sour cream and onion potato chips
Two eggs lightly scrambled
Non-stick spray
Place the potato chips in a zip sealed or produce bag and
crush to the consistency of cracker crumbs. Drain and flake the tuna or salmon,
add the condensed cream of mushroom soup. Potato chip crumbs and the beaten
eggs. Form into patties and pan fry until golden brown.
Waste not, Want
not
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