Spring Cleaning

Tired of seeing the bottoms of your copper pans looking all black and discolored? Here's how to clean them.

...or if they're already there, they're gonna stay all the way back there, gathering dust until I bequeath them onto my children.

Nah, I wouldn't do that to them.

1. Tuna Helper - I just don't like that the talking glove only has four fingers. That's scary.
2. Dinty Moore Beef Stew - childhood trauma
3. Hormel Corned Beef Hash - if you have ever seen it in the can, you will wonder if it was really Alpo that had been mis-labeled.
4. Vienna Sausages - those tiny ones that come in the pull top can.  
5. Boxed macaroni and cheese - okay, it's not that bad when you eat it, but when you make it and you see the cheese that looks like Tang, you have to wonder...
6. Canned mushrooms - they're slimy and no matter what you do to them, they taste like metal
7. Velveeta - someone, please, tell me how this is cheese
8. Spam - 'nuff said.  

I have this jar, yep the very one in the picture, full of Tamarind Paste. Well, full less about a teaspoon. It has been sitting in the back since a failed attempt at an egg curry. Thought today was a good reason to investigate what else I could use it for.

A search over the net revealed a really fascinating post about Tamarind Tort. Apparently this recipe was on the BBC Radio 4 Food programme back in 2004. But the recipe dates from 1730 from The Complete Practical Cook by some chap called Carter. It uses a rich pastry base - Paste Royal also detailed - and has the tamarind paste rolled into little balls with sugar. These are placed in the par-baked shell and then filled with a custard before completing the bake. Sounds really interesting.

On the actual BBC site they have Papaya in Tamarind Syrup but this uses fresh tamarind - one half of a tamarind pod to be precise - so I am not sure I can use the paste as a replacement. Or to what quantity. I think I might start making a simple dipping sauce. This one via Wagamama is a mix of malt vinegar, light and dark soy sauce, tomato ketchup and sugar. Plus the tamarind paste of course. Served with salmon cakes.

Luckily the use by date is very long - it should be fine until October 2007!

Behind all the other odds and ends, stacked up alongside some canned tomatoes, was this lone, canned Heinz Treacle Pudding. Generally known as cake and not pudding on the US side of the Atlantic, this traditional British dessert is a round of sponge cake that is saturated with a golden syrup known as treacle. Treacle is a type of light molasses that is left over during the sugar refining process. It makes what would otherwise be a plain and fairly dry dessert moist and sweet, so the combination of treacle and sponge is a time-honored British favorite. Come to think of it, the combination of treacle and nearly anything is a British favorite.

The label on the cake promised that it was microwaveable, meaning that I could avoid a 30 minute stove-top steaming just to eat it. I put it on a plate, covered it with a microwave-safe bowl and hit "start."

Pasta e fagioli, or sometimes just "pasta fagioli," is a simple Italian bean and pasta soup. It's a great way to use a glut of dried beans in your pantry, but I don't usually make it just to use up things I have stored. When I feel like eating it, I just go to the store and buy everything (even the pasta because I never seem to keep stuff too long in the pantry any way). Some people use a smoked ham or bacon to "flavor" pasta e fagioli, as is the case for many bean-based soups, but I keep mine pretty simple.

Cook 1/2 c. finely chopped onion and 2-3 finely minced garlic cloves in 2-3 T. olive oil over medium-low heat. Add 1 15 oz. can plum tomatoes that have been chopped or crushed (I do it by hand), about 2 T chopped parsley and about 1 tsp dried oregano. Stir and cook until combined, about 2 minutes. Add 1 15 oz. can of chicken broth and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add 1 15. oz can of cannelini beans that have been drained of their "bean juice" and 8 oz. elbow macaroni that has been cooked.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

I've been a little reluctant to go through my larder, largely because I've been busy overhauling my swinging bachelor pad. Frankly, I was starting to think PSP's dustball campaign was inspired by my crib. In any event,  here's what  I found  in my pantry:

• Seven containers of ginger Altoids. When these first came out a couple of  years ago they were impossible to get. So I snatched up about a dozen at a Trader Joe's in Westchester.
• An unopened 10-pound bag of Kohinoor basmati rice. Time to fire up the old National rice cooker.
• Two miniature bottles (one red, one green) of El Yucateco habanero hot sauce.

If anyone has any ideas about how to combine these ingredients (savory biryani with ginger habanero crunchies, maybe) please keep them to yourself. I plan to use the rice when I try my hand at Indian cooking. I'll save the hot sauce for scrambled eggs and such. As for the Altoids, maybe I'll throw some into tea.

We're not talking about the bar you prepare for your best friend's birthday bash. This is for when a couple of friends might drop-in on you for a few drinks. That means you don't have to have everything, just a few things for those surprise happy hour guests. Of course, not everything listed is strictly for the cabinet - you might have to keep some things in the refrigerator.

The Liquors

• A bottle of a good red wine - for some reason, Merlot is a good basic that seems to work for most people.  
• A good white wine - I think the ringer here is Chardonnay, even though personally, I prefer something else.
• I also like to keep a sparkling wine or Champagne, as well as dessert wine
• Vodka - works for almost everyone, so if you have nothing else, at least have vodka (and I keep mine in the freezer). After that, in my personal order, light rum, gin, then clear tequila
• Something in the "brown" family - like Scotch, Bourbon, etc.

There are lots of packaged mixes at the store that can make cooking a meal for your family fast and easy after a long day at work. Generally speaking, these mixes are grains with spices and sometimes vegetables and include favorite brands include Rice-A-Roni and Zatarains. Hamburger Helper operates along similar lines, but calls for the addition of meat. These options are already a cut above precooked frozen foods, but there is still something commercial about them. Many new gourmet mixes, with fresher vegetables, original spice combinations and unusual grains are coming out, like the Trader Joe's Spelt with Red and Green Peppers mix pictured here, which make for a lovely change on the dinner table.

To add a touch of homemade flavor to what is essentially a meal from a box, without taking too many extra minutes out of an already busy evening, try sauteing some garlic in the bottom of the pan before adding the mix, or dicing an onion or a shallot and tossing it into the pot with the cooking liquid. Read the ingredients and see what might pair well. This spelt mix, for example, would be good with extra peppers or, since it was well spiced, a vegetable like sweet potatoes or squash to round it out. Or, for heartier fare, take an example from Hamburger Helper and heat up some sausages while the grains cook and toss them in before serving.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

The recipe I am about to share is one of my favorite "clean out the pantry" dishes. It's not so much a pasta salad as it is a pasta that is meant to be served at room temperature. This makes it perfect for casual buffet lunches or dinners, or for picnics and potlucks. It's good cold, better when it's at room temperature, but whatever you do, don't toss the ingredients while the pasta is hot. You'll have a gloppy, wilted pasta on your hands if you do.

Note: Use only imported oil-packed tuna and salted capers for this. Don't skimp on quality or you'll taste the difference.

Stefania Butler's Pasta with Tuna, Capers, and Lemon

Any short pasta (penne, rigatoni, gemelli, campanelle, farfalle, shells, etc.)
extra virgin olive oil
1 7 ounce jar oil-packed tuna (Callipo or Flott)
1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, rinsed thoroughly and patted dry between two paper towels
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 generous handful finely chopped, flat leaf parsley, leaves only
1 Meyer (preferred) lemon, juiced
1 Meyer (preferred) lemon cut into very thin (almost transparent) slices
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than what package indicates. Drain. Toss with a little extra virgin olive oil, then spread onto a couple of large jelly roll pans to cool. DO NOT RINSE THE PASTA TO COOL IT.

Meanwhile, dump the tuna (and the oil it was packed in) into a large bowl and flake it into large chunks. Then add capers, onion, parsley, and lemon juice, along with 3-4 good "glugs" of extra virgin olive oil. Mix gently. Set aside.

When pasta is cooled, add to tuna mixture. Toss gently. Taste and adjust seasonings, add in lemon slices and toss again. Serve at once (preferred) or refrigerate then bring to room temperature and toss before serving.

[photo: Stefania Pomponi Butler]

Bisquick is buttermilk baking mix, a blend of shortening, powdered buttermilk, flour and leaving agents, which has a long shelf-life when kept in a cool, dry place. It is popular for everything from pancakes to dumplings, but when you usually make homemade versions of those things, a box of Bisquick can last you a long time.

I searched through Allrecipes.com to find a way to use it up and came across a semi-homemade recipe that was ideal for springtime pantry cleaning: bisquick cookies. The recipe also calls for boxed pudding mix – mostly sugar and cornstarch – to be used. Fortunately, I had a box of pudding mix remaining after I disposed of the packages that looked as though they were bought in the 1980’s. The only thing you really need to make these cookies that can’t be found in your pantry is an egg. And if you keep your eggs there, I strongly recommend using some fresh ones.