Of course, making a stretch food presumes you have something to stretch and something to stretch it with, so really, we should always look for the positive side when cooking during an economic crisis. Sort of like the government bailout. The positive side is that we have a government capable of printing money to bail Wall Street out - right? Right? Sorry, I didn't hear you. The hash is frying very loudly.
Anyway, to make Economic Crisis Hash you had to have lamb with potatoes on Friday when the crisis was just wrapping up for the week. You made it with really expensive lamb shoulder from Trader Joe's which ran you about $18. The cute little yellow potatoes were an insane $3.99 per bag. But, you fed your friends and yourselves two meals and then you had the potatoes left. You made the lamb in your crock-pot, which makes you feel very middle-America and entitled to some righteous anger about the Wall Street bailout. You also feel paranoid, which, according to this week's Journal, only proves you were born in New Jersey.
The paranoia causes you, around mid-week, with no bailout passed by Congress, to crave comfort food. You heat a skillet, put in olive oil because you don't have butter (have you checked the commodities listings in the Journal for butter prices?), add the old potatoes from Friday, smoosh them down, add some of Bartleby's leftover meatballs, fry until brown and crack four eggs on top. You plan to put the cost savings from the grocery bill back into your 401K.
Your husband thinks you are a kitchen goddess. "How brilliant!" he cries when you serve him the hash. "Sunday brunch for dinner!" You tell him you are happy he still has the capacity to enjoy the little things in life and that, by the way, you are going on a shopping spree for gold bullion. His mouth is too full of hash to say no.
2 comments:
There's also classic Depression Food: Hot dogs (or some sort of sausage -- whatever is available), and boiled macaroni noodles mixed with whatever you happen to have on hand (butter or cheese or oil and/or herbs, etc.). A Great Depression staple that's STILL fast, easy, and cheap for anyone's budget.
You must also remember good old Herbert Hoover's "chicken in every pot" line. And what's more economical than chicken. Forgo the pricey bonless, skinless chicken breat. Go for the whole bird. Do not be afraid of cooking a whole bird. You can learn to either chop it up yourself or cook the bird and eat for a few meals. I recommend brining the bird for a few hours to keep the breast meat moist (a simple water-sugar-salt bath will do). Rinse the bird and use whatever seasoning you have on hand - salt, pepper and any dried herbs. I like a simple lemon pepper myself. Put some seasoning under the skin and around the outside, rub with a little oil. Scatter your favorite root vegetables like carrots, onion, celery in the pan and put that bird on the grill or in the oven and cook until the juices run clear out of the thigh. You'll get a fabulous first night meal. What you don't eat can be thrown in a salad the next day. Strip the carcass and make stock - after all you'll probably still have left over carrots, onion and celery. Once you have a nice stock, take some noodles and throw in the leftover chicken with - guess what - fresh minced carrot and celery - and have yourself a nice cup of soup. Chicken soup does wonders for the soul. If only there was chicken soup for Wall Street.
Meanwhile, don't forget your inexpensive cuts of meat. Anyone can make a NY strip steak taste good. The mettle of a real cook is to make the downtown cuts taste good. Exhibit one for yummy downtown meal. Korean comfort food: Bulgogi. Now that the weather is turning colder it's time for some tummy-warming food.
Get either a round steak (top, bottom or eye). Sometimes the butcher sells thinly sliced round steak as minute steaks or sandwich steaks.
Get yourself a pound and if you have to thinly slice it yourself do that. Sometimes it's easier if the meat is partially frozen.
Mix 1/4 c of soy sauce, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp salt, 1 bunch of green onions (chopped into 1" pieces), 6 garlic cloves chopped, 2 tbsp of Mirin or sherry, 2 tbsp of sesame oil and up to 2 tbps of red pepper flakes. Let meat marinate for at least 30 mins or overnight in the fridge.
Bring to room temperature and stir-fry the meat in oil of your choice (canola, peanut, etc) until nicely browned but not overcooked (probably will only take a minute). You may have to cook in batches. Serve with rice or noodles.
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