The Makeshift Cook

Today has been one of those wildly productive Sundays where you get a bunch of things done that you maybe weren't planning on or expecting, necessarily. It turned out that most everything was kitchen-related and it has left me with the rosy glow of accomplishment AND a full belly.

First up, I set some pinto beans to soak for dinner and ate my standard breakfast of delicious steel-cut oats and black tea. Then I had to locate the nexus of a refrigerator stench that has been plaguing us. I traced it to some elderly refried beans, which tend to smell more like a diaper the longer they sit, and I cleaned out the entire refrigerator, including removing and scrubbing the shelves. The inside of the fridge is now so lovely and pristine that opening the door to look inside is an aesthetic experience.

Okay, maybe that's not such a good way to introduce you to my culinary prowess, but at least you now know that I am not cleaner or more efficient than you are in the kitchen, though I am working on it.

At some point midday I prepared a delicious lunch for my boyfriend (the Brit), made of the last of the artisan bread from the New French bakery, split and piled with the last of the tuna pasta sauce (a recipe for another time) and feta cheese and zapped under the broiler. I really need to start photographing these things. I also did prep chopping for tonight's soup, which you will only read about if it turns out well. I did the intermediate steps for today's batch of No-Knead Bread. And then I was hungry again and on a roll with the using up of leftovers and here is what I came up with.

Bootleg Aloo Tikki
Typically made with potatoes, onions, peas, and spices, these are delicious little Indian fritters. I had leftover mashed potatoes and like a quarter of a cauliflower head languishing in my crisper drawer, so that's what I used.

3 cups mashed potatoes
A wad of cauliflower, cleaned and diced fine
Olive oil
1 t of garam masala or curry powder
1/2 to 1 t ground coriander
1/4 t turmeric
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and diced
red pepper flakes to taste
2 green onions, white and light green parts and any green part that looks good, chopped up
1/4 c garbanzo bean flour, or bread crumbs, or get creative
Salt to taste

Chuck the cauliflower into a bowl with water to cover and zap in the microwave for a few minutes. In the meantime, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat and add the ginger and spices. Drain the cauliflower and add to the spice mixture with a few shakes of salt, and cook down for a few minutes, until any moisture has evaporated out of the pan. Add green onions and saute for another minute. Scrape every bit of this deliciousness into your mashed potato bowl and stir well to combine.

At this point you'll need to assess whether this mixture is too wet to fry up properly (it probably is). This is when you'll either remember that you have garbanzo flour in the freezer (if you are like me) or you'll think of something else to dry out your mix and make it a bit more like dough. Arrowroot powder would work, or a little straight-up flour, or bread crumbs--I didn't have a speck of bread in the house at this point. Mix your stuff on in and form your dough into little balls.

Heat another 3 T of oil into your frying pan and press the balls into a patty shape. Fry them on both sides at medium-high heat until they are golden and crispy. Pat off the excess oil with a paper towel and don't forget to take a picture.

I'm working on that, too.