"Every week, I will learn to label one day I just know I will" BamaModerate/Reddit
Every morning I decide what to cook for dinner. This morning I was totally uninspired and there were no almost rotting vegetables, dairy over its use-by-date, or leftovers from last week to use up. So I hit on the idea of rummaging in the freezer and doing something with something old. In the door was a foil package inside a plastic bag unlabelled - of course - and so I decided that whatever was in it I would do something with it.
When I opened it this is what I found. What is it and why is it in little bits, because it has obviously been cut up? Obviously there is some kind of pastry. Initially I though it must be an old pizza - or maybe a galette. But not a galette the pastry is not folded over. And not a pizza either because the curve of the outside is too tight to be the size of a pizza. A small pitta topped with something? It almost looks like some kind of party food nibbles, but there is no party coming up here and I can't see David or I nibbling on it. So not worth just reheating and eating.
I'm sure it is still usable because it was in the door and the things in the door do tend to get used first. I also have a very vague memory of putting it there at a time recent enough for a vague memory to still exist.
So then I decided that I would blitz it in the food processor into crumbs and sprinkle it over something. Perhaps with some grated cheese. Initially I just chucked them in as is, still frozen, but the processor didn't really like that and threw off the lid in protest. So I chopped them into smaller pieces with a big knife and tried again. Which worked - and this is what I am now faced with. I see that some of the pieces are quite large, and I also have a very mild worry that this is actually something sweet, not savoury. No savoury is much more likely.
These are also breadcrumbs - well pastry crumbs - that have been cooked already, so they are already crunchy. I guess you could fry them and make them even more crunchy and then sprinkle them over pasta. Which is something I have learnt to do late in life and which is utterly delicious. Because they are cooked and already crunchy I suspect they wouldn't be that good in a stuffing - well they might if you added some kind of liquid I guess.
So what shall I do with it? My first thought was to scatter the crumbs over a quiche before cooking, but crumbs on a quiche don't really go do they? However I like the idea of a tart, so maybe roast some vegetables, mix with some cheese and scatter over the top before cooking in tart crust. Then I thought I could add a base made of some kind of dairy, plus herbs and cheese, then top with the vegetables before scattering with my crumbs.
Yes - and I have the very dairy component. My big tub of yoghurt in the fridge is an orange colour on top. Has it gone off I wonder? I could scoop off the top, drain some of the yoghurt underneath, and then mix with an egg, herbs, garlic and cheese.
Well I did that and actually don't necessarily think that the orange colour meant it had gone off, because there wasn't the 'skin' that you get when it's going off - it might just have been something mixed with the top bit of yoghurt - tomato passata? But why would I, or indeed anyone else do that?
Having browsed the net for ideas and comments I found a few on Reddit - often reliable for the weird and wonderful:
"This is why my dad keeps a sharpie on a rope next to the freezer." pksullivan/reddit (I assume a 'sharpie' is a pencil or a pen) - it was in response to the comment about learning to label at the top of the page. And then there was this little story:
"Came back from a work trip one time to find a half-eaten rotisserie chicken that was most definitely not there when I left. Nothing else in apt was missing/moved. I'm not cool enough to have friends that would play a joke like that on me, so it was hella creepy. (Edit to say - I know that's not what this post is about but it was 15 years ago and I still wonder about it. If only my intruder had labeled it with a sharpie lol)!" Daisy Anderson/Reddit
When I later looked up what to do with the breadcrumbs, somebody said: "feed the birds" and yes I guess you could.
On the breadcrumbs however, I suddenly thought of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his wonderful book Love Your Leftovers and sure enough along with the things we all know - crumbing things for frying or baking, scattering on salads, gratins, pasta, pangrattato, stuffings, he had this recipe for Crumby cheesy Crimbo wafers. And here I learnt a new word - 'Crimbo', which apparently is a short slangy word for Christmas. And these were in his section on Christmas leftovers. The recipe is not online but it's dead simple. Process together 100g grated hard cheese, 35g fine breadcrumbs, pepper and salt, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves (optional) - as are all sorts of other seasonings - he suggests cayenne or nutmeg. Put spoonfuls of the mixture on a greased tray and bake for about 8 mins at 220°C/200°C fan for 8 mins until pale golden brown. Leave to cool for 3 mins, then remove with a palette knife.
No good for mine because (a) the crumbs are too big and (b) who knows what else is in the mix.
As a final resort I started to browse the net, having first thought of gnocchi - we had some delicious bread gnocchi in Italy, but again there are probably too many other things in there, and they should really be made with soft breadcrumbs. But then I noticed somebody saying you could make a pastry crust with them. Of course you can - either like you do with biscuits for a cheesecake, or else, I saw somebody mixed fresh breadcrumbs with milk and stuff. An idea, but not suitable.
So I'm returning to my almost original idea of a tart of roast veggies sitting on a base of herby yoghurt with those crumbs, mixed with cheese on top. Crossing fingers. I'll post a picture of the results tomorrow whether they are good or a disaster.
At least one more mystery has been removed from the freezer. I hope I shan't be still wondering what they originally were in 15 years time. Will I still be here in 15 years time? Now there's a thought - appropriate as the sun slowly sets. And I also learnt a new word - but will I remember it come Christmas?
POSTSCRIPT
The years that have gone - August 6
2023 - Nothing happening back then
2022 - Greens and bread
2021 - A foraged quiche for dinner in 20222 and 2021 seem to have coincidentally in the same thinking space.
2020 - Fishy sauces
2017 - Another nothing day
2016 - Mushrooms
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