As a category for food, I loathe leftovers. Some there are
that are still able to be fit into a second meal most lovingly and I long for
the day’s end so that I can get home and eat them all over again, but most
foods these days are so old by that second setting that I cannot stand the
thought of even looking at them.
Whether that is the fault of my refrigerator, how old food
is by the time we buy it, or other nefariousnesses that I have not yet guessed,
I am powerless in their sway. Nothing keeps now!
And I’ve tried to manage. Frozen, rather than canned. Fresh,
rather than frozen.
And so on.
Having just finished The
Glass Castle, I might add that things there are that people who are hungry
have eaten that you do not want to know.
Maybe it is that I just have become too accustomed to being
hungry, and ignore at will. A certain appreciation for hunger is indeed
requisite to dining well, or sufficiently.
In any case, I made bits of the wee bite of leftover sardines (I kid you not, and it almost had an anchovey kind of flavour, and was minus the hair) to add to the rapidly dying bag of salad, and added it to what was left from a
recipe I have enjoyed twice now (and I don't think I had too many leftovers the first time I made it), and which I will add below.
I sent it to my daughter after I tried it the first time, and I believe she allowed that it looked interesting and she might try it some time: you see why I must resort to posts about the recipes I try, in hope of getting someone as excited about them as I am!
Or perhaps you don't. So I must explain that anything less than the effusiveness by which I live is most pallid discouragement, to my most effusive personality and (what must be supposed) way of thinking.
And daughter is a most cool cucumber of a cerebral sort of gal.
Besides which, how many daughters take seriously anything Mom has done?
But I must copy the recipe without photos, and
without my pretty new idea of a special (and specially mismatched) new dishes.
To make too much of a production of something guarantees it
won’t get done, when you work forty hours a week and upon occasion, hit the
weekend tired of it.
As much as from it!
Seeing how little one can do, that first day after, becomes
a thing of much joy.
Tomorrow, it is hoped that I will attempt my first recipe with photographs and dishes...
There. Breathe. If I do, I shall, and if not...
No one will whimper but a wee Wren.
I added the last of my pretend olive oil (which is to say.
It says it is 100% extra virgin olive oil but we all know now that doesn’t really mean 100%) and a bit of red wine
vinegar (and, oh dear. Does that mean…) to the sad sack of salad, with the sardines and the leftovers from the original recipe—and homemade that very instant croutons,
courtesy two slices of leftover deli bread (I am thinking also from the recipe
into which I tossed all; it was a hoagie recipe, and I still have a loaf or two
of the mini-loaves from the deli that I bought—ten of them, I think it was—at seventy-eight
cents each, markdown, and froze; this was one of them) that I quite properly cubed then toasted in the smallest amount of oil imaginable…
Then let cool a moment while I finished a post at another blog. (In real time, that would be perhaps a good twenty minutes, but I was at final edit, and had been for some very long two or three hours.)
Then let cool a moment while I finished a post at another blog. (In real time, that would be perhaps a good twenty minutes, but I was at final edit, and had been for some very long two or three hours.)
But, all that noted, the recipe follows. My commentary is inserted throughout, bracketed in with italicized print.
Err, buon appetito! (As if that will mean what I think it should!) You won't have any leftovers, so don't worry about all my meandering, above.
Err, buon appetito! (As if that will mean what I think it should!) You won't have any leftovers, so don't worry about all my meandering, above.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/italian_vegetable_hoagies.html
4 servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and coarsely chopped
[NOT pickled artichoke hearts; and don't skip the chopping; I did, second time I tried it and it was much better when the little quarters are chopped]
[NOT pickled artichoke hearts; and don't skip the chopping; I did, second time I tried it and it was much better when the little quarters are chopped]
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
[I used red wine vinegar the first time, which I think was the superior of the two]
[I used red wine vinegar the first time, which I think was the superior of the two]
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 16- to 20-inch-long baguette, preferably whole-grain
[I used a mini-deli loaf; see below]
[I used a mini-deli loaf; see below]
2 slices provolone cheese, (about 2 ounces), halved
[I never added the cheese; scattered a bit of parmesan, first time, but liked it better without cheese]
[I never added the cheese; scattered a bit of parmesan, first time, but liked it better without cheese]
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
[I recommend leaving this out]
[I recommend leaving this out]
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini (optional)
[I tried this both ways and hand-sliced the peppers from a jar of most delightful pickled Greek Tuscan peppers (or, for the more plainspoken amongst us, banana peppers); can't say that it added anything. They might have been more delectable nibbled as one partakes of a most excellent repast, as is said.]
[I tried this both ways and hand-sliced the peppers from a jar of most delightful pickled Greek Tuscan peppers (or, for the more plainspoken amongst us, banana peppers); can't say that it added anything. They might have been more delectable nibbled as one partakes of a most excellent repast, as is said.]
Preparation
1. Place onion rings in a small bowl and add cold water to cover.
Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
[I changed the water three times in the 20 min. period – nicely took off the onion bite.]
[I changed the water three times in the 20 min. period – nicely took off the onion bite.]
2. Combine artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, oil and oregano in a medium bowl.
[I let mine marinate for a good half hour before assembling as a sandwich; would recommend, after this marinade, draining through a colander.]
3. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths. Split each piece horizontally and pull out about half of the soft bread from each side. Drain the onions and pat dry.
[I had a mini deli loaf – they are maybe eight by four by three - sliced it lengthwise; stuffed, then cut into vertical sandwiches of about an inch across. O delight! ]
[Hmm. Skipped completely that 'pulling about half of the soft bread from each side.' As if I would waste good bread! No wonder I had artichoke hearts flying everywhere.]
4. To assemble sandwiches, divide provolone among the bottom pieces of baguette. Spread on the artichoke mixture and top with the onion, lettuce and pepperoncini, if using. Cover with the baguette tops. Serve immediately.
[Delete the parts I deleted, above, and add fork and several napkins: very messy – but most delicious! ]
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