Digging through the clearance shelf for tasty pasta
Sometimes I can find interesting food on the supermarket’s produce department’s clearance shelf, like mangoes that are actually ripe. This time, it was the overpriced “pasta kits” that I had seen earlier in the week. These kits were boxes of tomatoes that also contained dry pasta and sauce mix, to make two large bowls of tomato pasta. I picked up a discount arrabbiata pack, as now its price was reasonable, the sauce mix for this pack was a pack of spice mix and finishing oil (and not some attempt at getting a cream sauce to work from powder), and who cares if the tomatoes are a bit wrinkly, I’m cooking them down.
Also on the clearance shelf was a pack of king oyster mushrooms that were in good condition, just a bit past the date printed on the box. That also got tossed into my basket.
That evening, I opened up the tomato box to prepare the pasta, and it occurred to me that I didn’t have any particular use for the mushrooms in mind. So, I opened up the mushrooms, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut those halves into strips. For the sauce, I was supposed to cook down the tomatoes with the spice mix in olive oil for a few minutes. I added my own step before that of sautéing a minced garlic clove and the mushroom strips before adding the provided sauce ingredients to the pot.
The dish worked, the mushrooms added a contrasting texture to the pasta, and two normally-pricey boxes from the produce department provided two tasty meals at a more reasonable price.
Kale, with a side of kale
I had kale, linguiça, and a hankering for caldo verde, so what else could I do? I made caldo verde, not quite according to typical recipes.
Sure, I browned the sausage slices in olive oil, pulled out the meat, and sautéed my onion and garlic in the sausage oil. Yes, I the added the cut up potatoes and water to that mess for simmering, but that’s where what I did departed from the recipes that I had seen.
I took six bowls, and equally divided the sausage slices between them. I put a handful of the sliced kale in each. I tried a second handful, but the bowls would be too full, so I left that kale in the big mixing bowl. Into the mixing bowl, I added a cut up orange, a sprinkling of frozen fruit and veg, some tamari, and a little sesame oil.
Setting aside the kale in a warm place, I waited for the spuds to cook. When they were ready, I did not blend the broth. I spooned it, potato chunks and all, over the kale and sausage slices in the bowls. Five bowls were left to cool on the counter. The sixth bowl and my big bowl of kale salad came to my table.
Kale, with a side of kale, and I tweaked the seasoning of the soup a bit, capped off the five bowls, and put them in the fridge for later.
Dichotomous Diatomaceous 