Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Left-Overs

Women used to fix a meal from leftovers the night before they

cleaned the refrigerator and defrosted the freezer compartment,

a fiddly chore, I assure you,

one I'm so thankful I no longer have to do.



A meal of leftovers though?

That I still love.




Does anyone still make fried rice today?

Leftover ham, beef or chicken sautéed with onions,
cold rice stirred in and seasoned?



When I make it I follow Vincent Price's recipe for 
Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) that he wrote was a
traditional Dutch dish. 

I add curry powder and soy sauce and then follow Mr. Price's 
instructions to make a small omelet to cut in strips
and serve on top of the finished dish. 

The omelet makes it more satisfying.




And to give it all even more flavor, I add a favorite salsa on top.

This time I served a fresh Pineapple Sweet Onion Salsa from Whole Foods.




Richardson Wright, editor of House & Garden for decades, praised left-overs
in his book, The Gardener's Hand-Book.

"Eating it [leftovers] brings the satisfaction of economy.
It evidences good household management.
It has about it a tidy air."

I've quoted Richardson Wright before here 
and at my former blog [here] where I wrote on Serendipity.
I'm sure I will quote him again. How can you not like someone who writes:

"As we grow older, I believe, we put more value on Life's left-overs--
on old clothes that are too good to throw away,
on an old love that has settled down from hectic ardor
to placid companionship,
on old habits that we have inherited from a speedier moving youth.
So much of Life's worth-while things are second-hand anyway;
each morning a second-hand sun rises on a second-hand world
and lights second-hand people 
going about their second-hand work and play."

I know that I love old clothes,
old sweaters that finally don't itch,
sheets that lose their crispness,
blankets that are as soft as those for a newborn,
a robe that has been washed countless times.

And I happen to love leftovers--my husband does not.




How about you?

Do you love leftovers?

What are your favorite leftovers?


27 comments:

  1. I DO love leftovers. And, old clothes. ;) I think my most favorite leftover is cold turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving! But, most any will make me happy! This fried rice recipe looks really good, Dewena. Thank you for sharing it... new to me! blessings ~ tanna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Tanna, I love cold turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving than the turkey on the big day.

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  2. I made fried rice last week and added leftover beef from a previous meal; it was delicious! I plan to post the recipe for the fried rice that I make. Here we are being like-minded. When are you going to move to Iowa?

    I am lucky; my husband loves leftovers, and when you cook for two, there always seems to be plenty of leftovers.

    I love soft old clothes too. Right now I have three ratty old sweaters that I love, but they don't look too presentable any more. They are good enough for wearing around the house though.

    You asked about our kitchen design. I had a lovely woman who works at a nearby lumberyard as a kitchen designer get me started on our kitchen design, but then a friend of mine built a new house and I loved her design, so I sort of combined the two. If you go to my sidebar and click on "kitchen", you will find several posts about our kitchen remodel, and you can see photos of the "before".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We do like many of the same things, Brenda! Nell Hill, for one, and of course, touches of red. And I see that we both like the Ted Kennedy Watson site. Do you have his book Style and Simplicity? I love it! Hope he does another one soon.

      Thank you for answering my question about your kitchen, it really is lovely and warm and could be in a designer's portfolio. I will check out your kitchen label and see what it looked like before. Thank you!

      Delete
  3. Great quote. And a fried rice omelet...what an awesome idea!

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  4. I love leftovers! I was married three times and none of the three liked leftovers.
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is it with men! I could eat spaghetti 3 nights in a row, especially if it meant I didn't have to cook!

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  5. I'm picky about my leftovers and my husband loves them. He takes them to work everyday and heats them there. Food is too precious a resource to be discarded. I do try to "repurpose" leftovers into something else - fried rice is a great example.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Okay! Our first commenter to say her husband loves leftovers! Good for him!

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  6. Sometimes leftovers are better the second day around, like lasagna and Chinese food. Chocolate chip cookies to me are always better the second day. Your chicken and rice dish looks delicious, Dewena. And that pineapple salsa.....YUM! Oh, this is making me hungry.

    Have a lovely evening.

    ~Sheri

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yes, Sheri--lasagna! Chili is also better the second day.

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  7. I'm still having to cook all the leftovers to defrost my fridge, Dewenna. I'm sure you're not shocked ;) In fact, I need to defrost it soon and although I love my old fridge it's not one of my favorite chores so I let it go too long once again. Sigh. The price of loving old things .

    Anyway, I absolutely love leftovers. I think they taste so much better the second time around.

    xo,
    rue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's right, Rue! Of course, but you can console yourself with that fridge being so pretty, and I bet it does a good job. At least appliances then were made to last a long time, unlike those today.

      Delete
  8. Oh and old clothes? That's almost all I wear :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that you wear vintage! So glad that enough others do too so that these clothes are being treasured. If I could find them in my size I would buy they too, but I do wear my things so many years that they become vintage!

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  9. I do like leftovers because they challenge you to be a bit more creative in the kitchen. My mother makes a shepherd's pie from leftover mashed potatoes and meatballs, that's my favorite.

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  10. i love left overs.
    my gram was a past master at making a wonderful meal out of them.
    your dish looks delicious! love the omelet on top!
    i have a friend who claims she's never eaten a left over in her life.
    hard to believe. bet she has and just didn't know it... they can be so good.

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  11. is it a "leftover" if you planned on eating it again??? ,-)

    here, we like to cook dishes, which can have a second meal from them. either left in refrig. a short time, or frozen... for when it's needed.

    not sure if that's really, really, really considered "leftovers" though. :-) but whatever they are, we love them!!!!

    Tessa

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  12. What a lovely post. I love those two quotes; I'm going to have to look up the author, so beautifully said. Your leftover dish looks delicious. My favorite leftovers are the ones whose flavors improve with "age" -- stew, lasagne, etc. I also like to make a hash with leftover bits of meat and potatoes.

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  13. I love fried rice and now you have just upped my game in preparing it. I love your additions and I know it's going on my leftover menu very soon. thanks.

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  14. What an appetizing assembly! Dewena, your Nasi Goreng looks and sounds 'day 2 delicious'! Nothing wrong with serving the same food to one's family twice; in fact, some dishes taste better the next day, allowing for the flavours to infuse, (e.g., stews or chili), to ultimately, treat the taste buds. No, my husband isn't big on leftovers; of course, it does depend on the dish, but I'm a fan, as I don't like to waste perfectly good food. I bet if men did the cooking in their homes, they would welcome leftovers with open mouths!

    Now you got me craving chicken fried rice!

    xoxo
    Poppy

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  15. I love leftovers! If I like something, I could eat it every day for a week. My husband is fine with leftovers, but my son is not! I think most things taste better the next day, but the real reason I love leftovers is because I'm lazy, and don't like cooking, so if I can just re-heat something I'm a happy camper!

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  16. I love leftovers, but not nearly as much as that Richardson quote...'placid companionship'. Very interesting, and food for thought (pun intended).

    It's a known fact that many foods are better the next day, or the day after that. Gives time for the flavors to marry. Usually, leftovers is what I might have for lunch if I'm home, (or a smoothie). I'm not much of a sandwich gal. Hubby will eat anything that doesn't bite back, so no problem there, and since he doesn't cook, it's 'take it or leave it'.

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  17. There is something really satisfying about being able to use up leftovers in another day's meal! When I am really organized, I plan ahead to use leftovers for the next day. So much food can get wasted so I really do try to either eat leftovers for lunch or create an entirely new meal from what is left. We happen to loves homemade soups so chicken, turkey or ham can be made into many delicious soups or chowders. My favorite leftovers are turkey because I love to make turkey barley soup. My family loves it! By thte way, your leftover fried rice dish with the omelet looks amazing!
    Linda
    mysewwhatblog

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  18. Have several of the same forks, and some of Richardson Wright's work in my library.

    I also collect old Home Economics books. In addition to economy, one of mine teaches that thrift/frugality is more than economic, it is patriotic. Must do it to create a strong USA.

    Thank you for thinking to blog these topics !

    XOT

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  19. I'm always up for leftovers, the kind that requires little preparation. Hubby has to be coaxed into eating them. But he will make a salad for himself if I'm clearing the refrigerator of a leftover :) Works out well. And probably saves grocery dollars. I am known for eating leftovers for breakfast rather than eat the high-carb cereals.

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