Clean-out-the-fridge-night

Last night it was Taiwanese ginger chicken. Tonight it was clean-out-the-fridge-night. Judy suggested I take the leftover ginger chicken, cook a little extra rice, and add both to a smattering of leftover veggies.

I found broccoli, carrots, celery, green onions, yellow sweet pepper, basil and roasted, salted cashew nuts. I chopped them all and fried them in stages. Some of the vegetables demanded a bit more time in the fry pan than others. For instance, one wouldn't want to fry broccoli flowerettes at the same temperature and for the same amount of time as big, chunks of sweet pepper and thick, slices of raw carrot.

I had a small bit of ginger left from the night before. I peeled this, chopped it into about eight coins and fried these in some roasted sesame oil, along with a couple of chopped garlic cloves and a large sprinkle of dried, hot, red-pepper flakes. After no more than two minutes, I added the carrots to the fry pan. After a short break I added the chopped broccoli stems and then after a bit more time I added the sweet pepper.

I held the chopped green onions, basil and chopped cashews in reserve and added the leftover ginger chicken to the fry pan. I immediately followed this with the rice. I turned up the heat and stirred everything. Then I added the green onions, basil and cashew nuts. All were, of course, coarsely chopped.

I called Judy. Dinner was ready. By the time she arrived at the stove, dinner plate in hand, the green onion had heated through but the green ends still held their shape. Perfect for this meal.

If one is a senior, especially a senior on a slim, fixed income, using every bit of food that comes into the  home is important. Waste is expensive. This dinner cleaned out our fridge but didn't look or taste like a desperation dinner.