From time immemorial, the cultures of the Mediterranean have been eating small, oily fish: sardines, smelts, anchovies, and mackerel. These have been out of favor for a long time in the US, and they are seriously underfished.  As such, you can eat all you want, and since they’re not predatory species they don’t have the concerns of pollutants concentrating in the flesh.  They’re also pretty cheap – a couple bucks a pound – and universally wild-caught.

What you need:
Vegetable or peanut oil – enough to fill a large skillet about ¾” to 1″ deep
A large cast iron skillet with high, straight sides
All-purpose flour
Old Bay or similar crab boil seasoning
Spring-loaded tongs
Several dozen smelts, heads on or off (about a pound)

What you do:
Liberally season about ½ cup of AP flour with the crab boil seasoning.
Heat the oil in the skillet over high heat to 375°F.
Coat the smelts, 8-10 at a time, in the seasoned flour.
Fry in the oil for 1½-2 minutes until lightly golden, then remove to a draining rack or paper towels to drain.
Season with additional crab boil, and serve hot.

Serving Suggestions:
Shake on a little rice wine or malt vinegar, or squeeze on a touch of fresh lemon or lime juice.
Serve over a salad of bitter greens (mustard, arugula, dandeloin, etc.) dressed with a light vinaigrette.
Eat with a hoppy beer like an IPA.

Just eat the whole fish – little bones and all, though I admit I usually break off the tailfin and discard. Acid and bitter accompaniments are best, as the fish itself is oily and rich and acid/bitter flavors help cut through. If you’re hungry, you can go through more than a dozen of these in a sitting. Give small fish a try – they’ll help your heart, the environment, and your budget.

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana , cut into chunks
½ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 cup soy milk or lowfat milk
Ground Cinnamon

Blend banana, milk, and yogurt until smooth.  Add a healthy pinch of ground cinnamon and blend again to combine.  Pour into glass and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Substitutions:

• Replace vanilla yogurt with plain yogurt + 4 teaspoons honey
• Replace half the frozen banana with frozen berries
• Replace half the banana with frozen mango puree

Enjoy!

The weather here in the Mid-Atlantic is starting to turn cooler, but I’m just not ready to let go of the last shreds of summer.  So, before I delve into the earthy and warming flavors of autumn, I’ve got to give light, fresh, and vibrant one more go.  Make this on a fleeting warm October afternoon, or hold onto it to spring on friends and family (ha!) come April.  Or, let’s be honest, you can use this on a winter’s day to bring a little of the lazy days of Tuscan summer into the kitchen.  Just be aware that some of the ingredients are only going to be available from distant climes.

This recipe is fast, fast, fast.  After about 15 minutes of prep work, it comes together as a meal in less than 10 minutes in most cases.  The sauce literally takes 5 minutes to prepare, so start it when your pasta has about 5 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

6 oz. (dry weight) long pasta – spaghetti, bucatini, linguini fini, etc.
1 dry pint grape or cherry tomatoes
8 oz frozen, pre-cooked shrimp, thawed with tails removed
1 lemon
6 large cloves garlic
4-5 basil tops, fresh
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp white sugar
salt
pepper

Cooking time: 6-12 minutes for pasta, depending on type, 5 minutes for sauce.

Set pasta pot with at least 4 qts. of cold water on high heat to boil.

Halve the grape tomatoes, or quarter cherry tomatoes and set aside.  Zest half the lemon and set aside, then juice the lemon, discarding any seeds.  Peel and coarsely chop the garlic cloves into about 1/8″ pieces.  Separate the basil leaves from the stems, roll sets of leaves into a cigar shape, and thinly slice cross-wise, then separate the ribbons.

When pasta water comes to a boil, add salt at the rate of 1 tsp per quart, then add the pasta and stir briskly.

Place a large saute pan over high heat, and add 2 tbsp of olive oil and wait until it starts to shimmer on the surface.  Add the garlic and saute briefly – just until it starts to soften and get aromatic, but before it begins to brown.  Immediately add the tomatoes and toss to combine.  Lower heat to medium-high to prevent burning.  When tomatoes begin to cook down and give up some of their juices (about a minute), add sugar and lemon juice, and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Turn heat back to high, add remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and thawed shrimp.  Toss to coat, and warm through.  When shrimp are heated through, add lemon zest and most of the basil (hold back a pinch or two to garnish), then toss to combine.  Immediately remove from heat.  The tomato and lemon juice should be reduced, concentrated, and thickened.

When cooked al dente, thoroughly drain the pasta and immediately serve into individual bowls, then top with the shrimp and tomato sauce.  Garnish each serving with a small pinch of basil.  Alternately, for larger groups, double the recipe, toss pasta with the sauce in a large bowl, garnish with basil, and serve at the table.

Serves 2.  Buon appetito!

Calories: about 630 per serving, and it’s filling.  The pasta and the olive oil are the killers here, but overall it’s a fairly healthy blend of carbs, protein, and monounsaturated fats.  Eat a reasonable portion, and there’s still room for a little sorbetto for desert.

When it comes time to deal with the ghosts of dinners past, the first question that comes to mind is “What do I do with this?” followed quickly by “Do I really want to eat this again?”

Leftovers don’t have to mean rewarmed repeats.  You can take your Rubbermaid remnants and craft them into new and interesting meals.  Whereas our grandparents and those that came before them were schooled thoroughly in the art of getting the most mileage out of a meal, as a culture we’ve lost the touch when it comes to culinary re-runs.

Cold meats are a brown-bagger’s best friend.  Yesterday’s pork picnic shoulder is tomorrow’s Cuban sandwich.  Slice cold roasts thin for lunch meats – they’ll compete with the most expensive deli cuts, and are way better than the pressed, reconstituted stuff.  Everyone in the US is familiar with the leftover turkey sandwich post-Thanksgiving.  Why not use all your leftover meats with the same utility?  Serve cold pork loin with spicy mustard, pickles, and manchego cheese.  Rare and medium-rare roast beef is perfect with onions, Ementhaler cheese, and horseradish.

And why stop there?  Another great use for miscellanous meat and fish is as cold salads.  Leftover ham can be run through a meat grinder with a fine grind plate, and made into ham salad with the addition of some pickle relish, mayo, and diced celery.  Have leftover fish?  Flake up that salmon, cod, or other whitefish, and spice up a yogurt or mayo-based dressing with citrus zest, coriander, dill, or crab seasoning.  Serve any of these on bread, or with mixed greens and fruit.

Chicken is great for next-day culinary experiments.  De-bone leftover baked/roast poultry and reheat in a pan with a little oil, then toss with a bit of honey, rice wine vinegar, orange marmalade, sesame seeds, and red chili pepper – ersatz Szechuan Orange Chicken, just add some fresh rice.  Chop deboned and de-skinned thighs or breasts into a fine dice, add some raisins, slivered almonds, mayo and any one of: curry powder, dill weed, fresh tarragon, or lemon zest & sesame seeds.  Serve as you would any other cold salad.

Leftover salads can be re-spiffied with fresh greens, provided the veggies haven’t gone completely south.  Cooked vegetables can be recombined with other ingredients for maximum versatility.  One of my favorite uses for last night’s Chinese takeout (especially shrimp & veg stir-fries) is to re-saute the meat and vegetables with a little olive oil and garlic and serve over freshly prepared pasta.  Precooked hard vegetables also go great in soups.

Just a little bit of creativity reduces your food waste, maximizes your grocery budget, and banishes the boredom of the rewarmed plastic tub.

First, I would exhort you to make these from scratch.  Jiffy mix and Bisquick are convenient, sure, but that box of miscellaneous baking mix that’s been sitting in your cupboard for months isn’t going to give you the best results.  Besides, if you’re going to spend the calories on something tasty, doesn’t it make sense to put some love into it?  Making your own batter also ensures that you know exactly what you’re eating.  Plus, it’s just really simple to do.

Ingredients:

1 c flour, unbleached all-purpose
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c soy or skim milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp cinnamon, fresh ground if possible
1 c blueberries, fresh or frozen, rinsed & drained

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a 16-oz. Pyrex measuring cup, or small bowl, combine milk, oil, and egg.  Beat lightly until combined.

Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined, but still slightly lumpy.  Let batter stand for 5 minutes, then briefly mix again.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat until hot.  Lightly wipe or brush with vegetable oil, and add 1/4 cup of batter to pan for each pancake.  Add blueberries to the top of pancakes once in the pan while the batter is still liquid, before flipping.  Cook first side until golden brown, flip, and cook until done.  Remove finished pancakes to a plate in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Makes about 8 pancakes.  Each pancake is about 125 kcal, most of it from the starch in the flour, before you add any butter, syrup, or honey.  There’s really no way to make these “light” – cutting the oil in half only saves you about 20 kcal per pancake.  But, honestly, a little powdered sugar might be all you want for these guys.  They’re moist, fluffy, and fruity all on their own.

I’m sitting here with a small plate in front of me.  On this plate is a sandwich.  The sandwich consists of two slices of artisan-made rosemary Italian bread, lightly spread with mayo.  Between this bread are slices of tomato, from a ripe Roma tomato still warm from the summer sun.  There is a bit of salt and pepper.

There are currently three bites out of this sandwich.

I’m about ready to pass out from joy.