French Fry Hash

I don't like to waste food no matter what it is.  It's been drilled into me since day one.  My German grandparents ate potatoes and used the extra money to buy food and send it to the relatives in Germany after WWII to keep them alive.  These are not old family stories--many of these people still alive and I know them.


Besides, I have fun thinking up new ways to use leftovers and keep food, a precious resource, out of landfills. I have been known to cook down tortilla chip leftovers to make tamales.  

Last Saturday I treated myself to fish & chips at Sunfish on Alki. A couple of Greek guys do the cooking and take off when the weather turns bad.  It was great, but I didn't eat all of the french fries because I am trying to watch my quantities these days.  I could have tossed them, but I just knew they could become something really good--they are potatoes that are already cooked and come with their own lubrication.  I took them home and came up with french fry hash for Sunday breakfast.  I can certifiably say that french fries make great, quick hash.  I am contemplating leftover garlic fries from the ballpark for my next batch. 

 FRENCH FRY HASH

4 oz leftover french fries, sliced into cubes (makes 1 cup of potatoes)

1/3-1/2 cup chopped red or other peppers*

1/2 cup chopped onion*

grated cheese (optional)

Heat a large cast iron or nonstick pan over med/high heat.  When hot, add a wee bit of oil or butter or bacon grease, let it melt, and add the onions and peppers. 

Cook the onions and peppers until they are soft and a little charred, maybe 5-10 minutes.  Then add the potatoes and cook until they are crispy and a little browned, about 5 minutes more.  

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turn off the heat and if you want to melt some cheese over them, now is the time to do it and then let them sit for a minute or two with a lid on.

Enjoy!

*If you are lazy or don't know how to chop peppers and onions, then you can buy them frozen at Trader Joe's, probably elsewhere as well.

Wacky Cake Just Got Wackier

Mmmm . . . moist, chocolatey, but wait!?!  What are those stringy things?  Why, my wacky cake seems to have sprouted seaweed!

When I was a kid, my mother often made something called "wacky cake" for us to eat when we got home from school.  It could be made in one pan from things always on hand (it required no eggs) and she could whip it up in less than an hour, including baking time.  We ate it a lot. 

I live near Puget Sound, a veritable seaweed garden, and I finally decided to get wild and crazy and teach a seaweed harvesting class a couple of weeks ago. I decided as part of the class to serve seaweed, but the most challenging part was coming up with palatable ways to do this.  My graduate degree is in marine science and I specialize in seaweeds.  I teach others about it, I know about its ecology, its biology, and can identify many species by sight.  But eat it?  In 13 years, the only seaweed I have really eaten is the nori my sushi comes wrapped in, or the stuff floating in my miso soup.

I started experimenting with some seaweed cookbooks I had, and I soon decided that the authors must have been high when they made up these recipes.  Dulse fish sauce anyone?  I asked my husband to taste it before I put it on his fried cod.  He replied, "if you made it, I'll eat it."  I love this man.  However, I knew this particular concoction probably was not going to fly, so I insisted that he taste it.  I don't remember ever seeing that look of disgust on his face before.  Back to the drawing board.

So, instead of all-seaweed recipes that would make people run for the hills, I opted to add seaweeds as an "enhancement" to various recipes I cook regularly, since this seemed to be the best way to get the nutritional boost without gagging.  I scored with fucus "popcorn", frittata with arame, tatziki with hijiki, and nori green sauce (recipes to come), but needed dessert.  I thought of wacky cake, that old standby.  I grabbed some hijiki (bought, not collected) and added it to the cake batter.  It was downright tasty and and easy way to ramp up the cake's nutritional value.

WACKY SEAWEED CAKE

Grease a 9" x 12" rectangular pan and put the oven on 350 degrees.

Sift together in a bowl:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar (I use 1-1.5 cups)

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cocoa powder

Add to the bowl:

2 cups water

1 cup oil (or less oil and another wet ingredient to equal 1 cup)

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/3-1/2 cup hijiki, not rehydrated

Mix it all up, pour it into the pan and bake about 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  

Enjoy!

Lazy Cook's Grilled Zucchini

I am staring at three zucchini on the counter.  I'm hungry for dinner, planning to throw some salmon on the grill and the only veggie in the fridge is these damn zucchini. I see too much prep in my future, and I hear my mother's voice in my ear, admonishing me to eat my vegetables. 


Honestly, my favorite way to eat zucchini is breaded and deep fried!  With lots of some kind of secret sauce.  At certain times of the month, I have even been known to order two orders of the stuff, especially from my favorite deep-fried zucchini makers, Broiler Bay in Bellevue, Washington, across the lake from Seattle, where I live.   Like, I have even driven to Bellevue, about a 20 minute drive, just to get the zucchini. 

Grilling is my second favorite way to eat the stuff.  However, I was looking at waaayy too much work to slice and grill little pieces of zucchini when my goal was a 20-minute dinner.  Then it hit me--throw the whole zucchini on the grill!  I lasciviously oiled the darlings, then threw them on the hot grill before the salmon, let them cook probably four to five minutes, then threw the salmon on, and about 10 minutes later, after a few turns, the zucchs were nicely charred, just the right amount of soft (just a little give, like a well-toned muscle) and the salmon was done.  I then sliced the zucchs, dressed them in some lemon-infused olive oil, sea salt and dill and they were quite good--the interior had picked up some smoky flavor from the char, the slices were flaked with char to give them that grilled look and they were just right--not to mushy, not watery. Dinner was served.