Beef Stick Stew

Abandoned Edibles
Bob's Black Bean Soup Mix, leeks, yellow onion, parsnips, beef sticks
(additional ingredients: beef stock, garlic, carrots, potatoes, butter, olive oil, etc.)

What I did: okay, before ya'll get super weirded out, let me just say that this dish is not as nasty as it seems! Okay, so what I did was essentially make a black bean soup...with beef sticks. First, I roasted the root veggies in olive oil, butter, and spices. I boiled the bean soup mix in beef broth until they were nearly done, and then combined the two pots. I chopped up the onions and leeks, sauteed them, and added them to the mix. Lastly: the beef sticks. This poor lil' pack-o-beef was in the cull bin because they had been accidentally frozen, so the texture wasn't great as a 'snack'--but it was PERFECT for a stew! I removed the casing from each stick and cut them into smaller pieces, threw them in the pot, and let everything simmer until the beans were fully cooked.



The Verdict
You would be surprised how delicious and tasty this was. The beef sticks worked wonderfully with the black bean soup mix, and as a bonus, I had these perfectly round little cylindrical discs of beef suspended in my stew--how cute! (seriously, though, it WAS adorable). The only negative to this whole dish was the appearance, namely the color--the purplish/black hue from the beans and beef broth was somewhat....oh, what's the word?....yes...NASTY. Other that that: delicious!

Taste: 7.5
Creativity: 9
Appearance: 5

Improvements for next time: less beans, more beef! And somehow fix that purplish hue...how does one do that, by the way?

Seitan Stir Fry

Abandoned Edibles
broccoli, chicken-style seitan, white mushrooms, zucchini, onions
(additional ingredients: better than bouillon chicken soup base, olive oil, butter, white rice, soy sauce, spices, etc.)

What I did: I made stir fry. Veggies + high heat + butter and oil + bouillon and spices + white rice = dinner! I am not in the mood to write tonight, can you tell?


The Verdict
Easy, simple, good. Yum.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: more veggies, of course!

Seafood Chowder

Abandoned Edibles
heavy cream, canned salmon (dent in can), baby carrots, onions
(additional ingredients: whitefish fillets, shrimp, clams, saffron, mushrooms, seafood stock, chicken stock, lemon juice, dill, butter, olive oil, potatoes, spices, etc.)

What I did: sauteed potatoes, onions, and carrots in butter and olive oil. Added seafood & chicken stock and clams, simmered for about 20 minutes until potatoes were almost soft. Removed tail from shrimp, cleaned canned salmon, added both to mix along with heavy cream. Seasoned broth with dill, salt and pepper, a tiny pinch of saffron (that shit is EXPENSIVE!), and lemon juice. Added whitefish last--thickened chowder with a roux, simmered until done.



The Verdict
Very rich and very delicious! Borderline orgasmic, actually. I could only eat a cup at a time, but my dinner date ate two bowls. So: SUCCESS! God DAMN, I love seafood.

Taste: 10
Creativity: 7
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: celery, maybe? Just a bit.

Zucchini 'Noodles' with Bison Marinara & Sauteed Mushrooms

Abandoned Edibles
zucchini, red pepper, white mushrooms, bellavitano cheese
*BONUS* leftover AEs: marinara sauce (additional ingredients: onion, garlic, butter, ground bison, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, spices. etc.)

What I did: first of all, I must confess--I have discovered a new favorite cheese. Bellavitano is DELICIOUS, and I got the leftovers from the sample we put out at the Co-op the day prior. It's parmesean-esque in flavor, but not as hard--yet still deliciously crunchy at times: perfect to pair with marinara. I had an abundance of zucchini, so I decided to cut them into thin strips along with the red pepper and sauté them in a little bit of vinegar, olive oil, butter, and spices as a sort of 'pasta' base for the sauce. I crumbled the bison in a pan, cooked it, threw in some marinara (also added a pinch of sugar to offset the acid of the tomato base) and sauteed some onions and mushrooms on the side. I built the dish with the zucchini as the base, bison marinara on top, and added the mushrooms/onions with crumbled bellavitano cheese as a garnish.



The Verdict
GOOD. This was really quite delicious. I probably should have made even MORE zucchini 'pasta', but I was hungry and in a rush. The vinegar was an important addition--I used just a tad--but I suspect it contributed to both the flavor and pasta-like 'texture' of the zucchini and peppers.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 8
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: there was a texture variation with the peppers and zucchini, and I think I could have sauteed the peppers a little longer. Also: more Bellavitano! This cheese is seriously DELICIOUS, I could have definitely used more.

No Chicken Noodle Soup

Abandoned Edibles
chicken-style seitan, onion, celery, chives, white mushrooms, Mrs. Leeper's 'creamy tuna' boxed dinner
(additional ingredients: carrots, chicken base, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, shallots, butter, olive oil, spices, etc.)

What I did: well, it was time to make some (no) chicken noodle soup, as I had been sitting on a package of chicken-style seitan for a few weeks. In addition, I picked up this box of outdated organic 'tuna helper' from the cull bin (as an aside, how creepy is the brand name "Mrs. Leeper's"?!) that I needed to use the egg noodles out of pronto. So I sauteeed some veggies, added chicken base and the seitan, slid in the noodles, simmered and seasoned. Pretty simple.



The Verdict
Warm, comforting, delicious--just as (no) chicken noodle soup should be. I must admit, I actually enjoy the seitan: the flavor AND the texture. And good ol' Mrs. Leeper came through with her egg noodles--perhaps I will use the 'creamy tuna' seasoning packet in a future AE dish! As an aside, I must tell you all that a little lemon juice in chicken soup goes a LONG way: it has always been my secret weapon to bring a tiny touch of acid to balance out the flavor of the chicken stock and inevitable salt that comes along with it.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: parsnips! Oh baby.

Eggplant and Zucchini Spaghetti Muffins

Abandoned Edibles
marinara sauce, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, white cheddar cheese
*BONUS* leftover AEs: leftover spaghetti noodles (additional ingredients: ground pork, onion, egg, panko bread crumbs, butter, spices, etc.)

What I did: dude. This was by FAR the weirdest thing I have cooked with AEs, mainly due to two things: 1) the only baking device I currently own is a motherfuckin' MUFFIN PAN, and 2) I had leftover spaghetti noodles from the night before that I desperately wanted to use. So, I figured, hey--might as well make spaghetti muffins, eh? Basically, what I did was make a three-layered mini casserole in each muffin tin. I made a base (or 'crust') of chopped up spaghetti noodles, egg, and panko bread crumbs for the bottom, added a layer of cooked ground pork, cubed zucchini and onions, a layer of shredded cheese, and then marinara sauce on top. I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. And, of course, I greased the hell out of those muffin rounds with butter. Whilst these frankensteinian vittles were cooking, I sliced, battered, and fried rounds of eggplant. I served this dish with fried eggplant on the bottom, spaghetti muffin atop the eggplant, and additional marinara sauce and shredded cheese on top of the muffin.




The Verdict
First of all, apologies for the horrible pictures--I was rather drunk by the time I finished cooking. But back to the matter at hand: spaghetti muffins! Yes, they were bizarre, but also rather tasty. I was pretty proud of myself. Pat on the back for me!

Taste: 7
Creativity: 9
Appearance: 6

Improvements for next time: I can't even IMAGINE.

Ham, Potato, and Cheddar Soup

Abandoned Edibles
crimini mushrooms, cippolini onions, broccoli, baby carrots, ham steak, potatoes
(additional ingredients: cheddar cheese, butter, olive oil, milk, garlic, chicken stock, chives, spices, etc.)

What I did: I have been sitting on this frozen hamsteak for a while, so I was ecstatic when I found mushrooms, onions, broccoli, carrots and potatoes in the cull bin. First I sauteed the veggies in butter and olive oil, then added chicken stock. I topped the pot off with whole milk, herbs, and a little flour to thicken it. Even though I shredded a shit-ton of cheddar cheese, I also garnished the soup with additional cheese and a few chives. Yum!



The Verdict
God DAMN, this was some tasty soup! I ate it on the roof under the moon. Delicious and just what the doctor ordered.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 7
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: BAGUETTE! That is all.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Arugula Salad

Abandoned Edibles
whole wheat pasta, baby arugula, marinara sauce, onion
*BONUS* leftover AEs: smoked mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, green pepper (additional ingredients: garlic, crimini mushrooms, olive oil, blue cheese crumbles, red onion, salad dressing, spices, etc.)

What I did: I made pasta, bitches! And a salad. Pretty easy. But how could I NOT, given the ingredients I found in the cull bin? All I did was sauté the mushrooms, onions, garlic; added the marinara, made the pasta, and threw together a salad of baby arugula, red onion, blue cheese, and green pepper. Piece of cake!



The Verdict
Easy, simple, delicious. Not a lot of creativity points here, but I had two hottie dinner guests who cleaned their plates, so it must have tasted decent, eh?

Taste: 7
Creativity: 4
Appearance: 6

Improvements for next time: I must confess I wasn't a huge fan of the whole wheat pasta, but it WAS in the cull bin, so I had to try it out. I also wish I had had a zucchini to cube up and throw in the marinara.