Reinventing Remains

When I cook breakfast at the church on Sunday mornings there are usually six people (and sometimes seven) eating. Two weeks ago I had already put a package of sausage links in the oven and cracked a dozen eggs to scramble when I heard that the two seminarians had a commitment and wouldn't be there, and one of the two deacons was taking communion to the nursing home. And then for some unknown reason the associate priest was also a no-show. Needless to say there was a lot of food left over. I packaged up the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator before I left.

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The next day when I returned to cook dinner for the priests the leftovers hadn't been touched, and the containers were still there on Wednesday when I came to prepare lunch for the staff. I hate to waste food, so I moved the leftovers to the freezer for future use.

Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and one of two days observant Catholics are supposed to fast (which means one regular-sized meal, two lighter meals, and no snacks). That day I prepared a simple staff meal of tomato soup, grilled cheese, and fruit salad.

As you may also know, observant Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, but I the associate priest told me he was trying to avoid it on Wednesdays too. I figured that if one person was choosing not to eat meat on Wednesdays others might also, and when I planned my menu for today's lunch I kept that in mind.

The meal had two main dishes. One was chicken thighs cut into chunks, then roasted and tossed with barbecue sauce. The second was a hearty fried rice with peas, carrots, edamame...and the leftover scrambled eggs from two Sundays ago. The buffet line also held a green tossed salad and a brownie cake.

At the end of the meal there wasn't much left, and everyone seemed satisfied, which made me feel good. Almost as good as using up food that otherwise would have gone to waste.

Five years ago: Be Careful How You Type