Cupboard Weirdos

[DinoLil]

I took delivery of fancy tomatoes yesterday. Really nice ones and a lot of them. The website I got them from has some very interesting recipes that I'm going to try out.

Anyway, it's got me thinking. I've had to buy some odd ingredients to make said recipes and I'm now the proud owner of about 10kg of fancy tomatoes and a bottle of pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses! I know what a pomegranate is, but a bottle of pomegrante molasses?

I can see that my £4.50 bottle will probably be used for one tablespoon and live in my cupboard until I rediscover it when it's 15yrs out of date.

What weird things have you got in your kitchen cupboards? Or your fridge? I know I've got a jar of marmalade that I made about 5yrs ago lurking with an elderly cucumber in my fridge.

Pomegranate molasses is a fabulous ingredient. I drizzle it over tomatoes as an alternative to balsamic but my favourite way to use it is in muhammara which is a middle eastern red pepper and walnut dip, it's so delicious it's almost addictive.

An obscure ingredient library!

I recommend making a lovely mushroom duxelle in a beef wellington with the old mushrooms, invite those ex ILs to join you for it.

Okay. I've read the label on the bottle and it says it's sweet and can be used as a cordial.

You're all genius people! This is why you have to love MN!!

Anyway, opened the bottle and had a sniff. It's so vile! Put a bit on my (clean!) finger. It's just the most horrible stuff, just nasty! I shall make my recipe with it anyway, sans lettuce and olive oil. At worst, at least the food waste bin will be fed!

I'll add orris, sumac powder (thank you!) a pickled walnuts, some fizz, ice cream and I reckon I'll be good to go. I have lots of picnic plates and forks so plenty to share!

@Chewbecca I'll add the Australia mushrooms?!

Courgette fritters are easy. Grate the courgette then squeeze out as much water from it as you can. Beat up an egg , and add it and a tablespoon of flour to the courgette along with some dried chilli flakes and ground black pepper. You are looking for a sloppy but firm consistency if that makes sense, sort of muffin batter consistency. Fry tablespoonfuls in a frying pan in veg oil, turn over when brown. I make a tomato sauce to go with it by putting fresh tomato, olive oil, garlic and a pinch of salt in a blender. Lovely for lunch.

I also love those courgette sticks Italian restaurants do as a starter but have never made them.

@FOJN sorry, I can't keep up with you all! Can you put it on strawberries? Balsamic is lovely with those, would it be the same?

Atm I just want to hurl it out of the window to scare the slugs away!

Massive courgette-spiralise into spaghetti or soup or barbecue, amazing with mayo.

I had a huge clearout of the cupboard/fridge recently, so no crazy stuff in there. I binned some rather old stuff!

@viques I like an aubergine fitter. Slice, salt, egg wash and dunk in panko.

Weirdly enough I'm cooking for friends tomorrow and I have lots of colourful tomatoes from the garden which I'm going to slow roast with aubergines, halloumi, za'atar and pomegranate molasses! And I've made a jar of sumac onions (Sami Tamimi recipe - totally delicious).
Also on the menu is saffron, rosewater and pistachio ice cream, which I'm only making because of the rosewater lurking in my fridge...
I literally have a cupboard full of cupboard weirdos, we grow loads of veg and I don't eat meat so I like to get creative with food. All hail the cupboard weirdos 😊

@Cherrysoup You've reminded me! I bought a brand new, in the box, never opened spiralizer from a charity shop about 4yrs ago. I've not used it, I'd forgotten all about it.

Right, shove up with the deckchairs. We need a space for unused kitchen gadgets as well as strange ingredients. I shall pop my charity shop spiralizer on the table (new in box), my George Foreman grill, soup maker, terrine cooker and some pomegranate molasses (which come with a hard stare).

@ThroughTheForestUpTheHill what time shall I be round? I'll bring these!

Yeah, just you.

No more tomatoes, please...
I'll take the aubergines though, they look mint 👍

I’ve got sumac in my spice drawer! It is supposed to taste sort of lemony I think. I’m not convinced. And once again I can’t recall what I bought it for but sometimes I chuck a bit in when I’m making potato wedges or sprinkle it on chicken and it doesn’t do any harm. But nor will I feel compelled to replace it if it ever runs out

I’m setting of now to DinoLils and my mouth is watering at your food @ThroughTheForestUpTheHill

YABU I use my George Foreman and my soup maker all the time. WTF is a terrine maker though? I mean, I can guess its purpose from its name. But it seems quite specific.

Another good way to use up courgettes is to make them into soup. Fry onions, or soffrito if you are posh ( actually Tescos have started doing a soffrito mix in their frozen veg , they don’t call it soffrito, but it is) , add the cut up courgettes and sweat them off without letting them brown. Add veg stock and black pepper. Cook until courgettes are done, not long. Blend. Pretty colour, put a swirl of Greek yogurt and chilli oil on the top and make some frying pan croutons.

@DinoLil , aubergine fritters sound good. I have panko crumbs, who doesn’t!

I'm another one with a random jar of pickled walnuts in the fridge. I bought them as I'd never tried them before and had them as part of a cheeseboard. They were ok.....but just tasted of squidgy brown sauce to me. I haven't felt like having them for a second time so probably need to throw them away.

Sumac onions 😀

Use the pomegranate molasses to make a salad dressing for your tomatoes (add some vinegar and think of it like a balsamic glaze)

I’ll bring a jar of tahini which I bought for a cookie recipe during lockdown. It’s a bit separated but after three glasses of pomegranate molasses fizz we won’t mind.

Totally unrelated OP but you just reminded me of a hilarious, genuinely serious video where someone said ‘and I’d you’re out of sugar, you can substitute with pomegranate molasses!’

There was an Italian courgette pizza recipe in the Guardian a few weeks ago - scar’piatta?

Anyway - can I join in with a mysterious white powder left in my spice rack by Russian MIL?

That veg box looks wonderful, where do you get it? I buy the IOW tomatoes from Waitrose but they don’t have the other veg in there.

( I’ve used pomegranate molasses for decades, I brush it on duck before roasting , also on lamb chops to grill or Barbie. My first bottle was given to me by a friend who said ‘ you are the only person I know who would find a use for this…’)

Orris root is the dried root of a sort of Iris, it hold fragrance as well as having some of its own. Yes, I have made potpourri but it’s too dusty after a while, I suppose it just dries out and out and out. Scented stones are better.