Making a meal out of nothing

Being unemployed and extra frugal is making me rethink my eating habits. Particularly, I feel like I absolutely need to not waste a single edible thing in my house (I've been pretty good at not being wasteful before but now it's been taken to a whole new level) and be more clever with food I already have in the fridge or in the cupboards. And, quite honestly, I'm not actually sure what I have in the house; I feel like there are things in the cupboards and freezer that have been there for years.

Today, after coming back from coffee with Karen and Andy (Karen kindly bought me a deliciously rich and caramel-y latte from the Blue Bottle kiosk), I was hungry and I thought I had nothing to eat at the house. So, I rummaged. There was an almost empty box of macaroni noodles, half a can of sardines from a leftover salad earlier in the week, a tomato that should've been eaten a days ago, a jar of Kalamata olives in the back of the refrigerator, a red onion, some garlic. Totally enough to make lunch.

I got some water boiling for the noodles. As that boiled away, I diced half the red onion and tomato, sliced the garlic thin, and chopped a small handful of olives. I sauteed the onion over low heat in olive oil, then added the garlic, threw in the tomato, and smushed the sardines in the pan. I added some water from the pot to give it more of a saucey consistency. Then, I tossed in the olives and stirred. When the noodles were cooked, I dumped them into the pan, gave it all a quick toss with some salt and pepper, and scooped it into my waiting bowl. After drizzling some olive oil over the top, I took my fork to it and ate. It wasn't bad, kinda good actually. It smelled of fish though, but I suppose that's what I get for cooking sardines. It might have been better with some fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon, or maybe some capers. But, overall, it was totally more than edible.

Vietnamese noodle salad

I had been an awful community gardener for the last year. I was negligent and left my little plot relatively untended for months. Michael, the man in charge of the garden, had called me twice in the last year to ask if I still wanted my plot, since it had been overgrown with weeds and showed obvious signs of my neglect. Each time, I would proclaim, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Yes, I still want it! I've been out of town! I've been busy! I'll take care of it right away!" And, of course I still wanted it. I waited almost two years for that piece of dirt the size of a queen mattress; it was prized property!

So, this summer, I needed to prove that I was a committed gardener. I planted twelve lettuce plants, three strawberry ones, one eggplant, six beets, and a handful of radishes. The eggplant is looking sad, and I should probably dig it up and put in something new in its place. The beets are showing signs of great promise. I was really excited by the progress of the radishes, but two days ago I found most of them gone, vanished, probably eaten by someone or something. (There were no signs of gophers and I highly doubt that a fellow gardener would dig them up, so I was really confused. Then, Michael told me that another gardener found homeless people sleeping in the garden's patio. Perhaps they were hungry for radishes?) I was disappointed about my radishes.

But, my lettuces have been doing great, a little too prolific really. But, seriously, what was I thinking? Why would I need so much lettuce? Twelve heads for one person? I had the same problem last year with too much lettuce, way too much for one girl to eat. Why didn't I learn? Why was I stupid again? I tried offering some to my fellow gardeners but they wouldn't take me up on it--they had their own lettuce abundance. So, I've been sticking lettuce wherever I can: stuffed in hummus sandwiches, giant salads as meals, small salads with meals. I'm getting tired of lettuce.

Then, I thought: Vietnamese noodle salad! It would be the perfect use for some of that lettuce, it's incredibly flavorful, and low on calories (I've also put on eight pounds since I started grad school and want to get rid of them again). I love eating this at restaurants and my mom would make it occasionally. And, it's super easy to make: you just toss all the veggies, rice noodles, and whatever protein you want with a spicy, tangy, salty sauce. The problem was the sauce; I had never known how to make it. My mom would ask me to make it sometimes, I would ask her how, and she would be like, "You know, just add some lemon, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and water to taste." Then, after tasting it, she would make a face that said "Ew, gross! No way are you a daughter of mine!" and adjust the flavors. I don't know why I never thought to look up the recipe before. But, this time, I did, and it all turned out great.

And, you can do it too. Here goes:

For the nuoc cham (the Vietnamese dipping sauce) you'll need:
1 clove minced garlic
2 dried red chiles chopped fine
one generous squeeze of hot sauce (Sriracha from my hometown!)
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup fish sauce
juice of one lime
a little less than 1/4 cup sugar

Put all of those ingredients in a jar, put the lid on, and shake. Done. Easy.

As for the other parts, it's just as easy. Cook up some rice noodles. Chop some lettuce. Gather some crunchy vegetables (I used mung bean sprouts and a shredded carrot) and fresh herbs (I picked mint from the community garden and used some leftover cilantro). Cook up some shrimp (or whatever other protein) that were marinating in more lime juice, fish sauce, and garlic. Then, toss the noodles, lettuce, veggies, and herb in the sauce, and top with shrimp. Eat.

It is embarrassingly easy to make. And, when Scott's dinner date came by the house and was impressed with my dinner, how great it made the house smell, and how awesome it looked, I had to admit that it was stupidly simple but so delicious.

The unemployed life

I quit my job almost a year ago to study education policy. Now, with a newly minted master's degree, I'm sitting in my living room, unemployed. Friends have told me to enjoy the time off, to see the "fun-employment" period as a vacation, since I've been constantly busy--with full-time work for years, then graduate school, immediately followed by a summer fellowship--and rarely took time off. But, as much as I want to enjoy having much more time on my hands, it makes me nervous. Living in San Francisco is expensive, and I don't want to be one of those twenty-somethings who move back in with their parents. So I had been cutting back on lots of things I used to and still thoroughly enjoy, the most painful of which has been food--eating out, dining at nice restaurants, and cooking for friends.

But, I'm eager to not let this stint of non-work get me down and am viewing it as a time to be creative, to write again, to read again, to cook again--all things I used to do regularly before graduate school craziness got the better of me. And, because I'm stubborn and like a good challenge, I'm going to fight this no income thing and prove that you don't need tons (or any) money to eat well and enjoy it.

So, here's the start of a new season of Susan's Daily Eats: The Unemployed Life. As you might assume, it'll chronicle my unemployed eating and cooking habits.

By the way, if you know of anyone who wants to hire a tall, well-educated, Asian woman, please send him or her my way. Or, if you want to send food donations and invitations to meals my way, I'll gladly accept those too.