Clean out the fridge day!

It's a beautiful day here in the south. Warmer than normal, which is a blessing at my house. The windows are open and the kitties are sunning themselves. What a mood booster!!!


This is the time of year when we have slowed down after all the bustle of the holidays and for me it is time to clean out the refrigerator and freezer. I often wonder how long we could last without going to the grocery. Unlike most, if it suddenly decided to snow and ice...we won't starve. I promise!!! Lots of meat, vegis and fruit all tucked away for a cold, wintery day. Well, it's certainly not cold and wintery today but the last thing I want to do is grocery shop. I found chicken, lots of bacon, sliced strawberries (hoarded from last summer) and plenty of fresh goodies from last weeks grocery run, not to mention all the canned goods in the pantry.


We like to dice bacon and fry it up for salads! I always save the grease for seasoning. My mother never puts on a pan of fresh canned green beans without a tablespoon of bacon grease for seasoning! YUMMY!!!


I have a lot of dishes on the agenda today! The first thing, after that bacon of course, is a head of cabbage. Cabbage is a healthy cruciferous vegetable  that is very versatile. Being the purist that I am, I love it steamed. Several years ago, a good friend of ours was sharing one of her favorite ways to eat cabbage when her husband was out of town. She likes to quarter the head and steam it in a pan with a little olive oil and then top it with parmesan cheese, salt and pepper! Makes my mouth water just thinking about it! With that in mind and bacon grease in the skillet, I quartered my head of cabbage and set the quarters in the hot pan to "fry" on each of the cut sides for just a few minutes. While that was working I started a large pot with about an inch of water, salt, garlic and a handful of that bacon. As the quarters of cabbage finished, I transferred them (outer leaves down) to the pot. Covered it up and lowered the heat to a simmer. You can always top with a little parmesan and crispy bacon when ready to serve. Great as a side dish or on it's own for a light dinner.


The next dish is one of my favorites! I love quinoa with vegetables! Quinoa is an ancient grain, full of protein and nutty goodness! Very healthy, especially for those of us that don't always want to eat meat. This is a great lunch or side dish. Here's the recipe:


1 quart vegetable stock
2 cups uncooked quinoa
1 bunch broccoli, steamed
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 large can sliced black olives
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper


Cook the quinoa in the vegetable stock as you assemble the remaining ingredients. In a large bowl (I have a big pasta bowl that works great for this) place broccoli, tomatoes, olives and quinoa. Toss gently, you don't want to break the broccoli, then drizzle with lemon juice and just enough olive oil to lightly coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss gently to mix.


This is a great cold salad as well as a warm side dish or lunch on its own.


Enjoy!!!!