There are a few dishes around the world that reek of “truly poor”, and this is one. On the other hand and as noted with many other recipes, it’s possible to turn it into something that’ll have folk asking for it by name.
Here’s the base. A few slices of stale bread, broken into crumbs and small chunks and put in the bowl. Heat some water to boiling and barely cover. Stir so it forms a thicker liquid, and enjoy your bread soup.
sigh. Yes, there have been times in my life when bread soup was one of my regular dishes. If you bake your own bread it’s cheaper than ramen.
The first step of improvement is add some salt. It’s still not enough but at least it’s got a taste better than that of stale bread. Pepper is nice. A few other spices really start to pick things up if you can.
The next thing you could do is oomph the liquid. Half and half water and milk, or all milk, makes for a smoother texture as well as some essential nutrients (calcium, you know). Broth to replace water is even better, and now you’re either out of being poor or you’ve access to stuff the rich consider throw-away. Things like chicken backs, feet, wing tips, and heads. Pig feet and knuckles, not to mention jowls and other parts of the head. Ox tails, cow necks… you’re getting the point. Lots of broth making potential, too much work for those who (sniff) can’t be bothered with parts that have no meat to speak of.
As an aside – if you’re poor or frugal, go to your butcher and have a heart-to-heart talk with him. Ask him what parts he throw away – offal, bones that have had the meat stripped, bone meal, skin, EVERYTHING. Ask him what he’d charge to ensure these doesn’t get contaminated and offer to haul at least some of it away. Some are penny pinchers and won’t work with you. Some will make surprising deals – I am minded of a butcher who insisted I put up to half the broth I made in containers he provided – if I ran out of containers I got the excess. He in turn took them to a charity kitchen. Broth that cost only the stove gas and my labor? Oh, yes.
Yes, I also got other stuff out of such deals. That’s part of the ugly bits discussion, however, and I’ll not put it in here. Here, we’re dealing with Poor Man’s soup.
So you’ve now got a few slices of stale bread that you’ve broken up, and you’ve poured a mix of broth and milk over the top – just enough to cover the break so it makes a fairly thick soup because that’s filling. You’ve added some salt, some pepper, and maybe a cheap other spice if you’ve got it.
Let’s step it up a bit higher. Take a veggie – darn near any veggie. Let’s take… I know, let’s take carrots. Get out your peeler and use it to cut a carrot or two into paper thin strips; as thick as a peeling (grin). Run a knife through to knock the strips down to bite size. We can toss those in and we have carrot soup. But we can still keep it cheap and add an extra mile of flavor.
Every cook down onions for french onion soup? You can do the same thing with carrots, you know. All that sugar in those roots makes this glorious carmelization. Take a pan and put it on the lowest heat your stove will manage. If you have it, lightly brush the bottom of the pan with a lubricant (oil, shortening, lard, butter) and pile the carrots in. You’ll want a lid to help trap heat, but you want the lid to let at least some of the steam out as well. If you’ve got a lid for a pan one size smaller you’re golden, otherwise just keep the lid slightly off-center on the pan. Stir your carrots every fifteen minutes or so, but you’re looking for… well, frankly you’re wanting what’s practically a mush. You’ll have this amazing caramel-carrot odor – what you get when you bring onions to this stage, but it’s carrots instead.
Add this to your poor man’s soup. If you want you can boil everything together for another half hour or so – the bread will break further and will give you an even creamier texture. If you cut the carrots into very small bits instead of bite size you’re approaching a creamed carrot soup that will astound your taste buds.
Four slices of stale bread. A cup or so of homemade broth, maybe partially replaced with milk if you’re having a bit better week – or if the milk you have is reaching an expiration date (but isn’t sour; not for this one). One large or two small carrots. A bit of pepper and salt. Time.
Could I use another veggie? Of course. If it’ll caramelize, do to it what you did to the carrot. If it won’t, decide if you want crisp bites or a soft infusion to the whole and treat it appropriately. A potato need to be cooked to soft, but it’s your choice whether you finely mince it to mash it in or leave it in dices or slices for bites. A beet or a turnip? Yep. Again, however, you can’t do the caramelization thing with them – you’re going to have to do something a tiny bit different instead, and the what will depend on your cooking skills and available utensils.
By the way, if you’re truly being a poor man and already seeing the butcher, check with your grocer. They throw veggies away – and trust me they are at the stage where you do NOT want them as a fresh veggie dish. But they’re still ‘ok’ if you’re hungry, and they work surprisingly well in a soup where they’re broken down.
I don’t make this very often – it reminds me of some difficult times. Sometimes, however, I’ve this urge. The thickening from bread and bread taste in the soup are a wee bit different from what most people experience. The taste of caramelized carrots is still a glorious taste that will draw me in. The times, though rough, weren’t miserable (well, they were but I wasn’t STARVING or out of clothes and shelter).
And for those who haven’t had the associative taste, try it. You might like it. Feel free, if you’re well enough to do so, to add meat or a variety of spices and veggies. On the other hand you can still get a rich meal from a poor man’s dish.
Poor Man’s Carrot Soup.
Per Serving:
four slices bread (day old or stale) broken into small crumbs.
One cup broth (type does not matter).
One large or two small carrots, finely diced or julienned or shredded.
Salt to taste.
Cook carrots over very low heat till fully broken down and caramelized.
Bring broth to boil.
Put bread and carrots in bowl and pour broth over top. Stir and serve.
Alternately, add carrots and bread to broth and continue cooking for another 15-30 minutes.
Add salt to taste.
alternate notes: replace carrots with onions.
The report for October is out. At first glance it’s ugly – 10.2% is up 0.4% from the prior month, and that is a LOT of increase.
When I looked in more depth, however, I started becoming troubled. Or maybe ‘encouraged’ is a better word. There are what seem to be some strange elements buried underneath.
Take for example the difference between seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted (SA and NSA, respectively) numbers. The NSA did NOT CHANGE from September to October, and in fact there was an increase in total employment according to the NSA numbers. There are similar indicators in SA vs NSA numbers in employment to population ratios.
It’s important to remember that SA is a tweak to the numbers. It’s built to try and minimize misleading spikes in the data. It has a major problem, however, in that the adjustment is based on historical trend and expectations. As a result when the trends reverse there’s a period of a few (2-5) months where the indications of SA are contrary to the indications of NSA.
One month could be a demonstration of why we use SA. On the other hand, I’m noticing the difference between SA and NSA is very large. As in – according to NSA the unemployment rate is 9.5%, or 0.7% lower than the SA number. In this report that’s a large spread. It makes the possibility of a reversal more likely – not guaranteed by any means as this spread has happened in the past, but it’s also quite common to see in trend reversals.
If it’s a reversal we’ll get a similar peculiarity in the next couple of months’ reports. Keep an eye on it, but don’t bet on it yet.
I’m going to stop trying to summarize the AHCAA. I’ve read the bill three times through, now, and think I’ve a pretty good understanding of much of it. That said, I’m not finding the time to WRITE what I’ve found. Since it goes to a vote tomorrow, I think I’ve failed the deadline.
There are some ‘hmmm’ parts I’ve not mentioned yet. For example, one source of paying for this is an additional income tax of 5.4% on household AGI of over a million (or individual over $500,000). Another is a tax on medical equipment.
That one needs some discussion as it’s getting a lot of bad press. ‘First taxable sale’ of medical equipment will get an additional 2.5% tax. If it’s for resale, it’s exempt. If it’s for health care service (ie it’s prescribed equipment being purchased by the patient) it’s exempt. That last sentence tends to get missed in the ranting. If I buy a thermometer, I’m going to have a tax. If I have to pay for a pacemaker the surgeons put in me, I do not have to pay the tax.
And the list goes on, and I’m going to stop. I may respond to questions or to false news that gets bandied about, but I’m done trying to get this out for general reading.
Sorry.
The incident on Ft Hood reminded me I’ve not written of this rule, and I think I need to do so.
In any extraordinary event, unless you are involved in the incident (victim, decision maker, responder, etc) then for the first day you should probably ignore most of what is reported beyond the fact something happened.
It is reported now that Major Hasan was the sole shooter. He allegedly shot and killed 12 soldiers and one civilian and wounded another 31 people.
I said allegedly. He shot some of them, but under investigation is whether some of the bullets came from friendly fire. I lean to it being either this or that there was indeed at least one other shooter – 43 people shot? Assume a pair of 15 bullet glocks and even if he managed one shot per person he’s reloaded at least once.
There is at least some question as to motivation. Yes, he’s Muslim – he has been all his life, however, not as a recent convert. He’s not an immigrant – his parents were. Right now, given a lot of reports from family and people who knew him, there’s a fair case for it being driven by Columbine-type motives instead of anti-American motives. It may turn out to be Sudden Jihad Syndrome (I hate that term by the way. It demonstrates unthinking prejudice along the lines of assuming crimes by blacks are committed because they’re black.)
The trial will be a pain. The fact the shooter is alive, however, means we have a good chance of figuring out what really happened. It may indeed turn out that he did all the shooting and did it as a faith-based jihad.
But basing that on the information found in the first 24 hours is idiocy. Especially given the conflicting information that came out which still needs resolution.
Yeah, I’m avoiding the really ugly bits for a moment – you think tongue was bothersome, wait’ll you play with… well, let’s wait a bit. Also, all the puns I was using were severe stretches, so you got a more straightforward title this morning.
If you’ve never had bone marrow (to your knowledge) let me start by trying to get you focused. Ah, I know. Picture the richest broth you’ve ever had. Now picture it, still warm, the consistency of that hot fudge you’ve oozed over the brownie and vanilla ice cream. Yeah.
Most people who eat bone marrow eat it as some form of usso bucco or bulalo. That is, straight from the bone. The second most common way to eat it is as part of a stock – one where large bones are opened (cut or broken) so the hot liquid melts the marrow into it. Remember I said it’s like that hot fudge – it melts.
Before I begin, the inevitable ‘how do I deal with this’ element. You need two special things done when you’re going to cook marrow. First, you need to open the bones. The typical way is to ring-cut them, though I had one butcher who would split the bones instead (which let me get to much smaller bones’ marrow – including the leg bones of much poultry). Unless you’re planning to strain out the solids and splinters (for stock, say), don’t smash the bones.
The second thing is cleaning. When you first look at that marrow it’s a dingy gray – rather unappetizing, really. If you soak it in cold water for 9-12 hours, maybe changing the water two or three times between, you are left with a creamy off-white substance. The grey is, well, it’s blood and blood production elements. If you’re gonna get technical it’s also nutritious. It is not (in my opinion) tasty. (Don’t cite blood sausages to me. I like those, too, and will get there. But they’re made with fresh blood – dried blood picks up off tastes.)
So whatcha gonna do with these chunks of bone, anyway? As I said the ‘classic’ is an usso bucco or a bulalo. Basically you start by cutting the shank into a three or four inch thick ring, keeping the meat on the bone. You’re only going to keep the end pieces, because as you cook this you don’t want the marrow to come out when it melts. I’m going to go with an usso here, but I’m not insisting on veal shanks.
Brown the rings on each side and pull them out. Add chopped onions and let them brown a bit, then add some carrots and celery. Now add about a cup of a dry white wine, deglaze, and reduce to about half. Now you’re going to add about 14 ounces of chopped tomatoes (canned is fine – please drain them), a bay leaf or two and about 2 cups of stock. Bring this to a boil, then remove from the heat for a moment. Now put the shanks back in (open side up), and add enough stock to bring the level just under the top of the shanks. Bring it back to a simmer, and then put a lid on and put it in a medium (350 or so) oven where it’ll braise for about two hours.
While it’s braising you can make a traditional ’spike’ to the meal with a minced clove of garlic, about a dozen or so parsley sprigs that you’ve also minced, and the zest of a whole lemon. Mix and refrigerate.
When the shanks are done (the meat should be trying to fall off the bones so be careful here) remove them and slightly thicken the remaining liquid. You can use a cornstarch slurry, you can add it to a roux, you can reduce it… use the thickener of choice, but you’re wanting it thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Serving is put the shank in a bowl, pour a ladle of the broth over it, sprinkle with the spike you’ve made, and make sure you’ve some crisp warm toast on the side. Spoon out a little marrow and either eat it directly with the broth or put both on the toast.
By the way, Bulalo isn’t as thick but it’s just as rich. It’s a clear soup from the Philippines. Instead of braising you’re going to boil, completely covered, and your veggies are a wee bit different: some bok choi, some corn on the cob that you’ve also cut into rings, a quartered onion, maybe some potatoes and carrots if that’s your taste. Oh, and a tablespoon (or a handful if that’s your taste) of peppercorns You’re going to completely cover the shanks by two to three inches of liquid (frequently water, stock if you’re REALLY wanting rich) and boil the shanks for two to three hours with just the onion and peppercorns for accompaniment. You’ll add the other veggies for a final 15-30 minutes of cooking. Bone with meat (if it’ll stay on) goes in the bowl, finish filling with the soup.
Noticing a theme here? Yeah.
Now you can also just dry roast the bones (don’t bother with the meat) for a half hour or so till the marrow is hot and gooey. Serve them on a plate with a lot of toast and tabouli. If you don’t want your guests to work hard or to be quite as uncomfortable, scoop the bone marrow into oven-warmed small ramekins instead. By the way, this bit of popping it out into ramekins works well for the long bones and bones you’ve split.
Now if you’ve popped the marrow out, you can do a couple more things with it. Before I go there, I want to point out you’ve got an opportunity here. You can wrap the marrow in plastic and freeze it for later use. What later use?
If you’ve cleaned it as I noted above, a great thing to do is drop a piece of marrow into any meaty liquid you’re preparing. Remember, liquid meatiness – it’ll enrich your broth or soup to an astounding degree. Sadly, do not do this to your consomme – it works, but much of the marrow gets pulled in the filtering.
If you’re TRULY daring, you can make fried marrow. Take the marrow, warm it if you had it frozen, and roll it in a bit of flour, eggwash, and bread crumbs. Fry the result – in a skillet or in a deep fryer, but if you do the latter watch it carefully so it doesn’t melt into the oil. You get…
You get meaty flavored lava love.
Go enjoy some bone marrow. If you like meat, you’ll like this.
So I went looking around, now that I finished the tongue article, to see what else might be out there on tongue.
And I find another blogger – actually an article writer – who has a feature called “The Nasty Bits”. It is almost exactly what I’m doing, but done for a while, with pretty pictures, and a couple of recipes I’m now dying to try.
Chichi Wang of Serious Eats offers The Nasty Bits for your eating pleasure. And I’ll try to do some different ugly bits before she gets there. (sigh)
Yeah, it’s a pun. My blog, My choice of misery to inflict.
Since TaMara asked, the first Dirty Bits recipe(s) will involve the tongue.
Friends, the look of the tongue causes my wife and daughter to gag, so I don’t make it often at ALL. However, the tongue is one of my favorite bits of meat. It is an extremely lean, well-developed piece of muscle. Setting aside taste, the closest analogue for preparation is squid, with cuts such as Boston Butt’s coming next closest. It is amazingly tender when heat is barely (if at all) applied, then it turns tough until it’s had so much heat that the proteins collapse; at which point it is again velvety. Tastewise it’s, well, it tastes like the animal from which it came.
The ‘old-fashioned’ ways of cooking the tongue are long-cooking techniques. Braising is most common but not the only option. I also think the tongue is ideal for several ‘fast-cook’ techniques: Mongolian hotpots, oil fondues, and hibachis being examples. Personally, I think the tongue is very close to being my preferred choice for tartare and carpaccio as well.
I’m going to give you two rambling recipes, but before I do I’m going to discuss the logistics of the tongue. I suspect more than one of you has never dealt with the tongue.
If at all possible, purchase your tongue cleaned and skinned. There are two reasons – practical and emotional. The practical reason is that getting the skin off is a pain. I’ll be discussing that in one of the recipes as it’s likely you won’t get ‘how’, but why do work you don’t need to do? The second reason is emotional – or perhaps the better word is visceral. I don’t know why, but most people get a bit queasy when they see the tongue with all the papillae (bumps that hold the tastebuds). It is TONGUE, not ‘meat’. (heave)
The basic of cleaning the tongue is to cook it to about 3/4 done (which means 2-4 hours depending on what animal’s tongue and what cooking technique you’re using), then pull it out and pop it into cold water like you’d do for peeling tomatoes. (Oh, you didn’t know that trick? Well, the heat that’s in the object meets the cold and forms a condensation layer. Since the skin is really separate from the meat – tomato or tongue – it gets pushed a bit further apart. This makes it easier – not easy, just easier – to pull the two apart.) Once it’s peeled, look for any additional membranes and then get ready to finish the dish. Let me note that you CAN peel the skin without the cook and blanch process but it is a LOT harder and you will lose some of the meat in the process – it’s more slicing and less peeling.
OK, let’s actually make a couple – no, let’s make a trio of tongue dishes. The first one is likely to NOT wind up on your list for ‘first tries’. The second might not, and it’s a rather extended preparation time. That said, between the three you’ll get a good idea of what it is you’re getting with tongue.
Recipe one is tartare. Tartare is raw meat with a strong flavoring sauce. Classically it’s made from very fine cuts of steak, has worcerstershire and dijon and capers and maybe a bit of wine or brandy plus an egg yolk to enrichen it. It’s eaten cold on baguettes or other breads, toasts, or crackers. And I’ve basically described it the recipe already.
This is a case where you REALLY want to get your meat peeled if you can. However, before you ask your butcher to chop it for you make sure he knows it’s for tartare and that you trust him. The tongue under the skin is surprisingly free of bacteria. Run it through where other cuts have been and all bets are off. (If you’re truly paranoid, take it home with skin on and slice it off once home.)
With a pound of chopped tongue the truly basic recipe is two tablespoons each of worcestershire and dijon and two egg yolks. If it were chopped steak it’d only be one egg yolk but I repeat: Tongue is VERY LEAN. Serve as close to chopping and mixing as you can manage. FWIW a pound of meat is a LOT, and this is considered enough to serve four. Cut it in half to serve two – or for four tentative tasters.
For the second recipe, taking the tongue’s skin off first is optional – at least at first. See, we’re going to corn the tongue (first – I’ve got more).
The first thing you want is a non-reactive container large enough for the tongue and the water that’s going to cover it – and maybe something that’ll keep the tongue submerged as well. Crocks, casserole dishes, and large glass jars are examples. I’m gong to call this the pickling container – corning is merely a type of pickling, after all.
The next thing you’re going to do is make enough (and only enough) brine. Put your tongue in plastic wrap or a plastic bag and put it in the bottom of the container. Add enough water to cover it by a couple of inches. Now pour the water into a separate pan and start adding salt. Add it by the quarter cup, here, and stir till it’s dissolved. Before adding the next quarter cup of salt, put a raw egg (still in shell) into the water. When it floats with about half the eggshell out of the water, you’ve added enough salt.
Now add your corning spices:
1/4 c brown sugar
2 bay leaves (crumbled)
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon peppercorns
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seed
2 cloves whole garlic, peeled.
Bring the brine to a boil, boil for 15 minutes, then let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile unwrap the tongue, wash it, and return it to the pickling container. Add the room temperature brine to the container, add a weight to keep the tongue submerged, put plastic wrap over the top, and put it in the refrigerator for about three weeks. While it’s in there check it every so often to make sure the meat has stayed submerged, and if you want you can pull it out and turn the tongue once a week or so.
It’s corned, so now we’re going on to the next step. I give you three choices here depending on what you’ve got available, running from my most to least preferred. Smoke (hot smoke); slow-grill (BBQ); and boil (like any corned beef briskit). For the smoking and the slow-grilling you have to keep your temperature controlled – you want the chamber around 200-210 degrees, and you’re aiming for a finish temperature of around 165. If you’re BBQing you may (probably will) have to mop the meat (I’ve used butter, olive oil, and a red wine vinegar seasoned with the same spices as were in the brine successfully). If you’re boiling it put it in enough water to cover by a couple of inches and add an onion you’ve halved and a couple of broken cabbages, and boil till it’s tender.
In all three cases, once the tongue is done and IF it didn’t come skinned (or you didn’t slice off the skin yourself), now’s the time to slit the skin and peel it off.
My favorite of these is the smoked. It’s pastrami. It’s really, really good pastrami. By the way, if you’ve the smoking facilities to COLD-smoke it, do so – it makes a better pastrami.
Pause – why do I like this better than brisket? Lean (no fat), no gristle or other connective tissue, short muscle fibers, and a slightly stronger beef taste combine to a consistently smooth and full-flavored meat.
Final recipe: braised. For this I’m going to make a fairly simple braised tongue. However, for those wanting to ‘do it right’, HERE is a link to Julia Child’s more flavorful Langue de Boeuf Braisee au Madere. Change around the ingredients a bit and you can get basque or italian or german — all of which have their variants (though it’s more likely to be sheep or pig than beef tongue).
I’m assuming a beef tongue, which is going to give you about three to four pounds of meat. If you’ve gotten a smaller tongue (by way of having the butcher cut, or choosing one from a different animal), adjust as appropriate.
Start by covering the tongue with cold water and let it set for a couple of hours. The sole purpose of this is cleaning and again if you trust your butcher you can skip this step. When you’re done, toss the water.
Heat a large stock-pan to medium, add a bit of oil, and then a pound of chopped carrots and three chopped onions. Stir briefly, then put the tongue on top and let it sit till the bottom layer of veggies start to brown. Immediately add a pint of beef stock (up to about half-way on the tongue). Bring it to a boil, reduce it to a bare simmer, cover the pot with a lid, and let it cook till the tongue is fork-tender. Check it every 15 minutes or so to make sure it hasn’t boiled dry – it shouldn’t if you’re experienced at braising, but if you’re not you may lose more moisture than you intended. Add a bit of stock – no more than half a cup at any time – if needed.
Again, this is going to take two to three hours to get back to tender. Once it IS tender, you’re going to do two things separately. Let’s follow the tongue first.
Pull out the tongue and…
If you need to peel it, plunge it into cold water. This will work like it does for tomatoes and other meats and veggies with tight skins – loosen it so it’s easier to peel. Remove the skin and the membrane.
Once peeled – or if you didn’t need to peel it you’re here now – you are going to slice the tongue to form medallions of 13/8 to 1/2 inch thick. Set aside and let’s chase everything else for a moment.
We pulled the tongue. Now drain and reserve the stock – we should have between a cup and a pint – and set aside the veggies for a moment. Make a butter and flour roux (one tablespoon of each). Add back the stock while stirring and boil till it thickens slightly. Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste and a quarter cup of semi-dry red wine, add the tongue slices, and finally add back the veggies to cover. Simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes or until the tongue is easily pierced with a fork.
Serve with… serve it with what you’d serve with a braised beef tenderloin and you’ll do very, very well indeed.
Three tongue recipes that will give you an idea of something to do about those ugly bits.
Like I don’t have enough on my plate, I got another itch to scratch after a brief discussion with TaMara on her pig knuckles recipe.
I was going to use “poor people’s recipes” but, well, a lot of what was for poor people is now for the snooty (see recent fish cake discussion). While it’s still hilarious to chase that sort of thing, there are foods which were developed by the poor (who could NOT afford to throw away food) which are still… unless you were raised to eat them, learned to eat them, or have a strong stomach, these modern times the food is TRASH – OMG WHY YOU EATING THAT?!?!?
Like pig’s knuckles.
So I think I’ll be tossing the occasional ‘ugly bits’ recipe. Maybe pork jowls or head cheese. Beef tongue (though that sometimes slips into ‘poor made wealthy’) gets there as to hearts, kidneys, and livers of just about everything. Chicken’s feet, anyone? (Yum, actually – if done right.)
Let me point out you are probably NOT going to get these from most neighborhood groceries. You’ll need a butcher, and some ethnic groceries will carry many as well. I’m not going to tell you where to get any of these ingredients but will assume you know how and where to get them.
Just consider this your fair warning.
I’ve laughed before about recipes created by the poor to stretch the budget that were coopted by the wealthy. Here’s another chapter. For the wealthy these tend to turn into crab cakes and other more expensive fish.
Here’s the basic idea. You’re going to take a bunch of crackers or dried bread (say, about half a standard package of saltines or club crackers) that you’ve coarsely crushed – not dust, just small pieces – and put these in a bowl. You’re going to take a bit of fish (say, a 5 ounce can of tuna). You’re going to drain it, break it up into flakes, and stir this into the crumbs. Stir in a bit of aromatic flavoring (a tablespoon or two of chopped onion), then a slightly beaten egg to bind it. You’ll make four loose (ie, don’t mash them into dense lumps) patties out of this which you’ll fry for 2-3 minutes in a dry to lightly oiled medium hot skillet.
Look at that list of ingredients. Even ‘back in the day’ when people purchased from the fisherman the idea stood. Meat that’s seriously stretched with a cereal filler. Four patties is (depending on your thriftiness and sides) a meal for two to four people. It’s a Poor Person’s meal.
Use crab instead of the canned tuna and even if you add nothing else it’s delicious, but you’re beginning to spend some money (unless you’re in a trapping community – and even then you’re using what you couldn’t sell or held back for your own table).
Yes, I made these last night. I had a side of sweet and sour red cabbage and some oven fries (potatoes cut up in the same fashion as french fries, tossed with a bit of oil and salt, and baked till tender). I topped the fries and the cakes with a dressing that was 3 parts (by volume) mayonnaise and one part lemon juice. The most expensive thing was the head of red cabbage, and there was enough of it left over it’ll supplement today’s lunch for two of us.
I see that Stiglitz is predicting a second downward surge. Krugman is predicting doldrums unless we make a new stimulus.
Allow me to forecast again. 2.5% (give or take) for 4th quarter 2009. Passage of Health Care bill before Christmas (probably near Thanksgiving) will act as a stimulus. Passage of Jobs Recovery Act or whatever Son of Stimulus: The Jobs is called will also act as a stimulus. The tax relief and monetary supplement elements of the 2009 stimulus act that are scheduled to take effect in 2010 will act as a stimulus. None of the three are large enough in themselves but in concert will (In My Opinion) kick 2010 over 3% growth in GDP.
Incidentally, SoS:TJ plus the employment effects of 3+% GDP growth will create additional jobs. You will not see the rate decline for up to six months as ‘exhausted’ seekers (those who’ve given up) return to the seeking, replacing the ones who’ve found work and so keeping the rate high. But the jobs will be created, and come summer 2010 you’ll start seeing the rate decline.
That is still my forecast, barring a catastrophic event.
