Leftovers

Crunchy curry chicken salad

21 October 2011 Chicken/poultry
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To me there’s one problem with most chicken salads: too much chicken. Plain old chicken and mayonnaise seems like a lost opportunity when instead you could add in fruit, nuts and spice have something crunchy, savory, sweet, nutty, creamy and tastebud-tingly. In my house, curry chicken salad makes leftover chicken a reason for celebration. The [...]

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Leftover soup

30 March 2011 Food
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Turning so-so leftovers into something different and better is almost more satisfying to me than making something great from fresh ingredients. It pleases my frugal chinese grandma genes, to be sure, but I also find it delightfully magical to conjure up something new from nothing special. I love playing fairy godmother to the orphaned containers [...]

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Creamy chicken and rice soup

20 October 2010 Chicken/poultry
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This is comfort in a bowl – chicken and rice in a thick creamy soup. Dress it up with some roasted fingerling potatoes, a parmesan crouton, or a crumble of crispy bacon. Or just have it in a mug with a grilled cheese sandwich. This soup demands nothing but a cold day outside to appreciate [...]

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Fried rice: Leftover Chinese takeout makeover

11 October 2010 Asian
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Fried rice is the chinese grandma way of rescuing the old and making it new. In today’s modern version we’ll use tired leftover Chinese takeout and turn it into a fresh one-bowl meal. Fried rice is made with cold rice (hot fresh rice is too moist), so by definition it’s a leftover meal. This is [...]

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New life for old bananas, part 2

20 August 2010 Food
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This is my holy grail banana bread recipe – super moist with deep banana flavor; springy and not heavy. The recipe is simple and perfect – and bakes into a beautiful gift-worthy loaf. I also cherish this recipe because it comes from my old friend and fellow chinese grandma Lisa, who was my first friend [...]

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New life for old bananas, part 1

18 August 2010 Food
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Rorschach test: do you see nasty old bananas, or do you see possibility? Guess what chinese grandma sees? I love old bananas, because they call out “BAKE ME!” There’s pretty much nothing I love better than a good baked treat. Put that together with a compulsive desire not to let anything go to waste, and [...]

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