Curiouser and Curiouser

H-2: Educations

The Mock Turtle has received quite a lot of ‘educations’ under the sea like the different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. Share with us a most unique branch of education entirely from your imagination. (<500 words)

Left-overation

This is the science of combining left-over food from a fridge into a distinct meal.

At the end of most meals, if your family is like mine, there is a serving or so of left-over food which is not enough to have a second meal, but too much to reasonably throw out (even if we were willing to waste food). This lingers in the fridge for weeks, gradually developing a distinctive personality and (if not eventually eaten) takes over the fridge, resulting in anxiety on the part of the family, who don't want to open the fridge on the theory that the food may attack.

In order to reduce the possibility of revolution, the science of left-overation was created.

There are two most common types of dishes created by the precepts of this science are soup and hash.

A soup is created by adding stock from a previous meal (stock does not have to be meat based. Leftover boiled vegetables contain a nutrient rich broth that can be the base of a soup. However, in our family, this is mostly chicken broth). Add containers full of leftovers from the fridge. Make sure before adding that everything has been reduced to bite sized pieces that can be easily picked up by a spoon. Don't worry about adding spices (unless the leftovers have been a particularly bland group) because the combination of taco salad (here meaning the bean and veggie portion—not the cheese and sour cream and tortilla chips which are added at the end to the consumer's taste) and leftover butter chicken (so, Indian spices) create a distinctive new flavor that is quite enjoyable.

A hash is created when stock is not available, or the food to be reused is of a nature that doesn't easily soup. Lasagna, for example, is difficult to add to soup because the pasta involved does not hold up to the addition of water (egg noodles, on the other hand, are a welcome addition to most soups). Instead, the leftovers are reduced to bite sized pieces and added to a frying pan. There they are heated through and mixed with other meals. If some binding agent is desired, add some sour cream or mashed potatoes, and the foods will mix together in a smoother manner.

In our family, Dad is the most proficient student of left-overation. He received top marks in soups. My sister is also an excellent practitioner, although she is more likely to produce “stuff”, which involves the use of a slow-cooker to manage the recombination.

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Lornda

I just might have to take this course...I need a lot of help with Left-overation *Laugh* Entertaining entry!