It's dinner time. You're beyond starving, and somehow there's no meal planned for the evening. What to do?! I'll admit readily that this scenario happens a LOT in our house and more often than note, our "go to" meal is spaghetti with red sauce. However, that gets old pretty fast and we've been determined to break ourselves of that fallback habit.

So, what's Plan B? Raid the leftovers and get creative! I'm notorious for saving "just a little bit" of a dish just because I hate to see prepared food go to waste. The result is that, about once a week, the fridge contains a plethora of seemingly mismatched dishes and none of them are enough for a meal on their own. This is where Leftover Gourmet comes in!

Here are some of the things I spotted when I looked in the fridge:
1 cup cooked basmati rice
1 square tempeh (approx 1 worth)
2 carrots
Handful of butterleaf lettuce
Bok choy
Parsnip-carrot puree (yanked from the freezer earlier)

Doesn't look like much of a meal to you? It certainly does to me! Hang in there, follow along, and you'll see how easy it can be to transform mish-mash leftovers into a gourmet meal!



Mock tuna salad in bok choy boats

1 cup cooked basmati rice
1 square tempeh, crumbled
2 Tbsp or other vegan mayo
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp pickle relish (or more, if desired)
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp tumeric
3-4 drops
Sea salt and pepper to taste
3-4 sliced dried tomatoes, crushed (or sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil)
4-5 basil leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dried basil)
2 large pieces of boy choy

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Don't mash! Just stir until you get a uniform mixture. With a spoon, pile your tempeh mix into the wide "bowl" of the boy choy and serve it up!



Ginger-Agave Carrots

2 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup water
sea salt
2 tsp minced ginger
2-3 Tbsp agave nectar
Pinch cayenne pepper

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan and add carrots. Sautee about 3 minutes, stirring to coat carrots in oil. Add water, salt and ginger and cover for about 10 minutes. When carrots are fork tender, add agave and cayenne and cook for a few minutes uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve these carrots on their own as a side dish or add them to any warm salad you make!

Dressed Butterleaf Greens
This is a versatile dressing you can use for any greens, fresh or cooked. Make up a batch and keep it in a squeeze bottle in your fridge for up to 2 weeks! This recipe makes enough dressing for about 8 servings. For my Leftover Gourmet dinner, I used about 1 Tbsp of the finished dressing for my large handful of lettuce leaves.

3 Tbsp agave nectar
1 1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard
6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork. Or, pour them all in a squeeze bottle and, with the nozzle covered, shake vigorously. Serve!

Parsnip-Carrot Soup with Soy

2 cups parsnip-carrot puree (See Note below)
1 cup water
Sea salt and pepper
Soy sauce to finish

Combine puree, water, salt and pepper in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until water is completely mixed in and soup is warmed through. Serve in small bowls and drizzle soy sauce liberally on top. (This soup could be made even more excellent with the addition of some dried wild mushrooms!)

Note: I prepared and froze this parsnip-carrot puree a few weeks ago, and there's plenty left in the freezer for more soup throughout the winter! I chopped parsnips and carrots, drizzled them sparingly with olive oil and roasted them on a baking sheet 400°F. After allowing them to cool, I pureed them in batches in my food processor. I packaged the puree in quart-size freezer bags, which makes it super easy to defrost quickly and whip up slow roasted soups and other dishes all winter long!



I hope you've enjoyed this edition of the Leftover Gourmet, and perhaps you'll be able to look at your leftovers in a whole new way! I'm always curious about the creative ways people use/reuse their leftovers, so what's your favorite meal revamp idea?