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| "Leftovers" Curry Puffs |
Saturday has been a fairly productive day. I went to bed at 3:30 a.m. and woke up once a little after 10:00 a.m., but, went back to bed and slept till 11:30 a.m. On the plus side, I got my eight hours of sleep. On the minus side, it was already noon by the time I had my "morning" cup of tea!
I spent the early part of the afternoon replying to blog comments and commenting on other blogs. Then, I had leftover waffles and seeni sambol for brunch. Later in the afternoon, I practiced the piano and, with my daughter's help, ordered dry cat food and kitty litter to be delivered. We also put in an order of groceries and treats from the Sri Lankan store for curbside pick up. Some items for me, some items for her to take back with her whenever she next comes home (for the Christmas/New Year holidays, hopefully), some treats to share with friends, and a couple of items to give as holiday gifts. The store emailed an order confirmation and they will email me when the order is ready for pick up.
In the evening, I discovered that Dancer had had an accident in the bathroom, so I cleaned up the mess, swept and mopped the bathroom floor, and did a load of laundry (bath mats, etc.)
Afterwards, I relaxed watching a documentary, "Fidler: Miracle of Miracles", about the story of the Broadway musical and movie, "Fidler on the Roof".
Then, I decided to bake something for dinner. Going by the maxim, "Waste not, want not" and the belief that anything baked in a pastry tastes good, I decided to make "leftovers curry puffs"! There was a piece of baked chicken thigh languishing in the fridge, along with a third or so of a can of corned beef, and some potato curry. I cut up the meat from the chicken thigh, mixed in the corned beef, mashed the potato in the curry and added that to the meat mixture, and mixed in some chili powder. I thawed some frozen puff pastry squares, heaped a big spoonful of the mixture in the middle of the pastry squares and folded them over to make turnovers. I brushed the tops with some milk and baked them in a 350F oven for about 25 minutes until they puffed up and turned golden brown. A few of them didn't seal properly (too much filling!), but, that's OK. I am not entering a baking competition to worry about how they look! I had one curry puff while still hot from the oven for my dinner and it tasted very good! The spices from the potato curry and the added chili powder blended the flavors nicely; it was a good way to use up leftovers!
While the curry puffs baked, I did the dishes and swept the kitchen. Then, it was time to video chat with my daughter and write an email to a friend.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter's help with ordering groceries, cat supplies, etc.
- Being able to order Sri Lankan treats!
- Frozen puff pastry dough
- Being able to transform leftovers into something tasty
- Public TV programs
Today's joyful activities included watching an interesting TV show, ordering some treats from the Sri Lankan store, and baking.
How was your Saturday? What are some of your favorite ways to transform leftovers?
I think you're right. Everything does taste better in a pastry. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how unappealing each leftover item was, by itself, but, combined and baked in puff pastry, it was very appetizing!
DeleteBecause I bulk cook and freeze in portions, I don't often have leftovers. If I do have leftover veg I usually make bubble and squeak the next day, and will sometimes make chicken fried rice if there's extra chicken, but that's about it. Though seeing your curry puffs, it's very tempting to make a few changes so that I have leftovers from time to time!
ReplyDeleteUsually, I am fine with eating leftovers just as they are. But, this time, the leftovers weren't very appealing as they were and needed to be transformed. :)
DeleteSounds like it was a good day. I agree that anything baked in pastry is yummy!
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, the magical transforming power of pastry! :D
DeleteYour curry puffs sound delicious! I will have to try that sometime. Celie
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. I usually make the filling with ground beef to which I add grated vegetables, but, leftover cooked chicken works just as well!
DeleteI wonder who first invented pastry? It seems that so many countries have their own favourite uses for it, savoury or sweet. I must remember to buy some of that frozen puff pastry.
ReplyDeleteI made apple cobbler for dessert today. It is lazier than making a pie!
DH came back from town yesterday with a giant bag of sunflower seeds. The birds could hardly believe their luck. I am now putting the mixed seed into another feeder in the hope of attracting finches when the weather gets colder. Actually that is not far off as we had overnight frost and a bit of freezing rain in the morning and rain later. No outings today!
Good question, Bushlady! I did a search, online, and found out that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had something similar to phyllo dough that they served filled with dates, nuts, etc.
DeleteYum! Apple cobbler sounds good!
Oh, I'm sure the birds were very happy to receive their sunflower seeds! LOL. Today, I made one mockingbird very happy by making "rain" for it, when I was watering the garden, so it could have a bath! :)
My first husband's parents immigrated to the U.S. from Yugoslavia. I will never forget going into the basement of their church a few days before our wedding where the ladies were making pastries. As I walked into the room, they lifted a huge piece of phyllo into the air as if it were a sail. It was as big as a bed sheet and just magnificent. As were the pastries they made with it.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like there was some serious pastry making going on! :)
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