Sequestration Meal #399

 

The most entertaining part of avoiding the grocery store is the meals at the very end, the ones that use up whatever is left. (I plan to get fresh things soon; 6 weeks was about what I'd planned for, even though I think I probably could have stretched it for another week or two. I am now feeling too banana-deprived to keep this up.) So here we have a clearing-stuff-out meal, and for that I used three new-to-me recipes:

1. Bulgur Wheat Pilaf with Mushrooms from The Spruce Eats
2. Braised Red Cabbage and Apples from the New York Times
3. Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu from Rabbits and Wolves

It had been a really long time since I'd had bulgur, and I figure I do need to keep trying to use things I have around, plus this recipe used up several other things I still had on hand. It was a nice change of pace from the rice, pasta, and potatoes I've been rotating through for most of the winter when I didn't have bread and was not in the mood to bake it.

The cabbage was an inspiration--so pretty, and so nicely balanced between sweet and acidic. I would generally prefer green cabbage cooked per my usual methods, but when I was shopping they had no full heads of green cabbage. But I had to buy cabbage, because it lasts so long. So I think this was a kind of fortunate unexpected situation. Plus, it's so vibrant!

The tofu isn't as good as the pineapple tofu ham I made a long time ago--I am beginning to think nothing compares to that!--but it was definitely still good, and a lot less effort. I probably should have cooked it a bit longer to get crispy edges, but everything else was ready and I was absolutely starving by then.

Here's to the discipline it takes to see ourselves through this mess.