Hopeful, with Kielbasa

It’s a week of minor misfortune – stomach viruses, schedules addled by snow, heating oil delivery at $3.69/gallon. The old dog’s legs weak and painful.

Cooking devolves into survival mode – spaghetti, tomato soup with grilled cheese, scrambled eggs.

Finally, it’s Friday night, everyone asleep but me. Wind shrieks around the corners of the house and the drafts writhe around my knees.

I go to the refrigerator and peer at the shelves, wishing leftover potatoes into chocolate.

Around the corner comes the click-click-click of nails on wood:  Gus, who all week could barely get out of his dog bed and yelped when we went to help him up and out the door.

Yet now here he is, head cocked and eyes bright.  Hopeful.

This dog believes in possibility. The chance that I’ll toss a hunk of bread, a slice of apple. It’s like having perpetual springtime, owning a dog.

Hope deserves recognition on this frigid evening. I grab a small bag of leftover kielbasa and shake it into his bowl.

When he’s done eating, I head for the couch and pat the cushion next to me. His black and white ears raise in surprise – this, too, the ultimate taboo?

Yes, my dear, stoic dog. For you and your optimism we break all the rules. May you be forever rewarded with links of kielbasa.

*

If you’re lucky enough to have endless links of kielbasa (ours aren’t endless, but they do come from Red Haven Farm and are might tasty!), here are three low-cost but super-hearty recipes I’ve been working on.

Each dish calls for ½ lb of kielbasa instead of the traditional 1 or 2lbs, and additional ingredients like red beans, rice, lentils, and pasta create healthy, belly-filling meals just might let you splurge on other foodstuffs. (This week my favorite goodie is Cracked Pepper Chevre from Amazing Acres Goat Dairy in Elverson, PA.)

Quick tip: to stretch any uncooked sausage, simply remove it from the casing and crumble it in a pot. The pieces will be smaller and distribute more evenly.

Cate’s Lentil Soup with Kielbasa and Potato

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

½ lb cooked kielbasa, sliced OR uncooked, removed from casings and crumbled

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 slices bacon (optional – I used it because it was leftover in the fridge)

8 cups water

1 ½ c. lentils, picked over and rinsed

14 ½ oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 tsp dried)

2 Tbsp dried parsley                                

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

1.)    Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add kielbasa and brown on all sides. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.

2.)    To pot and drippings, add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bacon, and potato. Cook 5-8 minutes until tender but not browned.

3.)    Stir in water, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, and tomatoes with juice.

4.)    Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook 40 minutes or until lentils are tender.

5.)    Add kielbasa, salt, pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes or until kielbasa is warmed through.

6.)    Ladle into bowls and serve. Rustic bread is an excellent accompaniment!

 

 Red Beans and Rice with Kielbasa, adapted from Relish. My Gram sent me the original magazine recipe, and I’m so glad she did. The beans turn out rich and moist since they’re simmered for a long time with sausage, onion, celery, garlic, and parsley. I thought the overall dish needed more taste, though, so here’s my version of the recipe. It’s also reduced to four servings instead of eight.

Ingredients

½ lb dried red kidney beans

1 tbsp olive oil

½  lb cooked kielbasa, sliced into ¼ inch rounds OR uncooked, removed from casings and crumbled

1 cup chopped onion

3 celery ribs, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp dried parsley (4 tbsp fresh)

½ tsp salt

4 tsp hot sauce, plus more to taste

32 oz. low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

2 ½ c. cooked white rice

Instructions

1.)    Rinse beans. Place in a large bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight.

2.)    When ready to cook, heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add kielbasa and cook until browned on both sides.

3.)    Add onion, celery, garlic. Cook until onion is tender, about 5 min.

4.)    Drain beans and add to pot.

5.)    Add broth until it covers the mixture by about 2 inches.

6.)    Add parsley, salt, and hot sauce.

7.)    Cook until beans are tender, about 1 ½ hrs. Check taste; add more hot sauce if desired. Serve over hot rice.

 

Pasta with Sausage, Basil, and Mustard. I love all things creamy, and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. It has a little kick to it, too – the red pepper flakes and basil keep things interesting. Another plus – it doesn’t take long to prepare, 20 minutes at most.

A few notes on sausage: the original recipe from Food&Wine calls for hot Italian sausage, but all I had was kielbasa. Delicious anyway – and I have a feeling sweet Italian sausage would work well, too.

By the way – this one takes a little tweaking to become affordable.  The original calls for a pound of pasta and 1.5 lbs of sausage.  That’s a lot of food for four people. To keep things manageable, we halved the amount of sausage and pasta; even so, there were leftovers for lunch the next day.