Catsup/Ketchup

I hate the stuff. I think it tastes awful. I used to "can" ketchup each summer and that mixture I loved. The thickened tomato soup that comes in a jar now doesn't taste anything like the recipe which was in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, 1966 edition.



The reason for this talk about catsup/ketchup (CK from now on) is that I'm currently out of CK in my pantry and refrigerator. That's because I made one of Alan's favorite dishes the other night. It was a staple of his mom's when they lived in Kenya because she could get the main ingredient easily. The main ingredient is SPAM. Yes, that's right, SPAM, that stuff that comes in a blue can.



Anyway, last night I was going to just make hamburgers for dinner, but then I realized I was out of CK and Alan would never eat a hamburger without CK, whereas, I would never eat a hamburger with CK (unless it's made by McD's).



So, I had to have pork chops instead, which meant making a full dinner with the trusted three sides -- a starch (lima beans), a green veggie (green beans) and a salad (always a salad), a lot more work than I wanted to do.



Back to CK. I posted this recipe for SPAM which has to be served with rice. I can't stand the taste of it, but Alan loves it, so three or four times a year I make it for him. I eat the rice and maybe a spoonful of the SPAM dish. And, I'm probably repeating the entire previous post. But I have an excuse. I'm getting old and forgetful. I do remember my name today, though. A good sign.



Apparently children love the taste of this dish. I don't know why, but they do. And if you go back and read the recipe I posted a few weeks ago, you know why I'm out of CK. It takes quite a bit of that nasty tomato condiment to finish off the SPAM dish properly.

I'll be out of CK for the next couple of weeks. My shopper went to the store for me yesterday and she doesn't go again for a couple of weeks. Am I sad to be missing CK in my fridge or pantry? Not at all, but now I will have to wrack my brain to think of some other way to make a hamburger so that Alan will eat it. Maybe I will douse it with bar-b-q sauce. That might work.

PS: I don't particularly like BBQ sauce either. I guess I'm hard to please.

Spam and Rice

This is not a recipe I learned from my Mom, but I did learn it while I was living in Runnemede, and I started making it before I was married. It's a recipe handed down to me by my mother-in-law, Ruth Hahn. I have to say she made this A LOT. It was cheap, easy, and if you kept Spam in your pantry you could whip it up in about 15 minutes, especially if you used Minute Rice.

My husband loves this stuff. I can't stand it. So, as you might guess, I don't make it often. Only by special request from him.

I get to thinking sometimes, it must be rough to be fed whatever the cook wants you (or herself) to eat, and you get to share that. It's not like having a personal chef where you can dictate what you want to eat for dinner or lunch, etc., you just have to eat what's put in front of you. Children and husbands are in this category. Personally, I don't think I'd like to be in that category, but I've never been in a situation where I would be, except when I had my three children and had to eat what the hospital provided, and we all know about hospital food, right?

Back to SPAM AND RICE.

Ingredients:
1 can of Spam (feeds up to 4). I used to use two cans when the children were at home. Doubled everything in this recipe because it was enjoyed by them in their early years.
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tspn vinegar (white preferred)
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1 small onion cut up into small pieces
1/2 green or red pepper, cut into small pieces (Alan prefers this dish without the peppers)
1 Cup of Rice (uncooked)


First, unless you are using Minute Rice, start your rice. 1 cup of rice, two cups of water. Put rice into boiling water and cover. Add salt. Reduce to low, cover the pan and cook until water is absorbed by the rice, about 20 minutes.

For the S&R: To a skillet add a little bit of EVOO or a pat of butter and then brown the onions and pepper, but don't burn them. While these are browning, cut up the Spam into small pieces. When the onions and peppers are just brown and not burnt, add the Spam, ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes, so that the Spam and ketchup can heat up. If it is too thick, add a little water. You may want to experiment to get it to the consistency you like to put over the cooked rice.

That's all there is to this dish. Basically kids love it because it's so ketchupy. And it's a good way to disguise Spam. Personally? I prefer Spam right from the can.

ttfn