By Natalie Hampton
Day one of my month-long SNAP challenge, Sunday March 3, I made my infamous international stew. International stew generally consists of whatever’s in my pantry and a seasoning “fusion” that may span the globe from Thai curry paste to taco seasoning. Stew fits well with my life style as I rarely wash dishes (I suspect the rest of the HCRC gang may request I bring a pre-packaged dish to the next office pot-luck once they see pictures of my kitchen). One-pot wonders like international stew mean fewer dishes to not wash.
The beauty of international stew is that it can result in a peaceful, United Nations of flavor. On the other hand, the flavors sometimes clash like Hugo Chavez and George W. Bush. And while I rarely throw out anything that I go to the trouble of cooking, eating my International stew sometimes borders on a Geneva Convention breech. A prolonged torture considering the second goal of my super stew: to avoid cooking anything else for a week. So a barely-edible batch means days of flavor-challenged gruel.
My first signs of food insecurity started seeping in when I realized that this stew-to-be would be my only source of nourishment for the next several days, with the exception of a protein bar for breakfast and a couple pieces of toast in the evening. This was anxiety provoking given that so much was riding on this one dish and if it were barely edible, my next few days would be affected. That being said, I fully acknowledge that this simulation (the SNAP challenge) is only a glimpse into the lives of economically distressed families. The truth is that I could dump my dish if it really blew and buy more food. So this challenge, while useful, can’t possibly match the real anxiety of living life with a safety net full of holes. In a real household, a burned dish intended to last 4 days could mean missing a half-day of work to take 2 bus transfers down to the food pantry.
As luck would have it stew #1, made on Sunday afternoon, turned out pretty great.
Stew #1
Can of rotel tomatoes
Can of seasoned black beans
Brown rice
Garam Masala
Chicken flavored vegetarian broth powder
Fresh kale
Fresh carrots
Butter
Tilapia fillets
I overestimated how many days it would last though – I really thought I’d sail through to the weekend on that one, but it only lasted through lunchtime Wednesday. By yesterday afternoon I was getting pretty cranky and had to apologize to a friend who I gave a ride to for ranting about a missed turn that resulted in an extended drive around campus during rush hour.
In my weakened and fussy condition, I craved satisfying results from stew #2 but found it seriously disappointing. I made a big ‘ol batch though so unfortunately for my co-workers, my fussiness may extend through Monday.
Stew #2
Two packages broccoli cheese rice mix
One yellow onion
A big mess of mustard greens
Half a bag of lentils
A big hunk of butter
White vinegar
Garam Masala
The last two ingredients I added only after I sampled the exceeding blandness of the concoction. Maybe it’s one of those stews that get better after it sits for a while??? I’ll report back in my next update…..if I haven’t been ex-communicated from the office by then.