When I was teaching high school at Waiakea, my gifted and talented students read The Color Purple in tandem with the novel, The Scarlet Letter. The class which was wholly female came up with some amazing insights and discussion. The comment I remember most is when one of the girls said, "In both books, the female protagonists made beautiful things out of scraps." Indeed, what a revelation.
In our lives, we throw away too much. I am guilty of throwing away scrap fabric when I could be saving it to make patchwork quilts or such. "I just don't have time for that kind of stuff," I rationalize to myself.
This past weekend, we made laulaus which are pieces of meat wrapped in taro leaves and then steamed. When we cut the beef and the pork, we deboned the meat and cut it into chunks for the laulaus. I kept the bones and the next day, I prepared a soup for the workers. I added onions, carrots, potatoes, pasta, seasoning, and a large can of spaghetti sauce. The soup served the workers and the leftovers have been the basis for five meals so far.
The bones were given to the dogs to enjoy which they relished.
One of my hula sisters commented on how she remembered her popo (Chinese grandmother) would make such a soup for the family using bones as the basis for the broth. Making use of our resources. Cooks know that using soup bones are the best for a flavorful stock. If there is bone marrow which is not sucked up by a knowing eater, it adds to the creaminess of the soup.
Poverty Soup
Beef, pork, chicken, or turkey bones with some meat left on the bones
1 round onion
2-3 stalks of celery. Use the leaves also.
2-3 carrots
2-3 potatoes
1/2 c uncooked pasta like macaroni
1 can spaghetti sauce
1-2 bay leaves
Seasoning - salt, coarse black pepper, Worcestershire sauce. Red pepper flakes are optional for a little zing.
Braise the bones with the onion and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent.
Add enough water to cover the bones. Simmer until the meat falls off the bones - 2-3 hours.
Remove the bones and skim the fat off of the soup.
Add in the spaghetti sauce and bay leaves. Simmer for half an hour and then add in the carrots, potatoes and macaroni.
Correct the seasoning and add 2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
You can enrich the soup by adding leftovers in the refrigerator such as vegetables, etc.
Enjoy the good life and create something wonderful with scraps.
