Using what is left

I am on my way back to Denver!! I had a really great summer, working with really lovely people, and enjoying beautiful San Diego. But on Saturday, I finished packing my apartment, cleaned up, and drove away. I was sad, having to say goodbye to my friends, but looked forward to getting on the road and heading back to Denver.

I don't move with a lot of things. One can only fit so much into the back of a MINI Cooper, right? And to be honest, cleaning an apartment in which one has only lived for a few months is not difficult or time-consuming either. The difficult part of moving is, in fact, dealing with the food. I really do not like throwing perfectly good food out, so about a month out from moving, I have to start thinking on how to whittle down the food supplies.

The really difficult part is when I get to an evening where I have one nice ingredient, and would like to make a nice dinner. I have to get creative in how I use what is left to make something that tastes good, and not like I put weird things together and called it dinner. Last Saturday night, I opened my freezer and said, "Oh right, I have a Cornish game hen I have to eat." I stuck in the fridge to thaw and got it out Monday night to cook. I had made a pasta sauce the night before using the last of the tomatoes, olives, capers, frozen peppers, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and onions. I decided I would roast the bird and eat part of it with the sauce and the last of the pasta in the pantry.

I had some fresh rosemary and sage left over, and thought I would use those and some citrus and garlic to flavor the hen. As it turned out, however, the only citrus I had left was a small sliver of lemon, and I had just used the last of the garlic in the sauce. I had also used the last of my salt the week before, and in a fit of stubbornness, refused to spend the $0.99 to buy more. The solution? Orange Marmalade and garlic powder.

Game Hen a l'orange

1 game hen, rinsed and patted dry
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3-4 leaves fresh sage
garlic powder
pepper
lemon slice(s)
2 tbsp orange marmalade

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stand hen on end and liberally sprinkle garlic powder and black pepper in the cavity. Shove the rosemary, sage, and lemon slice(s) inside. You don't need to close the end, just shove it in there well and it will stay. Rub the entire outside of bird with a mixture of the garlic powder and black pepper. Lay in a roasting pan, back side down, and spread marmalade on breast side, legs and wings. Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until juices run clear when you pierce thigh with fork. Remove from pan and let sit 10 minutes before cutting into it and serving.

I know, I know. How can it be good without salting it. Even though none of the ingredients used contained any amount of salt to speak of, the herbs, spices and slightly sweet and tangy flavor of the marmalade made this delicious! The sugar from the marmalade also made the bird turn a beautiful golden brown.

This is something for me to think of, longingly, as I spend two days driving back to Denver, eating bad food along the way. So sad.