by Lisa

We’ve been taking a cue from Mark Bittman’s latest book around here and making meat even less of presence than it usually is on our table.   One of the things he suggests is to keep meat as a side course, not the focus of the meal. This is good for the eater and good for the environment.  This week, this strategy happened kind of by accident, but it was terrific: economical, efficient, and versatile.

Remember that ham steak? That’s half of it on the plate. The kids ate only half of that, and the husband and I ate the other half.  The following night, I cooked another quarter, choppped it up, and used it for our baked potato bar. Which was a big hit.

We still didn’t finish it, so the next night that leftover chopped up ham went into a country omelete with chives and cheddar cheese.

And we still had a 1/4 of the ham left.  Kory and I finished it a few nights later with a potato/celery root mash & the left over pan sauce (which I had kept in a glass jar for just this eventuality).  On the side we had roasted beets & puntarelle, and it was a perfect cold winter night’s meal.

That makes 4 meals (3 for 4 people, 1 for 2 people) for about $6 worth of meat, which in this house is an accomplishment.