I had a lot of freegan potatoes to use up, as well as some beef chuck in the freezer. So naturally, I made meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting.
We combined freegan eggplant with an indulgent purchase of asparagus and roasted them with olive oil and and lemon.
I had a dozen nearly-expired limes that I had been meaning to use the last couple weeks. So I decided to make key lime pie. Except I only had mini pie tins that my old roommates had left behind, so I decided to make 5 mini pies rather than one large. We had a half a bag of really old graham crackers left from a work party, but that wasn't enough for all the crust, so I also used a handful of pretzel Ritz crackers that I had found in the trash. I thought the salty pretzelness would be a nice balance with the sweet tart of the pie, but didn't want it to be too savory so I also mixed in some fresh (also nearly too old) ginger and shredded coconut I found in the fridge. I threw everything for the crust in the food processor along with a stick of butter, then patted it out inside the tins. Then I made the filling and meringue more or less as dictated by the Joy of Cooking. It turned out seriously delicious. The crust was perfectly gooey and crumbly and sweet and salty. And because I put in 1/4 c extra lime juice and zest (and an extra egg yolk to balance it out), the filling was nigh exploding with flavor--it mattered not that the lime juice had come from limes that, on account of their browning exterior, often would have been tossed. And although I didn't beat the eggs as much as suggested for the meringue because my beater ran out of batteries, the topping was just puffy enough for such little pies.
Then we all dined on the roof, on a found table, with found cutlery and wine glasses, old jam jar water glasses, a box of Black Box poured into an old wine bottle, a beautiful view, and with dessert, a game of Cranium. Almost nothing matched or was even picked out or purchased, but the setting, the food, and the people were comfortable and wonderful and charming and that's what makes an evening memorable.
