Wild and Crazy Dinner

We had an interesting dinner last night. The idea was born from something Davan had come across and shared with me. I changed it up some to suit our needs.

We had some leftovers and a few odds and ends to use up. I knew some of the items would not be popular and one of the leftover items had been eaten on quite a bit, was getting a bit past it's prime and would not be chosen, either. So, I decided it was time to put Davan's found game to the test.

Here's what I came up with:

First, I pulled out everything I wanted to use up plus a special (for us) treat. We had pasta and veggies in a cashew sauce (the leftover that was past it's prime), hash with mushrooms (Anthony doesn't like mushrooms), radishes, green onions, which I chopped up, black lentil sprouts, salsa, nacho "cheese" sauce, experimental sort of dehydrated onions that were okay but not great, a smidge of hummus from Trader Joes, hummus that I'd made from sprouted chickpeas which was eatable, but not really all that enjoyable, and a Dave's Killer Bread Peace Bomb, cut up. I put each of these items on a slip of paper and put them in a hat.

In a separate hat, I put slips of paper with different utensils on them. We had a fork, a spoon, a baby spoon, a butter knife, a spatula, a serving spoon and chop sticks.

We ate in rounds, 8 of them, all told. For each round, each of us picked a single utensil and three food items. It was okay to use the microwave, if desired and foods could be combined, but didn't have to be. At least a bite was required of the item chosen. If one got Peace Bomb, one could only take one piece, but may take less, if desired. For the first round, a person couldn't take more than half of what was there, but, after that, could finish off an item as desired.

Hilarity ensued, for Davan and I, at least. We laughed and laughed. Poor Anthony, who'd had a rough day at work and had eaten the pasta and veggie dish for lunch, was much less amused, but I did finally catch him smiling when, for the 5th round in a row, he got green onions. We had some very interesting combinations.

Round 1:
On my plate is two different types of hummus and black lentil sprouts to be eaten with a butter knife. Anthony had a pretty good combination of the pasta and veggies with the experimental onions and green onions with the baby spoon. Davan enjoyed some hash, something I don't remember, and, sadly for her, as she doesn't like them, a radish to be eaten with a spoon. Here she is, washing out her mouth with water after the radish.

Round 2:
I got the most dinner sort of food this round with both hash and the pasta and veggies, which I topped with some of the experimental onions and ate with a merciful spoon. Anthony had the fork to eat his salad of radishes, green onions and salsa. Davan used the butter knife with glee to eat black lentils, raw hummus and a chunk of Peace Bomb.

Round 3:
I again, scored, with Peace Bomb, TJ's hummus and black lentils. I even had the knife to spread the hummus. Davan got the worst of the round with salsa, nacho "cheese" and raw hummus to be dished up and eaten with chopsticks, of which she is not a master. Anthony used the spoon to enjoy hash, pasta and veggies and, yes, more green onions.

Round 4:
Anthony again had a salad of sorts with radishes, green onions (of course) and raw hummus, all eaten with the baby spoon. Davan, in control of the real spoon, had pasta and veggies (finishing those off), nacho "cheese" and experimental onions. I, again, has a good combo of hash with salsa and another piece of Peace Bomb. Of course, hash with chopsticks was a little challenging, but I was up to it.

Round 5:
Davan, who had been musing that no one had yet to use the serving spoon or spatula, lucked out with the spatula for her raw hummus, lentil sprouts and...something. Anthony finally polished off the green onions, scored with some Peace Bomb and had a little salsa with his spoon. I, again, had chopsticks to eat my hash, topped with nacho "cheese" this time and a nice serving of the remainder of the radishes.

Round 6:
By this time, I was getting full, having done pretty well, really, so I only took a small piece of Peace Bomb to eat alongside my lentil sprouts and salsa. Davan got the other large utensil and used the serving spoon to eat her nacho "cheese", salsa and lentil sprouts (by this point, we were sometimes getting the same things, as, in order for everyone to have three items, we were putting items back in the hat) and Anthony had a bit more hash with nacho "cheese" and raw hummus along with the opposite of the serving spoon, the baby spoon.

We did draw one more round, but I'd stopped taking pictures. After that round, which ended my eating, Anthony and Davan just finished off anything they were interested in still, which included a piece of Peace Bomb each, hash for Davan and some nacho "cheese" sauce for Anthony.

It was a fun and leisurely meal in which used up those odds and ends in an entertaining way. Either we'd have ended up tossing them or we'd have eaten them reluctantly, but this made it fun, at least for Davan and I. We spent part of the time teasing Anthony about how other people got to come home to real dinner and an evening in front of the TV, but he was stuck with us. Usually, of course, he's glad about that, but last night, with his day, was a stretch. Still, he participated and was a fairly good, if quiet, sport about it.