Tinapesto Rice and Almond Ham

One of the benefits of being a kitchen minister in a small Jesuit community is that you are made fully aware of the house’s leftovers. Seeing many small plates and plastic microwaveable containers inside the refrigerator never fail to pose a challenge. Unconsumed food for me means flexing my culinary creativity in order to deliciously disguise past day’s meals and create something rather new for the pleasure of my companions at home.

While mulling over what to prepare for breakfast one Saturday morning, I found some packed ham, leftover tinapa, leftover rice and a little jar of pesto. After a few more moments, I came up with Tinapesto Rice and Almond Ham. Here are the recipes:

Tinapesto Rice

3 bowls of left over rice
2 pcs left over tinapa (smoked fish)
1 clove garlic
5 tbsps cooking oil
salt to taste
pesto to taste

In a separate container, combine the rice, salt and tinapa. Mix them well so the flavor of the ingredients blend well with the rice. When that is done, sauté the minced garlic until it turns golden brown. Pour in the rice combination and scoop in about 4 tablespoons of pesto. Continue to stir until the color of your rice is even.

Almond Ham

7 slices leftover ham
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 c. water
1 tsp. pure almond extract

In a sauce pan, combine all the ingredients until it caramelizes. Put in the ham and let it simmer till the color changes to that of the sauce.

These two dishes are relatively simple and would serve six people. I was excited while preparing the meal for two reasons. First was because something new came out of the old and second, more space was created in the refrigerator to accommodate more leftovers.