As we awaited blizzard Nemo, a storm billed as “historic” and likely to dump anywhere between 6 inches to 3 feet of snow in our neck of the woods.  Our town’s listserv had a running thread about what folks are cooking during the storm and answers have ranged from chile and swedish meatballs to faux pho, but I won’t beat that dead horse anymore.  I might be naive–and really, most of the time the weather reports around here really miss the mark–but I think roads and markets will be open within hours of the storm’s passing. I mean, it’s not like we’re Washington DC or Baltimore where 2 inches of snow means gridlock and a state of emergency. So I only had one thing on my list: pho, the real thing. But although the pot of pho is vast and could probably feed us and Next Doors for 3 days, I suppose I should consider making a few things that we could eat should we lose power (and gas?).

Hmm.  Refrigerator surprise time!  A quick scan of the fridge and I found: Chinese sausage, pineapple, carrots, chopped green onions, and rice (any self-respecting Asian always has cooked rice on hand).  Voila!  Pineapple fried rice!  This time, instead of using the pork fat still sitting in the fridge, I killed two birds with one stone by using the bacon grease from breakfast (don’t worry, I poured most of it out).

2 tablespoons bacon/pork fat/vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2-3 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped/sliced Chinese sausage
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
2 chopped scallions
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
handful Thai basil leaves

Heat pork fat/oil over medium-high heat until hot, then add garlic and cook until fragrant–about 30-60 seconds.  Add Chinese sausage and cook for about 3 minutes, then add carrots and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add pineapple chunks and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until pineapple begins to caramelize. Add rice and mix thoroughly.  Drizzle in eggs and stir to coat rice and cook eggs.  Season with soy sauce and salt to taste.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 scallions and Thai basil.  Serve immediately, garnishing with a sprinkle of scallions and black pepper.  YUM!  Makes about two lunch servings.

Update: Since I first drafted this post, Nemo dropped over 2 feet of snow on us, much to the kids delight. Check out time-elapsed footage of the storm here.  Mr. No Nom has been rather busy with the shoveling and even dug out two luge tracks in the backyard for the kids!  Massachusetts implemented a 24 hour travel ban, the MBTA has yet to resume service some 36 hours after the storm began, and Logan airport was shut down for 24 hours.  Keeping my fingers crossed that all gets back to normal in time for us to fly out on Thursday!