It's the weekend, time for menu planning

A good cook will always have a menu on hand. That is just good time management and kitchen planning. Generally, you won't plan your three course meal for the night you get home at 5pm and have to leave at 6pm to catch a meeting.

Most of us stand in front of the refrigerator and decide each evening what we'll have for supper. Most times, we'll end up giving up and ordering out, or grabbing something from a box. Not the healthiest way to eat. With obesity becoming a bigger and bigger problem, we need to watch what we eat. I believe that the biggest part of the problem is the lack of good menu planning skills.

Certainly exercise is important. Watching what you eat is important. The easiest way to know that you are eating sensibly though is to prepare a menu and generally stick to it. Then eat as planned and get a bit of exercise in every day. I'm sure that if everyone took 30 minutes per week to do this simple task, we would be a healthier and wealthier nation. Oh, yeah! Didn't I tell you? Sticking to a menu and not wasting food is good for the budget too.

Is menu planning a difficult task? Not unless you make it so. Here are some simple guidelines for menu planning.

Material required:

• Have your weekly agenda on hand - just to know which nights have outings, which days have been more demanding, which evenings you get home late from work or school...



• Have a sheet of paper with the days of the week written in the margin with a minimum of 2 lignes between days.



• A good pencil and eraser is handy too.

Up to this point, everything sounds simple enough. Now comes the planning.

1. On each day, write down a meat. I'm not talking "chicken cordon bleu". I'm just talking chicken. For variety, try not to have the same meat or even similar meat two days in a row... ex: chicken/turkey or sole/haddock...



2. On each day, write down a grain. Here we can be more specific. Instead of just saying wheat, we would say pasta. No names though. This is just the basic guideline.



3. On each day, write down at least two vegetables/fruit. Preferrably one will be bright green, and the others have vibrant colours.



4. On each day, write down a dairy product. Milk, cheese, yogurt.

Doing this first step allows you more freedom to switch things around as you are planning your meals.

Keep in mind when doing this to look over your agenda. Do you have a meeting on Tuesday night? Then I wouldn't recommend planning a three course meal with chicken for Tuesday. Actually, I'd likely avoid chicken for Tuesday. I would probably plan a stew so that it could simmer slowly all day while I was at work, or a quick stir-fry - where all the prep work is done the night before.

You may have noticed that we've hit the 4 food groups. This will help us to follow the food guide, and help us to get everything we need in our diet. Now, let's put a little bit more meat on this menu.

Some people don't need to go much further than this. They can see this and create a shopping list and know what they will have for supper every night of the week. Others, they need a bit more substance. They need to know that on Monday, the chicken will be "shaked and baked"(tm) with a side of rice pilaf, spinach, cucumber and tomato, served with a glass of milk. So let's start talking substance.

You know how busy you are. You know if your family is only ever home 2 nights a week, or if you have picky eaters, or even if you have growing teenage boys. You know if you have to watch your salt intake... At this point this is where you plan your menu. I will give you a peek at mine.

1. Monday - Chicken, potato (very starchy vegtable so in this case will likely replace a grain), salad, zucchini, carrots, yogurt - (OUT)



2. Tuesday - Pork, polenta, spinach, celery, tomatoes, cheese - (OUT)



3. Wednesday - Chicken, rice, carrots, cabbage, onions, milk - (OUT)



4. Thursday - Beef, pasta, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, cheese



5. Friday - Fish, potato, string beans, carrots, milk



6. Saturday - Beans, ploye (that's a local pancake), vegetable sticks, yogurt



7. Sunday - Roast, couscous, salad, carrots and brocolli, ice cream

For me this is enough of a guideline to follow. This coming week, I happen to be out of town for 2-3 days due to surgery in the family. This means that someone else needs to cook for the rest of the family. When I get back, the rest of the week will be busy caring for the recovering child. My menu will need to be light and quick to prepare. So let's plan:

1. Oven baked spicy chicken thighs with baked potatoes, salad, sautéed zucchini & carrots. Yogurt for dessert.



2. Pan fried marinated italian pork chops with cheesy polenta & tomato sauce, wilted garlic spinach & braised celery.



3. Oven baked shaked chicken, rice pilaf, coleslaw



4. Green & beefy tomato sauce with pasta. Cheese



5. Fish & chips, sautéed string beans and mashed carrots.



6. Homemade baked beans, ployes, vegetable sticks & yogurt base dip.



7. Roast (on special), couscous salad, chef salad, honey-ginger carrots and garlic brocolli.

From here I pull out my recipes, make sure I have everything that I need, and plan my grocery list. I also plan my cooking week. Since some of this can be made ahead of time, I plan to save myself a bit of a logistical headache and break down my week as such:

• Do days ahead: Polenta, tomato sauce, green and beefy tomato sauce.



• Do night before: Prepare vegetables (dice, slice, cut...) and store in water in the refrigerator to cook tomorrow, wash & dry leafy greens and wrap in paper towel to store in the refrigerator, rince beans, season roast.



• Do morning of: Season chicken, prepare breading mix for chicken, start beans, marinade the pork chops in italian salad dressing.

This way, as a working mom, when I get home at night, too exhausted to look at the refrigerator, I know that supper is ready, or at least nearly so. The work that I have left to do is minimal and I can relax, knowing that we'll have a good and healthy meal.

Admittedly, this takes a bit of time. However, with this 30-45 minutes of work, I've saved myself 3 suppers out, 2 chicken nugget suppers & 1 from a box dinner. I've saved money because I haven't gone out for supper. I've saved money because I don't waste fresh food bought from a guilty "we should be eating fresh vegetables" conscience. I'm eating healthier because I'm eating those seasonal fresh vegetables and reasonable portions.

Hmmm... This could well be the new diet revolution... Menu planning! ;)

Now. What's for lunch?

Bonne fête mémére!

Today is my grand-mother's 86th birthday. Tomorrow is my mother's 5mumbleth. So as many other families do, we went out and celebrated at a local restaurant. The brunch was good, but the company was best. We took some really special pictures.

One of the most important pictures we took was a four generation picture. Here are 4 generations of eldest children. Yup... all girls! :D For at least 6 generations the eldest child of the eldest child has been a girl.

It's that time of year again...

Nighttime lows of between -5C & -10C, daytime highs of about +5C. The snow is melting. The trees are starting come back to life. From the cold and hard winter, we head into spring. From the bareness of the winter table, we start to have hope of the freshness available in spring. The first sign of the upcoming spring in these parts is that beautiful clear liquid that runs in maple trees.

At this point, simple maple water, it is collected and slowly simmered to evaporate the water and concentrate the sugar. Slowly, surely, surreptitiously... in a room full of sweet smelling steam, the lifeblood of our stately maple trees becomes a luscious thick liquid. A light, pristinely clear liquid becomes a deep and ambered liquid. Transformation takes hold of the world. Winter into spring. Seed into plants. Sap into syrup.

There is nothing better in the world than a shot of freshly boiled syrup. Warm and sweet. Fresh and surprisingly intoxicating. Maple syrup has many more uses than just for pancakes.

Added to freshly whipped cream, it makes a great topping to a summer melon salad or even a delectable maple parfait.

Added to egg yolks, you'll easily make a delicious maple crème brulée.

Used in place of honey, we can glaze a nice salmon filet.

Used in place of sugar, we can sweeten a cup of coffee.

Maple puddings, maple sausages, maple taffy... the list goes on.

So let's raise a glass to maple syrup, an exquisite first sign of spring.

This week's competition:

Cold competition - not to be eaten, only admired.

Started on Tuesday. Prepared shrimp stuffing. Prepared chicken mousse. Prepared chicken stock. Prepared honey pickled onions (recipe in previous post).

On Wednesday. Prepared chaud-froid sauce. Blanched asparagus. Blanched artichoke hearts. Prepared chaud-froid decorations. Made giant meaty "marshmallows"...

On Thursday. Made whole wheat caraway crisps. Decorated the "marshmallows". Laid first layers of "crazy glue" gelatin on food.

On Friday. Laid final layer of gelatin. Plated food. Careful not to smudge the plate. Fussed over plate. Cleaned plate. Fussed some more. Accidentally smudged the plate. Cleaned plate again. Fiddled with the food. Made asparagus tepees. Tried to keep hands steady. Re-glazed the asparagus. Destroyed asparagus tepee accidentally. Started over again. Blew on the gelatin to dry. Tried to let go of asparagus only to find them glued to fingers. Got unglued. Took a deep breath. Started the asparagus tepees over again. Plated the asparagus. Double checked plates for smudges. Triple checked plates for smudges. Smoothed out bumps in the gelatin. Quadruple checked plate for smudges and crumbs. Said a prayer and move plates to table.

I now present to you my plate:

Mousse de volaille chaud-froid with shrimp stuffed artichoke heart,

garnished with honey pickled red onions, asparagus tepee and whole wheat caraway tuile

Today's fun...

Today's fun came in the form of honey pickled onions. Sweet, sour and spicy and absolutely yummy! A perfect condiment to chicken, fish, and pork. Or as pictured here, on its own with a few water crackers.

Honey pickled onions

(Yield 1 - 500ml - 2cup mason jar)

• 1 large red onion
  
• 250 ml - 1 cup liquid honey
  
• 250 ml - 1 cup red wine vinegar
  
• 3 ml - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 5 ml - 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 pinch fresh ground pepper
  

Slice the red onion into thin slices. Place the onions in a sterilized* mason jar.

Measure all of the other ingredients and place them in a small pan. Bring to a boil. Pour the syrupy mixture over the onions and screw on the cover. Place the jar in the refrigerator and rest for 12-36 hours.

If you're lucky, this keeps 10-12 weeks. I haven't been able to keep a jar that long yet so... enjoy! :d

*Sterilizing jars:

Jars should be made from glass and free of any chips or cracks. Preserving or canning jars are topped with a glass, plastic, or metal lid, which has a rubber seal. The rubber seal should be intact and viable. It's best to use new ones. Two-piece lids are best for canning, as the actual lid with the rubber seal can be replaced as needed, where the screw-top can be re-used indefinately.

To sterilize jars, before filling with items to be preserved, etc; wash jars, lids, tongs, etc with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and arrange jars and lids open sides up, without touching, on a tray. Leave in a preheated 175 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Or, boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan, covered with water, for 15 minutes. Also, they say a quick wash in the dishwasher at hot wash and heat dry works, mind you I have concerns as food items can sometimes stay in the dishwasher between washes. The heat itself could well sterilize the jars, but we could be laying down a new layer of bacteria if the dishwasher is not pristine.

Use tongs when handling the hot sterilized jars, to move them from either boiling water or the oven. Be sure the tongs are sterilized too, by dipping the ends in boiling water for a few minutes. Let the jars cool down before handling. Cold preserves go into cold jars (no warmer than room temperature. Hot preserves can go into warm jars (no colder than room temperature). This will prevent the glass jar from shattering due to extreme temperature differential.