Stinkerpants

Meal Planning: Getting Organized

January 4, 2012 in Parenthood & Life • Cooking • Personal Projects • How To

Well hello, all! Fancy meeting you here in 2012!

Who else is ready for a fresh new year?! I am. I spent the last three weeks of 2011 binging on chocolate cake, cheese and chicken pot pies, and now I’m ready to give up dairy, for realsies.

I also spent those last three weeks assembling a bunch of recipes and meal ideas so that we have a higher chance of eating in instead of eating out. I’m hoping that these meals will be good enough to share with you guys. In the meantime, I'm going to share how I've prepped with you!

Just as a refresher, all of our meals are:

• Fast. 30 minutes or less, better yet 15 minutes or less.
• Completely dairy-free and usually gluten-free as well. If it’s not completely gluten-free, it’s something like falafel that can be served to C without the pita. The meals are also low in soy content because C is sensitive to soy. I am not a huge fan of meat, so some of the meals are completely vegan – but those have been harder to find. Our diet most closely resembles the paleo diet. 
• Contain whole foods – I really try not to cook with any processed foods, which I find is common with vegan meals. We aren't cooking with meat or dairy alternatives.
• Tasty.

I must say, figuring out ideas for meals has not been easy. Most “fast” recipes contain dairy and gluten, and most vegan recipes aren’t fast (and sometimes contain gluten or soy). Thank god for the paleo nuts out there (love you guys), because I've gotten a lot of inspiration from them.

Here's what I've done to prep.

Step 1: Find New Recipes (and hide my old favorites)

In doing research for this endeavor, I realized I needed to split my recipes into three parts: 1) Regular meals (which take some preparation, like veggie chopping or marinating), 2) Insanely fast meals (made from stuff on hand), and 3) Freezer meals (which may take a lot of time, but make enough for many meals). My plan is to make a different freezer meal every couple of weeks. Most of our nightly meals will be from the "Insanely Fast" category, and maybe one or two will be regular meals.

I found most of our new recipes by googling incessantly. I still haven't tried a lot of the meals I've found, so if there are especially good ones, I'll point y'all toward them as we try them. 

In the meantime, here are a few resources I found very helpful:

• Go Dairy Free (I've had the book for months - at first I didn't read it, because there are a lot of words for a not particularly interesting subject - but once I actually started reading it, it was by far the most helpful resource!).
• This list of 101 Quick Meals is awesome. Quite a few are dairy/gluten-free, vegetarian, etc. It's worth a glance, whatever your restrictions (or lack thereof).
• Cooking for Isaiah was recommended by one of my readers (thanks Caryn!)
• This gluten-free, dairy-free bread recipe is delish. It's the first bread C's ever had and she loves it!

Step 2: Organize Recipes

I printed out all of the recipes I found online, plus photocopied recipes from books. I know myself, and I know I won't look in those cookbooks! Then I took some file folders and sorted them: Insanely Fast, Regular Meals, and Freezer meals. I stored them in an acrylic recipe book holder (pictured below are actually my old folders - I've been using this method for awhile):

Step 3: Print Out a Quick Guide to Each Section

I created a new Word doc for each section, then simply listed the contents of each folder. This way, I can see at a glance what's in each folder without having to search through it. I also created a list of quick snacks (tortilla chips & salsa, hummus, carrot sticks, etc) for when I'm hungry and don't know what to eat. I don't do well with keeping stuff in my head these days - everything must be written down.

As an aside: the other thing I realized is that, once I start acquiring freezer meals, I'm going to need a white board that says what's in the freezer, or we'll never see it again (let alone eat it). This will also be useful for snacks. The less remembering/thinking, the better, I say. Let's reserve the thinking for world peace (or at least for remembering where we left our keys).

Step 4: Plan the Meals

Next, I printed out three months worth of calendars (I did this using iCal, but I'm sure you could figure out a way to do this another way). At this point, I was surprised how easy it was! I just filled in recipes for 5 days each week. At the beginning of each week, I'll compile a shopping list for the items I've listed, and I'm done! So far, so good! 

One day, I'd really like to get good at the whole "I cooked a pot of beans on Sunday, and I made 5 meals from them!" thing. But for now, I'm just going to try cooking anything, and go from there!

What do you think? Is this method sustainable?

Menu-Planning and Cooking: My Resolution

December 2, 2011 in Parenthood & Life • Cooking

My Three Favorite Soups

December 13, 2009 in Cooking

While every season has delicious recipes, I have to admit: my favorite time of year (recipe-wise, at least) is Winter.  Why?  Because of soup, which is best when it is cold as heck outside.

This time last year I shared my favorite Carrot Soup recipe. It’s still one of my staples, soup-wise, but I’ve added a couple more to my Fall/Winter arsenal. And because they bring me so much joy, I’m going to share the recipes with you, right here, right now: Potato Corn Leek Soup, Carrot Soup and Curried Cauliflower Soup.  I’m about to devour a bowl of Potato Leek Soup as we speak, actually.

Those of you with CSA boxes will be happy with these recipes, too, because they utilize delicious in-season veggies like cauliflower and leeks, that you might not know what to do with.

Potato Corn Leek Soup

My current favorite is the Potato Leek Soup.  This recipe was served at my friend Karen’s birthday a couple of years ago, and I’ve loved it ever since.  The original recipe is from Cooking Light.

image from here

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1 1/2  cups  coarsely chopped leek (about 1 large)
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped celery
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2  cups  whole milk*
• 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2  cups  fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
• 2  pounds  cubed peeled Yukon gold or red potato
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh parsley
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh chives

Preparation
Heat butter and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek, celery, and bell pepper; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add milk mixture to pan, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, corn, potato, salt, and freshly ground black pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in parsley and chives.

*In my kitchen, I almost exclusively substitute 2% milk for whole milk and heavy cream.  I personally don’t think cream or whole milk is worth the added fat and calories.  This soup is fantabulous with regular milk.

Carrot Soup

Last year’s favorite (and still obviously in the top 3) is my Carrot Soup recipe. The original recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant.

image from here

Ingredients

• 2 pounds peeled or scrubbed, chopped carrots
• 4 cups stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium potato, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1-2 small cloves crushed garlic
• 1/3 cup chopped cashews
• 2 pinches of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
• dash of cinnamon
• 1 cup milk

Preparation
Place carrots, stock, salt and potato into a medium sized soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer it for 12-15 minutes. Let it cool to room temp.

Saute the onion, garlic and nuts in the butter until the onions are clear. You can sprinkle in a little salt to help draw the moisture out of the onions. Towards the end of cooking, stir in the nutmeg, mint and cinnamon.

Use an immersion blender to puree. Whisk in milk. Garnish with toasted nuts, some toasted bread crumbs, grated parmesan, or eat just as it is.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Last year we received a giant head of cauliflower in our CSA box, and I felt totally stumped.  My dad always hated Cauliflower, and growing up I decided I hated it too, despite never having actually tasted it (I trusted my dad, what can I say?).  When I used it to create this Curried Cauliflower Soup, I was blown away.  Apparently I don’t hate cauliflower after all. The original recipe is from Vegetarian Times.

image from here

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 1 medium tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped (1 cup)
• 1 Tbs. curry powder
• 1 clove garlic, sliced (1 tsp.)
• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into 1-inch pieces (6 cups)
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

Preparation
1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft and golden. Stir in apple, curry powder, and garlic, and cook 2 minutes more, or until curry powder turns deep yellow.
2. Add cauliflower and vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes. Cool 20 minutes, then blend in food processor or blender until smooth. Stir in honey and vinegar, and season with salt, if desired.

I hope you guys love these recipes as much as I do!  And please, if you have your own favorite soup recipes, share in the comments!!

Passover!

April 9, 2009 in Personal Projects • Holidays • Cooking

Yesterday I spent almost all day cooking.  My parents flew down from Oregon, and I made a delicious home-made pizza (recipe to come!) and a fun cake for my mom’s birthday, which was last week.  I also roasted some kale and made some crack.

Wait, what?  Made crack?

I mean Matzo Crack.

A few years ago, my cousin Julie made toffee matzah.  It’s super delcious.  In fact, my friend Amy posted about it on her blog just the other day!  I wanted to try something a little bit different this year.  Something a little more…gourmet, if you will.  That’s when I found this recipe (that’s where the photo’s from, too!).

Basically, it’s like the toffee matzah Julie and I have both made before, but it suggests a couple of new toppings, like pistachios, candied ginger or sea salt.  I made two batches–I used candied ginger for one, and sea salt for the other.  I can’t lie, the sea salt is my favorite.  It reminds me of the awesome toffee made at Sketch Ice Cream Shop in Berkeley.  The mix of salt and sweet is to die for, and it’s called “crack” because you seriously can’t stop eating it.  My mother-in-law came to look at the chickens and had three pieces!

Passover is my all-time favorite holiday.  Every year, my entire family gets together–people fly in from all over the country, and there are usually about 25-30 of us. I absolutely adore my family, and I’ve never missed a Passover in 26 years.  One day I hope to host it myself.  :)

My favorite part of the Seder (and amusingly, Y’s least favorite part) is the part where we get to make little matzah sandwiches using horseradish and haroset.  I seriously love horseradish–the hotter, the better–and I look forward to this all year.  Sometimes, I even make my own haroset at home so I can enjoy it all by myself.

Our Seder is on Saturday, but I’m going to be enjoying the next few days with my parents.  See you on Monday!

Delicious Greens: It’s Possible.

February 24, 2009 in Cooking

 Image found here

I’ve been getting a little sick of collard greens and kale, I’m not going to lie.  Our CSA box has been teeming with these winter greens for weeks.  I’m not a huge fan of very bitter greens, so…yeah.  Kinda hate the radicchio, too.

This week, though, I gained a new appreciation for collard greens.  First off, they’re gorgeous.  I love how the water beads on the leaves.  Secondly, they’re fun to chop.  They’re tougher than most greens, so there’s a satisfying crunch when you cut into them.

But they’re still collard greens, right?  Wrong.  I tried out this recipe and was delighted by the results.  Try it.  I kid you not.

Baked Rigatoni with Ricotta and Collard Greens

Makes 8 to 10 servings

 Ingredients

• 1  (16-ounce) package rigatoni or penne pasta
• 1/4  cup  butter
• 1  medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pound  collard greens, washed, drained, and chopped
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  cups  milk
• 1  cup  shredded mozzarella
• 1  cup  ricotta cheese
• 2  teaspoons  sugar
• 2  teaspoons  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  teaspoon  red pepper flakes
• 1/2  cup  grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation1. Prepare pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; sauté onion 5 minutes or until just brown. Add garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add greens; cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until greens are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Sprinkle greens with flour. Cook uncovered, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring well. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often, until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cooked pasta, mozzarella, and next 5 ingredients. Place into prepared dish, and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

4. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes.

 I changed this recipe slightly by substituting the milk with No-Chicken broth and omitting the flour.  It was delicious!

 Image found here

I also found a recipe for kale that made me very happy.  Well, I’m not entirely sure you can even call this a recipe–it’s that easy:

Roasted Kale with Sea Salt

• 4 cups firmly-packed kale
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. good-quality sea salt, such as Maldon or Cyprus Flake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale: Peel off the tough stems by folding the kale leaves in half like a book and stripping the stems off. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for five minutes. Turn kale over. Roast another 7 to 10 minutes until kale turns brown and becomes paper thin and brittle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 186 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 13 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein, 412% vitamin A, 268% vitamin C, 18% calcium, 13% iron

Despite my searching, I couldn’t find any of the fancy pants sea salt they mention in this recipe.  I just used regular old sea salt, and it was delectable.