Monthly Archives: April 2012

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

If last week was crazy (Big concert! Bought a car and sold a car!), this week I am glad to ease slowly into our regular schedule. Nothing too ambitious. Plenty of comfort food. Only one new recipe, and it’s a variation of chicken soup, which everyone is usually happy to eat. (Also plenty of vegetables. I swear, on Saturday I don’t think I consumed a single fruit or vegetable–unless you count ketchup.)

Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs (at the kids’ request), garlicky broccoli

Tuesday: Lemongrass-Coconut Chicken Soup, potstickers

Wednesday: Pork schnitzel, roasted potatoes, tomato salad

Thursday: Ali Baa Baa sandwiches (still some lamb from Easter in the freezer), Greek salad

Friday: Homemade pizza

I’ll also mix up a batch of no-knead dough for pita and pizzas, and prepare a big platter of fruit with some honey-yogurt dip for the kids to snack on (presentation is everything). And I’ve amassed a good stash of frozen bananas, so I think it’s time for banana bread again. I’d better empty the dishwasher and make a grocery list now!

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Microwaving from scratch

Posted by Melissa in Baking, Food and tagged with , , ,

I love my microwave. I know, it’s not a necessity in the kitchen–most everything you can make in the microwave can also be made on the stove or in the oven, often with better results. And I promise, I’m not living on Lean Cuisine and microwave popcorn. But the microwave can be a great tool when you’re cooking from scratch. You don’t need those packets of instant oatmeal–you can cook a bowl of old fashioned oats in under two minutes in the microwave. Steamed veggies? Add couple tablespoons of water to the vegetables in a covered microwave- safe dish (your mom’s old Corningware is perfect!), cook, drain and serve with a drizzle of something (vinaigrette, soy sauce, a pat of butter) and a dash of salt and pepper. Our microwave even has settings for “fresh vegetables” and “frozen vegetables,” and they work perfectly 90% of the time. (The other 10% usually just need a couple more minutes of cooking.)

And have you seen those microwave cakes in a cup making the rounds on Pinterest? We tried the microwave brownies (after the kids were tucked in, naturally, or I would have baked an entire pan of brownies), and I keep eyeing this little microwave coffee cake. I’m curious about microwave potato chips, but I don’t crave potato chips often enough to justify the effort.

My favorite microwave tip? Use it to dry fresh herbs! I have not tried it myself, not having grown many fresh herbs lately, but when I saw these instructions, I passed them on to my best gardening friend. She tested it and shared the results with me in the form of a beautiful jar of bright green dried parsley. So if I successfully grow any herbs from all the starts she has given me this year, I’ll be preserving my harvest in the microwave!

Here are my top five reasons to love the microwave:

  1. Reheating leftovers (quickly and right on the plate–saves time and dishes!).
  2. Softening butter.
  3. Melting chocolate or butter (the secret to one-bowl brownies).
  4. Cooking fresh or frozen vegetables (right in the serving bowl).
  5. Defrosting.

 

How do you use your microwave?

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

Crazy week ahead. Cooking anything complicated is not on the agenda. I hope to go shopping this afternoon, but my back is not playing nice and I’m coming down with a cold (thanks for sharing, Little Four), so chances are I’ll only stop at one store. But even though I’d rather nap than think about meal planning, I’m going to jump in and do it anyway, knowing that the week will spiral out of control if I don’t. At least this is one chore that I can do from the couch with a cup of coffee.

So here’s just what popped into my head (all fall into the category of Things My People Will Eat Without Complaint), while trying to picture what I think is already in the pantry and freezer (I can’t summon the energy to actually get up and look).

Monday: Pasta Carbonara, salad

Tuesday: Split pea and ham soup (in the slow cooker), croutons

Wednesday: Sausage and potatoes, big salad

Thursday: Pan-fried fish, tartar sauce, veg to be determined

Friday: Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (maybe in the waffle iron!)

When you’re facing a busy week, what’s your default dinner plan?

Painting the front door

Posted by Melissa in DIY and tagged with ,

Why did it take me so long to get around to this?

I’ve been meaning to paint the front door for ages, and yesterday I was finally moved to just get it done. Well, I did the exterior. I was waffling on whether to paint the inside of the door as well, but after a quick browse through some inspiration photos on Pinterest (just search for “black door”), I was reassured. Today’s project: paint the interior side.

Before

I dropped Little Four off at preschool and went straight to Home Depot and bought a quart of Behr Premium Plus Ultra exterior semi-gloss enamel in Black. I looked at some paint chips, some more greeny-black, some more gray-black, but when it came down to it, I just asked for plain old black. I’m very happy with it. Somehow the glossy black makes the entrance more impressive, and I like how the brass hardware pops out.

First coat

As I expected, it took three coats of paint–maybe an hour, total? All I needed was a 2-inch angled brush and some painter’s tape (to tape off the hardware).

After

I’ve got about two hours before I need to leave the house again…time to put my painting clothes back on and get the first coat on the other side!

No-knead overnight orange rolls

Posted by Melissa in Baking, Food, Recipe and tagged with , ,

I probably read too many food blogs, magazines and cookbooks, because every day I see delicious recipes that I have no time to make. Just last week I bookmarked these decadent orange rolls and I wanted to make them right away. But once I sat down and really read the recipe, the three cups of confectioner’s sugar and over two sticks of butter scared me off a little. It’s not that I didn’t think they would be delicious, it’s just that I went to the freezer and realized that we were on the last pound of the four-pound pack of butter from Costco that we bought at Easter. Wasn’t Easter just a little more than a week ago? Just where did all that butter go?

But I couldn’t get those orange rolls off my mind. After a little browsing through the archives of Artisan Bread in Five, I decided to make a batch of no-knead challah dough, and then turn that into orange rolls. Granted, I still used two sticks of butter, but since I only used half of the dough…well, you do the math. There wasn’t too much effort involved (five minutes here, ten minutes there–maybe 30 minutes total), and the results were spectacular. SPECTACULAR, I tell you. Tender, fluffy and gooey, with a distinct orange perfume. I still have the other half of the challah dough, and I’m sorely tempted to make another pan of orange rolls. Instead I’ll try to be practical and make little ham and cheese buns–something to pop into lunch boxes.

You, however, should go make orange rolls immediately. You can either make a whole batch of challah dough (four pounds) and use half for the orange rolls, or cut the dough recipe in half and use all of it. If you don’t have enough people around to eat a whole pan of orange rolls, freeze the extra baked rolls individually (well-wrapped) and enjoy them whenever. They reheat very nicely.

No-Knead Overnight Orange Rolls

1/2 batch of no-knead challah dough (about 2 lbs. of dough–ignore the topping)

zest of 2 large oranges

8 ounces unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Glaze:

juice of 1/2 orange (about 1/3 cup)

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

The day before you want to serve the orange rolls, mix up the challah dough and let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature. Refrigerate the dough. Before you go to bed, sprinkle plenty of flour on the top of the cold dough and scoop out half–or all of it if you only made half a batch–onto a well-floured silicone mat. Roll the dough out into a 10″x18″ rectangle, or about the size of the silicone mat. Let it rest while you mix the orange zest, butter, brown sugar and vanilla together in a small bowl. Spread the mixture onto the dough all the way to the edges. Roll the dough into a log from the longer side, lifting the silicone mat to help push it along (like rolling sushi). Cut the log into 12 equal slices with a piece of dental floss, and place each roll into a well-greased 9″x13″ baking pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and let rest for at least 20 minutes on top of the warming oven. Bake the rolls, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, or until a deep golden brown.

While the rolls bake, mix up the glaze. Whisk the orange juice, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla together in a small bowl. Let the rolls cool slightly (5-10 minutes), and then spoon the glaze over the top. Serve warm.

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

Another busy weekend, so I’m just now getting to my week’s menu plan. Last week I did a little last-minute switching of the menu, mostly because Friday I just didn’t feel like making the effort for enchiladas. Instead, I cooked a big pot of rice (hoping to have enough to go with enchiladas on Saturday–there was), and scanned the pantry. I saw the bag of red lentils that I bought a couple of weeks ago, and did a quick search on some of my favorite blogs. I found this recipe for Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and I was sold. Did I have all the ingredients? No. I substituted water and a tablespoon of beef bouillon for the chicken stock, and skipped the cilantro (didn’t have any) and cayenne (kids don’t like heat). The prep was all of 20 minutes, and I served the soup with a scoop of rice in the middle. The kids all had seconds, and even ate some more over the weekend. That one’s going in the rotation!

But back to this week. Once again, I’m working from whatever meat or fish we have in the freezer, and plan to shop for a short list of produce and dairy. I’m trying one new recipe from La Tartine Gourmande (guess which one!), and the rest are mostly old favorites.

Monday: Turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, kale chips

Tuesday: Garlic scampi with angel hair pasta, salad

Wednesday: Caramelized cherry tomato, zucchini and goat cheese clafoutis, salad

Thursday: Chicken fried rice, broccoli

Friday: Slow cooker short rib soft tacos

 

What are you cooking this week?

Mindless housekeeping, Part 2: Ready supplies = no excuses

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Uncategorized

I’m still trying to find a cleaning routine that works for me. But one project that I thought might help make some new cleaning routines stick is storing cleaning supplies right next to the job at hand.

In the past nine years, we’ve had babies and small children to worry about, so I’ve been careful to store cleaning supplies high up on a shelf. I do have a bin upstairs and another downstairs, but now that the kids are old enough not to drink the toilet bowl cleaner, if I store the essentials within reach in each bathroom, they can also help with the cleaning.

After a week, I think it’s working. I bought an extra spray bottle and stocked up again on Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day (the lemon verbena scent is our favorite). Each bathroom now has a bin or bucket with a spray bottle of cleaner, a bottle of toilet cleaner, and several clean rags. The older kids have been instructed on how to clean the sinks, mirrors and toilets, and Miss Six has already earned some cash. Little Four likes to wipe down the sink in the powder room, usually after a prolonged splashing session. (Mr. Nine has been studiously avoiding this chore, preferring to be the Garbage-Can-and-Recycling-Bin-Bringer-Inner.) I’ve been wiping down the master bath most every day after my shower, since it only takes a minute and the supplies are RIGHT THERE.

Now I’m pondering what other supplies could be placed more conveniently. I’m still having visions of a powerful little hand vac to keep upstairs…

Baking with whole grains

Posted by Melissa in Baking, Food, Recipe and tagged with , ,

I’ve baked with whole wheat flour for several years now. I certainly haven’t given up white flour, but I often replace up to half of the white flour with whole wheat in a recipe that I’m comfortable with. In some recipes you can get away with using all whole wheat flour (brownies!), and some recipes are designed to showcase the nutty flavor of whole wheat (remember these chocolate chip cookies?). I’ve been meaning to try baking with some other whole grain flours, but that meant planning ahead and making a special trip to Whole Foods or Bulkfresh Pantry.

After months of flipping longingly through the pages of Good to the Grain and La Tartine Gourmande, both of which are full of recipes with unusual flours, I finally spent a couple of hours stocking up on a variety of whole grain flours. I bought about two pounds each of barley, rye, spelt, millet and buckwheat flours. While I was at it, I bought oatmeal, and raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds, too. I also contemplated quinoa and amaranth flours, but balked at the price. I had plenty to experiment with, so I stopped there.

At home, I labeled each bag of flour and dropped it into a zippered freezer bag. They all pack nicely into the freezer where they’ll stay fresh until I’ve worked my way through some more recipes. I can’t wait to try these Rye Crumble Bars, and Sunday morning might be the perfect time for some Five-Grain Cream Waffles.

But my first attempt was the currant scone recipe with spelt flour from Good to the Grain. It was already late in the evening and I wanted something for an easy breakfast the next morning. I made two small changes: using raisins instead of currants, and making 14 smaller scones instead of 9 large ones. And if I haven’t confessed this before, I’ll tell you now: I almost never sift. Unless it’s a wedding cake or there’s cocoa powder (that stuff really clumps) in the recipe, I just dump the dry ingredients in the bowl and whisk them together well.

The scones were lovely, and we each had two for breakfast and finished them off the next morning. They were incredibly tender, but with a slightly crunchy golden crust. The spelt flour has its own subtle sweetness, so there’s only a little bit of sugar in the mix, just waiting for a bit of butter and your favorite jam.

Spelt and Raisin Scones

adapted from Good to the Grain 

1 1/4 cups spelt flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the butter chunks and rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the raisins. Pour in the cream and stir just until the dough sticks together and all the flour is incorporated.

Using an ice-cream scoop or two spoons, scoop out 12-15 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between the scones. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown. If you bake them the night before, just pop them back into a 300 degree oven until they are warm.

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

Welcome to Monday Menu: The Post-Holiday Edition. I don’t know about you, but my refrigerator is stuffed with leftovers. I’m really hoping not to cook for another three days. In reality, I’m sure it will disappear faster than that–no doubt the rest of the deviled eggs will vanish in an after-school feeding frenzy!

Monday: Ali Baa Baa sandwiches (leftover Easter lamb!), salad

Tuesday: Leftovers! Pork roast, roasted garlic scalloped potatoes, green beans

Wednesday: Potstickers, some kind of salad with tofu and kale, mango sorbet

Thursday: Chicken thighs with fennel and onion (I use a similar, but simplified, Rachael Ray recipe from one of her early 30-minute meal cookbooks)

Friday: Enchiladas

Do you have some leftover holiday goodies to start your week? Chocolate bunnies?

Mindless housekeeping, Part 1: Setting the laundry on autopilot

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning

I’ve been thinking a lot about housekeeping routines lately. I want a clean and tidy house. I spend most of my time here, and I find it difficult to write, try a new recipe or play a game with the kids when a cluttered, dirty house is staring me in the face. I think we do reasonably well, but I know we can do better.

The thing is, I don’t want to think about keeping the house clean. I don’t want to resent the time it takes out of my day or feel guilty if I don’t take the time. I want it to become as automatic as brushing my teeth before bed, and not take much more time than that, either.

But just as it’s not automatic for my kids to brush their teeth before bed (without a reminder–or three or four–they just won’t do it), housecleaning is not yet a mindless habit for me. This spring I’ve begun to think about my daily housework a little like my kids’ “morning work” that they do every day at school–just a few exercises that have to be completed before moving on to the rest of the day’s activities. For me, this includes emptying the dishwasher, loading the breakfast dishes, making my bed, and starting a load of laundry. In reality this routine only takes about half an hour. What I haven’t accomplished yet is adding–automating, really–the rest of the house cleaning. It isn’t that we don’t clean house. We just tend to do things on an as needed basis, an oh-my-gosh-I-can’t-stand-it-anymore-I-have-to-clean-it-right-now reaction.

So the first mindless routine I worked on was laundry. With a family of five, in just a couple days our laundry bin is overflowing. I used to do it about three times a week, and made a special effort to be all caught up on Friday so nobody would have any laundry to do over the weekend. But then Monday morning would arrive, and I found it so disheartening to stumble down the basement stairs and face a toppling pile of dirty clothes.

Whichever bin is most full gets washed...looks like whites are next!

My new routine is simple. Every day–even Saturday and Sunday–I sort the dirty clothes in the bin (we have a laundry chute, so thankfully I don’t have to collect dirty clothes from upstairs), and every day I wash, dry, fold and put away one load. Sometimes there is an inevitable second load (usually involving one of the kid’s bedding), but most days it takes 10-15 minutes total. Honestly, today I timed myself and it took seven minutes to fold this basket of clothes. Exactly one more minute to put it away.

I read somewhere that it takes three weeks to learn a new habit. After six weeks, I’m finally at the point where I don’t resent the laundry. No, really! I don’t even think about it anymore. I am always caught up. There are no overflowing bins, no baskets of wrinkled clothes waiting to be folded. And if, once in a while, I miss a day (things happen!) it’s not a big deal to get back on the horse, so to speak.

I’ll be back in a few days to update you on how we’re doing with some other new routines, and whether the kids get on board with the project. When I suggested that it’s time they learned how to clean a toilet, I was met with expressions of abject horror. “But that’s SO GROSS!” Perhaps it’s time to watch some old episodes of How Clean is Your House?. Now that’s a horror show!