Family Bites

Monday Meal Planning

 

My attempt to put together this week's meal plan took two hours.  Two hours.  I'm not proud and feel rather embarrassed that someone who spends her working time constructing meals for others, couldn't quite come up with a measly five meals to feed her own people this week.  

In my own defense I'm going to blame June for my mental gap. June, the feverish and manic sixth month of the calendar year.  The month that moves in and out with speed akin to gale winds in Tornado season. It's the month of end-of-school-everything, Spring sports, Winter sports (yes, we start hockey in June), work, work and more work, Father's Day and social soirees.  It's also the month of strawberries, asparagus, broccoli and cherries.  Oh, how I love cherries.  In essence, it's a bustling thirty days and I can't quite figure out how I'm going to keep my family eating well on these hot and harried days.

So, after some thought, plenty of planning and a perusal of my local flyers looking for good prices for great food, I came up with the following.   An assortment of meals that will not (hopefully) take as long to cook as they did to plan.  

What are you eating for dinner this week?

Monday - Spring green veggie risotto with parmesan

Tuesday - Sausage and lentil soup with pistou; Mixed green salad

Wednesday - Grilled chicken, strawberry and goat cheese salad, green beans

Thursday - Asian chicken lettuce wraps (leftover chicken from Wednesday night)

Friday - Turkey burgers and sweet potato fries; Grilled asparagus   

A Peppery Pasta Frittata

There aren't many foods that can justifiably be served hot or cold and are acceptable for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Can you think of any?  I have a select few in mind and this happens to one of them.  A pasta frittata. Spotted in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, I knew this dish would be a new family favourite as soon as I laid my eyes on it.  

A lovely combination of tender pasta, whole eggs, creamy ricotta and garden-fresh herbs fuse together to make an easy-peasy dish.  We ate this for breakfast and heartily concurred that it would also make for a delicious lunch or easy dinner.  

Peppery Pasta Frittata, adapted from Martha Stewart

• 6 large eggs
  
• 1/2 cup whole milk
  
• 3/4 cup fresh ricotta
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
  
• 3 cups cooked and drained spaghetti**
  
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk the eggs, milk, ricotta, salt and pepper together.  Stir in cooked pasta and fresh thyme.

Heat a 10" skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and swirl around to coat the pan.  Pour in egg mixture and cook until the edges are slightly firm, about 2 minutes.  Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until set, approx. 10 minutes.  Slide onto a serving dish and allow to rest for 5 minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve.

**I used this because it was the leftover pasta in my fridge.  Any pasta, especially penne, would work very well.

Summer Entertaining: The Swing-Top Bottle

                
Every once in a while a reader or twitter follower will ask me if I have a day job (yes, I do) and if so, what do I do?  Am I chef (no) or do I work in a restaurant (no)?  I let them know that I am an events coordinator, which leads to wondering where I work (a catering company) and what type of events I plan (any kind that requires a caterer). 

I've also been asked for a few ideas on how I would put together a special meal or what kind of platters I would use to serve a certain type of food.  Simple emails really, but ones that have got me thinking...wouldn't it be fun to combine my day job with my blogging love and create a "Summer Entertaining" series? One post each week dedicated to an element of warm-weather celebrations.  Don't worry...each post will still have a "family" focus (I won't dish on corporate lunches or venue rentals) and will be something that you may be able to use for an upcoming social soiree.

 
So, first up...my new favourite must have item for summer entertaining is the swing-top bottle.  I love the idea of serving water from an old glass bottle instead of a plastic pitcher (think Brita).  But the beauty of the swing-top is that it is re-sealable which makes for easier use and storage.  I had this item on my list for antiquing this year, until I popped into Ikea and found them for less than $3 each!  I scooped up a few, and here are some ways in which you can make use of these when you're playing host this season:

• Fill the bottles with water and place out on a table with an assortment of fresh herbs, citrus slices and berries. Allow guests to create their own "flavoured waters" by adding a few items to their glass and topping with chilled water.
• Set-up a "bar" with an assortment of beverages in these simple bottles - lemonade, sparkling juice, pink lemonade or your favourite pre-made cocktails. They make the drinks look pretty and are a great addition to a Canada Day BBQ (red and clear drinks only) or a family reunion (Grandma Rose's favourite Gin and Tonic).
• Fill up the bottle with homemade iced tea or lemonade and make a favour for a baby or bridal shower. Create a simple label and attach a copy of the recipe to the bottleneck with twine or ribbon.
• Host a cooking or canning party and make your own vanilla, flavoured vinegars or liqueurs like lemoncello. Store the creations in these pretty bottles.
• Allow kids to make "magic potions" with these bottles.  Set-out assorted oils and vinegars as well as fresh herbs and washed edible flowers and allow them to create an assortment of tasty concoctions.  This might be fun for a summer garden or science themed birthday party.

Come back next Wednesday for another installment of the summer entertaining series.

A "Chipwich" - Roasted Banana Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Cookies

 

My very favourite food is ice cream.  I hate confessing that and feel that as a foodie my preferences should lean towards more sophisticated fare like lobster or oysters, but they don't.  In fact, I don't even like oysters and while I think lobster is good, I truly melt (no pun intended) at the thought of a good ice cream.  

I'm partial towards interesting flavours from artisan creameries and absolutely must have some sort of crunch or chunk in my frozen confection.  No plain chocolate for this girl. I've passed my love of ice cream onto my boys and we've decided to make a new variety each week of the forthcoming summer.  A small batch of homemade frosty deliciousness to share over the weekend.

On Saturday I made this roasted banana ice cream.  Sounds amazing, right?  Then I thought it might be great to smush it between these three-ingredient peanut butter cookies I make,  and then..are you ready for it...roll the sides of the sandwich in mini chocolate chips.  A new take on the classic chipwich. 

The first long weekend of the summer season has me thinking a lot about frozen desserts.  What are your favourites?  Do you make your own ice cream?  Would you like to?  What flavours do you like best?

Meal Planning Monday

 

This week's meals are simple.  Nothing that will require much more than the stove-top or grill.  We'll be sitting under 30 degree skies for many of the days and who needs to steam up a house with the heat of an oven? 

We also have a few busy nights ahead of us - football, summer hockey, golf and a long awaited get-together with a girlfriend.  Not to mention the 14km bike ride Jackson's hoping we embark on tomorrow night "Just like we did last week".  Yep, I think simple meal are in order for the week.  Simple meals served with lots of cold lemonade, which is Ben's new culinary craft.  He's getting really good at juicing the lemons and coming up with the right ratio of flavours.

Monday - Kebabs, warm potato salad, romaine and white bean salad and roasted asparagus 

Tuesday - Pasta with two peas, ricotta and tarragon

Wednesday - Stuffed flank steak, green beans and salad

Thursday - Grilled ribs and broccoli

Friday - Homemade pizza with assorted toppings (whatever is leftover from the week).

What are you cooking this week?  

SimpleBites!!

 

I've been looking forward to today for well over a month now.  In early April I received an email from the lovely Aimee asking if I would be interested in writing an article for SimpleBites.  Are you familiar with this fantabulous website? Described as providing "Real Food for the Family Table", I'm constantly inspired by the variety of topics written about over in that space and to be included in their foodie-brilliance was thrilling for this little blogger.

Today I'm there sharing my tips for Cast-Iron Skillet Cooking.  With the first official long-weekend of the "unofficial" summer season here, many of us are cranking up the BBQ's and preparing to entertain.  My Cheddar and Tarragon Corn Bread may just be the perfect accompaniment to your weekend meal.  Head on over to SimpleBites for the recipe.

If you've popped over here from SimpleBites, welcome!!  Pour yourself a cold drink, put up your feet and read a bit more about me here and here.

Happy weekending everyone!  

Buttermilk Biscuits with Strawberries and Mint Chocolate Whipped Cream

 

Can you imagine a better sweet course for a first dinner with new-to-us friends? They barbecued, we brought dessert and the meal was bookended with great conversation and oodles of wine.  Our children (five of them at that) kept themselves happily entertained with their own activities and a joyous night was had by all. Don't you love the beginning of the summer season and it's social activities?

Buttermilk Biscuits with Strawberries and Mint-Chocolate Whipped Cream

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, frozen
• 1 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters

Mint-Chocolate Whipped Cream

• 500 ml whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, shaved or grated
• 8 mint leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk together dry ingredients and then grate the butter. Mix it into the dry ingredients quickly and evenly.

Pour in 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and mix with the handle of a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together.  Sprinkle flour onto a work surface and sump the dough out of the bowl.  Pat into a circle, about 1.5" thick and using a 3" cookie cutter, cut 12 biscuits from the dough.

Brush rounds with the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and sprinkle with course sugar.

Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet for 11 minutes or until the tops are golden.

While the biscuits are baking, place the whipping cream and confectioners sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until it becomes a thick cream consistency. Add the shaved chocolate and torn mint and stir in with a spatula.

Remove the biscuits from the oven and allow to cool.  Slice them in half and top the bottom portion with a dollop of whipped cream and a spoonful of berries.  Add the other half of the biscuit and top that with more whipped cream and strawberries.

Time For a Change

I'm not very good at making lunch for myself.  Sounds a little odd I'm sure, but it's the complete truth.  I make lunches for my beloved family, send them out the door and then don't really think about cooking a meal again until dinner.  Of course I get hungry, but I plow along through my day trying to cram as much into the six hours that my kids are at school as possible.  I nibble here and there on an assortment of not-so-good/good-for-you foods as I carry on with my to-do list.  The only real lunch I eat comes on the days I go to work (one of the benefits of working for a catering company is that we all eat a homemade lunch together each day).   I'm slowly changing my ways though and have been taking the time to make something for my lunch. Something I know I will like and something that won't be met with groans and bursts of rejection from the little people in my house.  Something just for me.  

I've been told it's important to feed the one who feeds everyone else, so I'm giving it a go this week with a flavourful broccoli salad.  Paired with dried cranberries and lots of seeds it feels like a complete meal in a bowl, with little effort on my part.  The best part is that I know nobody  in my house will eat it on me - so I can cook once and eat the rest of the week. Something I think I can manage.

Broccoli Salad with Dried Cranberries and Assorted Seeds

(slightly adapted from Vegetarian Times)

• 2 heads of broccoli
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 sunflower seeds
• 1/4 pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup diced red onion

Cut broccoli into small florets and steam for 1-2 minutes or until crisp tender.  Plunge broccoli into a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking.  Drain well.

Whisk together mayonnaise, agave nectar, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Combine broccoli, dried cranberries, onion and seeds in a large bowl and toss with mayonnaise mixture.  

Meal Planning Monday

 

Happy Monday!  Sunny skies blanketed the city yesterday for the first time in almost a week and as a result we enjoyed a great bbq dinner followed by a fabulously simple dessert (come back tomorrow for the recipe!).  

Here's what's on our meal plan for this week - a mix of meat and veggie meals, a little stove top cooking and a lot of bbq'ing...just the way the pre-summer weeks should be I think, don't you?

What are you eating up this week?

Monday - Potato Pizza with assorted grilled veggies

Tuesday - Tuscan lemon chicken and asparagus

Wednesday - Pasta with chicken (leftover), mushroom, baby spinach, red onion and feta

Thursday - Salmon en papillote with green beans and pesto, wild rice

Friday - Paninis and salad

The Little Red Hand Mixer

Once spring arrives, I eagerly anticipate weekend trips to local antique markets in search of must-have vintage items.  Kitchen goods usually, although I've also been known to score a few other furnishings while out antiquing (tavern-turned-coffee-table for $20!) 

Last year I decided to hunt for vintage hand mixers.  Perfect for little fingers, I thought the mixers would be a great addition to our kitchen gadgets and something I could buy specifically for the boys to use when they wanted to work alongside me in the kitchen.

Boy, am I glad I purchased some of these!  I picked up two over the course of the summer, for no more than $5 a piece, and gave them a good scrubbing.  They now hang in the kitchen, ready for use, whenever the mood strikes one of the kids.  

Jackson put his retro find to use this week when he worked on some homemade pudding.  With little explanation from me, he was able to navigate this simple recipe.  He needed both hands for mixing, so we placed the bowl on a wet towel to prevent it from sliding on the counter.  The gadget went from bowl to pot quite easily and other than a measuring spoon, cup and spatula no dishes were required.

We're off to my wonder market this coming Sunday.  Keep your fingers crossed that I happen upon a few other great finds!

Jack's Dark Chocolate Almond Pudding (adapted from Moosewood Cookbook)

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 oz. semisweet chocolate
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the cornstarch, sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan.  Add the almond milk and stir until smooth.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.  Allow to boil for 1 minute and reduce the heat to low.  Add semisweet chocolate and stir until melted (3-4 minutes). 

Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir.  Pour into teacups or individual ramekins and refrigerate for two hours.  Sieve a little confectioners sugar on the top and serve.