The Food Nanny
January 26 &27, 2010
Meal 1: Acorn Squash and Pepita Soup with Roasted Poblano, Corn Bread, Red Beans and Rice
• Heat the soup on the stovetop and warm the cornbread in the oven.
• Heat the rice in a sauté pan with a little butter and then a dash of water to steam everything through.
Meal 2: Macaroni and Goat Cheese with Roasted Tomato Sauce, Eggplant Fougasse, Green Salad
• Warm the mac n’ cheese gently in the oven at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Be careful to not let it dry.
• Warm the fougasse I the oven too. 10 – 15 minutes should do it. Cut it up and serve with some extra olive oil for dipping.
• Dress the salad and serve.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Making Much from Little
A comment that I often overhear is: "We can't afford to eat organic."
Since my general socioeconomic environment is fairly fortunate I can assure you that this comment is relayed from someone who is gainfully employed and supplied with the accepted accoutrements of both necessity and comfort. Eating well, to dodge euphemisms, has more to do with know-how than pocketbook power - athough frugality has been know to empower those same purses. A pall of post-holiday debt and mandated furlougs is settling on our twin villes, so I feel motivated to tackle some of the obstacles to justifying bringing the very best food to your homes.
Meat - is the number one hurdle for families that want off the industrial food supply. Local meat can be expensive. Store bought, especially organic is very pricy, and still dodgy if you ask me. So what to do?
1) Buy direct. Go to the market, meet the farmer and family/ employees. You start a crucial relationship and eliminate paying a markup.
2)Get a chest freezer. These start under $200. Fill it with food from the market bought in season.
But most importantly:
3)Learn how to cook inexpensive cuts of meat. Sure we treat ourselves to some steaks($7-$9/#), very rarly prime cuts (up to $18/#), but mostly we feast heartily on ground, sausage, and peasant cuts like top round, stew meat, pork shoulder, etc. These items are very versatile, very nutritious, and often on special. The Moore's for example are specialing ground pork at $2/# for 5 pounds. That's a steal for pasture raised heritage breed pork.
So, lets talk shop.
Braising- should be your number one tool for cooking cheap meats. Braising means 'to cook with liquid.' In a nutshell you slowly simmer the meat in water, broth, wine, you choose, until it is palateable. Crock pots do the same job and can be indespensable to busy, savvy eaters.
Lets consider stewing beef ( or lamb, or goat, for that matter). Here's what I would do:
Saturday afternoon while running to the basement for more TP I hop over to the freezer and pull out three 1# packages of beef stew meat. These I toss unceremoniously into the sink to thaw while I forget about them. Before bed I put the packages into a container and refrigerate them.
Sunday afternoon I cook. Open the packages, rinse and pat dry the cubes. Season them with S&P. Get an ovensafe pan with straight walls and heat some oil. Turn your oven on to 325-400 depending on how fast you need it to be done. Slower is better. When the oil is hot, add the cubes. Don't over crowd the pan - cook in batches if necessary. Brown ( this means what it sounds like) the cubes on their sides, and moderate the heat as necessary. When all the meat is seared off, add enough liquid to the pan to cover the 'shoulders' of the pieces. Don't let 'em swim. Add seasonings as you see fit, mire poix, bay leaf, fennel etc, bring the whole thing to a simmer and then transfer it to the oven and just let it cook as slowly as you can allow, but figure a minimum of 3 hours.
When fork tender, the meat is done.. It serves as the perfect base for beef stew, pan roasts, or soup. Or, drain the meat & reserve the broth and then cook up some onions with latin spices, add the shredded meat, some beans, and a little tomato for real tacos or great chili.
Remembe the important technique is braising the beef. What you do with it during the week is limitless. Between the nutrition, versatility, and production of both bef and broth, this is a very resourceful delicacy at $4.50/#.
Since my general socioeconomic environment is fairly fortunate I can assure you that this comment is relayed from someone who is gainfully employed and supplied with the accepted accoutrements of both necessity and comfort. Eating well, to dodge euphemisms, has more to do with know-how than pocketbook power - athough frugality has been know to empower those same purses. A pall of post-holiday debt and mandated furlougs is settling on our twin villes, so I feel motivated to tackle some of the obstacles to justifying bringing the very best food to your homes.
Meat - is the number one hurdle for families that want off the industrial food supply. Local meat can be expensive. Store bought, especially organic is very pricy, and still dodgy if you ask me. So what to do?
1) Buy direct. Go to the market, meet the farmer and family/ employees. You start a crucial relationship and eliminate paying a markup.
2)Get a chest freezer. These start under $200. Fill it with food from the market bought in season.
But most importantly:
3)Learn how to cook inexpensive cuts of meat. Sure we treat ourselves to some steaks($7-$9/#), very rarly prime cuts (up to $18/#), but mostly we feast heartily on ground, sausage, and peasant cuts like top round, stew meat, pork shoulder, etc. These items are very versatile, very nutritious, and often on special. The Moore's for example are specialing ground pork at $2/# for 5 pounds. That's a steal for pasture raised heritage breed pork.
So, lets talk shop.
Braising- should be your number one tool for cooking cheap meats. Braising means 'to cook with liquid.' In a nutshell you slowly simmer the meat in water, broth, wine, you choose, until it is palateable. Crock pots do the same job and can be indespensable to busy, savvy eaters.
Lets consider stewing beef ( or lamb, or goat, for that matter). Here's what I would do:
Saturday afternoon while running to the basement for more TP I hop over to the freezer and pull out three 1# packages of beef stew meat. These I toss unceremoniously into the sink to thaw while I forget about them. Before bed I put the packages into a container and refrigerate them.
Sunday afternoon I cook. Open the packages, rinse and pat dry the cubes. Season them with S&P. Get an ovensafe pan with straight walls and heat some oil. Turn your oven on to 325-400 depending on how fast you need it to be done. Slower is better. When the oil is hot, add the cubes. Don't over crowd the pan - cook in batches if necessary. Brown ( this means what it sounds like) the cubes on their sides, and moderate the heat as necessary. When all the meat is seared off, add enough liquid to the pan to cover the 'shoulders' of the pieces. Don't let 'em swim. Add seasonings as you see fit, mire poix, bay leaf, fennel etc, bring the whole thing to a simmer and then transfer it to the oven and just let it cook as slowly as you can allow, but figure a minimum of 3 hours.
When fork tender, the meat is done.. It serves as the perfect base for beef stew, pan roasts, or soup. Or, drain the meat & reserve the broth and then cook up some onions with latin spices, add the shredded meat, some beans, and a little tomato for real tacos or great chili.
Remembe the important technique is braising the beef. What you do with it during the week is limitless. Between the nutrition, versatility, and production of both bef and broth, this is a very resourceful delicacy at $4.50/#.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Falafil & Sloppy Joes
The Food Nanny
January 19 & 20, 2010
January 19 & 20, 2010
Meal 1: Falafil Croquettes with Golden Roasted Cauliflower and Sultan’s Rice
• Heat the falafel and cauliflower at 350 until hot – 15-20 minutes.
• The rice is good at room temp but for a treat heat some olive oil in a sauté pan and gently pan fry the rice finishing it with a little butter or other rich, unctuous fat like truffle oil or lamb renderings. 
Meal 2: Sloppy Joes on Potato Rolls with Green Mountain Oven Fries, and a Green Salad
• Heat the Joe mix on the stove top. The vegetarian version may need to be thinned a little. Warm and split the rolls. Serve either as sandwiches or openface.
• Toss the fries with a little bit of oil, s & p and heat them the oven on a cookie sheet at 400 until sizzly – 5-10 minutes.
• Dress the salad and serve.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sun Dried Tomato Minestrone & Handmade Fettuccini
The Food Nanny
January 12 &13, 2010
Meal 1: Sun Died Tomato Minestrone, Brown Rice and Herb Frittata, Seeded Whole Wheat Knots
• Warm the frittata gently t 325 until warm – maybe 20 minutes.
• Heat the minestrone on the stove top. Add a little water and adjust the seasoning.
• Warm the bread knot in the oven for the frittata’s last 5 minutes
Meal 2: Hand Made Fettuccini with Spinach, Porcini Mushrooms, & Roasted Red Pepper-Chevre Sauce, Loose Leaf Lettuce Salad
• Pour the sauce into a sauté pan. Rinse out the jar and add the liquid to the sauce. Heat until simmering and then add the noodles & spinach. Toss to coat and allow everything to heat through. Serve with some shaved parm if you like.
• Dress the salad and serve.
January 12 &13, 2010
Meal 1: Sun Died Tomato Minestrone, Brown Rice and Herb Frittata, Seeded Whole Wheat Knots• Warm the frittata gently t 325 until warm – maybe 20 minutes.
• Heat the minestrone on the stove top. Add a little water and adjust the seasoning.
• Warm the bread knot in the oven for the frittata’s last 5 minutes
Meal 2: Hand Made Fettuccini with Spinach, Porcini Mushrooms, & Roasted Red Pepper-Chevre Sauce, Loose Leaf Lettuce Salad
• Pour the sauce into a sauté pan. Rinse out the jar and add the liquid to the sauce. Heat until simmering and then add the noodles & spinach. Toss to coat and allow everything to heat through. Serve with some shaved parm if you like.
• Dress the salad and serve.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Fake Camels
When my parents returned from their visit to Israel in 1984, they told me this story:
We were driving outside the city and your Aunt exclaimed “Oh! Look at the Camels!” And sure enough right outside our window there were people with camels waving and smiling.
From the front the driver grumbled ”Those are fake camels.”
From the first I got what he meant, but I understand it more each day.
Seasonal Shopping
If you are trying to economize on those days you don’t have FN meals, be sure you are shopping for seasonal food. It is simplest economics, and it helps if you garden. In cool seasons, cool season crops are most abundant, so they are cheaper and vice versa for hot seasons. Cool season crops are cabbages, roots, and some leafy greens right? Tomatoes, melons, green beans, and sweet corn are not, so you pay premium price for an inferior quality with a higher ecologic impact from transportation and third world production.
If you really need a lycopene fix however, try the technique below.
When my 2 year old and I go into the produce section of the supermarket we inevitably walk past the icebox watermelons, strawberries, and grapes on our way to get parsley, escarole, rutabagas, or bean sprouts. He says to me now, “Those are fake watermelons aren’t they, Papa?”
Citrus is the glorious exception. Get it now at its peak and gorge a little bit. The orange-grapefruit hybrid is my favorite.
Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
Rehydrate 2 handfuls (cups) of sundried tomatoes ($2.89/# ~4 cups) with hot water in a lidded container. Overnight is great. These keep in their liquid 5 days, refrigerated. Cook onion, garlic, and aromatic herb/spices/fats. Add 1 cup tomato product or other liquid/broth etc. Puree and add the sun dried toms and simmer the sauce until tight. This rocks on pasta, pizza, or swirled into a stew or soup.
For greater quantities just convert cups into the parts of a ratio. Ratio cooking is the key to jazz cooking. And, did you get a scale yet? Are you using it?
We were driving outside the city and your Aunt exclaimed “Oh! Look at the Camels!” And sure enough right outside our window there were people with camels waving and smiling.
From the front the driver grumbled ”Those are fake camels.”
From the first I got what he meant, but I understand it more each day.
Seasonal Shopping
If you are trying to economize on those days you don’t have FN meals, be sure you are shopping for seasonal food. It is simplest economics, and it helps if you garden. In cool seasons, cool season crops are most abundant, so they are cheaper and vice versa for hot seasons. Cool season crops are cabbages, roots, and some leafy greens right? Tomatoes, melons, green beans, and sweet corn are not, so you pay premium price for an inferior quality with a higher ecologic impact from transportation and third world production.
If you really need a lycopene fix however, try the technique below.
When my 2 year old and I go into the produce section of the supermarket we inevitably walk past the icebox watermelons, strawberries, and grapes on our way to get parsley, escarole, rutabagas, or bean sprouts. He says to me now, “Those are fake watermelons aren’t they, Papa?”
Citrus is the glorious exception. Get it now at its peak and gorge a little bit. The orange-grapefruit hybrid is my favorite.
Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
Rehydrate 2 handfuls (cups) of sundried tomatoes ($2.89/# ~4 cups) with hot water in a lidded container. Overnight is great. These keep in their liquid 5 days, refrigerated. Cook onion, garlic, and aromatic herb/spices/fats. Add 1 cup tomato product or other liquid/broth etc. Puree and add the sun dried toms and simmer the sauce until tight. This rocks on pasta, pizza, or swirled into a stew or soup.
For greater quantities just convert cups into the parts of a ratio. Ratio cooking is the key to jazz cooking. And, did you get a scale yet? Are you using it?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Quinoa and Grilled Spinach Enchiladas & Root Vegetable Soup
The Food Nanny
January 6 &7, 2010
Meal 1: Quinoa and Grilled Spinach Enchiladas with Red Beans, Roasted Butternut Squash
• Warm enchiladas at 350 until hot – maybe 25 minutes.
• Warm the squash in the same oven, but 10 minutes should be fine.
Meal 2: Root Vegetable Soup, Roasted Red Pepper Polenta, Blue Moon Spinach
• Heat the soup on the stovetop.
• Warm the polenta on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for 10 minutes or heat in a sauté pan with a little oil on medium high heat. Flip once so both sides brown.
• Either sauté the spinach in a little oil and a splash of water to wilt it or dress it and serve as a salad.
January 6 &7, 2010
Meal 1: Quinoa and Grilled Spinach Enchiladas with Red Beans, Roasted Butternut Squash
• Warm enchiladas at 350 until hot – maybe 25 minutes.
• Warm the squash in the same oven, but 10 minutes should be fine.
Meal 2: Root Vegetable Soup, Roasted Red Pepper Polenta, Blue Moon Spinach
• Heat the soup on the stovetop.
• Warm the polenta on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for 10 minutes or heat in a sauté pan with a little oil on medium high heat. Flip once so both sides brown.
• Either sauté the spinach in a little oil and a splash of water to wilt it or dress it and serve as a salad.