May 9
I knew a man who hated buffets and carbohydrates. The seventh if ten children, his mother had long since decided that preparing food for her brood was difficult enough without having to clean serving dishes too. Read more
Last year I wrote about helping a neighbor’s children plan a Mothers’ Day menu for their Mother while their Father was deployed to Afghanistan. The children were determined that they pay for the food from their savings, and do all the cooking. So it was a challenge for me to stay within their $20.00 budget and their limited cooking skills to assure their safety. As I reported in my posting of May 18, 2012, we successfully pulled it off. It’s an easy, affordable tasty menu for three meals in one day or three separate meals for any day. Check it out! Just click on May 2012. Read more
In last week’s posting, I mentioned the need to be practical when dealing with any aspects of food planning and preparation. Maintaining a practical outlook is an important part of acquiring Kitchen $centse, especially the “cents” and “sense” components. Being able to cook is fun and liberating. Knowing you can make a recipe that appeals to you, or possibly duplicate one you’ve tasted, satisfy a craving or please a family member by serving a requested meal is a great feeling. Read more
Several years ago, at a Personal Chefs’ conference, the speaker asked how many changed their menus with the seasons. Only a few responded, which was no surprise since they all have hundreds of recipes in their repertoires and are skilled at filling requests. However, I was surprised that even fewer claimed to change their personal menus from winter to summer. Coming from an area of small farms, most of which have roadside produce stands, I can’t imagine not altering meals to include the current crops. My awareness of using seasonal produce was enhanced by living in Italy. The entire population seems to anticipate and then enjoy the bounties of each season. I fondly remember one spring Saturday. A friend had invited me and another couple to luncheon and the races, but when I opened the door, I was greeted by three grinning people, carrying grocery bags exclaiming “Spring peas are here!” They had passed the green grocer’s on the way to my apartment and plans changed instantly. Next I knew, we were sautéing garlic cloves in oil, and carving pieces of ham to brown. When that was done, the peas, which the grocer had sold by weight shelled, were piled in the pan and just warmed through, then served with freshly grated cheese on top. It was delicious and no one missed going to the races. Read more
Ironically, when the first settlers arrived in North America the lakes, rivers, streams and coastal waters over flowed with sea life. Until the mid 20th century it was harvested with little thought to maintaining the populations, the balances between them or their environments. Moreover, although some delicious dishes were developed throughout the years, the major portion of this bounty was unappreciated and simply prepared in basic ways, boiled, fried, in stews and chowders, without consideration for the individual flavors or textures. Several things changed in the years after WWII. Affordable air travel allowed us to try other cuisines; there was an influx of immigrants from countries with strong seafood based culinary traditions; we became environmentally conscious and aware that pollution was taking its toll on all life forms; we learned that a healthy diet prevents illness and gives us longer lives and that seafood is an important part of a healthy diet. Finally, we expanded our palates and our cooking skills to include new, often exotic ingredients, techniques and tastes. Read more
As I stated in the posting on The Informed Shopper, Feb. 9, 2013, the poultry industry has done a remarkable job of reinventing itself in the past several decades. Actually, many of the changes were necessary to assure the supply would meet the demand. In the United States alone in 2010 we consumed more than double the amount of chicken per capita, than in we did 1970. It’s the most consumed meat in the U.S. and second in the world, just slightly behind pork. Read more
It’s fitting that we’re discussing LAMB this week. A basic ingredient in many cuisines, lamb was for years the roast of choice of many American families for Easter dinner, including my own. A staple of colonial kitchens, lamb lost ground when the West opened and beef was introduced. The two species have incompatible grazing techniques and can’t share space. Beef is less labor intensive for a larger product yield, so it became king. Lamb suffered another setback after WWII with the expansion of suburbs at the expense of farm land. Then came the 1960s with the peace movement and the emergence of Animal Rights and “lamb” especially accompanied by “spring baby” became a menu No-No. Actually, growing American appetites and depletion of flocks had already made the slaughter of immature sheep impractical. By then, however, development of synthetic fibers, and the high cost of labor had taken their toll on sheep herding. For a decade or so New Zealand lamb was prominent in the markets. I often bought it to vary our family menus, but I haven’t seen that in over ten years. Now, lamb is mainly in the meat counter seasonally and then limited cuts, leg, loin chops and ground. More surprising to me is the fact that two of my flyers advertized lamb this week, but only leg and ground and they’re the same price! If you consult a meat chart, you will see there are about 40 cuts per animal.
I know, I know, after reading the blog for The Informed Shopper on Meat, you know what to look for in appearance and grading, but what about the cut? That information doesn’t help much when you’re standing in front of the meat counter in the supermarket staring at a vast array of different cuts. Well to get you started, there are some general facts about butchered meats that may make understanding the differences simpler. Of course, it would be great if you have a set of meat charts for reference because every discussion is easier with illustrations. Anyway, here goes—– Read more
Copyright © 2025 All rights Reserved Joy Wielland 2014.. All rights reserved.