tejon

How did I miss this food blog? I can't wait to see more, and hope you are feeling much better.

Oddly enough, as a family of four we usually fall within that amount each week. I'll admit that I do a good amount of work to make sure that we keep food expenses low, allowing for more money in other needed areas. I cut coupons, I buy during sales, I get seasonal produce (cheaper and of course better flavored), and make quite a few things from scratch. We're omnivores, but meat is eaten in smaller amounts and not at all meals, though less for economy and more because there are a lot of vegetarian meals we all enjoy. I think this challenge would be much more difficult for a single person or a couple than for a family. It's much easier to buy most foods in larger amounts and there's more room for greater variety when there is a bit more money to spend overall.

Cool, of course. (says she who also checks slice thickness and is not elderly quite yet)

I'd go with carrot cake. Most people like it, it's pretty child friendly, and technically there are nutritious, healthy things in there somewhere .

It's a very rich dough - 5 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar to 5 1/2 cups of flour. Shaping was pretty simple, just separate the dough into 20 pieces, roll to long ropes, then twist together. The twists wrapped around the bottom of a Pyrex bowl before a final rising and baking. The recipe called for removing the bread from the bowl and crumpling up aluminum foil as a base, but once it was cool it held shape pretty well without help.

Here's something I made for Easter. The dough had a wonderful texture, and the resulting bread was rich and sweet with a slight hint of lemon. Pulling the ropes off bit by bit was entertaining, too. Golden Beehive Bread from Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads.

I'd second (third?) the recommendation for Pok Pok, and add that even without reservations you could have tapas at the bar at Andina. They have some interesting cocktails, and the tapas are enough for a meal if you order several (which you'd want to, regardless).

I'll add my very humble cookie tin from this year. Clockwise from upper right: glazed molasses spice cookies, Russian tea cakes, coconut cranberry chews, pretzel "turtles" that the boys made, a row of crystallized ginger butter squares, and finally chocolate rounds dipped in more chocolate and pistachios.

I agree. Thought provoking, beautifully written, and enjoyable. I've been passing this book around to anyone who will read it.

Cranberry Jezebel Sauce Serves 10. This is a smooth cranberry sauce with a kick. Sweet, tangy, with a hit of horseradish, it goes with all kinds of holiday fare and is especially good with turkey and pork. 1 c water 1/2 c brown sugar, packed 1/2 c sugar 12 oz cranberries 1 T Dijon mustard 3 T prepared horseradish 1/4 c orange juice Combine water, sugars and cranberries in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 12 minutes, until the cranberries have popped and mixture is thickened. Put through a food mill or sieve. Let cool, then add mustard, horseradish and orange juice. Makes approximately 2 cups of sauce. Keywords: Easy, Condiment, American ( RG1876 )

I'm so glad you enjoyed them! They really are pretty simple to make up, and everyone always loves them. They do bear a striking resemblance to Pillsbury crescent rolls. Kind of funny, since the taste is absolutely nothing the same. I have had people take a look and laugh when I said I made them, thinking I just opened a can. The shapes are just the simplest one to make with no waste, which is why my Gramma formed them that way in the first place. Smart lady.

You have much to be thankful for: a husband brought back to health, and delicious turkey to look forward to later today. Happy Thanksgiving! (now, back to cooking for me)

I was thinking more of the plate divided into 3 parts - one third (or more) for the meat, one part for the starch, one part for the vegetable. It's hard to even imagine a dinner plate without that meat portion for many people, whereas it's easier to think of another protein in a stir fry or stew, for instance.

Here are my Gramma's rolls, the ones I make for every holiday. They are buttery and rich and really delicious, and not hard to make at all. Makes 36 rolls, enough for ~ 12 people 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup warm water 1 Tb. yeast 2 eggs 5-6 cups flour Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease baking sheets. Scald the milk (heat over medium flame until small bubbles appear around the edges); stir in sugar, salt and butter; cool to lukewarm. Measure the warm water into a large bowl. Sprinkle the in the yeast; stir until dissolved. Stir in the milk mixture, eggs and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Split dough into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a 12 inch circle. Brush with melted butter, then cut into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge from the wide end to form a crescent, then place on baking sheet with the pointed end underneath. Squeeze sides together to form a "C" shape. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Brush with more melted butter and cool on racks. These rolls freeze beautifully, which is a good thing - there are never enough!

Gramma's Rolls Serves 12 as Side. Growing up, I remember one thing from every big holiday meal - Gramma's rolls. They were buttery and rich, perfect to pull apart layer by layer. These are delicious with just about any meal, and they freeze well, which makes them convenient to make ahead. But be sure to make plenty - they get eaten quickly! 3/4 c milk 1/2 c sugar 1-1/2 tsp salt 1/2 c butter 3/4 c warm water 1 T yeast 2 large eggs 5 c flour Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease baking sheets. Scald the milk (heat over medium flame until small bubbles appear around the edges); stir in sugar, salt and butter; cool to lukewarm. Measure the warm water into a large bowl. Sprinkle the in the yeast; stir until dissolved. Stir in the milk mixture, eggs and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Split dough into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a 12 inch circle. Brush with melted butter, then cut into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge from the wide end to form a crescent, then place on baking sheet with the pointed end underneath. Squeeze sides together to form a "C" shape. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Brush with more melted butter and cool on racks. This recipe makes 36 rolls, enough for around 12 people. Keywords: Vegetarian, Easy, Bread, American, Christmas ( RG1874 )

Well said. I think part of this fallacy comes from the standard American dinner template: meat, starch, and vegetable. When you take the meat away, many people are unsure what to do instead. Of course, there is no need to do a tri-part plate of any kind, especially when there's a world of roasted vegetables, of hand filled ravioli, of slow cooked lentils, of delicious foods that also happen to not contain meat. I find that often it's easiest to look to other cultures to find inspiration for a meal that emphasizes produce, but as your example shows, even the most basic American standards are just as delicious meat-free when prepared with care.

Tonight's meal: Channa dal with herbs and garlic tadka, basmati rice, cauliflower with mustard seeds, and an onion relish. This is one of my favorite comfort meals - dal of some sort, rice, and a vegetable.

The puffs had a pastry shell that was layers of fat and flour. The filling consisted of stir fried potato, cabbage, onion, and celery (all diced fine) liberally flavored wtih garma masala and a bit of turmeric. The pastry I could have taken or left - it didn't have much going for it beyond the flaky texture - but the filling was delicious.

I made dinner for visiting friends a couple of weeks back. He is vegetarian, she's vegan. Together, we worked out a Chinese meal that both of them were thrilled about. It came out pretty well, especially considering the "ice cream", which was a last minute invention. We had scallion pancakes to start, siu mai with tofu and ginger, curry puffs (the filling for these was amazing!), stir fried bok choy from my garden, marinated broccoli stems (with sugar, salt, vinegar and sesame oil), and steamed rice. Dessert was coconut ice cream with ginger and lime. No pictures, but it was an incredible meal.

My Grandmother is also Gramma. She's still around, but unable to cook any longer which is a sadness to the whole family. Thankfully, her recipes carry on and we'll all have Gramma's rolls this Thanksgiving. She was the inspiration for all things food for me, so it is with great honor that I'll get out the rolling pin and bake today. Thanks for the reminder and the tribute.

I wonder if they are some kind of variant? They have the same long bean look, with nodes of tiny beans within the pods at regular intervals, but do look a bit more plump. Interesting.

The thing that saved us the most money, over the years, has been meal planning. Once a week (usually Saturday night - I just did mine and hopped onto the computer) I sit down and start thinking about the meals we'll be having for the next 7 days. I look at what's in season, what happens to be inexpensive at the time, what we all feel like eating, and what the schedule will be like in the next week. I check my refrigerator, freezer and pantry (usually do this in my head - I have a scary ability to pinpoint everything in all of them at any given time) to see what can be used or combined. Then I plan out meals, including everything that will be needed for each. When I make the shopping list out, I check off each meal when I've assembled all the necessary ingredients, between the shopping list and what I have in the kitchen. Planning meals makes me really think out what we're going to have. It allows me to put together things like making a protein stretch out across several meals, since I've got everything on paper and can figure things out across a whole week instead of meal by meal. I can plan out leftovers - if I make a big pot of soup one night, I'll plan to have it a few nights later or divvy it up into lunch size portions to go into the freezer or put the whole thing in a large container in the freezer, to be eaten on a night when I don't want to cook. There is almost no waste when I have all of my meals planned out. Also, I can think about portions. I only cook for me, my husband, and two very small boys, so we don't eat a lot at any one meal. I know this, and cut down recipes if I'm only going to make it once or plan to do leftovers or freeze for later if a recipe serves 6-8. Menu planning also saves my sanity on days when I'm sick, or when the day has been really hectic or stressful and I just can't think of what to make - it's all been planned out and I know I have everything on hand. It's worth giving a try, if only to really concentrate for a while on exactly what you are both going to have, and seeing where you can tweak things here and there.

They look like long beans from here.

Microwaved Scottish-style oats, you say? Now that has possibilities. I'm assuming the yogurt gets stirred in afterwards (so as not to kill the wee good beasties contained therein)?

We have the same refrigerator. Not the same contents, although I also have homemade limoncello in the freezer. How do you usually prepare your porridge? One the stovetop, or in your rice cooker?