Haven't I mentioned before that I have followed in my mother's footsteps - loving new recipes - tearing them willy-nilly out of magazines and saving them for the day I might just make them. In fact, I have inherited many (read MANY!) of those she tore out. I don't know if she ever got around to making many of them. Since retirement, I've been struggling to get back to the mind-set that I really do have the time to plan, to shop for and to prepare meals made up of more than a couple of ingredients. Working had gotten me used to making healthy but uninspired meals - a piece of meat, some veg and a starch. Easy to shop for, quick to make.
For the past couple of weeks I've been getting serious about gleaning from my stockpiles meals that really tempt me. Going along with another retirement goal, I've been tossing those that don't make the cut. And I've been creating a new shopping list....it's been exciting!
Along the way I've discovered that we have software that came with our scanner with which I can scan all those loose pages, save them, and search - getting rid of more paper, and giving me the option of finding just the right recipe easily - matching up ingredients and seasons. This is bound to be fun!
 |
| Gingered Flatiron Steak - familycircle magazine |
We've had a few winners - a few that weren't bad but won't be repeated. The meals have been healthy and I've been so much less interested in eating out.
Some of the recipes have taught me that just because they publish them doesn't mean I can easily find the ingredients! And some - like the Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa and Saffron Rice - call for unbelievably expensive ingredients. A tiny, tiny, oh so tiny packet of saffron threads - $18 !!! I don't think so! Especially since we didn't know if we would like it. I chose instead a somewhat larger packet of "American Saffron" running about $4 which looked identical - and turns out, we loved the dish. Creative footwork is often called for - no flatiron steak available at Wegmans, so the butcher steered me to a 1/2 sirloin...worked just great in the Gingered Flatiron Steak. I roasted some potatoes and made a wonderful salad with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese balls and fresh basil from our garden. It was accompanied by a homemade soy ginger sauce. It made a great salad for lunch the next day.
Cooking is encompassing more of the family, too...granddaughter Julia stayed over night the other evening, and instead of going out for breakfast, she opted to make it with Pop Pop. Here she is flipping pancakes with great expertise! |
| Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa and Saffron Rice - Cooking Light - mix & match low calorie cookbook |
No comments:
Post a Comment