Smoothie Season

About 5 years ago we gave our son a Ninja.  What I love about it is how smooth the smoothies end up especially when using berries.  We've been on a kick of walking the dog then making a smoothies when we get back.  I had a ton of spinach so my son suggested we add some.  I have to admit, I like the texture (not to mention the healthy additive) and as he said, you can't taste it.  The Ninja is also nice because it comes with 3 cup sizes.  A single, a large single and a double which is perfect for 2 singles.  

These aren't ultra healthy type smoothies although you can certainly make them that way, these are just fun breakfast replacement smoothies with.  

I've grown to love them with Sherbet and buy Orange and Raspberry regularly.  Though it has sugar it makes the drink lactose free if that's a concern.  Another low sugar and lactose free option is to use nut milks.  

NOTE:  Do not overfill the cup because it will leak all over the base since you are adding air and the volumne will expand.   

I like to add ice the Ninja cup first because it's placed upside down on the base for mixing.  

Feel free to add what you like but right now Pineapples are $1.88 so that's certainly a good choice.  I always use Banana.  I have Strawberries and Fresh Spinach.  I also like Orange Juice.  I bought some Bacardi Pina Colada Mix, which I haven't used in ages, but one can made about 5 Double smoothies - each enough for (2) 12oz. smoothies.

Add the Ice, the Fruit, Spinach.  A scoop of Sherbet and a large dollop of Pina Colada Mix.  Add Juice or Milk or both.  Mix on the base until smooth.  Drink immediately. 

What to Do with the Kids

When my son, C, was younger he was bored in the summer because he was too young to find a job.  I was talking with a friend of mine at that time to see what she did with her kids.  She told me in the summers we do Bachelor School (obviously Bachlorette School) for girls. I thought what an awesome idea!  I bought certificate paper and awarded him a completion of the program at the end of summer.  We actually did this 2 summers in a row.  We had a lot of fun working together learning useful and handy tasks.  Build on the skills as time goes on.  

• Laundry - based on age, younger kids can fold, a little older can move clothes from washer to the dryer and learning how it works.  Responsibility for drying and folding.  For older kids, learning how to wash clothes from start to finish, loading and adding soap, learning about separating clothes.  For multiple kids, they each take responsibility for one step of the process.
• Ironing napkins, more advanced the iron clothing.
• Removing bedding, washing bedding, and then re-making the bed.  
• Pet care.  Feeding, walking, brushing, etc.
• Dusting, vacuuming, mopping and learning about the products and tools.
• Cleaning sinks and toilets, and learning about the products and tools.
• How to fill a ball or a bike tire (if you have a compressor or a hand pump).
• Review simple hand tools.  Learn their purpose.  
• Organizing a closet or drawer.  
• How to manage the household trash and recycling.
• How to load, start and unload a dishwasher. 
• Making pancakes from scratch.
• How to cut and section an Orange.
• How to arrange flowers.
• How to bake chicken.
• How to cook spaghetti.
• How to make a smoothie.
• How to make french toast.
• How to cook bacon.
• How to fry an egg.
• How set a table.
• How to make soup.
• How to make a stir-fry dish.
• How to bake muffins, biscuits and/or bread.  
• How to bake cookies.
• How to bake brownies.
• How to bake a tart.
• How to balance a check book.
• How to count back change.
• Arrange books and movies in alphabetical order.

These are just some of the ideas I've used in the past but you can come up with your own list.  I had about 12 things on the list each summer with objectives and a brief description and we worked through the list all summer.  I think when the routine changes and it forces us to find something fun, meaningful and useful to teach, and our kids will always remember the fun parts for life.

Coronavirus ideas for shopping

I've had to do my fair share of preparing for lengthy circummstances.  AKA, hunkering down for hurricanes as well as evacuating for them.  For Katrina, I learned to let your kid eat all the ice cream in the house before you go and don't leave chicken in the freezer.  When hunkering down, even with a generator for comfort, nothing removes the fear of hearing roaring winds far above the treetops for days on end, hoping your house will hold for all the gusts that batter it.  During those periods, I learned the refrigerated and freezer goods at the groceries are not touched.  It's canned goods, snacks, bread, batteries and water.  Pretty much no baking and cooking will go on unless you can access your grill or a crawfish set up for cooking.  Power most definitely will be out for most households.  It's hot, it's humid, and everyone is miserable.    

Being holed up to avoid contracting Coronavirus is different, but I think a lot of people didn't think about what they might need, they just went shopping for stuff.  I guess they invisioned cleaning their house, and not just cleaning, but sanitzing it, and doing laundry.  That, and apparently, going to the bathroom.   

I envisioned, games, books, watching movies, watching the stock market and listening to updates on the news.  And lots of cooking from scratch.

So week 1, the household stuff was gone.  And honestly I bought a 6 pack of toilet paper 3 weeks ago and haven't seen any since.  I can get through 3 weeks give or take with what we already had, so I'll worry about it later if this situation persists.  

Big box discount stores have the beauty of easily tracking a member's spending habits since we shop with a membership card.  They know exactly what we buy, how much we spend per trip,  and how frequently or seldomly we shop there.  By using data analytics, they can easily predict correctly our needs and have the foods we collectively buy when we need them.  So in knowing this data and knowing the incoming news, their systems should've caught buying habits outside that norm - on day one.  It should've rang bells at corporate level that a member who never buys wipes bought a pallet of them.  Or toilet paper purchases far out of their normal quantities   As soon as that flag goes up, they have the ability and repsonsibility to shut it down before is begins. That very next day, they could've blasted their members by way of email and very large signs at the door with limit standards.  Each card could've been tagged with limits per member, per month.  They can further limit by allowing 1 membership per name and address.  Needing a license to open an account stops a person from opening multiple memberships in their name using other people's adresses.  No PO Box allowed.  The Big Box revenues would've been the same, just more households would've been served.  

On the flipside, they also have data on who the hoarders are and who wants to exploit people's needs by reselling their goods at a marked up price in a different market.  In otherwords, they know exactly who you are.  I personally hope they reconsider renewing memberships for those individuals.  I equally hope they raise the bar on what they expect from their data analysts and giant computer systems and next time on day one they put these stops in place to create calm and disallow runs on any products.  

Week 2 was everything else and the kitchen sink.  Pasta aisles and canned goods, frozen vegetables, soup, etc, nothing was unscathed.  

I have a sister, S, who works for a delivery company so I knew in early March online models were going to soar and that she would be busy.  I put together a list of some basics so she could work her long hours and still feed her children with some advance shopping.

So here's what I came up with:

• Medicines, have on hand what you need.  Make sure you have a working thermometer.
• Pet food and their medicine.  Stay ahead of this curve so you don't need to go out for it.  
• We all know the smoke alarms might ring at the most inconvenient time, and probably will.  Either change all the 9v batteries now or have some on hand.
• If you are going to clean and organize, have what you need.  Have a method to compile your giveaway things.
• Libraries will close, get books now ahead of time.
• This is a big one - DON'T BUY WHAT YOU NOMALLY DON'T BUY but rather stock up on what you normally buy.
• Try to discuss with your kids that just cause they see 6 packs of cookies they can not plow through them in case there is an order to stay home.
• I focused on some larger meats that give me leftovers.  A Turkey Breast, Whole Chicken, a Ham, a rack of Ribs,  a Pork Loin.  I'll have leftovers and can make soup using from the turkey or chicken carcass.  
• Frozen Chicken Strips, Wings, Potstickers, Italian Sausages, Brats, Hotdogs, Frozen Pizza or ability to make pizza, Bacon, Chicken Breasts, Ground Beef, Boneless Skinless Thighs.  From these things, I can make all kinds of meals that can net leftovers. But if I become ill, everyone else can still eat.   
• Fruit - Use those fruits that perish first keeping the longer times for later use.  Lastly resort to Frozen and Canned Fruits.
• Short Shelf Life: Berries
• Medium Shelf Life: Fresh Pineapple, Grapes, Banana, Melons, Mango
• Long shelf time: Apples, Oranges, Grape Fruit, Lemons, Limes, Dried Fruit
• Once fruit is getting too ripe, make something with it.  Smoothies and muffins, pancakes and desserts.  
• Vegetables - Use those vegetables that perish first keeping the longer times for later use.  Lastly, resort to Frozen and Canned Vegetables
• Short Shelf Life: Bagged Ready Made Salad Mixes, Spring Mixes, Lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes
• Medium Shelf Life: Iceberg Lettuce, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Beans, Pea Pods, Eggplant, Roma and Grape Tomatoes, Broccoli, Peppers, Asparagus, Fresh Beets.
• Long Shelf Life: Acorn and Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Avacado, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Garlic, Shallots, Ginger.
• NOTE:  Once you are stocked, if you continue to have access to fresh foods, eat and replenish the fresh foods.  In otherwords, don't eat your frozen pizza unless you are replacing it.  Once you are self quarantining, then go to an eating cycle in order of most perishable first.  
• Breads - Buy a variety of things to keep it interesting and maximize options. 
• Bakery breads and rolls (use these first) Bagels, English Muffins, Sliced bread, Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns, Boxed Muffin, Cake or Brownie Mix, Pop-and-Fresh Bread Products, Frozen biscuits or breads like Sister Shubert's, Pita breads, Flour Tortillas, Puff Pastry.  
• Condiments - Have all your favorites on hand.  Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Mustard, Soy,  Salad Dressing, Salsa, Vinegar, Peanut & Jelly, Honey, etc.
• Pantry and Raw Ingredients - These offer the most options for making food from scratch.  Flour, Sugar, Powerded Sugar, Brown Sugar, Yeast, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Syrup, Salt, Pepper, Seasonings, Oil, Vegetable Sprays, Olive Oil, Pasta in a variety of shapes, Rice, Tomato Products, Broths, Canned Beans, Vegetables and Fruit, Nuts, Soups and Ramen, Tuna.  Ingredients needed to Bake Muffins, Biscuits, Cookies, Desserts, Tarts or Quiches.  
• Dairy - Milk (you can freeze milk), Fresh Juices, 1/2 & 1/2, Nut Milks (have better shelf life), Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, Ricotta, Variety of Cheeses both sliced and grated, Yogurt, Eggs (3 times the number you think), Buttermilk, Butter or Spreads.
• Vegetarian - Have on hand the specialty items needed to make your meals.  Tofu, Humus, Vegetable Broth, seasoning and sauces.
• Cereal, Snacks, Chips, Popcorn, Crackers, Cookies - Have these things on hand but again, don't allow the kids to bindge watch youtube and eat a full pack of cookies or bag of chips on day one.  Once these things are gone, make your own oven chips and make desserts from scratch.  Get them on board with the duration and the objective.  In order to keep adults healthy, they are not running to the store everyday and eventually not at all.
• Paper Products - Buy what you might need for 2-4 weeks without wasting it.  If no one in your house is leaving and no one has tested positive, there isn't a need to sanitize your counters with Lysol wipes outside of normal cleaning.  In other words,  you don't need 48 rolls of paper towels and 19 bottles of bleach.  
• Toiletries - What you might need for 2-4 weeks.  This gets tricky because if you are in my predicament, by the time I realized I may run out of bar soap in 2 weeks, I haven't found any.  I'm hoping the hoarders are broke and can't afford any more so when I go to the store again, there might be some.
• Office Supplies - Anything you might need for work or school.
• Misc - Coffee, Variety of Bottled Drinks, Soda, Mixers, Beer, Wine, and Booze.  I am aware that this line is likely the first on anyone's list after medicine and pet food, so here it is, I didn't forget about you!

To keep food from becoming low too quickly, if you get worried, eat twice a day - a very late breakfast and an early dinner.  Everyone is going to be sleeping more because the schedule is not as hectic.

Good luck!

Zucchini Lasagne (Inspired by Rachel Ray)

I always get a new dish idea each time I watch Rachel Ray.  Her cooking is a simple style to make and is always tasty!  I tape the show daily and when I have time, I scroll through the guest lists.  Tim Tibow was on recently.  He has been following a Keto diet for years and this dish falls into that category.  Simply put, he explained he eats meat and good fats but avoid carbs and sugar.  BTW, he looks awesome.  I'm not on the Keto diet, or any diet for that matter, but this dish looked perfect for me and my family.  It also looked perfect as a reheated leftover.  On days my son has to work directly from arriving home from school I love to have things like this in the refrigerator.  It affords him to a real meal before work since he works the dinner shift. 

I only saw the dish made and didn't pull up the recipe so it isn't Rachel's verbatim but close enough.  You can go to her show's website and see exactly what she did.  She didn't use Marinara in her meat and I added it because the acid of the tomato balances the fat.

This made 8 zucchini halves allowing 2 per person.  The ratios I selected worked perfectly.  If you feel you want some carbs warm crusy bread comes to mind.  For a Vegetarian version, roast in Olive Oil, Sliced Mushroom, Wedges of Red Onions, 1/2" Diced Bell Pepper, and 1" Cubed Eggplant for about 20-25 Minutes in a 350 degree oven tossing very 6-8 minutes - obviously omitting the meat.

I bought 4 Medium Zucchini on the plumb side.  Preheat oven to 350.  Rinse and cut off both ends and slice down the middle.  I used my melon baller to scoop out the seeds creating a well.  Don't go all the way to the ends so nothing can fall out.  Place on a sheet pan and brush with Olive Oil, sprinkle with Salt and Pepper and Roast for 15-20 min till sizzling.  Set aside when done.  

I used 1.25 lbs of Ground Chuck.  Add 1 TBL of Olive Oil to a skillet and heat over medium heat.  Dice 1/2 small Onion.  Sweat the onion til it glistens - about 3 minutes.  Add meat and cook lightly, breaking it up but keep it chunky so it doesn't resemble bb's.  Because it is going into the oven, don't cook it throughly to prevent it drying out completely.  Season with Salt & Pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp Oregano and 1 TBL Fresh Parsley.  I had fresh made Marinara on hand.  Add about 1/2 Cup Marinara and stir to combine.  Turn off heat.  

This is the good part.  In a saucepan over medium low heat, melt 4 Oz Mascarpone in 1/4 Cup of Heavy Cream, stirring the entire time.  It will make a nice smooth sauce.  Remove from heat when smooth.  

Make sure the zucchini are close together.  Top each one til almost overflowing.  Top with the white sauce.  Using 8oz Mozarella Cheese, top each with cheese.  Then Dizzzle with a tiny bit of good Olive Oil and sprinke with Oregano.    

You can assemble up to this point.  You can even make ahead and refrigerate overnight.
If you do that, remove from refrierator while the oven is warming.  

So when ready, preheat oven to 375.  Add pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 min.  I wanted the mixture bubbly and the cheese browned so I switched to a convection broil for the last few minutes.  In any event, stay close by so you don't over cook this.  

The zucchini was still al dente while the filling was warm and bubbly.  This was a delicious meal.  I can see making it as a group for a large family gathering, it's very forgiving.  Like I said, it can be made in the morning or even the day before.  Perfect for a snowy winter dinner with warm bread and a glass of Chianti!  

Other options, you can make baby versions using baby zucchini and serve 1/2 as an appetizer or serve a platter of them on an hor's doeurve table. Want to reduce calories, use ground chicken.  An absolutlely perfect recipe!!

Brown Sugar Salmon

My son watches different food vloggers.  A few weeks ago he asked if we could have salmon made the way a gal he follows makes it.  I figured, sure why not. 

First have salmon fillets cut to the size each person wants.  I tend to buy mine with the skin in tact.  I use my Tupperware marinating container and if you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one.  To the container, add 1/2 Cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce.  Add Sprigs of Fresh Dill.  Add Fresh Salmon and top with more dill.  

NOTE:  1/3 - 1/2 Lb per person is a nice size portion - center cut if you can get it.  If you buy the whole side that you plan to cut yourself, use the tail portion for whomever likes theirs more done.  Let the salmon marinate in the soy for about 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 350. Place salmon of a foil lined sheet pan and top generously with Light Brown Sugar - at least a 1/4 Cup each.  You can get it ready of to this point if you are having company.  Place the sheet pan directly in the refrigerator.

Place in preheated oven for about 20 mintes for medium temperature.  For medium rare temerature, add those fillets after about 5 minutes into cooking so they are ready at the same time.  

Remove from the oven when the sugar has bubbled and formed a light crust.  If at the end you want it a bit more crustier, use your broiler for a minute.  Add the drizzle from the sheet pan directly on the fish or on one of the sides you plan to serve.  Let the salmon rest for 5 minutes before removing from the sheet pan.  

Interesting combination but tasty.  We actually made it a second time.  

Hor's Douevre Platters

I follow Cheese by Numbers on Instagram.  I know her posts look so simple but it's actually harder than it looks.  So while I practice one of my latest happy hour bite platters, I'll post them, mostly so I recall what I've done.  I bought this cool looking platter for about $15 and love the size and shape!  It can be dinner for 2 or a platter to serve many with drinks ahead of dinner. 

Below is a simple pre-dinner platter using a dinner plate.  We have a new media room and I made this one night while we enjoyed a cocktail.

Fruit Tarts

I had a hankering for individual fruit tarts that I made years ago for Christmas desert.  I searched my blog and didn't find a thing.  Then I searched my kitchen book (where I write menus of past events) and again came up empty.  After looking at a few cookbooks, I still couldn't find a recipe that I might have used.  After that, I decided to wing it a bit.  

I have 6 individual tart pans that are a perfect size.  

First I made the dough and baked the shells.  In a food processor, combine 1 Stick Unsalted Butter (cut into cubes) with 3 oz Cream Cheese.  These can both warm up for about 15 minutes so they are cool but not soft.  To this add 1 tsp Sugar and 1/2 tsp Salt.  Add 1 Cup Flour and blend until a ball is formed.  No not over mix. 

Preheat oven to 350.  Divide the dough into 6 pieces.  Give and take until they look about even.  With floured fingers, gently press dough into the tart pans so the dough along the sides is fairly even.  Know that the dough will stick into the corner so press there and up the sides.  It's pretty forgiving.  Pierce with a fork along the bottom.  Place into hot oven for about 18 minutes until golden brown (and fragrant).   Remove from oven and let cool.

To make the lemon curd, to a bowl, add 3 Egg Yolks and beat til pale yellow.  Add 3 TBL Fine Sugar and beat until ribblons form when removing the beaters.  Zest 2 Lemons straight into the bowl.  Juice the 2 Lemons and beat in 2 TBL of the juice (taste to see if you want more and add accordingly.)  Place the curd in a small pan and while stirring continually, heat over low heat until it warms through and is thick.  Once it's resembles smooth pudding, remove from heat and put the curd in a clean bowl to cool.  

NOTE: For fine sugar, beat granulated sugar in a food processor.  I prepared a 1 LB bag of Sugar for my various needs and I store it in the bag it came in.  You can buy Caster Sugar but it's very expensive. 

To this point, all of this can be made ahead.  Assemble when you are ready to serve.  Place a tart pan on a plate and top the shell with curd.  Add fruit of choice and serve at once.  It's a delicious dessert any time.

For GF use GF flour when making the shells.

Chirstmas Dinner Table

This is late as I just came across the picture on my desktop.  My son wanted to set the table for Christmas Dinner.  It was just the 3 of us so I thought, why not.  Though he stole stuff from around the house and, I think the results were awesome.  It was the first time we ate together in the dining room.  It's a lovely room!  

Simple Chicken Meatball Kabobs

I've been very busy with home renovations and sometimes I get something that I can put together midweek without much effort.  I require it has to cook quickly and taste good.  I was at Costco with my sister D and we sampled Aidells' products.  We decided to split a package of Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs.  26 meatballs came in each package..  

Last night I bought a 1 Green Bell Pepper and a 1 Fresh Pineapple (wow $1.50, that's the lowest I've ever seen!)  I already had 1 Small Red Onion.  I prepped the vegetables and put everything on skewers.  I had a 1/2 package of Rice Sticks that I cooked like pasta which made it very low calorie.  

Recipe: Preheat the oven to 375 while you boil the water.  While all that is happening, prep and put everything on skewers and place on a sheet pan.  Mix together, 1 TBL Honey, 1 TBL Soy Sauce, 1 TBL Rice Vinegar, drizzle in 1 TBL Olive Oil while stirring.  Add a shake of Red Pepper Flakes for some heat.  You can adjust these quantities to taste.  Glaze both sides of the vegetable/meatballs.  Place in hot oven for 15 minutes until hot throughout, browned lightly and bubbly.  Serve at once.  

Fresh Pineapple

Fresh Pineapple is in season!  I know you can get them all the time but they are particularly good beginning now and under $2 each if you shop around.  I bought this one at Walmart for $1.78.   Sometimes I spirialze them and occassionaly I like large chucks eaten by itself.  I could tell by looking at it that it would be good with a firm looking skin and dark, hydrated and healthy looking crown. This is the second one I bought in a week.  It was ready to eat immediately and seems to be at it's peek!  They are in season beginning now through July!