November: The Month of Loaves and Fishes

Well, I am not sure how this has worked, but we have only spent $319.61 on food this month.  And that includes all Thanksgiving necessities (even the turkey and the wine), and all the Tree Day fun foods:  fritters and eggnog and white mocha makings.  After two-and-a-half days of turkey feast, we still have a good meal or two of leftovers waiting to be devoured. We have eight loaves of bread in our freezer, made this week.  We have two gallons of milk in the frig.  There are also two big bags of turkey/lemon/ginger broth in the freezer, a butternut squash cooking that will be made into soup, two acorn squash being made into appetizers (recipes for soup and app to follow), and a big pot of applesauce cooking on the stove.  I can't help thinking of the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes with some fish and a few loaves of bread.  There is heavenly magic being performed in the dark recesses of our cold storage and our pantry.  I am grateful.



Chile-roasted acorn squash 
(from Sunset Magazine's Best Recipes 2010...the cookbook I use more than any other.)

2 large acorn squash
3 1/2 T minced canned chipotle chiles
About 2 t kosher salt
7 T canola oil (I used olive oil))
6 T packed brown sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds.  Cut each half into wedges (whatever size you want...I cut them into 1" pieces.)  In a small bowl, stir remaining ingredients together with 1 T water.

2.  Slather wedges with chile mixture, holding them over the bowl to catch the drips (use about half the mixture.)  Set in an oiled rimmed baking pan; cover loosely with foil.

3.  Bake squash 15 minutes.  Uncover and drizzle with remaining chile mixture.  Bake until very tender, about 25 minutes more.  Sprinkle with salt, if desired (I did not.)

To make ahead:  Chill, covered, up to one day.  Reheat 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger
from epicurious.com

• 2 butternut squash (about 4 3/4 pounds total), halved lengthwise, seeded
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 5 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
• Chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil baking sheet. Place squash, cut side down, on baking sheet. Bake until squash is very soft, about 50 minutes. Using paring knife, remove peel from squash; discard peel. Cut squash into 2-inch pieces.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Mix in onion, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and cinnamon. Cover pot and cook until onion is tender, about 15 minutes. Add squash and 5 cups chicken broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon.

Working in batches, purée soup in blender. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate.) Return soup to pot. Season soup with salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, thinning soup with more broth if necessary. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

November update: sick but still sailing

Well, illness has both thwarted and supported our efforts to save money on food in November. While adding to our OTC medicine budget (which is non-existent), this $%#@ flu has resulted in sipped tea in lieu of meals and eventually a meal provided for us (thank you, dear Lori). Chicken and potatoes and salad became one as-is dinner, two breakfast plates of potatoes, the greens for a tostada lunch and one pot of chicken soup that lasted for two dinners and two lunches. It was almost worth the horrific body aches and fatigue. Almost.

So far this month I have spent $123.09 on groceries. My husband picked up milk and bread when I was knocked out, so our totals probably come to $150.00. And we are almost half way through the month!

Since a large part of my goal this month is to use up what we have, I took a few hours on Friday and wrote detailed lists of everything we have in our frig, our freezers, and in our pantry. With careful planning, we are well stocked for several weeks, needing only to add dairy and produce. One of the most welcome discoveries was that I have everything I need for Thanksgiving except some produce and a turkey. I even have a great wine stored away for the occasion.

It is a great relief to finally feel better and to see that we are in great shape for our budget goals instead of being firmly entrenched in a big ol' fail. Tonight's menu: homemade pizza. Yumola.

For the month of November

Inspired by Beauty that Moves via Tonia, I will be posting my own grocery challenge here for the month of November.  I will post weekly updates, ideas and inspiration that I trust will come.  My goals are different:

1)  To use up our pantry and freezer excess in a creative way.

2)  To be disciplined about documenting food expenditures (I can't even put a number to spending half of what we usually spend, as I can only guess how much that is.  I want to know what we are spending.)

3)  To learn how to live on less for the long haul.  This month we will be able to save a large amount with the things we have on our shelves, but I want to significantly decrease our monthly budget for as long as it takes to lessen some of our financial stress.  I will put the money I save on groceries directly into debt reduction for our family.

4)  To eat healthfully, including plenty of produce.

What this means for us:

1)  I usually include everything I buy at the grocery store in our grocery budget.  This month I will not include alcohol, laundry/cleaning supplies, or our Thanksgiving meal.  I will keep track of every penny spent.

2)  I will be cooking.  A lot.  Our oven has been broken for a while; I am excited that it should be fixed this week and we can bake again.  I am ready for homemade bread.  Our budget is ready for homemade bread, bagels, and more.  I will include any recipes that seem worthy of note.

3)  I will be praying.  Tightening our budget is important for us, and I need God's grace.  I do love to cook, but penny pinching in the kitchen gets a little soul wearying for me.  I am hoping that adding the word "challenge" to the equation will release all those competitive impulses our family is known for.  

Welcome, November.  This is going to be a good month.

PIZZA:  A Family Staple

Crust of your choice (I use artisan bread dough)
Sauce
One can of tomato paste.
Five cloves of garlic confit (one tablespoon of garlic oil included).
Two tablespoons chopped fresh basil.
Plenty of other fresh herbs of your choice (I like oregano, marjoram, thyme) to taste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Heat and let simmer until all the flavors mingle.
Cheese
I strongly encourage you to use fresh mozzarella. Costco has good prices, WinCo has it, too. Find it. Use it. Slice it as thinly as possible.
Toppings
Use your imagination. My favorite is basil, tomato, caramelized onions, artichoke hearts, olives. We have meat lovers that prefer sausage, pepperoni, and ham.

The picture above is from Fitzpatrick Winery.  We loved their Friday night Pizza dinner last week, and I am now coveting the oven...I really want a wood fire pizza oven in my yard.  Maybe someday.

Ginger Cucumber Margarita

a more traditional option from last year's margarita season

1. Put four or five peeled slices of cucumber and one small (maybe 1T) chunk of peeled, fresh ginger into a shaker. Muddle.

2. Add 1 shot glass of ginger liqueur, 1 shot glass of tequila, 1 shot glass of lime juice. Sweeten to taste, should you wish.

3. Add crushed ice. Shake.

4. Strain and serve in the glass of your choice. Add a sliver of cucumber or a slice of lime for garnish.

Delicious.

Anticipation: ad hoc

Thanks to the generosity of a friend, we are looking forward to a May evening at Thomas Keller's ad hoc restaurant. I am so excited.

Have you seen the cookbook?

(click image to go to amazon.com)

I plan to distract myself by cooking my way through as much as I can before May.  It is going to be a tasty wait.

Cream Puffs

I'm not the only one inspired by cooking these days.

Someone wanted a break from school so she set to work making cream puffs.

Equipped with Julia Child's recipe and Gram's apron, she did a beautiful job.

They didn't last long.  Yum.

Julia's recipe: (Cream Puffs posted by Gourmeted)

Cookbook recommendations or If It Is Good Enough for Christopher Kimball...

I got the information below in an email recently.  The sale that Kimball mentions will only last until February 20th, but the cookbook recommendations will stand.  Disclaimer:  I am a HUGE Christopher Kimball fan.  For information on Cook's Illustrated, go here, for America's Test Kitchen, go here.

From the desk of Christopher Kimball


Dear Home Cook,



I am often asked about my Top Ten list of cookbooks and, until recently, I had never given this a lot of thought. Sure, I have plenty of go-to books that I use regularly, but since I have read so many cookbooks over the years, a Top Ten pick would have to be truly special. And we are not just talking recipes here. The book’s basic organizing idea, the writing style and quality, the personality of the author, the approach to food and cooking—all of these things have to be unique and enduring. So, with all of that in mind, I offer the following list. Some of my selections will be unexpected, even serendipitous, but they are the 10 works that have stood my test of time in the kitchen.



In addition, we have worked out a special deal with Barnes & Noble to offer these volumes to you. (No, I am not making any money off of this deal!) You can download a special coupon and take it to any Barnes & Noble store to receive an extra 15% off any one of the following titles. Or, you can visit their website, enter promo code T8Y9D4T at checkout, and receive the special discount (you’ll also find that many of these cookbooks are available on BN.com at up to 33% off and that they offer free shipping on orders greater than $25. The promo code entitles you to an additional 15% off one cookbook.) Hope you enjoy these works as much as I do.



French Cooking in Ten Minutes, Edouard de Pomaine

Any cookbook that begins, “First of all, let me tell you that this is a beautiful book” just has to be worth a peek. Written by a Frenchman of Polish extraction in 1930, it reflects de Pomaine’s unique ability to make cooking appear simple enough that any oaf could walk into a kitchen and produce good results. His advice is as breezy and useful today as it was 80 years ago. (His directive to compose menus with three items, one of which requires no last-minute preparation, is advice I still follow today.) I even find myself turning on the oven and heating up a big pot of water the minute I walk in the front door at night—words of eternal quick-cook wisdom.



The Breakfast Book, Marion Cunningham

I love this woman and I love this book. Marion did for breakfast what Julia did for French cooking—she made it both interesting and approachable. Her Dewey Buns, a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, are so good that one could build a franchise around them. The Zeppelin Pancakes, the Chewy Brown Sugar Muffins, the Raised Waffles, the Buttermilk Baked Egg are all part of my morning repertoire. She walks fresh culinary ground here and does it with energy and panache.



Chez Panisse Vegetables, Alice L. Waters

This is a little gem of a book if you want to look at vegetable cookery in a whole new light. Yes, it does assume that you can get a wide assortment of tasty, local veggies (hey, we don’t all live in Berkeley!) and the directions are often on the sparse side (this book assumes you can cook). But it is beautifully produced and some of the taste combinations and cooking methods are more than worth the price and preparation time. I find myself going back to this volume time after time for inspiration as well as for recipes.



The Italian Country Table, Lynne Rosetto Kasper

Once in a great while, a cookbook author does original work using an original voice. Lynne Kasper, host of The Splendid Table public radio show, hit a home run with her second volume, The Italian Country Table. This is the real deal: Italian farmhouse cooking with big flavors and a fresh point of view. Espresso Ricotta Cream anyone? Iced Summer Peaches? And, as an added bonus, you’ll never make a boring pesto again.



The Union Square Café Cookbook, Danny Meyer and Michael Romano

I have loved this restaurant since I first visited it—and still do. It is consistent, the service is excellent, and the food is interesting without being silly. I am not often a fan of restaurant cookbooks, since the recipes rarely work well at home. But Danny Meyer and Michael Romano have produced recipes that do work if one is willing to put in the time and effort. Charred Tomatoes with Onions and Mint, a whole chapter on mashed potatoes, and Mocha Semifreddo are just a few of their superior offerings.



Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duquid

Alford and Duquid have created one of the most gorgeous travel/cookbooks ever published, with stunning photos and well-researched recipes from Southeast Asia. Although this is not, for the most part, Tuesday-night supper material, not all of these dishes lie beyond the domain of the typical American home cook. Above all, this book displays the joy of creating something both beautiful and original—it’s not just another travel tome for the gift market.



Bistro Cooking at Home, Gordon Hamersley

The author, Gordon Hamersley, is a celebrated Boston chef and also a friend. I love his food because he obsesses over it and does not run around the world opening new restaurants—he is a one-trick pony in the style of the great French chefs. His cooking is both solid and eye-opening, seducing diners with quality and execution rather than flights of fancy. Locals who are familiar with Hamerlsey’s Bistro will recognize many of his signature dishes in this book, including variations on duck confit, his Wild Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Sandwich, and one of my favorite desserts, Gordon’s Souffléd Lemon Custard. This guy is a pro and so is his cookbook.



Epitaph for A Peach, David Masumoto

Masumoto is a writer as well as a farmer. This book is one of my favorite pieces of food writing because Masumoto brings to life his passion for the family farm and the heartbreak of trying to maintain an heirloom peach in a tough market. It all comes through in a mixture of poetry and philosophy. If you want to understand the life of a farmer, this is the book to read.



American Cookery, James Beard

Jim Beard was a walking encyclopedia of American cooking, and this is his flagship book. Part anthropology, part history, and part cookbook, Jim allows you to read between the lines, to get a sense of what he really thinks about a recipe. If I want a good starting point for any recipe in the American repertoire, I always turn to Beard and American Cookery.



The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, Jack Bishop

OK, Jack is a friend and colleague, as well as the Editorial Director of America’s Test Kitchen, but this book is a winner all on its own. I keep coming across folks who have discovered this unheralded classic because the recipes work, they are straightforward, and they use the big earthy flavors of Italy to transform what are too often lackluster vegetable preparations.



This exclusive Barnes & Noble coupon is only available through February 20, so if you'd like to order any of these cookbooks please don't delay.



Cordially,



Christopher Kimball

Founder and Editor

America's Test Kitchen

Where did the muffins go?

Mom's friend Rosemary brought these muffins over with a dinner meal after we brought Mom home, assuming that we might need some breakfast food as well. They didn't even make it to dinner; in fact, they were gone almost instantly. I highly recommend them, not because I loved them; I didn't even taste them. I just know that at my mother's service at least one child asked Rosemary for the recipe.

If I hover close enough to the oven, maybe I will get one this time.


Banana Muffins (or cake)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream
2 c. flour
1 t. soda
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and 1 c. sugar; add eggs (one at a time) until well-blended. Add bananas, vanilla, sour cream and mix well.

In separate bowl mix together flour, soda, baking powder, salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing just until combined.

Bake in muffin tin for approximately 20 minutes.