Category Archives: blog

This is where you post your main blog postings. Generic posts etc. Make a new category to get specific.

Save Money, Time, and Eat Healthier in 20 Minutes.

0 Comment
Continue reading

menu-planning-1

 

“if you Fail to Plan, You’re Planning to Fail”

 

 

Weekly Menu Plan

Ever wander around the grocery store wondering what to eat and end up with a hodgepodge  of random ingredients that lead to nowhere? A weekly menu plan will solve that problem.

To start a menu you need to decide what you want to eat. You probably have family favorites that you make often; Maybe you saw a recipe in a magazine or on a cooking show you want to try. Start keeping the recipes you make in a collection somewhere for reference, could be a binder of printouts or a DropBox folder, or Evernote.. I suggest you ask your family for input with this so there is less complaining later. You should aim for 10-20 dinner recipes.

We are creatures of habit, most of us eat the same foods repeatedly.  Once you have your list of family favorites, pick 5 for your first meal plan. Include breakfasts and lunches through the week to the menu plan. Don’t forget snacks, fruit, drinks, etc. This allows flexibility for dining out or Sunday dinner at grandma’s house.

Convert your menu plan into a shopping list organized by categories (Dairy, Meat, Produce, spices, etc.) This will keep the backtracking to a minimum so you can get out of the store faster.

Lastly, before you go shopping you need to know what you have already in your cupboards or pantry so you don’t overbuy. Do a quick tally of what you have and cross reference your list to make sure you don’t bring home a 3rd jar of mayo or add to a growing supply of rice.

Happy cooking!

Pages:
Edit

Vegetarian Eggplant Cheesecake – Test Drive

0 Comment
Continue reading

Vegetarians rejoice! This recipe is courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi.

Roasted eggplant, ripe plum tomatoes*, and fresh oregano enveloped in a feta and cream cheese custard. Finishing touch… a drizzle of exotic za’atar spice infused oil and served with arugula salad.

This will be the appetizer course for a dinner party this coming Saturday.

* Note – during winter months when tomatoes aren’t in season you can opt for a high quality hothouse cherry tomato or some oil preserved sun dried tomatoes.

EggplantCheesecake

Za’atar

While you can used pre-packaged dried thyme here, I prefer to dry my own fresh thyme in the oven just before making this blend. The thyme retains a nice green color, the flavor is bright and fresh, and there is none of the mustiness you sometimes get with herbs or spices that are past their prime. It’s one of those little details that make enough of a difference to be worth it.

4 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems (or 2 Tbsp dried)
2 teaspoons ground sumac*
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Pages:
Edit

Chicken Pho/Miso Soup, Paleo Version

0 Comment

Sorry for not posting more frequently. It seems I spend more time on my Face Book feed so you can find this post, as well as other information I share on my FB page: www.facebook.com/TaylorDforTaste ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— It was a pho (pronounced phu) weekend as the weather turned cold and I had some chicken #bonebroth in…

Read More

Add a little smoke to your grill.

0 Comment

                Tired of the same old grilling choices? Perhaps you’d like to add some spice to your grilling life! The answer is SMOKE. You’ve probably had pulled pork or smoked ribs, perhaps even some brisket. That is real BBQ. Low temperatures, long cooking times, with lots of smoke.…

Read More

Birthday Dinner Menu – Happy Birthday Michelle!

0 Comment

Happy birthday to Michelle. Here is what she enjoyed with her family. Belgian Endive salad with vanilla vinaigrette. Shrimp stuffed Portobello mushroom. Rack of lamb with Rosemary honey, white root vegetable mash, and glazed carrots. Chocolate bourbon bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream. (didn’t last long enough for photo)   What would you like…

Read More

Honey Stewed Rhubarb Recipe

0 Comment

  With such a drawn out winter and slow spring  we are just getting going with local produce. My wife was thrilled last weekend to be able to harvest some rhubarb from the yard. I like to see the locals enjoying it too! (is that an albino snail?)       Honey Stewed Rhubarb  …

Read More

Weeknight Dinner #3 – Thai red Curry…

0 Comment

Thai red curry with broccoli, bok choy, and quinoa. We happened to use pork because that’s what we had on hand. You can substitute any meat you have, it should work well. The key ingredient is the Thai curry paste of course. There are 3 kinds to choose from, red, yellow, and green. Red is…

Read More

Holiday Party Planning Guide

0 Comment

  The countdown to the holidays is on.  With just 3 weeks until Christmas  and 4 weeks until New Years you need to get a handle on your party planning; now is the time to start.  But don’t panic, below is a great party planning checklist with tips to make your entertaining the best it’s…

Read More

Weeknight Dinner Series #2

0 Comment

Pork loin chops in mushroom Marsala sauce with caramelized buttercup squash and steamed broccoli. 45 minutes Ingredients: 4 Pork chops, thicker the better 1 buttercup, acorn, or butternut squash 1 large head of broccoli 1 cup sliced mushrooms, cremini preferred 1/4 cup dry Marsala wine (optional) 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth 1 Tbsp fresh…

Read More