So many of us are looking at saving what we can during these tough economic times. At one point in my life, money was so tight, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feed my family before the next paycheck. That’s when I got creative and started monthly meal planning and shopping. This concept allowed me to cut my grocery bill by more than half! The benefits? It reduces your food budget, cuts down on trips to the grocery store, limits impulse buying, increases creativity and eliminates wondering what you should do for dinner at the last minute.
Here’s how it works:
Plot each main meal (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) on a 1-month calendar, planning left-overs for other day’s meals (Monday’s roast chicken dinner left-overs become Tuesday’s chicken vegetable soup, or chicken salad, or chicken quesadillas).
Create a grocery list for all the items you will need from the meal calendar.
Buy most of what you are going to use for the whole month on one shopping day. (You can make quick visits to the farmers market or produce store to pick up a few produce items each week.)
Freeze left-over ingredients so you can use for later weeks.
Extreme money-saving tips
If you are looking to cut your food bill even more, use these cost-cutting tips to help you reach your budget goals:
Cut down protein portions (use ½ – ¾ lb of meat rather than 1 full lb. for 2 to 4 servings)
Be willing to substitute an ingredient with what’s on special (buy the London broil on sale for $1.99/lb, instead of tri tip for $5.99/lb)
Rely more on frozen vegetables & pantry products rather than fresh ingredients since they have longer shelf life and can cost less (you probably need to build up your pantry ingredients, so that will initially cost more)
Make it an adventure! Incorporate fun things into your meals, like pantry favorites–white wine and capers!! Buy a fruit or vegetable that you haven’t eaten before. Try quinoa or tempeh. Look for new recipes. Let your imagination go wild…and ENJOY!!!
I’d been craving an apple dessert for a few days, spotted a recipe for a fresh fruit crostata and decided to give it a try. Crostata is a rustic Italian dessert tart, baked free-form (without a pie or tart pan). The marriage of sweet, savory, spice and butter flavors in an apple crostata are a party in one’s mouth. We all stood in my kitchen, speechless as we finished the last bite. So simple and delicious. Here’s my version of the Apple Crostata. Enjoy!
Fresh Apple Crostata
Dough:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, very cold, diced
1 Tbsp ice water
Extra flour, as needed for rolling
Apple filling:
3 ea large apples, mixture of tart and sweet (I used 2 Granny Smith and 1 Fuji)
¼ tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon, ground
Topping:
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp cinnamon, ground
1/8 tsp nutmeg, ground
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, diced, very cold
For the dough, sift flour and sugar into a bowl. Add salt. Cut in diced butter, working with hands or pastry cutter. Mix until the butter resembles small peas. Drizzle in cold water and combine with hands until dough sticks together, ensuring not to overwork it. Turn out of bowl onto lightly floured surface. Form into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
For the filling, peel, core and cut apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with lemon zest, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
For the topping, combine flour, sugar, salt cinnamon, nutmeg and cut in diced butter. Rub with fingers until starts to hold together. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly flour rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll dough into 11-inch circle, turning a quarter turn after each roll and lightly adding flour as needed, to keep dough from sticking to surface. Transfer to a baking sheet. Cover the tart dough with apple filling, leaving a 2 inch border around the edges. Sprinkle prepared topping evenly over the apples. Fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle. Bake for 20 minutes, until crust is golden and apples are just tender. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.
We see it used in recipe directions all the time, but what does the word sauté actuallymean? Sauté is a cooking method that literally means “to jump”. The method is to keep food moving over high heat in a small amount of fat (oil, butter, etc)—think of stir-fry!
Sometimes sauté is confused with the term sear, which means to brown quickly over high heat. When you sear, you want to keep the food product in one place over the heat until it forms a nice golden-brown “crust” on the surface.
Both of these techniques require HIGH heat. Do not be afraid of the flames–just be careful. You will not get a good sauté or sear if you don’t turn your heat up to HIGH–not medium, not medium-high, but HIGH. Using lower flame causes food to overcook on the inside and never really develop that nice caramelization (browning) we all know and love.
Hey, it’s Fall! (Fall, Fall, I love the Fall!!) Do you have a Crock Pot or slow cooker? Below is a simple recipe for Slow Cooked Pork Roast. You can serve it in bite-sized pieces over rice pilaf, along with the cooking liquid (jus) or use it to make Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Leftover meat makes tasty Pork Burritos. Yum!
Slow Cooked Pork Roast
Serves 4-6
3 lb pork roast (I use butt shoulder)
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Coca Cola, regular (do not use diet)
Place pork in slow cooker. Season all sides of pork with salt, black pepper and soup mix. Add tomato paste and pour cup of cola over pork. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until pork falls apart easily when you pick it up with utensil. (Meat may still look pink, but as long as it falls apart, it’s fully cooked. If you have a meat thermometer, it should register at 165 degrees in the center of the roast.) Remove meat from slow cooker and set aside, keeping warm. Pour liquid into separate bowl and let cool for a bit. Skim fat off the top and rewarm liquid to use as a sauce for the meat.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Prepare as above. Shred cooked meat with two forks. Serve over sandwich buns, with coleslaw or your favorite type of salad. Use the jus from the cooking liquid for dipping.
Took a field trip the other day to Farm Boy–the coolest, ecclectic store I’ve seen. It’s like walking into a Korean Alice in Wonderland. At first, I thought I’d walked into a florist shop. There were colorful arrangements of roses, orchids, and a variety of others I couldn’t even name. A few more steps in was self-serve yogurt, full with fresh fruit and toppings bar. And right next to that, fresh sushi!? Hmm. But a little further in, just past the nuts, dried fruit and sage honey, I found the heart of what Farm Boy is all about…the PRODUCE! My, oh my! Shiitake mushrooms, big beautiful bunches of fresh herbs, exotic star fruit, persimmons, fingerling potatoes, Medjool dates, Greek white figs, champagne grapes…it was amazing to see all the products you could use to make several easy recipes. Everything was of good quality and aesthetically pleasing. The prices here are very reasonable, whether you are cooking for 2 or a small army. If you live in Southern California and into good seasonal produce, go check out Farm Boy!
Farm Boy Chino Hills at
The Shoppes in Chino Hills
13920 City Center Dr.
Chino Hills, CA 91709
(909) 902-5567
Other locations:
3101 Overland Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90034 (310) 836-0707
6333 W 3rd St # 612, Los Angeles – (323) 936-6363
14107 Riverside Dr, Sherman Oaks – (818) 501-5567
Part of the inspiration that led me on my journey of becoming a chef was the cuisine from Chef Gordon Stewart, currently executive chef of Gordon’s on Blueberry Hill in Freeland, WA. My first visit to Whidbey Island included an immensely enjoyable 5-course tasting menu he prepared—the perfect finale to the perfect trip. That meal changed my life. I was determined to learn how to make food taste somewhere near as delicious as Chef Gordon’s. By the next year, I had quit my job and started culinary school. True story.
Chef Gordon is a master when it comes to making unbelievably tasting food that is equally pleasing to the eye. His use of fresh seasonal ingredients, satiating sauces and edible flower garnishes are his signature on every dish. Tonight I happened to stumble upon 2 pieces of exciting news:
I found a cooking demonstration he did for a local Washington station that I’ve uploaded to the site to share with you–check out the video!
Chef Gordon has thrown his name in the hat to contend in the Food Network’s Top Chef competition. Awesome!
I’ll be keeping an eye out for any breaking news or videos to post for us all to enjoy. Here’s to Chef Gordon—you ROCK!!!
Rockin’ Chef Favorite:Gordon Stewart, executive chef of Gordon’s on Blueberry Hill in Freeland, WA, demonstrating his recipe, Sesame Encrusted Ahi Tuna.
Watching your calories? On a budget? Short on time? Try these great salad recipes. Not too many ingredients. Fresh. Healthy. Fast and TASTY!
Avocado Salad Serves 2
1 ea avocado
3 ea slices of white onion
Splash of White Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper, as needed
Cut avocado in half and remove pit (seed). Cut pitted avocado into slices or large dice. Arrange on a plate. Separate onion slices and layer on top of avocado. Splash a little white wine vinegar on top and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Caprese Salad Serves 2
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt & Pepper, as needed
2 ea tomatoes, sliced
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 bunch fresh basil
Rinse basil and dry with paper towel. Remove one of the big leafy sprigs and reserve for garnish. Remove remaining leaves from stem and slice leaves diagonally into thin, long strips (chiffonade). Whisk olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl. Dip tomato and cheese slices into olive oil dressing and arrange alternately on a platter. Sprinkle basil chiffonade over the platter. Garnish center with big leafy basil sprig.
For flavor variety, can also add some minced garlic or red wine vinegar to the olive oil dressing.
Mixed Green Salad with Oranges Supreme and Champagne Vinaigrette Serves 2-4
½ lb organic Mesclun Mix lettuce
1 ea green leaf lettuce head, cored
1 ea orange, peeled and sliced at sections
Rinse lettuce and drain well. Tear green leaf lettuce into bite sized pieces. Combine in bowl with most of the orange segments, reserving some segments on the side for garnish. Drizzle about 1/8 to a ¼ cup of dressing over salad and toss. Taste lettuce and adjust seasoning with more dressing and salt if necessary. Garnish with reserved orange segments and serve.
Feel free to substitute your favorite lettuce for this salad. You can also use packaged organic lettuce to save time. Just be sure to rinse any lettuce that has not been pre-washed.
Champagne Vinaigrette Makes 1/2 cup
1 oz. champagne vinegar
1 slice of white onion, chopped
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, as needed
3 oz. olive oil
Combine vinegar, onion, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil until well blended. Can serve immediately, but best when you allow flavors to come together by letting sit for 30 minutes or more. Store in container with lid and shake well to blend before each use. Keep refrigerated – will last for 1-2 weeks.
More people are questioning the efficiency and safety of their home cookware. I’ve been asked for advice on the best cookware out on the market today. Please note my degree is not in metallurgy, but I’m willing to share my recent research on the different types of cookware available.
CHEMISTRY 101
Metal cookware can be broken down into two major categories: Reactive and Nonreactive
Reactive metals, such as aluminum, cast iron and copper can react harmfully with acidic foods (citrus juice, tomato, vinegar, wine). Today, most aluminum and copper cookware is lined with a nonreactive metal to make cooking in these metals safer.
Aluminum is superior in heat conduction. Anodized aluminum is the product of the electrochemical process that alters the metal’s surface to make it virtually non-stick and almost nonreactive.
Cast iron conducts and retains heat well. Cast iron requires “seasoning” (coating cooking surface with neutral cooking oil and heating) that gives it an organic low-stick surface.
Copper is superior in heat conduction. Copper is an excellent vessel to cook sauces made with egg and dairy products. It is not non-stick, so it makes for tougher cleaning.
Nonreactive refers to metals, such as stainless steel, that do not cause negative reaction to foods prepared in them.
Stainless steel has poor heat conduction, but does not react to acids, does not corrode, is long-lasting, non-scratch and easy to clean.
Bonded stainless steel is a remedy for poor heat conduction. A superior heat conductor, aluminum or copper, is placed between two pieces of stainless steel, providing excellent heat conduction, along with all the other benefits of stainless steel.
A word or two about Non-stick Cookware
While non-stick cookware is extremely convenient for low-fat, non-stick cooking, there’s been some controversy over its safety. Some non-stick cookware has been made using perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical that is used as a processing aid to manufacture some fluoropolymers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized that PFOA is a likely carcinogen and has requested that manufacturers of PFOA products work toward eliminating this chemical by the year 2015.
Before you throw out your existing non-stick cookware, realize that both Dupont, the manufacturer of Teflon-brand non-stick cookware, and the EPA concur that when used properly, non-stick cookware does not pose a risk to human health. However, as of this writing, DuPont is working to comply with the EPA’s request to phase out the use and production of PFOA by 2015. Just proceed with caution–there are safety guidelines one should follow to use non-stick cookware properly:
Keep temperature below 450 degrees Fahrenheit
Do not use metal utensils on non-stick cookware
Wash by hand and use non-abrasive cleaners and sponges (no steel wool)
Keep pet birds out of the kitchen while heating non-stick cookware (due to toxic fumes)
PHYSICS 101
The best cookware is the one YOU are comfortable handling. The weight and dimension of the cookware should be something you carefully consider when making a purchase. The best way to tell what will work for you is by going to the store, picking up a pan and seeing how it feels.
Also consider what you will be using it for. Do you like to pan-sear on the stove-top and finish in the oven? Then you’d want handles that wouldn’t melt at high temperature. Do you cook a lot of pasta? Then you’d need a pot that’s big enough to hold a gallon of water to a pound of noodles.
Ultimately, the best kind of cookware is the one that YOU are comfortable with using in your household, both in safety and efficiency. Be informed, but don’t take it too seriously. It’s only cookin’!
Saltimbocca is an Italian term that is literally translated as “jump mouth”. It refers to a dish made of thinly sliced meat (usually veal), flavored with sage and Prosciutto. It’s sautéed and braised in wine sauce. In the recipe below, I use chicken, because it’s cheaper and easier to find in the store. I love this dish served with Orzo pilaf (recipe below). It’s simple, yet no one will know you hadn’t worked on it for hours.
Orzo is a small rice-shaped pasta. Preparing it pilaf-style gives it an almost nutty flavor. I like to plate a small mound of orzo underneath whichever protein I’m going to serve. In this case, Chicken Saltimbocca. The sauce from the Saltimbocca flavors the delicate orzo quite nicely. Buon appetito!
Chicken Saltimbocca
Yield: Serves 2
a/n Salt & Black Pepper
2 ea Chicken Breast Cutlets, pounded thinly
¼ cup AP Flour
2 ea Whole Sage Leaves
2 ea Slices Prosciutto
a/n Olive oil
¾ cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp Butter
a/n Minced Sage Leaves
Chicken: Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Place a sage leaf on chicken and cover with slice of Prosciutto, roll chicken like a jelly roll (can use toothpicks to keep shape). Heat pan with oil until hot. Lightly coat chicken with flour and place in pan. Cook until golden brown on all sides. Add wine to deglaze pan and reduce until half dry, scraping browned bits off the bottom of pan for flavor. Whisk in broth and lightly simmer until cooked through, approximately 8 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.
Sauce: Place pan of remaining sauce over high heat. Let cook for a few minutes, reducing by ¾. Remove sauce from heat. Add minced sage. Add butter and swirl in pan for about 20 seconds. Plate chicken, spoon sauce over and serve.
Orzo Pilaf
Yield: 1 cup
1 T Canola Oil
1 T Onion, finely diced
½ cup Orzo pasta
½ cup Water or Chicken Broth
S & P
Heat oil in pot. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add orzo and stir until well coated and starts to turn color. Add water or chicken broth and salt bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, as needed.
