Operation Clean Sweep continues. We’re 10 days in and I must say we’re eating pretty well. Over the weekend, I made ratatouille. Ratatouille makes a lot. Period. It freezes well and it works very well for a covered dish meal because it’s delicious anywhere from room temperature to piping hot. I had a half batch sitting in my fridge, waiting for consumption after I made it for a church covered dish dinner about 2 weeks ago. One batch makes enough for 2 large roasting pans full, so it’s a great make it once, eat it twice thing. I baked and ate a bowl of the the second round of ratatouille Saturday night while the boys were visiting their dad. We reheated it on Monday night and ate it with a loaf of multi grain take and bake bread with melted Gouda or cheddar
Ratatouille
• 1 Medium eggplant – diced to ½ inch
• 2 small zucchini - diced to ½ inch
• 1 red pepper - diced to ½ inch
• 2 handfuls baby carrots – yellow if you can find them
• 1 large onion diced to ¼ inch
• 1 leafy rib of celery sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced
• Leaves from a 10-12 in sprig of rosemary.
• 4 14 Oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
Chop all fresh vegetables. Mix in a gallon freezer bag. Pour half the mixture into a large roasting pan stir in 2 cans of tomatoes. Roast, covered at 400 for 45-50 minutes. Seal the other half of the mixture in the freezer bag and save for later. When baking the frozen batch, add the tomatoes just before baking. The acid in the tomatoes will react with the other vegetables and alter their flavor and taste.
The first 9 weeks benchmark testing had the audacity of falling in the middle of Operation Clean Sweep. I’m not egocentric enough to think that this was an intentional derailment. It’s more of a statement of my ability to allow things to sneak up on me. Benchmarks are end of 9 weeks final exams for elementary students and practice for the End of Grade tests. They make a huge deal about these tests because a lot of kids really struggle with them. Last year during testing, I started making elaborate breakfasts for KWEE 1. He was a third grader and in his first year of grade level testing and also taking gifted admission tests. He passed all with flying colors. He’s the original KWEE as the older, but truly is a 10 year old connoisseur who is fun to feed.
KWEE 1 really liked the special breakfast thing for test days, so we’re doing it, for Benchmarks, too. We went on a cruise, last year where he discovered his favorite breakfast -Eggs Benedict. What’s not to like. Okay, don’t answer that if you’re a picky eater, okay? It’s yummy. Try it. I had never made hollandaise sauce or poached an egg before the day he wanted them last year during end of grade tests. I managed quite nicely, thanks to various Julia Child cookbooks, though. Everyone needs one, but a word to the wise about using a JC cookbook, sit down and read the recipe from start to finish, and perhaps even write down step by step notes on the process. She provides an ample wealth of information, but it’s hard to scan her prose for how much vinegar to add to the poaching water to help the eggs coagulate quickly.
KWEE 1 asked for Eggs Benedict, for Wednesday morning. But they weren’t Operation Clean Sweep compliant. We don’t have any lemons or Canadian bacon in the house, so Eggs Benedict will just have to wait for a Saturday when I have lots of time and a clean kitchen to start with. Tuesday morning, breakfast was cranberry orange scones, for KWEE 2 – who as a kindergartener doesn’t have the tests, but is having a rough go of kindergarten, this week. He’s in a Spanish immersion class where the teacher speaks Spanish with them, exclusively. The teachers and administrators warned us at the beginning of the year that the kindergarteners all go through a period of frustration and exhaustion before Christmas. He hit his wall, last week, so I’m working triple time pumping him up with can-do spirit and soothing treats. I'm probably creating unhealthy emotional eaters - or maybe not.
While the very dirty KWEE took baths after an afternoon of playing in the rubber mulch playground, I made dessert which had to be fast and completely out of the food at hand. Dessert was a lovely sweet and salty chocolate concoction.
Sweet and Salty Chocolate Concoction – ready in under 30 minutes.
• 6 oz Good quality Bitter Sweet Chocolate chips – melted in the microwave.
• 10 saltine cracker roughly broken
• 3 T Dry dregs of natural chunky peanut butter from the bottom of the jar, where it didn’t get mixed with the oil well. Well mixed peanut butter would be too smooth and messy. roughly broken into balls
• Handful of dried sweetened cranberries
Spread an even layer of cracker pieces, peanut butter chunks and cranberries on a piece of wax paper (if you have time to wait for the chocolate to harden. If you don’t have time for the chocolate to cool, put it in small baking dish 8x8 or so works fine. Spread the chocolate over the top of the crumb mixture. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want chocolate to touch every chunk to bind it all together. Cool at room temperature or in the freezer or fridge until set. Break into chunks and enjoy.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Operation Clean Sweep Week Begins
This is an odd week to start a food blog. I decided that my kitchen is overly full of food. The kids who eat escargot (KWEE, aka my kids) will help reduce stores. I decided to buy nothing but milk, bread and fruit at the grocery store this week. Here’s how it has played out, thus far.
Saturday evening, the boys came home from visiting their dad. They were pooped and had spent the day at Concord Mills, so the last thing they wanted to do was go to a different mall to flesh out their fall school wardrobes as we had planned. So I had to make dinner when I planned on eating in the mall.
So I started on my pantry cleanout initiative – operation clean out. I had a bag of frozen meatballs. I rarely use prepackaged products, but had them in the freezer, so they fell to operation clean out. I made spaghetti and meatballs, which um, confession time, here, my kids who eat escargot don’t like spaghetti. They will eat escargot and try absolutely anything, but they just aren’t wild about spaghetti, so unlike most American families, we don’t eat it particularly often.
Basic Recipe for Bolognaise with Frozen Meatballs.
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 full size carrot, scrubbed and chopped
• 1 big (28 oz?) can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• Dried oregano (or fresh, if available)
• Fennel Seeds
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 bag of frozen meatballs. I think it was 1 lb or so.
Sauté vegetables in olive oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven. When onions are translucent, add tomatoes, beef broth and wine. Roughly cut up the tomatoes in the pan. Bring this to a simmer; add herbs and spices to taste. Add frozen meatballs and simmer/low boil until meatballs are hot and the sauce has reduced somewhat, stirring occasionally. This takes about 30 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti, vermicelli, or on crusty Italian bread as a meatball sub. We had meatball subs with the leftovers on Sunday after church.
Monday, both of the KWEEs had soccer games and playdates but mercifully no homework. The 5 year old KWEE’s friend was at our house. The 10 year old KWEE was at his buddy’s house. Since mom de KWEE (Aka, your blogger) forgot said soccer matches until after all play dates were set up, I had to get elder KWEE home at 5:00 and did not have a cell number for the mother of the child who was visiting my house. She was getting her hair done.
I called a teammate of the elder KWEE to get him a ride to the game because he needed to be there about the time that the younger KWEE’s friend’s dad was expected. So I now had a fun supper issue. I had a nonKWEE at my house for dinner and am still in the first wave of Operation Clean Out. The freezer rendered 4 chicken and apple sausages. Aidelle’s is the brand, I think. My kids love them and they’re much healthier than hotdogs. As a matter of fact, younger KWEE calls them hot dogs.
To serve with the chicken and apple sausages, grilled on my grill pan, my pantry rendered 2 very large sweet potatoes that I baked. My crisper drawer provided about ½ a package of Brussels sprouts – which the mom de KWEE had to learn to eat as an adult.
Brussels sprouts were the only food that I flat wouldn’t touch for the first 36 years or so of my life. I had one sprout sliced and sauted in butter from my mother’s plate in a restaurant in Richmond, Va. I decided they were edible when not boiled or steamed the way she made them in the 80’s. So I started playing with them. Here’s what I did with them
Brussels Sprouts Redeemed
• ½ bag or fresh Brussels sprouts – maybe 15? Ends cut off and sliced through the core
• ¼ large onion chopped
• ½ roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1 ½ T butter
• Splash olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onion in the butter until it’s translucent. Add sliced Brussels sprouts and sauté until they become more green. Add the red pepper to warm through, add olive oil if more fat is necessary.
Yes, I am the sort of person who has leftover roasted red peppers in my fridge, frequently. The nonKWEE child visiting my house evidently doesn’t eat meat at home. He scarfed down his Chicken and apple sausage and about 1/3 of a sweet potato. I apologized for spoiling his dinner to his father, who was dumbfounded that he ate meat by his own volition!
On Tuesday Night, we had an afternoon appointment and an evening PTO meeting, so I pulled a macaroni and cheese that I had stuck in the freezer for such an evening out and baked it. Macaroni and cheese is a near religious experience in the KWEE extended family. I will devote an entire entry to Macaroni and cheese, but not now.
Saturday evening, the boys came home from visiting their dad. They were pooped and had spent the day at Concord Mills, so the last thing they wanted to do was go to a different mall to flesh out their fall school wardrobes as we had planned. So I had to make dinner when I planned on eating in the mall.
So I started on my pantry cleanout initiative – operation clean out. I had a bag of frozen meatballs. I rarely use prepackaged products, but had them in the freezer, so they fell to operation clean out. I made spaghetti and meatballs, which um, confession time, here, my kids who eat escargot don’t like spaghetti. They will eat escargot and try absolutely anything, but they just aren’t wild about spaghetti, so unlike most American families, we don’t eat it particularly often.
Basic Recipe for Bolognaise with Frozen Meatballs.
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 full size carrot, scrubbed and chopped
• 1 big (28 oz?) can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• Dried oregano (or fresh, if available)
• Fennel Seeds
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 bag of frozen meatballs. I think it was 1 lb or so.
Sauté vegetables in olive oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven. When onions are translucent, add tomatoes, beef broth and wine. Roughly cut up the tomatoes in the pan. Bring this to a simmer; add herbs and spices to taste. Add frozen meatballs and simmer/low boil until meatballs are hot and the sauce has reduced somewhat, stirring occasionally. This takes about 30 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti, vermicelli, or on crusty Italian bread as a meatball sub. We had meatball subs with the leftovers on Sunday after church.
Monday, both of the KWEEs had soccer games and playdates but mercifully no homework. The 5 year old KWEE’s friend was at our house. The 10 year old KWEE was at his buddy’s house. Since mom de KWEE (Aka, your blogger) forgot said soccer matches until after all play dates were set up, I had to get elder KWEE home at 5:00 and did not have a cell number for the mother of the child who was visiting my house. She was getting her hair done.
I called a teammate of the elder KWEE to get him a ride to the game because he needed to be there about the time that the younger KWEE’s friend’s dad was expected. So I now had a fun supper issue. I had a nonKWEE at my house for dinner and am still in the first wave of Operation Clean Out. The freezer rendered 4 chicken and apple sausages. Aidelle’s is the brand, I think. My kids love them and they’re much healthier than hotdogs. As a matter of fact, younger KWEE calls them hot dogs.
To serve with the chicken and apple sausages, grilled on my grill pan, my pantry rendered 2 very large sweet potatoes that I baked. My crisper drawer provided about ½ a package of Brussels sprouts – which the mom de KWEE had to learn to eat as an adult.
Brussels sprouts were the only food that I flat wouldn’t touch for the first 36 years or so of my life. I had one sprout sliced and sauted in butter from my mother’s plate in a restaurant in Richmond, Va. I decided they were edible when not boiled or steamed the way she made them in the 80’s. So I started playing with them. Here’s what I did with them
Brussels Sprouts Redeemed
• ½ bag or fresh Brussels sprouts – maybe 15? Ends cut off and sliced through the core
• ¼ large onion chopped
• ½ roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1 ½ T butter
• Splash olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onion in the butter until it’s translucent. Add sliced Brussels sprouts and sauté until they become more green. Add the red pepper to warm through, add olive oil if more fat is necessary.
Yes, I am the sort of person who has leftover roasted red peppers in my fridge, frequently. The nonKWEE child visiting my house evidently doesn’t eat meat at home. He scarfed down his Chicken and apple sausage and about 1/3 of a sweet potato. I apologized for spoiling his dinner to his father, who was dumbfounded that he ate meat by his own volition!
On Tuesday Night, we had an afternoon appointment and an evening PTO meeting, so I pulled a macaroni and cheese that I had stuck in the freezer for such an evening out and baked it. Macaroni and cheese is a near religious experience in the KWEE extended family. I will devote an entire entry to Macaroni and cheese, but not now.
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