Spoke to mom today--she loves the food! Success. Woo hoo!
She keeps talking about the chicken salad--a BIG hit.
Very simple recipe, didn't do anything fancy with it. Did include celery, but very finely minced because mom has expressed in the past that she doesn't like celery.
I think she THINKS she doesn't like celery because the large chunks are too crunchy and chewy for her. She didn't mention the celery today, just raved about the chicken salad.
RECIPE
1 Roasted chicken cut up into nice chunks
minced onion (1/2 CUP?)
minced celery (1/4 CUP?)
mayo to taste
lemon juice (to taste)
salt to taste
That is IT. The key is the roasted chicken; the flavor comes from the way it's cooked.
One thing did not work; the puff pastry got soggy. Mom didn't complain mind you; she loved the TASTE. The pastry had sucked up the beurre blanc, which was delicious. But not what I had intended.
Note to self: puff pastry doesn't travel well. You have to serve it immediately. Not a good candidate for meals for mom.
NEXT MENU
Possibilities
Meatloaf
Crab cakes
Shrimp
Grilled chicken
egg salad
Fritatta
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Done and Dusted
The drop off was successfully completed this afternoon with precision timing! I called 5 minutes before pulling up.
My nephew was standing at the appointed place when I pulled up, just as we had planned. The ice chest sat next to me in the passenger seat. He reached in, pulled it out to the sidewalk, and closed the car door. I was off and away from the curb in less than one minute!
The whole thing round trip took a little more than 30 minutes. Woo hoo! It was such a rush.
I finished! It felt like such an accomplishment, such a relief. And mom will receive her food by evening, enough food to last her for the next 10 days or so. Each container has enough food to last her at least two meals, sometimes three, salads and soups even more.
The final menu:
Cream of asparagus soup (1quart)
Coq au Vin/onions, mushrooms and carrots/roasted potatoes (3)
Seared scallops in puff pastry with champagne beurre blanc sauce, asparagus, and parsleyed potatoes (3)
Tilapia/green beans almondine/sweet potatoes (2)
Chicken salad (1 quart)
Spinach fritatta (8 servings)
I couldn't find the pearl onions for the Coq au Vin, so I had to settle for regular sweet onions. I'm sure it tastes just fine. The beurre blanc was made with champagne vinegar. It has a sweetness that is divine.
The scallops are the most delicate dish I made this week. I probably won't make that again for a while. But I saw Tyler Florence do the ultimate seared scallops in puff pastry and just had to make it for mom--mom adores scallops. I think she will really like Tyler's version.
I am a taster. I always taste what I cook for seasoning and obviously to see if it's edible. The one thing that is frustrating to me as the cook is that with the meat and poultry dishes, I can't taste my work. I really don't know how it tastes when it leaves my kitchen.
If my honey is home when I'm cooking, he tastes for me. The rest of the dishes passed the taste test. But today, I don't know how the chicken tastes or the chicken salad.
It's a great feeling. Mom has food and she will enjoy eating. That thought is very happy making. :)
My nephew was standing at the appointed place when I pulled up, just as we had planned. The ice chest sat next to me in the passenger seat. He reached in, pulled it out to the sidewalk, and closed the car door. I was off and away from the curb in less than one minute!
The whole thing round trip took a little more than 30 minutes. Woo hoo! It was such a rush.
I finished! It felt like such an accomplishment, such a relief. And mom will receive her food by evening, enough food to last her for the next 10 days or so. Each container has enough food to last her at least two meals, sometimes three, salads and soups even more.
The final menu:
Cream of asparagus soup (1quart)
Coq au Vin/onions, mushrooms and carrots/roasted potatoes (3)
Seared scallops in puff pastry with champagne beurre blanc sauce, asparagus, and parsleyed potatoes (3)
Tilapia/green beans almondine/sweet potatoes (2)
Chicken salad (1 quart)
Spinach fritatta (8 servings)
I couldn't find the pearl onions for the Coq au Vin, so I had to settle for regular sweet onions. I'm sure it tastes just fine. The beurre blanc was made with champagne vinegar. It has a sweetness that is divine.
The scallops are the most delicate dish I made this week. I probably won't make that again for a while. But I saw Tyler Florence do the ultimate seared scallops in puff pastry and just had to make it for mom--mom adores scallops. I think she will really like Tyler's version.
I am a taster. I always taste what I cook for seasoning and obviously to see if it's edible. The one thing that is frustrating to me as the cook is that with the meat and poultry dishes, I can't taste my work. I really don't know how it tastes when it leaves my kitchen.
If my honey is home when I'm cooking, he tastes for me. The rest of the dishes passed the taste test. But today, I don't know how the chicken tastes or the chicken salad.
It's a great feeling. Mom has food and she will enjoy eating. That thought is very happy making. :)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Protocol!
Okay, the schedule with my brother has been set; we have a food exchange protocol established! ETA food handoff pm CST, the loop.
I realized this morning I need more packaging supplies:
* Enough containers so that I always have a full set (15 2-section meal containers) here at the house.
* Extra ice chest as well so I can swap them out when I deliver downtown.
* Special markers to label the boxes for mom. She needs to be able to ID the food at a glance.
It's going to take some time to work out the logistics. In the meantime, it's roll with the surprises.
I'm still debating which chicken dish to make this time. I'm thinking I might switch it up with the coq au vin since I made chicken tenders last time...stay tuned. I love not knowing! Surprise even to myself!
I realized this morning I need more packaging supplies:
* Enough containers so that I always have a full set (15 2-section meal containers) here at the house.
* Extra ice chest as well so I can swap them out when I deliver downtown.
* Special markers to label the boxes for mom. She needs to be able to ID the food at a glance.
It's going to take some time to work out the logistics. In the meantime, it's roll with the surprises.
I'm still debating which chicken dish to make this time. I'm thinking I might switch it up with the coq au vin since I made chicken tenders last time...stay tuned. I love not knowing! Surprise even to myself!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Night Before
I'm cooking for mom tomorrow and finalizing my menu and my last-minute grocery list--there's always things I've forgotten. Usually I try to wing it and make do without extra runs to the market, but sometimes, if it's a crucial ingredient, I have to run out.
Tomorrow I am planning to make the crab cakes, grilled chiken, grilled asparagus, sauteed spinach, roasted potatoes (done this evening), spinach fritatta, chicken salad, deviled eggs, seared scallops with the beurre blanc sauce, roasted parsnips, and perhaps a chicken soup, we'll see--ohhh, I have enough asparagus to make a creamed asparagus soup....mom would swoon over that; she adores creamed asparagus soup!
I have a lot of work to do tomorrow as well, so I may have to cook some tomorrow and finish up on Wednesday or do it all on Wednesday. We'll see how it works out coordinating with my brother.
The plan is to coordinate with my brother to drop off the packaged food in an ice cooler at the end of his day, and he will take it on over to mom. She and my brother live pretty far from me, but my brother works near enough for me to save a lot of time by doing a drop off. This will be our first attempt. I hope it's a go!
I feel excited inside, like I'm revving up for a 10K. It's a rush. :) Always there's the lurking question: will mom like the food this week? Gosh, I hope so!
Tomorrow I am planning to make the crab cakes, grilled chiken, grilled asparagus, sauteed spinach, roasted potatoes (done this evening), spinach fritatta, chicken salad, deviled eggs, seared scallops with the beurre blanc sauce, roasted parsnips, and perhaps a chicken soup, we'll see--ohhh, I have enough asparagus to make a creamed asparagus soup....mom would swoon over that; she adores creamed asparagus soup!
I have a lot of work to do tomorrow as well, so I may have to cook some tomorrow and finish up on Wednesday or do it all on Wednesday. We'll see how it works out coordinating with my brother.
The plan is to coordinate with my brother to drop off the packaged food in an ice cooler at the end of his day, and he will take it on over to mom. She and my brother live pretty far from me, but my brother works near enough for me to save a lot of time by doing a drop off. This will be our first attempt. I hope it's a go!
I feel excited inside, like I'm revving up for a 10K. It's a rush. :) Always there's the lurking question: will mom like the food this week? Gosh, I hope so!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Timing Food Prep
Last week I went to mom's house and cooked for two days. Basically I made her three dinner choices, two lunch options, and about 5 breakfast servings.
The dinner entrees were:
1. Beef stroganoff, rice, steamed asparagus (3)
2. Sauteed panko chicken tenders, brussel sprouts with raisins and pecans, roasted sweet potatoes
3. Vegetarian meat balls baked in marinara sauce with mozzerella cheese
For lunch: a batch of tuna salad, which she will eat with lettuce (I hope!) (3)
For breakfasts: spinach and three-cheese fritatta (she loves fritattas) (5)
All of these meals are packaged in see-through containers and labeled. My estimates of how many meals she will get out of a batch are always low because mom doesn't eat large portions and usually makes each "meal" last for two meals. I freeze many of the meals so they will last for at least 10 days.
Now I am thinking ahead about what my next entrees will be. I live a very busy lifestyle and so I need to be efficient in the way I plan the meals and the cooking. Obviously I can't just make extra food for mom when I'm cooking for us here at home; I use a lot of meat substitute products that I worry she would have trouble digesting.
The vegetarian meat balls were an experiment I tried this week to see how she would react. When I told her what it was (as she was leaning over the finished casserole dish), she backed away from it! Timidly she tried a taste and was wowed; she loved it! That was heartening and I will make her more vegetarian entrees in the future, but gradually work them into a weekly menu plan. Mom usually loves whatever I cook. It's very happy making!
Right now for next week, I'm thinking crab cakes, tillapia, seared scallops with beurre blanc sauce, and grilled chicken breasts; asparagus fritatta; and some kind of salad material.
Last night I experimented with Tyler Florence's and Julia Child's beurre blanc recipe and it was to die for! Mom will love it. I can't wait to see her reaction!
Mom often calls me after she's finished a meal to thank me. Sometimes she cries she is so happy. This is a priceless experience for both of us.
The dinner entrees were:
1. Beef stroganoff, rice, steamed asparagus (3)
2. Sauteed panko chicken tenders, brussel sprouts with raisins and pecans, roasted sweet potatoes
3. Vegetarian meat balls baked in marinara sauce with mozzerella cheese
For lunch: a batch of tuna salad, which she will eat with lettuce (I hope!) (3)
For breakfasts: spinach and three-cheese fritatta (she loves fritattas) (5)
All of these meals are packaged in see-through containers and labeled. My estimates of how many meals she will get out of a batch are always low because mom doesn't eat large portions and usually makes each "meal" last for two meals. I freeze many of the meals so they will last for at least 10 days.
Now I am thinking ahead about what my next entrees will be. I live a very busy lifestyle and so I need to be efficient in the way I plan the meals and the cooking. Obviously I can't just make extra food for mom when I'm cooking for us here at home; I use a lot of meat substitute products that I worry she would have trouble digesting.
The vegetarian meat balls were an experiment I tried this week to see how she would react. When I told her what it was (as she was leaning over the finished casserole dish), she backed away from it! Timidly she tried a taste and was wowed; she loved it! That was heartening and I will make her more vegetarian entrees in the future, but gradually work them into a weekly menu plan. Mom usually loves whatever I cook. It's very happy making!
Right now for next week, I'm thinking crab cakes, tillapia, seared scallops with beurre blanc sauce, and grilled chicken breasts; asparagus fritatta; and some kind of salad material.
Last night I experimented with Tyler Florence's and Julia Child's beurre blanc recipe and it was to die for! Mom will love it. I can't wait to see her reaction!
Mom often calls me after she's finished a meal to thank me. Sometimes she cries she is so happy. This is a priceless experience for both of us.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Begin
My mom's name is Trish. She has eight children, of which I am the oldest. Five of us live here in the Chicago area and three live around the country. Mom also has 15 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.
After living for twenty-two years in Florida, mom recently returned to the Midwest--for me, this is a godsend because I get to see her regularly now.
Lately mom needs a little help with cooking meals. So I am helping out by cooking full three course meals, packaging them up, and delivering them to her house.
I ADORE doing this for her. And she ADORES eating my meals! It's a wonderful experience for both of us to share.
This is my space to describe my experience cooking for my mom and to record the details of this undertaking. I will include the most successful recipes as I go along.
The first problem I encountered in cooking for mom was that she eats meat. I do not. The second problem is that she likes to eat too many foods that aren't good for her (don't we all!) Mom has a sugar sensitivity and needs to watch her sugar/carb intake. When she does, her sugars are steady and normal. When she eats too much ice cream and chocolate, it shows in her blood sugar readings.
My goal is to create nutritious and delicious meals that she will love eating. It is NOT my intention to put my mom on a diet. It is NOT my goal to turn my mother into a vegetarian. It is merely my intention to create for my mother balanced and healthy meals.
So, I am for the first time in a very long time cooking meat in my kitchen. It's quite a change for me and my kitchen.
After living for twenty-two years in Florida, mom recently returned to the Midwest--for me, this is a godsend because I get to see her regularly now.
Lately mom needs a little help with cooking meals. So I am helping out by cooking full three course meals, packaging them up, and delivering them to her house.
I ADORE doing this for her. And she ADORES eating my meals! It's a wonderful experience for both of us to share.
This is my space to describe my experience cooking for my mom and to record the details of this undertaking. I will include the most successful recipes as I go along.
The first problem I encountered in cooking for mom was that she eats meat. I do not. The second problem is that she likes to eat too many foods that aren't good for her (don't we all!) Mom has a sugar sensitivity and needs to watch her sugar/carb intake. When she does, her sugars are steady and normal. When she eats too much ice cream and chocolate, it shows in her blood sugar readings.
My goal is to create nutritious and delicious meals that she will love eating. It is NOT my intention to put my mom on a diet. It is NOT my goal to turn my mother into a vegetarian. It is merely my intention to create for my mother balanced and healthy meals.
So, I am for the first time in a very long time cooking meat in my kitchen. It's quite a change for me and my kitchen.
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