Back to School

Here it is—the unofficial beginning of the New Year. Of course, the official one is January first, but even if it’s been years since you were in school or even connected through kids to school, there is something about the start of the school year that marks a new beginning.

It might also be considered the start of the cooking New Year. For starters the season is beginning to change; fall is in the air. You still find an abundance of melons, tomatoes, zucchini and corn, but now come the winter squashes, mature onions, potatoes, the slower-growing broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Oh, and the wonderful apples; can the pumpkins be far behind?

As the weather turns cooler, I’m thinking more hearty meals and more oven-type stuff, but almost everyone is thinking more regular, everyday meals. Some of us like that; some of us don’t—but regardless, it’s usually necessary to start regularly scheduled meals every day. Working out the vagaries of the kids’ schedules, your schedules and meal schedules can be a daunting task. My answer: plan and organize, organize and plan.

People often ask me how I manage to cook for the inn and do three meals a day for my family (there are three adults in the family, all home for every meal). The only way I could possibly do that and continue to enjoy cooking and stay sane is through my organizational food plan. I plan each and every menu, snack and breakfast ahead of time. Before you throw this down and say—“forget that—way too hard, time consuming, boring, etc.,” maybe give it a try. I use all sorts of aids to help me plan meals, including the monthly planner in Woman’s Day magazine. This planner has been published for years by Woman’s Day and although it has changed over the years to reflect the changes in our eating habits, it was and is a very practical, useful tool. I have kept all the old copies, and it’s really fun to go back and see what families were eating in 1960 or 1970.

Here’s a sample from July’s edition, Thursday, July 6, 2006:

Onion-smothered Meatball Heros
Coleslaw

Sauté thinly sliced onions until tender and golden. Top split hero or club rolls with warmed purchased turkey meatballs and the onions.

Anyway, it’s a good jumping-off place. Next I have several cookbooks written in menu style; anything from Rachel Ray’s books where everything is 30 minutes or less, to an old Good Housekeeping’s Menus for a Whole Year of Dinners, published in 1971. A sample menu from that book:

Beef Balls in Zesty Sauce
Green Beans in Butter Sauce (use fresh beans)
Pineapple-preserved Yams
Coleslaw
Fruit-mint Sherbet Ring
Tea Coffee

Beef Balls in Zesty Sauce

One and one-half pounds ground beef chuck
1 cup fresh whole-wheat bread crumbs
One-fourth cup evaporated milk, undiluted
2 tsp. Worcestershire
1 tsp. ground sage
Salt
2 Tbsp. shortening
2 medium onions, sliced
1 cup applesauce
1 Tbsp horseradish
One-half cup canned tomato sauce
One-eighth tsp. oregano
One-eighth tsp. Pepper
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

About 45 minutes before serving: Combine chuck, crumbs, evaporated milk, Worcestershire, sage and 1 and ½ tsp. salt; mix well: shape into 1-1/2-inch balls. In large skillet, in hot shortening, brown beef balls on all sides; pile to one side of skillet. In same skillet, sauté onions until golden. Add applesauce, horseradish, tomato sauce, oregano, 1 tsp. salt, pepper and lemon juice; heat thoroughly. Makes 6 servings.

Similar dinner, but what a difference in time and convenience. Take your pick: if you’re rushed, or don’t like cooking, go with Woman’s Day—if you’re in the mood for a more leisurely meal and have time to cook it—choose the Good Housekeeping menu.

Another big difference between these menus is the number of different dishes at each meal. I know it takes more time to cook several foods, but I think nutritionally and aesthetically the greater variety is preferable. Just for kicks, let’s look at the rest of the recipes for the Good Housekeeping menu.

Vegetable tip: Toss drained canned yams with pineapple preserves and butter; heat and add dash salt. (Update—bake fresh sweet potatoes. Split and serve with fresh pineapple cooked in small amount of butter and brown sugar).

Fruit-Mint Sherbet Ring

3 pints lemon sherbet
One-third cup green crème de menthe
2 pints strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or sliced peaches
Shredded fresh or canned flaked coconut

Early in day: In large bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, quickly combine lemon sherbet and crème de menthe. Pack into 51/2-cup ring mold; freeze.

To serve: Unmold sherbet by running small spatula around outer and inner edges of ring mold. Invert mold on chilled serving plate; place cloth, wrung out in hot water, on top of it for a minute or two; then lift off mold. (If sherbet does not come out, repeat hot-cloth treatment.) Fill center of sherbet ring with fruits; sprinkle lightly with coconut. Makes 10 servings.

Okay, it’s a lot more work, but certainly do-able and wouldn’t your family be surprised to sit down to this meal? It might make for some lively conversation.

I keep my menus posted on the refrigerator so that anyone home can see what’s planned and do some of the preliminary work—you can assign this task if you work away from home. After the initial work of the planning, aided by magazines and cookbooks, it really makes meal-time a lot easier and our meals taste better and are way more economical. Give it a try.