Working Cook June 21, 2010

Finally, a full week at work. Haven’t had that in awhile.

Walked in to find Misha watching the World Cup. Tomorrow, he graduates from school (meaning he’s now 21 and that’s it for him.) He’ll be spending his time at the DayHab instead. He had a medical appointment today, though, and they all left shortly after I arrived.

I checked for foods Mendy needed – chicken, gefilte fish and egg salad. I gathered up stew meat and ground chicken from the freezer, and carrots, celery and onions from the fridge, plus a sugar-free gefilte fish loaf from the kitchen freezer.

Started a beef vegetable soup and a pot of salted water for the fish, while defrosting the chicken. Added chopped mirepoix to the soup, plus a can of tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, basil, and bay leaves. I let that simmer on a rear burner, and took about a pound of ground chicken to cook up for Mendy. I also started a pot of brown rice.

I started cooking the rest of the ground chicken (about five pounds) while chopping an onion and batonneting a few carrots. When the chicken finally finished cooking, I moved it to a bowl and used the same pan to cook the veg. When that was cooked, I mixed the two. At this point the fish was done, as was the rice, and I started a pot of water for the eggs.

I pureed the chicken and portioned it out, and then portioned the gefilte fish. Portioned the rice and the chicken saute for the boys, put the soup in the fridge, and cooked the eggs, washing pots, etc, along the way. Made egg salad, portioned it. Cooked a bag of peas.

Made enough chicken saute to freeze one tray.

Working Cook June 16, 2010

Back at work! What a relief. Shiva is over for my husband.

I was very happy to see that my preparations worked well – Mendy ran out entirely of only two items other than the mayonnaise salads. The freezer itself was kinda empty – only two trays of food left for the other individuals.

Mendy needed broccoli and squash, and he was low on tilapia. I had all of that in the house. I also had chicken breast fillets and noodles.

I cut up the squash, put a bit of oil on it and slid it into the oven. I also dumped two bags of tilapia fillets into a pot with hot oil, paprika and seasoning salt. Meanwhile, I nuked the chicken enough to separate the fillets, and seasoned them with oregano, paprika and garlic chips. Those also went into the oven.

I put up a pot of water for noodles, and began to microwave the two huge bags of broccoli. By this time, the fish was cooked, so I portioned it out and washed the pot. The noodle water boiled at that point, so I dumped in a bag. Drained them, mixed them with oil, salt and onion powder and portioned them. Washed the pot and colander.

Pureed and portioned the broccoli. Cooked peas.

Took the chicken out to cool. Watched some television (TOP CHEF!) and then took the not-quite done squash out. I finished them in the microwave. Mashed the squash with salt and cinnamon. Portioned it. Washed up.

12:30. DONE.

Working Cook June 7, 2010

Today was extremely easy. When I checked around the fridges in both houses, I noticed LOTS of leftovers, including a pot of matzo ball soup. There was NO point in cooking dinner.

Mendy *did* need food. He needed roasted tomatoes and zucchini. Zucchini goes fast, and the bags of frozen seem to grind up very small. Two bags will get me just over a week’s worth. And I had no frozen zucchini in the house. I went shopping for it and tomatoes.

And then decided to use fresh zucchini instead. After all, I wasn’t cooking anything else, so I certainly had time to slice and cook it properly. So I went to my new favorite vegetable place and got a half dozen NICE plum tomatoes and five nice zukes.

Got back. I took the tops off the tomatoes and put them two to a container and baked them with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and oil. Then I sliced up the zucchini and steamed it with spices. And watched tv until they were cooked and I could mash the tomatoes and puree’d the zucchini.

Funny thing – I had a greater volume of zucchini after puree’ing than I normally do for approximately the same amount of vegetable. Fresh seriously rules.

Working Cook June 2, 2010

I had groceries today! I had everything I needed! Yay!

I made tilapia, noodles and broccoli for the guys. There was a funny moment, though. Ina walks in, wondering if I had leftover. I tell her I have fish that was probably done. She perked right up. “Fish?” Next thing I know, she’s fixed herself a dish of puree’d spinach (I was in the middle of Mendyness) and a filet, and was very happy.

Mendyness was, besides the spinach, green beans, tuna salad, and hard-boiled eggs. I need to make Mendy tilapia tomorrow, as well as soup.

Working Cook June 1, 2010

Brief recap of the past week or so – they decided that they were not going to do a grocery order, so I had to use what I had on hand, plus what I could buy locally. It wasn’t so bad. I had to buy frozen broccoli and gefilte fish loaves, and a fair amount of fresh produce, but I got through the week, and today.

So, let’s talk about today. I assumed there wouldn’t be much, so I planned for that. And I was right. Almost no produce, no starches, and limited amount of meat. Mendy needed ground beef. I took out two 4lb packages (and that was pretty much it for the ground beef) and put one in the microwave to thaw.

I looked in my cupboards. I had rice. I had dried beans. I had spices. I had tomato paste. Okay. That spelled chili to me. I would rather have had canned beans, but I knew I could manage with the dried. I still hadn’t changed, so I just picked up my purse and went shopping for produce.

There’s a produce store – a small Russian supermarket, really, with meat and prepared foods as well as canned goods and fruits and vegetables – on the corner, but I’ve had really poor luck there. Last week, I had to toss out about a third of a bag of potatoes.

So I went to a more expensive but more trustworthy vegetable stand instead. And I got three lovely peppers and a bag of onions with nary a sprout.

And then I returned to the home and was ill – not very, but enough to throw me off my game. It’s been a long time since I was feeling like that. Fortunately, it was an easy day.

I set the beans up for quick soak (cover beans with water above two inches, boil for two minutes and let sit for an hour), put the other package of meat to thaw, and started cutting up the onions and the peppers. Got them in the post to saute, with cumin, garlic, cinnamon (yes, cinnamon), paprika and pepper. I was aiming for a “chili” powder without much heat. I love heat for myself, but these guys – not so much.

I also started a pot of brown rice. By this time, the second batch of meat was thawed. I added the meat (less about a pound for Mendy) to the vegetables plus more spices,and let that cook. When the rice was done, I portioned it out, washed the pot and started cooking the remaining meat.

During this time, I did sit down a bit more than usual. Not happy about that, but I did feel not so great, and I did plan an easyish day.

The beans being soaked enough, I drained them, put in fresh water and started cooking them. I pureed and portioned the ground beef for Mendy, and then added tomato paste and more spices (and water, of course) to the chili. When the beans were cooked, I added them to the chili pot and let it all simmer. I also nuked some green beans. Meanwhile, the grocery order I made LAST MONDAY arrived.

Did I put them away? No. Because the chili was finished. It took ten minutes to portion and label it,and another five to wash the pots. I put the extra in the freezer, took dinner over to Keshet and was gone.

Working Cook May 25 and 26, 2010

Fast update. With two days’ work, I have all of Mendy’s meats and most of his vegetables and starches finished – he just needs his normal soup and mashed potatoes.

Dinner on Tuesday was blintzes and potato knishes. I’m emptying a freezer. Today was beef stew with sweet potatoes, and I made Mendy sweet potatoes and squash. I hope to get groceries tomorrow.

Working Cook May 21 and 24, 2010

Friday was special. I had to do two days worth of work in one – so much fun. Or not.

Mendy needed eggs, broccoli and zucchini. Everyone needed chicken soup, matzo balls, gefilte fish, a main course and some kind of starch. And Israeli salad.

I got lazy for the main course and the starch – I made turkey meatballs in sweet and sour sauce and rice. WHITE rice. And skipped the Israeli salad – it was 2:30 and I had an appointment that afternoon. But I had the ingredients, so that Debby, the young married woman who, with her husband, spent Shabbos, could make it. But I was conscientious for the the rest.

Today, we were back on track. Shulem wants us to use up a lot of the stuff in the freezer, so I did. Mendy and Misha needed meat – ground beef, turkey and chicken. Mendy also needed tuna salad, and I made a “tuna casserole” for Misha. And there was the inevitable split pea soup and dinner.

Dinner was to be burgers, cauliflower and noodles, but the meat had to be defrosted first. I made the split pea soup vegetarian this time. As I defrosted each type of meat, I cooked one package for the guys, and then ground and portioned it. I mixed barbecue sauce with Misha’s ground beef. And since it was out and smelled good and I was tired of plain burgers, I put the barbecue sauce on them, too. And I froze two portions of the pea soup for Misha. Made the tuna salad, portioned out three for Mendy and then pureed the rest with cheese – hence, “tuna casserole.”

Working Cook May 14, 17 and 18, 2010

I’ve been busy this week. Shavuot started Tuesday night and ended tonight, so with holiday prep (including the very important purchase of a new dress), I’ve been very busy, and of course I can’t use the computer during the holiday itself.

Friday was pretty much normal for Friday – finished the soup, cooked two roast chickens and a pan of chicken filets, plus sliced potatoes and onions, and Israeli salad.

Monday was pure Shavuot prep, since I had enough food for Mendy and for dinner. One of the customs for Shavuot is eating dairy food (which contrasts with the custom for ALL yomtovs that calls for eating meat, so there are ways people do it – a bite of dairy and then a meat meal a half hour later, dairy appetizers for a meat meal, which I’ve had once and it is so very, very weird, having some meals meat and others dairy, and having all dairy. My personal custom is to have one meat meal unless the holiday falls on Shabbat, and then having all meat for Shabbat, and all dairy for the other.)

So, I compromised for my guys. Monday was dairy day. I made a pareve soup, macaroni in cheesy tomato sauce and baked tilapia. The okay dairy knife I bought before Pesach has gone missing, and I had to use a sharpened utility knife instead, and it was bad. I even stopped everything to go out and try to buy another okay cheap knife in the same store but no dice.

After I left work, I went shopping. Not only did I buy a really lovely new dress (it’s customary to get a new outfit for a holiday PLUS I have three or four weddings in the next few weeks), which was a job all by itself, I bought a decent dairy knife. And it’s going to be MY knife and live in my knife kit. That way I’ll know where it is and it won’t disappear on me.

The job for the dress is that 1. I’m a large size. 2. All the suits available are black or white, mostly black. Sometimes navy. I have enough dark suits. The ones in my size? Have very boxy jackets. I look better in tailored jackets. In the first store, a place I’ve had good luck in the past, I found ONE cute look and it ran small. So small that the largest size didn’t fit me. That is, the very adorable skirt did, but the not as adorable but still cute jacket did not.

The next store had nothing over size fourteen. I went to a third store, and the very helpful salesgirls showed me somewhat glittery (I don’t glitter) suits for far more than I was willing to spend, but then showed me several lovely dresses in pretty colors that fit more or less – the skirt needed to be shortened and they put elastic in the neckline of the shell so I could tighten it, but those are minor. And the shortening took so little time – they just removed a tier – that I could wear it today.

Tuesday felt like Friday. And I made meat, so I didn’t even use the new knife. I made chicken filets, meatloaf and two kinds of kugel – apple and salt-and-pepper noodle. I’ve gotten very good at making the apple kugel – peeled and sliced in a half hour!

Working Cook May 12 and May 13, 2010

Family stuff happened yesterday – my father-in-law, who just got out of the nursing home rehab this past Friday, was rehospitalized for pneumonia. We’re taking it day by day, but he seems to be improving. Thank Gd.

So, no blog post.

I made Chinese chicken yesterday. No Mendiness at all. It was like a vacation! I julienned onions, carrots and celery and saute’d them in oil. Meanwhile, I started a pot of rice, and then cubed chicken filets to add to the cooked veggies. I seasoned them with powdered ginger, garlic and soy sauce. And I cooked some cauliflower. I was finished, clean-up and all, in two hours.

Today took a bit longer. It is Thursday. Thursday means chicken soup. It was going to mean apple kugel but no one bought the apples. I got things started quickly when I arrived – pot of water with chicken bones, pot of water for eggs, tomatoes trimmed and seasoned to bake. Made matzo ball mixture to refrigerate. Thawed out some ground beef for burgers. Skimmed soup and put in the herbs. Cooked noodles. Took tomatoes out of the oven and mashed them. Cooked corn. Made corn salad and egg salad. Cooked the matzo balls. Portioned the soup and poured the rest into my big pot, with rest going to Keshet.

I will have to buy carrots and potatoes tomorrow en route to work.

Working Cook May 7 and May 10, 2010

Ah, Friday. My big stewpot *magically* reappeared, so I could finish the soup properly. And I found my other stewpot with the teflon, but didn’t need it.

I shopped on my way to work because I knew I’d need gefilte fish and potatoes. And then it all proceeded like all Fridays do – prep veg for soup and for fish. Get main course protein seasoned and in the oven (in this case, two chickens in quarters for Ruach and two turkey roasts for the other two houses.) Get fish in the veg poaching liquid. Peel and shred ten pounds of potatoes and four onions. Cook a pound of green beans and toss with red pepper and onion for a salad. Just a normal Friday workday.

And, of course, today was Monday. I checked the freezer – Mendy needed tilapia, ground beef, ground chicken and chicken, and I needed beef for the inevitable split pea soup. Got the meats from the freezer in the office, and then gathered spinach and tilapia from the kitchen one. I also got cans of tuna. Got changed but forgot to change shoes. Thawed the ground meats while I prepped the soup, got the fish (still in frozen lumps) in a dairy pot, and made the pureed tuna salad. Once the fish was done, I put up a stockpot of salted water, put the soup (now seasoned) on a back burner and took first almost a pound of the chicken and cooked it, followed by almost a pound of ground beef. Meanwhile, I chopped onions and bell peppers.

I ground and portioned the meats while the veggies cooked, and then added the rest of the ground meats to that pot. About then, the spinach was cooked, so I ground and portioned that. (And fed one of the nurses tilapia and spinach.) When the meat was cooked and seasoned, I added tomato sauce. Meanwhile, I also cooked whole wheat macaroni. I combined the pasta and the meat sauce and seasoned it again. I also cooked a bag of zucchini.

And I made and collated more copies of my shopping list. And washed up. And watched the second episode of Wife Swap that featured the family that pretended their son was in a balloon last summer. Lovely people.