Oh how we love it when mangoes go on special at the local market. Mangoes are one our family’s top five favorite food items. I know that, environmentally speaking, I should be focusing my produce purchases on locally grown items, and there is no way any of the mangoes in the store are remotely local, but we love them so. Particularly in the middle of winter, one bite of mango and I am transported to a tropical island and I’m basking in the warm sun, if only for a moment.

Most of the time we enjoy our mangoes straight (and we argue about who gets to gnaw on the pit), but we’re willing to enjoy them about every way available and possible. When my oldest son was a baby, before I figured out that I needed to avoid dairy products while I was breastfeeding him, my husband made me a fabulous mango ice cream a couple of times. His basic recipe was fairly standard, but he had a secret ingredient: a splash of Grand Marnier. I once made a mango cream pie and wish I could locate that recipe again.

If I see something like mango chicken on the menu in an Asian restaurant, I’m likely to order it. Mango smoothies, whether store bought or home made, are coveted – and mango lassis are always the first item ordered at Indian restaurants. Dried mangos rarely last in our house, and are sometimes requested over other fresh fruits. Of all the salsas made with fruit lately, the boys always request the mango salsa. We’ve grilled mango skewers and served them hot over vanilla ice cream on hot summer days. Yum.

Recently a recipe for a mango caprese salad from the Serious Eats site had me salivating in a big way. I was thrilled to see mangoes on special at the market this afternoon, and I am plotting to improvise based on that recipe next week – with the addition of some shredded chicken to make it a complete meal.

Orange Mango Smoothie

Frozen cubed mangoes, such as those available at Trader Joe’s
Plain, non-fat yogurt
Orange juice
Honey (optional)

In a blender, pour in the frozen mango cubes. We tend to go about half way up the container. Add two or three heaping spoonfuls of yogurt, then pour in orange juice about half way up the cubed fruit. Puree until smooth, adding a little more juice to loosen it up if necessary. Taste, and if it needs some sweetening, squeeze in some honey, blend again, and serve.

Grilled Mango and Pineapple Skewers Over Vanilla Ice Cream

Several mostly ripe but not mushy ripe mangoes, cut into long thick strips
Pineapple cut into long thick strips
Bamboo skewers
Brown sugar
Very good quality vanilla bean ice cream

Slide the mango and pineapple strips onto the bamboo skewers. Place some brown sugar on a plate and lightly press the sides of the mango and pineapple into the brown sugar.

Place the fruit skewers onto a hot grill. Allow the sugars to caramelize and start to brown, then remove and let cool a few minutes.

Carefully removed the bamboo skewers and place the fruit decoratively on the top of just scooped ice cream.

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Annie’s. Ramen. PB&J. Leftovers.

On Saturdays and Sundays, when anyone in the family asks, “What’s for lunch?” I answer either Annie’s, ramen, PB&J, or leftovers. I think the answer range has been the same for half a decade.

If that’s not a rut, I don’t know what is.

It’s not that our standard lunch choices are so awful, but they are just so, so predictable. Every once in a while there will be leftovers that are worth it (Day after Thanksgiving sandwich anyone?), and I do know how to perk up ramen to make it something other than cheap, salty noodles, but generally, lunch is the most uninspired meal of the day. It’s something to get through. It’s necessary, and not much else.

I’ve been scouring my cookbooks for recipes that will inspire me, inspire a new set of staples on the weekly grocery list, are easy to memorize and fast to make. So far, I’m coming up thin. I need things that will be eaten by kids and adults alike without having to resort to the freezer case. There’s a recipe for sesame noodles that looks promising with some variations, but not definite. I’ll try it.

A friend suggested I could be inspired by bento boxes, but after a little research, I felt totally inadequate as a parent. Perfectly balanced little meals decorated to look like Hello, Kitty? Cute to be sure, but way, way too much time for what I am facing.

A Google search on “lunch rut” reveals I am not alone. But is also reveals numerous websites devoted to lunch. There are some wonderful recipes out there; a caprese sandwich sounds delightful to me and my husband (especially with the garden we are putting in), but the boys think they don’t like tomatoes so they won’t touch it.

So I don’t know what I’m going to do. After a mostly fruitless search, Annie’s, ramen, PB&J, or leftovers doesn’t sound so bad, really. I’ll keep looking. Meanwhile, there’s always yogurt and cereal.

Pumped Up Ramen

1 package of ramen soup, your choice of flavors
2 eggs, scrambled
¼ cup mixed frozen vegetables
¼ cup cooked, shredded chicken
chopped scallions

Begin cooking the noodles according the package instructions. About a minute into boiling, add the vegetables and chicken. Allow the soup to return to a boil, let it cook for a minute, then stir in the seasoning packed (I only use half). Finally, stirring continuously, pour in the scrambled eggs. Bring the soup back to a boil, then serve immediately garnished with scallions.

Sesame Noodles

2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp chili paste (optional)
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 scallion, chopped
chopped peanuts
mung bean sprouts (optional)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
8 oz long pasta or soba noodles

Cook the pasta/noodles until al dente. Meanwhile, combine garlic, sesame paste, sesame oil, tamari, rice wine, rice vinegar, honey, chili paste and five spice powder in a blender and puree until smooth.

When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss the pasta with the sauce, then top with scallions, peanuts, and bean sprouts. Serve immediately.

Caprese Sandwich

½ loaf of crusty French bread
olive oil
1 or 2 large tomatoes, sliced thin
fresh basil leaves, chiffonnade
fresh mozzarella slices

Slice the bread lengthwise in half. Brush each side with olive oil. Layer mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil chiffonade, then slice the bread into single portions and serve.

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There’s one carryover from last week to this week. We ended up going out to dinner spur of the moment on Friday, so the Roasted Carrot Risotto moved to this week.

This is a also spring vacation for the boys, so the potential for meals to get jumbled is high. We don’t want to be too rigid on a “vacation” week, even though the adults in the house don’t have vacation time.

Also, I bought a small package of edible flowers yesterday. I think I’ll sprinkle those on the salads for a couple of nights. Spring is springing, in every way.

Recipes with an asterisk are included below.

Sunday: Roasted Carrot Risotto from last week, salad, chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

We will be focusing on yard work during the day on Sunday, so a rich and filling meal seems about right.

Monday: Grilled Bratwurst on sub rolls, salad.

I’ll even get sauerkraut for the boys. I can’t stand the stuff myself.

Tuesday: Pasta with Pancetta and Tomatoes*, salad

Woody has been asking for something - anything - with pancetta.

Wednesday: Grilled marinated chicken breasts, roasted broccoflower*, salad

Since the boys are off of school and most regular activities are suspended, no eating separately tonight. I’ll use up some marinade we have in the refrigerator and we’ll use broccoflower in our favorite roasted cauliflower recipe just for fun.

Thursday: Pastrami Paninis*, salad

You don’t need a panini maker to make paninis. I use a foil-wrapped brick, a grill pan and a frying pan.

Friday: Fondue with various veggies and bread.

This is Alfs’ request. Fondue is often a little too rich for me, but this recipe is made with hard apple cider and I like it very much.

Saturday: Rock Sugar Ginger Chicken, stir fried broccoli, rice, salad.

This is a standby recipe for us.

Pasta with Pancetta and Tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
generous inch of so of pancetta, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp parsley, preferably fresh
1large can peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 pound shaped pasta
Parmesan or romano cheese for garnish

Cook the pasta to almost al dente. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan in medium heat and add the pancetta. Saute the pancetta until the fat starts to render. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes and most of the sauce to the pan and let cook for 5-10 minutes to bring the flavors together. Now add the drained almost al dente pasta to the pancetta-tomato sauce and let finish cooking in the sauce for another five minutes ago. Serve with the cheese as a garnish.

Roasted Cauliflower or Broccoflower

One head of cauliflower or broccoflower, cut into bite sized florets
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet or in baking dish with sides.

Melt the butter over medium heat and cook until it just browns and smells nutty. Add the olive oil and sage. Pour over the cauliflower, then season the cauliflower with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Roast 30 to 35 minutes, stirring several times. The cauliflower should be light brown around the edges.

Pastrami Paninis

Sliced pastrami in a quantity appropriate to your family/guests
Sliced swiss cheese in a similar quantity
Loaf of good Italian bread, sliced
Dijon mustard
Olive oil for brushing on the outside of the sandwiches
Cooking spray for the grill pan

Grill pan
Frying pan with a base that will set down into the grill pan
A brick, cleaned as well as you can and covered with foil

Spray the grill pan with cooking spray and place over medium heat while you prepare the sandwiches.

For each sandwich, spread mustard to taste (optional) on the inside of each piece of bread. Layer cheese and pastrami on each side, too. I like to have cheese as the outer layer closest to the bread for better adhesion to the bread and meat. I typically use one large slice of cheese and two to three piece of pastrami on each side. Flip one side on top of the other.

Brush olive oil on the top of each sandwich. Flip them over to place them oiled side down in the grill pan. Place the frying pan with the brick inside on top of the sandwiches and press down a bit with your hand to get some good squashing going. You don’t have to continue pressing, but you can if you want. After a few minutes (when you have some good grill lines going and the lower cheese has started to melt, remove the frying pan and brush this side of the sandwiches with oil. Using a spatula, carefully flip the sandwiches over and repeat the pressing process with the frying pan and brick.

Removed the paninis to a cutting board and cut in half diagonally and serve.

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The hottest drink of summer! Make your own refreshing Cuban Mojito cocktails with this recipe.

Cuban Mojito

Ingredients

3 fresh mint sprigs
2 teaspoons sugar or simple syrup
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (the juice of approximately 1 lime)
1 1/2 to 2 oz light rum
club soda

Directions

1. Place the mint leaves, sugar and lime juice in the bottom of a tall mojito or “collins” glass. Some people prefer to use simple syrup, fine grain sugar crystals (granulated specifically to dissolve in cold beverages) or confectioners sugar over regular table sugar so it will dissolve more quickly.

2. Using a “muddler” or the back of a long spoon or fork, mash the mint leaves into the sugar and lime juice.

3. Add ice and stir in the rum.

4. Top off with club soda and stir. Optional: Cut juiced lime into wedges and stir into the glass. Garnish with a spring of mint and/or a slice of lime.

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I know I’m a little late to the party here, but I’ve recently been converted to cupcake love.

Yes, there have been articles in major newspapers and major magazines about trends towards elaborately flavored and decorated cupcakes, but I haven’t taken it to heart. I noted photo spreads on Magnolia Bakery in New York, and others around the country. I giggled at the Johnny Cupcakes line of tshirts. But I wasn’t enamored. Until now, that is.

Discovering cupcakes

Maybe it was because we didn’t have any bakeries close by that made elaborate cupcakes. Maybe it was because I’ve already been through my cake decorating kick and had no interest in getting elaborate in kitchen because I’m on some other culinary kick. Whatever the reason, I rather ignored the cupcake trend.

A few weeks ago I went into a bakery recently opened by the mother of one of my son’s friends. I ordered cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party – not because of the big cupcake trend, but because I could order regular sized cupcakes and mini cupcakes for the party, and (hopefully) satisfy four year olds and grown ups alike with appropriate portions. (Interestingly, the mini red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were the hit among the toddler attendees.)

While ordering, I spied an interesting looking cupcake in the case. It was a cannoli cupcake. In an instant, before I even tasted it, I was converted. At that moment, I started to adore cupcakes.

Cupcake decadance

After ordering the party cupcakes (including a filled lemon cupcake), I asked for just one cannoli cupcake. It was a yellow cupcake with the top sliced off and some of the inside scooped out. In that cavity was piped marscapone cannoli filling. The top was replaced and then piped high with buttercream frosting and sprinkled with mini chocolate chips.

Heaven, in a little paper wrapper.

I intended to eat it slowly, savor it over the course of the day. Oh, no. No, no, no. I inhaled it in about a minute in my car in the parking lot. And I’d do it again.

Since that day, I’ve been thinking about cupcakes: flavors and colors and decoration. And, as it’s spring, I’m thinking lime curd filled cupcakes with lime buttercream could be heaven.

Lime Filled Cupcakes

24 yellow cupcakes, baked according to package instructions or from scratch
Lime curd, store bought or from scratch.
Lime buttercream (I might also try a standard buttercream recipe with Boyajian Lime Oil added)
Green or clear (or any other color really) coarse sugar crystals.

For each cupcake, carefully slice off the top of the cupcake with a bread knife. Scoop a small amount of cake out of the remaining cupcake. Spoon lime curd into the cavity, but be careful not to overfill. Replace the top of the cupcake. The curd should help it stay in place.

Using a cake decorating bag with a large star tip, pipe the frosting onto the top of the cupcake. How high you go is up to you. Dust the top of the cupcakes with the coarse colored sugar (color of your choice).

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A few of years ago I went through a phase where I refused to buy and bring into the house any food products with ingredients I couldn’t easily pronounce. The tub of soft margarine was included in this. I figured if we wanted to butter our bread, we could use the real stuff.

I know there are debates around saturated versus hydrogenated versus trans fats, and every variation in between, but unless you have a specific health issue you are trying to address and provided you have a balanced diet generally and don’t go overboard in any one direction, I prefer food items as close to “natural” as possible. Luckily, I think we do manage the mostly balanced diet and not overdoing any direction requirement.

All butter is not created equal

If I am going to bake or make a nice meal, I think good butter makes a difference in the quality of the final product. I’ve tried various butters from store brands to well-known national brands to imports from Ireland and France, and I have developed favorites for specific purposes. Flavors vary according to the diet of the cows from which the milk comes from, and this also affects the color. For baking, I buy unsalted butter from a national brand, and watch for it on sale. For special meals, I’ll pick up a French unsalted butter at Trader Joe’s, and for spreading on a good piece of bread from the local bakery, it’s a regional brand. Specifically, Kate’s Homemade Butter from Maine, Sea Salted. It’s so tasty.

On vacation a couple of years ago, I bought a handmade ceramic butter bell, sometimes called a French butter dish, and this has also added to our butter enjoyment. In all seasons except the hottest part of the summer, we can keep our butter at room temperature for easier spreading. You press your butter into the cavity in the lid and fill the bowl half way or so with water. Then invert the lid
10000 temperature.

In addition to the simplicity of buttered bread there are other things I like to do with good butter. For example, I found some silicone ice trays in fun shapes at the local discount shop. I have been known to press soft butter into them instead of filling them with water, refrigerate, then press out butter penguins when we have guests.

Butter for better living!

• I like to brown butter to put over broccoli. The browning adds an extra nuttiness that is a nice complement. I prefer to use unsalted butter and sprinkle a little kosher salt, too.

• “Finish” stock based sauces with butter. My favorite chicken piccata recipe adds a tablespoon or so of butter to the final bit of sauce before spooning over the chicken and serving, and it makes all the difference.

• Make compound butter and honey butter for special occasions. Nothing beats honey butter on fresh cornbread.

• Make buttercream frosting for cakes. Is there anything that can compare to fresh, fluffy buttercream on cupcakes or cakes? I don’t think there is.

• Make butter cookies and, on very special occasions, shortbread. They melt in your mouth. Mmmmm.

Whether you use the real stuff everyday or only on special occasions, butter is one of those luxuries of life that can quickly become a necessity. Enjoy.

I think I’ve joined, completed my membership obligation, quit, then joined again the cookbook book of the month club five or six times. I’ve had subscriptions to four or five cooking magazines at a time. I’ve sought out regional cookbooks while on vacation. I always stop in the cookbook section at Borders.

Obviously, I like the kitchen stuff. What else would you expect from a woman who waxes poetic about kitchen gadgets and sings the praises of novelty bakeware?

Of the cookbooks lining my kitchen bookcase - and yes, I do have a pretty good sized bookcase in my kitchen - there are recipes in each and every one that I consider core, can’t live without recipes. When I am looking for a new recipe, I have a strategy for how I look through existing cookbooks, too.

For general how-to, you can’t beat The Joy of Cooking. It’s a classic for a reason.

For appetizers, I have a few Junior League cookbooks from around the country. There’s always something good to be found in one of those. And the Silver Palate books.

If it’s pasta I crave, I go straight to The Silver Spoon. It’s a recently translated Italian cookbook with some really interesting meal options. Only look through the “Variety Meats” chapter if you are feeling adventurous and open-minded. You’re going to look anyway? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

For meats that need to be done perfectly and presented, I go to Julia Child’s The Way to Cook first, and I’m Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown second. Sometimes I sit with both of them and compare. Nothing beats the “critter maps” in Alton Brown, though, for knowing exactly where to find a cut of meat. Awesome Food Network show, too.

For vegetable side dishes, it’s The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, the books by Sara Foster of Foster’s Market (a former haunt), or an old Victory Garden cookbook by Marian Morash.

I have Moosewood cookbooks for vegetarian cooking, of course, and a couple of books focused on cooking with the kids.

For general desserts, I go to The Martha Stewart Cookbook. For more specific desserts, I go to Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible and The Pie and Pasty Bible. There are great basic cake and buttercream recipes in the Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No Holds Barred Baking Book. Rosie’s Bakery made my wedding cake, so I tend to trust them on the subject. The Rosie’s Bakery cookie cookbook is the source of my favorite holiday cookie, the Chocolate Snowball.

There are several restaurant cookbooks in there. I love that I have the recipes for specific favorite dishes, particularly the White Chocolate Challah Pudding with Bourbon Sauce from Figs.

If I’m trying to find something kid-friendly, I start with a cookbook called One Bite Won’t Kill You. It’s reassuring that my kids are not the only ones who refuse Brussels sprouts.

We have a couple of cookbook collections. Years ago Williams-Sonoma had a bunch of single topic short cookbooks. I could probably weed out a few, but the pasta books and the chicken books have yielded some good dinners.

We have a larger collection of recipe annuals from Sunset magazine, and were so disappointed when Sunset stopped producing these several years ago. When I need general inspiration, I go here first, and Sunset magazine continues to be a regular recipe source for me.

Eating Well is gaining on my list, too. Sometimes the ingredients are a little obscure, especially when considering the kids, but they often sound really, really good – healthy, too.

Then there are the passed down recipes. We have a few longtime family favorites from generations past.

It’s an eclectic grouping on my shelf. It helps me maintain a variety of options for meals, though some might say too many options. The books are like my old friends. When I look through them, I often find notes on recipes I tried once or twice and think to myself, “Oh, yeah, those corn fritters were pretty tasty.” I do clear the bookcases every now and again, sending mostly unused books to the swap shack at the transfer station. It can be hard to say goodbye to some old friends, but if someone else in town can make more complete use of them, then that’s better.

I hope you have built a cookbook and recipe collection that feels that way to you.

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All our meals fell into place last week, so we’re starting fresh this week.

Recipes are included below for meals marked with an asterisk.

Sunday: Pasta with Sausage and Spinach, birthday cake

Sunday is Sunshine’s fourth birthday, so she gets to pick the meal. The girl loves pasta, so she chose pasta with sausage and spinach. And for her birthday cake, blueberries are the fruit of choice.

Monday: Balkan Prosciutto Soup*, salad

My husband will be cooking this night, and this soup is an easy and quick favorite. Sometimes the kids balk at the spinach, so we ladle out their portions before adding it in.

Tuesday: Mandarin Orange Chicken, rice and salad

The frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joe’s is a favorite fast meal solution for us. I have some women coming to the house tonight, so I need to feed the kids fast, fast, fast. While I don’t like to serve meals in this manner too often, every once in a while is fine. Balance and all.

Wednesday: Leftovers or quesadillas for the kids, homemade shrimp California rolls* for the parents.

Our typical Wednesday evening when the kids need to eat first and the grownups will eat later. Nothing beats fresh California rolls. We have a simple sushi rice recipe.

Thursday: Chicken soup (probably canned), salad, bread

My husband can’t eat much this night due to an appointment the next day. We’ll join him in the lighter fare. Family solidarity!

Friday: Caramelized Carrot Risotto, salad

We like risotto in general, and this recipe looks really good.

Saturday: I’m not cooking!

We’ll but at a relative’s home for a nephew’s birthday.

Balkan Prosciutto Soup

1 tbsp butter
2 large shallots, chopped
1 large can (49 1/2 oz) reduced-sodium, low-fat chicken broth
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 c orzo pasta
4 cups spinach, washed, dried, and picked over
2 oz prosciutto, cut into thin slices
1 c sour cream (low-fat is fine)

Saute the shallots in butter in a 5 to 6 quart pan over medium heat until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, pepper and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add the orzo. Simmer uncovered until the orzo is tender, 8 to 9 minutes.

Add spinach and prosciutto, and simmer until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Alternately, after the orzo is soft, turn the burner very low and add the prosciutto and sour cream. Server to those not as thrilled with the spinach element, then return the soup to the low burner and add the spinach, stirring and simmering until wilted.

Shrimp California Rolls

The beauty of this recipe is that it can be scaled up or down depending on how hungry you are or how many people you want to serve.

Sushi rice (we usually make a 1/2 recipe for the two of us)
Nori
Cooked, shelled and deveined shrimp
cucumber, julienned
avocado, julienned
carrot, julienned
soy sauce
wasabi
pickled ginger

Rolling California rolls is a little tricky, and takes a little practice. Fortunately, the result is just as tasty whether the final rolls look perfect or not. There are several Internet sites with instructions, for example, here. My general procedure is as follows:

1. Lay out a bamboo sushi mat, and a piece of nori on it.
2. Mush some sushi rice onto about 2/3 of it.
3. In the middle of the rice, lay lines of shrimp, cucumber, avocado and carrot.
4. Carefully, using the mat, roll up the whole thing.
5. Slice carefully. Those ends that aren’t so even are perfect for mid-preparation snacking.
6. Serve immediately with soy sauce, wasabi. and pickled ginger.

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We all know breakfast is the healthiest meal of the day, so why do so many kids reject the concept? Jen Klein offers up some ideas for motivating a desire for breakfast, including a delicious puffed apple pancake recipe!

A healthier habit

I was never much of a breakfast person. Even from a young age, I often didn’t feel hungry in the morning and refused anything but juice before school. This was the source of many “disagreements” between my parents and me. Eventually, around high school, they gave up.

Finally, as an adult, I learned the importance of breakfast. Pregnancy is what did it for me. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I could not get through the mornings without eating, and the healthier habit continued after he was born. I noticed that my mornings were more productive and I snacked less when I ate breakfast. In other words, my mom was right. (I bet she frames this.)

Mom’s breakfast diner

As a mother I do not let my kids go out the door without something in their bellies. While I may proclaim that this kitchen is not “Mom’s Diner” with a menu and I am not a short-order cook at other times of the day, for breakfast, if we have it in the house, they can have it for breakfast. I’ll make one eggs and another oatmeal and the third a bagel if that is what it takes to get the food into them. (If they really want Nutella on t heir toast, I’ll insist they have a piece with cream cheese or fruit spread first.) On special days, if there’s big test or something, I might even make French Toast. On birthdays, the birthday child gets their choice of breakfast – usually blintzes.

On weekends we make more involved breakfasts. It’s one of our favorite things to do, and the kids get involved, too. Pancakes and waffles, biscuits and scones, omelets and muffins. A rare treat is a puffed oven-baked apple pancake. Alfs likes to make pancakes and waffles without help (he adds chocolate chips to the waffles), and Woody will often ask to make a fruit smoothie to go along with the main dish.

When we make pancakes, waffles, muffins and biscuits, we make at least a double batch. In the case of the pancakes, waffles and muffins, we freeze the extra for weekday breakfasts. If you freeze them individually (in a single on parchment paper on a cookie sheet) and then put them in Ziploc bags, you can thaw and heat or toast them quickly and easily – and you may never buy commercial frozen waffles again. With extra biscuits, we cook up some scrambled eggs and bacon a few hours later and – viola! – lunch.

Puffed Apple Pancake

4 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
juice of half a lemon
6 eggs
1 1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice apples and squeeze lemon juice over them. Set aside.

Combine eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and combine well. Set aside.

In a wide oven-proof skillet, melt the butter. When the butter is sizzling, add the apples and brown sugar and saute for several minutes, until the apples begin to caramelize and soften. Pour batter over apples, and place the skillet in the oven. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. The pancake will puff in the last 5 minutes of baking.

Remove the skillet from the oven very, very carefully. It’s hot! Let the pancake cool for a few minutes, then dust with powdered sugar, cut into wedges and serve.

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Just one glitch in the plan from last week. The quiche moved from Saturday to Sunday as friends came over last minute and we made pizza for nine.

Recipes are included below for menu items with an asterisk.

Sunday: Quiche, roasted cauliflower*, rice pudding for dessert.

Monday: Chicken and vegetable stir-fry, rice.

It’s my husband’s night to cook and we have enough leftover bits to make a decent stir fry. He has his own sauce he makes when he stir-fries.

Tuesday: Pork with cranberry and orange*, vegetable, salad

We haven’t had this dish for a while, and the kids really like it.

Wednesday: Leftovers for the kids, Italian tomatoes and eggs for the parents

It’s our usual feed the kids first so they can get to their things and the parents eat as a couple later.

Thursday: Foil-wrapped ginger chicken, rice, vegetable, salad

This was a hit when I made it a couple of weeks ago. My husband will cook this night, so we’ll get most of it prepared the night before while we are making dinner for the two of us, and my husband can get it into the oven quickly when he gets home.

Friday: Pasta with store-bought basil pesto, ice cream for bribing purposes.

My husband will be out of town on business, the schools have a teacher work day and it’s the day before my daughter’s birthday party. It will be a day of cleaning and organizing (Oh, the kids will love that. Not.), so a very simple dinner is in order.

Saturday: Take out pizza for about 20, salad, cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.

I’m not about to try to cook pizza for that many, but I can pull together a salad. The cupcakes will be from a local bakery. I’m sure there will be munchies around, too.

Roasted Cauliflower

One head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet or in baking dish with sides.

Melt the butter over medium heat and cook until it just browns and smells nutty. Add the olive oil and sage. Pour over the cauliflower, then season the cauliflower with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Roast 30 to 35 minutes, stirring several times. The cauliflower should be light brown around the edges.

Pork with Cranberry and Orange

4 boneless center cut pork loin chops (about 1 1/4 lb total)
3/4 c beef broth
1/4 dried cranberries
2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
Orange slices and thyme sprigs fro garnish (optional)

Pound the pork chops flat (1/4 to 1/3 inch thick) between two pieces of plastic wrap.

In a small bowl, stir together the broth, cranberries, orange juice concentrate, mustard and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a wide non-stick frying pan, heat the oil and the butter to sizzling over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops in a single layer. Cook, turning once, until the pork is browned on each side and no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a warm plate and cover.

When all the pork is cooked, add the broth mixture to the pan and increase heat to high. Boil, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about one minute. Pour over the pork and serve. Garnish with orange slices and thyme.

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