Helen Jane finishes her meal planning lesson
We already talked about my thought strategies and meal planning, now it’s all about the listing. Like I said, I list out all the foods that we have that I want to use up. Then, I list out all the recipes I’ve seen that I want to make. Then, I list the ingredients I need to get at the store. But there’s more to it than that.
How to plan for a week of meals
I plan my meals every week.
It saves me time and money.
It helps me visualize when I’ll need extra help, or when to scale back or when to pull out the fancy forks (Just kidding, I don’t have any fancy forks. Do you?)
It keeps me from wasting food.
It takes less than 15 minutes a week.
So, what are you having for supper tomorrow?
Vegetarian, delicious, fridge-clearing quinoa pilaf recipe
Quinoa is fast becoming my signature dish at home. I started incorporating this versatile grain more and more into our meals at home last fall and it has just blown me away with its potential. Our hands-down favorite quinoa dish right now is Quinoa Pilaf; I even set it out for our family dinner at Christmas! It’s vegetarian, delicious, and a great way to clean out the vegetable drawer stragglers (lone celery stalk, anyone?). Plus, there’s more protein in one ounce of quinoa than in one ounce of meat! HA!
How to handle jackfruit — and three recipes to use with it!
Near our house is a botanical garden which includes a small, pathetic tropical fruit orchard. We visit every now and then, usually bringing home a few lemons, but not much else. Most of the things growing there are not super productive, because they aren’t cultivated or cared for, and there is usually only one tree from each species. The trees are also labelled with nothing but a name (and sometimes not even that), so it’s hard to know when things are ready for picking.
A few months ago we grabbed a jackfruit, but when we cut it open it oozed so much latex that we got scared and threw it away. Then we saw Australian celebrity chef Luke Nguyen make a salad with green, unripe jackfruit. He talked briefly about how to cook it. That was enough to inspire us to have another go.
Hot chocolate on a stick
Let’s talk about the magic that is hot chocolate on a mutha-fuckin’ STICK, people. Not since snakes on a plane has a thing on another thing had such a profound impact on me.
The retro 3-in-1 Breakfast Station and the joy/pain of single-use kitchen appliances
When I saw this uber-adorable, super retro-styled 3-in-1 Breakfast Station my heart simultaneously leapt with joy and sank with bitter grumbles. SO ADORABLE! A STATION! FOR YOUR BREAKFAST! — but really, who needs another single-use kitchen appliance, even when it’s a retrotastic 3-in-1 station?
Contest-worthy apple cider caramel candies
I spotted a recipe for Apple Cider Caramels on Pinterest and just had to try them. They were delicious and well worth the work!
Three New Year’s Eve drinky links and a sparkly swizzle stick tutorial
Dale’s been contributing decorating ideas and apothecary recipes to Offbeat Home all year. Lately I’m loving her drink recipes, like these!