Changes I Want Our Family to Make (the Food Edition)
Last week I shared some food-related changes we've made in the past year, so today I figured I'd share the changes I want to make but have not yet implemented.
1. Eat More Seasonally.
Due to the recent change in my job, I have significantly more time to plan meals and grocery shop. One thing I wanted to start doing was visiting the Farmer's Market in Raleigh on a weekday to pick up locally-sourced produce. I love that we live close to the NC Farmer's Market, but going on a weekend is rather unappealing because it gets so crowded. So my plan was perfect - I would now have time to go on a non-crowded weekday! Much yummier fruits and vegetables were in our future!
But alas, I came up with this grand plan in the dead of winter, and here's a quick glance at what's in season in NC:
I just never got excited about driving over there to get beets or mustard greens.
But spring is coming!
2. Use My Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks.
One thing I've been doing this year is re-reading some of my favorite books. I've only kept a handful of books that I truly feel are worth owning, and this goes for cookbooks too. I own all of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and just three others. My all-time favorite, pages-are-falling-out cookbook is Ree Drummond's "The Pioneer Woman Cooks." I also have a cherished recipe book where I write down our beloved family recipes.
This is an area where I prefer to be minimal with technology. Family meals are a priority for us and we cook at home typically Sunday-Thursdays. While most meals on our regular rotation don't require us to use a recipe (cheeseburgers, spaghetti, etc.), for the meals that do require it, I would rather my kids see me looking at an actual book versus looking at a recipe on my phone. With the latter, there's no way for them to know what I'm doing if I'm just looking at a screen. If a recipe I found online becomes a regular "go to" for our family, I write it down in my Strawberry Family Recipe Binder.
Examples include:
Cam's favorite dinner: Sweet & Sour Chicken
Ree Drummond's Sloppy Joe's (This recipe isn't in her first cookbook, which I referenced above, which is why it's now written down in my binder.)
All that said, the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks stand tall above the rest, which is why I own every single one. I spent most of February re-reading all of them. The pictures! The stories! Ina Garten is everything.
I wrote down over 100 recipes from these books that I want to try, and I ended up making an Excel spreadsheet so I can keep track of what I've made and how we've rated it. I also came across this great blog, Store Bought is Fine, where the author made all 1,300 of Ina Garten's recipes! Talk about a huge feat.
3. Buy More Kitchen Tools, As-Needed.
Thanks to Brian, we are blessed with a gourmet chef's kitchen. Think Wusthof knives, the Boos Block, the MoccaMaster, the Zojirushi rice maker.... If you know, you know.
But, in order to make some of the recipes I've seen recently and want to try, there are some smaller tools I don't own, but I'm not yet sure that they're worth owning. Think immersion blender, kitchen torch, the Peppermate...
In the same vein as not owning books I don't love, I don't want to junk up our kitchen with unnecessary or cheap gadgets. If it's not used, it's out! I got rid of our KitchenAid ice cream machine after a decade of storing it in our cabinet because I had only used it once.
My solution has been to save these items down on an Amazon list and perhaps I'll buy them if I find myself needing them, but not buy them in advance thinking I'll use them. I mean, I do want to make crème brulee, but will I actually make crème brulee? TBD.
4. Use Better Ingredients
This is a direct result of my Barefoot Contessa cookbook reading marathon last month. One thing I love about Ina is that she always preaches "best of class." In all areas of life, do everything to the best of your means. Whether it's making meatloaf or making filet mignon, give it your best.
Chicken stock? Make it homemade. Vanilla extract? Either make it homemade or use Nielsen-Massey.
Ina gets very specific on the brands she recommends.
Similar to the above kitchen gadgets, I've made note of all her recommendations on which brands are the best, and I figure I'll buy them when I have the need. It may be a while before I run out of my current Costco vanilla extract. :)
5. Eat More Seafood
Well, I saved the biggest stretch goal for last. Eat more seafood!
If I was limited to eating only one type of food, I would pick seafood. But God had other plans for my life. In order to refine me into a piece of gold, He gave me Brian. And Brian loathes seafood.
Soon after we first started dating, I was able to successfully convert Brian into a coffee drinker. I'm less optimistic about a successful seafood conversion, but with God all things are possible.
I think I'll start small - maybe add shrimp to pasta? - and work my way up to sushi from there.
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