Week Seven - Aloha India!

I was three days late for last weeks blog so we thought we would get back on track and make week seven today! Tonight was Bryon the brother in law's choice. He decided to pick something that he thought would be just "ok" to get them out of the way. The deal was he would help me shop and cook for tonight's event. Bryon chose Steak Indian Style, Spinach & Paneer Salad, Naan Breads and Mango Dessert from page 216.

The tricky part to this recipe was the Paneer cheese. Thanks to Google I now know it is an Indian Style Farmers Cheese that does not melt when grilled. Well raise your hand if you are shocked that the local Safeway does not carry this product! We decided to hit the Superstore thanks to their fantastic selection of ethnic food. 4 grown adults searching for 20 minutes could not find this cheese! Why the hell does Superstore have 5 separate cheese sections! Just as we were about to bail and pick a new recipe (yes I was carrying my cook book around the grocery store just in case) Bryon the super brother found the elusive cheese!

I was quite excited to have a cooking buddy. I thought if one person could make it in 30 minutes could 2 people manage it in 15!!! We were off! Jody the super sister had overtook half the kitchen making her little recycled newspaper pots for planting seeds, but we were confident we would manage. It was like a magical symphony in the kitchen. Well maybe I am exaggerating my metaphor but it was still a seamless team effort of cutting, chopping and grilling. We were literally standing idle at one point just waiting for the food. At the 20 minute mark we were smiling like Cheshire cats as we only had the very simple mango dessert left to cut up. **$#%%##$@!!!! The mangoes were completely green inside!!! I bought three perfect red mangoes thinking red meant ripe. Apparently not! Does anyone out there in cyber world know how to tell if a mango is ripe? Super team Trish and Bryon jumped into plan B action! I had a very ripe pineapple on the counter which made a perfect stunt double for our lame mangoes! At 32 minutes our supper was ready!

I have to say Bryon chose this meal thinking we were getting a mediocre supper out of the way but can I just say that this meal was OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD!!!!!! That's right I used shouty capitals! Logan, Brylee, Bryon, Cory, Simon and Myself all gave it a resounding 5! Jody and Max stuck with a conservative 4. But get ready for this...Mary gave the meal a 5 and had seconds!!!!!!! The table went completely silent as she made her proclamation, as we sat in silent awe we could start to hear the choir of angels singing in the background! Cory has dubbed this the best meal so far and said that if he didn't respect the rating system so much he would have given it a six! His only suggestion was that it should be served with beer! The pineapple ended up being a perfect compliment to the curry and I would make that sweet mistake again anytime!

I love how our mediocre meal ended up being the best with our long lost cheese and substitute pineapple. I laughed today until my stomach hurt a couple of times. In the middle of dinner we had to make more Naan for the hungry family. Bryon can cook in my kitchen anytime! Thanks big brother for all the fun. Next week is Jody's pick which should be just as much of an adventure! Looking forward to it.

Trish

Hallelujah! The little food Nazi have the meal a 5 and asked for seconds!

Master chef Bryon preparing the meat to be grilled.

Aloha India! Our meal was ready in 32 minutes!

Best meal in the book so far! We might just make it again tomorrow!

%$##^&* Unripe mangoes!

Enjoying every bite!

Week Six - Spring Break Stir Fry

Ok well I am three days late on my blog, however I would like to beg for mercy and blame it on the spring break fever I am currently experiencing! I am a teacher so the minute the bell rang on Friday I was singing Alice Cooper's Schools Out for Summer! Yeah yeah I know it is not summer yet but I was still just as frantic to escape for my break!

I decided to make a spring break meal full of veggies. I made the Rib Eye Stir-Fry, Dan Dan Noodles and chilled Hibiscus Tea from page 204. I was feeling rather cocky and proclaimed to my sister that I was gonna kill this thing in less than 30 minutes! She in her true little sister fashion smirked and dared me with the timer on her watch. Off I went with no worries! It was an awesome recipe to make with most of it being pre-assembled in the bowls. It was interesting combining so many different flavours in one dish, honey, garlic, chili oil, soy sauce and more. This was going to be a flavour explosion!

Well I was right! 27 minutes later baby and I had a kick ass stir fry! The hungry family of nine gathered around the table to dig in. The tea did not go over well and I agree. The flavour was much to bland and needed to be bolder. Probably didn't help that the very delicious Australian wine that I was drinking seemed to draw me in as opposed to the tea. The family seemed to give it a range of scores. Both boys said it was a four because they did not like the tea. Brylee was very opposed to the veggies and only offered up a three. Bryon said he has nothing to complain about and therefore gave it a five. He really appreciated the mix of all the different flavours and liked that every bite tasted different. Jo the smirky little sister loved everything. She gave it a six, Bryon said she couldn't break our blog rules and said she could only give it a five. I have never really been good at following rules and so I am gonna take my six! Simon have it a five, he just learned to count to five on his fingers so I think he just wanted to show it off. Once again I will take it!

Well my toughest critic stood on her little chair dressed in pink looking very  tiny and innocent and in her loudest voice yelled "one". I am not surprised but am starting to take on a personal mission of making something that she gives higher than a three. Come on Mary, you have got to like something other than peanut butter!!!

Finally I asked what my beloved scruffy hubby thought of this awesome veggie filled delight. He very decisively gave everything a three. Apparently he had too much of our lovely Australian wine because he decided he should elaborate further. He said "If you made it again I would eat it but I would not request it. It tasted like food from an OK Asian strip mall place". Deep breaths and keep smiling.

So other than my bold hubby (who is gonna be eating peanut butter for the next week unless he decides to cook for himself) the meal was actually really good and this cook would make it again.

I love everyones honesty and enthusiasm for the food! This is only fun when everyone can share their real opinion. Bryon the brother in law has selected next weeks meal and is going to cook with me! Should be good! See you next week!

Trish

My kick ass Spring Break Stir Fry!

Delicious and Healthy in only 27 minutes for $2.60 per person!

Little sister doing the dishes! What fun!

My lovely Australian wine while I write my blog.

Week Five - Peanut Butter for Supper

Week five was already here! I can't believe how fast this project is going already. I was looking forward to a quiet Sunday supper before we went to church. I decided to pick something light and healthy. I made the Spinach and Feta Filo Pie, Cucumber Salad, Tomato Salad and Coated Ice Cream from page 70. I was especially excited because I have some amazing veggies from the local farmers market just begging me to eat them! There is something about a garden tomato that lights up my day! The cucumbers were extra special because the farmer uses a special plastic form on them to make them in the shape of hearts. That gives a new meaning to serving your family love for supper!

For a fun new change the Scruffy Hubby offered to help me make supper! I thought this was a fabulous idea. Our three children had other plans. Supper took us 39 minutes I blame it all firmly on lost kindergarten homework, a missing Dora puzzle piece that we suspected the dog may have eaten and a 3 year old's beading project that ended up on the kitchen floor. It took two of us to pull it off...not the cooking, but life! Today's cooking project was a good example of our lives. Scruffy Hubby makes our crazy lives possible! The two of us together manage to keep everything together with a smile. I really am one lucky girl!

Despite the extra 9 minutes dinner looked FABULOUS! I am a true veggie lover and was quite excited! The pie looks very pleasing and would be great for company. And the salads reminded me that summer is on the way! The table was set and then the sweet sounds of my three beautiful children started. "ewwwwwwww" "I hate tomatoes" "Olives are gross" "I am not hungry" "wahhhhhhhhh". This was not a good start.

Mary the food Nazi gave the whole meal a one, cried for 22 minutes and did not taste anything with success. Max had an extreme look of concern on his face and gave the meal a 2 but only because he knew there was going to be ice cream. Simon gave the meal a 3 but never ate a single bite. Scruffy Hubby gave the meal a 4 because of the lack of meat. Out came the peanut butter and bread so we could give them something before church.

 I would just like to say that I give everything a 5!!!! This was my favourite meal in the whole book and I would make it all again just for myself. The real treat was the coated ice cream! You take coffee beans, nuts and dark chocolate and grind in all up really fine then you roll some vanilla ice cream in it! It was divine!

I am looking forward to next week, no peanut butter and scruffy hubby trying to help me again! Maybe I will make it a kids choice supper so no one complains!

Trish

Scruffy Hubby ready to help!

Heart Shape cucumbers from the Strathcona Farmer's Market.

My favourite meal so far! I give it five stars!

39 minutes and $5.26 per person

The crying stopped once the peanut butter came out.

Divine dessert!

Week Four - Kitchen Fire

The family is back and the kitchen circus was in full swing today! I found it ironic that scruffy hubby was watching Speed with Keanu Reeves while I was about to make my speedy meal. Tonight's selection was Chicken Skewers, Amazing Satay Sauce, Fiery Noodle Salad, an Fruit & Mint Sugar from page 110. I was 100% positive that tonight's meal would be fast and easy! Well I was wrong!

This weeks meal was HOT! I am not talking about spicy or tasty...I am literally talking about fire! Part of the meal today asked for these snappy little chicken skewers to be placed in the oven under the broiler. I was cocky, confident an ahead of schedule as I threw the chicken in. I felt luxurious amounts of time as I chatted with my sister about her recent trip to Vegas while munching on my dark chocolate M&M's she brought back for me. That is when I noticed the flicker flashing in the window of my oven. I thought that was strange and perhaps I left the light on. Then I smelled what I can only liken to a campfire. I very calmly opened my oven door to find the roof of the oven on fire. For all the times my stupid fire alarm goes off for simply making scrambled eggs I couldn't believe it didn't go off this time!

The amazing satay sauce splattered on the roof of the oven and proceeded to catch fire! I screamed for scruffy hubby who unfortunately was napping an missed the whole ordeal! I managed to keep my head, turn off the gas and grab my handy never before used fire extinguisher! All I could think of through all of this was "damn this is going to make me go over 30 minutes!" Perhaps my priorities are a bit clouded. According to the website stove alert there are 14 000 000 unreported kitchen fire in Canada and the US in each year. Make that 14 000 001.

I did not have to use the fire extinguisher, scruffy hubby finished his nap uninterrupted and the family meal was ready in 35 minutes for $3.55 a person.

Scruffy Hubby once again gave the meal 5 stars (he must have had a good nap). He really enjoyed the coconut yogurt with the mint sugar fruit, but said I have made better chicken. Max liked everything except the cashews therefore giving the meal a 4. Brylee also gave the meal a 4 really NOT liking the dessert. Bryon gave it a 4 because of the awkward wrapping and eating situation. Simon gave the chicken 5 and dessert 11 (his preschool must be working on bigger numbers now!) Mary gave the chicken a 5 (can you hear angels singing) and the rest of the meal a 2 (shocking). Poor Jody my loving sister tried her best with this ethnic treat, after some creative spreading around of her food on her plate and then classy covering of the plate with her napkin, I knew the verdict would not be good. My instinct was right, she shyly gave the meal a 2 due to the combination of items. Logan my super cool 8 year old nephew was the happiest customer of the night! He gave everything a 5 and munched until his tummy hurt!

Next week is going to be Brylee's choice! She is going to cook with me too! I will be sure to keep the fire extinguisher handy.

Trish

I am always prepared!

Dinner ready in 35 minutes! Yummy!

Logan the super eater!

Week Three - Sexy Tomatoes

I have a secret addiction! It is sweet, hard to get all year but amazing when you can. It is better homegrown and comes in all shapes and sizes! Have you guessed my dirty little secret? It is tomatoes!

These little saucy gems make my mouth water. The only downside to my jonesing for this little round delight is that they are only worth the time, trouble and taste buds in the summer. Once August hits I am eating dozens a day. Last year I had only 4 heirloom varieties that yielded hundreds of tasty treats.

Well it is finally March and I am already dreaming of my summer digging in the dirt of my community garden plot. I spent the afternoon browsing www.seedsavers.org for lovely names like Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, and Martino's Roma! By the time I was finished I had ordered 11 varieties! I started the seeds of the tomatoes I had saved from last year and was ready to eat some tomatoes even if they were the plain winter grocery store variety.

I decided to make the Tomato Soup, Chunky Croutons, Crunch Veggies and Guacamole and Sticky Prune Sponge Desserts from page 76 of Meals in Minutes. I thought it would be a great Sunday afternoon food while it started snowing big flakes outside. Also my second secret addiction is avocados so this would be perfect! The kids were working up and appetite playing Just Dance on the Wii and the Duff family decided to escape winter by jetting off to Vegas. It was just going to be dinner for 5 so no doubling the recipe. I thought time would be my friend today. But alas I was just as rushed and everyone believes it is the curse of the carrots. Jamie Oliver must have some pretty nice carrots where he lives because he never peels or preps them in this book so far. My carrots are nasty monster winter carrots whose fur coats must be removed prior to consumption. Both my husband and brother in law feels I should peel them before I start, I am too stubborn! My time today was 34 minutes probably due to the damn carrots!

I was a little worried the family would hate this particular dinner because all four of them hate tomatoes. I smiled and said just try everything. They were very good sports and it paid off! The scruffy hubby gave the meal a 5!!! Guess he wasn't feeling so frugal in his star spending tonight! He even said "I don't even like tomato soup but I love this!" He really enjoyed the bread in the soup as well. Max loved it too and dittoed his Dad with 5 stars for the soup and the bread. Simon said "my best is the soup and the milk! You get 3 (while he held up 5 fingers)" And as you can probably guess Mary the little food critic dropped last weeks values to only 1's for both the soup and avocado.

The best part of the whole meal was the one thing I thought was going to be a waste to make...the prune dessert. This was the easiest and tastiest dessert I have EVER made. Six minutes to wonderful! Max has said we have to name it Old Man Prune dessert, Mary threw in Sexy Old Man Prune Dessert thanks to Jamie Oliver's Sexy Swedish buns we made yesterday for a snack. So while the kids sang "sexy old man dessert" Cory and I smiled and enjoyed the spicy little cakes.

It was a great meal for only $4.50 a person. I missed the rest of our happy family today! It was not the usual blog meal three ring circus, but I will forgive them if they bring me back dark chocolate M&M's from Vegas.

Now I just have to wait a week! Maybe my tomatoes will have sprouted by then!

Trish

mmmmmmmm! I love tomatoes!

Our nice little dinner! 34 minutes and $4.50 a person

Simon gave me 3! His favorite number!

My kitchen all prepared before we started.

My heritage tomatoes all planted and ready to grow!