This Week in My Kitchen (Sept. 21)

Joining Heather in sharing a love of whole foods and the kitchen arts.

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I forgot to pick the camera up often this week. Or maybe my hands were constantly wet. I’m not sure. If there is anything that has changed drastically in the last two weeks, it is both time in the kitchen and time spent cleaning the dishes from the meal before. I’ve always been a clean as you go cook but even with my best efforts it seems like there is always a pile or two left as the meal is cooking. I think I have a touch of a cold this week- I’ve felt a bit under par and I’ve been pretty weary by the time dinner is done for the day, so the kitchen tasks have felt a lot harder this week. My meal plan definitely reflects that this week- most of it is simple or slow cooker. Even for that I think I am finding a rhythm with prep, and I can see a time when it won’t feel like I spend the whole day in the kitchen.

I’ve had an unexpected helper and companion this week. I’ll be honest, I tend to shoo the children out of the kitchen. With so many small feet and hands and such a small kitchen it is nigh on disastrous if one gets underfoot. Isaiah (10) has asked pretty insistently to come help in the kitchen, and this week I finally took him up on the offer. I wish I had done so much sooner! He has been an excellent sous chef for me, washing vegetables as I cut them, stirring pots, bringing me items and putting them away, measuring out things, and helping to read recipes aloud. He’s mighty funny too. It is making the dinner prep, at least, much smoother and much brighter. I like getting to spend this one on one time with him, too. Sometimes I forget just how intelligent the kid is. Nothing slips past his notice, and his math skills rival my own. We were talking just last night about how much math is involved in cooking- and why fractions really are important to know when you have to double and triple recipes like we do, and how baking gluten-free is as much science as it is art. It’s just been such a lovely discovery this week. I’m glad he kept asking me.

Our breakfast and lunch menus didn’t really change, except for the fact that I made Pumpkin Pie Granola this week. Which is fabulous. Don’t even try to just make a single batch. Just double it. And then you’ll wish you had tripled it. Trust me.

Here is our dinner menu for the week:

(Again, make sure you read labels and make appropriate substitutions for Gluten Free and other allergies!)

– Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Stew

– Italian Chicken

– Taco Salad

–  Spaghetti

– GF Chicken Nuggets (Home-made) and Quinoa Mac N Cheese

– Shepherd’s Pie

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Joining Heather.