Thursday, August 26, 2010

Dinner Rush


One of the most frequent letters received here at The Blushing Hostess asks how to introduce new dishes to the family table; Carving out the time to research them, gather the ingredients, and so on.

Be forewarned: I'm not promising a twenty-minute dinner preparation, as I have never been party to one: I don't use processed foods in my kitchen and I don't consume things that come from boxes. Admittedly, then, this is speedy food for cooking fresh but not, say, anything as quick as (oh Lordy, help these souls) TV dinners or hot pockets.

I keep tabs on a tool over at the internet arm of Bon Appetit and (the former) Gourmet magazine called Dinner Rush (Quick and Easy Menus). A new menu of fresh, seasonally available dishes is posted each week with instructions and the week's work of grocery needs condensed into one small list. Both the menus and list are available on iPhone to save some paper as well.

I use it haphazardly at best. Most of the food decisions here three seasons a year are based on what is coming out of the garden on that day. It is most useful to me in these seasons for the protein suggestions, but once in a while the suggestions hit the crop availability at the same time.

For me, it is an indispensable tool now and hopefully, one more resource for your arsenal. Use it in good health.

2 comments:

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

I will visit this site. Sounds perfect.
Teresa (Splendid Sass)

tintin said...

Growing up my father had a unique way of getting me to try new and exotic foods my mother, a big fan of Gramham Kerr, would make.

He'd lean over to me and whisper, "You don't eat that and I'll knock you into next Tuesday." I'll always cherish those warm memories of family dinners with an A Team leader.