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In the New York Times food section this week, there's a good article written by Leslie Kaufman about her commitment to cook dinner for her children (Mom Puts Her Family on a Meal Plan). She shares some good tips, including spending time on Sunday to shop and prep, creating a consistent weekly routine and always making double portions of soups, stews and sauces so that half can go into the freezer for another night. I also liked the fact that she admitted that in her need for speed and ease, she's forsaken the gourmet approach to most dishes and does the "basic, pared-down version of each dish" including a minimally seasoned roast chicken and speedy meatballs.
My own mom worked during the day and cooked dinner as soon as she got home just about every single night of my childhood. One of her preferred methods of preparing a quick main protein course was to dice some chicken breasts that she had let defrost in the fridge during the day and saute them in Italian Dressing. That way they'd get some good flavor without marination, and the dressing provided enough oil so that they didn't stick to the pan. We ate that chicken over rice or pasta a lot, frequently with a side of steamed broccoli or zucchini. In the summer the chicken got tossed over salad, straight from the garden. It was good, healthy and took minimal time, all good traits of a family dinner.
Image credit: Sara E.
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7-15-2007 @6:37PM Marcella said... Good ideas Marisa. Thanks for the input.
Marcella in Southern Oregon and Subud
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7-15-2007 @7:57PM MK said... "Every working mother has to draw the line somewhere. Maybe my children would take their first steps with a babysitter, or perform in school plays with only their grandparents in attendance. But mom would cook their dinners."
I can't possibly understand why Slashfood would choose to highlight this retrograde June Cleaver nonsense. It's also hard to believe the NYTimes published it.
Thanks for the "tips", but no thanks.
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7-16-2007 @2:25AM Andre said... Single folks can use her tips too; although I have gourmet tastes, sometimes you need to have a meal done quickly with good taste. I can sure use these tips on those hectic weeks.
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7-16-2007 @9:44AM Fiksu said... Substitute "dad" and there's nothing retrograde about a parent deciding that home-cooked meals eaten together are good for their family.
Some families make time for bike rides or sports games or movie nights together. Some come together around the dinner table. And Slashfood is exactly the kind of place where people will understand that.
http://hungrybeans.blogspot.com
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7-16-2007 @10:47AM Laura said... I'm in my early 20s, living with an SO but no kids. It's a struggle just to feed the two of us, and I implemented this type of weekly meal planning this year to make things easier. It's been very helpful, although it removes some of the spontaneity from my social life ("No, I can't go out after work, I have to go home and make lamb stew!").
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7-16-2007 @11:42AM Ima Wurdibitsch said... Poster #2 wrote, "I can't possibly understand why Slashfood would choose to highlight this retrograde June Cleaver nonsense."
I don't understand the poster's irritation with Slashfood's notice of this article. Some parents may choose to leave work early to attend school functions but, for this working parent, preparing the food for her family was a priority. Slashfood focuses on food. This parent does, too.
I liked the article. I don't cook every night but would like to cook more often than I do. Paring the recipes down and making them simple will make it easier for me. I love to cook - when I have time. I'd gotten locked into this mindset that every meal had to be a culinary masterpiece. If it wasn't going to be grand, why bother? That meant I rarely cooked during the week because I just didn't have time.
I like the simple approach and have started implementing timesaving ideas like the ones mentioned in the article. I also picked up a few good ideas.
Keep up the good work, Slashfood!
http://wordybitch.blogspot.com
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7-16-2007 @12:51PM shanflan1 said... My mother,(and now I, myself) have full time jobs along with all of the "normal everyday stresses". However, we both still find to make healthy meals for our families. With a little planning and preparation, it really isn't all that difficult to get a delicious and good-for-you meal on the table. I think we are so busy now-a-days that we manage to cut enough "family/quality" time from our schedules just to get everything done - but i refuse to give up a nice meal with my family.
http://www.cookingdonelight.com
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7-16-2007 @6:23PM Jason Truesdell said... Though I'm not a father, I am certainly a cook, and certainly the primary cook in my relationship, and I have a day job in addition to my small business. Certainly I'll be placing a high importance on preparing home-cooked meals as often as possible when I have a family.
Every contemporary dual-income family must make some kinds of tradeoffs on domestic tasks. The problems of household management don't go away; every couple needs to balance those obligations. Perhaps they hire a sitter or hire someone to help with housecleaning. Perhaps they buy takeout instead.
For me, cooking is fulfilling and, yes, it gives me comfort. While I wouldn't want to burden my spouse with obligations based on traditional gender roles, I can't imagine a good reason to accuse a woman who enjoys cooking of succumbing to "retrograde June Cleaver nonsense." While it's certainly true that people can be guilt-tripped by outmoded expectations, that doesn't sound like something Leslie Kaufman is suffering from.
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7-16-2007 @6:54PM ericamklein said... My guess is that Poster #2 who says that this is "retrograde June Cleaver nonsense" would also say that women who choose to be stay at home moms need to get into the 21st century and get a career and stop letting antiquated notions of family rule their life.
But, you know, some people enjoy being home with their families. And plenty of hard-working career women still want to spend time caring for their families when they get home. There's nothing wrong with that. its when you're being FORCED to do these things that its a problem - Ms. Kaufman obviously does them by choice, so kudos to her for putting such a high value on the things she does and time she spends in caring for her children and family.
And as other posters pointed out, these tips can be useful for plenty of people, not just working mothers.
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7-16-2007 @11:28PM Woods said... At my house, it's just me and my mom. We both help concoct our dinner creations, which are usually pretty basic, though when we have a less busy evening we'll whip up something that takes some more effort. But even our quick things are overall healthy. Often dinner ends up being some form of baked, grilled, or steamed protein like chicken, fish, or shrimp, with steamed or stir-fried veggies on the side (veggies vary with our moods/the seasons). Soup is another favorite--with salad or toast. Vegetarian tacos, whole wheat pasta and veggies, and omelets are easy and delicious. We don't have a lot of time to prepare fancy recipies, but at least making an effort to sit down to a meal we prepared ourselves is rewarding and an important part in our lives.
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7-18-2007 @8:21AM Sherri said... MK (#2) - if you have children, what are you going to feed them? Expensive, unhealthy processed food? Fast food, or expensive restaurant food? What do you feed yourself?
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7-19-2007 @1:45PM Leena said... I LOVE that chicken breast and Italian dressing idea; going to try it soon. BTW folks; Kraft makes a dressing called 'Free Zesty Italian', and it's a mere 15cals per serving as opposed to the hundred or so found in regular Italian! wohoo!
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