ListenUp | 07/31/2009 12:00 pm
Julie Morgenstern: Back to the Kitchen ... Oy Vey!
Julie Morgenstern
Editor’s Note: Julie Morgenstern, dubbed the “queen of putting people’s lives in order” by USA Today, is an organizing and time-management expert, business productivity consultant and speaker. A New York Times bestselling author, Julie’s five books are timeless reference guides that are insightful, reader-friendly and jam packed with innovative strategies. Each volume features techniques and observations culled from her 20 years of experience as a consultant to individuals and companies. Julie’s company, Julie Morgenstern Enterprises, is dedicated to using her philosophies and methods to provide a wide range of practical solutions that transform the way people and companies function. Explore our individual organizing services, corporate consulting and professional training institute.
THE QUESTION: Our income took a hit and now we need to eat more meals
at home … after decades of restaurant meals and convenience foods.
Here’s the kicker: I never really liked cooking and most of my pots and
pans haven’t seen the inside of an oven in years! I can’t imagine
finding the time (or talent) to cook anything other than scrambled
eggs, and I honestly don’t know where to start. Please help!
THE ANSWER: This is a universal dilemma confronting many professional
women who are out the door before 8 AM, home after 7 PM, and loathe to
cook, when it’s so much easier to order takeout or troop to the
restaurant around the corner. And in the interest of full disclosure: I
am one of these women. But this is a great opportunity, because as fun
and convenient as dining out can be, we’ve known all along that nothing
compares to the wholesome, healthy deliciousness of a home-cooked meal.
It’s just that we didn’t want to be the ones to cook it!
Have no fear! Getting back into the kitchen doesn’t have to take hours
out of your week, or hours away from family and friends, isolating you
to a lonely rendezvous with your Cuisinart. There are ways to shorten
your learning curve and hone meal making into a quick, communal and
satisfying art.
Step 1: Find a cookbook that features quick meals and select ten that
look delicious to eat and easy enough to make. Cooking regularly is
much easier when you have all the ingredients readily available, so
identify the basics your recipes require – chicken stock, garlic,
canola oil, etc. – and steer clear of recipes that require more exotic
ingredients, like truffle powder or ramps, which will require a run to
the store every time you get ready to make a meal.
Step 2: Each week, select three recipes you’d like to try. Those meals
(and leftovers) make up your weekly menu. Make a shopping list for the
specific ingredients needed, along with a few simple extras and side
dishes you’ll need to prepare each day, e.g., steam broccoli, buy fresh
baguette, wash berries. Shop during off-hours (late at night) to ensure
shorter lines, or consider shopping online through a service like
FreshDirect or PeaPod to save time.
Step 3: Schedule one regular block of time during the weekend to prep
and cook food for the week. I like to think of the weekend as seven
different blocks of time – Friday night, Saturday morning, afternoon,
evening and Sunday morning, afternoon, evening. Pick one block to wash,
chop, prep and marinate – anything you can do to make meal assembly
during the week easy and fast. Cook ahead dishes that you can, and
freeze anything that won’t be served until midweek or that won’t
otherwise stay fresh in the fridge.
Step 4: Cook with your family or friends to make the work go faster;
it’s a very bonding experience, and a nice ritual to build back into
your week, to compensate for the fragmentation of our busy lives. The
work will go faster and will be more fun, and since the food is for all
of you, why not all cook it together? Likewise, have everyone involved
in the cleanup too, just like the old days when each person had a job:
one sets the table, one cooks, one clears the dishes, one cleans up.
Read more about: Cooking, Economy, Family, Julie Morgenstern, Kitchen, Listen Up, Money, Personal finance, Recession, Recessionista, Relationships, Savings, Self-help, Think Up
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27 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
Welcome Julie! We have our very own Julie Morgenstern Forum where you can talk with the expert herself.
So wowOwow’ers - How are you reorganizing your food and kitchen duties?
I have always cooked at home and have an extensive collection of cookbooks. I can make better meals than those available at most of our local restaurants. My husband is diabetic and the fare offered locally seems to revolve around meat potatoes and bread. We are leery of salad bars during flu and cold season. We do like to eat out but it is often more time efficient to eat at home on our current schedules.
The key to cooking is being organized and as Julie says keeping the ingredients you will use on hand.
Chris Glass
Between my brother (The Chef) and I we have an extensive collection of cookbooks. I’ve compiled a list of books for you. You might already have them in your collection.
Book List
"Better Homes and Gardens Simple Everyday diabetic Meals.Special Section on Diabetic Kids and Teens"
"The Food Pharmacy Dramatic New Evidence That Food Is Your Best Medicine" Jean Carper
"Eating Well! When You Just can’t Eat The Way You Used To" Jane Weston Wilson
"The Natural Healing CookBook" Mark Bricklin
Perhaps, you will find some recipes of interest that you have not already tried.
PS: I maintain a list on my computer of items that must be kept on-hand in my kitchen larder, etc. and a shopping list that’s fixed to check off the items, for anyone going shopping for me, and/or myself.
That solves a multitude of sins!
TIP: Shop only Asian or Greek stores for fresh veggies, spices, rice - only short-grain whole germ and it’s cheap by the 10-lb bags (store in cool location); and buy frozen fish in bulk, unless you live on a coast the fish is frozen in the boats, so don’t pay for the ‘fresh’ nonsense, ask instead! (best Basmati Rice brand is "Goya")
Be certain to keep your oils on hand, and seasonings, and grow what you can, right outside your doors. Yum. I also make and freeze my own broths into small Mason jars, and save all veggie peels, skins, to suffuse for my veggie broths.
Organic meats, and eggs are everywhere, and producers distribute in each city and town - Google for them!
Hey CJ-
Think about sharing 1 or 2 of those 3 minute nutricious, delicious meal recips with us, won’t you? We could ALL use that!
I am in the middle of the summer blahs. I have no appetite, but the children are still starving and growing. I’ve stopped cooking and everyone grazes and nibbles. Sometimes something only sounds good to eat once I can smell it. Often when I spend time cooking a meal, I can’t eat it afterwards - like my apetite is satiated just from the smell.
If I could have a cook or a house cleaner, I choose cook.
Mom of 7
C Jay
Thanks for the information. … I’m with JM, please share some of your 3 minute recipes. :o)
Be sure to read this wonderful article about how Julia Child helped to make American women feel that cooking was not something beyond their capabilities … how they came to no longer fear the cuisine! :-) Perhaps this new movie will spur people back to the kitchen!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?ref=todayspaper
Sure! Now, I need to think … everything’s so automatic with me now that I just go into action depending on my "larder" if you know what I mean. I keep a basic list of items I must keep in my cupboards, and fridge/freezer, but every chance I get, either have someone go for me, or I manage to get to one of our Asian stores on the day they return from "the big city" with fresh Asian greens - those are fun days to cook and to eat.
Give me a day and I’ll throw in some recipes, and perhaps a list of some items it’s important to keep on hand. Most people don’t realize that Asian, Mediterranean, French, also organic meals are incredibly delicious, and easily tempered to individual tastes, either during the preparation process or "at the table," but more so, very inexpensive. The key is in the shopping list, which does not mean must be purchased all at one time, as you mentioned, but basic enough to check off and have quick access to when a local supplier/shop is nearby.
Julie, thank you for this opportunity to share - there’s nothing quite like sharing about and over food; it’s the basis of culture.
- 6 oz. wide egg noodles
- 1 Tbsp. shortening
- 2 oz. parmesan cheese; finely grated
- 1/2 can Golden Mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 10 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese; shredded and divided
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. ground mustard
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 6 oz. can tuna; well drained, and broken into chunks*
- 2/3 cup green Italian olives; pitted and coarsely chopped
- Roasted red peppers
Directions- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 casserole/baking dish with shortening then dust with grated parmesan (as for a cake pan).
- Cook noodles according to package directions minus 1 minute of cooking time. Drain in a colander. Meanwhile, heat mushroom soup over medium low heat until bubbly.
- Gradually add 2/3 of cheese, a handful at a time, and stirring to melt completely before adding next handful. Remove from heat and thoroughly blend in sour cream, Worcestershire, mustard, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper. Stir in tuna and olives.
- Return noodles to cooking pot and add sauce. Mix thoroughly.
- Pour into casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Place in center of oven and cook until cheese on top browns - about 30 minutes.
*Note: I prefer oil-packed tuna as it has more flavor, but water-packed works. Note 2: You can easily cool and then freeze half of this casserole for later enjoyment. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then heat in the microwave on medium for about 6 minutes.I have always worked and I have always cooked dinner. Of course we go out, but not on a daily basis. You have to be organized. Plan the meals around what’s on sale and cook in bulk. If chicken is on sale, buy a couple, roast them and package into freezer bags. Ditto with steak or a roast. We buy a large amount of sausages and grill them all at one time, then freeze. It’s easy to thaw out the correct amount for dinner. And I also make enough to have leftovers for lunch. My hubby works 3 nights a week so his lunch break is really dinner.
Another tip for saving money is to buy dry beans, rice and pasta and cook from scratch. Compare the cost of dry beans versus canned beans, plain rice and pasta versus boxed crud. It’s also going to be healthier because you control what is going into the dish- sauce, herbs, whatever.
Know when to be thrifty and then you can splurge on other indulgences.