It's Working!

Kale waiting for the freezer

“That was fantastic!” 

Wrenn, referring to the Yakisoba dinner on Thursday night.

I looked at my daughter with a sideways glance … was she being sincere or a smart ass? I’m not sure if my kids are trying to stroke me or are somehow worried that this new world order in the kitchen is the prequel to mom walking away from cooking duty – but with every tiny little bit of positive reinforcement I receive there comes the very smallest amount of satisfaction in having just spent time in the kitchen. Ssshhhhh, do not tell my 2teensandatween I just said that!

Recap

M/Mexican Lasagna; T/Kale Bean Soup; W/Baked Tofu with Broc; Th/Yakisoba; F/Med. Tuna Salad

This week we had hits all the way around four 3-thumbs-up and only one 2-thumbs, on the 12-week plan In the Kitchen and Lovin’ It – o.k. now, I’m being the smart ass. What I am loving is that at 4pm each day, I have all the ingredients and a plan. 

Mexican Lasagna - three thumbs up. This is a standard around here and always goes over well. It’s quick, it’s easy and served with a salad it hits the spot. 

Kale Bean Soup – three thumbs up. Served on Tuesday night this is a Cleary Classic only here’s something I can’t believe I’m going to admit – it actually got better once we moved to Japan. Why? Well, as I’m usually looking for the easy way out in the kitchen, back in the states I could find in the frozen food section chopped kale – having this on hand in the freezer with a two cans of beans in the cupboard always meant I was 30 minutes away from an easy dinner. Here in Japan however, the commissary only stocks frozen chopped collards, not kale – there is a difference here people and you cannot sub one for the other … and while my accent faded long ago and only occasionally will I drop a y’all (this will stop my kids dead in their tracks and will look at me like I just sprouted 3 heads), there are a few clues to the astute that I am a southerner through and through. I will drink iced-sweet tea in the middle of winter with 6-inches of snow on the ground, and I know my greens. In the south a girl’s got to know her greens (along with her silver pattern by age 12 but more on that another time). Kale, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens – no, they are not all the same thing. For the first six months of living here I tried subbing collards in my soup recipe but it just wasn’t the same. Then one day I was looking for chives in the “fresh produce” section – which is an oxymoron at the commissary here, but that’s a whole ‘nother story – when I glanced down and paused, they actually had fresh kale in stock. I snatched up a bunch and headed home. Thinking this was going to be more labor intensive than going with the frozen variety I put the kale in the refrig and promptly procrastinated. The concept of having fresh kale in my soup was a good one, the reality of having to clean and chop it I thought meant more time in the kitchen – which is not what I’m all about. However, several days later I decided I was either going to have to use them or lose them, I pulled the bunch out, quickly stripped the leaves off the stalk, threw it in my salad spinner and roughly chopped up the cleaned off leaves. Voila! In the soup pot in much less time than it takes me to sort through the frozen variety – because they chop up the entire kale, huge honkin’ stalks and all, eww who wants to see a stalk of kale floating in their soup the size of a thumb? And the difference? OMG, there is no comparison – fresh wins out in a very big way. So now, knowing that kale is a cool weather crop, I am stocking up. Every time I go to the commissary I’m buying a bunch, cleaning it off and throwing it in the freezer – a little bit of advance work now for a delicious soup later. I can do that. Really. I can. See below for my version of Kale Bean Soup.*

Baked Tofu with stir fry broc was a 2-thumbs up. I have one tofu holdout in the house, he cannot be swayed, his siblings however more than make up for him. I cooked 3 blocks of tofu, thinking to myself “great, I’ll be able to have some leftovers to toss on salads for the next few days.” Wishful thinking. Mitchell and Wrenn devoured the tofu, and when I whinned and said “where are my leftovers?” Wrenn piped up and declared “I think next time you had better cook 4 blocks mom.” Wow, really?

Yakisoba on Thursday was a big hit, three-thumbs – I made what I thought was a ginormous amount to realize not only were there no leftovers, I had to whisk away a serving for Jeff (who of course was still at work) before it was all gone. Up the amount on that one next time around.

Friday was supposed to be Med Tuna Salad from the Whole Foods cookbook but I’d hosted my once a month Ikebana flower arranging class and had made wraps as my contribution. There were leftovers and so I pulled together a salad and dinner was “serve yourself.” All in all, a great week in the kitchen – did I really just say that?

This week the nightly schedule for our family is a crazed one and already having the menu mapped out is a big help. Monday – subbing in the Med Tuna Salad from last week (I’m not home for dinner and I’d like something quick and easy); Tuesday – Black Bean Soup; Wed – Penne Pasta with Vodka Cream sauce (already know I will have to find another recipe since Jeff “stole” that one for Sunday nights dinner – we had a dinner guest last night and he threatened to make hamburgers on the grill so I coughed up this meal instead); Thursday – Roasted Veg Curry; Friday – Pizza, Red Onion w/feta and White Pizza w/shrimp (may work a “let’s make a deal” with the kids on this night – Jeff and I will not be home for dinner, it might just have to be kids night in the kitchen).

Maybe one of the best parts of this 12-week experiment is that with the menus planned, when I get the “what’s for dinner” at 4 p.m. I do not feel an overwhelming sense of panic as I realize I have to cook dinner and I’ve not a clue what I’m going to make. Jeff commented yesterday when we were mulling over what to have for dinner with our guest – “how could you have possibly come up with 60 meals for 12 weeks and yet you can’t figure out what to have for dinner tonight with a guest?” It’s not so much that I can’t figure it out as I don’t want to have to think about it. We are two weeks into this experiment and all I can say so far is that it’s been great. Last week I only went to the commissary three times … still 2 more times than I would have like but way better than the daily trips I was making. That has left me with more time, more time to work on some other ideas I have for making 2011 my best year yet, more time to be … inspired.

This entry was supposed to be posted on 1/16 but with a crazy schedule last week for all family members and me fighting for computer time with my kids (school work take priority) I never could find a moment to post this. The goal this week is to get the post up in a more timely fashion, and thank you to all my friends who have given me such a great response to this family experiment. It helps to keep me going.

*

Kale Bean Soup

There are many versions of this soup out there on the web or in cookbooks. This one originated from a clipping from the Washington Post but I’ve put our own spin on it.

2 cans Cannellini Beans (or Northern White Beans) rinsed and drained

6 cups vegetable broth

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 large onions chopped

1 bunch of kale, cleaned, stripped, and chopped (or ½ bag of frozen)

4 cloves of garlic chopped

1 bay leaf

Sauté the chopped onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Add one can of the drained and rinsed beans, and the 6 cups of vegetable broth. Blend with immersion blender. Add the second can of beans, chopped kale and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the kale is tender. Remove bayleaf and serve with freshly grated parmesan.