Cooking for Other People

The quest for cooking skills continues with more emphasis on frugality and healthy ingredients. I’m trying to incorporate more protein without totally relying on the portion of a cow in my freezer courtesy of a thankful client. I like buying from the tiny, local farmer’s market or the locally grown section at Harris Teeter.

Youngest and I had D and his daughter (FFC – for Family Friend Child) over for grilling this past weekend. I served NY strip steaks, sweet potato gratin, corn and biscuits. During the week I had been experimenting with frittatas and have found a recipe based on bacon (a favorite food group of Youngest) that I will serve when they return for this weekend’s visit. I’m trying to provide a small place of stability where FFC can relax and see how normal people behave. There is zucchini in the fridge for bread today or tomorrow.

It seems like I find something I like and then study/cook it in many variations. It reminds me of Son and how he researches an issue using the immersion technique. To become even more frugal, I would like to get into stir fries as you can use multiple leftovers. Steam some rice, add a small piece of meat with a handful of vegetables and you have a filling meal. Unfortunately, this house has a crappy, solid, electric stove top so obtaining the required heat is not going to happen. I’ve been looking at electric woks and like the versions that are dishwasher safe. Maybe after signing up the next new client, I’ll purchase a wok as a celebration gift.

We have discovered the weirdest and best magazine ever – “All You”. We originally found it at a garage sale here where I bought a stack of magazines, mostly Town and Country, for a quarter each. It was a onetime impulse activity, I swear. I could hear my Grandma rolling over. Anyway, it’s easy to get hooked and Walmart is the pusher – the only place we can find it for purchase (we sneak in and out with blistering speed). It’s a wealth of useable recipes, coupons and household tips. This month’s edition has a recipe for butternut squash ravioli. I can’t wait to try that one – it’s about $1.14 per serving.