Article about needlework etc - Page 4

> Trish Brown wrote:
>
>> Bruce Fletcher (remove dentures to reply) wrote:
>>> When we see young (and not-so-young) mothers with a couple of
>>> children in tow who fill their supermarket trolley with
>>> ready-prepared food (burgers etc) and tinned produce Maureen often
>>> comments that with what they spent they could buy a couple of joints
>>> of meat and some fresh vegetables and, for the cost of an hour or two
>>> in preparation, give their family several decent, much healthier and
>>> tastier meals.
>> YES! My two favourite soapboxes are macaroni cheese and pikelets
>> ('pikelets' is Oz for small, single-bite pancakes).
>> My nieces will pay $$$ for vile, disgusting frozen macaroni cheese
>> and/or preservative-laden boxed pikelet mix. They say 'I don't have
>> the time to cook like you do, Aunt!'
>> Pppppbbbblllffftttt!
>> It takes twenty five minutes to heat the frozen gloop they call macca
>> and cheese, while I can whip up a scrumptious batch from scratch in
>> exactly ten! (NB. I cook my pasta in the microwave while the cheese
>> sauce bubbles on the stovetop) Bit o' flour, butter, milk, cheese and
>> bob'syeruncle!
>> Rather than pay three or four dollars for packaged pikelet gloop, it's
>> just as simple to chuck a cup of flour, an egg, some sugar and some
>> milk in a jug and mix! What's so hard about that???
> Well I'm firmly on the side of cooking and baking from scratch - but I
> really enjoy it and consider myself a "foodie". Yes there are times I
> don't and I have a few staples such as canned soups or corn or jars of
> pasta sauce in the cupboard. I work full-time (and more with my job
> lately) and it takes some time but it's worth it to me. I try to make
> double quantities of things when I can and freeze one batch for later -
> very helpful on a busy night. Let's not even discuss baking - my fave -
> homemade cookies, breads, biscuits, scones - always available in my
> house :)
>
> I can buy pasta, some veggies and a bit of sausage and have enough for
> several meals instead of paying double for something that's full of salt
> and other things and don't taste as good. Not to sound like a snob but
> I don't really like the taste of a lot of "pre-made" stuff - it seems
> very artificial to my tastebuds. I do have some snack stuff like
> crackers for my kids after school but we are not a big soda, chips,
> frozen pizza kind of house. I'm lucky to have the room for a nice sized
> veggie garden too so come summer I use even better ingredients!
>
> Not everyone likes or has time to cook and that's fine - but there are
> simple quick healthy meals that take the same or less time to prepare as
> all the pre-packaged expensive glop. My sister takes some time every
> weekend to prep ingredients - like chopping up carrots, onions, etc. and
> stores them in the fridge so they're ready to go when she's trying to
> get dinner going on a weeknight after work and that system is great for
> her.
>
> Anyway - rant done - Bon Appetit!!
>
> MelissaD

>But - as Cheryl can attest - weekends with kids means no time to
>cook. How often have you seen me or Cheryl posting about spending our
>weekend sitting on bleachers someplace? I leave on Friday, get home
>late Sunday. So there's no time even then to prep etc.
>When I *am* home, we do it - grill a bunch of stuff, precook, marinate
>(then the kids can throw it on the George Foreman), chop, make mashed
>potatoes, etc. It's just not always possible.
>Even when I was growing up (okay, that WAS 30 years ago now), there
>was a lot less competition for parents' time - kids didn't participate
>in as many club sports that took up every weekend.
>linda

> MelissaD wrote:
>> Trish Brown wrote:
>>> Bruce Fletcher (remove dentures to reply) wrote:
>>>> When we see young (and not-so-young) mothers with a couple of children
>>>> in tow who fill their supermarket trolley with ready-prepared food
>>>> (burgers etc) and tinned produce Maureen often comments that with what
>>>> they spent they could buy a couple of joints of meat and some fresh
>>>> vegetables and, for the cost of an hour or two in preparation, give
>>>> their family several decent, much healthier and tastier meals.
>>> YES! My two favourite soapboxes are macaroni cheese and pikelets
>>> ('pikelets' is Oz for small, single-bite pancakes).
>>> My nieces will pay $$$ for vile, disgusting frozen macaroni cheese
>>> and/or preservative-laden boxed pikelet mix. They say 'I don't have the
>>> time to cook like you do, Aunt!'
>>> Pppppbbbblllffftttt!
>>> It takes twenty five minutes to heat the frozen gloop they call macca
>>> and cheese, while I can whip up a scrumptious batch from scratch in
>>> exactly ten! (NB. I cook my pasta in the microwave while the cheese
>>> sauce bubbles on the stovetop) Bit o' flour, butter, milk, cheese and
>>> bob'syeruncle!
>>> Rather than pay three or four dollars for packaged pikelet gloop, it's
>>> just as simple to chuck a cup of flour, an egg, some sugar and some milk
>>> in a jug and mix! What's so hard about that???
>> Well I'm firmly on the side of cooking and baking from scratch - but I
>> really enjoy it and consider myself a "foodie". Yes there are times I
>> don't and I have a few staples such as canned soups or corn or jars of
>> pasta sauce in the cupboard. I work full-time (and more with my job
>> lately) and it takes some time but it's worth it to me. I try to make
>> double quantities of things when I can and freeze one batch for later -
>> very helpful on a busy night. Let's not even discuss baking - my fave -
>> homemade cookies, breads, biscuits, scones - always available in my house
>> :)
>> I can buy pasta, some veggies and a bit of sausage and have enough for
>> several meals instead of paying double for something that's full of salt
>> and other things and don't taste as good. Not to sound like a snob but I
>> don't really like the taste of a lot of "pre-made" stuff - it seems very
>> artificial to my tastebuds. I do have some snack stuff like crackers for
>> my kids after school but we are not a big soda, chips, frozen pizza kind
>> of house. I'm lucky to have the room for a nice sized veggie garden too
>> so come summer I use even better ingredients!
>> Not everyone likes or has time to cook and that's fine - but there are
>> simple quick healthy meals that take the same or less time to prepare as
>> all the pre-packaged expensive glop. My sister takes some time every
>> weekend to prep ingredients - like chopping up carrots, onions, etc. and
>> stores them in the fridge so they're ready to go when she's trying to get
>> dinner going on a weeknight after work and that system is great for her.
>> Anyway - rant done - Bon Appetit!!
>> MelissaD
> In the bookstores, there are at least two books on "how to cook for a day
> and eat for a month". I bought two of them to send to ds when he and his
> wife were both working - before kids, that is.
> The basic idea is that you spend a Saturday cooking all day; chicken, beef
> etc. etc. in various ways then freeze it all in specific size portions in
> freezer bags to save room. Then, on weeknights, you stop off for fresh
> veggies a couple of times a week, and assemble healthy, tasty meals from
> your own pre-prepared meats plus nice fresh fruits and veg.
> Myself, I am more likely to spend a day cooking just two or three meals -
> at least four servings of each, and putting goodly amounts in my chest
> freezer.
> Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

> I understand cooking and I did my share of it over the years. I don't
> enjoy cooking for one, but I do it on occasion. Would you be willing
> to rent some freezer space. I have a very limited amount of space in
> my very small, very inadequate side by side and zero space for a chest
> freezer.