We were asked this week to prepare meals for a woman undergoing chemotherapy. As a former palliative caregiver I have some experience with this and I remember that what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone, so there is no easy solution to creating a menu that will be well received. I don’t have any rules but I don’t cook broccoli or a lot of other crucifers and I keep the spices and garlic very mild and I always make soup and rice pudding for days when nothing else seems appealing.
Our menu was
Ginger Beef Stir Fry served over basmati rice
Chicken Korma over Basmati with maple lime carrots
Sesame Crusted Salmon with Orange Ginger Soy Dressing
Cheese Stuffed Shells with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Maple Mustard Pork Tendeloin with Caramelized Apples
Ginger Carrot Soup
Sweet Potato Coconut Soup
Rissotto Rice Pudding with Cinnamon
If any of my readers have experience with this please feel free to comment. I try to gather as much feedback as I can to help plan future menus.
Here’s the recipe for the
Maple Lime Glazed Carrots
2 lbs baby carrots
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup water
Add all ingredients to plan and cook on medium high heat with lid on.
Keep an eye on the saucepan to make sure that it doesn’t boil dry, add additional water if necessary. Once the carrots are fork tender you can remove the lid and let the water evaporate and stir continuously spreading the glaze equally over the carrots. Mmmmmmm!
Our vegetarian day went well but I forgot my camera! dang! Our menu was:
Pasta shells with roasted butternut squash, ricotta and sage in a tomato cream sauce (recipe to follow)
Tofu Parmiagana
Vegetable Cannelloni
Lentil and Rice Casserole
Marinated Tempeh over brown rice
For a change, my client supplied all of the recipes and we willingly prepared them. My favourite was the stuffed shells and I cooked with tempeh for the first time. It was only available at The Big Carrot so it may be hard to find in a small town.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Filling for Pasta Shells
2 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 carton of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
I cubed the butternut squash and tossed it with the minced garlic and salt and pepper. I roasted the squash at 400 for about 30 minutes until it was well browned around the edges.
Place the roasted squash, chopped sage, ricotta and parmesan in a bowl and mash well. Season to taste and voila! Your filling is ready for shells, lasagna, cannelloni or whatever pasta shape you’d like to fill.
Join us in the kitchen today while we prepare 5 menu items chosen by our client. See you later.
On Friday we made a roast striploin dinner for 96 curlers at the Masters Bonspiel.
We started the morning off early (8 am) by getting our 30 or so pounds of potatoes, cubed and tossed with garlic, oregano and basil, salt and pepper. In the oven they went at 400 to roast until they were golden and crunchy on the edges and creamy in the centre.
Onto the broccoli
We blanche it briefly and then plunge it in boiling water to reheat just before service.
Our roast of choice is the striploin. Tender, evenly sized through it’s 13 pound weight and quick to cook. We sear the roasts first, then roast them at high heat (400F) until they register 130 on the digital thermometer. The out they come to rest for about half of an hour until service. By the time we carve them they are medium rare to medium and everyone at this bonspiel seemed to be very happy.
Here are the roasts just after being seared before they get popped into the oven.
and where are the rest of the photos? Well, my ever level headed partner, Cheryl kept moving my camera out of harm’s way and into the office so I never had another chance to shoot more.
Your winter blues will be cured with this scrumptious dish. When I came home from work today I wasn’t sure what I was having for dinner……as I opened my door the aroma hit me full force. Whatever was cooking in my house smelled wonderful. I don’t actually remember putting this little gem in the oven this morning at 8 a.m. but it was now 5 p.m. and it was ready.
This is a cured, then slow roasted pork shoulder, the half on the left is uncarved, the stuff on the plate has been carved.
It all started last night. I made up a mixture of
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp ground coriander
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cloves
and I spread it all over a pork shoulder. That’s the roast in the grocery store that is usually .99 a pound and no one knows what to do with it. This is an easy way to make it memorable.
After your shoulder is well massaged and the mixture is evenly distributed over the top and bottom put it in a glass dish and leave it cure overnight in the fridge.
The next morning set your stove to 225F. Put your roast in the oven til you get home from work.
The bone will fall right out of the roast, it slices beautifully. It has a fair amount of fat but it’s simple to remove because it’s mostly under the skin. Enjoy with mashed potatoes, cauliflower or broccoli. A simple dinner and your leftovers will make amazing sandwiches with hot mustard.
was a giant pot of Harvest Chicken and Vegetable Stew. It is being delivered to a hard working group whose employer has deemed them worthy of this delicious dinner.
We cooking up some yummy meal for a family with 4 children.
Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloinswith Caramelized Apples
Roasted Pork Tenderloin marinated and basted in a savory Maple
And Dijon sauce served with Caramelized Apples over Fettuccine
Noodles with Baby Peas and Carrots with Butter
Ratatouille with Pasta
Eggplant, peppers, onions, garlic and zucchini in an herbed tomato sauce served over whole wheat pasta topped with freshly grated Parmesan.
Cheese Stuffed Shells with Sun dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Large Pasta Shells filled with Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and topped with a Sun-dried Tomato Basil Cream Sauce served with garlic bread
Sweet Bourbon Salmon
Sweet Soy, Pineapple and Bourbon marinated Salmon Fillets served over white rice with Broccoli
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Delicious Meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce served with egg noodles and broccoli
Sorry I forgot my camera (again). I’m packing it right now for tomorrow.
We are catering a sandwich lunch and a Halal dinner. Thursday we are prepping for a great big striploin dinner for 100 and we are also getting some hors d’oeuvres ready for a dinner party on Saturday.
Tomorrow I’ll try to get you next week’s menus. Thanks for asking for them, I’m happy to oblige.
planning and preparing menus for the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately I have been having technical difficulties with my new computers so I haven’t been able to post.
I love new computers, something like the feel of a fresh loaf of bread hot out of the loaf pan. Perfectly shaped edges, warm and crusty top and the smell…….there is no smell to a new computer.
I will be cooking for some cancer patients in the next couple of weeks. I’ll be sure to share the recipes, maybe some of you receiving the food could leave your comments.
Til later
but there aren’t always photos.
The trade show job necessitated some baking. Banana bread, oatmeal cookies, chocolate cookies, banana/raisin/chocolate chips squares, cornmeal & cheddar mini muffins and my favourite carrot cake.
I love baking, the smell says “I love someone”. I didn’t taste anything, of course ’cause of my low carb diet.
Funny isn’t it, as a chef I taste and season just about everything that I make but when I bake I can’t. Imagine getting a cake with a wedge missing and the little note “tasted the cake, it’s fine”. Baking is where you really have to trust your recipes. I have some favourite authors but my most favourite baking book is an obscure one called Secrets of a Jewish Baker. This book is foolproof, wether you are baking their bread recipes or muffins or loaves, it’s just wonderful. It doesn’t have pies & cakes but I have other cookbooks for that .
We are cooking vegetarian this week as well as a host of other little projects. See you tomorrow.
I love trade shows as a consumer, an attendee who has nothing to do but wander around and collect brochures, ask questions and shop. But……..the buck stops when I have to work a booth at a trade show. Long hours and leg fatigue make me irritable and then I realize that I have to smile:) Trade show food is notoriously overpriced and miserable but guess what? I have been contracted to make food for a booth at the Toronto International Boat Show and I am going to make those tired little workers smile.
Every day fresh and healthy dips and snacks, yummy sandwiches and tasty home made desserts. I’m happy to do this kind of work, I need to make sure that I do it for myself at my next trade show.