What's For Dinner?

Lately I've been in a cooking rut. My use of the word lately probably isn't accurate, because this rut has lasted several months. You know what I'm talking about.  I never know what to cook, and when I do, I prepare the same meals over and over again. By the way, the rut applies to every meal, not just dinner. At some point my children will start picketing my use of PB and J. I've had enough exposure to know that the appropriate thing to do in this situation is to develop a weekly meal plan, but just between you and me, laziness is preventing me from doing that. If you are in the rut with me, I just found a website that I think will give us the direction and motivation needed to become well oiled, meal planning machines. Go over to Meal Planning Magic and check out the ideas for starting a basic meal plan, freezer cooking, and making life easier in the kitchen. The Resource Guide on the site is definitely the place to start. It has links for information on the topics I mentioned, plus it features help for folks with special dietary needs, such as gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian. If you aren't used to meal planning, I hope you feel inspired. If you do plan meals weekly, what's your system?

What On Earth Are You Eating?

Do you ever people watch? I do sometimes, and one of the most interesting places to do this is the grocery store.  Actually, I think what I do could more acurately be defined as buggy watching, because I have a tendency to survey the grocery items in people's shopping carts. It amazes me to see the piles of frozen pizzas, pop tarts, cookies, and sodas. I'm not going to get on a soapbox, but in this age of childhood obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and fad diets, I would like to challenge you to think about what you and your family are eating.

Check out this Good Morning America video with author Michael Pollan. The simplest way for me to discribe Pollan is that is a food writer who has done a ton of research concerning where our food comes from, what's in it, and how it gets to our plates.

The Battle of the Lumps

This isn't really a recipe; it's more of a tip. My draft for this post was hand-written as I was covered in flour and babysitting a pan of gravy. It is rare that I make gravy; so rare in fact, that I've never really mastered the art, although the student in me knows the theory. O.k., here's my tip: if you get lumpy gravy, dump it in the blender and give it a whirl. It's fine if you need to return it to the stove for a few minutes, but you will be amazed at how perfectly smooth the gravy will be. Ah, thank God for the Osterizer!