Self Help | Dinner With Joy

Sep 27

Planning Ahead

It’s been a few months since I passed on kitchen tips, and a list has been gathering on my desk. This seemed a good time to do it since we’re now looking down the short end of the year toward, what is for most of us, the Holiday Season, when we spend more money on food and more time cooking than any other. Personally, I not only have three major dinners within six weeks, but three birthdays and an anniversary to celebrate in the month before Thanksgiving, so it really is a “Season of Giving” and I need all the help I can get. Read more

Sep 6

Organics

Much has been said about organic food lately and many questions arise. Exactly what is “organic” food? Is it that much better than non-organic? Why is it more expensive? Should I switch over to buying it? Do I have to go completely organic? Am I jeopardizing my family if I don’t? What if I can’t afford it? Should I feel guilty if I can’t? Let’s look at the story of organic foods. Read more

Aug 9

Empty (or sparcely populated) nests

Much has, and still is being written about the Empty Nest Syndrome, and rightly so. The downscaling of a household is a major lifestyle transformation, and requires time to adjust. One thing these people might be surprised to learn is that, as consumers, they are now part of a large demographic that encompasses all ages: young couples, single parents, childless couples, roommates, retirees and those with only one child as well—any household with three or fewer members can be included. Read more

Aug 2

The Box and The Buck – Part 2: The Buck

Turning to Dollar Stores, I wrote in The Plan:

“Finally, there are the Dollar Stores. Don’t laugh! Some serious studies have explored them lately, and they do a steady business. Like supermarkets, they are usually chains, and also like supermarkets, the type and quality of the majority of the merchandize remains consistent within the chain, but the stores are franchises and often vary due to management. Read more

Jul 19

A Visit to the Big Top

The other day I heard a man comment that he was hurrying to meet his wife. They were going to a warehouse store and she needed him to carry her purchases to the car and into the house. Semi joking, he added that he might as well put half the stuff on the curb for the trash now, because it would end up there spoiled or expired, due to overbuying. I thought of the advice on Warehouse Stores I include in THE PLAN, under Supermarket Alternatives, and decided to review and update it. So I checked the latest comments on the subject from Consumer Savings experts at kinolinc.com, and found I was still on target. What I wrote is: Read more

Jul 9

The Tipster

When I started this blog, I promised advice to help make all aspects of your kitchen experience easier, planning, shopping, cooking–everything. Then I realized I’ve been a bit remiss, because I have yet to devote any time to a discussion of real work-saving cooking tips. Well, what better time than the middle of the summer to share ideas on how to get out of a hot kitchen faster? So this week, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite” hints”.

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Sweet Liberty

Independence Day! A day to celebrate freedom! Here’s hoping this post will make you freer to enjoy the holiday by helping to liberate you from the kitchen. For guests dessert is, pardon the pun, the topping on the cake, a sweet ending. For the hosts, it’s often the last hurdle to get over. If the meal is outdoors, that hurdle is higher. In addition to presentation and serving, melting and spoiling become considerations. If you plan a recipe that requires garnishing, labor and timing become problems too. The solution is to have a desert ready to be tabled in advance; if it can hold up for awhile and is easily served, even better. Read more

Jun 21

Sauce for the goose is…

Sauce for the Gander”; is an old saying. What should be added is that the sauce is, by doing double duty, saving time and money. A modern twist would be to say that sauce for the chicken is for the turkey; is for the pork; is for the veal. Actually, that may be in reverse order. The concept of substituting other meats in sauce show-cased dishes began during the ‘70s and ‘80s when eating veal became very un-PC. Always more expensive, the resultant lack of demand, drove the price up, and veal off the home and most restaurant menus. However, there are many popular dishes that people still wanted Marsala and piccatta to name two. Chicken, presented skinless and boneless, became a happy stand-in. Read more

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