a while ago, daniel and i had a conversation about a business idea that i have been mulling over. well, i always have at least 4 or 5 business plans that i am thinking about, anything to be able to close the daycare!  but this one seemed like a good one, so i thought i would throw it out to the chico people and see what they think…

i know that there used to be a place where a bunch of girl friends used to go to assemble some pre-made dinners and take them home to be kept in the fridge or freezer and used for the next few weeks for dinners. that place closed a while back. so my thought is this- what if i cooked, assembled and packaged meals and sold those? i like to cook anyways, and cooking a triple batch of something isnt any more difficult than making a single batch. i would obviously need to give it more thought and figure out how much to charge per meal/serving whatever. but, in theory it seems like a winner of an idea. we have sooo many friends with toddlers, and a new round of them just had babies, and i know that between work and the kids it is down right exhausting to try to think of and cook something healthy and tasty for the whole family.

daniel and i eat organic, no hormone, grass fed, free range hippie food, anyway, so that would be the type of food that i would sell. here are some ideas of foods that i would be offering-

• turkey meatballs with homemade tomato sauce and whole wheat pasta ( i put lots of garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in the meatballs for added veggies)

• oven roasted chicken breasts, mashed potatoes and green salad with homemade salad dressing (ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon vinaigrette)

• roasted vegetable pasta-  zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, and onions with a garlic, parmesan + olive oil sauce

• my famous homemade macaroni and cheese- gruyere, sharp cheddar, whole wheat pasta with a panko crust

• grilled turkey, chicken, or beef burgers with a sesame bun, special sauce  and all the fixings

• shredded chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef tacos or burritos

• homemade carnitas tacos w/ homemade refried beans

• taco salad- ground beef or shredded chicken, romaine lettuce, pinto/black beans, sharp cheddar, tomatoes and avocado topped with crushed tortilla chips. served with ranch or salsa

be honest please, is this something that people would pay for? would it be something that you would want to take advantage of once or twice a week or more like once a month? should i also offer desserts- cupcakes, cookies, brownies? any suggestions, comments or ideas are much appreciated!

MORE INFO- i am thinking of doing this in the terms of a side gig, not an actual storefront type place, so that would cut down on my costs. i would probably offer 2 different types of meals each week, and then once a month offer a specialty dessert ( chocolate cupcakes with a ganache center and vanilla bean meringue frosting, chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts, dbl chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting…). so i would email anyone interested at the end of the month and tell them what meals i will be making which weeks and then they can put in their order then. im not a fan of freezing the meals, i think the fresh ones are the key, so pick ups of meals would be on sundays (prob) and then the meals would be best eaten within the next 3 days, or frozen at home  by the customer.

does this change the interest of this?

is the frozen thing more of a draw then the fresh?

would people be willing to swing by my place once a week to pick up, or, if not, be willing to pay a small delivery fee?

i bought some zucchini last weekend in the hopes of having daniel grill it for us last night with our indonesian chicken and orzo salad. however, when i mentioned the word ‘zucchini’ i was told by my sweet husband that he was already burnt out on zucchini. what?!? i could eat it every night! grilled on the weber with a little olive oil salt, and pepper, oven roasted with a squeeze of lemon, breaded in panko and oven ” fried” and then dipped in yogurt ranch…but alas, it was not meant to be. now,  what to do with these 5 zucchini taking up space in the crisper…? aha! zucchini bread!

i have fond memories of boiling hot redding summers when i was a little one, picking  zucchini with my mom and sis in our garden, and then taking it inside knowing that there was yummy zucchini bread on the horizon. we would sit on the kitchen counter in our polyester shorts and our striped shirts and help mom shred the zucchini. i dont remember the rest of the assembly of the bread, but i do remember the way the house smelled as it cooked- cinnamon-y and warm and delicious. mom would take it out of the oven and we would have to wait until it wasnt molten lava hot anymore, and then while it was still warm she would slice us each a piece and top it with a little pat of butter. mmm…. so good.

i have made my moms recipe 100 times, never straying from her recipe. but today i decided to see what my favorite food bloggers had to offer up for a little twist on moms bread. smitten kitchen was the one that i chose to try out, with a couple small tweaks. i added some plain nonfat yogurt to the recipe to swap for 1/2 the amount of vegetable oil and then i added a healthy handful of toasted pecans to it. i also cut the amount the amount of sugar by 1/4 cup. the recipe made 1 loaf and 9 muffins, or 2 dozen muffins.  don’t worry, daniel, there are NO PECANS in the loaf.  just for u. this freezes well so you could freeze 1 dozen of the muffins and have a delicious breakfast ready for you whenever you want, just pull the muffins out of the freezer the night before and put them in the fridge to defrost. i like mine warm, so i then heat them in the micro for 20 seconds and top with a little butter or cream cheese. like such…

Zucchini Bread
Adapted from several sources

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. (See those pictures of the cakes inside their non-stick pans? Yup, they’re pretty much hanging out in there for the time being.) Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

orzo salad with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, feta and a lemon vinaigrette

tonight we will be having the salad above with some grilled indonesian chicken. the orzo salad is quick to put together and you can add or take out whatever you want. daniel is not a fan of uncooked tomatoes so he will be picking those little gems out. more for me! it would be equally tasty with broccoli and red onion, or u could add some leftover rotisserie chicken to make it a full meal. carbs? check. lean protein? check. veggies? check.

orzo salad

1 small bag orzo, cooked and drained

10-15 cherry tomatoes

2T chopped fresh italian parsley

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed for 5 minutes, cut into 2 inch pieces

4-5 ounces crumbled feta

lemon vinaigrette

2 lemons, zested and then juiced

1t dijon mustard

1/2 shallot, minced

5T olive oil

salt +pepper

whisk all ingredients together. simple. see? you can do this.

pour vinaigrette immediately over orzo after it is drained and placed in a large bowl. the orzo will absorb the vinaigrette much more if you add it while the pasta is still hot. let cool 15 minutes. then toss in asparagus, parsley, tomatoes and chunks of feta cheese. i like it best served very cold, the next day. this is a tasty and healthy dish to take to a potluck or to make as a side for your next bbq.

for the grilled indonesian chicken, i actually used this recipe for indonesian swordfish from barefoot contessa. she also has a recipe for indonesian chicken but i thought i would like the flavors of the swordfish marinade better. i made the marinade yesterday so that it could sit on the chicken in the fridge overnight. for most of  the marinades that i make for chicken and beef, i let them sit in the fridge and marinade the meat overnight. this lets all the flavors of the marinade really get into the meat and it is so much more flavorful that way. we have never had this chicken before so i will let y’all know how it turns out. but the marinade alone smells amazing- full of ginger and garlic and soy sauce. i think this recipe will be a keeper.

now please tell me, what are YOU having for dinner tonight? i am always looking for inspiration for weeknight meals and since i know many of you have full time jobs and 1 or 2 mini people to take care of, i bet you have some quick and tasty meals that you go to for the weeknights. please, share….

NOTE- the indonesian chicken turned out delicious, but,  listen close- do not marinade it in the marinade overnight with the lemon juice and zest in there. the citrus de-natured the chicken (ie made it fall apart on the grill!). make the marinade minus the citrus and put the chicken in that overnight. then 1-2 hours before you are getting ready to grill the chicken, add the juice and zest to the chicken and marinade and mix it around really well. the flavor was awesome, but next time we will avoid the chicken falling apart by adding the citrus later. thats all. proceed.

i only have 2 children at the daycare today, huzzah! and they have been busily playing together for the past 2 hours    ” there’s a whale! quick, run, chloe!  jack jack, did you see the whale??? there’s a whale! quick, run chloe! ” over and over and over for the last 2 hours. sometimes when i have heard the same play repeated more than ten times, i either turn the music up just a bit, get on the computer for a few minutes to clear my mind, or i get in the kitchen and do some baking. i used to think that i only really baked when i was sad, but i have come to the realization that i bake when 1) i am bored 2) i am sad 3) i am happy 4) i am hungry or 5) on a day that ends in y. okay, so i just like to bake. show me a delicious recipe for a cookie, brownie or sweet type of bread and i am sold. in the kitchen i go, on goes my apron, and out comes the vanilla extract, sugar and flour.

today, i made this

from here smitten kitchen. i added about 1/2 of a 70% cacao ( ca- COW!) chocolate bar and added a cinnamon crumb topping.  to amp up the flavor, i also roasted the bananas in their skins for 30 minutes @ 350 degrees on a baking sheet. they turned this lovely roasty chocolate brown color and the banana juice (?) that seeped out of the bananas and pooled on the baking sheet as they roasted was yummy. i had never roasted bananas before so i had to taste the stuff that oozed out, right? it tasted like bananas (duh) but with an incredibly concentrated and sweet, almost caramel like flavor. so good. no, i did not lick the baking sheet to get all the caramelly banana-y goodness. ahem. thats just ridiculous. but if you choose to do so, just let the baking sheet cool first.

i have made plenty of banana bread before this one, using several different recipes, and i do believe this is my favorite. roasting the bananas first really adds this roasty, sweet and intense banana flavor to the bread. in a good way. a very good way. i think the next time i make it the only thing i would alter is that i would add a shot of bourban to the batter. THAT might make it perfection. let’s see what daniel thinks of it when he gets home. this would make a delicious dessert all by itself, warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or with a heap of vanilla bean mascarpone cream on top. but we will be having it for breakfast tomorrow morning, warmed up just a little in the toaster and with a nice cup of coffee. who’s coming over for breakfast?

see recipe above, smitten kitchen

i just chopped the chocolate into small pieces and then added it to the batter and stirred right before i poured it into the loaf pan.

cinnamon crumb topping

2T sugar

2T packed brown sugar, dark or light, no matter

1t cinnamon

mix with a fork or your fingers, then sprinkle all of it all over the bread before it goes in the oven.

tip…i like to set my oven timer for 1/2 the amount of time a recipe calls for, bake,  rotate it, then bake it the remainder of the time. this ensures even cooking and browning since most ovens have hot/cold spots in them.

if you are feelin’  frisky and want to try it with the vanilla bean mascarpone cream…

• 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese,  at room temperature
• 1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean pod, cut lengthwise. scrape with tip of paring knife, and add little seeds to the mixture
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

add heavy cream, vanilla bean, extract and sugar into a large bowl and using hand beater, beat on med speed 2 minutes, then med high speed until consistency of whipped cream. add mascarpone and fold in with a wooden spoon.

i have quite a few food blogs that i follow. they are entertaining, the writers are interesting to me and i appreciate their voices and the tone in which they write.  most importantly, they have great recipes. here are of few of my favorites…

http://smittenkitchen.com/

http://orangette.blogspot.com/

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/

http://www.mytartelette.com/

i have made the lemon bars, pizza dough, no knead bread and zucchini bread from smitten kitchen. all amazing. i have made  the vanilla bean rice pudding, vanilla sugar cookies, big fat bolognese sauce and potato frittata from joy the baker. so very tasty.

i think my favorite food blog is orangette. molly wizenberg, aka orangette, also wrote an amazing book a homemade life in which she shares her life with the reader while also sharing her food memories and her recipes for that food. i love the tone in which she writes and i can just about hear her voice when i read her blog. she is smart, and witty and self deprecating and just funny. and her food is delicious. i guess that is the ultimate test for how good a food blog is, how is the food? i have made banana bread with cinnamon crumble topping, banana coconut bread, zuni cafe polenta, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and her  tomato sauce with onion and butter. to name a few. all amazing. i believe that miss wizenberg can do no culinary wrong.

i made the tomato sauce with onion and butter tonight. i made a double batch so that i can pass a jar along to my mom and one to my sis, and still had enough left over to freeze some and we have a jar sitting in our fridge for this week. its a simple, straight forward recipe, delicious exactly as she makes it, and even better when you add a few cloves of garlic and some fresh basil.

homemade tomato sauce, adapted from molly wizenberg aka orangette

2 cups whole, peeled, canned plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juices (about one 28-oz. can) canned san marzano tomatoes if you can get them, they are my favorite

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup fresh + organic basil, chiffonade

Salt, to taste

In a large sauce pot or dutch oven heat 2 T olive oil over med heat. Add onion and cook to soften about 8 minutes. add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices and a pinch or two of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Add butter and basil and cook  until butter is melted into sauce. Taste and salt as needed. Let cool and then puree in food processor in small batches.

we count ourselves lucky to have great friends in the area. we dont get to see our friends as much as we would like to, even our chico friends, but we are so happy when the stars align and we are able to visit with them.  life gets in the way all the time and before we know it, its been months since we’ve seen anyone.  it seems like we have to arrange to get together MONTHS in advance. im pretty sure we planned this past weekend with the speers and the cervantes families 2 months ago. we all got out our calenders and found the weekend that we could actually make it happen. and it was worth it. we had a great time. the kids are all getting so big. they had fun playing in the mud and water table in our backyard, and the guys took isaac and xavier and cami to nearby oak way park to play some baseball. a good time was had by all. and we played a mean drunken  game of apples to apples late that nite. we needed this last weekend, time to just be with some close friends and think about, well, nothing. just drink, and eat and chat. thanks to both families for making the drive to come see us. love to our homies!

the speers brought their sweet dog, diesel, that they are fostering.

miss cami made me chocolate soup. it was spectacular.

matt and christie finding us a beach house for this summer

daniel grilled us up some turkey burgers. i caramelized 2 yellow onions before hand and added them into the turkey meat before i made them into patties. this adds a lot of flavor and keeps the turkey burgers moist.  ground turkey can tend to dry out when you cook it (think shoe leather ) so adding some onion or mayo or bbq sauce into the burgers keeps them tender and tasty. we piled those on grilled ciabatta rolls with all the fixins and bleu cheese. we had sweet potato fries ala trader joes and grilled organic zucchini on the side. i made a chipotle cilantro dipping sauce for the sweet potato fries- 1/2 c mayo, 2 T sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo, 1 t fresh lime juice and 2T fresh cilantro, pinch of salt.

and for dessert…

ultimate chocolate cupcakes with a ganache filling and vanilla bean meringue frosting

this picture doesnt do them justice. we found the recipe in an issue of cooks illustrated. that magazine can do no worng. they go about finding the best way to make a recipe the most delicious it can be. this involves their staff making the same recipe over and over and over, tweaking 1 or 2 ingredients each time, until they reach perfection. its kind of pricey for a subscription, but completely worth it. every recipe we have made out of there is delicious. go get yourself  one at the store and check it out. or check it out here. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/

as for the recipes for the cupcake and the frosting, i will have to post those another time. the magazine seems to have gone MIA and i cant find it anywhere. just know this, it was delicious on those cupcakes, but equally delish on a spoon, finger and on the cinnamon bread the next morning. it made the cinnamon bread taste like a cinnamon roll. not a bad thing.