HAPPY FAMILY MEALS

. PLAN HAPPY FAMILY MEALS.

When we have the family on Friday night, Sunday Lunch, Saturday brunch and for Birthdays and celebrations, we need to create New Age meals. These are different because people travel and develop fancy ideas of what they think a meal should be. They become vegetarian, vegan or need specially created meals Some . develop allergies to garlic, sesame, peanuts and milk products and need gluten free products. So you are challenged to produce the ideal menu for adults, kids, grannies and fussy aunts…………..and for those who have trends and fads that influence what they swallow.

I like to have a great starter , a salad, good breads, a main dish of protein or vegetarian, three vegetables and a dessert that blows the mind………………or just the best fruit salad you can create from the fruits in season.
A tired, worn out hostess will cause the meal to fail. So plan ahead and make it in your stride. No one wants you to kill yourself to serve a five star meal when you look like a fainted daisy. Make it simple, stylish with lots of imagination and have little surprises for the kids. You can make a buffet and ask the adults to serve their kids, cause they know what their preferences are. Tell the adults to help themselves and it makes for a relaxed atmosphere.

Winter starter. Make a good soup ahead of time and place it in the fridge. You can puree it as kids do not like vegetables in the soup. You can have whole-wheat croutons or grated cheese to add to the soup. I like to cut up parsley and chives at the last minute and stir it in. It makes the soup look fresh. Kids love a cup of soup with grissini sticks to dip in.

I make stir fry vegetables and serve them on a bed of mixed lettuce leaves with grated feta cheese and a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and parsley herbs. The stir fry takes two minutes. Just cut up a few carrots, spring onions, an onion and zucchini and thin slices or cubes of an egg plant. Sauté in olive oil with vegetable salt and pepper for a few minutes. Keep warm and just before you serve the salad, spoon it on top. Sprinkle a few pecan nuts on top and serve with the dressing.


Last evening we were a few people for Friday night dinner. I decided to make a quick vegetable soup. I cut up two cups of pumpkin, two potatoes, two onions, six carrots, one cup of broccoli and two sweet potatoes. I added one teaspoon of vegetable salt, a dash of pepper and two teaspoon of sweet paprika. To this I added a tablespoon of parsley and four cups of water. This cooked for forty minutes. I blended it when cool. I added half a cup of sliced beans and warmed it up Warm the soup plates and serve the hot soup with a teaspoon of shredded parmesan. The challah was hot and served with butter and zatar herbs.
Salad was a medley of lettuce, assorted leaves, thinly sliced cucumbers, sunflower seeds and feta cheese crumbled on top. I mixed a dressing of olive oil, honey, crushed dried tomatoes, vegetable salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.

The main course was to suit vegetarians . The other guests had salmon. The fish was done in the conventional way. I marinate it in lemon juice overnight. Then I add a dressing of olive oil, salt and pepper and half a cup of boiling water. I crush onions, garlic, spring onions and red peppers and cover the fish with thisand then cover it and bake for forty minutes in a medium oven.

The vegetarians had a medley of onion pie, roasted beetroot and rosemary potatoes. These can be done the day before and reheated. You will find the onion pie easy to create. Just use a pastry crust and fill with the following Sauté five onions cut up small in one teaspoon olive oil on a low flame. Add one cup cottage cheese, two eggs, celery salt, pepper, the onions, cut up parsley and two tablespoons of grated yellow cheese. Bake in medium oven for thirty minutes. This can be reheated and even used as a meal with a salad.

The beetroot were washed, cooked, then peeled and cut into cubes. Then sprinkle olive oil on them and add three tablespoons of dill ,cut up , herb salt and black pepper. Bake for twenty minutes.

Potatoes were baked and sprinkled with rosemary and olive oil.
Seeing we had a milk meal, dessert could be fun. We had pecan pie and ice cream , covered with chocolate.
Nothing is as wonderful as casual people who are good company, a warm room and a relaxed meal

Make arrangements to enjoy meal times, eat slowly, savor the food and make the moment a pleasure.

I wish you a good week of work, play and family time. Love and light Rona