An Empty Nester Eats

Many parents are now living in an empty nest. The kids are tucked away at college or in their new apartments,, What used to be a house full of noise and fun is now quiet. It's even worse in the kitchen when it's back to cooking and eating for two or even possibly one.

What happens when you;re one of those empty nesters?Firstly embrace this . Don;t just give up the want or passion to cook.  You're still there. You deserve hot healthy meals and fun treats. It's tempting to give in to eating take out every other day. Maybe save the Burger King or Chinese for a Saturday or Sunday night.It's also time to look at your cooking space and adapting it for this new phase. This si also a great time to reconnect for friends, You can still cook big meals for a fun Saturday night cocktail and dinner party or a boozy(or not so boozy) brunch, These are the times to think back to when your were single or just married. Did  you have friends over? Wasn;t it fun to have those parties and wouldn;t it be nice to have them again? Start looking at your good dishes and champagne glasses again. Start planning fun recipes  to make like duck l'orange or beef Wellington. Entertain friends and office mates with the dishes your kids turned their noses at like escargot and calamari. 

 However for daily life  store those big pots and pans away. Save them for those dinner parties or  holidays when you know you'll be cooking for a full house. Buy smaller amounts of the foods you usually cook.Instead of a dozen eggs settle for six. Try hamburger patties in packages of four instead of eight. Buy smaller containers of milk and juice.  This is the time to splurge on more expensive ingredients too.  Get those sticks of Kerry Gold butter if you want. They're going to last longer with one or two people in the house.Treat yourselves or self to a T-bone steak or filet mignon now. Break up the mid week doldrums with scallops or lobster tails. Another idea is cooking for two days. You probably did this when you had a full house but on a larger scale. Make a pasta for two that can be a great Sunday dinner and then turn into Monday supper leftovers.A small meat loaf is perfect for a weekend and then cut it up for  work day sandwiches.  You can still bake too. Just cut down on the amount. Try baking in micro batches .

Empty nesting is hard. Yet it can be a great time for all sorts of fun and lush foods too.. Embrace this time with tasty meals and fun treats.

Rosh Hashanah A Global Menu

 There will always be Rosh Hashanah in the world. Yet where you celebrate  may be different Depending upon the country, various ingredients are used to bring in the new year.It could be ripe pomegranates or exotic spices. A global feast awaits with various colors and flavors.

Exotic dishes abound in both the Sephardic and Mizrahi branches of Judaism. Sephardic are the Mediterra nean Jews of Morocco, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The Morrocans feature the savory red snapper stew cooked  in  a sauce of garlic, turmeric, saffron and bell peppers. The fish head is also included to symbolize the head and not the tail. They use the Mediterranean staple preserved lemons along with cilantro as well. Another dish that's both sweet and savory is tanzia, a caramelized fruit and onion topping served over rice or couscous.Moroccans use such dried fruit as aprocits, prunes, dates and raisins, simmered with date syrup or honey and spiced with cinnamon and ginger. The dinner ends with melt away cinnamon cookies.fluffy honey drenched cookies made with cinnamon and almond flour. Syrian Jews celebrate with kibbit yatkeen , pumpkin patties and rice stuffed Swiss chard.

Italian Jews have a different spin on Rosh Hashanah. Their main meal is chicken with fruit. Autumn fruits such as plums, grapes and apples make up the sauce. There is also zucca sfranta in forno baked mashed squash. Onion, basil and parsley give it a distinct flavor. There are also sfratti, honey walnut stick cookies that when cut resemble Fig Newtons.Greek and Turkish Jews have keftes de prasa or leek patties, Cinnamon, and black pepper along with nutmeg spice them up.They also make and bake pastelicos, ground lamb filled pastries similar to kreplach. Calabaza or a public pastry finishes the meal.Iraqi and Temeni Jews also have spiced foods Iraquis make apple jam to be served with squash. There's also a sour soup with meat dumplings. Swiss chard is layered with rice and beef as a main course. The Yemeni make a beef and white bean soup made with the traditional Yemeni spice blend hawaj., black, pepper, coriander and cumin.There are sweet quinces and dates with sesame seed to eat too.

Rosh Hashanah is an international holiday. ALl over the world it's greeted with savory and sweet dishes. It's the perfect way to greet the New Year.

Pizza Dough Expanded

 A good pizza dough is not just for those luscious pies.It can be used for everything from calzones ot  - yes - doughnuts. It's a versatile dough to make and to have.It CNA be a lifesaver on busy fall weekends.

What makes a good dough? Five vital ingredients. You should have a good light olive oil,water salt, yeast and flour. A pinch of granulated sugar is added to the yeast for quick activation. What yeast should be used? either active dry or just plain dry yeast. As for the  sugar you could sub in any type of honey for a more natural ingredient. Proofing the yeast requires adding hot water to the emoxo fo the sugar and yeast, stirring and then sti  ing it until beomes foamy and bubbly. Once the yeast is proofed start adding the olive oil.Drizzle it in in a thin ribbon instead of dumping the entire measurement in. It;s then adding the two cups of flour and salt. As with the olive oil, slowly add in the flour until you get a sticky ball.If you;re making a savory baked treat, this is the time to add any herbs or spices for extra flavoring.(This applies to more like garlic knots, stromboli and calzones).Knead the dough and let it rise for another ten to thirty minutes. DO this  by covering it with a damp towel  and place din a warm oven.

After you roll out the dough you can turn it into delicious dinners. A calzone or big sock in Italian  - can be filled with mozzarella , ricotta and ham.Some add pepperoni instead of ham and broccoli for more color and flavor  , A spoonful of marinara is also a perfect addition to a calzone stuffing. Fold, crimp the edges and give it an egg wash before baking in the oven. ANother Italain delight is stromboli,It a pizza more or less redone like a Swiss role. The toppings like sauce , cheese, meats and veggies are rolled inside the dough.It's baked and then cut into thick wedges. If you want a fun party food or even snack try garlic twists.This is taking strings of dough . twisting them and then brushing on live oil and garlic powder. Oregano is sprinkled on for more flavor. Pizza dough also makes for tasty  cinnamon doughnuts, Thye're sweet and puffy  and easy made. Keep in mind that you can also make doughnut holes and jelly doughnuts with the dough too. Cinnamon rolls are actually better when made with pizza dough. The texture is lighter and fluffier than the traditional bun dough.

Pizza dough isn't just for pizza, It can be used for savory and sweet treats. Use it for a tasty dinner or dessert.

Easiest Meal Ever

There is that  recipe that 's a snap to make .It could be rotisserie chicken with mole sauce. Or quick pan fried steak with a side of air fried Tater  Tots. What's the one go to meal that you can make in minutes?

MIne would have to be that delicious salad Steakhouse salad.It just takes a wedge of lettuce , and in my case vegan Lifeline bacon along with vegan ranch dressing.I add Texas toast croutons and a handful of grape tomatoes .It;s a quick and filling meal that 's so packed with all kinds of flavor. The bacon takes the longest in the air fryer - usually eight minutes at 380 Farenheit to crisp up.

What is your quick but yummy meal? Let us know and if you want to include a recipe please do so. It'll be tired out and featured.

Kid Friendly Treats

What's a good after school or even dinner time meal that even a tween could cocook? A Cantonese soup, full of noodles and flavor. what goes as a quick dessert afterwards. Chocolate drenched Rice Krispies treats. These too are an easy make  and definitely a fun eat.

Both regular contributors  Melissa Clark and Mia Leimkuhler gave these recipes in yesterdays on line and hard copy versions of the New York Times Wednesday Food section, Ms. Clarks turned to Lane Li , owner of Noodle Lane. She created  a soup her eleven year old son Jackson could easily replicate. It was what her mother let her make for herself when she was the same age.It is rife with  chopped scallions and homemade chicken broth.She keeps fat in t as opposed to skimming it out because the fat gives it more flavor.  Use  rice or egg noodles. along with pickled mustard greens and oyster sauce. Chili oil can be added for zing. Bok choy is also added if you want (or broccoli for a milder taste) Add a pinch of granulated white sugar to balance out the tartness and saltiness. This can also be a great soup for a  busy weekend too. A vegan version can be made using veggie broth.

To end t try Mia Leimkuhler's chocolate Rice Krispie treats. These are a perfect endings to a mini meal of soup or just good on their own with a big glass of milk. You could use Cocoa Puffs to make this but the taste won;t have the same richness or smokiness. She borrowed the recipe from dessert master Samantha Senaviratne who added browned salted butter in the recipe. She also recommends adding crumbled graham crackers for a s'mores vibe. Use King Arthur brand cocoa powder and swirl it into the melted butter for a gooey ,fudgey vibe. As for the marshmallows any kind will do. It's first melting the butter - any kind will do but Kerry Gold would be a lovely addition, then adding the cereal and marshmallows.  Two teaspoons of vanilla are added to bring out the other flavors. It;s mixed and then poured into a butter pan. Let cool and set. Then cut into nine squares.

A good after noon school snack should be homemade and tasty. Try these two t  stave off that homework hunger. They're just delicious.

Feasting For All

 Garhering friends for a meal together is what keeps anyone sane thee days/ There's something about eating, laughing  - or crying and telling stories. It;s not just food for the boy but food for the soul

Regular contributor  and the author of a new book quoted in todays New York Times Food Section, Samin Nosrat gave both tips and recipes. Her latest cookbook, Good Things:Recipes and Rituals to Share With People You Love (Random House 2025). It is chock full of of advice and good recipes that make any gathering a success. Keep in mind that this is a jump start to creating fun dinners. Even Chef Nosrat and her friends have ordered out izzas and empanadas and served them with  a homemade  salad. There are some musts in creating the perfect table. One is choose a day and stick to it. Chef Nosrat always picks Monday . Pick a day that's convenient for everyone.Over time it will feel like a sacred day.It laos means fewer logistics and emails to handle. Another must is choose a location and stick to it. It would be fun to have a movable feast but a stationery one every week is better.It streamlines everything. Everyone knows where dinner will be and the layout of the kitchen. There are no last minute scrambles for utensils or pot lucks,. Everyone cooks there.

What else should future communal diners do? Remember that perfect is the enemy of good. be prepared for glitches. There may be limes subbed in for lemons or imperfect places. Go with it. Chef Nosrat suggests making it feel holy as she does with the other suggestions. It could be listening to vinyl classics when eating or making a special dessert every week. It could be opening up a special bottle a wine.Consistency is also crucial. Having a dinner every weeks lett people connect with the ones they didn't do in the previous weeks. Make room for everyone is another important point. Have chairs , even if they're lawn or folding ones for those to sit. What about costs. That should be the first point discussed. Costs and labor should be fairly divided. The ones who are better off financially should share more of the v=cost than the ones who are struggling. Also check in with each other on this on occasion. Make sure there are no resentments . Chef Nosrat includes two recipes, One is one pot chicken with pearl couscous and preserved lemon and the other is a lazy sugo - a pork and beef strew perfect for a fall get together.

Nothing beats a communal table. It's the perfect antidioe for these crazy times. Create one for good food and good friends.

A Savory Take On Summer Pudding

 Summer pudding has always been a sweet summer. treat,It is a shell of leftover bread with a filling of either one kid fo berry or several. Yet imagine a savory version of this.You CNA  in this easy to make use of leftovers.

I tried this the other night with bread from Lidl and a ratatouille beefed up with potatoes and chick peas.It was so good that I thought I try it a second time. I had a leftover croissant that I bought at lunch.

It was a huge croissant ,  a little too soft and squishy for my taste but it would make a great base.I tore it into smaller pieces and pressed those flat against a bowl.

Ir was then heating up the stew and pouring it on the bread. The pieces nicely sopped up the gravy.

It was really good with  the croissant adding a buttery flavor. A savory pudding like this is a great way to use up any leftover bread and any stew. You could do a variation with corn bread and chili for a hearty quick meal.Sourdough bread also works as does French and Italian breads.

A savory kind of summer pudding is a great quick meal. Use whatever is left in the fridge.Layer it over bread and enjoy a satisfying and filling meal.