BIG COOK SHOUT OUT

This week I've decided to feature someone who really has to get the BIG cook going and probably does more on a daily basis than our proposed weekend times. 

Kate Gosselin.  Mother of twins and sextuplets, from the show Jon and Kate Plus 8.  

One episode that impressed me the most was when Kate was going to be out of town for a while (I believe for a free tummy tuck?), she spent an entire day cooking somewhere in the range of 15-20 meals for her family, knowing that Jon wouldn't have cooked or would have opted for take-out while she was away.  Fifteen to twenty meals.  In one day!  Now, that's a serious big cook. If I'm able to get 4-5 meals prepped over the weekend, I'm super psyched.  

So, here's to a well deserved shout out from the Big Cook bloggers themselves.  Props to you Kate.

-Gohan Mama

east coast 3

the big cook hasn't happened all at once but i thought i should try to accumulate it for anyone trying to get organized for a week. i'll tell you what post the recipe's are in if not this one. i am currently on a roasting kick, you may notice, so i have found it easy to big cook in the mornings and get a few meals out of it.

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tortilla espanola
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eggs
potato
green pepper
yellow onion
olive oil

this is easy:
slice the potaotes up pretty small
chop up onion and pepper
sautee them all together in a fair amount of olive oil until the potatoes are fully cooked
meanwhile beat the eggs in a bowl
pour potato/onion/pepper into bowl and coat with egg
dump into frying pan and brown - flip and brown other side

notes: you want to use enough potato to basically fill your pan and smaller amounts of onion and pepper. the egg is just enough to stick things together. this is great as a meal with salad and/or meat sauce. it also turns into a nice lunch eaten cold on toasted bread as a sandwich (especially with mango chutney).

the big cook hasn't happened all at once but i thought i should try to accumulate it for anyone trying to get organized for a week. i'll tell you what post the recipe's are in if not this one. i am currently on a roasting kick, you may notice, so i have found it easy to big cook in the mornings and get a few meals out of it.

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roasted veggies and crazy rice (or roasted veggies 1)
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see "confession and a recipe"

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roasted veggies 2 - pictured above
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delicata squash (or another winter squash)
onion
garlic
potato
eggplant
peppers
green apple
raisins
pistachio (roasted unsalted)
raw pepitas
curry powder
white wine
chicken broth
olive oil
salt


cut up all the veggies and apple
douse them with olive oil and curry powder and a little salt
stir well
add raisins and a little white wine
stir again
roast until almost done
add a splash of chicken broth
serve with pistachio and pepita as topping

note: woo woo dada didn't like the nut/seed topping because of the texture change. i loved it for exactly that reason...feel free to place your votes through comments!

confession and a "recipe"

let's face it. i have an eight week old and a 2.5 year old and i have no idea how to parent two children. not a clue. i love to big cook and my goal is to stay true but even more true is that i am probably hit or miss for awhile here so you can't count on me for a full week of preplanned meals. instead i'll try to share what i am learning as i go. that is that easy is good, using what you already have is good, making extra so you cook once and eat twice (or three times) is really good.

last week i made enough tofu/napa/chicken to have three meals. we ate two last week and i'll pull one out this week. when i made my tomato sauce i made enough for about five meals so we can count on that for a night a few more weeks yet. and there are always more veggies from the farm. so, last night the big meal was roasted veggies and crazy rice. i'll explain:

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roasted veggies
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summer squash
onion
garlic
peppers
kohlrabi
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
lime
olive oil
sesame oil
soy sauce
white wine

1. cut up veggies & garlic and throw in a roasting pan
2. season with oils, soy sauce, wine and lime juice
3. throw lime rind in too
4. roast at 375 for about 45 mins

note: i used the veggies i had on hand from the farm pick up. you can use whatever veggies you have. woo woo dada likes to eat the lime rind i only eat rind if it's pickled. you decide...

another note: if you are using the kohlrabi and you are not familiar with it i will tell you what i think. peel it and cut it up small. the pieces i left bigger where a little tough. the smaller pieces were scrumptious.


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crazy rice
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crazy rice can be rice with almost anything mixed in but i'll tell you a few of my favorites. i always cook the rice following the package instructions and add the "crazy" once it is done. the heat of the rice tends to be enough to heat whatever i add. i chop up the add-in's to make it easy to eat.

brown rice
chick peas
artichoke hearts
parmesan


brown rice pilaf (near east again)
kidney beans
asiago


brown rice
black beans
corn
tomato
scallion

brown rice
white beans
feta cheese
olives


ok, you get the idea. the nice thing is that crazy rice tends to include a protein and sometimes a veggies so it can almost be a meal. also, my two year old who is picky as all picky currently likes rice. go figure. last night we had the roasted veggies atop the crazy rice (pilaf, kidney, asiago) and it was a super last minute meal. the tot ate just the crazy rice, i hid the beans under the rice...

now go get crazy with your rice.

west coast 3

Big Cook:  Chicken Rice Soup w. Veggies and Franks n' Beans n' Rice

So, life has been a little busy on the west coast.  Which means less time devoted to our big cook.  Thus, the less glamorous meals like the ones posted here.  Who needs glamour!?  Here are a couple of the meals that can be made in bulk before your week begins.  

The first is the:

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Chicken Rice Soup w. Veggies.  

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Chicken Bones

Rice

Assorted Veggies

Remember that chicken carcass you saved from roasting?  Well, bust it out, put it in a big stock pot, cover it with water, throw in a couple onions (skin on!, yes, skin on!), big chunk of skinned ginger and bring to a boil.  

Meanwhile work on the following:

a)  boil up some chicken thighs or breasts and when they are done, shred them up to put in your soup later.

b) cut up carrots, celery, potatoes, and whatever else you want in your soup.

After the soup comes to a boil, let it simmer for a few hours until it is reduced some.  

Strain and then add your rice (cup or cup and a half), boil again and then simmer and cover for 45 minutes or so.

Add veggies and shredded chicken.

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Franks 'n Beans 'n Rice

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Dried Beans

Vegetable Stock

Spices

*Bacon (optional)

Rocky Chicken Dogs (new discovery*  so tasty!)

Rice

To prepare the beans, I used my crock pot and used the following recipe:

www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1621,148161-228195,00.html

Add chopped up dogs to beans

Serve over rice.

lemon veggie soup

it was in the freezer because i made up a batch while i was pregnant but i wanted to share the recipe in case you feel so inspired.

lemon
chick broth
garlic
cilantro
zucchini
carrots
onion
white beans
red pepper
tomato

1. saute onion and garlic.
2. add carrots.
3. add broth and bring to a boil.
4. add all the other veggies, squeeze in the juice from your lemon, add beans and cilantro and simmer for awhile.
5. i like to serve it over rice.

*you can switch it up to use whatever veggies you like. i go heavy on the garlic and lemon cause that is how i like it best.*

my baby won't sleep

i know it is hard to believe when you see a picture as sweet as this but it is true. her timing is all off, she wakes up as soon as the bean is sleeping and she simply won't sleep. and how can i cook if my baby won't sleep?

well, i have to take a look in the freezer. and also the fridge. there are meals in there i just know it. so i have decided to take stock and then i can figure out what we are eating this week. you see, there was no big cook this weekend. shame shame i know. (if you want to know why i will explain it at the end of this taking stock moment.) i got a napa from the farm so i am planning a tofu/napa/turk night even though it was not precooked. maybe i'll find a morning i can cook. although, before that i have to find a time to get to the grocery store. note to self, go shopping you have nothing in the fridge but your farm pick up!

ok, so what is in my freezer. monday night = chili. gohan made it when she was here and i have enough left frozen for one dinner. it is super yummy on the parmesan couscous made by near east (http://neareast.com/#products/parmesanpilaf). my grocery store sells these on special for a dollar a few times a year and i always stock up. yum.

tuesday = veggie soup. i made it with farm veggies when i was still pregnant. it is healthy which scores points in my book these days as i am trying to drop some of the crazy poundage i layered on while i was growing this latest babe.

wednesday = quesadillas! i bought the cheese and tortillas for these last week and never used them cause i had so much niku jaga. i can sautee some fresh veggies from the farm to throw in or if i am really together i can boil some of the chicken to shred for them too. yay for a second night with a reason to use sour cream. my all time favorite food.

thursday = napa/tofu/chicken. i better have made it to the store by thursday! and maybe gran gran woo woo can help out with the kids one day this week freeing my hands for some mid week cooking. especially if i cook for her too. better call her and arrange this help.

friday = um...it is only monday. i seriously am surprised i made it this far in the planning. i am going to live on the edge and leave friday open. i might even ask woo woo dada to pick us up some take out (gasp). shhhhhhhh, don't tell gohan. i don't want to let her down.

now, the dish on the lack of cooking this weekend. you see, woo woo gramps (phew calling him that makes me laugh) is the head honcho of a local event that takes place each september. he does a great job with it and i even enjoy the event myself but he steals woo woo dada all weekend long! to help him! that means i am in charge of the bean and the chick pea with out another set of hands to make the big cooking easier. and lets face it, i was looking for an excuse to take a weekend off. also, i was very very busy getting myself ready to go to the event which involved packing an all day diaper bag for two kids. all day + two kids = big ol' bag. so you see, it is really not my fault.

this week i am bound and determined to use my farm veggies up before the next pick up and get my bottom organized for a big cook this coming weekend.

go team!

~woo woo mama~ coming to you live from the east coast...

east coast 2

when the smoke cleared from the friday breakdown i did manage to get some cooking done. here is what it looked like:

roasted sauce (2) + niku jaga (2) + roasted chicken and veggies

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roasted sauce

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a spin off of the west coast sauce

tomatoes

onion

garlic

baby bella mushrooms

sweet italian sausage

olive oil

1. cut up tomatoes and onions and throw them in a roasting pan

2. smoosh the garlic to get skin of and break piece open and throw it in the pan

3. drizzle with olive oil and roast at 425 for about 25 or 30 minutes

4. puree all that

5. saute sausage and mushrooms

6. combine puree and sauteed foods in the slow cooker for a few hours or overnight

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niku jaga

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see west coast 2

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chicken and veggies

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chicken breast bone in

summer squash

eggplant

peppers (red, green, italian)

lemon

soy sauce

olive oil

sesame oil

big cook prep = cut up all veggies

night of

1. put chicken and veggies in separate pans

2. on each squeeze one lemon

3. add sesame oil, olive oil, and soy sauce

4. roast at 375 for a bit

5. reduce heat if needed and roast until chicken is fully cooked.

(yummy hint, for another nights dinner simmer down the carcass of your bone in breast to make a soup base and add the left over veggies once it is cooked.)

that's all for now folks.

happy cooking

~woo woo~

west coast 2

Here we are in week two of the big cook.

It has entered "Fall-ish" type weather here in L.A., which means gray mornings and the fact that I might actually have to wear socks. I hate wearing socks.

Well, to kick the gray away, I'm cooking up some soup and stew for the week to come.

Big Cook: Niku Jaga (Japanese Style), Corn Soup (Alice Waters Style), Veggie Quesadillas and Zaru Soba Stir Fry

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Niku Jaga

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Found a good recipe with some twists on it from Iron Chef Morimoto himself.

Here's the link:

www.community.learnsushi.org/2007/11/iron-chefs-niku-jaga/

*also, there's a high effort portion to the prep which calls for dipping the beef one by one. You can also do as gohan/woo woo mamas do. dump it all in. at once. you're still an iron chef! just smarter!

*if you can't find certain ingredients, such as yam noodles or even thinly sliced beef--> just use regular cubes of meat (longer cook on low heat and omit the noodles).

*i had a ton of shiitake mushrooms in the house, so i added that too.

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Corn Soup

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Large White Onion

6tbs butter

salt/pepper

5 ears of white corn

optional: half a pigs foot (it's a very good option)

1. Dice onion w. butter

2. Add half pigs foot. The tasty option.

3. Add salt/pepper

4. Stew until onions are soft

5. If onions dry out, add a little water

6. While the onions are cooking, slice corn kernels from cobs

7. When the onions are ready, add a quart of water, bring to a boil, add corn and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

8. Take the pot off fire, remove pig's foot and puree

9. Strain through sieve.

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Veggie Quesadilla/Zaru Soba Stir Fry

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Veggies (Napa/Peppers/Onions/Asparagus/Leeks...whatever)

1. Stir fry with tons of garlic/season

2. Save for sticking in veggie quesadillas and Stir Fry w. Soba

west coast 1

The only real difference between woo woo mamas big cook 1 and my big cook 1 is that I did a roasted tomato sauce instead of the yummy stir fry she cooked up.

A quick and tasty fix for all those end of summer tomatoes out there:

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Roasted Tomato Sauce:

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Bunch of Tomatoes

Garlic

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

(basil, oregano etc.)

1. Half your tomatoes

2. Spread chopped garlic over the top

3. Sprinkle Salt, Pepper and any other dry herbs you have and like!

4. Dribble olive oil around the tomatoes

5. Roast them until very soft (25-35 min.) at 450 degree oven

6. Mash or Food Process the cooked tomatoes

7. *optional :add browned meat and onions, but just plain is super good too.

it isn't always easy

starting up the big cooking was such a rush. when gohan mama was here with me she was the driving force and honestly she did all the cooking and cleaning. all i had to do was eat the next week. rock and roll! (can you tell i have a two year old who likes bob?) the next week i was high on getting it done myself. and the woo woo dada was home from work on friday so i could easily get to the store freeing up saturday morning for a major cookathon. this week i made it to farm pick up on thursday so i knew what veggies to plan my cook around. i felt like that was a huge step. go me! its my birthday! go me! then i was going to shop friday and cook saturday morning again. someone must have told the bean that i was on a roll because he chose friday (my big shop day!!!) to go on nap strike. yes, nap strike.

now i have to tell you guys that i am not the most mentally stable mama these days. you know, postpartum hormones combined with a tendency to be neurotic anyway makes for a good show. so when the bean is in the nap strike toddler tantrum mode and it is interfering with my big plans for the day it makes me a little nutty. like, i am crying here people nutty. like, i am resorting to driving my old gas guzzling vehicle around the suburbs with my finger in the newborns mouth so she'll sleep so the toddler will fall asleep so i can have a few minutes to breath even though i won't get anything done i just want the break nutty. ok please, tell me i am not the first mama to do this?

anyway, all the nuttiness did not lead to a big shop. it lead to a big afternoon of crazy followed by me just trying to get the laundry folded and the diapers cleaned and put away. then i got to thinking...forget it! the gohan mama is obviously some kind of super woman who can pull this stuff off and i am just a crazy woman who can't even keep up with the laundry. why on earth did i think i could big cook? be organized? pull this thing off?

ok, so it was time to silence that inner voice. i had to talk myself down a little and here is what it sounded like:

that was just one off day. no reason to give up big cook all together. you can shop on saturday and cook on sunday if you need to. just take this one step at a time. do the big shop. when you have ten minutes do some prep. ten more, do some more prep. if you get one thing cooked for the week you are better off then if you did nothing. breathe. you might even get two things cooked. and remember, there are those veggie burgers gohan mama made for you in the freezer! anyway, you don't want to give up or you will have started the blog for nothing. and just to keep the two year old happy, "can i do it? yes i can!"

so, i did not give up on the big cook yet. i got to the grocery store this morning. i hope to start cooking this afternoon. truth be told i wanted to hide all this from you guys. i was hoping to just sort of pull it off anyway and pretend the whole breakdown wasn't happening. but then i thought, maybe there is another mama out there who is as freaky as me and she might just benefit from hearing how incredibly lame i am so she feels better about herself. maybe, if i confess that i think this is hard but i want to do it anyway someone else will push through the first few weeks of learning curve too. i mean, i know we are just talking about cooking here not like i am running a marathon or beating cancer but still. it feels hard sometimes. sometimes having two kids and a husband who works his butt off is overwhelming. sometimes i need a little pep talk from myself. or a good cry while i drive around suburbia with some really strange woo woo music playing to help my bean fall asleep and my finger being sucked on.

hopefully i can cook this afternoon and we can get back to that being our focus here. stay tuned...

~woo woo mama~

east coast 1

here it is. my first shopping list and menu for my solo big cook. my big cook 1. i am only including here the portions of the list that are applicable to the big cook. but, like me, you might want to stock up on your families other staples while you are there. for example, i am kind of obsessed with having the same breakfast everyday. cut up strawberries, organic honey nut o's, slivered almonds, plain yogurt and agave. so, this week i needed to buy myself two boxes of strawberries and two containers of yogurt. but, not everyone is so insane about breakfast.

this was a holiday weekend so i only planned four meals but it can work for a five day week with one of the meals being doubled and eaten twice.

i also have to mention that the woo woo family belongs to a CSA. what is a CSA and how can you find one near you? this link may help www.localharvest.org/csa

our farm is in a neighboring town and is pretty spectacular place. i can count on having fresh, local, organic veggies every week. this comes into play with my big cooking. for example, one of the meals this week is stir fry and i'll use some of the veggies from the farm so i don't have them on my shopping list. to be fair to anyone who wants to try to use my list i'll add on what we got from the farm. if you can find a local CSA i highly suggest you try it out. in fact, we woo woo's belong to a meat CSA too so we'll be shaping our big cook's around our meat share as well once it is restocked next weekend!

ok, onto the deets.

meals = roast chicken + taco night + stir fry + ground chik/tofu/napa

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roast chicken
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whole chicken
lemon
garlic
bay leaves
salt/pepper
butter

1. wash the chicken
2. stuff the cavity with 1/2 lemon, garlic, two bay leaves and anything else you want
3. tie the legs
4. rub the skin with softened butter, salt and pepper and any other herbs you want
5. stick bird into an over set to 450
6. after 3o mins reduce time to 350
7. cook about 20 mins per lb

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soft tacos / or if no time to heat up tortillas--- taco salad night:
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lettuce
tomatoes
avocado-->guacamole if ambitious
salsa
can of beans
ground turkey/chicken
onions
grated cheese
lime
tortillas

1. chop or grate what you can so it is all set to go, tuck it in the fridge
2. cook meat ground turkey/chicken +onions + garlic + spices (chile, cumin, cayenne etc.)
3. have any lettuce washed b4 hand- so it's an easy go-to.


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stir fry (served with rice)
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stir fry meat of choice
onion
ginger
garlic
eggplant
peppers
summer squash
bok choy

1. cut and freeze meat so it lasts
2. cut veggies, garlic, onion when you have those free minutes so they are all set to go in the pan
3. stir fry! (if you are lucky you have a great sauce your sister in law the master big cooker made when she was visiting you in the freezer to use too!) *if you don't have the sauce you may want:

soy sauce
sesame oil
hot pepper sesame oil
or any other yummy flavors for your stir fry sauce

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tofu/ground chicken/napa (served with rice again)
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tofu-firm (1-2 blocks)
ground chick
head of napa-chinese cabbage
garlic
ginger
soy sauce
rice vinegar
sriracha
sake (or rice cooking wine)

1. brown chicken w. garlic/ginger(chopped up)
2. add a few splashes of soy sauce/vinegar/sake
3. squirts of sriracha-pending heat level u like
4. add in napa- let that cook down
5. add tofu last, fold together, cover for a few minutes--



so, are you all ready to get started? enjoy the big cook. now you see the pic from the first post was taco night and chick/tofu/napa night all good to go. got questions? want help? think this is crazy? leave a comment....

How do other families do this?

We've often wondered "how do other families do this?" and by this I mean, have meals at home.  The cooking, eating, grocery shopping.  This stuff takes time people!  And with two kids, time comes at a premium.  We are a family that loves food.  We like to talk about it, eat it, photograph it.  We are also a little nutty when it comes to trying to eat and cook healthy-- which means trying to avoid overly processed foods and buying whole foods.  

So, for us it came down to doing the big cook.  Cooking on weekends, so that there is minimal "prep" during the week and a real dinner can actually make it to the table.  Hot even.  

Oh yes, and gohan dada is reminding me that this makes for less mess/clean up during the week as far as dinner dishes go.  And that makes gohan dada a happier dada.  Another bonus for sure.

Stay tuned for weekly posts of Menus/Grocery Lists so you too can get your "Big Cook" on.  

big cook 1

last weekend my sister in law was kind enough to fly across the country to meet my newborn baby (number 2) who we affectionately call chickpea. while here she took very good care of us despite her lack of sleep and jet lag. she rocked the baby, entertained the two year old bean, and even folded diaper laundry. but the most important thing she did was big cook. and offer to train me to big cook. so in her honor i got started on my first weekend of big cook all alone. the above pics show you how i big cook (newborn on back toddler a big helper) and what i achieved by 11am on saturday morning - two meals!

why the big cook?

busy mama's don't have time to cook during the week.

budget conscious mama's don't want to be so dependent on take out.

everyone likes a home cooked meal even if they eat the same one twice a week.

the basics of the big cook:

pick your menu - four to five meals for the week (you can eat one twice).

make your big shop list and try to get shopping done by friday.

big cook over the weekend.

prep whenever you can!

the single most important big cook tip that i learned from the master big cooker while she was with me is about prep. fit prep in anywhere you can. this is the key to success. did you get that? fit prep in anywhere you can. baggies and little bowls or tupperware are handy for this part. got ten minutes while your little ones are finishing up their morning snack? chop the garlic. throw it in a baggie. put it in the fridge. oh, your older kiddo is napping and the newborn is sleeping in the moses basket (never mind her diaper is about four hours old) chop up your onions and your ginger, bag 'em, fridge 'em (change the diaper) get the snack made for number 1 and give yourself a big pat on the back. you are big cooking.

truly, looking at the prep and the cooking as separate phases has been a break through for me. maybe this is something all the other mama's learned in grade school but i was out sick that day? it is genius. you will see how helpful it is as we get into the cooking but think of it this way. you are making pasta sauce and taco filling on big cook day. both need chopped garlic. ok, that could mean you spend a few minutes chopping garlic as you saute onions for the sauce, clean that up, and do the whole thing again as you brown the taco meat. or, you can grab the garlic from the fridge that you chopped friday morning and throw it in both pans at once! genius right?

big cook menu's and shopping lists are all comin' your way. you can chose the west coast week or the east coast. sometimes meals are the same because i am still copying the master. we love your feedback or just a shout out to let us know you stopped by.

that's all for now.

woo woo mama (east coast)