ayolis enori

THIS WEEK, more on the idea of meal planning. What a
dismal chore it can be! And, how easy it is to fall into the

‘If it’s Tuesday, it’s

If your Gwn imagination can’t
handle the job, get some help.
Most basic cookbooks, such as
beity Crocker, have a section on
menus. Another good source of
ideas is in Woman's Day maga-
zine, sold at every supermarket
checkout. Every month, they
feature a calendar of daily meals,
based on seasonal best buys.

(My only complaint with that is
it’s American and regional.

1 tend to disregard their focus
on packaged and prepared foods
— after all, they’re pitching ads.
If you can, use freshly prepared
home-made instead.

The next important thing to
remember — if you haven't got
the ingredients, you can't make.
the dinner. Every kitchen must
have basic supplies as well as
emergency stocks of tinned and
dried foods.

Many vegetables keep very well
for weeks, properly stored.
Onions, carrcts, turnips, potatoes
and mature beets come to mind.

Freezers are great, as Jong as
someone remembers to thaw the
tight thing. Microwaves thaw
food, but not as well as leaving
-the food overnight in the
“refrigerator.

Working people could eliminate
the ‘‘What’s for dinner?’ hassle if
they could force themselves to set
aside just an hour a week to pre-
cook meals. It’s amazing how
much time can be saved by cook-
ing in bulk — chopping all the
vegetables together, using the
same utensils and baking several
items in the oven at once.

Unfortunately, it takes a lot of
discipline to do this every week
but the payoff is enormous.

Here are some quickly prepared

pork chops ’”

arbara —

BUDGET BEATERS

dishes that won’t earn you a slot
in the Cordon Bleu but will feed a
hungry family a_ well-balanced
meal.

Country Braised Pork Chops
4 weil-seasoned chops (I use
seasoncd salt, seasoned pepper
and granulated garlic)
A little oil for browaing
1 onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sticed (or use
tinned, saving the water to use in
place of cold water)
1 tin mushroom soup
Y tia cole water
4 mediuri new potatoes, unpeeled
and split in half
1 bunch sew carrets, trimmed or
4 regular carrots, cut in chunks

Brown the seasoned chops in
oil, adding the onion and
mushrooms when you flip the
chops. Combine the soup and
water and pour over. Arrange
potatoes and carrots on top.
Cover and simmer about 35

Use shrimp as substitute

From page 59

SHRIMP AND OYSTER SAUCE
(serves 4-5 as part
of a Chinese meal)

This is a regular dish on the
menu of really good Chinese res-
taurants in this country, and it is
just as popular in Hong Kong.

You may have seen this dish
called ‘‘Shrimp and Lobster
Sauce,’’ since the sauce can also
be used on lobster.

Who can afford lobster? Try
this one with good shrimp or
prawns.

1 pound shrimp, 30-40 count per
pound :

1 tablespoon dry
Chinese rice wine

1 tablespoon tight soy sauce

1 tablespoon peanut oil for chow-
ing

Ys pound pork, coarsely ground

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine or
crushed

2 slices fresh ginger, ench the size
of a 25¢ piece, cut julienne

2 teaspoons fermented black beans
(‘dow see’’), rinsed

3 green onions, chopped

sherry or

Dash of MSG (optional)

Y teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

¥2 cup chicken soup stock, fresh
or canned

1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with
J tablespoon waiter

1 egg, beaten

Peel the shrimp and marinate in
the soy and wine for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, heat-a wok
and add 2 tablespoon of the oil.

Chow (stir-fry) the pork and
remove the meat to the serving
dish, leaving the oil in the wok.

Heat the wok again and add the
rest of the oil.

Chow the garlic, ginger and
black beans for a moment, then
add the shrimp, drained of the.
marinade.

Chow on high heat until the
shrimp have changed color and
are just barely tender, about 3
minutes.

Add all the remaining ingre-
dients, including the cooked pork,
with the exception of the egg.

Stir until a sauce forms, then
stir in the egg.

Serve immediately.

Self-esteem workshop offered

SELF’ ESTEEM is important to
the future of a child.. But some-
times parents do not know how to
present the necessary positive
feedback to their kids, which will
help the youngsters develop a
strong sense of self.

The North Shore Family YMCA
is offering a program that is
designed to help parents acquire
the skills necessary to assist

children in developing a positive
and healthy self image.

Jessica Easton and Toby
Sneigrove, two-long time North
Shore family counsellors, witl hold
the seminar on Wednesday, April
2! front 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the
YMCA, 1735 Inglewood Ave. in
West Vancouver.

The programs costs $10. For
more information call 926-5541.

minutes or until the potatoes test
done.

If you like,
frozen peas for the last 10 minutes
of cooking. If you have made up
the prepared vegetable mix 1
printed a couple of weeks ago,
omit the carrots and add 2 cups
vegetables in the last 10 minutes
of simmering.

Creole-Styte Chicken
4 whole chicken legs or the
equivalent in thighs or drumsticks
Flour
Salt and pepper
Oil for browning
1 mediam onion, chopped
1 mediura green pepper, chopped
1- 14 oz. tin stewed tomatoes
Optional:
Pitted black olives
Green staffed olives
Green peas (frozen, not tinned)
Toppings:
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Flour the chicken and brown in
oil, adding the onion and green
pepper when you turn the legs.
Pour the tomatoes overtop, cover
and cook about 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and simmer 2 few
minutes more to thicken the
sauce,

Stir in optiona! ingredients. Top
with the cheese and serve when
the cheese melts a bit. Serve with
tice and salad — the mixed bean
salad goes well, especially the one
with no sugar in the dressing.

eee
Seafood or Chicken Curry

Curry powder varies con-
siderably in quality. A real curry
fancier will buy some special con-
coction — ‘‘Major Throgbottom’s
Original” or some such. I use
middle-of-the-road Spice islands,
probably because I don’t know
much.

Use what you like but
remember, try. to buy in. small
quantities unless you plan to use
the powder often. It loses quality

‘on standing.

1 iarge oniog, chopped

For almost 40 years

add a package of

1 Jarge tart apple, peeled and
chopped
1 th. mushrooms, sliced
2 ribs celery, chopped
Ys cup margarine
1 tablespoon curry powder (vary
this amount according to your
taste)
Yr. teaspoon
granules
4 cup hot waier
2% cups coffee cream (or use
milk, increasing the cornstarch to
thicken)
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed
with 4 cup water

In a deep frying pan with a lid,
saute the vegetables in margarine
until limp. Add the curry powder
and cook gently to develop the
flavor. Dissolve the stock granules
in hot water. Add along with cof-
fee cream, and stir until hot.
Thicken with starch mixture —
adding more or less until your

chicken stuck

mixture is about as thick as a rich
gravy.

Then add: 3 cups any sort of
cooked seafood — a mixture is
fine. Fresh salmon is better than
tinned. Firm fish such as halibut
or cod is better than sole. Try to
include shrimp.

e@oag

Note: The equivalent amount of
cooked chicken (boneless) is
delicious, 100.

Serve either over rice.

Curries are traditionally served
with various garnishes. Prepare
small bowls of any or all of these: |
@ Pine nuts or cashews (or un-
salted peanuts)

@ Shredded coconut

@ Chutney

@ Currants or raisins

© Mashed banana with
juice

@ Chopped tomato and cucumber
o Sour mustard relish

lemon

“Photo submittod

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