Bon Appetit, part 2

The dining room in my first apartment.
My favorite meal in my twenties:
Chicken Piccata over wild rice
served with a side of cherry tomatoes in a
basil, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette

We all know how hard it can be to feed a family in this down-economy. When a parent loses a job, has hours cut, or doesn't receive an expected bonus ... the financial impact can certainly change the way a family eats and shops.

But what about young adults? The twenty-somethings who are heading off to college or are out there trying to make a living during a time when jobs can be scarce and the ones out there are extremely low-paying? Some post-graduates (or the many who are on a financial-sabbatical from college) may even have huge student loan debt plus rent to pay, while being financially responsible for the first time.

I remember spending $20.00 a week on groceries back when I had my first job, my first apartment, and years worth of student loans ahead of me (hard to believe this is going back 20 years now). Back then, $20.00 actually bought a decent amount of food for one person (who ate like a bird anyway). Breakfast was a bagel. I didn't drink coffee. Lunch was yogurt or salad. Dinner was bread, cheese and fruit; a spinach, mushroom and feta cheese calzone; or a splurge would be chicken piccata (a rare meal that I made for friends). I didn't worry much about putting food on my table back then, but what if I were just starting out on my own in the challenging economy of 2009?

Today, that same $20.00 might amount to a loaf of bread, a roast chicken, some apples, a box of cereal and perhaps a gallon of milk. As long as you like cereal (which is actually a good healthy choice provided it isn't covered with sugar) you could probably get by for a few days with this amount of food. But what if you had less than $20.00 to spend after paying bills, rent, etc.? What if you didn't even have a job? Today there are no guarantees. There are people in every age group that are struggling with how to get by with tighter budgets.

While blog-surfing (I started on Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic and then kept going ...) I caught a series of posts on how to survive during financially difficult times from the experienced point of view of the very chic Amoura Rose of Vancouver BC (her motto is "Live beautifully. Think elegantly"). In one entry, she tells the story of how as a student she was living on a food budget of a mere $5 to $15 per week. Her post on ways to really save money on food is worth taking a look at ... it certainly isn't artful cooking, but it is food for thought. (be sure to read the posted comments for additional tips on eating healthy while saving money at the grocery store). A box of mac and cheese doesn't have to be the answer ...

Frugal Food by Amoura Rose

Something else I have been thinking about ...

Double-Layer Tacos from Betty Crocker.com

When trying to come up with inexpensive recipes, look to cuisines that are known to feed a lot for less. I just read a great book, The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal. In it, the main character, a chef at an Aspen restaurant, whips up delicious menus based on her family roots in New Mexico, while discovering the essential ingredients to living a happy life. Favorite recipes linked to cherished memories are sprinkled throughout the novel. Sharing the experience of food, like creating tacos with family or friends for example, can satisfy hunger while nourishing the soul. Buen apetito!

Posted by Yvonne Blacker

What is time?

With my mother coming to the end of her life here on earth, I am reminded how quickly life goes by and that it is made up of a series of moments. When my father was a soldier in World War II, he was stationed in the Pacific. Every time he wrote home he would end the letter with "What is time?" This is how a young boy of 17 dealt with being homesick. This saying is also etched on his gravestone that my mother will be sharing with him shortly.

Last night, my husband and I, along with our children and their significant others, enjoyed a delicious meal at Taranta. This restaurant is in the North End on Hanover Street. The menu combines Southern Italian Cuisine with Peruvian Cuisine. All the windows were open and it was as if the energy coming into the restaurant from the street was shared with the patrons and vice-versa. This is restaurant week, and they offered a fixed price menu with lots of choices. We all enjoyed what we had.

There is nothing more intimate than sharing a meal with those we love. To listen, laugh, tell stories and be seen and heard by the person sitting across, diagonal or next to you at a table. For an hour and a half there is no place to go other than where you are. The urgency of the day and the worry of tomorrow is replaced with the present. Something that challenges most of us to be in. Our public display of affection on the street afterward, as we said our goodbye's to one another, replayed in my head during the night many times. Perhaps it is because my mother is in her final stage of her life that I am aware how precious and few these moments are.

Until we meet again, what is time?

Dorothy Goodwin

Bon Appetit

I saw the Julie & Julia movie yesterday, which is based on Julia Child's early days in France. Julie is looking for meaning in her own life and decides to recreate every Julia Child recipe while sharing her experience on her blog. What takes Julie one year to complete took Julia 8 years to write. I love and respect food and I cook, but I don't love it. Julie & Julia were not put off by the shopping, the unusual ingredients, the hours of preparation, the cost or cleaning up afterward. They prepared the food with love and true artistry. I don't have the daily constitution to shop, chop, saute, steam, bake, broil and boil. I rush though the grocery store as if my carriage is on fire. I cannot stand loading and unloading the groceries. I have a small kitchen so there is not always enough room for everything, especially if I go to Costco and purchase food items that come in enormous sizes. Then there is the dealing with the refrigerator and where to put everything, especially in summer when condiments rule the shelves and little room is left for anything else. This got me thinking, which I do every now and then, what if I could help people create meals that were healthy, simple and inexpensive to prepare.

I will post recipes and photos of food I make, once a week, using ingredients that won't break the bank. Other board members will submit their recipes as well. If you have one to share, by all means send it in so we can publish it on the blog. Eventually, depending on the number of recipes, there may be a separate section on the blog.

Julia Child I am not, but helping others eat healthy on less, I am all for that.

Bon Appetit!

Dorothy Goodwin