ketherian Food Journal

Amanda's Cookin' has a new feature called "Thrifty Thursdays". In it, she lists the bargains she's found, and the deals she's made to save money.

Short of the "How to serve Roast Chicken for a ga-zillion meals of leftovers" type post, I was initially stymied over this topic. Amanda mentions that she baked bread and turned the overly-crunchy bits into breadcrumbs.

With a broken oven, I don't make my own bread -- but I often have a container of homemade breadcrumbs sitting on my counter; we buy baguettes (1$ whole wheat)--but by day two they're only good for soup and by day three they're almost as good as a baseball bat (by day 5 they are baseball bats). So somewhere in between day three and day five I dig out the handy kitchen aid blender and make bread crumbs.

Tonight I'm making hamburger soup to feed a lot of people. The base for the soup is some leftover beef broth, homemade from soup bones.

I usually have a container in the freezer to hold carrot tops/bottoms, celery bits, and parsley stems. When the container gets full (or I run out of frozen broth) I buy the required bones (beef or chicken) and make a batch of broth--often in my crock pot. Not only does it make my house smell wonderful, it takes very little maintenance. One trick I did learn with broth is that it stores best if you make it, cool it down until the fat congeals, remove the fat, and then allow it to gently boil until it is reduced by half. This process always creates tasty broth that I use later to make rice, soups, and de-glaze pans for sauces.

Having only a small freezer (and no oven), I tend not to buy in bulk--but I do regularly cook a portion or two more than I need. This gets frozen as potential meals made from leftovers or as part of my bento lunch. Leftover grains and vegetables are just as often added to soups as anything else.

I try to build a menu (currently located on my google calendar). In the past I've used Knock Knock pads, Meal Outlaw, this blog, and a long list of open office spreadsheets.

Once built, I struggle to only buy what I need to make the items on the menu. Some weeks I succeed, others ... not so much.

I think the biggest way I save money is by being a part of a VG. It's not quite a CSA, but it is the closest I can find. I get a weekly bag of vegetables for (usually) a few dollars less than what I'd pay at the store every two weeks. Sometimes I have to struggle to find recipes to suit (red onions instead of yellow, extra carrots, beets, or potatoes, or vegetables I rarely know what to do with such as collard greens and eggplants); and tonight it means red onions in the hamburger soup.

I'm not one for extra fuss when making my lunch, but I love variation. I'll probably never make cute hello kitty images from some cheese, egg and lunch meat, or even try to cut hot dogs into something looking like an octopus. Still, when the Just Bento blog started their Get Started Bento Challenge; I decided to join in.

At first I was stuck with the idea that a bento had to include Japanese food. I downloaded Just Bento's Weekly Bento Planner (PDF link), and started dutifully using it to plan breakfasts (almost never follow), lunch (trying hard) and dinner (most times). The good news is that this plan is for 5 days, not 7. This allows me to skip the occasional meal and/or go out without having to plan it in advance (the guilt of not following my own plan is ... pretty strong).

A bento is broken into 4 parts: protein, carb, veg and fruits/snacks.

The first week I focused on easy stuff.
Proteins were mostly fish and sauce.
Vegetables were leftovers from the night before or a salad.
Carbs were brown rice, polenta or couscous. All that were cooked either the night before, or on Sunday specifically for the bento's.
My success rate was pretty good and, as a bonus -- I was able to keep the portion size down, increase variety and ... boy oh boy did I ever dirty a lot of dishes!

Near the end of the week I was just grabbing stuff from the fridge. My carefully planned menu crumbled on Thursday; and I resorted to using a ready-made frozen meal instead of my planned lunch.

The second week (this week) I kept pretty much the same plan (I had lots of leftovers from the 1st week); changing out some of the fruit/snacks and trying to remember to portion leftovers for the bento. This meant storing the protein, carb and veg separately. I didn't do a great job at labeling, so some of my lunches were a bit mixed up. But I managed to follow it (again) until Thursday. When I went out for lunch. Today I don't have what I'm supposed to: but I do have a bento. :)

What I've learned:

• I really love salads. Not just romaine lettuce + dressing. But lettuce, radicchio, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms & feta cheese + dressing; a layered salad (that's what I'm calling it anyways) gives me lots of little bites of various colors. It's easy to make and fun to eat.
• I love sauce. Give me a sauce (even just vinegar, lemon juice and pepper) and it makes the vegetable or protein that much more appetizing. This week I used broth from Irish stew (sauce for the couscous), tomato sauce (for chicken + brown rice), mirin + hunan (for steamed vegetables) and sesame oil, red wine vinegar + sesame seeds (for today's salad).
• Snacks that are just a bit different are better. Instead of hummus + vegetable, I now stuff the vegetable with hummus. Instead of taco chips + salsa - I mix up homemade salsa and a bit of tofu + parmesan cheese and serve myself nachos. I always heard that variety was good; but this bento challenge has proven to me that yes -- it really works!
• This isn't hard. I thought it would be. Most nights, while I'm waiting for something to cook -- I pack the lunch. After shopping I do things like divide the yogurt into smaller containers, cut up veggies for snacks and prepare dips. By dividing the tasks up through the week it's not more than 10-15 minutes of work a night to keep myself+ in lunches.

I had a rather large turkey breast in the freezer and thought it would make a wonderful meal for two. The best recipe I could find called for turkey, but I figured I could modify the recipe to fit what I had on hand.

I started by making polenta.

Polenta is cooked cornmeal, and it's a great dish to serve with anything that has a tasty sauce. On its own, polenta is quite bland. It is typically flavoured with salt, pepper and grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. When I serve polenta with a dish with a flavourful sauce, I don't add any flavourings. It's easier to make polenta in a non-stick pot, but you can use any pot you'd like so long as it has a good lid.

Into 3 1/2 cups of boiling water I quickly whisked one cup of coarse cornmeal. The cornmeal made the water look the color of goldenrods. I kept pouring and whisking so that the cornmeal didn't get a chance to settle on the bottom of the non-stick pot. As you add more cornmeal, the cornmeal gets thicker and harder to whisk. Keep at it. Add the cornmeal at a slow trickle and make sure it doesn't clump as you add it.

After a few minutes, with the last of the cornmeal in the pot, I took out my flat-bottomed stirring stick and pulled the cornmeal off the bottom and sides of the pot, turned the heat to low and put the lid on.

I then butterflied the turkey breasts, which were still slightly frozen. I covered them in saran wrap and beat them until they were about 1/2 an inch thick. The original recipe calls for thinner fillets, but at that point I'd had enough.

I sprinkled them lightly with salt, pepper and then dredged them in flour and shook off the excess. Leaving them to rest, I added the oil and butter to the pan and turned on the heat. When the butter began to sizzle, I gave the pan a good shake to mix the butter and olive oil together and make certain it had spread well over the pan.

I then added the flattened turkey breasts. They started to sizzle immediately. It's the hardest thing in the world to leave cutlets to cook. I always want to peak. I waited a good five minutes (taking my time to stir the polenta, it was barely boiling-which is good) before I flipped them. The other side got less than five minutes, (stir the polenta again) but the color was good. The meat went onto a plate and I de-glazed the pan with the remaining ingredients (except the butter and rosemary).

Note to self-when de-glazing, be careful not to burn your knuckles on the steam that comes off the pan. The pan was too hot and my hand too slow. The burn wasn't bad (thank you Solicane) and it didn't even slow me down.

Once the ingredients were mixed, the pan de-glazed, and the burn treated, the cutlets went back in and I put a lid on. I stirred the polenta again, and went off to make a mixed green and red pepper salad with norvegia cheese.

Again, I returned and stirred the polenta. When the timer went off, I took the cover off the turkey and turned the heat off under the polenta. I poured the polenta out onto a plate and tried to flatten the top a bit. It's messy work. While warm the polenta is very sticky. Some people push it around with a piece of saran wrap. Me, I just sort of dump it out on a plate and play with it for a minute before letting it be.

I then took the turkey out of the pan and set it to rest on a nearby plate. I turned up the heat and allowed the sauce to evaporate a bit. When it was about 1/2 gone, I added the last of the butter and stirred until it melted. I sliced the polenta into wedges and topped the salad with Kraft's greek dressing.

Onto the plates went: a wedge of polenta, a turkey cutlette, and several spoonfuls of sauce all over both. The salad was served after the meal (on well cleaned plates).

Delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 turkey breasts, butterflied and flattened
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon garlic butter, divided
• 1 splash dry white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup beef stock
• 1/2 cup lemon (juice)
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

Directions:

1. Place the turkey between plastic and roll/pound the turkey to 1/2 inch thin.
2. Season the turkey with salt and pepper.
3. Dredge the turkey in the flour and shake off any excess.
4. Heat the oil and 1/2 the butter in a pan.
5. Add the turkey and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 4-6 minutes per side and set aside.
6. Place the wine, stock, lemon juice, and capers in the pan and deglaze it.
7. Add the turkey breasts back into the liquid and cover until cooked through (about 10 minutes).
8. Set the turkey breasts aside and continue to simmer until the liquids reduce by half.
9. Stir in the butter.
10. Serve the sauce poured over the turkey and garnish with the rosemary.

This week I'm trying to clean out my fridge and freezer. My herbs are now inside and (surprisingly) still alive. I've dried some, but I'll keep using the fresh for as long as they live. My oven is broken, and my finances are not so good as to allow me to just run out and buy a new one. So, until it's fixed I'll either be borrowing oven-space from friends or trying to do everything atop the stove or on the Bar-b.

Updated: Well, weeks rarely go as I plan them.
Just for fun I've gone back and edited the week to show the differences.
Enjoy.

SATURDAY
Planned Lunch: Roast chicken, fresh bread, hummus & salad
Actual Lunch: Tea, toast and pb.
Actual Dinner: Soup, more toast, lots more tea.
Being sick really sucks.
SUNDAY
Planned Lunch: Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches (1)
Planned Dinner: Hamburger soup & crusty french bread (2)
Actual Lunch: Chicken BLTs.
Actual Dinner: Red wine pork chops, salad with red wine vinaigrette
MONDAY
Planned Lunch: BLT's
Actual Lunch: Easy asian chicken legs, greek green salad
Planned dinner: Turkey Piccata (3)
Actual Dinner: Hamburgers, all dressed.
TUESDAY
Planned Lunch: Bagged leftovers
Actual Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich with sweet-potato fries (from the Keg stakehouse).
Planned Dinner: BBQ pork chops, spinach salad with red wine vinaigrette
Planned and Actual Dinner: Spaghetti & meat balls with small mixed green salad
WEDNESDAY
Planned and Actual Lunch: Bagged leftovers
Actual Dinner: Polenta (4), Turkey Piccata, and greek green salad with norvegia cheese.
THURSDAY
Planned and Actual Lunch: Bagged leftovers
Planned Dinner: Hamburger soup and fresh baked bread.
FRIDAY
Planned and actual lunch: Bagged leftovers
Planned and actual Dinner: Out
Gluten-Free Chocolate Financiers

1. The Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwiches - substitute dijon for the sour cream.
2. The Hamburger soup recipe is an old family favorite and works well in the crock pot.
3. The Turkey Piccata will use a rather large turkey breast that I've been saving. If I cut it up while it's still mostly frozen I might not need to do any pounding at all.
4. I make Polenta fairly often. The link points to a good how-to video, but the recipe really is just corn meal and water. If I add cheese at all, it's sprinkled on top before serving. Polenta is served best with a dish with a lot of sauce.
5. Fusion garlic sauce. It's a bottled sauce I found at the deli. Quite good actually but it needs to be used up.
6. The greek salad is really a green salad dressed in greek dressing (olive oil, a bit of white wine vinegar, and some fresh chopped oregano). Sometimes I make it fresh, other times I buy it bottled from kraft.

For the first time, I've linked this post to the Organization Junkie's Meal planning Monday. It's been one of the sites I regularly visit for inspiration.

Saturday
Lunch: Roast chicken sandwich on whole wheat, with hummus, salad, tomatoes & cucumbers, ice tea.
Dinner: Ravioli Maranara

Sunday
Lunch: Roast chicken with Sante Fe salad.
Dinner: Moussaka

Monday
Lunch: Sante Fe beans and rice, green salad with Greek dressing
Dinner: BBQ chicken with mixed vegetables and soba noodles.

Tuesday
Lunch: Chicken fajitas with humus, salad, fruit, taco chips & salsa
Dinner: BBQ steak & mixed green salad with cheese and red wine vinaigrette

Wednesday
Lunch: Tuna & salad, Desert:1 fruit, Snack:trail mix.
Dinner: Hamburger helper and no guild caesar salad

Thursday
Lunch: No guilt Cesar salad with leftover chicken, Desert: Bran bar. Snack: veggies & dip
Dinner: Pasta Maranara with fist-sized meatballs

Friday
Lunch: Leftover wrap. Desert: fruit. Snack: crackers & cheese
Dinner: Out

I haven't posted one of these in a while. I'm sticking to my standards this week as the weather, while not particularly sunny, is still summer-like. I've updated my Meal Outlaw calendar with these meals too.

SATURDAY
L: Chicken & avocado sandwiches
D: Garlic and herb marinated New York steak, steamed green beans and carrots.

SUNDAY
L: Chicken & avocado sandwiches
D: Chicken tournados & romaine salad with jalapeno Havarti and strawberries in a red wine vinagrette

MONDAY
L: 2 chicken & avocado wraps, yogurt & flax seed, fruit, Snack: broccoli & babaganoush
D: BBQ Beef Kababs with mixed romaine salad & red wine vinagrette

TUESDAY
L: 2 beef & vegetable wraps, cauliflower & babaganoush, diet coke, Snack: crackers & cheese
D: BBQ Chicken Fajitas with salsa fresca & cheese

WEDNESDAY
L: 2 chicken wraps, yogurt & flax, fruit, drink. Snack: Taco chips & salsa “fresca”
D: Fried chicken, side salad & bread sticks with maranara sauce (not what I planned, but it was what I got).

THURSDAY
L: Salmon wrap, yogurt & flax, fruit, drink. Snack: Crackers, cheese
D: BBQ Sausage Sandwiches with cold slaw & corn on the cob

FRIDAY
L: Sausage sandwich with salad, veggies, fruit, drink. Snack: Nuts & fruit
D: Dinner out.

I'm a bit late on this one.

I learned how to make this dish from Beverly Evans. Her version differs slightly from mine, but the basic concept (mix cream cheese with sour cream and top with deliciousness) was taught to me by her. Similar versions of this recipe are called Mexican Flag, or Rebecca’s Dip (for those who learned it from me). It’s always popular at parties; and I tend to make it for large gatherings as it doubles (triples, quadruples...) well.
Serves: 4-6
Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 0 hours.

Equipment:

• Paring knife & cutting board.
• Measuring cups & spoons.
• Electrix mixer & bowl.
• Serving dish

Notes:
The order in which the ingredients are combined is highly variable; Mixing the salsa with the cream cheese and sour cream together works well too (although the pink color that results may not be appetizing to all). We’ve tried lots of varieties. Changing the flavor of the cheese changes the dish; as does changing the salsa. Sweet salsa and salsa verde works as well as traditional canned salsa. I've seen this dish made with pickled jalapenos, sliced (and pitted) olives (black and/or green), and multiple flavours of grated cheese.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

1. With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and sour cream.
2. Put the lettuce into the bottom of the serving dish.
3. Cover the top of the lettuce with the cream cheese and sour cream mixture.
4. Top that with the salsa and sprinkle the cheese on top.
5. Garnish the sides with the tomatoes and cucumbers.
6. Serve with a bag of taco chips.

In the hottest days of summer my kitchen stands empty. The stove is a shunned beast, and while the fridge humms loudly in protest, the pots and pans remain forlorn in the lower cabinet.

Outside, on our tiny back balcony, sits the star of the summer meals: the barbecue.

It's pock-marked black top shows it to be a weathered individual. Its grills are darkened, the base filling slowly with carbonized vestiges of previous nights. The large aluminum throw-away roasting pan caked with drippings shows that it's not one to stand on ceremony. Instead it's folksy with it's bright white bottle and green labeling, easy to get along with and very simple.

Last night's dinner was a typical example of a summer meal: Rainbow trout with lemon and lime served with a mixed green salad.

The trout was chilling in the fridge overnight, so it was ready to go the moment I got home. I put the trout on a double layer of tin-foil, skin-side down. Its beautiful pink flesh was cool to the touch. I just knew this fillet wasn't going to be a stinker. I dressed the fillet in slices of lemon and lime, and laid him to rest on the second-rack of our (now lit and hot) gas barbecue.

Back into the kitchen, I washed and about 6 leaves of romaine lettuce. The lettuce was rough and unforgiving, so I cut through them with a knife rather than just tearing them apart. I took a cup of shredded cabbage from the fridge and tossed these together with 1/2 cup cubed montaray jack with jalapeño peppers. The combination looked a little odd - bright green lettuce dotted with white and red bits; but the mix tasted fine and was pleasantly crunchy, providing a warm after-taste that had noting to do with raising the temperature in my already steamy kitchen.

To this I added three tablespoons of red wine vinegar and two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. I seasoned the salad with pepper, tossed it again and put it back in the fridge before it could wilt. The dressing is an old stand-by in my house. This doesn't quite explain the large number of store-bought dressings in my cubord (especially when I have a book on salad dressings and one of my favorite blogs provided even more links and ideas in a post not too long ago. See: Cheap, Healthy, Good, 102 light Salad dressing recipes). But I digress.

As I waited for the trout to poach on the barbecue, there were lunches to prepare, dishes to wash, and a floor to sweep. My kitchen, the place where there's always something waiting to be done.

I washed and cut up two pints of strawberries (putting them in small plastic containers where they could masticate on their own without any sugar). I like to use these strawberries on cerials in the morning, ice cream in the evening, or just as snacks throughout the day. By already having them in cups I find I'm far more likely to eat them rather than let them rot away to paste in the bottom of my fridge. The bonus is that they also take up a lot less room like this.

I divided the two big tubs of yougurt into smaller tubs (to be grabbed for lunches). This is more about portion control. Yougurt is a quick and easy snack that is far to easy to just take the big tub and a spoon and go sit down and eat. By the time you realize it - you've eaten over half the container! Dividing it up helps us realize how much we've eaten, and the smaller containers fit better in lunch bags anyways.

I made my lunch (cold chicken over coleslaw with lemon-poppyseed dressing,
yougurt, a cookie, and an apple) and his lunch (PBJ on multigrain bread, yougurt, two clementines and a cookie). We use re-usable containers for drinks; usually taking in fruit juice or ice tea. I also bring a mini-diet coke because I am weak and can't quite give it up yet (but I'm working on it).

By the time I went out to check on the fish, the lemon and limes had caramalized a bit, and shed their juices all over the fish - adding a soft white coating to the top. The edges were boiling slightly. To firm up the flesh I decided to do something radical: I took off the lemon and lime slices and poked holes in the foil. I then left it sit in the warm barbecue for another 10 minutes.

When I came back the fish was firmer, and smelled of lemons. I cut it in half, and using a spatula, lifted the fillet off its skin and onto the waiting plate. The other 1/2 of the plate was filled with salad from the fridge. It was served with more lemon and tartar sauce.

There were no leftovers. This is a sign that not only did I make just enough for two people, but that it was good.

Lemon/Lime Rainbow Trout

A simple and quick way to grill a medium-thick fillet of fish with the skin on. Time and temperature will differ if your fillet is white, thick (like salmon) or if there is no skin. I use this recipe a lot in the summer with a few variations. It is very easy to prepare and the accompanying salad is completely optional, but I find the red wine vinegar goes well with the lemony taste of the fish.

Ingredients:

• 1 filet Rainbow Trout, skin still on
• 1 lemon, sliced thickly
• 1 lime, sliced thickly

Salad

• 6 leaves Romain lettuce, washed & dried
• 1/2 cup montaray jack cheese with Jalapeno, cubed
• 3/4 cup shredded cabbage, green and red
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot

Salad dressing

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

1. Place the fillet, skin side down, on a double layer of aluminum foil.
2. Cover with lemons and lime slices.
3. Light the gas barbecue and close the lid to heat.
4. When the barbecue reaches temperature, place the fish as far away from the heat as possible (either on the second rack, or to one side with no direct heat.
5. To make the salad: dice the romaine lettuce leaves.
6. Mix the romaine lettuce, cheese, cabbage and carrot together.
7. Add the salad dressing ingredients and mix again. Then put the salad back in the fridge.
8. Check the fish after about 15 minutes. There should be a white foam atop the fish and its edges should be gray close to the skin.
9. Remove the lemons and limes from the top and poke holes in the aluminum foil along the edges.
10. Return after 10 minutes. If the fish flakes apart nicely with a fork, it's done. If not, close the lid and check again in 10 minutes.
11. Divide the fish into portions with your spatula.
12. Push a spatula into the fish just above the skin, then lift. The skin should be left behind and you can plate your skinless fillet.
13. Serve with the lemon and lime slices and salad.

-------------------

Serious Eats "Served" quote:
On my first night, a loud and often furious cook with a thick Ukranian accent and a pirate flag bandanna taught me how to make chicken piccata for family meal. We butterflied chicken breasts, dredged them in egg and flour, and fried them in clarified butter until they were sizzly and gold. We squeezed lemon juice into the pan, poured in white wine, and decorated the dish with capers. He made his chicken with love, and he happily passed on his method to me. "It's a classic! And so simple! Everyone loves it! You should make it for your friends..."

OK, I love saluted chicken -- so I just have to try this one!

Is My Blog Burning has an interesting contest: "Send us your marinades, your herb butters, your fajitas, and your simply grilled skirt steak recipes. Our favorite featuring strip steak will be featured in the Root Source and published on Cookthink.com. The author will also receive a copy of Sizzle, by Julie Biuso. Submissions are due by 12pm EST Tuesday, June 24."

This, then, is my entry.

Montreal Steak Sandwiches

A traditional submarine sandwich in Montreal is a loving combination of pan-fried onions, skirt steak, beef, spicy cheese, salad and tomatoes topped with Kraft Catalina dressing. It is traditionally served open-faced, but most folk close it up to eat it. Some folk top this with a mix of salt and oregano, or different types of dressing. Note that this sandwich tastes best when made with day-old bread.

Servings: 2
Yield: 2 sub sandwiches
Time to prepare: 10 minutes
Time to make: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

1. Press the Montreal steak spice into the sliced skirt steak. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan.
3. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have lost most of their water.
4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms and onions to a plate, set aside.
5. Add the skirt steak to the pan, and cook until done.
6. Remove from the pan and set aside.
7. Split the bread down the middle, being careful not to slice all the way through.
8. Butter the bread and place buttered side down into the hot pan. Allow to sit until the butter browns and the bread crisps.
9. Flip the bread over and layer the ingredients into the sandwich in the following order: onions and mushrooms, steak, cheese.
10. Cover the pan and allow to sit until the cheese melts.
11. Remove from the pan and add 1/2 the lettuce to the side of each sandwich that does not have the cheese. Top each sandwich with 1/2 the tomato slices.
12. Drizzle Catalina dressing over the tomato and lettuce side of the bread.
13. Serve open-faced to hungry people. Knife and fork may be required.

Note: The following is something I wrote a year or so ago. The funny thing is that it's as valid today as it was then. I don't think I ever posted it -- at least not here, so enjoy.

Everyone's got a cookbook. Not the ones you buy and leaf through until the pages tear, but rather that collection of clippings from magazines, web sites, and the like. These recipes have notes scribbled over them and, perhaps most importantly, guides to making the recipe "better" - ideas you had while making the dish, a list of what you did wrong in the past, and hopefully a guide to what you did right.

I hate writing in a published book. In some of my cookbooks you'll find hastily scribbled notes, but not many. I've never been good at regularly writing my commentary and (perhaps worse) I've got no one style that I follow. I started compiling lots of recipes together with my comments a while back. It's in its second version now, and far from complete. But it's designed to be printed.

I've tried a few software tools (Big Oven, and MasterCook); and they're good but they require more time and effort than I'm willing to give them. Both expect you to either use their cookbooks or enter all your recipes into their format. Then you use the software to pick out what you'll cook for the week, and they'll print out your shopping lists, recipes, and even calculate the calories of what you're eating.

I added a lot of recipes to Snacksby when it first came out, and tried to provide constructive criticism. In the early days I got responses and the features improved; but between outages, and interface glitches, I've lost interest in it. And now it's changed its name, look, and management.

I occasionally enter recipes in Recipe*zaar. Frankly, I don't know why it took me so long to do it. I've been a fan of Recipe*zaar for ages. I like it's interface, I find entering recipes to be easy, and I like the forums and all the help I get when I visit. I even like the fact that most recipe authors respond to my comments when I post a review. The site managers fix problems and respond to bug reports posted to their forums in a reasonable amount of time.

But I've still got my very nice, well indexed, and ever-growing print cookbook. Perhaps worse still, there are a few people who want copies of it. I've given up saying it's done -- it wasn't finished when I went from version 1 to version 2. I'm trying to update most of the recipes, add fixes I noticed ages ago, change the appearance (again), and create several indicies (by subject, by ingredient, and by date added).

Eventually I'll give copies to friends as PDFs (or maybe html pages); and most of these recipes should eventually make their way onto Recipe*zaar (at least those that I think aren't already there). There are lots of other recipe web sites out.