Finding the Inspiration for Cooking
 
Many families are wrapped up in the speed and near-turmoil of modern life.  With two careers, children’s structured activities, commutes, professional associations, maintaining the home, etc., it can be difficult to find time to do any enjoyable cooking.  Here are a few ideas to consider if this is an issue in your home.
 
One idea is to use cooking as a teaching activity.  With a child, grandchild, niece or nephew, or close neighbor, you can make very tasty dishes, while imparting valuable skills as you go.  Lessons that can be passed on include precise measuring, following a list of instructions, multi-tasking, the “art” of cooking including mixing, beating and rolling, kitchen safety, and completing a project.  You can match the recipes with the maturity of the child, and have enjoyable and productive cooking periods that really have an impact over time.  When a child is able to make something that is really tasty and brings a lot of compliments, she will get an important sense of satisfaction and self-esteem.
 
Another idea is to choose some favorite recipes that you haven’t prepared for a long time.  These could be your old favorites or your mother’s or grandmother’s.  You might have to do research to find the proper recipe, either in the family “archives” or possibly the internet. The time-tested dishes will be a treat for you as well as the family.
 
Also, you might want to take a practical approach to spending more time in the kitchen. There are an unlimited number of recipes that you can make on a Saturday or Sunday, and use for two to three meals during the week, with only a minimum of further preparation required.   So the time spent cooking on one day can save a lot of time later, as well as providing some great meals.  Such dishes might include a baked ham or turkey, pot-roast, large pasta dish such as manicotti, a pork roast, etc.  Also a large vegetable or potato casserole could be prepared along with the main dish.
 
You could plan and cook something that you’ve thought about many times but never done.  You could make a surprise meal for your family, an extra special dessert, bake homemade bread which is always a big hit, do a Thai dinner, and so on.  It’s a lot easier to really get involved and enjoy a novel undertaking.
 
Almost everyone has been given a new small appliance or gadget for the kitchen that they have never had the opportunity to use. .  It might be your food processor, a pasta maker, a special baking pan for biscotti, scones or popovers, or a Panini maker. You can choose several recipes that require your new tools or attachments and have a good time creating a new dish.  If you can involve someone else, make a new dish, use some new tools, or save some time, it can be a lot easier to look forward to and enjoy more serious cooking.

How to cook country style ribs in the oven

Here is my recipe for what I consider one of the best Christmas dinners we have ever had. Of course you don’t have to do this just at Christmas, it tastes just as good any time of the year.I thought this Christmas I would attempt one of the multi bird roasts that were apparently popular in medieval times. Now in the old days they would have used anything up to ten birds.It would start with a turkey or a goose, which would be deboned and opened out. A layer of force meat stuffing would be smeared liberally around the inside. Another smaller bird deboned and opened out would be put inside this. This process would be continued with up to ten birds all decreasing slightly in size.When as many birds as possible have been fitted into the original bird, it would be pulled back into shape and sewn together. The delight at slicing one of these apart and seeing the many different meats must have been amazing.Not having ten birds to hand I decided to do my own theme with a turkey, goose and duck. I don`t really have the skills to debone birds, so I cheated a little by buying a large turkey crown, some duck and goose breasts.You must have good stuffing, and plenty of it. If you make to much you can always freeze it for another day. In fact I made mine about two weeks before and froze it to save time on Christmas day.To make the stuffing I usedhalf a kilo of pork shoulder, well choppedhalf a kilo of pork belly, well chopped250g of streaky bacon, well chopped100g breadcrumbs (Good quality bread)200g cooked chestnuts, chopped200g grated applesBrandy to tastePort to taste100ml red wineSaltPepperMaceMix all the stuffing ingredients together and you are ready to start assembly.I took the turkey crown and using a sharp knife made a slit down the side to open it up like a pitta bread. I then took about half the stuffing mix and forced it into the slot.Take the duck and goose breasts and push them into the slit ensuring they are surrounded by the stuffing. Use more stuffing as required to fill out the inside.Cover the turkey with lots of streaky bacon to prevent it drying out.I didn’t sew the turkey up I just placed it on a large sheet of tin foil and folded the foil tight around it to create a reasonable shape. To be honest with all the stuffing it takes on much more of a turkey shape than the crown does on its own.I then cooked very slowly in the oven until well cooked, checking with a thermometer. I uncovered the turkey for the last hour to crisp off the skin and the bacon.The juices I drained made fantastic gravy. If you are interested in raising poultry then please take a look at Poultry Pages.