An Introduction to Meal Planning

In exactly two moths from today, our American adventure will come to a close. I will be very sad to leave my sisters and their families behind but am looking forwards to seeing my loved ones in Sydney and of course getting a job again. 

I have been having a great time living the life of a lady of leisure (unemployed) but I am very much looking forwards to working again. I look forward to the feeling the responsibility, sense of  accomplishment and belonging that go along with working. It is funny how we take all the little things for granted and I am grateful for this opportunity to find perspective. 

But leaving the USA after so many months means starting to pack up mentally. There is a lot to prepare for and one thing that may sound silly is the food. I love to cook and also was brought up to have reserves in the pantry. This means that I have quite a bit of food in the cupboard that I have to get through before we leave.

What I decided is that for once in my life I have to get organised about cooking. Usually what I love about cooking is that I just do whatever I feel like. I never want to just follow a recipe but use them instead as inspiration and a starting point in my own personal creative journey in the kitchen.

But once we hit less than 10 weeks to go I knew that I needed to plan ahead in both shopping and cooking. I have been doing this for two weeks now and it is incredible. I had forgotten about half the products I had on the top two shelves of the pantry - being short it's not as though they are in eyesight! 

Now I am already halfway through what I had in the cupboard and my weekly shop went from over $150 to $40 (yes really!).

Having a plan made me spend less. First I only bought what was on the list, thinking I only have time to eat these planned meals and anything else I buy will go bad and be thrown out. Therefore I eliminated expensive impulse purchases.  

Secondly, I find that I go on autopilot at the supermarket and buy the same basic items whether I actually need them or not. This means I end up with 20 cans of diced tomato but forget something I needed. This would lead to a second smaller shop later in the week. In this way I am spending too much on both occasions and buying too many unnecessary items.

Besides from saving money I am working towards eliminating food waste. In a world where enough food is produced to feed everyone yet one in every 8 people goes hungry I feel like is a crime to waste food. Of course I am guilty of throwing things out from time to time but it is my goal eliminate food waste in my household. Even before I ever thought of food planning, I always try to make my perishable ingredients last by storing them correctly and not buying more than we can consume before they are spoilt. This took a lot of practice when we first moved out of home but now is a normal part of our routine and we don't even notice it. Having a meal plan is just a way of strengthening my efforts. 

Here is a planner that I developed, although as you can see, it is very easy to make your own to suit your own particular needs (available on PDF here)

I hope this is helpful to anyone wanting to organise themselves, save money and stop wasting precious food. 

Washington DC

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel named Washington DC the #1 city of 2015. I have been lucky enough to visit on several occasions and the more I see the more I like it. 

First lets talk about the abundance of quality museums, the majority of which are FREE!!! As in gratis, without charge, no payment required, come as you please, at no cost, for nothing, on the house... Oh yea, like music to my ears! 

Not only are there many museums to visit but they are also large and require some time at each to take in all the exhibits. On our last trip to DC Tim and I very much enjoyed the Smithonian National Museum of American History. Downstairs we peered into an exact replica of Julia Child's kitchen which had me drooling with kitchen envy. Then we explored the changing relationship of the American public to food from the 1950's to now. By examining the effects of a changing population and especially introduction of new technologies and their impact. Something that stood out to me was a 1960's 7Eleven poster promoting parents to leave children in their car while shopping. I guess that with hindsight we are all experts, I just thought it is interesting to see a changing perspective laid out in chronological order and clearly with interesting items on display. 

The upstairs highlight for me was Faith Bradford's Dolls' house. It must be the best one ever made! It is all antique furniture and dolls and I think it is like a gorgeous little work of art. They also have other interesting popular culture displays such as the ruby slipper from The Wizard of Oz as well as original dresses from all the past first ladies. Another more serious exhibit that I found fascinating was that of the now defunct American Whaling Industry. This was in the naval history exhibit which was surprisingly interesting. It also included models of slave cargo ships which leave a shocking impression. This exhibit was the broadest and most complete in my opinion. All in all there is something for everyone at this museum. 

 

  

Also, we toured the Capitol or Congress building. This is a guided tour that takes you though the different rooms of the building and explores the history of the politics of the nation. It was very much geared to an American public but was very informative and I think enjoyable overall to any visitor interested in history and / or architecture or American History. 

On another visit, I went to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This was a very sober experience, but I think that it is an important place to visit. Here you will learn facts about a tragic human experience that needs to be remembered, so as not to allow it to happen again in the future. 

Aside from all the wonderful Museums of course there are many great Monuments as well. Sometimes it may seem silly to be visiting a big statue like say the Big Prawn in New South Wales. But this is a different kind of big thing. Firstly, the monuments were erected to commemorate a different historical figure or event. They are obviously very significant to Americans and I can respect them. I can also respect the sheer scale of some of these things, they actually are big!

Ok so beyond satisfying the desires of cheapskates like Tim and I with all the free venues, did I mention that it is really gorgeous? I don't think that I realised it at first, but every time I go I think I see it a little more. It first hit me when we were driving alongside the Potomac on George Washington Memorial Parkway as the sun was setting. Most of the buildings seemed to glow on the other side of the water and on our side, despite being on a semi free way, there was so many beautiful trees it felt like we were in a timeless place. My sister lives in Arlington next to a park which to me is more like a nature reserve. I couldn't believe that such a major city would be so green. 

   

But otherwise it is not all memorials, museums and parks. For the young hipsters out there, there is the lovely Georgetown. This is a beautiful historic district that is full of great stores including both boutique and vintage. It's also a foodie area full of bars, restaurants and cafes. They really have it all, and it comes wrapped in a pretty and laid back wrapper of an atmosphere. There are so many places to see there that even though I have been several times I always have somewhere new to go on my next visit. But the hightlight for me has to be Georgetown Cupcakes. I am afraid that I have never paid a visit to the city without stopping in for a cupcake (or several...). I don't even mind the wait. At first I thought it was stupid to line up for cupcakes. But unlike my experience lining up for Bignets in New Orleans (which I would not repeat) I am very happy to wait for these babies any day. 

Incidentally there is a sprinkles cupcake shop just down the street which is so damn bad! I thought I would try to see how they compared so I ordered a selection to share with everyone. They were dry and so crappy we couldn't even palate them after having the faultless Georgetown Cupcakes on the same day! 

And believe it or not, Georgetown is also the setting of the film the Exorcist. Of course we snapped some pics on the stairwell from the final scene for a little bit of a laugh. 

Jamón Pasta Carbonara

This recipe is simple and very tasty but does require two elements to be done simultaneously. While you are cooking the pasta you must be preparing the other ingredients so that the minute they are done you are ready to combine them. This recipe needs fresh, hot, but drained pasta to cook the raw egg just enough that it does not make scrambled eggs. It is very straight forwards. Simply prepare all ingredients first. Then while cooking pasta, cook other ingredients at the same time.

Ingredients 

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Pack Spaghetti (I use wholemeal or brown rice spaghetti). 

150 grams Sliced Spanish Jamón

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheese such as Parmesan or Provolone (I often substitute with whatever I have on hand, in this case cheddar)

1 Small Bunch of Parsley (in this case I used coriander as a substitute)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Method

Peel and thinly slice garlic and set aside. 

Whisk eggs and cheese together and set aside. 

Wash and roughly chop fresh herbs so they are ready and set aside.

Place a large pot of water with dash of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt on high heat. 

While waiting for the pasta water to boil, add a tablespoon of oil to a fry pan and heat on medium-low heat. Gently cook the garlic for a minute or so without browning or it will turn bitter. As soon as it is softened add the jamón and gently sauté for another minute or so. 

Once the water is boiled, add pasta to the pot and cook for approximately 7 minutes until al dente. As soon as it is ready drain, but reserve a cut or so of the water the pasta boiled in. 

Immediately after draining and while the pasta is very hot combine with the raw egg/cheese mixture and stir through to allow all the pasta to be coated in egg while simultaneously gently 'cooking' it. 

Once all the pasta is coated add 1/2 - 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to thicken the 'sauce'. 

Add the cooked garlic and jamón and stir through. 

Next add the fresh parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve and enjoy.  

Baked Tofu Stir Fry

This dish is very quick and easy to make. It is a great healthy choice for breakfast lunch or dinner (Yes, I have tried it for each meal!) 

Ingredients

1 Package of Firm Tofu

1 Punnet Cherry Tomatoes, halved

250 grams Sugar Snap Peas, halved

1 Medium Onion, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon Ginger, minced

1 Large Egg, Whisked

Coconut Oil

Salt 

Pepper

Soy Sauce

ZhenJiang Vinegar (Chinese Black Vinegar)

Sambal Oelek ( Garlic Chilli Paste)

Method

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius or 350° Fahrenheit. 

Cut tofu into approximately 5cm cubes, dry with paper towel to remove excess moisture.

Place tofu evenly on an oven tray greased with coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Bake for 20 minutes and then flip around to brown on each side. Bake on other side for another 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, peel and mince the onion, garlic and ginger.

Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes.

Wash, trim ends and halve the sugar snap peas.

Crack and whisk egg in a bowl and set aside.

Add 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil to a large pan. Sauté the onion on low heat until soft and translucent. 

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer. 

Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and releasing their juices. 

Add 1 tablespoon of Sambal Oelek, 1/2 cup of Zhenjiang Vinegar and 1/4 cup of soy sauce and mix through. 

Add sugar snap peas and cook for 1 minute

Add egg, mixing through to allow an even distribution.

Add baked tofu and incorporate well into sauce.

Serve on its own as a side dish or on a bed of rice as a main. 

Last Minute Honeymoon - Part 2

Having been in New Orleans for three days, Tim and I were looking forward to a little R&R. We had booked the seven day Western Caribbean Cruise over New Years. 

Despite the grey skies and the murky Mississippi River, we were so excited to be aboard the Norwegian Dawn. Being our first time on a cruise ship we really didn't know what to expect. The ship seemed enormous with 13 levels, 2000 guests and 1000 staff. It was now the time to get acquainted with the ship. 

The Grey Mississippi

Food Onboard

From the moment we booked the cruise we received endless emails with information on dinning and drinks packages. If you work it out you need to drink about 10 drinks a day for the drinks package to be worth it and it just wasn't that kind of trip for us. We were very torn about the dinning package since we had heard great things about the speciality restaurants but at the same time there seemed to be so many free options. In the end we were glad we didn't book it because the free restaurants were lovely. 

Also, not all of the paid restaurants were enjoyable for us. On our first night we chose to go to Bamboo, the Asian themed restaurant. The appetisers were what I would expect to find in the Asian section of the supermarket freezer. The mains were absolutely drenched in heavy, sweet, gluggy sauce. Then dessert came and was the redeemer. Out of three different flavoured creme brulees, one was fabulous (the green tea) and the other two not bad (but not memorable enough for me to remember the flavour). 

Looks Can be Deceiving: Our Meal at Bamboo

So having experienced what had to be the worst food on the ship we decided to book what was purported to be the best, Le Bistro. This is a fancy French place with a great reputation, but after the Bamboo catastrophe we had our doubts. 

Luckily for us, we were proven wrong (mainly). The first two courses were scrumptious. We loved everything about our mussels, scallops, asparagus, seafood bisque and steak. Then came dessert and of course we decided to order three since the food had been so damn delicious so far. 

Lets start with the omelette creme brulee with no crispy top! Need I go on? Next were three different flavoured profiteroles. These were soggy and badly defrosted and just plain unpalatable. The last was the chocolate fondue. Served in a enormous receptacle and I am not sure why. The fruit was inside half a pineapple, again why? The fruit was raw so no much can go wrong, but the chocolate was lumpy and barely sweetened. 

As I said the first two courses were amazing, but to be followed by such an unpleasant last course really put a dampener on the whole experience... We were a little disheartened with the restaurants at this point. 

French Cuisine at Le Bistro

But let me say that I never had a bad experience at the complimentary restaurants. Even at the buffet, the food was never cold or soggy, or anything but fresh. The other free restaurants also impressed us with a daily dinner menu that is often similar to the paid restaurants.

We also loved the outdoor BBQ's next to the pool deck that were inspired by the food of that day's destination. Lets just say that on a cruise, you will never go hungry!

The Entertainment

This ranged from amazing to don't bother. But then I guess it is great that they cater to so many different tastes. 

We really loved going to the theatre where we saw a French Aerialist duo, performances by The Second City, and an amazing Magician (who called me onstage!). One time they did have a cheesy dance troupe but we left halfway through since that is not our style. 

We also liked going to trivia at the two different bars on board and watching karaoke performances. 

Another great entertainer was Pedro Mariani who played guitar and sang every night and always pulled a crowd.

We also liked to do our own thing like play ping pong, shuffleboard or checkers on deck as well as doing walks along the promenade. 

Shore Excursions

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Tim and I had booked a Mexican Cuisine Workshop and Tasting at Playa Mia resort. This was a very organised cooking class with the talented Chef Luis. On the menu were Spicy Prawn Sopes, Grouper Fillet sautéed with vegetables and Tamarind Sauce, and Caramelized plantains with a Chocolate Tequila Sauce. 

Both Tim and I thought this was a winner shore excursion. We loved learning to prepare authentic Mexican cuisine and got some great tips from the amazing Chef Luis and his sous chefs. 

Mexican Cooking Class at Playa Mia Resort

While you prepare the food you also have an open bar and Tim and I enjoyed a steady flow of Piña Coladas. After cooking we sat down to sample our creations at communal tables. This was a lot of fun and luckily the food tasted delicious. 

Once the lesson was over we had about an hour and a half to enjoy the resort before our return transportation arrived. We also had the option to stay longer and make our own way back if we had wanted to. 

When we got back to port we explored some little stores just beyond the shopping mall which had beautiful local wares, before heading back aboard our ship. 

Belize City, Belize

Adventures in Belize

Belize does not have a port due to the vast corral reef that surrounds the island, making it unsafe for ships. Because of this you are required to tender to shore, or catch a little boat directly from the cruise ship to land. This was a lot of fun and maybe one of the highlights of this stop. We had chosen to do cave tubing but we also had inclement weather that day. It was a very long drive and our tour guide's enthusiasm seemed to waiver as the day went on. 

The one thing we really did love at this destination though was the food. We had a local chicken and rice dish that was somehow very simple and very special. It was very aromatic and well flavoured. They also had very rustic nachos or tacos cooked to order in a giant fire. They were really lovely too.  

The cave tubing itself was disappointing to me because I expected some level of adventure. I have previously spent an entire day tubing down the Amazon River in Ecuador. This experience couldn't even hold a candle to that. We were all tied together which took away the feeling of freedom or discovery. The cold weather also made it less enjoyable since it was a "wet" excursion.

The one thing I did really enjoy was the cave it self. It was full of lovely geological specimens such as quartz formations, stalactites, stalagmites and more. There were also bats which our guide pointed out to us. But the most interesting part was the history and ties to the Mayan culture. The actual cave that we went through is where the Mayans believed hell to be. It was also where they believed that the earth was formed and we saw the rock formation of the eagle of their legends and others too. So it was not all bad, overall we had a nice day.

Roatan, Honduras

Beautiful Honduras

We booked the Deluxe Catamaran Sail and Snorkelling with lunch. This was equal favourite with our Mexican cooking class. 

The sailing around the island was magnificent. Then the snorkelling was something very special. We saw so many varieties of fish and corral. I really enjoyed that it was a guided snorkel too. Also I loved that we just jumped off the boat into deep waters to snorkel. I loved to dive down to get a closer look at it all. 

After a good session of snorkelling we had a delicious lunch on the boat and open bar again. The time just flew before we were at land and catching a mini bus across the island back to port. 

We still had about an hour and half left before we needed to board. Tim had a crazy idea to look for a restaurant serving Lizard and was trying to get some of the local kids to take us there. They were really sweet and when we told them how much time we had they let us know that it would take to long to get there. We ended up going to a very large market just outside of the port where there is a lovely market and bar serving $2.00 cocktails. These cocktails were delicious and I was very sad to have to leave to get back onto the ship!

Costa Maya, Mexico

Fun in Costa Maya

For our second stop in Mexico we booked the Jaguar Truck and Mayan Adventure Tour. 

First we went to a Mexican Cenote which I was super pumped to experience. However this "cave" was nothing like the underground paradises I had seen on google images. It was a tiny narrow cave that we went through one by one. It was very dark and the water was quite pungent. In other words it was a major disappointment. We also did tandem biking through a private ranch. I would have liked that part to be a bit longer though. After this the Jaguar truck took us to a private beach. They had had bad weather for a week which had brought masses of red algae to the shore. It was quite unpleasant but not the fault of the tour. The lunch was nice, but not as good as what we had had at the other ports. We were meant to experience stand up paddle board, body boarding and other such activities here but we just had lunch outside and then ran onto the bus once the storm picked up again. 

When we returned to port we had a chance to explore the lovely straw markets which included a stand with local flaming spray paint artist, a beautiful pool and restaurants. Before heading on board we sampled the local delicacy Molcajete, served in a volcanic pot (shaped like a pig in the photo above). 

New Orleans

Once the ship returned to New Orleans, we still had the better part of the day before our flight. We arrived at the Riverwalk Marketplace only to find that there was no line at Cafe Du Monde. This is completely unheard of, and can only be attributed to the fact that they had literally just opened and it was raining outside. 

We ran in and ordered 3 bignets and a coffee. While these little cakes are incredible, I implore you to skip the murky water they try to pass off as coffee... Regardless, it just felt like Tim and Dee 1, Bignets 0. Especially with the trouble we had gone through the week before trying to get them. 

We made the most of the free wifi in the centre at this point, since we had been mainly incommunicado from the world for the past 7 days. 

After a substantial amount of time, we decided it was time to tick one last place off our list. We headed over to the Palace Café on Canal Street for the best brunch we've probably ever had. 

This is another of the Brennan Brother's restaurant, like Red Fish Grill that we had visited the week before. These are a family of amazing restaurateurs who really know how to set up an incredible restaurant. They have also trained many Chefs who have gone on to start very famous restaurants of their own throughout the USA.

Palace Café

From our experience and looking at the other tables, I don't think you could order badly at this place. As soon as you sit down they bring you a freshly baked crusty baguette. We then ordered the Crab Cheesecake and Shrip Rémoulade, followed by the Shrimp Tchefuncte. We also enjoyed the build your own Bloody Mary Station, but the stand out was the Bananas Foster which was cooked at our table. The bananas are sautéed in brown sugar and cinnamon then flambéed with banana liqueur and rum and served with vanilla bean ice cream! The Jazz musicians that accompanied our meal were also very talented. 



All in all we had a lovely first time cruise. I would recommend this ship to families or people looking for a relaxed escape. Personally I would not go on the same cruise again because when there are so many other options to try, why double dip?