Beef Curry with Condiments

If you've been reading the posts prior to this one, you know that I've been featuring my friend, Jane, and her family of four this week.

I've posted Jane's shopping list, then tips on how she can save money on that list, then late last week I went shopping at Whole Foods with Jane and shadowed her, collating more tips for saving on your grocery bill.

Along the way, I've suggested meals to make for a family of four using the items from Jane's shopping list.

So far the meals are Shrimp & Tomatoes & Garlic Mash. Jane's husband made this dish after I posted it and apparently it was a huge success with the kids, aged 12 & 10.

Mini Tortilla Pizza, which another reader said she was looking forward to making with her two young daughters.

And today my meal suggestion is Beef Curry with Condiments.

Jane and her family are from London so curry is one of their favorites, even with the kids.

London, like Melbourne, Australia--where I'm from--has a large Indian immigrant population and Indian restaurants and food are popular in the same way that Mexican restaurants and food are popular in the U.S

Depending on the age of your kids, you might temper the heat of the curry you make.

If it's too hot, children will not enjoy curry, or any really spicy food for that matter; their taste buds are just not that sophisticated.

With that in mind, my method below for easy curry can easily be manipulated to suit your family.

Beef Curry with Condiments
(Using ingredients from Jane's list)

1) Chop a large onion and mash one garlic clove, saute in oil.
Note: Even though this is curry, I still use olive oil; I tend to use it in all my cooking. You could also use ghee--clarified butter--or light oil, like canola.
2) Add a big or little scoop of Patak's Curry Paste - depending on how spicy a curry you want. Stir curry paste into oil and onion over low heat.
Note: You may recall from my post Stocking Your Condiment Pantry that this is the paste I have in my pantry, and recommend for flavor and ease-of-use. It comes in mild and hot.
3) Chop several potatoes and carrots, add to pot and stir well.
4) Add cubed stewing beef, and stir coating meat in curry paste.
Note: You can substitute beef for chicken/turkey, or fish, or shrimp or lamb.
5) Place lid on pot and let the beef and veggies cook slowly in their own juices for about 45 mins.
6) Around the 30-min mark, I added some frozen peas and corn, and some apple sauce. The apple sauce intermingled with the pan juices creating a rich, sweet and spicy curry sauce.
Note: Sweet vegetables (like peas and corn) and fruit like apples and banana, and or dried fruits like raisins and currants, and shredded coconut are great flavor pals for curry because sweet counteracts the heat and spice of curry.

To Serve: Rice is a great accompaniment to curry, as is millet or couscous. Then as you can see in the picture at the top, I served sides of sliced apple, sauteed bananas, nuts, lemon and yogurt.

Yogurt is a great flavor pal to curry because it's cooling, as is sliced cucumber. In fact, yogurt-fruit drinks, like Mango Lassi, and side salad are great cooling pals to spicy curry.

When I was a kid, I loved the sides my mother served with curry it made the meal fun, colorful and different.

Keep in mind that kids may end up making more of a meal out of the sides, so be creative; your children will enjoy the meal so much more.

Grocery Shopping Tips for Families on a Budget

This week I've been featuring tips for shopping on a budget, plus meal ideas for my friend, Jane, and her family of four.

On Tuesday, I posted Jane's basic shopping list, which she keeps as a Word doc on her computer.

Today, at Jane's request, I met her at Whole Foods and shadowed her while she did her weekly shop, offering tips for saving on her grocery list, which she had with her.

Jane works part-time so she suggested we meet mid-morning for these reasons:

1. "It's not busy in the mornings so with less people about, shopping is hassle-free."
2. "I won't be hungry at 10.30, so If I'm not hungry then I'm less likely to buy on impulse."
   
3. "It's much easier to shop when the kids are in school. When they come with me, I end up caving into them, buying things I would not normally buy."
   

As we walked into Whole Foods we picked up The Whole Deal which contains coupons and the Good Stuff For Less flier, which lists What's on Sale.

Jane's already a pretty savvy shopper, but I did remind her of several of the money-saving tips I posted on Tuesday -- you might want to read over those again.

She took advantage of a number of sale items:

• Half & Half, 2 pints for $3
  
• 365-brand Large White eggs 2-dozen for $4
  
• Whole Catch Mahi-Mahi for $8.99 (which will make one meal for the whole family)
  
• Buy one Get one Free 365-brand pasta
  
• 365-brand Black Tea, Fig Bars, Orange Juice, Yogurt, and Chopped Spinach.
  
• And it's Easter on Sunday, so her treat this week for the family is mini Easter eggs.

Using coupons, buying Good Stuff For Less and 365-generic brand product, and getting credit for using 7 of her own grocery bags, Jane spent $170. And this week for her family of four she'll make:

• 16 packed lunches
  
• 6 evening meals
  
• Plus, tonight she has 2 guests coming for dinner (total of 8 people)
  
• And this Sunday she's going to an Easter brunch for 8 people (I suggested she make Savory Bread Pudding for the brunch and use some of her eggs and the Half & Half.)

Shopping for a family and saving on your grocery bill is possible at any grocery store using the above tricks. Whole Foods Market just happens to be my favorite store because there, I feel I can get the best overall value for money.

I do recommend one-stop shopping, in other words, do your research and identify the one store that you feel gives you best overall value and become a loyal customer.

Most grocers offer loyal-customer discounts and when you're on a budget, why not take advantage of these programs just as Jane took advantage of the values at her local Whole Foods.

Mini Tortilla Pizza

When feeding a family on a budget it's tempting to buy cheap filler-foods, like frozen pizza.

I know ready-made meals are convenient; I posted a blog titled More Meal from Your Frozen Favorites.

Yet I also have concerns about the impact on a family's health and happiness if mealtimes are reduced to consuming food that is made in a factory, frozen, and then sold cheaply.

It's actually very easy to fill up on cheap calories, if that's what eating is all about -- filling up.

But to me, nourishing oneself and a growing family is a holy and sensual act that can't be bought in the frozen-food section of your grocer.

If at the end of the day, time is the reason you seek the convenience of ready-made meals, consider involving your children in the preparation of dinner. Enlist their help and make cooking the family meal a fun and engaging way to be together.

As a kid, I followed my mother around the kitchen as she cooked, I'd tell her about my day at school and she'd give me things to do to help, like shelling peas or peeling potatoes, and this is how I began to appreciate the joys of cooking.

Then as a tween, one of my favorite meals to make was pizza, because like most kids of that age, I loved pizza! I made it on the weekends because I used yeast to create a traditional pizza crust, and as you probably know, when you use yeast, you need plenty of time.

With time in mind, the pizza I'm proposing here is simple, quick and easy. And it's definitely a meal kids will enjoy helping you make, and then enjoy eating even more.

Mini Tortilla Pizza
(using ingredients from my friend's shopping list)
1) Lay tortillas out on a baking tray. As you can see in the pic above, I used the mini corn tortillas so I allocated two per person.
2) Cut up several tomatoes and place slices around the tortilla.
3) Wash and chop leafy greens and or broccoli, then toss into a pan with some garlic, chopped onion and olive oil. Saute gently till greens are tender.
4) Dot the tortilla with sauteed greens.
5) Grate cheddar and mozzarella and spread cheeses over tortillas.
6) Drizzle olive oil over pizza. Pop in oven.
7) Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 mins or so.

Olives, of course, are great flavor pals to mild cheese and sweet tomatoes, but sometimes the salty, brine-like flavor of olives is a bit strong for kids.

It's easy to make family-style pizza without olives, instead, use whatever cheeses you have in the fridge and whatever veggies you have in the crisper. And if you want to add a little protein, dot pizza with ground beef.

Shrimp & Tomatoes with Garlic Mash

As I post meal ideas using my friends shopping list (yesterday's post), I'm keeping in mind that this is a family of four with two children, aged 12 and 10.

Tweens are at an age when appetites increase in direct relationship to physical growth. This is particularly so for boys.

And it's a tricky age, particularly for girls, who are suddenly aware of their body-image and hence at risk for developing an unhealthy relationship to food. Either they won't eat properly, for fear of getting fat or they satiate they're pubescent emotional ups-and-downs with too many delicious sweets and snack foods.

Additionally, tween taste buds are maturing and so they're often open to eating a wider ranger of foods and flavors -- that is, so long as you introduce them into your cooking.

In summary, family meal-times can be a challenge. However, the important ingredient is to model healthy eating by consuming a range of simple, colorful meals with texture, flavor and eye-appeal.

With that in mind, here's the first family-meal idea using my friend's shopping list.

Shrimp & Tomatoes with Garlic Mash

• Shrimp is a slightly sweet crustacean with a subtle flavor that lends itself well to delicate flavor pals, or big flavors. Kids tend to like shrimp fried because that's how it comes at family restaurants on the "Kid's Menu." Frying makes most foods delicious, and it can drown the subtle flavor too. I'm pairing shrimp in this dish with vegetables: tomatoes, leafy greens, cilantro, and some onion. The shrimp flavor will hold its own paired with these veggies.

• Potatoes have an earthy flavor that lends itself to many flavor pals. Because the shrimp and tomatoes are sweet and delicate, I'm adding garlic and butter to the potatoes to enrich them and add oomph to the whole meal. Plus, mashed potatoes are a fave with kids, probably because the buttery texture is non-threatening to their palate.

1) Boil several potatoes (you can either peel or not peel them).
2) Meanwhile, toss a chopped onion and a smashed clove of garlic into a pan with some olive oil. Saute gently until transparent.
3) Wash and chop leafy greens, and several tomatoes (and a couple of carrots, if you wish).
4) Add veggies to pan with onion, stir, then put lid on pan and turn heat to low, letting veggies cook in their own juices for about 10 mins or so.
5) At the 10-minute mark, pour frozen shrimp over veggies and replace lid. The moisture from the frozen shrimp will cause the veggies and shrimp to gently steam cook.
6) Once potatoes are tender, mash them with a fork, tossing in a couple chopped gloves of garlic, a big blob of butter, some milk. Season to taste.
7) Chop cilantro and toss over shrimp and veggies, season, then squeeze a lemon over the lot.

To Serve: I've sliced an avocado to decorate the plate--adding color and eye-interest. Though avocados aren't on my friend's shopping list, they're abundant and well-priced at the moment, and they're a great flavor and texture pal for potatoes. Try them with this dish and see if your family enjoys the combination.