Family Food for Moms Podcast I Inspiration for Family Cooking and Dining I How to Enjoy Special Meals Together

#124 Hospitality - Go To Meals that are easy to plan and make for your guests

Today we're going to talk more about hospitality.
Last time we talked about how it's important to be present, and not have it be stressful, but to enjoy the time with your guests. We said that you should have plans for what kind of meals you could make so that it's not stressful. You can plan a lot in advance.
We talked about having laughter and warmth, helping people feel welcome, involving your children in the decorating and the cooking, focusing on your connection with people, prepping ahead, and making it fun for kids as well. We also looked at knowing how to welcome your kids, having some kind of treats in the freezer, micro-hospitality, and et cetera.
Today we're going to talk about what you can do for food when you have guests over. You can do a tea or a dessert evening, but if you're doing a full meal, here are some ideas of what's easy, what works, and what you can do without stress!

#123 Hospitality Tips - How to Make Having Guests Doable and Simple

 I'm going to do two shorter episodes this week about hospitality. The first one will be tips about hospitality - what can make it easier for you, and the second one will be ideas that you can use for your meals when you have guests over. It’s always a good idea to have meals planned in advance, and we'll talk more about that in the next episode.
So, let’s talk about hospitality. It always works out a lot better than we expect, doesn't it - most of the time, at least. I think the important thing is to remember that it's about the people, the connection, and the fellowship. It’s not about being perfect, or having everything just right. You really want to make hospitality be low-stress for yourself, otherwise you're not going to do it. Sometimes I've fallen into the trap, even with extended family, of trying to make everything perfect because I feel like they're judging me. Actually, what they remember is the special things, the connection, and the memories. 

#122 How We Can Be Inspired by Meals in Enid Blyton Books from the 1940s

Today I want to talk about an unusual topic - how we can be inspired by meals in the Enid Blyton Adventure Books from the 1940s. She's the author of Famous Five. I’ve mentioned this briefly before in the episode on children's literature - how we can be inspired by what they ate. I've always been particularly fascinated by the food in the Enid Blyton books - the way they have the meals and what they eat, and I wanted to talk a bit more about that.
The Context Behind the Food in These Books 
These books were published starting from about 1946, after the Second World War. Around then food would've been quite scarce, and before that there would've been rationing. Later on it would've improved a bit though, especially on the farms. Farms seemed to be the places that these children loved to go and eat, and they always had lots of amazing farm food.
I thought it was interesting to look at what they ate and what they considered healthy, in the context of kids who got a lot of exercise and sunshine. They were always outside in the fresh air - they were going on picnics, cycling, and swimming in rivers and oceans. They ate a lot of good stuff, but they were really active. It was the same with the farmer, the farmer's wife, and the shepherds - they were all very active. It’s wonderful to see what they ate, what they enjoyed, and what was available. I find it inspiring, but I think it also helps us see what's healthy and what's good for us. 

#121 A Guide to Spices and Herbs in Your Kitchen - Which Ones to Have and How to Use Them

 Last week, we spoke about how to season your food amazingly, using spices and herbs, acid and citrus, and other flavors that you can add to make it delicious.
Today, we’re going to do a spices and herbs guide - a guide to which herbs and spices are good, which ones are best to have in your kitchen, and what to do with them.
We’ll also talk about which spices to use on which proteins, vegetables, or whatever else you're cooking.
It's obviously a big subject, and I'm just going to touch on it briefly, but hopefully this will be a basic guide for you as a learning cook that can help you know what kind of herbs you can use. 

#120 We're Making Fermented Foods at Home - Finally Taking the Plunge!

 Lately we've been thinking about the best ways to help our health. Some of our family have had a little bit of eczema, and some other less obvious symptoms. I was looking at an Instagram reel about the healthiest food on the planet for people. It said it was human breast milk - obviously for when people are babies.
Then the things that mirror that the most in terms of their benefits and nutrients, et cetera, are fermented foods. We've always had yogurt, sometimes raw yogurt. We have raw milk, we love aged cheese, and we also get lacto-fermented pickles and sauerkraut at the whole food store. 
However, I wanted to look into making those things at home, as then they’d be cheaper, and I want to finally get over my fear of making them. I decided to finally take the plunge!

#119 How to Season Your Food Amazingly - Adding Spices, Herbs, Zest, etc - Basic Cooking Skills Series

Today we're going to talk about seasoning. This is part of our series about skills that we should all learn in order to become better cooks. We’ll be talking about how to season different kinds of food, how to understand seasoning, and how to get the best results. 
Understanding seasoning means knowing how to effectively use salt, spices, herbs, etc in your cooking; understanding the role of saltiness, fat, and acidity like citrus; using herbs; using spices; and knowing how to layer your seasoning throughout your cooking time. We’ll look at how to season your proteins, vegetables, starches, soup, and sauces correctly. You need to develop the skill of being able to taste food and then adjust it, knowing what needs to be added. We’ll also look at how to avoid some common seasoning mistakes. 
So, what enhances flavor? The top five things are salt - that enhances your flavor, fat, which carries your flavor with it, acidity, which brightens and balances your flavor, heat or spiciness, which adds something exciting to the taste, and then aromatics, which build depth. 
Let's chat more about seasoning!

#118 Heat Control - How to Bring Your Food to the Next Level using the Correct Heat Settings - Cooking Skills Series

 Last time we talked about the new series that we're starting - cooking skills we should master for home cooking. When we've mastered these basic skills, it’ll make our general cooking much easier, more effective, and tastier. Last time was the introduction, and I went through all the things we're going to cover, though not necessarily in that order.
Today, we’re going to talk about heat control. I think that's one of the most valuable things to learn, especially when you're cooking on the stove top. We’ll learn what the differences are between things like a gentle simmer versus a rolling boil. What’s medium heat, and when do you use it? What’s high heat and when do you use it?
A lot of common mistakes in cooking are heat mistakes.

#117 Cooking Skills You Should Master - New Series!

 Today we're going to be starting a series on basic cooking skills that we should all master.
We’re going to do a number of episodes on this, and today I'm going to give you a bit of an introduction to what kind of things we’re going to talk about.
It's easy to feel nervous when attempting new things in the kitchen - new proteins or vegetables you haven't cooked before, new cooking methods, or using kitchen tools for the first time, like a slow cooker or air fryer. Actually, though, a lot of these things are not as scary or intimidating as they seem. 
It's a good idea to have a bit of extra time on your hands when you’re practicing new cooking skills. Then you're not learning a new skill in the rushed stress of the day's cooking, but rather doing it at a time where it doesn't matter if it goes wrong. That way, there's less pressure on you, but the skills will help you when you do want to cook with them.

#116 What we’ve Lost from Cooking and Nutritious Food since the 1900s and How We Can Bring it Back

Note: Only one episode this week as we have a CRAZY amount of stuff going on - I'll be back next Monday.  I appreciate all my loyal listeners!
Today I want to talk about what we've lost from food cooking and nutrition since the 1900s. Back then, food was a lot more nutritious, home cooked meals were much more common, and there was much less refinement and processing. My middle daughter has been doing some homemaking reading and studying as part of her course this year. One of the books she’s reading is Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton, first published in 1861. It contains a lot of recipes, but also a lot of text about homemaking and cooking, how to plan it and execute it. 
I was just thinking about how differently we cook and eat these days. We’re really afraid of food that's what I would call decadent. We want to just do chicken breasts or lean meat, and we do the same things over and over again. I don’t know about you, but in our family, probably because it's cheapest, we repeatedly use chicken breasts and ground beef, and most of our meals are made up of those. Yes, it's good because it's cheaper, but existing on muscle meat is really not good for us.
So, I wanted to talk about some things that I feel like we've lost. I love looking at old menus from the 1900s from various countries, and just seeing how they ate - It's quite amazing. If you factor in that they didn't have snacks, and that they had all their meals really full and nutritious, then it makes a bit more sense. I'm going to talk about what things we've lost since those times from cooking, food, and nutrition. 

#115 Meal Planning with Themes for each Evening plus a Master List of Ideas

In Episode 113, we talked about a meal planning method that our family's been using, which is based on who's cooking each night and what dishes they know how to cook. We discuss what our older children enjoy cooking, and then we plan together based on that. 
Today, I want to talk about a meal planning method based on themes. You set a theme for each evening; each day of the week, and then you do your planning based on that. For example, you could do French or Greek themed food, or a baked potato bar, or a takeout evening. You can vary this as much as you like. 
What's very helpful when you’re planning like this is a master list. I have a printable for you for this. 
You can download and print your blank Meal Planning With Themes sheets to fill in at familyfoodformoms.com/meals.