Second Time Around

Eventually, I ran out of the 7 pre-cooked meals I’d prepared to eat throughout the month of May, on Friday. (So that was June 1st, but lets not split hairs.) Here, I just want to run through them again and let you know my feelings on their “storeability”. Were any of them better the second time around?

Here’s a bit of music while you read! Actually, there’s a story to that, when Shalamar were in London, back in the early 80’s, they were at Xenon in Picadilly to pick up a Blues and Soul award. Well, thanks to a friend in the business, I went to that award night. Later, at the same venue, I met and danced with Jeffrey Daniel. I know, that hardly qualifies me as a “celebrity cook.” My cooking wouldn’t either, come to think of it!

Where were we? Oh yeah, eating …

In general, let me tell you that if you mess up or overcook something - I plead guilty - the freezing process does not rescue it! After you defrost the dish and reheat it, it comes out pretty much exactly the same (just as bad) as when it went into store. Shame about that, but “There It Is” …

The first choice, the Lentil-Spinach Stew though, was perfect. The mint flavor wasn’t as strong the second and subsequent times, but otherwise I detected no major difference. So I vote this an all round winner, because it keeps really well and also tolerated being re-heated in the microwave.

After a couple of practices, I even made less mess of the Capellini!

My green rice pudding pretending to be broccoli risotto was overcooked, and not having the correct rice in the first place, was a long way from perfect, but I liked it anyway. It wasn’t really planned, but due to lack of space, I’d stored this in freezer bags, instead of plastic containers.

That was serendipitous, because I was able to use those later to “boil in the bag” (peasant Bain-marie). This was about the gentlest method of warming it through adequately, without causing any more damage! Obviously, you have to make sure that your bags are fit for this purpose. Melted plastic probably doesn’t taste that great and I don’t want you poisoning yourself.

The Revuelto con Gambas y Triguero was thrown together in much the same way, in five minutes, each week and both the fish stew and the chicken casserole were perfectly behaved after having been defrosted for 24 hours, then reheated for a couple of minutes in the microwave too.

From the seven dishes I chose though, really only the paella didn’t survive adequately enough. To be fair, it’s never the same heated up. So, I guess I won’t be making it again as part of one of these meal plans for the month.

Some you win, some you lose.

Basically, the lesson learned here, is that you have to find dishes that will freeze, without each and every one being some variation on the same stew.

Some stews are better “second time around”, when the flavors have had longer to mingle, but most things we just want to ensure are the same and no worse for the process. Experiment and perhaps take a little calculated risk here and there, as you build up a repertoire of dishes that you like and that work.

The biggest down side …

Like I said in a previous post, remembering to get each (next) day’s meal out to defrost, but if I persevere, hopefully this will become second nature.

The biggest advantages …

Previously, I would cook big “witches cauldrons” of stew of some sort or another, but generally making it last all week. Well, this is fine, but sometimes I was getting tired of the same thing, day in, day out. I’d convince myself that was better than trying to find things that would reduce to one portion or cooking every day, but I knew the system could use some improvement.

With this plan, I may get the same thing four times in a month, but at least it isn’t on consecutive days until I’m totally and utterly sick of it.

On the other hand, coming up with a list of just seven meals for planning and shopping, is a manageable task, that only takes an hour or so. It would take less, but I’m also surfing the internet looking for new dishes to try.

It’s definitely easier to cook for four and, more economical too.

I did have to kick my lazy behind a bit through the first week to make sure that I cooked those meals on the right days and didn’t slack off the plan. The thing is, I like cooking, so long as I do NOT have to do it every single day.

But, by the end of that first week when I realized that I would not have to cook again - beyond the odd five minute thing or a bit of warming up - for the whole of the rest of the month and saw all the little containers and portions neatly lined up in the freezer, I felt pretty self-satisfied.

And #1: My kitchen has been so clean! No pots and pans to scrub after the initial push, no more messing up the stove top, just a plate and a container to wash up, a proper meal each day and lots of time saved. Yep, I like it!