May 10, 2007
Frantic Woman No More!
I just finished reading The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Feeding Family and Friends by Mary Jo Rulnick. Her book is wonderfully written and created with the busy woman in mind.
When it comes to making meals in my house, I often feel strapped for ideas as well as time. Working 8 to 5, the days are long and the nights are longer, especially with a husband and toddler to feed and a dog to walk.
The book is ordered in five parts: Prep Work, Seasonal Menus, Weekly and Daily Specials, Side Dishes and Extra Helpings.
In Prep Work, Rulnick offers tips and suggestions to organize your kitchen, what to stock in your pantry, and she provides a list of the basic cookware essentials every kitchen should have. I was amazed at how easy it is to eliminate the gadgets I no longer use that are stealing valuable space in my cabinets.
I especially loved the advice she gave to grocery shop without the children (if possible!) because the bill can rise 10% when the kids are in the cart.
Rulnick advises 2-week shopping lists and gives specific instructions on what to freeze, what to store in the refrigerator, and she makes special notes of additional mid-week grocery trips called Pit Stops. These Pit Stops are usually for milk and other necessities.
In Part 2 her recipes are organized in bi-weekly menus based on what else? Fall, winter, spring and summer! The largest part of the book, Seasonal Menus consists of dinner choices based on what is in season at your grocery store and farmer’s markets as well. This was especially important for me as I love to garden and buy produce at The Square, our local farmer’s market.
Part Three, Weekly and Daily Specials, offers recipe ideas based on celebrations, holidays, vacations and overnight company which make up a frantic woman’s life. Turkey Week is wonderful for helpful hints on what to do with all that left over bird. The recipe for turkey soup is divine, simply because it’s right around Thanksgiving that I come down with a pre-winter cold. There’s also a section about Ham Week that I plan to use around the Easter holiday.
In Part Four, Side Dishes, I learned all about which foods go good together best. This section is also organized by season, making it a cinch to pair the perfect side with your main course. The Grilled Potatoes recipe was instantly ear-marked. I can sense this will be a fave of my “meat and potatoes” husband.
The last chapter, Extra Helpings, offers the frantic woman a Cooking Glossary of terms like base and fold, as well as a Rundown on Herbs and a Wine and Food Guide to help pair the perfect wine with your new menus.
My favorite parts of the book are the Potful of Knowledge sections. For example: Rulnick tells how to dress up your salads with color by adding healthy greens like arugula, kale, and spinach, or dressing up a pasta with carrots, squash, peppers or eggplant.
With clever ideas for jazzing up any dish, and cleaning tips to boot, I really enjoyed reading this book. Frantic women everywhere will benefit!
Mary Jo Rulnick truly hit the mark with her fantastic secrets to help moms everywhere. It’s no wonder she’s the Club Mom cooking, holidays and parties expert!
I’ve had the opportunity to ask Mary Jo a few questions, too. Check out the interview here.
For more information about the author and her “fran-tastic” book, visit her website at www.MaryJoRulnick.com.
Posted by Dana @ 7:44 AM • Uncategorized
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May 10th, 2007 at 10:16 AM, tanilan Says:
Oh my Lord, I need this book in my life! I am so stressed out about what to fix for dinner all the time. And with my husband and the boys running nine hundred different directions I welcome any ideas!
Thanks for this I’m going to check it out.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:34 PM, Violet the Verbose Says:
This book sounds great but I am faced with the same problem as always. All these sorts of books are written for people who eat meat. I am sure there are some recipes in it that do not include meat, but not in the Main Dish section, I’ll bet. Maybe I’ll borrow it from the library to check out the organization tips. Sounds great!
May 10th, 2007 at 4:38 PM, jennster Says:
please just email me daily with what you’re making for dinner that night so i can copy. thanks!
May 11th, 2007 at 11:46 AM, dana Says:
Jennster, no prob!