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Daily Post: Jan 1st BASIC CARE & FEEDING OF HUMANS

GLUTEN-FREE

M E N U

Hummus & Crudites
Sausage in Marinara Sauce w/Rice
Green Beans
Fresh Fruit

S H O P

BUTCHER

• 2 links fresh-made sausage, per serving (about 1/4 lb per link), sweet or spicy, depending upon your taste preference or vegetarian chorizo.

GROCERY

• Pre-packaged hummus, 8-oz package (serves 2)
• Jar of marinara (tomato) sauce with spices. NOTE:  Even a small jar will be more than you need, but you can keep the remainder in the refrigerator (for stuffed peppers or pasta).
• White rice
• Sliced almonds

GREEN MARKET

• Fresh vegetables for crudités, whatever you like:
  • Few carrots
  • Few celery
  • Stalk of broccoli
  • Sweet red bell pepper
  • Few mushrooms

• 1/3 lb Green beans, per serving

• Fresh fruit in season for dessert:
  • Tangerine
  • Grapes
  • Apple
  • Banana

See Produce Note.

T I M I N G

TOTAL – 25 minutes

1. Put on rice to cook.
2. CRUDITES  Clean & cut vegetables and arrange on plate.  Open hummus and put in center of plate.  Enjoy while preparing the rest of the meal.
3. Clean beans & put on to cook.
4. Put on sausage in tomato sauce.
5. Add butter to beans.
6. After dinner, peel & cut fruit.

C O O K / P R E P A R E

INGREDIENTS – Rice, per serving

• 1/2 c uncooked rice
• 1 c water
• 1/4 tsp salt

INGREDIENTS – Sausage, per serving

• 2 sausage links
• 1/3 c marinara sauce

INGREDIENTS – Green beans, per serving

• 1/3 lb green beans
• 1/2 tsp butter

P R E P A R A T I O N

Rice

• Bring water to full boil on stove in small saucepan with tight-fitting lid (essential for cooking rice).  Add rice and salt; stir and return to boil.
• Lower heat.  Cook over very low heat until all water is absorbed by the rice, about 15 minutes.  Cooking time increases with the quantity of water and rice.   Rice is done when there is a pattern of what look like small holes in the surface of the rice.  Also, the water will be absorbed.  Try not to uncover until you think it is done, as this will change the texture of the rice.  If you have cookware with a good heat seal to the lid, you can actually turn the heat off and the rice will cook in the heated water, in about 20 to 30 minutes.  This is a good way to slow down the cooking if the rest of the meal hasn’t caught up to the rice, or if dinner is to be delayed.  Rice will cook as hot water is absorbed into the grains.

Sausage

• Place sausage links in small saucepan, pour marinara sauce over links.
• Cover and heat over very low flame for about 6 minutes, turning once with tongs, until inside has lost its pink color.  If flame is too high, marinara will burn and sausage will burst.  To speed cooking, slice sausage in half lengthwise or into 1” pieces before covering with sauce.  Cook over low heat, turning sausage pieces once, until marinara bubbles on bottom of pan; ready when sausage is no longer soft and pink in the middle.

Green Beans

• Put 1/4” cold tap water, into small saucepan with tight-fitting lid.  Bring to boil.
• Put beans in colander and rinse with cold water.
• Break or cut ends off.
• Put beans into boiling water, cover and lower heat.  Cook for about 4 minutes, depending upon your preference.  Green beans are best when still crisp and bright green.  If beans have begun to turn a dull green, they are overcooked.  If unsure about cooking time, take one out and try it.  It should have a slight crunch.
• Drain water, holding the tilted pan in one hand against the lid held in the other.
• Add butter to pan, cover and shake to coat beans.

Fruit

• Peel the citrus fruit you’ve chosen.  Remove as much of the white strands as possible, separate the segments and place in a individual bowl(s).
• With small, sharp paring knife, cut apple in polar half then each half into polar half. Cut out core from each quarter, then slice each into four slices & add.
• Peel banana & slice into bowl(s).
• Pull a handful of grapes off of stem and add.

S E R V E

• Dish rice onto plate and place sausage links beside rice.  Spoon marinara sauce over links and rice.
• Place green beans on plate; top with large pinch of slivered almonds.

W O R K P L A C E   L U N C H

Buy a container of hummus and take to work.  Cut up vegetables and store in air-tight container in refrigerator.  For a great lunch in any season, simply open the hummus and dip in the vegetables.  Couldn’t be easier. Place leftover rice in air-tight container.  Cut sausage into 1” pieces and place on top of rice.  Pour marinara sauce over sausage.  Store in refrigerator.  Heat until hot throughout.  The aroma of the spices of the sausage and tomato sauce will wake up your co-workers’ from their fast-food induced comas. Cooked, buttered green beans can be put into another microwavable air-tight container and lightly reheated.  Plan ahead by removing a serving of beans from the pot you are cooking for dinner so that they are crunchy and won’t be overcooked when reheated the next day.  Put slivered almonds in a separate container and sprinkle on top of the heated beans. When slicing fruit for dessert in the evening, cut up a little more and put in airtight container to take to work the next day.  Cut fruit doesn’t hold up for long and is best eaten immediately, but it is good if eaten within 12 hours.  I usually slice workplace lunch in the morning but I know that mornings can be crazy just getting out the door.  See what works best for you.  You can also take whole fruit; just peel, slice & eat al desko! It never ceases to amaze me how many people will notice someone eating fresh fruit; so appealing it actually inspires envy.  It is an easy, flavorful snack.  I urge you to enjoy the fruits of your labor; a little advance planning is time well spent, an investment in the joy of feeding oneself well.

All PREPARATIONS are also on left sidebar.