Yikes. Today is the first REALLY sunny day in quite a while, and I am forced to sit inside the house, sniffling and coughing up Lord knows what as I write. Yes, this is my first cold of the season, and it sucks. When you are feeling like crap, the last thing you want to do is worry about dinner. Unfortunately, if I don’t throw at least a little something together, the husband will settle for chips and salsa. The nurturer in me can’t deal with that scenario, so I will opt for down and dirty, easy dinner fixin’s. But it will require some help …



While many of you get excited about the newest version of Mortal Combat or which car model is going to go hybrid, I get giddy over what new grocery items make my life easier. Granted these time-savers typically cost a bit more, but on certain days, like today, my time has a higher price tag, and the key is preparation.



Chefs like to refer to preparation as “mis en place”(pronounced [miz ahn plas], literally “put in place”). This is a system whereby everything you need to cook a meal should be available to you at anytime — conveniently. Now I’m no paragon of perfection in the kitchen, believe me. I do, however, always have a few items within reach in order to make a meal, whether it’s what I feel like making or not.



Pre-meal planning comes down to food items with a decent shelf life. Now this doesn’t mean everything has to come dehydrated and in a box. With today’s advancements in food preservation, you can prepare a pretty damn fast meal that tastes like you slaved for hours.

Frozen items, especially seafood, are nice to keep on hand. Now I know, nothing tastes better than fresh seafood, but the flash-frozen process does a nice job of preservation. Fred Meyer has a12 ounce bag of frozen Tilapia with four to five individually sealed pieces usually on sale for $2.50. These are great because the filets are thin and therefore thaw very quickly.



Tilapia is a very versatile fish. This evening I plan to layer the filets in a glass baking dish with sliced sweet onions and Trader Joe’s Thai Yellow Curry sauce (11 oz. bottle for $2.49). It wouldn’t be a complete meal without a starch and something green. Frozen haricot vertes (thin French style green beans — $2 a bag, on sale) from Freddy’s, and Harvest Medley Brown Rice Blend from Costco ($6.49 for the 3.2 lb. container) round out this easy meal.

Speaking of Costco, unless you own a restaurant, the convenience of a 5 lb. tub of peeled garlic actually turns wasteful. I love garlic, but come on. The smaller packs at Metropolitan Market are great, but it is Global Farms garlic at Fred Meyer that has taken garlic convenience one-step further. The eight-ounce bag contains 10 individually vacuum-sealed packets with four peeled cloves of garlic in each for $2.49. It’s almost too good to be true.



Then we have Gourmet Garden herbs in a tube (variety of grocery stores — $3.50), which aren’t horrible, but good in a pinch. The “herbs in a tube” I recommend include the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass. Try with caution the basil, cilantro, parsley, and dill. They are good in soups and sauces, but don’t use them as a key ingredient such as a replacement for fresh basil in a caprese salad. Don’t ruin your fine reputation on a mistake like that.



So, get out there people and prepare for that unexpected day when you need to dig deep down and pull a fabulous meal out of your … well, let’s just say from nowhere. Don’t rely on Hamburger Helper or Top Ramen. You can do better than that. Hell, my husband can do better than that. Not really. Better yet, save yourself the trouble and just eat out.



Give ME your love, Tacoma. I’m sick.