The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook: Delicious Inspiring Meals for Busy Families, by Debra Ponzek, with Mary Goodbody, Running Press (a member of the Perseus Books Group), 257 pages, $22.
nothing worse than facing 5 p.m. with no thoughts as to what to serve for dinner.” The book is divided into 10 easily defined chapters. Craving soup? Check out chapter one. Is the grill beckoning? Chapter four is what you need. Fish, chicken, pasta and burgers star in other chapters. There is also a breakfast-for-dinner chapter, a practice that Ponzek grew up with and one she has continued in her Greenwich home. “Let’s be honest. Sometimes a bowl of cereal really is all anyone wants to eat at night,” Ponzek says. “So I included a recipe for the best granola you will ever taste, because if you are going to have cereal, why not have the best?” Just the name — apricot, honey and almond Granola — can start those taste buds salivating. Ponzek says she always has been a healthy eater, and maintains the key to any nutritious diet is moderation and avoiding processed foods, which all too often are the mainstay of an American diet. With her recipes you will shop the perimeter of the supermarket, filling your basket with fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and dairy. She laughs about one recipe — bacon burgers with fried eggs and pesto mayonnaise — definitely not high on the healthy-eating scale and one she admits is over the top but too delicious to leave out of the cookbook. “But I would never eat this every night,” she says. “Once a month? Absolutely!” “When you make a meal yourself, you know every ingredient that you are putting into that meal,” she adds. “And if there is something in the recipe that you don’t like, leave it out or substitute. If you want less salt, that’s easy. If you are not big on cream and butter, change up those things. For example, you can always substitute nonfat Greek yogurt for sour cream.” Once a stickler for dried beans and fresh pasta, Ponzek now reaches for canned beans and no-boil pasta noodles. “I am a fan of kitchen shortcuts, as long as the result tastes good,” she says. “I believe in cooking what you like to cook. … And if you like a recipe, and cook it several
image is everything! We will transform your property by providing our special touch
come to the experts
Stone Decorative Walls Design Built Landscaping Water Falls-Flower Garden Patio-Driveway Brick Pavers Decorative Stone/Color Mulch
Construction Building & Property Estate Management Fully Insured
203-743-4856 15 Bates Place Danbury CT
www.reliableexcavatingco.com