Softening Butter

Pretty much every cookie recipe I use calls for 'room temperature' or 'softened' butter. And even if I happen to be planning to bake in advance I rarely remember to get the butter out in time to self-soften.

I have discovered that 10 seconds on high in the microwave is enough to soften butter to a cream-able consistency. It's really great if the butter comes wrapped in paper (not foil) - fridge to microwave to mixing bowl, all in under a minute.

Menu Planning

I started planning menus a couple of years ago (Aaron's suggestion). The compulsive planner in me loves the organization of it all, but the extra benefits were a surprise:

• we spend less on groceries
• we eat a good variety of food
• meal time is less stressful because the 'what should we eat?' decision is already made
• meals are suited to our other plans (quicker meals on days when we have nighttime activities)
• making a grocery shopping list for the week is easy (I know what I need from the recipes)

My advice for starting to plan menus:

• write down meals as they come to you (you don't have to plan a whole month at once!)
• start with meals you already eat and fill in with other things you'd like to try
• look for food balance - are you eating hamburger meals all week long?
• balance your shopping list - mix produce-heavy meals in with meals that call for staples already in the pantry
• use what is available - if a recipe calls for half of something perishable, use the rest later in the week
• write your evening appointments on your menu so you don't forget to plan meals that fit with your activities
• find a planning medium that works for you - dry erase board, printed calendar, notepad...
• don't be afraid to substitute - just move the unused meal to the end of the list