In honor of the Nine Days, Michal Goldstein shows us how to do a meat-free week

Job: Teacher

Lives: Monsey, NY

Family: Husband, myself, and seven children

Time of supper:

Five-thirty, as soon as my husband comes home from work. I like to have a good supper waiting for him, but the poor man sometimes eats it while feeding a toddler or a four-year-old or both.

Cooking Philosophy:

I have my moods with cooking. Sometimes, I get into my “good mothers make hearty-nutritious-homey food” mode and cook suppers which take more effort. But a lot of the time, I’m in a more minimalist, rushed survival mode, and dinner will be a quick grilled chicken, rice, and green beans. I make only one supper every night, and all the kids need to eat some components. I’ve found that there are two types of “kids not liking supper.” There are foods that some people genuinely don’t like, like proteins in tomato sauce or mushy-textured foods, and I can’t push those. Then there are the foods they groan about because they aren’t excited about them.

Average time I spend cooking supper:

Most days I try to get out of the kitchen as quickly as possible. I think 25 minutes can work. Hard to do less with a family of my size.

Something I serve for my family’s health:

I use brown rice. I also buy only whole wheat bread and use whole wheat flour in brownies and oatmeal cookies.

If someone treated me to a meal out, I’d order:

lasagna or another cheesy, saucy pasta dish

When I’m too tired to cook:

I ask my husband to cook (he’s good at it!) or my daughter to make pancakes.

Supper hack:

I have a cleaning lady on Monday who is super-quick at peeling and dicing. When her time allows it, I give her a load of onions to dice, and potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, eggplant, or other vegetables to peel and cut. That pushes me one step ahead with suppers. I freeze the fried onions to make liver or dips for Shabbos.

Sunday: Spaghetti

with ketchup and melted cheddar cheese and fried eggs, sliced peppers.

My kids love making a crispy sunny-side-up and flipping it on top of the pasta and cheese. The yolk drips all over, and it’s good.

Monday: Fresh-fried flounder

with roasted potatoes and salad (tomatoes and pickles).

I get the fish fresh from a local store, cut them into strips, bread them, and fry a large batch. I freeze them as an extra for a quick supper or even for Shalosh Seudos.

Tuesday: Mushroom quiche

with potatoes and sweet potatoes, Israeli salad.

Wednesday: Falafel

with pita, salads, (coleslaw, Israeli salad, homemade hummus left from Shabbos), and sauces.

I buy the balls from the local pizza store. The kids’ favorite sauce is my mother’s recipe: Grate three pickles on a hand grater and mix with mayonnaise.

Thursday: Pita-pizza

with cherry tomatoes and yogurt

I usually make the pizza in my panini maker. I lay the pita flat on a plate and cut a circle in the center to lift off most of the top layer, so I’m left with a base of pita and a thin crust of the top layer around it. Then I spread pizza sauce, onions, mushrooms, and cheese, top it with the pita cover, and close the machine to bake.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 953)