Times have changed in home life

Although Mom and I write the articles for the paper, the whole family/circle of friends participates in questions, ideas and general info for us to use as subject matter. Well, today, this little gem comes from Dave. As he was cleaning up some paperwork, he came across a really old-looking pamphlet called Lipton Workday Meals. When I saw the booklet, I thought it was a bit odd, because by the appearance of it, it looks like it pre-dates women working outside of the home, but the title "workday meals" leads one to believe that these are meals that you put on the table quickly after returning home from work. Well, when you open it up and read a little closer you find it is for stay-athome moms. Here are some bits of my favourite parts: Monday, Monday. You're doing the wash. Here's a menu that lets you wash, dry and feed the family fabulously. It's Tuesday. Going-to-meeting day. And you've got to serve supper and get there by 8. Here's what to prepare to eat and exit. Wednesday and everyone's got somewhere to go. Keep something warm in the oven for individual service. Thursday and its shopping night. Your list is long. But before you can get to it there's supper. Here's something to eat so you can get both done. Friday night is for the movies. Here's something to satisfy appetites while eyes stay glued to the screen. Saturday night and company's coming. Here are a few ways to serve a sophisticated supper and have time to get dressed. Now the reason I find this all so funny is because I live in a household where both my husband and I work outside the home. But, I also know quite a few stay-at-home moms (and dads). I would guess that any of them would be delighted to find out that on any given day of the week, they only had two real tasks to worry about. Lipton leads us to believe that they really only have to worry about cooking dinner and then the other task for the day, be it laundry or going to a parent-council meeting or doing the shopping. That would indeed be sweet. Most of the stay-at-home parents that I know experience something more like: get children off to school, go to gym to work out, grocery shop, tidy up house, feed kids lunch and return them to school, do a bit of laundry, get younger child to activity program in afternoon, pickup dry cleaning, drop off video rentals, post mail, gas car, race home before older kids return from school, supervise homework, make dinner, drop one child at hockey/soccer/dance/piano/etc, go back to mall because you just discovered your kid's homework project requires Bristol board and is due tomorrow, pick up older child, return home, bathe younger child and put to bed, pick up after younger child, put older child to bed, thaw some meat for tommorrow's dinner, fill out and sign forms to be returned to school, pay a couple of bills, fall into bed. I realize our lives are a bit busier and more complicated than they once were but I think Lipton might have been over-simplifying a bit. At least we got a laugh from it. Have fun and keep cooking!

Goat Cheese Tart

(serves 6-8)

Ingredients (filling)

· 2 tbsp unsalted butter · 3 large leeks, white part only, well rinsed and cut into thin rounds · salt and pepper · 3 large eggs · 1/2 cup whipping cream · 8 oz goat cheese · 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Short Crust Pastry

· 2 1/2 cups pastry flour · 1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes · 1/2 tsp salt · 1/2 tsp sugar · 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Method (pastry)

1. Place flour, salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl and add the cubed butter. 2. With your fingers, rub the butter and flour together until you attain an oatmeal-like consistency. 3. Add the ice water, a little at a time and with your hands, incorporate the water into the butter/flour mixture. 4. Empty the contents of the bowl onto a sheet of plastic wrap, fold the wrap over the mixture pressing as you do so to form a disk. 5. Let the dough relax, refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before using. 6. Roll out the dough and press into a 10-inch tart pan (that has been sprayed with non-stick coating). 7. Pre-bake the tart shell in a preheated 350 degree oven until slightly golden and no longer soft, approximately 10-15 minutes.

Filling

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the leeks and sauté until they are translucent and softened, about 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside. 3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs lightly, then add the whipping cream and whisk until it is thoroughly combined with the eggs. Crumble the goat cheese into the mixture and whisk vigorously so that is breaks up and is incorporated. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper. Then whisk in the cumin. 4. Spread the leeks over the bottom of the pre-baked pastry shell. Then pour in the filling. 5. Bake in the center of the oven until the filling is puffed and golden and a sharp knife inserted comes out clean, approximately 25-30 minutes. 6. Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.