It was inevitable, the dreaded return to school and routine had to happen eventually but why so early? The government have not only picked our pockets of spare cash but they’ve shortened the summer holidays by at least a week! Remember the days when the school year began on the first Monday or Tuesday after September 1st? These days we are back to school the last week in August. The problem with such an early start is that, generally, we are not ready to let go just yet and why should we. While the evenings draw in, it is highly likely that early September days will be graced with a warming autumnal sunshine. After the school day we can still avail of the outdoors before we properly batten down the hatches for the winter routine.
Food is always tricky on the seasonal cusp. It is far too early for hearty meals and yet after a hard day at school, dinners are to be welcomed. From the ‘eat when you want to’ relaxed ways of summer days, school time brings routine, hunger and a need for proper nourishment. Instead of trying to straddle the gap with the usual, it is time to think creatively and maybe even look to another culture for inspiration.
One of the things I love about food in America (and notice that I didn’t say American food) is the abundance of taste and influence. So many immigrants to the New World brought recipes that have been handed down the generations and largely tweaked to suit taste, ingredients and culture. The result is a land of ingredients where people mix it up and food is a thing of great joy. I particularly love the Italian bent. Italy, a passionate country at the best of times, is famed for its food. They are well known for meals that take hours to consume, made up of small numerous courses of wonderful tastes and aromas. The Irish take on pasta dishes for example is to load up the pasta with a huge amount of meat sauce. In Italy the dish is more about the pasta and the meat sauce is more of a dressing than the main event. They lay out plates of fresh sliced meats, stuffed peppers, bread sticks and cheeses; all to be eaten before a meal as a picnic starter that can often be even tastier that the main course. Sometimes it is more about a combination of bought ingredients rather than hours spent in the kitchen. Even some of the sauces are simplicity itself; a good pesto is simply oil, basil leaves, garlic, salt, pepper, walnuts and parmesan blitzed together to form an oily paste. Combine that with a little spaghetti and you have a meal in itself 
America is a melting pot of cultures from Chinese to Mexican and everything in between. If you have hungry kids coming in from school a cheese quesadilla is a great snack. Take a large flour tortilla, and grate on a combination of cheeses, chopped onion, chopped tomatoes and even a grated radish or anything else you think will go with it. Fold the tortilla over and brown on both sides in a hot pan with butter or oil until the cheese is melted. Another quick Mexican inspired dish is mince filled tacos. These are very easy and quick. Brown a pound or so of mince with chopped onion and season with a little cumin or any curry powder. Once cooked through, pile it into taco shells with lettuce, chopped tomato, onion, chopped coriander and top it all with sour cream. This tastes great on a sunny evening and yet is still a hot and satisfying meal.
Eggs are another quick and easy ingredient to use. Heat any salami or chorizo in a little butter and then stir in some beaten eggs to give scrambled egg that extra kick. Serve the eggs on warmed bread as a great supper dish. Or how about baked eggs for supper or after school rather than breakfast? If you are feeling very decadent you can even make these with cream. Put a tablespoon of cream (or a knob of butter if you don’t have cream) and a slice of tomato into a ramekin. Crack in an egg and season with salt and pepper. Grate over some Parmesan and bake at about 180° until the egg is set. Serve this with warm toast soldiers and some grilled rashers.
If you are looking for an Asian influence take a thin steak, a chicken breast or even a pork chop. Sear the meat in a hot oiled pan for a few minutes on both sides and then remove to a plate. Add a splash of water to the pan, a little sake, a splash of soy sauce and a half teaspoon of sugar (or to taste). Allow the mixture to thicken up and then return the meat to the pan and turn in the sauce until cooked through. Serve this on noodles or rice. This also works really well with a salmon steak. 
Now you may think that I am jumping all over the place this week with these suggestions for those early back to school suppers but there is a common denominator. All of the above are really quick and easy to prepare. Once you get the hang of it you could have it to the table in less than 20 minutes. And finally one of my all time favourite easy, quick and nutritious dishes is one of our own – liver dredged in a little flour and seared on a pan with butter. Don’t over cook, it should be a little pink on the inside. I usually have it with bacon and a potato cake made from some leftover mash.
Back to school needn’t mean back to hours slaving in the kitchen. Take it easy for the first few weeks and ease back into the school term. For more ideas drop by James Whelan Butchers at the Oakville Shopping Centre in Clonmel or visit our website 24/7.
This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: Back to school, James Whelan Butchers, nourishment, Pat Whelan
