Day 40 - Aromatic Chilli Beef Noodle soup

Another Nigella recipe. I have to say it tasted a lot better than it looks! It was from her iPhone app Quick Bites. Aromatic Chilli Beef Noodle Soup - yum

Day 39 - Halloumi with egg and mint

Nigella Lawson has an iPhone app and this dish comes from that (as does all of our recipes this week). Superb! It is Grilled Halloumi with runny egg and it was lovely. Would have been super with some Chorizo too - maybe we can improve the recipe? Am I slurring my typing? The Gin and Tonics also seemed to compliment the dish superbly...

Day 39 - I made cookies

I made a new cookie today from my Country Womens Association cookbook. I will make it again - but I may choose to use different icing ...

Day 38 - Tandoori Chicken

This recipe came from the Weekend Australian Magazine from Saturday. It took Morry ages I think - I spent the day at Kerrys house celebrating Jacqui's 40th birthday, and then came home to have a nanna nap! Morry served it with Anna's dads home made Plum sauce and some yoghurt. I was good but definately a weekend dish when you have an hour to spare to get out all the spices you need!

Day 38 - Seed bread for breakfast

This is my seed bread. I have tweaked the recipe a bit. It originally had half wholemeal flour and half bakers flour, with a bit of rye flour - well I got rid of the wholemeal flour as it seemed too heavy. The rye flour is good. I also add lots of sun flower seeds, chia seeds, linseeds, poppy seeds and sesame seeds. I confess I feel a bit healthy when I eat it!

Day 37 - Miso Grilled Fish

My sister came to dinner this evening and Morry tried his hand at a Japanese style fish dish. The Miso paste was a bit hard to come by in Mitcham, but Woolies came through for me, after I had tried every other food shop in the centre! It was absolutely worth the effort though! This dish was magnificent.

 

From the Donna Hay Simple Dinners cookbook, page 140.

We used Barramundi fillets. Combine 1/4 cup miso paste, 2 tblsp sugar, 1 tblespn grated ginger, 1 tblspn oil and 2 tblspns water, and spread over fish. Stand for 10-15 mins. Grill fish for 6-8 minutes until fish cooked through - Morry had to panfry it to cook it through. Serve with sticky rice, lemon wedges and a cucumber salad with toasted sesame seeds, dressed with a soy sauce, water and sugar dressing, which Morry made up. Nice one Morry.

Day 36 - Singapore House

Oh what can I say? The service was ok, if you like the 'abandonment' style of waiting. The decor was ok, if you like the 'too loud to talk' kind of ambience, the food was ok, if you like the 'im so starving after waiting an hour for food, that id eat ANYTHING' kind of cuisine... other than that, a great night out with Dan & Lisa!

Day 35 - Pizza!!

Right. So obviously there are some things that get repeated, like pizza. I make my own dough and we are big fans of salami pizza and of smoked oysters on pizza. Tonight we had salami, but it was home made salami! Not home made here, but by Trevor Basso, accountant extrordinaire and provided by Hannah - Thanks!!

Tonight we had the hot salami served with a rocket salad. So next time we have pizza, I will have to vary the type of salami - or maybe the type of salad!

Day 35 - salmon patties

When I tell people about my food blog they ask incredulously if the boys join in. The answer is no! The boys usually eat early and they certainly have their favourites. And here is the evidence - before and after photos!

Day 34 - Meatballs with the boys

No photo today, but I had dinner with Hugo & Charlie as I was babysitting for Deb, so i had to eat early. I made meatballs in a tomato sauce and homemade chips. I made the recipe up as I went along and the boys were mad for them!

Day 33 - Spicy Roasted Pork Salad

Another Donna Hay recipe! This one is from The Instant Cook, it has a bit of japanese feel to it with the sesame. It had great flavour but was a bit dry for me. The greenery gave it an amazing flavour - mint, basil, spring onions and snow peas - the recipe called for Mizuna but I couldnt get any so raided the fridge - it worked well. The pork was coated in Chinese Five Spice and roasted - v tasty!



Day 32 - Italian Meatballs

Italian Meatballs with tomato sauce and fresh bread.

These were so tender. I got the recipe from the Food of Italy cookbook. They had sauted onion and pine nuts and a bit of garlic, mixed up with pork and veal mince, an egg, some panko breadcrumbs, a load of lemon zest, some ricotta and some parmesan, pan fried. Then the sauce is just a tin of tomatoes and a bit of red wine seasoned and simmered to reduce, finish cooking the meatballs in the simmering sauce - done! I also made Silvias No Knead bread which turned out really well again. We had a slice to mop oup the leftovers and toasted the rest for breakfast this morning.

Day 31 - lunch with Louise and Hamish

We went to Hamish and Louise' house for a BBQ lunch. No need for dinner - though stayed late enough that Louise had to feed our kids dinner as well as lunch! Morry and I were simply too relaxed to MOVE!

So lunch was BBQ Wagyu beef steaks - Grade 7 - which is apparently not available on the domestic market, but Hamish has an inside edge, so got some. The meat is outragously expensive but worth every penny. It was just so tender and full of flavour. Not sure I have ever tasted anything quite like it. The amazing meat was served with a potato bake and massive garden salad, and a few bottles of wine. Once again, we forgot to take a photo of the food - this picture is just the leftover potato bake after 7 people had helped themselves! (it was massive!!)

Day 30 - Tranquillo

No photo today.

It was our wedding anniversary so we went to a little cafe in Stirling called Tranquillo. The food was ok. Id go there again, but with my expectations in check. I think they thought they were sesrving lumberjacks. We had tapas to start and didnt get halfway through it, then had a Barramundi stack, which was also too big!

Day 29 - Osteria de Mesa

We went to Osteria de Mesa for dinner with John and Anna Kassara. We ordered tapas, ate it all, then remembered the photo. The food was good - John ordered for us. Stand out dishes were the meatballs and a kebab thing. Too many wines and cocktails to remember what I ate with any clarity - I think there was a Manchego cheese dish or something like that too...

Day 28 - Salami Salad

Oh so good!

Dinner on my own again.

This is from the Marie Claire Seasonal Kitchen book, its kind of an old recipe book, but is still one of the best we have. It has pages of 'ideas' as well as real recipes. p148 has tomato salad ideas and this is taken from one of them. I used butter lettuce, salami, baby roma tomatoes, capers, and parmesan - dressed with olive oil and some of Lucias Balsamic Glaze.

Carbs tonight courtesy of beer :)

Day 27 - Chocolate Chip Cookie for Dessert

Oh yum. So good straight from the oven!

Day 27 - Tuscan Bean salad

My sister Tiff is trying to introduce beans into her diet, and as I am mad about beans, I am going to post a few bean dishes that are good for a quick dinner or lunch. This recipe for Tuscan Bean Salad is from the AllRecipes web site.

Im on my own again tonight as Morry is still away, but I made the full recipe because I can keep it for lunch, undressed and with out the tomatoes in the fridge - Im not sure how long it will keep, but it will be gone in a day because the boys are mad about beans too!

Day 26 - steak and salad with a blue cheese sauce

Morry away, so dinner for one.

Sirloin steak sliced up over a simple salad of butter lettuce and cherry tomatoes served with a blue cheese dressing.  

Day 26 - Frangipane Jam Drops

Jam Drops. All gone now.

I made these, from the Womens Weekly Classic Cookies cookbook, for Hugo to take to school tomorrow to share with Bertie. But alas, they have all been eaten - yes, all of them! Hugo ate more than his fair share and when Charlie got full, he just licked the jam out of those left in the tin. Serves me right for being on the phone really!

They were super light becuase they use almond meal instead of flour.

125g softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
120g (1 cup) ground almond
1 egg
100g plain flour
Jam

1. preheat oven to 180
2. beat butter, extract sugar and ground almond till light and fluffy
3. Add egg, beat till just combined.
4. stir through sifted flour
5. Roll into balls and slightly flaten on a lined baking tray, make a hole using the handle of wooden spoon, fill with jam
6. bake for 10 - 15 mins
7. hide from children

Day 25 - Middle Eastern Chicken with Burghul

Wow - Im stuffed! If you are starving hungry but trying to eat more healthily, this is the dish for you! This was so filling I can barely move. It has chickpeas and burghul, pistachios and chicken, topped off with tomatoes and zest and mint!!!

It is a recipe that I got from the Eat Well Live Well with High Cholestrol cookbook. No cholestrol problem here but it is a lovely cookbook with some great recipes and you can be assured they are all good for you. This was delishous, I shouldn't have eaten it all, but I did!

Day 24 - Morry's no carb curry

This is Morrys red curry pantry surprise recipe - out of his head! Pantry surprise here just means that there is no planning involved, we just use up what ever is in the house. My only claim to fame with Pantry Surprise nights is that you need a fabulously stocked pantry to produce stuff that looks and tastes as good as this.

So tonight, using my home made red curry paste (because home made always tastes better than bought - always!), Morry made a red curry sauce. He BBQ's some sweet potato and sirloin steak which makes the bed, then he added steamed brocollini and the curry sauce, and topped it off with cherry tomato. The tomato was a stroke of genius, it really lifted the flavours. Superb dinner!

... makes me want to throw out our recipe books - or publish our own. Id call it 'What Morry Made'

Day 24 - Silvia's No Knead Bread

This is pure genius.
I got this recipe from Silvias Cucina, Silvia is Italian and lives in Sydney and has a fabulous blog. I have made a few things of hers, but this is the best! No Knead bread is super easy - no kneading and very long prooving time make it perfect for a breakfast bread. You just mix the ingredients before bed and pop it in the oven in the morning.  I thought it needed a bit more salt, so I had mine with vegimite, but Morry and the boys enjoyed just as it was. Either way - scrumptious!

Day 23 - Chicken Satay

This Chicken Satay recipe comes from a cookbook called Smart Food Smart Kids by Rupert and Sarah Murdock (?)  Its a great recipe book with a focus on real food - no packet stuff, no preservatives etc etc.  and all allegedly kid friendly recipes... Charlie loved his dinner, but Hugo opted for vegimine crumpets - crazy!

Day 23 - tuna salad lunch

Pantry Surprise!

Tuna, Canellini beans, tinned corn, feta, roast almonds and lots of lemon zest.

Day 23 - Pancakes

Pancakes are a weekend favourite here - this morning served with mango and blueberries and lashings of pure maple syrup.

Day 22 - Roast Veg and Chorizo salad

Veggies oven roasted with paprika and chilli, served with BBQ Chorizo, greek yoghurt, mint and lemon zest.  We roasted pumpkin and carrot, boiled potato and green beans - another fabulous pantry surprise!

Day 21 - Pantry Surprise

Morry is home - YIPPEE

No recipe tonight, rather we had to use up a heap of things in the fridge. My idea was BBQ'd lamb fillet with slow roasted tomato, and a green salad using the left over asparagus etc. Morry misheard and prepared this....

Entree

Blanched asparagus and green beans on a bed of mizuna, toasted walnuts and topped with goats cheese and a vinagarette.

Main

Slow roasted tomatoes, with whole garlic cloves, pan fried then roasted, olives, boiled then roasted, spring onions and taragon, served with BBQ lamb fillet and a glass of wine.

Sometimes I love it when Morry doesnt listen properly!

Day 21 - lunch

a lunch of my home bread, toasted with fruit chutney, ham and tomato. Yum

Mangoes on sale! Mangoes almost gone now ...

Day 20 - super hero picnic in the playroom

No photo today.

Morry is still away so the boys and I had a superhero picnic in the playroom before I went out. Hugo was superman, Charlie was batman and I was bat girl. I thankfully wasnt required to dressup! A lot of fun!

Day 19 - Chicken Tabouleh Salad

From Donna Hay's No Time to Cook, this 'Speedy Chicken Tabbouleh' was perfect. Morry is still away, so its no fun to cook a proper meal, and eating with the boys isnt all its cracked up to be!

This dish comes from the assembled dinner section of the cookbook which suits me really well when I am on my own. It was a pantry surprise meal tonight, so this came from ingredients that I had in the fridge and pantry.

This uses BBQ chicken with tomato, cracked wheat, spring onions mint and parsley and then its dressed with lemon and some olive oil. Dinner for one done!

Day 18 - Steak and a salad

Fillet steak with a green leaf salad with goats cheese and pear. No recipe but very tasty - the goats cheese basically melted. Mmmmm.

I have over bought fruit. We currently have necterines, mangos, bananas, pears, apples, strawberries and blueberries. So I was forced to have a necterine with some vanilla bean yoghurt for dessert - YUM!

I think I will make strawberry jam and banana bread tomorrow!

Day 17 - Pasta with the boys

Morry is away again. I couldnt be bothered cooking two meals so I ate some tuna pasta with the boys. I didnt take a photo, but it was one of their staple meals - pasta with Sirena tuna (in oil) and capers, topped off with some grated parmesan. It was ok, but pasta isn't my favourite food.

Day 16 - Mussels

Valli Little's Mussel recipe from her cookbook Faking It was great. The photo doesnt show the rich tomato and chorizo broth but it was really very tasty. The smoky chorizo went very well with the mussels. White wine for me and a glass of red for Morry. It was the perfect night for sitting on the deck.

Day 15 - take out

We had an impromptu dinner with my parents to celebrate my dads 72nd birthday. What started out as a couple of drinks on the deck turned into a thai feast only Morry could have organised! It was all takeout from the local shop Royal Thai. There were too many dishes to recount what they all were, or infact to even have tried them all!

I had some chicken larb and some chilli beef and then some beef rendang curry, but as to what the rest if tgen ate? Its a mystery to me. There seemed to be a lot of prawn dishes....

Day 14 - calamari and green salad

I usually make all of our curry pastes and marinades for 2 reasons. One, they taste better, and two, you know exactly whats in it. But for some reason, a little while ago, I bought a packet of Angelakis brothers salt and pepper squid rings. I dont know why I did it. The have been in the freezer for ages, I gave some to the boys for dinner one night and while they ate it, they didnt want it again. So Morry & I had some tonight.

The meal was saved by Morry's green leaf salad with a red wine vinegarette. The calamari looked okay, but would have taken an extra minute or two, to have made our own salt and pepper rub, and it would have tasted immeasurably better. Live and learn. I actually have a Bill Granger recipe for salt & pepper squid - once we have recovered from this disaster, we will try that!

Day 13 - Barramundi & pineapple cake

Jeff & Jacki came to dinner. We had crispy fish with a chilli and ginger glaze with thai herbs from the Donna Hay Instant Entertaining cookbook. It looks a bit 'green' but it was simply devine! The Barramundi is shallow fried and served simply with the chilli and ginger sauce and some steamed greens. We also served some rice - a combo of sticky rice and jasmine rice, it holds together really well and has a beautifull nutty flavour. Devine Morry!

Jacki made dessert. Pineapple cake from the Marie Claire Kitchen cookbook - no butter ... and no something else, I cant remember, but it was absolutely lovely. very moist and very coconutty. scrumptious. Thanks Jax! - She not only makes great cakes, she also makes her own jewellery - check out her gorgeous necklace :) 

The boys are sick of my baking so I gave half of my Chocolate chip and apricot cookies to Jeff for his road trip to Mount Gambier tomorrow. Travel safe!

Day 13 - Breakfast

Possibly a favourtite breakfast - sultana bread, toasted, with ricotta and berries and drizzled in honey with a cup of coffee. Perfect.

Day 12 - biscuits for the boys

Another of my weaknesses is buying cookbooks. Today I acquired the Country Women's Association Classics cookbook.

These biscuits are apricot and white chocolate chips.

Day 12 - Marinated Vegetable Tart

Melbourne Cup = Dinner for one!

This was so super easy I am going to have to think up a variation to have it again. I got the recipe from Donna Hay, No Time to Cook, becuase that is the recipe book Im using this week (page 126), but when I went shopping I couldnt find 'marinated vegetables' as a thing, so I went to Viva and chose my favourite things.

My tart is just half a sheet of puff pastry and has black olive tepanade on the base, then roasted capsicum, some semi dried tomato, marinated champignions, a couple of artichoke hearts and some goats cheese. add some fresh oregano leaves, drizzle with Olive Oil. Pop it in a moderate oven for 10-15 mins, dress some rocket (yes I have rocket fetish) and voila! dinner is served.

I made one for Morry too, so he can put his in the oven when he gets home :)

Day 11 - Herb and Mozzarella wrapped veal

This was lovely, but I would probably have add a few more tomatoes if I had them! I followed the recipe from Donna Hay's 'No Time to Cook', page 125. As my girlfriend Jacki pointed out, I havent acknowleged the chef! Morry does do the cooking. I only choose the recipe, buy the ingredients and begin the recipe, leaving Morry to do the actual 'cooking' when he gets home from work. So last night I prepared the veal, it is wrapped in pancetta and has been stuffed with a bit of mozzarella. Morry came home to them and the tomatoes on the baking tray. He did put them under the grill for the 6-8 minutes as specified in the recipe and he put the rocket on the plates! He is a super cook and will do as much or as little as I leave him to do!