Monthly Menu Plan - March/April

I was rather saddened to find out that Jamie Oliver was closing his food magazine, Jamie. It was, in my opinion, one of the best food titles out there and I for one will sorely miss it. After all, this is the man who, via the medium of his written recipes, taught me how to cook. His roast chicken recipe, plus his method of making bread for pizza, have helped shape the cook I am today, and trust me - you'll always have a friend at your table if you've got those two recipes under your belt!

So in honor of Mr Oliver and his comittment to food, this month is mostly based around his recipes. Enjoy!

Week One:
Monday - Early autumn minestrone
Tuesday - Lentil spaghetti bologanise
Wednesday - Brilliant veggie burgers
Thursday - Out
Friday - Out
Saturday - Courgette and cheese borek
Sunday - Beetroot falafels with carrot salad

Week Two:
Monday - Harissa roasted cauliflower and potato bake with left-over carrot salad
Tuesday - Roasted cauliflower and coconut soup, with salad rolls
Wednesday - Beetroot and feta tart with rocket and radicchio salad
Thursday - Knitting night! Menu yet to be decided
Friday - Out
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Out

Week Three:
Monday - Out
Tuesday - Savory pancakes with paneer and spinach
Wednesday - Smoky veggie chilli
Thursday - Silverbeet soup with tomato, corn and cheese muffins
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Roasted vegetable lasagne
Sunday - Spicy salami, ricotta and olive calzone with salad

Week Four:
Monday - Sweet potato, coconut and cardamon soup with poppadoms
Tuesday - Roast vegetable pasties with salad
Wednesday - Pumpkin and pasta bake with rocket salad
Thursday - Vegan shepherd's pie
Friday - Mexican omelette wraps with side salad

Monthly menu plan - Feb/March

It's been a while since I've posted my menu plan up here on ye olde blog. I'm still doing them religiously at home, but for reasons completely unfathomable I have not taken the next step of putting them up online. So apologies to the menu plan fans - hopefully this one makes amends somewhat!

Week One:
Monday - Silverbeet tart with currants and almonds, with salad
Tuesday - Spaghetti bolognaise
Wednesday - Vegetarian samosas with salad
Thursday - Spinach and lentil soup with garlic bread
Friday - Black bean tacos with roasted veg and all the trimmings
Saturday - Bangers and mash
Sunday - Tomato, capsicum and olive pasta with green salad

Week Two:
Monday - Butter chicken
Tuesday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday - Roasted vegetable, feta, pomegranate and quinoa salad with rocket
Thursday - Dinner at a friends
Friday - Tofu burgers
Saturday - Roast chicken
Sunday - Supergreens pasta primavera

Week Three:
Monday - Vegetable and feta tarts with onion marmalade and rocket salad
Tuesday - Lentil bolognaise
Wednesday - Cauliflower falafels
Thursday - Dinner out
Friday - Homemade pizza
Saturday - Baked potatoes with left over lentil bolognaise, and all the trimmings
Sunday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni with garden salad

Week Four:
Monday - Vegetarian fried rice
Tuesday - Minestrone with spinach and ricotta ravioli
Wednesday - Pea, dill and rice soup with asparagus
Thursday - Feta, walnut and spinach pasties with green salad
Friday - Sweet potato and black bean burgers

Banana choc chip muffins

Some people get really excited over a pair of shoes. Others, it's the perfect handbag that melts their ice cream. However, I save the pounce and the emitting of happy cries for when I spy some super ripe bananas, because once I have my hot little hands upon them I know that I can make THE BEST BANANA MUFFINS EVER!

1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup wholemeal self raising flour
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 cup raw oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
3 really ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten well
1 tsp vanilla essence

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C.
2 - Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.
3 - Mix together the bananas, oil, eggs and vanilla essence until combined. Add to the dry ingredients, and mix gently until just combined.
4 - Line the holes of a 12 hold muffin tin, then dollop spoonfuls evenly into the cases. Bake for 20 minutes (test with a skewer to ensure they are cooked through), then cool out of tin on a wire rack.

Monthly Menu Plan - September/October

Ahh, spring is here, and my thoughts turn to...greenery! Roquette, asparagus, dill, grapefruit, mint - I want fresh, vibrant flavours to wake up my deadened winter palate, and make my coat shiny and my eyes bright. I also want loads of veggies, and to be as plastic-free as possible, and totally unrelatedly, a new red dress. I fear all this probably says more about my scattered ping pong ball system of thinking than anything else, but there you have it. The thoughts and desires of Jorth laid bare for all to see.

Hmm. Not very deep today. Onwards to the menu plan!

Week One
Monday - Pumpkin and pearl couscous tagine
Tuesday - Lentil spaghetti bolognaise with rocket salad
Wednesday - Spring chicken stew
Thursday - Potato and yellow split pea curry
Friday - Lentil sausage rolls with garden salad
Saturday - Roast chicken
Sunday - Dinner out


Week Two
Monday - Creamy chicken and rocket pasta
Tuesday - Salmon, pea and potato cakes with green salad
Wednesday - Harissa roast carrot, quinoa and haloumi salad
Thursday - Asparagus, feta and dill tart with garden salad
Friday - Spaghetti and meatballs with rocket salad
Saturday - Beetroot ravioli with sage and poppy seed burnt butter sauce
Sunday - Roasted and spiced vegetable tacos


Week Three
Monday - Curried butternut and red lentil soup with silverbeet
Tuesday - Italian beef casserole (half in freezer) with sweet potato mash
Wednesday - Jamie Oliver's spring minestrone
Thursday - Spiced carrot fritters plus quinoa salad with asparagus and feta
Friday - Spicy kumara sausage rolls with chunky garden salad
Saturday - Zucchini pasta with asparagus, smoked salmon and rocket
Sunday - Tofu burgers with coleslaw and wedges


Week Four
Monday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni with chunky lentil sauce
Tuesday - Italian beef casserole (from freezer) with garlicky mash
Wednesday - Creamy silverbeet soup with savoury scones
Thursday - Jamie's vegan burgers with red cabbage coleslaw
Friday - Roast vegetable pasties with salad
Saturday - Pizzas on homemade honey and wholewheat bases (roasted veg + feta, Hawaiian)

Plastic Free July - Menu for Week Two

And here we are - one week in to Plastic Free July, and plastic has been successfully avoided! But the biggest success? Last week nobody went hungry, or complained about the food. Phew!

Here is the menu for week two - since the weather forecast is telling us that we are in for some nasty old wintry weather this week, the menu is heavy on hearty soups to see us through.

Monday
Breakfast - Toast with home made spicy bean dip
Lunch - Minestrone
Snack - Pear
Dinner - Store cupboard lentil soup

Tuesday
Breakfast - Muesli with stewed fruit
Lunch - Left over lentil soup
Snack - Fresh winter fruit salad with ginger
Dinner - Chickpea tagine with dates and couscous

Wednesday
Breakfast - Porridge with bananas and cinnamon
Lunch - Left over tagine
Snack - Bean dip with carrots and cucumbers
Dinner - Potato and leek soup with pumpkin bread

Thursday
Breakfast - Feta, tomato and spinach toasted sandwiches
Lunch - Left over soup and pumpkin bread
Snack - Banana bread
Dinner - Sweet potato and white bean chilli with green salad

Friday
Breakfast - Scrambled eggs with roasted tomatoes and salad
Lunch - Leftover chilli
Snack - Fresh fruit
Dinner - Beetroot and kale risotto with feta cheese

Saturday
Breakfast - Pancakes with poached dried winter fruits
Lunch - Leftover risotto with garden salad
Snack - Fruit salad
Dinner - Roasted veg and feta tacos

Sunday
Breakfast - Raisin toast
Lunch - Salad sandwiches
Snack - Orange butter cake
Dinner - Ribollita with olive and rosemary focaccia

Plastic Free July - Menu for week one

It's July - time for hand knits, snuggling up in front of the heater, and oh! Plastic Free July! I've decided to join in, and will attempt to live without any single-use plastic items (such as food packaging, plastic bags, straws, take-away food containers etc) for the month of July. I have made essential toiletries and medical supplies the exception, but apart from that no plastic shall cross my threshold if I can help it!

You can join in yourself, or just read up on it at the official website. There are heaps of great tips on how to be plastic-free in every aspect of your life.

Most people, when I tell them of my plans, are simultaneously intrigued and baffled. Plastic is such a prominent part of our modern lives - insidiously so, I believe - that the concept of avoiding it for a month seems nigh on impossible. So I've decided to share my weekly menu plans to show that with a little planning and organisation it can be done, and that my family doesn't have to live on raw fruit and vegetables for a month!

The first thing to do is to find a good store that sells dry goods, particularly grains and pulses, in bulk. Most of these items come in plastic packets at the supermarket, but bulk good stores allow you to fill your own bags (or handily provide paper bags), which are then weighed at the counter to calculate the cost. If you are lucky, these shops will also sell an array of dairy products in glass, too.

The second thing to do is to focus not on what you can't have, but what you can have, which is fresh, seasonal food! By making the most of the ingredients you have that come plastic-free, it soon becomes easy to figure out delicious meals that are as plastic-free as nature intended.

All grains, pulses, dry goods and dairy products that I am using this week are from such a store, and our bread is from local bakeries that put their bread in paper bags. Once you incorporate this way of shopping into your routine, it becomes pretty easy to avoid the evil plastic stuff. It does help that my local area has places like this to shop in, but it is getting easier - there seems to be more and more places selling food in this way. Sustainable Table even has a bulk store directory, so you can see if there is one local to you in your state.

Below is my menu plan, including snacks even. Never let it be said that my plastic-free experiments resulted in my family going hungry!

Monday
Breakfast - Raisin toast with butter and/or homemade jam
Lunch - Vegetable soup with spelt bread toast
Snack - Orange, pink grapefrut, ginger and black pepper fruit salad
Dinner - Malaysian vegetable curry with brown rice

Tuesday
Breakfast - Porridge with stewed apple and rhubarb
Lunch - Left over vegetable curry
Snack - Banana
Dinner - Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup

Wednesday
Breakfast - Avocado with black pepper on spelt toast
Lunch - Left over soup
Snack - Winter fruit salad
Dinner - Kale and sweet potato pilaf

Thursday
Breakfast - Soft boiled eggs with toast soldiers
Lunch - Left over pilaf
Snack - Apple, rhubarb, oat and yogurt pots
Dinner - Pumpkin and feta risotto with rocket salad

Friday
Breakfast - Toast with home-made hummus, cucumber and tomato
Lunch - Left over risotto
Snack - Pears
Dinner - Home made veggie pizza with feta

Saturday
Breakfast - Sultana, apple and cinnamon couscous porridge
Lunch - Left over pizza with garden salad
Snack - Carrot and cucumber sticks with hummus
Dinner - Greek bean and silverbeet stew

Sunday
Breakfast - Chocolate chia waffles with banana and maple syrup
Lunch - Left over stew
Snack - Oat and fruit cookies
Dinner - Heuvos rancheros with salad

Monthly menu plan August/September

Whoa! When did life get so busy? Between gearing up for Galumph's craziest work time of year, Tyger having early morning sports lessons and just life in general, I feel like I need to be super organised at the moment! Thank goodness for menu planning - it really saves me a lot of stress and pressure, knowing exactly what to buy during a big weekly shop and then having it ready to go (or even better - pre-prepped) as needed. And saves on the dollars too, as we really waste very little food this way. Win win all around!


Week One:
Monday - Roasted vegetable risotto with rocket salad
Tuesday - Veg and bean casserole
Wednesday - Bacon, vegetable and lentil soup
Thursday - Lentil spaghetti bolognaise with feta
Friday - Out with friends - hooray!
Saturday - Tofu burgers with coleslaw and wedges
Sunday - Spicy minestrone with garlic croutons


Week Two:
Monday - Risotto primavera with green salad
Tuesday - Chicken, lentil and pumpkin curry (half now, half in freezer)
Wednesday - Tuscan bean soup with rye bread
Thursday - Beef stroganoff with spinach salad
Friday - Moroccan carrot and quinoa pilaf
Saturday - Pizza pasta bake with garden salad
Sunday - Roast chicken


Week Three:
Monday - Creamy chicken pasta (with left-over roasted chicken)
Tuesday - Italian beef casserole (half now, half in freezer)
Wednesday - Potato and leek soup with cheese and salad rolls
Thursday - Pasta arrabiata with garden salad
Friday - Curried vegetable pilaf
Saturday - Vegie burgers with chopped salad
Sunday - Beany tacos


Week Four:
Monday - Spinach, chilli and tomato risotto
Tuesday - Chicken, lentil and pumpkin curry (from freezer)
Wednesday - Lemon, lentil and spinach soup
Thursday - Speedy tuna, lemon and bean pasta with salad
Friday - Roasted vegetable and quinoa salad
Saturday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni with green salad
Sunday - Roast chicken


Week Five:
Monday - Pearl barley minestrone
Tuesday - Italian beef casserole (from freezer)
Wednesday - Silverbeet and potato soup with tomato and cheese toasted sandwiches
Thursday - Pasta primavera with rocket salad
Friday - Lemon pepper pilaf


Oh, and the biscuits? They are from the latest addition of Jamie Magazine - I highly recommend them (she says, wiping crumbs furtively from keyboard...)

Monthly Menu Plan - April/May

Late last year, in the Christmas sales, I bought myself a slow/fast cooker, hoping that this final purchase would serve us well in our Year of Green Frugality. Four months into using this wonder machine (which is a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one), and I am pleased as punch (hmm? wonder if I could use it to make punch?) to announce that when it comes to saving money and time whilst also creating amazing meals, the fast/slow cooker gets an A+!


Every other Monday I use the slow cooker component to make a casserole. The quantity it makes is enough to serve 8 people - or, feed us one night, with plenty put in the freezer for another, plus left-overs for lunch! I usually bulk up the recipes with extra root vegetables/beans/lentils, and then serve them with some sort of grain like couscous, quinoa, brown rice... you get the idea. One meal equalling many mouths fed is the sort of equation that makes me happy indeed.


I've also been using it to cook all manner of pulses in the pressure cooker component. Not only is this the cheapest way of cooking pulses (especially when you buy them in bulk from the local bulk bin store), but it is saving the use of tins, which pleases the greenie inside me greatly! In fact, I've become the sort of sad person who is constantly scouring the internet for recipes involving turtle beans or chickpeas, just so I have an excuse to pull out my favourite kitchen appliance!


Now, having read over my waxing lyrical, I can guess that some of you are wondering if this is a sponsored post. Not at all, I can assure you. I am just really happy with my fast/slow cooker, and wanted to share with you all how useful I have found it. It did cost a little bit to buy, but it's already saved us lots of money - and time in the kitchen! If I could send it a bunch of flowers to thank it for it's service, I would!

Ok, enough blathering - on to the menu plan!


Week One:
Monday - Lemony lentil soup with crispy kale
Tuesday - Lamb and chickpea stew on couscous
Wednesday - Black eyed bean and vegetable soup
Thursday - Lentil cottage pies with buttered corn cobs
Friday - Tofu burgers with spiced wedges
Saturday - Sichuan gai lan with brown rice
Sunday - Moroccan sweet potato bake


Week Two:
Monday - Ribolitta
Tuesday - Spiced chicken tagine with dates and chickpeas
Wednesday - Paneer and vegetable curry on brown rice
Thursday - Roasted sweet potato, pea and zucchini risotto with rocket salad
Friday - Roast chicken
Saturday - Out for dinner...yay, night off!
Sunday - Thick vegetable soup


Week Three:
Monday - Cardamom pumpkin soup with Italian scones
Tuesday - Red wine stew with polenta
Wednesday - Spiced vegetable pilaf
Thursday - Pea soup with cheese toasties
Friday - Mascarpone and bacon pasta with green salad
Saturday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Sunday - Chorizo, vegetable and black bean soup


Week Four:
Monday - Tuna meat balls with spaghetti and green salad
Tuesday - Massaman beef curry
Wednesday - Spinach and corn pasties with garden salad
Thursday - Spinach, bacon and tomato risotto with rocket salad
Friday - Vegetable macaroni and cheese with green salad

Baked Cinnamon Donuts Recipe

I have been mucking around with this recipe for the last few weeks, and I have finally cracked it. The challenge, you see, was to create the perfect donut recipe using items that I would already have in my kitchen pantry. I didn't want to be rushing down to the supermarket trying to buy yoghurts or buttermilk, or essentially anything that came in a plastic container, because we are once again trying to be as plastic free as possible here in the Jorth household this year.


We're also living a year of frugality, trying to both boost our bank account *and* be as green as possible. Everything - even donut recipes - now need to meet our green frugality standards!


So you can imagine how excited I was when I created a lovely green donut recipe, with all ingredients coming in either recyclable glass or paper. But the best thing is the donuts have that essential stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-ness that only a really good cup of tea or coffee can dislodge. It's the number one thing I look for in a donut, and now the perfect recipe is mine, all mine! Cue evil laugh, and get baking, kids!


Baked Cinnamon Donuts
60 grams butter, melted
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp nutmeg, or more to taste
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk


Cinnamon Topping:
20 grams butter, melted
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon


1 - Preheat oven to 180 C. Generously coat a donut pan with some of the melted butter.


2 - Combine the caster sugar, plain flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl and mix well.


3 - Mix the egg, milk and butter together in a small jug. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir well to combine.


4 - Carefully, using both a spoon and a knife, add the mixture to the donut pans, making sure you don't overfill them. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, or until golden brown.


5 - Meanwhile, add the raw caster sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl, and mix well. When the donuts are fresh out of the oven, dip each donut top in the melted butter, then press into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a rack to cool, then eat - that's if you can wait that long!


Makes 8 donuts.

Monthly menu plan - October/November

It's hot in the city, hot in the city tonight... well, it soon will be with summer practically upon us, and all the delicious spiced-up food I plan I cooking. I'm drooling just thinking about those delectable, tongue-sizzling flavours!


Week One
Monday - Creamy chicken and rocket pasta
Tuesday - Potato, pea and pumpkin samosas with salad
Wednesday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni with salad
Thursday - Lentil and sweet potato salad with feta croutons
Friday - Red coconut curry salmon with Asian coleslaw
Saturday - Quinoa burgers with beet and feta relish
Sunday - Brown walnut butter and brie pasta with rocket salad


Week Two
Monday - Baked gnocchi spanakopita with steamed greens
Tuesday - Indian spiced red lentil soup
Wednesday - Asparagus and pea risotto with smoked salmon and rocket
Thursday - Spaghetti and meatballs with garden salad
Friday - Chilli chicken with creamed corn, with lemony broccoli
Saturday - Pea, broad bean and haloumi fritters with salad
Sunday - Rice paper rolls


Week Three
Monday - Broccoli pesto pasta with garden salad
Tuesday - Spicy rice and sweet potato biryani with baked eggs
Wednesday - Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup with garlic bread
Thursday - Beef and vegetable meatloaf with mash and gravy
Friday - Buckwheat crespelles with spinach and ricotta
Saturday - Green curry with crispy salmon and peas
Sunday - Roasted vegetable, cheese and cranberry filo pie with salad


Week Four
Monday - Greek bean and silverbeet stew
Tuesday - Red chicken curry with quinoa (with added vegetables)
Wednesday - Roasted tomato and lentil soup with croutons and garden salad on the side
Thursday - Salmon dauphinois with steamed vegetables
Friday - Chops with potato and asparagus salad

Monthly Menu Plan - June/July

As a complete and utter soup addict, I welcome winter with open arms. Actually, my arms are far from open. One hand is holding an assortment of celery sticks, onions and carrots ready to be chopped finely into a soffritto, and the other is busy polishing my pride and joy - my extra-large-and-perfect-for-soup saucepan.

I am told that there are places - clinics, if you will, and I hope you can hear the sarcasm verily dripping from the italics there - that soup addicts like me can go to, but whenever this is suggested to me I grab the wooden spoon from whatever soup I can currently making and make the rudest sign imaginable with it. I love soup. I will eat it for breakfast, again for lunch, and then follow all that veggie goodness with more soup for dinner. Winter is here, and I'm making soup, darn it. Nobody puts Soupy in a corner!

Week One
Monday - Bean and roasted sweet potato tacos with green salad
Tuesday - Paprika chicken with quinoa tabouleh
Wednesday - Creamy pumpkin soup, plus schwartzbrot with lentil dip.
Thursday - Coconut rice with hot smoked trout
Friday - Roasted vegetable tacos
Saturday - Pearl barley and smoked paprika minestrone
Sunday - Lemon, bean and pea risotto with garden salad

Week Two
Monday - Buttermilk and harissa chicken with spiced carrot couscous and rocket salad
Tuesday - Chilli beef casserole with brown rice
Wednesday - Zucchini pasta with green salad
Thursday - Beetroot and carrot soup
Friday - Out for dinner for a very special girl's birthday!
Saturday - Rag pasta with tomato, brie and basil, with salad
Sunday - Ratatouille topped with feta on a bed of cheesy polenta

Week Three
Monday - Lentil spaghetti Bolognese with green salad
Tuesday - Sweet potato and chilli soup
Wednesday - Persian style lamb pilaf with sautéed spinach
Thursday - Roasted garlic and tomato soup
Friday - Glazed pork cutlets with coleslaw
Saturday - Baked potatoes with the works!
Sunday - Pearl barley minestrone with Italian sausage

Week Four
Monday - Roast chicken with seasonal vegetables
Tuesday - Chicken noodle soup (made with left over chicken)
Wednesday - Roasted vegetable lasagne with salad
Thursday - Spicy bean soup
Friday - Pumpkin and haloumi burgers with wedges
Saturday - Homemade veggie pizzas
Sunday - Quinoa and spinach pilaf with lamb chops

Week Five
Monday - Primavera pearl barley risotto with rocket salad
Tuesday - Vegetable, bacon and risoni soup
Wednesday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni with salad
Thursday - Roast garlic, leek and potato soup
Friday - Lemon pepper pilaf

Since it's winter, there's nothing better to finish off a soup meal with than delectable baked apples! And that solves the mystery of why a delicious picture of apple dessert was included in this post, rather than my beloved soup. You can find the recipe I created over at Mum's Business.

Ginger nuts (or the worst poem you'll read this week)

Sunday afternoon, and I'm on the couch
Got an infection, so I'm a right royal grouch
Galumph and Tyger confer in kitchen
"What can we do to stop her bitching?"

Cupboard doors a flung open wide
Various ingredients are taken from inside
Flour, sugar, and heaps of spice
To tame the beast they'll bake something nice

10 minutes on the oven door is open
I look up from the couch, my heart a-hopeing
With a plate and a cuppa over Tyger struts
Oh bless their hearts - they made me ginger nuts!

And damn tasty they were, too! Just as good as the shop ones, and that's really saying something.

Ginger nuts*

200g butter
2 tbsp. golden syrup
2 cups raw sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups plain flour
6 teaspoons ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C. Melt the butter and syrup together in a saucepan over a medium heat. Pour into a large bowl.

2 - Add the sugar and egg to the butter mixture and stir well. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix together well.

3 - Roll spoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on lined baking trays. Press balls flat with a fork, and sprinkle the tops with a little extra raw sugar. Bake for 11 - 12 minutes for a medium crunchy biscuit, or a tad longer if you prefer yours super crunchy. Makes 60.

*guaranteed to sooth any cranky people you may have lying around.

Quince paste

This morning I woke up to discover that I had a young daughter with the sniffles and a temperature. Checking the radar I discovered that there was a whole lot of rain also headed my way. Blast! Looks like I wasn't going anywhere soon.

Thankfully there was all those quinces just lying around the kitchen counter. I had sugar in the cupboard, and a whole day to fill in. Quince paste it was!

I've always been a bit trepidations about making quince paste. For some reason, preserve making in general fills my soul with terror. Maybe it's from studying years of microbiology at uni, but I always have a fear that something won't get sterilised properly, and I won't realise until I have proudly offered one of my nearest and dearest a taste of my home-made jam, only to watch them drop dead in front of me. However, I decided to gamble on making successful quince paste. After all, the thing is so jam packed (ha!) with sugar that even I couldn't muck it up, and no nasties would be able to live on it if they tried, sugar being such an excellent antibacterial.

So I said "Jorthy! Get thyself into the kitchen, and get cooking, you big old scaredy cat!", and I did. And now I am kicking back triumphantly, revelling in my quince paste-scented kitchen, waiting for the pots to cool down so I can gobble it with an oat biscuit and some stinky blue cheese.

Tyger is also lurking about, wondering when she can snaffle some, which makes me think that somebody will definitely be fine for school tomorrow.

Quince paste

1.4kg quinces (about 4), peeled, cored and roughly cubed
125ml water
600g sugar

1 - Combine the quinces and water in a medium-sized saucepan, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2 - Allow to cool, and then blend the water and quinces together until smooth (I used a stick blender, so I didn't have to wait aaaaaages for it to cool down). Then add the sugar to the quince puree, and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

3 - Turn the heat down to low, and cook very gently for 2 hours, stirring regularly to make sure the mixture doesn't stick and burn to the bottom of your pan. Watch out - the thing will begin to burp and splash out after the first hour. Cook until the mixture is very thick, and has turned a deep reddish colour.

4 - Take off the heat, and transfer into little pots or containers. Allow to cool, then cover with gladwrap and keep in the fridge until required. When serving, bring back to room temperature, and serve with a dry biscuit and some really nice blue cheese.

Make 4 small pots worth.

Knitting is merely an excuse for apricot and pear cake

Sometimes I think that the best thing about knitting night - apart from the chance to do some knitting with some freaking awesome gals! - is the baking that goes along with it. Yay for cake!

Ach, who am I kidding? I would probably host a dog-poop-scoop-up walk if I knew that there would be cake at the end of it.

Recipe here.

Monthly menu plan - March/April

Nom nom nom! I love it when the days begin and end with a cool crispness, but you get that lovely soft warmth in the middle. The last of the summer fruits are just begging to be stewed and baked into cakes, and the quinces are starting to shyly make themselves known to the porridge bowl. Plus there's Easter, and all the chocolate-related excuses it brings!

If anybody wants me, I'll be in ze kitchen!

Week One
Monday - Baked potatoes with red coleslaw, sour cream and cheese
Tuesday  - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni in a chunky lentil and vegetable sauce
Wednesday - Ham, cheese and pea frittata with salad
Thursday - Caprese soup with garlic bread
Friday - Vegie burgers with sweet potato wedges
Saturday - Out for dinner with friends. Yay!
Sunday - Homemade ravioli (made with Tyger, I'll let her pick a recipe on the day)

Week Two
Monday - Tomato, olive, mushroom and bocconcini gnocchi bake with salad
Tuesday  - Pumpkin curry with silverbeet and chickpeas on brown rice
Wednesday - Jamie's spicy pasties with garden salad
Thursday - Silverbeet and potato soup with savoury scones
Friday - Lentil cottage pies with buttery corn cobs
Saturday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Sunday - Roast chicken

Week Three
Monday - Creamy chicken and vegetable pasta (with leftover roasted chicken)
Tuesday  - Chickpea, silverbeet and roasted cauliflower wraps
Wednesday - Ratatouille on cheesy polenta
Thursday - Pea, asparagus and rice soup
Friday - Smoked salmon, almond and broccoli pilaf
Saturday - Homemade burgers
Sunday - Butter chicken with rice and vegetables

Week Four
Monday - Roasted vegetable lasagne
Tuesday  - Sweet potato and coriander falafels
Wednesday - Chicken and lentil soup
Thursday - Roast pumpkin and feta tarts with rocket salad
Friday - Salmon and broad bean pasta bake with salad
Saturday - Tofu burgers with coleslaw plus a tomato salad
Sunday - Homemade pizza

Week Five
Monday - Tortellini with pumpkin, sage and cream sauce plus salad
Tuesday  - Lamb and cashew biryani
Wednesday - Baked potatoes with all the trimmings
Thursday - Hearty lentil and vegetable soup with cheesy toasts
Friday - Tuna pies with potato topping, and salad

Better than pancakes

Can you believe it? For once we didn't forget that it was Shrove Tuesday, and busted out the pancakes for breakfast. Yay us!

"Coughcough" interrupts Galumph.

Ok, ok. So we made waffles instead. Close enough, and totally within the celebratory Lenten boundaries. Seriously, no need to be picky!

"CoughcoughWHOmade'em?" interrupts Galumph (again).

Geez! Who are you, the blog honesty police? Alright already, so Galumph made the waffles. I didn't even think of doing them, as I was too busy doing my zombie walk into the shower. I am no good to anybody until I've had at least 3 minutes under the water to wake up in. Plus 2 cups of tea.

"CoughcoughWHOmakesthetea?" interrupts you know who.

Good grief man! Ok, you're my hero! Breakfast and life in general would be far more miserable without you around. Happy now?

Strange lack of coughing. But there is the sound of waffles being demolished. I'll take that as yes, he is happy now. Enjoy your Lent, peoples and remember, it's not too late to make some pancakes (or waffles, even!) for dinner tonight if you are as hopeless as I am in the mornings. Especially drenched in maple syrup and topped with sliced banana. Yummo!

Monthly Menu Plan - February/March

I am so glad that it is beginning to cool down around these parts. Hot weather knocks me for a six, and I don't even want to think about food, and am happy to just eat the same salad day after day - anything, as long as I don't have to turn on the oven!

So bring on the cooler weather, I say, and I'll bring my cooking mojo back! Starting, naturally, with this meal plan.

Week One
Monday - Cucumber and lettuce vichyssoise (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Tuesday - Sausages with potato salad and coleslaw at the park
Wednesday - Roasted pumpkin soup with garlic bread
Thursday - Macaroni and cheese with rocket salad
Friday - Chard and new potato curry on brown rice (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Saturday - Attending a wedding, so no cooking for me!
Sunday - Tofu burgers


Week Two
Monday - Frittata with summer vegetables and garden salad (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Tuesday - Summer soup au pistou
Wednesday - North African squash stew (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Thursday - Lamb and burghul pilaf
Friday - Bruschetta with asparagus, French beans and feta, plus a tomato salad
Saturday - Asparagus and zucchini green curry
Sunday - Roast chicken


Week Three
Monday - Chicken pasta with rocket
Tuesday - Tomato, thyme and feta tart with a gardens salad (River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Wednesday - Smoked trout baguettes with chilled pea soup
Thursday - Lemon pepper pilaf
Friday - Ravioli with tomato and basil sauce
Saturday - Hamburgers with apple coleslaw
Sunday - Home made tacos with roasted vegetables and spicy tomato sauce


Week Four
Monday - Jambalaya
Tuesday - Rocket pesto pasta with roast pumpkin, cherry tomatoes and feta
Wednesday - Cauliflower curry with quinoa
Thursday - Jacket potatoes topped with fresh vegetables and roasted tomato sauce
Friday - Home made pizza (mushroom + cheese, plus roasted veg)

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

What's better than sitting down to a big fat slice of cheesecake? Slurping it up as an ice cream instead! I'm not even an ice cream kinda girl, but this is so darn good I'm going to have to padlock the freezer to stop myself guzzling it up in one go.

Best of all, this was so incredibly simple to make that I can see it becoming summer's default dessert. Instead of making a custard from scratch, and then freezing it, à la traditional ice cream, this was just mixed together in the mix master. No oven involved! Which, frankly, is a blessing for a week that is forecast to contain 3 days over 40 C. If anybody wants me, I'll be slumped next to the freezer, wondering out aloud if it's time for ice cream yet. Probably joined by Tyger and Galumph, if last night's devouring of this ice cream was any indication of appreciation.

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

250g Philadelphia cheese, softened
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, partially thawed.

1 - Place the cream cheese in the large bowl of a mix master along with the sugar, and beat together until smooth.

2 - Add the milk and cream, and mix until combined, with no lumps remaining.

3 - Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine, following the manufacturers instructions. With 5 minutes of churning remaining, add the raspberries through the slot.

4 - Pour into a container, and freeze until required. To serve, take out 5 minutes beforehand to thaw.

Monthly menu plan - December/January + shortbread!

Monthly menu for you, and some shortbread for my dad, who is coming to visit. Yay!

Week 1
Monday - Apricot chicken with sweet potato
Tuesday - New Year's Eve. We had roasted pumpkin and carrot soup with yoghurt, roast chicken, heirloom tomato salad, asparagus + pea + snowpea + lemony feta salad, potato salad, and finished with lemon curd cheesecake. Burp!
Wednesday - Feta, vegetable and rice bake
Thursday - Frittata with peas, mint and ricotta, plus green salad
Friday - Paneer with peas and beans, on brown rice
Saturday - Cauliflower felafels with carrot yoghurt salad
Sunday - Beef and bean mix on homemade masa harina burritos with cheesy chilli and lime corn cobs

Week 2
Monday - Thai green chicken curry on brown basmati rice
Tuesday - Chana dhal with chickpea flour pancakes, and mango lassi
Wednesday - Indian pilaf with eggs
Thursday - Tofu and vegetable rice paper rolls, with coconut sago pudding with passionfruit
Friday - Baked maple glazed salmon with wilted spinach
Saturday - Spring minestrone with brown rice
Sunday - Roasted sumac pumpkin and feta soft homemade tacos

Week 3
Monday - Lentil tabouleh with haloumi
Tuesday - Asparagus risotto with garden salad
Wednesday - Spicy potato cakes with tomato and bocconcini salad
Thursday - Butter chicken rice pie
Friday - Miso glazed fish with sesame brown rice salad

Resolutions

Hello friends! Here we are on the other side of the great Christmas/New Year divide, and I for one am feeling fine! I have so many amazing things that I want to achieve in 2014, so I thought that I would post them here, not only so I can refer back to them when they are not so fresh in my mind, but also so I can give myself a quick, swift kick up the ass if I'm not getting them done! So without any further fanfare, here are the things I want to do in twenty-fourteen:

- Read more books. I finished the year on a reading high, having thoroughly enjoyed The Rosie Project, Oil and Honey, Miss Hargreaves and The Two Mrs Abbots. If you've read something fabulous lately, I'd love to hear your recommendations!

- Make a cherry pie. I even bought myself a cherry stoner in the sales. That's a job for next week, I reckon!

- Eat more grains. We've figured out that the Galumph is mildly gluten-intolerant. He can handle a wee bit of gluten (like in his porridge oats) but not much, so we have made a deal: generally no gluten at home, except for the odd homemade baked treat or pasta dish. Having trialled this over the last couple of weeks, it's gone well, so I'm excited to be incorporating more gluten-free grains into our lives. We've been having the most marvellous blueberry quinoa porridge as a change in the mornings - loving the long, slow energy from that tasty dish!

- Eat more fruit. I know, I know - I say this one every year, but I've made a huge effort to eat my two pieces every day of late, and I am feeling so good for it. More fruit!

- Sayonara booze. Remember a couple of years ago I decided that coffee and I were no longer friends, and I kicked it to the curb? Well, it seems alcohol and I have had a similar falling out. I feel so sluggish and crap the day after even one glass, so I'm going to make 2014 alcohol free as I just don't think it agrees with me anymore. I'm going to miss it, but I have a feeling that better energy levels and awesome sleep will more than make up for it.

- Bring back the plastic free. Unfortunately plastic has slowly but surely crept back into our lives since we went plastic free for a month in 2007 (can you believe I've been blogging that long? Cripes!), so I am going to try and eliminate as much plastic from our day-to-day lives as I can throughout 2014. In a similar vein, I'm also going to try and reduce the amount of waste we create in general, such as food waste.

- Blog more. Cos it's fun around here!

- Be a lean, mean, budget queen. I want to use what I have rather than fork out for something new, and if I do have to buy something I'd like it to be recycled and/or ethically made.

- Get out those vintage patterns. I think 2014 should be the year of sewing vintage! Each month I'd like to sew or knit a vintage pattern, and bring a little old school elegance into my life. Should we do a vintage-a-long? That could be wicked fun!

- Do more bike rides. Preferably whilst wearing a vintage dress. Cos that's how I wanna roll! (Get it? Roll? My word, I'm even funnier this year than last!)

- Launch my knitting pattern collection. Wrists, I'm warning you now: I'm going to be doing a LOT of knitting in preparation for my launch later this year. But any wrist ache will totally be worth it. I am SO SUPER EXCITED about this!

Wow. I sure have a busy year lined up! I hope that 2014 brings you much happiness and joy, and if you are in need of a daft joke, don't forget to stop by here!