Category Archives: Cooking

And the Cleaning

Leave a comment

When I cook I invariably make a mess.  In fact, we have a standing joke that I cook and GMan cleans up.  I must admit he is very good at doing the dishes and I think he spent the majority this weekend washing dishes.

I finished off yesterday’s efforts this morning by portioning up the refried beans for the freezer as well as cutting and pureeing lots of mangoes to go in the freezer.  Mango preparation is a messy, sticky business.

In between all of this GMan is experimenting with making sourdough bread and he cooked the first two loaves this evening.  I think that is a work in progress which will not be discussed any further until we have some more successful attempts.

After we had dinner it was time to tackle the last of the dishes and eliminate any mango residue from the benches and splashbacks.

The kitchen is now sparkling and my final step was to mop the floor.  Everything is ready to go for a new week.

2017-02-19-01

Lots of clean and clear surfaces.

2017-02-19-02

I remember reading about minimalism that clear surfaces simply afford possibilities.  I love the truth of this statement.  From an uncluttered sofa which invites you to sit and relax to a clear kitchen which is just brimming with the opportunity to prepare meals this logic can be applied to virtually every surface in your home.  It can be a powerful tool in creating a mindset that embraces a simple, uncluttered home and life.

 

Cooking From the Cupboard

Leave a comment

My last port focused on using fresh, seasonal produce – mangoes in my case at the moment.

Tonight I am sharing what I cooked today.  Using mostly ingredients that I have on hand in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer I had a big cook-up and made the following:

Bolognaise sauce
Choc fruit and nut balls
**Pizza bases (gluten free)
**Refried beans
Chilli con carne
**Muesli (gluten free)
**Mexican quinoa

We had Mexican quinoa for dinner and have enough for our lunches on Monday.  The bolognaise sauce and zucchini noodles will be for dinner tomorrow and there are 4 serves (2 meals x 2 people) in the freezer.  6 pizza bases are are par-cooked and frozen.  8 serves of chilli con carne are in the freezer.  3 dozen choc fruit and nut balls in the freezer and ready to be added to lunchboxes.  The muesli container is refilled and will last mea couple of months.

The items marked with ** have already been covered in previous blog posts and the links can be found by clicking on the tab near the top of the blog “Recipes – Food”.

Here is the recipe for the bolognaise sauce.

BOLOGNAISE SAUCE

250g mince
1 cup dried red lentils
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Frozen cherry tomatoes + dried tomato powder
1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
2 teaspoons vegie stock powder
1/3 cup red wine

Pour boiling water over lentils – allow to stand for at least 2hours. Saute onion and garlic, add mince and brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes.

You could use canned tomatoes plus tomato paste. Mine are from the garden.

I use a large soup ladle to portion up the mixture.

2017-02-18-01

The chilli con carne is the same basic mixture but I omit the mixed herbs and add the following.

2 cups kidney beans (I soak and cook my own but you could use canned ones)
1 cup refried beans
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon smoky paprika
Tabasco sauce to taste

I will add the recipe for the Choc fruit and nut balls in the next day or so.

 

 

Meals with Mango

Leave a comment

I like to make the most of seasonal produce.  Using what is in season means reduced costs as well as minimal transporting and often there is less packaging.

It is even better when it is grown in your garden or immediate locality.  Thanks to the generosity of some neighbours, I currently have access to an abundance of mangoes.

We have been eating them fresh but there are many ways to incorporate them into meals, too.  Here are a couple.

The other night I made mango sorbet.

2017-02-16-01

Here is the link to the recipe.  I have also added it below with some slight variations to the instructions to suit myself.

Ingredients

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1 1/2 cups water
4 medium mangoes, flesh removed, peeled
1 egg white

Method

Stir the sugar and 1 1/2 cups (375ml) water in a small saucepan over a low heat until dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Place mango flesh in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a stainless steel bowl and add the cooled syrup. Cover and freeze, stirring with a fork occasionally, for 2 hours.

Use an electric beater to beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Fold into the mango mixture. Freeze for 3 hours, until just frozen. Place in a food processor and process until smooth. Return to the pan and freeze for another 3 hours or until firm.

Tonight I made mango salsa.  The ingredients are what I happened to have on hand.  You can adjust to suit your own tastes.

Ingredients

1 large mango, finely chopped
2 birdseye chillies, finely chopped
1/2 can corn kernels, drained
Juice of 1 lime

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.

2017-02-16-02
I served the salsa with grilled chicken and brown rice.  The salsa was an interesting combination of sweet and hot which we like.  This may well be too hot for your liking so you could try finely chopped capsicum (bell peppers) instead or just a pinch of chilli powder.
2017-02-16-03

Another Parcel

1 Comment

About 10 days ago I placed an online order with OzFarmers for some glass jars.  They arrived by courier a few days later.

2017-01-26-01

Time to open it up.  I was impressed that the box had clearly been reused and was excited to find that the packing was not bubbled plastic or styrofoam beads, but good old newspaper.

2017-01-26-02

The newspaper was shredded quite uniquely but it is a little difficult to see in this photo.

These are 2 Weck glass jars with glass lids.  I am quite glad that they were wrapped in bubble wrap to ensure that they arrived safely.  We ordered these as GMan needed one for making a sourdough starter.  He has been making bread in the breadmaker for many years using bread mix and yeast but has decided to branch out and try sourdough.

2017-01-26-03

Since we were only able to buy these online, it made sense to purchase an additional one so that we would have a spare.  I have used reused glass jars for preserving jam, chutney and sauce but recently made the decision to invest in proper canning jars with a two-piece lid.

2017-01-26-04

I bought 12 of each of two sizes – Half pint and Pint jars – for those of us who deal in metric the actual capacity is 250ml and 500ml respectively.

Here is a closer look at the newspaper packaging.  There are about 6 layers of newspaper which have clearly been put through some sort of mechanical shredder to make a series of incomplete cuts and then it is spread to make a grille pattern.  The newspaper is now in the compost bin and the cardboard box is flattened and will be used as a weed suppressant when we next spread some mulch in the garden.

2017-01-26-05

Sadly, the entire trays were shrink-wrapped in plastic but rather than just ripping it off, I split the corners at one end until I was able to slide the whole wrapper off in one piece.

This is what it looked like.

2017-01-26-06

I sealed the untouched end with an elastic band and this will now be a future rubbish bag for my kitchen bin.

2017-01-26-07

No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to completely eliminate single-use plastic but it is possible to be conscious of your consumption and to think outside the box when it comes to disposing of it.

I am comfortable with accepting what is a relatively low level of plastic packaging to enable me to acquire products which should last a lifetime.  By using the jars we bought to prepare more of our own food we will reduce reliance on other food packaging.

A Particular Passion

4 Comments

During the holiday break I have had time to read and post in various groups and forums.  I participate to varying degrees in several groups.  I find that many of them have quite a narrow focus, sometimes to the exclusion of all else.

Some of the topics covered include:

Frugal Living
Zero Waste
DeclutteringMinimalism
Veganism
Upcycling
Buying Nothing New
Simple Living
Plastic Free Living

I dabble in all of these to some degree apart from veganism although we have reduced our intake of red meat to quite a modest level.

2017-01-04-02

At times it seems that I am not sufficiently passionate about any single topic, however, I feel that they are all inter-related and one aspect can support another.

2016-10-22-01
Hence, this blog contains posts which cover and wide range of topics and I hope you will find something of interest to you.

2016-10-08-02

Please let me know if there are particular topics which you would prefer to see more of or less.

2016-01-31 04

A Christmas Review

Leave a comment

The internet issues were even worse yesterday so the promised post did not eventuate.

I think that I will remember Christmas 2016 as the one that seemed to revolve almost entirely around food.  We had numerous members of family around at different times over the Christmas and New Year period so feeding everyone seemed like a constant merry-go-round.  However, I must say that it is one that I enjoy.

As always, the Christmas Day menu was a mixture of some tried and true favourites along with some more recent additions to my repertoire.  I was catering for 9 adults and 3 children with a few restrictions due to allergies and intolerances.  The menu was gluten-free, nut free and no seafood or kiwifruit.

Here is what we ate:

ENTREE

Pineapple and ginger cocktails
Grilled asparagus and proscuitto-wrapped haloumi

MAIN COURSE

Cold chicken curry and rice
Cold roast beef with quinoa stuffing

SALADS

Quinoa tabouli
Mango and avocado salad
Potato salad
Tomato and pomegranate salad
Grated carrot, grated cheese

DESSERT

Ice-cream Christmas pudding
Meringue roulade with raspberries

SWEET TREATS

Chocolate brownies
White Christmas

Everything turned out well.  We had plenty of food but we did not over-indulge to an excessive extent.  The highlights for me were the quinoa stuffing for the beef as well as the desserts.  I had a general idea of how I wanted to make the stuffing so just made it up as I went along until I had the right flavour and texture.  My daughter the roulade as she had last year.  It is relatively simply but oh so luscious!  I Christmas pudding was a reprise of a similar one I made about 30 years ago.  This time I soaked the fruit (in orange juice as it is not cooked) before stirring it through the softened ice-cream along with some mixed spice.  I also added 23 sixpences which added an element of fun for the kids – big and little!

Unfortunately, I was busy preparing, cooking and eating food so completely forgot to take any photos.  You will just have to imagine how good it all looked and tasted.

 

Gift Giving

8 Comments

I have probably been reading far too much on various groups on social media but I am feeling really fed up with what Christmas gift giving seems to have become.

Just to give some context to this post, I am 58 and grew up in what some would regard as a simpler time.  I am one of 4 siblings.

As far as I can remember, we each received a gift from our parents and one from Santa.  We would buy, individually or jointly a small gift for each of our siblings as well as our parents.  Our pocket money, sometimes supplemented by Mum, was used for these purchases.  There were modest gifts from our grandparents and some aunts and uncles but these were often for the family (a tin of biscuits or perhaps, a lottery ticket).  There was no buying for sundry work colleagues, friends, neighbours, teachers or classmates.

I am amazed by the number of people who are busily trying to give gifts to dozens of people who barely rate as acquaintances.  For a variety of reasons (eg: budget, environmental or anti-consumerist) many are choosing to give gifts which they have made.  This may seem a noble idea but is it really very smart?

Consider a teacher with 25 children in the class.  How many boxes of chocolates, handmade candles, sleighs made from candy canes, homemade fudge and so on can one person realistically use?  Whatever happened to a writing a thoughtful, heartfelt note as acknowledgement of a job well done?

The final straw, as far as I am concerned, came from a forum in which someone posed the question, “Talking about homemade Christmas gifts (specifically food items). Is it standard for people to just throw them in the garbage?”  There were in excess of 150 responses which ranged from “I never eat anything that I have not prepared myself” to “How wasteful – of course I would eat it” and everything in between.

2016-12-15-01

It seems that the reality is at odds with the fancy photos in recipe books, websites and Pinterest.

My contribution to the discussion was, “I am very disappointed that this happens. It serves to remind me that no presents is actually the best idea”.  Of course, I am not talking about immediate family or a select number of friends to whom you are very close.

2016-12-15-02

This brings me back to the point of this post.  Why is everyone madly rushing around buying (or making) gifts for people we barely know? Are we simply trying to keep up with (or outdo) everyone else?

Half of these gifts are unnecessary, unwanted ‘stuff’ which may end up in the garbage, landfill or op shop before January is over.  How would you feel if you knew the fate of your gifts?  Would it change you pattern of behaviour?

What are your thoughts and experiences?

 

Like a Duck

Leave a comment

I have been feeling a bit like a duck lately – all calm on the surface and paddling furiously beneath the surface!

2016-11-29-01

Work is busy and I have deadlines and targets to meet before Christmas.  I am hopeful of achieving them but I can only do what is humanly possible.

On the home front it is about the mundane things – washing, ironing, preparing meals as well as keeping the house in reasonable order.

003

A menu plan written on the weekend is a must to keep me on track during the week.  Tonight was Mexican quinoa and while that was cooking I steamed a chicken breast fillet in preparation for tomorrow night.  In the morning I will take a tub of sweet and sour sauce and some rice from the freezer.  Tomorrow evening will be a simple matter of shredding the chicken, adding to the sauce and heating along with the rice.  Dinner will be ready in no time.

2016-02-13 01

 

Last night I did some ironing and tonight the folded clothes were put away.  A little bit each night helps to keep on top of the ordinary tasks and leaves me time for extra jobs on the weekend.

On Sunday we cleaned up the vegetable gardens and planted some new seedlings.  I hope to have some photos of the progress in a couple of days.  We also picked several kilos of cherry tomatoes which are washed, packed and frozen for later use.

 

A Family Favourite

Leave a comment

**This post has been updated from 2016 in December 2020.  I have made a couple of amendments to correct errors in the recipe and added photos taken today while making this dish in preparation for our Christmas holiday menu.**

As promised yesterday, here is the recipe for cold curried chicken.

Cold Curried Chicken

3 – 4 chicken breast fillets (around 800g)
1 onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons butter
6 teaspoons curry powder (adjust for personal taste as required)
3 – 4 tablespoons flour
900ml chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons red currant jelly
150ml cream
Salt and pepper

Cold cooked rice
French dressing

Steam the chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces.  

Melt butter, add onion and cook until soft.  Add curry powder and cook for 5 minutes.  Add flour and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. 

Gradually add the stock and stir until blended well.  Bring to the boil while stirring then simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Blend until smooth.

Add lemon juice and red currant jelly.  Mix well and allow to cool.  Stir in cream and season to taste. 

Combine the chicken and curry sauce in a shallow dish and chill before serving. 

Toss the rice in a little French dressing before serving.

I have successfully made this gluten-free by using gluten free flour to thicken it.  You may need a bit more flour if using gluten free.  I also substituted evaporated skim milk instead of the cream.  You can make your own evaporated milk using equal parts of milk powder and water.  If you want it a bit creamier just add more milk powder.

Something Different

Leave a comment

We usually eat salmon once every fortnight.  It is cooked the same way each time – GMan grills it on the barbecue.  I vary the accompaniments – sometimes it is kale salad or coleslaw and sweet potato fries, other times it is a a bed of sweet potato mash or wilted bok choy plus other vegetables on the side.

The other day I came across this link on Facebook.  So, I decided that I would try one for a change from our normal grilled salmon.

I made the Tomato Pesto Salmon and this is what it looked like once I had assembled it.

2016-10-31-01

Cooked, served and ready to eat.

2016-10-31-02

Even better, was the fact that the basil, tomatoes, zucchini and sweet potato were all from the garden.

I know that fresh salmon is not exactly a budget meal but with almost everything else home-grown it means that we can splash out a little on good quality meat and fish.