My Turn

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Posted on June 8, 2015

Today it was time to clean and tidy up my pantry.

It is really not too bad but was definitely time to check for anything lurking in the background. I wiped out all of the shelves, decanted a few things into the new jars and generally re-arranged it to work a bit better.

BEFORE

The space on the bottom shelf is where the dehydrator normally lives but I was using it when the photo was taken. The pack in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo is some gluten-free bread mix which was 18 months past its best before date but I made it anyway and it turned out well. There is a second pack in the box which I might make up next weekend.

I have moved a few things out of the pantry – a large coffee plunger which now lives on the shelf above the oven with the other coffee plunger and the teapot. The coffee grinder which we never use is going to the op shop along with a plastic container which belongs in the freezer but I never have it in there as it just wastes space and limits how much I can pack in. Finally, the pile of plastic plates and bowls (meant to be disposable but I keep washing and re-using them) have been moved from the pantry. I have kept 2 of each in the cupboard for the grandchildren but the rest will be stored in the sideboard for use at BBQ’s or other events. One day I may decide to offload them altogether but not just yet.

AFTER

I did not take a photo of the bottom shelf and the floor but suffice to say they look a bit better, too.

Planning Ahead

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Posted on June 7, 2015

On Saturday or Sunday morning I generally make a menu plan of our meals for the coming week. This based on what is in the fridge, freezer, pantry and garden and is used to create a shopping list for any additional requirements. I try to incorporate a mix of fish, chicken, red meat and vegetarian meals.

The next couple of weeks are very unpredictable due to family issues and will mean that I am not at home some nights but potentially with very short notice. So I used a different method today and simply made a list of 20 meals for which we have the ingredients. We will need some additional fruit and vegetables during that time.

1 Pizza
2 Grilled salmon and vegetables
3 Tumeric chicken and rice
4 Pumpkin soup
5 Chilli con carne and rice
6 Nachos
7 Sausages and vegetables
8 Vegetable pie and salad
9 Hamburger patties and salad
10 Celery soup
11 Beef curry and rice
12 Tuna patties and vegetables
13 Shepherd’s pie and vegetables
14 Scrambled eggs with bacon and avocado
15 Chicken stir-fry and rice
16 Pizza
17 Chilli con carne and rice
18 Pumpkin soup
19 Lasagne and salad
20 Chilli chicken and corn chips

The entire plan is gluten-free. I make my own gluten-free pizza bases and hamburger patties, buy gluten-free sausages from Aldi, buy gluten free corn chips and lasagne sheets and use gluten-free flour as required.I intend to work roughly from the top of the list and we had home-made pizzas tonight. This is how I make them.

Do you plan your meals? How closely do you stick to a plan?

Eating In – Baked Potatoes

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Posted on May 21, 2015

Baked potatoes are one of my favourite meals. They are probably best wrapped in alfoil and cooked in the coals of an open fire but that is generally not practical so we compromise with what we have. It is uneconomical to turn on a conventional oven to bake 2 potatoes and for many years I cooked them in the microwave. While they are not strictly baked it made it reasonably quick and easy meal for a family.

In the last couple of years I read about cooking baked potatoes in the slow cooker. According to the article, you simply wash and dry and potatoes, rub them with a little bit of oil and put them in the slowcooker on High for 4 hours. It just seemed too easy but I decided to give it a go as I had nothing to lose – except maybe 2 potatoes. When I took them out they were cooked to perfection and were even crispy-skinned on the bottom – just like the ones you can buy from the baked potato carts in the street!

Since then I have tweaked the recipe slightly and add a spicy coating. Black pepper, herb salt, cumin and chilli (just a pinch of each) into a bowl and a teaspoon of flaxseed meal. I use this because it is gluten-free and it has some nutritional value. You could just use plain flour (either wheat or gluten-free) if you prefer.

Rub the potatoes lightly with oil then roll in the spice mixture and place in the slow cooker. No other oil or liquid is needed. I find that 4 hours is perfect for medium-sized potatoes but if you have larger ones you may want to extend the cooking time by another 30 minutes.

I serve these filled with refried beans and topped with a dollop of plain yoghurt and grated cheese. Coleslaw is a favourite addition and usually some fried mushrooms. Alternatively, you could fill with a bolognaise mixture or even tuna for variety. Some salad on the side makes a complete meal.

Eating In – Pizzas

Cooking Up a Storm

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Posted on May 17, 2015

I didn’t sew today (or this week) but today I cooked. More specifically I cooked this afternoon and evening as I went shopping this morning.

Last night I cooked pumpkin with vegetable stock in the slowcooker. This afternoon I cooked potatoes, fried some onion and added the pumpkin mixture. This made 7 large serves of soup. I had one for dinner and here are the others ready to go in the freezer.

With the remainder of the pumpkin I sliced it up, brushed with a mixture of oil and balsamic vinegar and roasted it. I will use the roasted pumpkin slices on pizzas for dinner on Tuesday night. Two trays ready to go in the oven.

Once the pumpkin mixture was finished in the slow cooker I cooked the chickpeas which had been soaking over night to make hummus.

The next thing into the slow cooker was honey soy chicken. 8 chicken thigh fillets, 3 tablespoons honey and 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce. Once the chicken was cooked I removed the pieces with a slotted spoon and poured the juice into a small saucepan and thickened it with arrowroot. 4 serves ready to freeze.

After the chicken was done I washed the slow cooker then added kidney beans to make refried beans which you can find in this blog post.

I make my own gluten-free pizza bases and normally make enough for 6 bases and freeze them. There were none in the freezer so it was time to make another batch. Here is the dough divided into pieces. The first 2 bases were already in the oven by the time I took the photo.

Here are 6 pre-cooked bases ready to be bagged and frozen. I use opened out cereal packets to separate things that I am freezing. The dividers can be washed and re-used many times.

I picked lemons and made lemon cordial. You can read more about it here.

I also made more butter mixture and 8 serves of chilli con carne (no photo) as well as dividing up the meat which I bought and packing it into the freezer.

Cooking and preparing meals is a never-ending task but it is good to have a few meals and ingredients prepared to make the job a bit easier each evening.

A Packed Lunch

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Posted on May 11, 2015

I pack our lunches (and breakfasts) each day for work but I am usually in a rush so the camera is the last thing on my mind. This morning I had a little more time and I remembered to grab the camera.

This is what GMan took today. Banana, apple, 2 Vitabrits and psyllium husk, 2 slices bread, almonds and raisins, baked beans, grapefruit.

He always has 2 pieces of fruit, dried fruit and nuts for snacks. Lunch can be baked beans, flavoured tuna, salad, soup or leftovers. He generally has Vitabrits for breakfast but I had prepared a grapefruit yesterday so the Vitabrits were kept for tomorrow.

Sometimes I feel like I am packing the same old thing every day but we are happy to take our packed lunches and save around $10/day each on bought lunches. That is $200/fortnight that we can use for other expenses. The other benefit is that it is all packed in reuseable containers and ziplock bags so we are minimising any waste.

We are lucky that we both have access to refrigerators and microwave ovens at work.

Do you take a packed lunch?

Flashback Friday

The Duke Does Dough

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Posted on March 14, 2015

It has been a busy week at work and today has been full of activity. I had not given a lot of thought as to what I planned to write tonight but that was solved for me earlier this evening when The Duke removed the fruit loaf from the breadmaker.

He is often quick with mock ridicule at the things that I simply have to take photos of for a potential blog post, however, his first comment was, “Quick, get the camera – this is worth a photo”. Naturally, it was just begging to be part of a blog post.

I have to agree – it is a pretty impressive loaf of bread. I am not sure how he is going to slice it, though.

On very rare occasions, I have made bread in the breadmaker but generally speaking that is The Duke’s domain and he does a great job.

Kitchen Appliances – Part 2

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Posted on March 11, 2015

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses yesterday. I have read them quickly and will go back and respond once I have written this post. As for the list from last night, here is my response.

1 Blender – I have one as part of a combination with my food processor.

2 Electric Grill – we had one which we did use but when it died I did not consider replacing it. A bit of a fad, I guess.

3 Baby Food Maker – it is a long time since I was making food for babies but I have no idea what this would be.

4 Microwave oven – yes, I have a microwave but I use it less and less. If it died, I would not automatically rush out and buy another one.

5 Panini Press – I expect this is like my sandwich press which I use quite a bit.

This is my food processor and all of the associated gadgets in the cupboard. The blender is with some of the other bits in the box at the back. Like most things, I do not use it to its full potential although the blender, citrus juicer, grater and slicer attachments are well-used.

I also have a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and the pasta attachment for it.

Here are the rest of my appliances in the convenient appliance cupboard.

Top shelf:

Kettle – used on the gas stove if we lose power. Also on the slow-combustion heater during winter.
Slow-cooker – very well-used for soup, baked potatoes, casseroles, refried beans.

Middle shelf:

Sandwich press – toasted sandwiches and I also use it for cooking pancakes
Bread slicing guide – very useful for home-made bread
Toaster

Bottom shelf:

Juicer – rarely used – very difficult to clean
Breadmaker
Jug

I also have a stick blender in another cupboard.

I have never been seduced by the single-purpose appliances such as a pie-maker, ice-cream maker, popcorn maker or hot dog thingummy but I still have plenty of gadgets. If I were to get rid of any it would be the juicer, I think. It is interesting to consider how our needs change, particularly as families grow and children leave home. Our diet and the types of food we eat has changed over the years, also. This is how clutter can become a problem – something that was essential 10 years ago is not longer required but we are loathe to move it along.

How do my appliances compare to what you have? Everyone has different essentials and priorities.

Kitchen Appliances to Keep – Or Not?

10 Comments

Posted on March 10, 2015

I am short on time tonight but I thought I would share this link which is food for thought. It lists 5 kitchen appliances that you may not really need. They are:

1 Blender

2 Electric Grill

3 Baby Food Maker

4 Microwave oven

5 Panini Press

I have been giving quite a bit of thought to this exact topic recently so when a friend posted the link it caught my eye and gave my a bit more to think about.