Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts

In the kitchen

Aug 199

You know some days I could quite happily potter all day in my kitchen. It's a funny pokey little place, and there's chipping paint and mismatched shelves, and things crammed in and a significant lack of bench space. But it really doesn't matter, I just love being in it.

sourdough

I love making food to feed my family. I like to be thoughtful about what food goes into our pantry, and into our mouths. I love putting ingredients together, a bit of this, a bit of that to create nourishing things to fill tummies. And I love the helping hands that are always right beside me. Often two sets of hands, but more often one set. I laugh to myself that I don't need a flour shaker - I had been on the look out for one at the opp shop - as I have a special automated one now.

Aug 180

After our house extension is completed, we are planning on converting our now lounge into a new kitchen. I must say I am very much looking forward to it, lots of big benches, and a walk in pantry (!), and room to fit all my kitchen bits. But if it didn't happen, it wouldn't matter, because it's not about the space but about what goes on in there that makes cooking so enjoyable.

Aug 156

I have been doing a lot of thinking about food lately, about what we eat, every ingredient, and how it affects us, and I just find it all so fascinating, and the more I learn the more interesting it becomes - and the more little changes we make to what we eat.

sprouts

As small signs of spring keep appearing here and there I am starting to dream about getting started on my vege garden. We are blessed to live in a fairly mild climate and so the vegetable garden produces all year round really. But I'm starting to dream of tomatoes, lots and lots of tomatoes, I'm thinking about pasta sauce and tomato sauce and chutney and dried tomatoes, enough to fill my pantry and freezer and last me till the next tomato season, do you think I can plant enough tomatoes to do this? And basil too, I'm planting twice as much basil this year, because my frozen pesto ran out far too quickly last time.

Aug 107

I have lots of things to share in the kitchen/food department with you. Some great, recently discovered, and gifted books. And tasty recently discovered recipies, and old favourites too, that are bit my bit filling up my beloved recipe box (which is another whole story altogether).

bread

So perhaps this rambly kind of post that I'm writing just now could be an introduction of sorts, to lots of lovely tasty foodie things to come :). Because, perhaps, do you think, a very close second to the enjoyment of making and creating and hanging out in the kitchen, is the joy of sharing with others about the making and creating and hanging out.

Aug 169

It would be nice if you were all a bit closer so you could pop over in person and taste the muffins we made on Sunday, and the crackers that we are gobbling up this week - oh and you could share your favourites with me too! - yes that would be nice :). But most of you are not, so I shall share here, as well as I can, and hopefully you might enjoy it as much as I do.

Aug 200

Simple, easy, yummy choc cake

Ok so I shared my favourite muffin recipe, now here is my favourite chocolate cake recipe to make. I love this recipe because it's so easy and quick and turns out a lovely moist cake.


Yes darling, it's not just your arm that has chocolate on it.

:: Dana's Chocolate Cake ::
(From Destitute Gourmet by Sophie Gray)

- 1 2/3 cup plain flour (I often do half wholemeal)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 100g butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla


I made a double batch. One for a friend.

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and mix. Pour into a lined or greased 20cm cake tin. (The recipe suggests a loose-bottom cake tin but as you can see I haven't used one, using the baking paper makes it easy to lift out). Cook for at least 50 minutes at 180 c. Check it's cooked by poking a skewer into the centre, it should come out clean. Ice with your favourite icing.

...............................................

While I'm on the subject of foodie stuff... at the moment I am in the process of creating for myself a monthy meal plan along with a monthy shopping list.
For two reasons. Firstly to help make the shopping and nightly meal making a little easier. So I don't have to go to the supermarket so often (it's not my favourite thing to do), and so I don't get to 4.30 everyday and think ok what's for dinner tonight. So I can plan my pantry a little better and stop doing those 'top-up' visits to the supermarket where I come back with lots of things I probably didn't really need.
And secondly to help me be more thoughtful about what I feed my family and how much I spend on it. I know if I plan more it will be easier to move away from the convenience of the supermarket and rather buy more economical and better quality products from other sources. For example meats from the butchery, or friends and family. Fruit and vegetables and honey at the local markets or vege shop. Grains, flours etc from the bulk food store. Trying to buy local, trying to buy organic, eating what is in season and making a lot more things from scratch. Just thinking about the ingredients and trying to make sure that what we put into our bodies counts. I don't mind eating more simply, I'd rather pay a little more and buy less if I know it's better quality.
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Anyway, all this to say that I'll be sharing some ideas and recipies and shopping lists along the way, and at the end of it I hope to have myself a master shopping list and a collection of simple and healthy meals that the whole family enjoys.
Hopefully you might find some of it helpful, and hopefully you might share some of your ideas, recipies and shopping lists with me too :).