The last post
2 months ago
Showing posts with label dinner diary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dinner diary. Show all posts
Thursday, February 21, 2008
kaput
No more. I'm not doing my dinner diary anymore. I don't want to reflect on how we eat all in a pot things and leftovers all the time anymore. I'm pleased with my success at not having bought fish and chips at all. I can't summon the will to wonder whether we could be eating more silicone and less acid foods and upping our photo-bio-unmodified-nonsense intake either. I'm just pleased no one is starving at my house and when I'm thinking about food, then there are some awesome blogs out there for me to read instead. If I was feeling diligent and thorough, I would link to Rachael's latest blog (hopefully it will show up in links if you click on her profile - Rach in recent comments on this blog. But I'm not. at all.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: the long version ....
It was a beautiful sunny morning when red riding hood picked up her basket and went to gather some food.
oops it was sunny and I had no gorgeous trug but a bowl to collect food from the garden in. I also realised I was in a long purple dress and not pale blue which made me feel much better - more bohemian and less mumsy. Borlotti beans (not enough to store for winter - my total harvest was 74 beans), a leek, celery, garlic, zucchinis, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary all from the garden. Washed chopped and in the slow cooker with bacon ends from the local butcher (free range pig tick tick), kumara, carrot and home made tomato sauce. Slow cooker on and off to work.
Then I cooked more red rice as I like it so much and felt very clever as it was all yummy.
Then I went out to book group at a nasty new restaurant chain and ordered a wine which was totally worth it and my special treat in this frugal month. I also, against my planning and better judgement, ordered a lemon meringue pie and it was bland and expensive and I'm just frustrated to have spent $10.50 on a mediocre dessert when I have otherwise been really really good at not wasting money of late. The evening of chatting was nice though.
There are leftovers from tonight's bacon dish so I have 12+ hours to think of a way of serving that up again tomorrow night without it looking exactly the same as tonight.
It was a beautiful sunny morning when red riding hood picked up her basket and went to gather some food.
oops it was sunny and I had no gorgeous trug but a bowl to collect food from the garden in. I also realised I was in a long purple dress and not pale blue which made me feel much better - more bohemian and less mumsy. Borlotti beans (not enough to store for winter - my total harvest was 74 beans), a leek, celery, garlic, zucchinis, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary all from the garden. Washed chopped and in the slow cooker with bacon ends from the local butcher (free range pig tick tick), kumara, carrot and home made tomato sauce. Slow cooker on and off to work.
Then I cooked more red rice as I like it so much and felt very clever as it was all yummy.
Then I went out to book group at a nasty new restaurant chain and ordered a wine which was totally worth it and my special treat in this frugal month. I also, against my planning and better judgement, ordered a lemon meringue pie and it was bland and expensive and I'm just frustrated to have spent $10.50 on a mediocre dessert when I have otherwise been really really good at not wasting money of late. The evening of chatting was nice though.
There are leftovers from tonight's bacon dish so I have 12+ hours to think of a way of serving that up again tomorrow night without it looking exactly the same as tonight.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Dinner
I am thrilled, yes thrilled to report that there are no longer sausages in our fridge waiting to be eaten quickly.
Tonight: sauteed sausages-mushrooms-onion, red rice, carrot salad. I'd never cooked red rice before - Camargue rice from France according to the fancy packet. Worthwhile find though. Carrot salad used lettuce, parsley and garlic from our garden and carrots/honey/olive oil/lemon juice not from our garden.
Tonight: sauteed sausages-mushrooms-onion, red rice, carrot salad. I'd never cooked red rice before - Camargue rice from France according to the fancy packet. Worthwhile find though. Carrot salad used lettuce, parsley and garlic from our garden and carrots/honey/olive oil/lemon juice not from our garden.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: mixed up 70s dinner really. Remember sausages and potatoes and carrots and beans? Mostly overcooked in separate pots for which there was no automatic dishwasher. Well tonight was sausages-garlic-onion-carrot-potato-beans-mushroom-tomatoes-swiss chard plus herbs all mixed in together on the stovetop. The beans were authentic 70s style - overcooked and unpleasant. Everything else was okay. Of course in the seventies we called swiss chard silverbeet which was a reasonable approximation to the colour which the once green veg came out as after 45 minutes of boiling.
Got three packs of sausages out in the weekend for a barbecue which the rain prevented happening. So even more sausage meals to come this week.
Still no resort to the chippie so far. That's my best result.
Got three packs of sausages out in the weekend for a barbecue which the rain prevented happening. So even more sausage meals to come this week.
Still no resort to the chippie so far. That's my best result.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: Cabana sausage sandwiches. I had lettuce and tomato from the garden; don't know that anyone else bothered about vegetables.
Sausages are likely to feature heavily in this week's meals. Exciting aye?
Sausages are likely to feature heavily in this week's meals. Exciting aye?
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: OUT! Favourite Handyman had a voucher for dinner at the local pub, friends looked after the children and we had a lovely time. Scallops and steak and chips and lettuce for me. Then we went to the beach and watched the sun go down.
NO cooking by me.
NO dishes.
What is there not to like?
I also got a tip on a work colleague who has lots of practical gardening knowledge. I'll be following her up for sure.
NO cooking by me.
NO dishes.
What is there not to like?
I also got a tip on a work colleague who has lots of practical gardening knowledge. I'll be following her up for sure.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: fish in a gentle stir fry in the frying pan. Nearly all meals I cook are in one pot. One for breakfast and one for dinner. That's quite enough dishes thank you.
fish: from the local fishmongers - locally caught. I don't do locally caught fish guilt, though I am aware that it could easily be added to my guilt repertoire.
celery, lemon thyme, garlic, tomatoes - home grown
beans - home grown and gifted to us by our lovely friend Paul.
potatoes from Marlborough as per two nights ago.
carrots and broccoflower and onions and soy sauce and pepper and olive oil from *the shop*.
It took some serious discipline not to end up at the chippie tonight. I had to continually remind myself that the chippie is $15 spent with still no veges in our tummies. The letter saying that our credit card interest rates are about to go up helped. I've only ever paid interest on our credit card once before, and I'm highly motivated to clear the whole thing as asap. I'm shocked that so many people regularly pay such exorbitant interest sums to their bank.
AND I've finished the apron. Very proud of myself. Wearing it now.
fish: from the local fishmongers - locally caught. I don't do locally caught fish guilt, though I am aware that it could easily be added to my guilt repertoire.
celery, lemon thyme, garlic, tomatoes - home grown
beans - home grown and gifted to us by our lovely friend Paul.
potatoes from Marlborough as per two nights ago.
carrots and broccoflower and onions and soy sauce and pepper and olive oil from *the shop*.
It took some serious discipline not to end up at the chippie tonight. I had to continually remind myself that the chippie is $15 spent with still no veges in our tummies. The letter saying that our credit card interest rates are about to go up helped. I've only ever paid interest on our credit card once before, and I'm highly motivated to clear the whole thing as asap. I'm shocked that so many people regularly pay such exorbitant interest sums to their bank.
AND I've finished the apron. Very proud of myself. Wearing it now.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: leftovers from last night, on toast. With cheese for the others and mayonnaise for me to go on top or underneath and some more of the rather large container of red lentil spread sneaked in. It tastes fine, just slightly depressing to look at the container and think how very many days I/we shall be eating it for.
Still, takeaway expenditure avoided for another night.
In town, for we do live in something a little bigger than a village so have such grand terms as town to bandy about hopefully, I did buy a rather necessary purchase for the garden in the form of a rigger of beer this afternoon. Harrington's Muddy Boot to be precise, which the slugs love. I never thought to plant any beer traps in the punga raised bed, and as a consequence the brocolli plants are stripped bare and the kale much diminished. Naturally, we'll have to drink most of the bottle first. Slugs don't get first pickings.
Next task is to set up the sewing machine which has just been repaired and see if I can sew for a little longer this time before breaking something.
Still, takeaway expenditure avoided for another night.
In town, for we do live in something a little bigger than a village so have such grand terms as town to bandy about hopefully, I did buy a rather necessary purchase for the garden in the form of a rigger of beer this afternoon. Harrington's Muddy Boot to be precise, which the slugs love. I never thought to plant any beer traps in the punga raised bed, and as a consequence the brocolli plants are stripped bare and the kale much diminished. Naturally, we'll have to drink most of the bottle first. Slugs don't get first pickings.
Next task is to set up the sewing machine which has just been repaired and see if I can sew for a little longer this time before breaking something.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Dinner
Blade steak casserole done in the slow cooker. Not suitable to the hot weather particularly, but suitable to when I had five minutes to cook today.
Home grown: celery, thyme, oregano, garlic
Organic beef from down the road which where we live just happens to mean nearly 100kms away. Spuds from the Marlborough farmers' market - in laws bought them for us on a recent visit. The rest comes from - - - - *the shops*.
Oh and four guest ingredients, much prized: my borlotti beans. They are actually so beautiful to look at that I have considered drying and shelling them all and putting them in a jar to keep on the kitchen windowsill just for looking at. Then I wondered if they would go mouldy or shrivel and look unattractive after a while so I put them in dinner and I had one on my plate and yes it tasted very nice.
I have another food question: the faba beans from the Spanish dish Fabada, are they butter beans in NZ speak? What is the closest bean that I can grow? When we came back from our first trip to Spain, I adored that dish so much that at least twice I travelled from zone 4, East London, to the a street near the Portobello market on the other side of town just to buy the ingredients to make 'the real thing'. And at local prices, not Borough Market/Brindisa prices. We have a nearby specialty butchers here on the coast which does black and white puddings and perhaps the other ingredients. On my list for winter then.
Home grown: celery, thyme, oregano, garlic
Organic beef from down the road which where we live just happens to mean nearly 100kms away. Spuds from the Marlborough farmers' market - in laws bought them for us on a recent visit. The rest comes from - - - - *the shops*.
Oh and four guest ingredients, much prized: my borlotti beans. They are actually so beautiful to look at that I have considered drying and shelling them all and putting them in a jar to keep on the kitchen windowsill just for looking at. Then I wondered if they would go mouldy or shrivel and look unattractive after a while so I put them in dinner and I had one on my plate and yes it tasted very nice.
I have another food question: the faba beans from the Spanish dish Fabada, are they butter beans in NZ speak? What is the closest bean that I can grow? When we came back from our first trip to Spain, I adored that dish so much that at least twice I travelled from zone 4, East London, to the a street near the Portobello market on the other side of town just to buy the ingredients to make 'the real thing'. And at local prices, not Borough Market/Brindisa prices. We have a nearby specialty butchers here on the coast which does black and white puddings and perhaps the other ingredients. On my list for winter then.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: leftovers. Curry and risotto and also some red lentil spread stuff which I had a go at making yesterday.
Then we had fruit cos the box of fruit from Treedimensions arrived and it was seriously yummy. If you live in the South Island, then I'd highly recommend trying a box.
Then we had fruit cos the box of fruit from Treedimensions arrived and it was seriously yummy. If you live in the South Island, then I'd highly recommend trying a box.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Dinner
tonight: chickpea, kumara and swiss chard curry. Swiss chard and garlic and coriander home grown, all the rest from somewhere else.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Dinner
Tonight: risotto. beans, brocolli and mushroom. I cooked it. Mixed feta in part way through instead of at the end because I was yacking on the phone and not concentrating. Tasted good. Beans locally grown and gifted by my friend. Garlic, lemon thyme and oregano home grown. Everything else bought.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
the dinner diary
New low in topic discussion here.
I decided at dinner that I should keep a record of our dinner meals and see if what I think we're eating (cost and nutrition factors) and what we are actually eating bear any resemblance. I'll stick to just dinner as if I did all three meals, I might kill myself with my own boringness.
So tonight:
corn on the cob (fresh)
oven baked wedges (home made)
hummous (home made with tinned chickpeas but home grown garlic, basil and parsley)
cherry tomatoes from the garden.
We are on a serious budget mission at the moment and maybe this will help keep me from buying any ready made fish and chips. Due to the gluten free and egg free status of dinners in our house, we never get supermarket ready meals. Apart from baked beans. Saviour of me.
I decided at dinner that I should keep a record of our dinner meals and see if what I think we're eating (cost and nutrition factors) and what we are actually eating bear any resemblance. I'll stick to just dinner as if I did all three meals, I might kill myself with my own boringness.
So tonight:
corn on the cob (fresh)
oven baked wedges (home made)
hummous (home made with tinned chickpeas but home grown garlic, basil and parsley)
cherry tomatoes from the garden.
We are on a serious budget mission at the moment and maybe this will help keep me from buying any ready made fish and chips. Due to the gluten free and egg free status of dinners in our house, we never get supermarket ready meals. Apart from baked beans. Saviour of me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
