My idea of relaxation!

Its 1030pm, Sunday night and I just finished cleaning up after over two hours of cooking! It seemed to work out well because Danny watched football the entire time, so this might be my new Sunday night! I cooked myself a spicy lentil stew (full of wonderful folates, great for growing babies!) and I put together almost 20 Cornish Pasties, the pastry for which I had made earlier in the week. Kept 4 out for tomorrow nights dinner and have an undocumented number in the freezer! So exciting! I love having homemade stuff in the freezer because it seems like you can put together an effortless homemade meal in the future! I feel refreshed having done something fun, yet productive, whilst dancing to Beatles Radio on Pandora.com. Only downside is, my feet are particularly sore.

These photos are several weeks old because Henry no longer walks with this toy, but they are no less cute, so enjoy!

Out for a stroll...

Chicken Palak

Made chicken palak tonight and it was so so good. I used half the amount of green chilles and didnt have any chilli powder so used crushed red pepper flakes (half the amount again) instead. It was really really spicey, but oh so good. I doubled everything up so that we have two for the freezer also, as Ive found it a little difficult to think of enough meals that you can start preparing and finishing eating in 30 minutes. Though I made a fantastic one Friday... sauted chicken and oven dried tomatoes from the freezer (chopped and soaked in balsamic) then added cream, reduced it a little, then added pesto and tossed in some cooked whole wheat pasta shells. We were done eating 30 minutes after I started cooking, now thats skill!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Chicken • 2 bunches Palak, chopped • 2 Tomatoes, chopped • 2 Onions, chopped • 2 Green Chilies, chopped • 10 Cloves Garlic • 2 tbsp Ginger, chopped • 1 tbsp Cumin Powder • 1 tbsp Chili Powder • 1 tbsp Coriander Powder • 1 tsp Pepper Powder • 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder • ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder • Salt to taste • 4-6 tbsp Ghee/oil • 100 gm Fresh Cream

How to make Palak Chicken:

• First boil water in a pan. Once boiled, add chopped palak. Simmer for 5 minutes and then strain out the left water. Set the boiled palak aside to cool. • Once cooled, blend the palak into a smooth paste. • Separately grind onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and tomatoes to make a fine masala paste. • Heat oil in a pan and add the masala paste. Sauté till the masala turns brown. • Now, add pepper powder, cumin seed powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt to it. Cook the mixture for 10 minutes. • Now, add the palak paste and mix well. Cook for 10 more minutes. • Add chicken and mix well. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes by covering the vessel with a lid. • Remove from the heat when chicken pieces are fully cooked. • Garnish with fresh cream and serve hot chicken curry with steamed rice or rotis. Recipe came from here.

Have I won?

No maggot-like beasties this morning! Would it be premature to think that I have won the battle?

In other good news...

Ate my first home grown blueberry last night! Super tasty! And we ate two more miniature raspberries from our new raspberry patch also!

Made this most delicious Jamie Oliver Mac n cheese last night that was out of this world! If I think about it, Ill post the recipe, but it contained fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, two handfuls basil, Parmesan, an entire round of mozzarella and a pint of cream! Artery clogger!

Another crazy weekend!

I wonder if 'nesting' has set in just a little too early. I say 'too early' because I just cant carry on like this! Not for four more months! Im a hard working fool.

Friday we had our 22 week doctors visit, which I will post about tomorrow after I have scanned in the Ultrasound pictures. Then I grocery shopped, hitting up three different stores, as usual, and easily sinking $200. Dont worry though, Im more like a bi-monthly shopper, so next week Ill just buy milk and eggs, it doesn't cost me that much every week! Walked the dogs, of course. Fertilised my vegetable patch, potted up some seeds, cleaned out my car, took a nap, then went to Taylor Catfish with the Klimetz' for some fried fish, how very Southern of me!

Saturday started out with crepes and stewed fruit, I think Im addicted! Danny painted the new lounge/office so I took myself outside to clear leaves. I cleared leaves like nobody's business! My daffodils are starting to open and I just wanted to be able to see them rather than having to hunt out little specks of yellow in the multitude of ugly brown dried up leaves. Ended up wearing myself out though and sat on a paving stone hoping Danny would come looking for me. Hooray, he did, so I got some help up, thankfully! Had some shut eye with Mojo on the outdoor love-seat, then showered up and took a nap in bed. Made a yummy lasagna for dinner and one for the freezer too.

Sunday was equally active, this time I woke up at 6am, cleared a few buckets of leaves I hadnt managed the day before, cleaned the kitchen and started some bread. All before I got Danny up at 9am! I scrubbed the windows, something I dont do nearly often enough. We moved the furniture into the new lounge/office, dusting as we went, and even vowed to throw some stuff away. Have to get a desk, but other than that, its a beautiful, warm and inviting room that we now both want to spend time in, rather than somewhere we dump stuff we dont know what to do with. Fantastic. Give it another month and we can start on the baby's room!

I cannot believe we organised the whole room in a weekend! I then took a nap with Tux on the outdoor love seat (got to appear fair!) and Danny rode at the trails, although how he had the energy for this, I dont know.

For dinner Sunday, I made Danny's favourite, for working so hard. I opened up a pork loin and stuffed it with fried apples, walnuts and raisins (seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh ginger and lemon juice, then added some cumin spiced bread crumbs). I breaded the meat and roasted it alongside carrots, parsnips and leeks, glazed with a mix of pineapple juice, lemon juice, honey and rice vinegar. We had this accompanied with sweet potato mash, then Danny had corn and I had collard greens (sauted in the same mix as the roasted veggies with raisins). Oh and dont forget the freshly baked bread. I then found room for a scoop of ice cream later in the evening!

What a weekend!

Does this mean its Spring?

Does it mean its officially Spring if my first daffodil has bloomed?

I would take a picture of the cute little fellow (I think it might be stunted by the cold weather) but I have temporarily misplaced my mini-camera and the photographer is in Sacramento. My Hellebore (Lenton Rose) is also looking most beautiful. It makes me sad that is off in one corner of the garden, so I think I shall have to get some more. hmmmm. Perhaps a trip to the garden center friday?

I spent a busy Sunday raking leaves and mulching flower beds, only to go inside and sweep, vacuum and do laundry. Still managed to sit down with my knitting by 4pm and eat the most incredible dinner ever. I just love Spaghetti squash! Its the easiest dinner ever!


Baked spaghetti squash

(2-3 servings)

Spaghetti squash
Lemon juice
Butter
Seasoning

Marinara sauce
Pesto
Chopped olives
Frozen spinach

Cut squash in half length ways, scrape out seeds and innards. Set on baking dish cut side up. Pour in some lemon juice, water (so liquid is about a centimeter deep in center of squash), a knob of butter and season heavily (ie. salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley etc). Bake at about 400F for approximately 1 hour. Stab with knife to see if its cooked (soft).

Leave squash to cool briefly. While squash is cooling, in a small bowl place sufficient marinara and frozen spinach for two. Microwave 4 minutes. Mix marinara, spinach, pesto and olives together.

Shred squash flesh from the outside in. Mix with sauce and enjoy the healthiest dinner you could create with almost no effort!

Stay away... I smell

Well, our water went out again sometime during the night Saturday. Thankfully we had a saucepan of water from Saturday evening which Danny collected before cleaning the carpets. This was very useful as we had about ten people for roast dinner and games Sunday night. The saucepan of water was enough to par-boil my potatoes, boil my carrots and steam my broccoli. I carefully drained the potato water into another saucepan and re-used this water to cook the cabbage. I have kept this water again and will use it to boil my turkey left-overs this evening to make a stock. Now that's resourceful!

I have to say, the turkey was delicious! Thanks Mr Brandon at Zion Farms, Pontotoc, for the free-range beauty! And thanks mum for the Delia Smith baking directions. Oh and thanks Danny for the meat thermometer I got for Christmas. You all helped me bake the most delicious, moist turkey I have ever eaten! I was quite chuffed with myself actually (seriously, who says chuffed in this day and age!), because other than the turkey and the gravy, everything else in my meal was vegan. We had roasted potatoes and parsnips, carrots and broccoli, cabbage, stuffing and Hubbard squash bake. mmmmmm! Thanks to Kevser and Megan for bringing a dessert, I just didnt have that in me! The only hard thing about not having water, was that when I took the turkey out of its bag I got raw poultry juices all over my hands; so I had to use drinking water in a little bowl to clean my hands. Oh and shaping the stuffing balls left my hands kinda sticky too! Thanks also to those that brought water over. Its funny the little things that you dont think about, like drinking water for the dogs; those guys went through almost two of the soda sized bottles of water that Megan brought over. And then there is water for after dinner tea. All in all, we have done well though, to have survived pretty well on just a few gallons of water since saturday!

Today it should get up to 43F, so hopefully there will be water dripping out of our taps when we go home for lunch! With temperatures that warm, I was even able to put the dogs outside as they were getting pretty stir crazy sitting in the house.

Mr Mojo is feeling a little better. Enough to play and use his leg, unless he feels that Tux is getting more attention than him, then he comes hobbling over to me. Seriously, how do dogs learn to play up to their mummy like that!

Easy weeknight dinners

I love running, I love that time alone, the pounding of your feet, listening to pumping music for an hour, being alone with ones thoughts or without any thoughts at all, but gees, running does something to my body that no other exercise can do! I am so exhausted today after a 6 mile run yesterday, having not run in a while! I had a wonderful evening of laundry and ironing ahead of me. I wanted to re-hem my linen pants too. But instead I came home from work a little early and laid on the futon. Couldnt sleep because all I could think about was eating so got up and had a piece of avocado on bread then tried laying down again. I was out cold until just now when the dogs got up because Danny came home, almost three hours after he left! Needless to say, Im not a napper, so now I feel all groggy and am even less inspired to do my ironing and chores than before. Another night will go by that Im not organising stuff. ugh. Danny says thats what the weekend is for, but I dont want to be doing this stuff on my weekend, I want to be going to the farmers market and weeding and canning salsa. I guess Ill just have to squeeze in laundry and dusting too, somehow!

We have had some good dinners this week, and quick to prepare...

Monday I made this mammoth sandwich. If you and your significant other like different fillings you could try what I do - make all the different sandwich fillings and set them on a plate, just providing the bread! We used this amazing french country bread I made at the weekend as a starting point. I would give you the recipe, but it was such a mission, Im pretty sure none of you would try making it, so Ill save myself the typing! Our topping options were herbed chicken, avocado, roasted red bell pepper, dry pan-friend zucchini and tomato slices, marinated artichoke hearts, marinara sauce, pesto and cheese (cheddar and mozzy). Since I had everything except pesto and cheese, my sandwich was aout 4 inches tall! I took three full bites before it fell apart onto my plate! But never panic, I ate it as two halves, a roasted vegetable marinara half and an avocado chicken half! Still delicious! Danny somehow kept his together til the end.

Tuesday I made Cookbooks 101 Summer Squash Gratin with a slight modification - I used sweet potatoes for half the potatoes. I actually sliced the squash all up sunday with the food processor, and tossed in it lemon juice so when it came to cooking tuesday night, all I did was blend the fresh herbs and toss it all with cheese (I used feta) and the potatoes, pour it in to the baking dish and top with french country bread cubes. This was accompanied with home grown greens beans and pork chops (not home reared!).

Wednesday I made an attempt at tomato soup with grilled cheeses (actually used up the last of the french country bread which was rather hard by now, but decent if sprayed with some olive oil, filled with cheese and squished in the George Foreman Grill - the perfect, evenly cooked grilled cheese). My tomato soup was less than perfect and in fact, according to Danny resembled marinara sauce more than soup. I skinned some tomatoes, I used all different coloured hierlooms, because thats what I had. I sauted some onions, garlic and fresh oregano and parsley, added the tomatoes having blended them with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, red wine, balsamic vinegar and a tiny dash of hot sauce. A totally unplanned additive was a cup of shredded zucchini because I ended up having to shred another one for my cupcakes and had some left over. I thought it was yummy, would have been better blended more but my blender has a crack in it so I avoid using it. Still trying to decide if I want to replace it with another cheapy one or get the super impressive one Meg has.

So this leads me to the question:

What is the difference between marinara sauce and tomato soup?

Please help me out with this seemingly unanswerable problem.

Tonight I am not cooking. I havent the energy. Left over gratin sounds pretty darn good right now, for my second dinner of the day!

Yummy citrus salad

Well I was going to write about something else tonight, but I got blown away by my own wonderful dinner creation that I thought it more important to report this!

Well lets begin with the dressing... place the following in a jar, tighten the lid and shake whilst dancing around the room to your favourite tune:

Honey

E.V. Olive oil

Lemon Juice

a splash of orange juice

a dash of salt

sprinkling of pepper

a fair amount of parsley flakes

a large tablespoon of good Dijon Mustard

This was served over romaine lettuce, celery, thinly sliced red onion, strawberries, kum kwats, walnuts and I had an avocado whilst Danny had salmon smeared with homemade pesto and baked wrapped in tin foil.  We also had a delicious parsnip carrot slaw with our salad, the idea for which came from Group Recipes but I added Rice Vinegar and used honey instead of sugar.  I didnt measure anything, as is my way, and just poured juice over it until the veggies had soaked it all up.  Should I make it again, I would add grated fresh ginger, as I just cant seem to get enough ginger into my diet!  And if you are wondering how I grated 3 parsnips and 3 carrots in a snip, it was thanks to my handy dandy new food processor which I love and was worth every penny!  Im just itching to make a carrot cake now that I dont have to stand there for hours grating carrots... maybe this weekend! mmmmm cream cheese frosting, I can just taste it in my mouth already!

No, I did not manage to eat the entire plate, but the lemon in the dressing should keep everything good 'til lunch tomorrow.

Well, it was my goal to go to bed by 9pm tonight to combat this exhaustion that is plaguing me... however it is now just past 10pm and I am not yet in bed.  Fingers crossed Ill be there soon!