Changing seasons and a changing menu...

Now that the weather's cooled off for good, I've been having the feeling of really needing to change the types of foods we're eating. While I've been bringing back some of our cooler weather meals, I've been kind of bored with the same ol', same ol'.

When we went to the library on Tuesday I decided to grab a bunch of books to draw a bit of inspiration from.


The Feeding the Whole Family book was one I had my
library purchase a few years back.

I really liked the idea of a couple of the seasonal books I found, including the Irish Food and Folklore one. Having a bit of Irish blood in me, I'm always drawn to a good old potato recipe (and this book doesn't fail me!).

I was presented with a slight challenge in that I wanted to use what food I had available in the pantry and freezer. Since I only grocery shop once a fortnight and don't step foot in a supermarket or dairy in between times, I needed to find recipes that suited what we had (and I only shopped last Friday). Next shopping day I can plan my shopping list around what I decide I'm going to give a go. Wasn't too tricky as we eat fairly traditionally anyway and generally have a good range of spices in the pantry, fresh herbs growing in the garden, and other basic ingredients on hand - especially potatoes ;). I was a bit pressed when it came to the Ox Tongue or Lamb's Liver recipes though... :P

First up was Irish Farmhouse Bake and Meat Loaf served with broccoli - nothing unusual there, and fairly ordinary, but meatloaf is something I have only made once or twice (I just used some fresh gluten free bread for the crumbs). Not the best meal for those on a reduced calorie diet lol, but it went down well and tasted goooood!

The kids were keen to help out, and a bit of boogying in the kitchen to U2 was just the thing.

Last night was an Irish Stew cooked in the crockpot - so once again, nothing too out of the ordinary, but did have me using the chops in a different way that I usually do.

I already have my eye on making a few of the vegetarian meals, but will need to wait tll shopping day for them as I need to get some more parmesan and arborio rice. If I can find some prunes and a kumara in the pantry, I think I'll make the Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew tonight.

Fast food

I have a standard 'fast food' meal that I tend to cook once a week - and I try to keep it seasonal. We have one day where we're out of the house and not home till 5.45pm. Although Nathan's gym class isn't till late afternoon, I've been picking the kids up straight from school and do a bunch of errands or go to the library to try and use our fuel economically. I will probably start doing a crockpot soon though, now that it's getting colder.

When asked by the kids "what's for dinner?", my reply is "the pasta tomatoey dish". Always received with a "Yum!".

A large tin (or 2 small) tins of tomatoes (or fresh if in season)

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

Fresh seasonal vegetables - grated courgette, finely chopped silverbeet/spinach/chard, broccoli pieces, capsicum, etc

About 1 T of fresh herbs (I usually use oregano, parsley and thyme and some dried basil)

A packet of GF pasta

It's as simple as sauteeing up the onion and garlic, adding in the tomatoes, veges, herbs, season with a bit of sugar (brings out the flavour of the tomatoes) and salt if desired. Meanwhile cook up the pasta and toss it into the tomato sauce when done. That's about 15-20mins all up.