Kitchen Escapades

CA jested last night that since Annie came to stay, my domestic side has awakened from hibernation.

In the past 2 weeks, I've been flipping cook books everyday, trying to find ideas for lunch and dinner. The tricky thing is to find something that doesn't take too long to assemble, will appeal to all tastes, and is hardy enough to take to school and office (for Beth and CA). Sandwiches are all very good (and is the quintessential Aussie school lunchbox option), but it can get boring once you've exhausted the ham, cheese, jam, honey, tuna...

On Tue, I made chicken pie for dinner (my first ever pie!).

Beth marvelled at the * pattern on the pie crust.

"How did you do that?" she wanted to know.

I explained that I'd merely used the leftover trimmings from the shortcrust pastry to "decorate" the top.

On Mon, I made pasta bake with minced beef, frozen mixed veg, penne and heaps of grated cheese. Beth grumbled at the presence of peas and corn, but was very pleased with the dish in general.

One time, I made pork spare ribs braised in cola (Home Brand, which CA tut-tutted at; to him, nothing beats Coca Cola).

I also attempted a beef roast during Annie's first week here. That was tricky, because everyone has a different preference for the doneness of their beef, yes? We ended up with beef that was slightly pink in the middle and sliced too thickly. I also forgot to put aluminium foil in the roasting tray. It was very hard work removing the burnt bits of gravy afterwards! (Note to self...)

I love pre-marinated meats. My fave shop at the Plaza is Lennards. They have this amazing display of ready-to-cook mains like Chicken Jumbo (5 for $5), Chicken Kebabs, Southern Fried Chicken, Chicken Parmigiana...When I feel pressed for time and ideas, I can always count on Lennards.

CA insists the eggs from Lennards are the best.

When Beth is at school, I make muffins, brownies, slices and cakes. I love seeing the delight in her eyes when she comes home from school and sees what's for tea. And the smell of something baking in the oven is a great way to make a house feel cosy!

To address CA's concerns that I'm feeding the kids too much refined and sweet stuff, I'm learning to choose wholemeal self-raising flour over the regular variety, raw sugar over white, to use less sugar, and to incorporate dried fruit and cereal for a healthier snack.

Annie and I joke all the time about how I've turned into an "auntie" since coming to Australia.

Now, what shall I cook for dinner tonight?