A week in the life - food and flowers

It’s been a week of quick and simple meals here at Casa Ooh, Look.

Some were better than others, and in between, there were a couple of repeats (this risotto is my go-to, so have to have this at least once a week).

Here’s what we had:

Monday was leftovers, so nothing to see here.

Tuesday was a surprisingly delicious Honey Mustard Chicken.

I normally do honey soy chicken with drumsticks, but I found this recipe and thought I’d shake things up a bit. Here is my version:

Honey Mustard Chicken (serves 2)

1.    Generously season 4 chicken thigh cutlets (bone in, skin on if you can find it) with salt and pepper. Place into an ovenproof/flameproof frypan or baking dish. Cook on the stove over medium-high heat until golden brown all over (about 5 minutes). Preheat the oven to 170C/340F.

2.    Combine in a bowl: 1 teaspoon seeded mustard, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 4 tablespoons honey.

3.    Spread the honey mustard mixture over the chicken in the pan. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with green vegetables.

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Wednesday was an old favourite that I’m surprised I haven’t blogged about before.

This recipe is a good way to use up that old white sliced bread. Just crumb the just-about-to-expire bread in a food processor (crusts and all) then seal in a zip-lock bag and store in the freezer. Whip out a cup of breadcrumbs to make this pasta and your life will be better.

Breadcrumb Anchovy Pasta (serves 2)

1.   Cook your preferred pasta in boiling salted water. Three minutes before it’s cooked, add the florets from half a small cauliflower (or broccoli). Drain the cooked pasta and cauliflower and keep warm.

2.   Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, throw in 5 or 6 chopped anchovy fillets. Stir them around until they are almost melted into a paste. Sprinkle over 1 cup of breadcrumbs and spread out evenly in the pan. Leave to toast for 2 minutes or so, until the crumbs are golden and kind of dried.

3.   Sprinkle the anchovy breadcrumbs over the pasta and serve.

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Thursday was probably risotto. Told you it was a favourite.

Friday nights mean a bit more time to spend on dinner before settling down for some tv time (Escape to the Country is my Friday night must-view, how old does that make me seem?).

I normally do this lemongrass pork with beef, and ‘un-pattied’, but this time I used pork and pattied them up before frying.

Lemongrass Pork Patties (serves 3-4)

1.   In a large bowl, combine 500g (1lb) pork mince, 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass stalks, ½ cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons chopped chives, ½ chopped onion, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon caster sugar, and a pinch of chilli flakes. Mix well and form into about 16 little patties.

2.   Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through.

3.   Serve with sweet chilli sauce, mung bean vermicelli and sliced cucumber.

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Sunday was Mother’s Day. I spent Saturday at the supermarket, trawling through the buckets for some tulips and this massive chrysanthemum. Mum really loved the 'mum, thank goodness!

I also made some muffins to take over, and they went down a treat.

Cheesey Vegetable Muffins (makes 12)

1.Sift together 1½ cups plain flour and 3 teaspoons of baking powder.

2. Grate one carrot and one zucchini into the flour. Add ½ cup of tasty cheese. Season with salt and pepper; maybe add a pinch of paprika if you like it spicy. Combine well.

3. Stir into the dry ingredients: 2 lightly beaten eggs, 1/3 cup olive oil, ½ cup milk. Mix gently until just combined.

4. Pour mixture into 12 paper-lined muffin pans. Sprinkle some more cheese on top. Bake in a preheated 180C/360F for 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to cool.

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Also, I missed most of Eurovision. Dooze pw’un goes to Austria!

That, in a nutshell, was last week.

The food was pretty basic (but tasted good) and I’d love to spend more time cooking, but getting home at 7pm after a gruelling work day doesn’t leave me much interested in menu planning, unfortunately.

Must try harder!

Here is a final word from Tabitha cat:

Till next time, 

xx

Tea, Linseed Loaf, Trout Pate and a Cat

So, what's up, pussycat?

Too busy to pop in to say hello, that's what's up.

(Three months and that's the best excuse I could come up with. 

Totally slack, I know).

Anyway, here's what I've been up to this week.

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After the indulgence of hot cross buns leading up to Easter (I put on 2 kg!), I needed something not-so-stodgy and somewhat healthy. Found this recipe for a low-carb loaf  from here.

The loaf is wonderful if you can't tolerate wheat or grains, and it's super-easy to make.

I used LSA (linseed sunflower almond) mix because the healthfoods scoop place didn't have plain linseed meal. I have read that baking of linseed and almond meal removes most of their nutrients, so I'm not sure it's as healthy as it could be.

Here is the loaf on a wooden board that comes with the May issue of delicious (Australia) magazine:  

On the subject of magazines, I normally buy the digital versions, and it is certainly saving me lots of room at home. But I had to get the hardcopy of delicious just to get this cute board... 

I have been having a slice of this loaf for breakfast all week, just heated up for 20 seconds in the microwave at work, then slathered with some butter and Vegemite. 

It's better to microwave it rather than toast it, I've found, because it tastes a bit eggy, otherwise.

Low-Carb Linseed Loaf

makes 1 small loaf

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

2. In a bowl, combine 1 cup flax (linseed) meal, half a cup of almond meal  (ground almonds), 1 teaspoon of baking powder and half a teaspoon of salt.

3. In a jug, beat together 4 eggs and 3 tablespoons of water.

4. Pour the eggs into the bowl with the flax meal and mix well.

5. Pour the mixture into a small loaf pan (use a silicone pan to make the loaf easier to remove)

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden or a skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan onto a wire rack.

Loaf can be stored for 1 week, wrapped in plastic in the fridge.

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I tidied up my 'pantry' (actually a small cupboard under the kitchen bench).

Threw away several jars and packets well past their expiry dates (oldest was curry sauce from 2007).

Let's see how long it stays this neat.

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Bought the latest T2 teas, mainly for the pretty packaging.

Cherry White is white tea leaves with hibiscus, sour cherry and cranberry. Supposed to be reminiscent of a stroll through cherry blossoms. It's okay, a bit sour for my taste.

Fuschia comes in a disco box with a metal scoop and mesh strainer ball.

I love this one - it's actually a tisane, so no tea leaves, just apple, cranberry and other fruit bits.

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For dinner tonight, I used this recipe for Smoked Trout Pate from Jamie Oliver.

Again, really easy to make and tastes brilliant.

Ingredients: 125g cream cheese, 100g hot-smoked trout, 3 tablespoons horseradish cream, small bunch chives, 1 lemon, salt and pepper

Mix the cream cheese, horseradish, lemon zest and juice of 1/2 lemon.

Add chopped chives and salt and pepper to taste.

Add flaked trout and fold gently through.

PS: rainbow trout has lots of bones

Sprinkle some canola oil on top.

Chill in fridge before serving.

And because it's a Jamie Oliver recipe, there has to be Yorkshire puddings, mini ones in this case.

You could also serve the pate with crusty bread instead.

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That's it for now.  

See you soon, I hope!

xx