A Dark Day Out

This fortnight I actually got to shop in Coles, my old favourite supermarket from my days before living in a remote location, 6 years ago. It was a nice Coles, very relaxed. I even got to buy the new Name Me Vegemite. My daughter and I went to the regional centre to get her some passport photos. Even in Coles I was told I had a long shopping docket.

Thursday ~ Bean & Spinach Korma
Friday ~ Hearty Country Risotto
Saturday ~Zucchini Pasta
Sunday ~ Cabbage & Split Peas
Monday ~ Fusilli, Broccoli & Pumpkin Bake
Tuesday ~ eating out
Wednesday ~ Cauliflower & Bacon Macaroni Cheese
Thursday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Friday ~ Indonesian Style Rice
Saturday ~ Spicy Beef Sausage Bake
Sunday ~ Fettucine with Italian sausages
Monday ~ Mushroom & Bok Choy Risotto

Extras or substitutions: Sweet Potato
Lentil Soup with Bacon Bones
Pumpkin & canned lentil soup
Sausages with Lentils & Polenta
Warm Sausages & Potato Salad

Simple Pleasures

Country Music Pic

Simplicity

Thougla

This week's writing assignment over at "A thousand words...and then some..." is based on the word "simplicity." I found it at Daily Pleasures.

I'll start with a variation on Amy's answer:

Simple Memories...

Poached eggs cooked by my Nana both at her work and at home, I was allowed to go to work with her. Homemade tomato sauce and bakery bread.

Walks down to the creek, not that I had to walk that far, and there was more than one, one we visited when Dad was working with his brother on the farm.

Gathering hazelnuts from under my uncle's tree. I was a grown up by this stage, and just remember how they lay on the lawn, I didn't really gather them, but admire them.

Dehusking cape gooseberries in Mum's vege patch.

Swimming in the river.

Going through the bush while we were supposed to be in the school yard. We came in from the school pine plantation. We made booby traps until the teachers found out. The logs were wet and decaying.

Looking at tadpoles in the tabledrains?

Building a fire in the bush in winter to BBQ with my step-sons and my toddler.
Reading Little House, though I don't actually remember reading as a child, only a teenager.

My teenage friend's parents open fire.

My Mum's friend's three daughters and the way they cooked their toast in the early days before they renovated their house.

My Grandma baking square scones on her little table she baked on.

Playing soccer out on the road edge outside our house with some kids from down the road.

The special pinecone trees at school and the games we played under them.

Walking nextdoor to visit Grandma.

Coming home and going through the sprinkler.

Mum's lino cleaning machine.

My Mum's friend's dress up box and its contents for her daughters.

The crickets in our second married home, and the special frogs that live in the bromelliads.

The sound of trains in our hometown.

My mother's phrases for waking me up or wishing me Happy Birthday.

These days the cold at night reminds me of being only 20 and spotlighting with my husband.

Amy says of hers: These are my childhood memories and these are the kind of memories I want for my children. Simple times of love and laughter, work and friendship, peace and security...

I had plenty of time to work through this with three step-children and five children of my own. I am now finding that I need to ask this question of myself about my seven year old daughter and my twelve year old daughter. I haven't been able to answer it yet. However, our new house is providing them with some nice experiences. Not sure if I have mentioned this, but I was very happy with my fifteen year old daughter when driving there mentioned a hill and that she was amazed someone actually owned it. I think it was pretty big, it was on the NSW side, you can imagine. I like how they can observe things out of the car now. I do that. I am thinking now perhaps that came from the three years I travelled the distance on the bus, similar distance to their trip to the other house. Maybe it was also travelling with Mum and Nana in the car to my uncle's and to town, again the same distance. We went to town on Friday's and went to the cafe and had toasted cheese and ham sandwiches.

My childhood memories are getting dimmer I think. Not sure. My Dad died last May, maybe that has something to do with it, or that I live away from that area now and don't visit often as it is a fair way and we have our son to visit as well, and the two houses to maintain. I have written a little about this subject before, ie childhood memories here.

Some more thoughts:

riding my horse, helping Dad break in our foal, riding with Dad through our 1,000 acres of bush in the rain, finding clay in the bush dam and being excited I could actually make something with it, finding a wasps nest on the bush hut's verandah, the simplicity of the table and things inside, the bed ends used as farm gates and things around the old dairy on our farm, the bulbs that came up around the house that was still there, the simple kitchen and window that belonged to that house, the creek below with the anxle of an old truck or car, the tiny stones in the creek, different to the stones in our own creek a mile away,

our other farm, or part of the overall farm, with the small creek that came down to the road at the front, and going through it one day on a horse, of the animals that came through the fence, native animals. The nearby old tip. The old guys house along the road, was it even on his own land? The sheep tracks that go here and there. The old quince tree. Cutting wood with Dad and his brother up the back of that paddock.

I worked out I am an outside person stuck inside. I realise that when I stop the car in the warmer months to check out some roadside apples and walk along in the grass. My paragraphs also attest to the fact that it is good that at age 40 I came to live in The Man From Snowy River country amongst the bush legends and the horses and bush. Last night my husband and I had an arm wrestle. I win. He said I was born with strong shoulders. Shoulders of a farmer's daughter perhaps? I am also glad we still have wood for our fire, since living here of course, so I can smell it when I go to the car.

Soup Weather

Six of the recipe titles are clickable to go to the recipe.

Thursday ~ Bigos & Mashed Potatoes
Friday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Saturday ~ Chow Mein
Sunday ~ Chili Plum Sausages & ?
possibly Curried Sausages or Thai Sausage & Noodle Salad
Monday ~ Pork Chow Mein
Tuesday ~ Pork Mince Stroganoff
Wednesday ~ Spiced Pumpkin & Canned Lentil Soup
Thursday ~ Pea & Ham Soup with baby Kranksys
Friday ~ Sausage Casserole with Chipolatas
Saturday ~ Veal Campagnola & Chips
Sunday ~ Osso Bucco & Mashed Potatoes
Monday ~ Lentil Soup with Bacon Bones
Tuesday ~ Salad Nicoise with Slow Roasted Vegetable Ravioli
Spares:
Soy Bean & Vegetable Soup
Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Hearty Country Risotto

We have had some lovely days, yesterday and today. Very enjoyable. My traffic hazard today buying the food was a hawk coming at me sideways in the fog, he was just as surprised as I was.

Only two meatless this fortnight

and the meat didn't cost much. I did have to buy the kranskys from the deli instead of pre-packaged.

Thursday ~ Pea & Ham Soup with Kranskys
Friday ~ Chicken Snitzel Burgers with Salsa
Saturday ~ Beef Wanton Triangles (snack?)
Sunday ~ Mince
Monday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Tuesday ~ Sausage Casserole with Chipolatas
Wednesday ~ Nasi Goreng
Thursday ~ Pork Mince with Brussels Sprouts
Friday ~ Pork Mince Stroganoff
Saturday ~ Pork Sausages & Rosemary Pasta
Sunday ~ Char-grilled Pork Sausages with Thai Salad (a good excuse to use my Vietnamese mint)
Monday ~ Chilli Sweet Potato & Beans with Polenta
Tuesday ~ Zucchini Pasta (left over from last week)
Wednesday ~ Borlotti Bean & Chorizo Soup

Fettucine Carbonara

Fettucine Carbonara

4 rashers bacon
1/3 cup cream
pinch paprika
1 egg
1 egg-yolk, extra
60g (2oz) grated parmesan cheese
30g (1oz) softened butter
pepper
250g fettucine

Remove rind from bacon, cut bacon into thin strips. Place bacon in frying pan over low heat, cook gently until bacon is crisp. Drain off bacon fat from pan, leaving approximately 2 tablespoons bacon fat.

Add cream and paprika, stir until combine. Place egg, egg yolk and 30g (1oz) grated parmesan cheese into bowl, beat until combined. Place fettucine into pan of boiling salter water, boil uncovered 10 to 12 minutes to until just cooked. Drain return to pan with butter, toss over low heat until combined.

Add bacon-cream mixture, toss until combined. Add egg mixture, toss until combined. Season with pepper. Sprinkle with remaining grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-6.

This recipe was printed in the Australian Woman's Weekly Italian cookbook, probably the first one with mussels on the front cover.

We have loved this recipe since the 80s I think. And now enjoy other similar recipes very much, still making this one as a staple.




I loved this one this week:

Spaghetti with Salami Carbonara (you can omit the sage)

I love this one too and have eaten it recently:

Prosciutto Linguine

This one we have had a few times and is a handy recipe for menu planning:

Zucchini, Pea and Angel Hair Carbonara

This next one we have had before, I think because it is made from pancetta

Mushroom & Pancetta Spaghetti

Small Town Living

I saw this video, well, rather saw Lambert on Crook & Chase? on Austar. I can relate. I have only been living in a small town since early 2004.

• Famous In A Small Town by Miranda Lambert

More Miranda Lambert music on iLike

Buying Too Much Meat

I really don't have any more clues. But I am sure we will enjoy the meat I bought. Some I had to buy two or three packets of, still tried to keep it to around $10 for us six.

Thursday ~ Pork Chow Mein
Friday ~ Osso Bucco with Mashed Potatoes
Saturday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Sunday ~ Beef Chow Mein
Monday ~ Tuna Casserole
Tuesday ~ Veal with Silverbeet (chard), Mozzerella & Tomato Sauce
Wednesday ~ Thai Lamb
Thursday ~ Spaghetti with Salami Carbonara
Friday ~ Lentil & Dill Soup possibly
Saturday ~ This is a swap for the cauliflower dish we haven't had yet, Pies, Peas, Pumpkin & Potato
Sunday ~ Chicken Sausage, Sweet Potato & Rocket
Monday ~ Balsamic Tomato, Chorizo & Rocket Fettucine
Tuesday ~ Zucchini Pasta Possibly
Wednesday ~ Maybe we could buy kranksys and Pea & Ham Soup for Brussels Sprouts

Bigos & mashed potatoes

Simple Country

Back to Menus

Tuesday ~ I think we had Paella
Wednesday ~ we had Fettucine Carbonara, and yes I will post the recipe
Thursday ~ Tuna Casserole
Friday ~ Chicken Snitzel Burgers with Salsa
Saturday ~ Red Curry Beef & Boc Choy
Sunday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Monday ~ Mexican Mince or Chilli Con Carne
Tuesday ~ Sausage Casserole with Chipolatas
Wednesday ~ Fragrant Pumpkin and Lentil Curry or Spicy Lentil & Pumpkin Soup
Thursday ~ Black Bean & Ham Soup
Friday ~ Prosciutto Linguine
Saturday ~ Borlotti Bean & Chorizo Soup
Sunday ~ Pasta with Marinated Feta, Pancetta & Lentils
Monday ~ Spinach
Tuesday ~ Salmon Broccoli Pasta
Wednesday ~ Other ideas, Lentil & Cauliflower Pilaf, Mushroom & Caper Pasta, Borlotti Bean Pasta