Growing Kohl Rabi, Leeks, Edive & Lettuce in Victoria, Australia

Kohl Rabi Lettuce

Autumn Menu

I have trolled through the pantry and found polenta, hokkein noodles, lasagne sheets, the fruit people have brussels sprouts again, I have left over rocket and mushrooms for the burgers, and my husband requested nachos a couple of days ago. Pumpkins are cheap and the other vegetables I have ordered, not the expensive ones, so this is what I came up with.

Tuesday ~ Fettucine Carbonara
Wednesday ~ Mushroom Burgers (a family favourite)
Thursday ~ Pea & Ham Soup with Kranskys and Brussels sprouts
Friday ~ Nachos
Saturday ~ Curried Pumpkin & Lentils
Sunday ~ Pumpkin & Zucchini Bakes
Monday ~ Chilli Sweet Potato & Beans with Polenta
Tuesday ~ Reduced Fat Vegetable Quiche
Wednesday ~ Vegetarian Japanese Pancakes
Thursday ~ Beef & Vegetable Lasagne (low GI) takes 4 hours to cook
Friday ~ Chow Mein
Saturday ~ Sweet Chilli Chicken & Broccolini Stir-fry to use up Hokkein noodles
Sunday ~ Red Lentil & Spinach Dahl
Monday ~ Beef, Corn & Bok Choy Stir-fry

After putting the Easter eggs in the trolley I put only a little more in and headed for home. So I didn't get a couple of things like the beans and the pastry. Hence the swap recipe. Then I realised today (Tuesday after posting) that I had over bought for the next menu. I had seen pork sausages and chipolatas and as I don't go shopping there anymore and they were very cheap I had to have them. My daughter mentioned the sausages in the freezer. So saved by the sausage!

Swap Recipes: (have the stuff for) Spaghetti with Chilli & Sun-dried Tomatoes
Sausage Casserole
Sausages with Potato, Apple & Red Onion (uses pork sausages)
Pumpkin, Chickpea & Spinach Dhal with Naan
adaptation of Spicy Lentil Cottage Pie, ours will have no cheese, kumara and green beans

Tuesday ~ Nachos

Success from last week:

Coleslaw & Poppy Seed Dressing

Growing Cucumbers, Egg Plant & Fennel in Victoria, Australia

Chicory Fennel

Brian McFadden - Real To Me

Running Behind Menu

Though it seems like I am making up the menu as I go along, not so. Have been shopping in Coles while we brought down two cars to take mine to the workshop in the regional centre. No Coles here. I had a list of things like sweet chilli sauce etc. that we had run out of. Also stocked up on hard to get things like green olives and capers, as usually we don't buy those things here, just what is needed for specific recipes. So I have planned out everything, but haven't finished off the final week. The tuna bake was like a baked custard. The broccoli part was very well done. Sometimes I get annoyed with broccoli. I knew I had ordered bok choy with the fruit order so got some pork mince at Coles to go with it. Even thought ahead to bring the Eski/cooler.

Monday ~ Vegetable Paella or an adaptation (see posted recipe)
Tuesday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Wednesday ~ Red Lentil & Spinach Dhal
Thursday ~ Zucchini & Corn Pancakes with Roasted Tomatoes & Dill Cream
Friday ~ Tuna & Broccoli Bread Bake
Saturday ~ Stir-fried Noodles with Pork & Bok Choy
Sunday ~ Mexican Macaroni Cheese
Monday ~ Spicy Red Lentil & Pumpkin Soup
Tuesday ~ Vegetarian Japanese Pancakes

will have to check how much money I have left to work with to make up the rest of the meals. In the meantime we were given a jar of homemade poppy seed dressing

Wednesday ~ Pies, Potatoes & Peas
Thursday ~ Fragrant Egg Curry
Friday ~ Fish with Coleslaw & Poppy Seed Dressing
Saturday ~ Bacon & Spinach Macaroni Cheese
Sunday ~ Savoury Mince with Potato Wedges
Monday ~ Tuna Shepherds Pie

I got my daughter to choose a Beef Rendang recipe for herself.

Success from last week:

Our menu didn't come to be for some recipes. We had to go onto the budget version. My husband brought out my stash of cans for blackouts and in it was 2 cans of frankfurters. He made this soup and it was very nice. We are considering adapting the recipe when we next make our pea and ham soup with kranksys and brussels sprouts which is a family staple, made from canned pea and ham soup.

Yellow Split Pea & Frankfurter Soup

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/yellow-split-pea-and-frankfurter-soup/Detail.aspx

It turns out that it is very similar to Nigellas soup that she published in a book which is probably why it is so nice.

Yellow Split Pea and Frankfurter Soup ~ Nigellas version. My husband made the other one, with two thirds more green peas than yellow and extra peas. It was very thick though. To be honest kranskys would taste better.

Here is the official recipe: Yellow Split Pea & Frankfurter Soup

Interesting recipes:

Lasagne using pork mince

Lentil Frankfurter Soup

A paella using wild rabbit
Basic Paella Valencia

Pork & Dill Cabbage Rolls (uses pork mince)

Chorizo, Corn & Black Bean Salad with Tortillas

Frankfurter Recipe

This recipe I invented. My husband did the hard work of making it work. It was a combination of three recipes, the first one being a frankfurter paella recipe. It is a variation of our usual paella as well because we copied those spices and the method which is actually the way my husband's Mum used to do fried rice. That method has been helped along with the canned tomatoes making it easier to eat. Without the extra meat the roasted red capsicums from the jar really makes it. We think it is versative because you have have the cooked chicken it in and/or canned prawns or leave them out. Our usual recipe has those. Our recipe varies from the McCormick one on the link because originally the McCormick one had kabana, my husband uses his Mum's method, and I have found it easier to use canned prawns or crab. If I am at the supermarket and want to make this I just buy the cooked chicken, a can of seafood, some fresh tomatoes and some shallots. The one below is more a pantry staple dish. I try to keep frankfurters as emergency food in a box for such things in case of blackouts. Which is why my husband brought it out, I needed extra food and he found the box.

Versatile Paella

Ingredients (serves 6)
* water
* 1 brown onion, finely chopped
* 3 large garlic clove, thinly chopped
* 150g green beans, topped, cut into 3.5cm pieces (stir fried)
* 3 cup arborio rice or long grain
* 1 x 400g can diced Italian tomatoes
* 2 tbs lemon pepper.
* 1 tsp tumeric
* 4 tsp chicken stock powder
* 80g bought roasted red capsicum in jar, cut into 2cm X 4 mm strips
* 1 green capsicum
* 1 can of frankfurters or we think we would actually prefer kabana like we usually use
* Oil, salt & pepper

Method
1, Turn electric frypan on high and put rice in, add oil until all grains coated with oil.

2, Place large frypan on stove on med – high heat and place chopped beans on with 1 – 2 tabs oil.

3, Fry beans until nearly cooked, then add onion and a bit later the garlic and chopped capsicum.

4, When nearly all the grains of rice have changed colour (turn down heat) add boiled water about a cupful at a time.

5, After a while add lemon pepper, stock powder, turmeric and cooked beans, onion etc into cooking rice.

6, Cut frankfurters into thinish slices and fry on stove frypan.

7, Pour tomato juice on rice and cut tomatoes into chunks, add sliced roasted capsicum and fried frankfurters to cooked rice.

8, If rice too wet leave lid off, stir rice to help dry out.

9, Serve.

Growing Vegetables in Victoria, Australia

Yesterday I showed some detail of this book, now I am going to start at the start lol. We have found it to be very practical.

Contents Optimised

Growing Artichokes, Asparagus and Beans in Victoria, Australia

This is the first of a series of things from a book Vegetables in the home garden, Tenth edition. 1976 Department of Agriculture Victoria. I hope to put one up every week. It is from our own books, we used this book to grow our vegetables back in the 80s.

Artichokes Beans

Whatever Takes My Fancy Menu (as long as it doesn't cost too much)

I am still losing weight so I think the theme for this fortnight will be budget and low-fat as I haven't included any for awhile. Hopefully I can keep them and the budget happy. Do you know I was half-way into this and had some cream left over, so that is an interesting switch from low-fat. I had to buy the cream to match the parmesan I had left over from last week to quickly think of something for Tuesday. Our real shopping day is a Thursday. Having said that who knows how much Brie is these days. Also a couple of vegies may turn out an expensive surprise.

Tuesday ~ Spiced Coriander, Lentil & Barley Soup
Wednesday ~ Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Thursday ~ Jerusalem Artichoke & Leek Soup
Friday ~ Salmon & Vegetable Pasta
Saturday ~ Fettucine Carbonara
Sunday ~ Vegetable & Bacon Ravioli
Monday ~ Vegetable Frittata
Tuesday ~ Mexican Pita Pizzas
Wednesday ~ Middle Eastern Chickpea & Vegetable Salad
Thursday ~ Pea & Brie Quiche
Friday ~ Potato & Split Pea Curry
Saturday ~ Warm Potato & Capsicum Salad with Fish
Sunday ~ Savoury Mince & Potato Wedges
Monday ~ Sloppy Joes with Coleslaw

I think our jerusalem artichokes are ready, this is their 2nd year.

Interesting recipes:

Ricotta & Spinach Frittata
Pea & Artichoke Lasagne
Three-cheese Pumpkin Pie

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Cheap Soup Recipe

This recipe needs minimal vegetables, only red chillies and fresh coriander. Yes, yuk. But sometimes in just the right recipe it is nice. I haven't tried this yet. But as I am still after very cheap meals often, this is worth putting here to use later.

Don't freak out about the title (I did) it is just normal Australian soup mix.


Spiced Coriander, Lentil & Barley Soup

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ghee
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 fresh small red thai chillies, chopped finely
1 1/4 cups (250g) soup mix
1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
3 1/2 cups (875ml) water
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander
1/3 cup (95g) greek-style yoghurt
1 tablespoon mango chutney

Dry-fry seeds in large saucepan, stirring, until fragrant. Using pestle ad mortar, crush seeds.

Melt ghee in same pan, cook crushed seeds, garlic, and chilli, stirring, 5 minutes.

Add soup mix, stock and the water to pan; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Cool 15 minutes.

Blend or process half the soup, in batches, until smooth. Return pureed soup to pan with unprocessed soup; stir over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat; stir in coriander.

Serve soup topped with yoghurt and chutney.

Serves 4.

p13 AWW Smart Food (Budget Recipes)

Edited to say: I really liked it. In the end we only had Italian soup mix, and my husband put in extra barley. We just had yoghurt to serve it with in the middle.