Roasted Cherry Tomato, Garlic & Red Onion Comfit

Andrew's mother Verna recently gave me some beautiful red and yellow cherry tomatoes that she grew.   They were sweet and perfect to eat in their raw state but I decided to make the last of them into jars of comfit along with some red onions and garlic. 

The roasting and caramelizing of tomatoes, garlic and red onions in extra-virgin olive oil makes them quite delicious.

In this case I simply cleaned the cherry tomatoes, placed them in a roasting dish and sprinkled them with celery salt, black pepper, finely diced fresh chives and a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil, then roasted them in the oven for about 25 minutes at 180C (about 350F). 

I peeled and cut into pieces (about the size of a man's thumb) 6 red onions, then peeled around 30 cloves of garlic which I left whole.  I sprinkled these with the same mixture of celery salt, black pepper, chives and olive oil and then cooked them at the same temperature for about 50 minutes (till they seemed nicely caramelized).

Using a sterilized spoon I layered the tomatoes and then the red onions and garlic alternatively into sterilized jars. 

I mixed some more olive oil in with the remaining juices in the pans and used this liquid to top up the jars so that all of the tomatoes, red onions and garlic was well covered before I applied sterilized lids.  They are now safely in my fridge where they should keep for several weeks.  

Next time I will add some balsamic vinegar but for now I am more than satisfied with the result and it was so easy! 

What's For Dinner? Planning Meals

It’s fairly easy to “wing it” for breakfast and lunch by having some choices written down and keeping  a supply of the required foods handy, such as yoghurt, fruit, wholegrain bread and cans of salmon and baked beans.

Dinner however often requires some additional planning and is best planned weekly, fortnightly or even monthly.  Knowing exactly what you are going to have ensures you can have the required food on hand and saves frustration and wastage.  It also means you are much less likely to resort to less-healthy and more expensive takeaways. A dollar saved is a dollar earned!

I always take into consideration these factors:

Health And Nutritional Value.  I like to emphasise plenty of healthy vegetables and some quality protein, also low fat, low sugar and low salt.

Cost.  Staying within the budget is very important.

Home Produce. Using eggs, chicken, vegetables, fruit, nuts and other food which is home-grown is very satisfying.  Few things have ever pleased me more than serving a delicious and nutritious meal and knowing everything served has been produced at home.  Freshly picked vegetables are especially good to eat.

Reality.  I don't want to cook every night. Sometimes I am not able to cook every night. Accepting that and making contingency plans such as making a large batch of beef casserole and mashed potatoes and freezing some as meals means that some nights I can just heat a home-cooked meal in the microwave.  You can also plan extra for lunches or to give away to those who need or would appreciate a few home cooked meals.

Seasonal Availability.  One of the simple pleasures of life is to eat fresh asparagus when it is being picked or feast on fresh summer fruit.  Everyone craves those first, new, sweet potatoes when they are ready to dig.  Summer is a great time for fresh salads and winter the best time for wonderful hot soups. When you plan menus it's easier to remember to incorporate seasonal delights into your meals and often at low prices if there is an abundant supply.

What Is Already On Hand.  Sometimes I might have quite a few spare cans of baked beans because I bought them at a greatly discounted price in case I decided to eat some for lunch, but now I have the option of using some of them for dinner, such as making baked bean hash.   I can consider what will be available from the vegetable garden that month or, if the hens are laying plenty of eggs, decide to use more eggs and less meat. 

Once I consider what is easily and cheaply available that month ideas for meals made from those ingredients start to come much more readily.  If I think I have plenty of eggs for example I can start thinking about quiches, frittata, omelettes or curried eggs.

Protein As A Base. I find it easiest to start planning meals based around the protein which will be served.  Generally I like to aim weekly for an average of about:

2 fish dinners.

1 - 2 egg, cheese, soup, bean or otherwise meatless dinners.

1 -2 chicken dinners.

1 - 2 red meat dinners.

Working out exactly what form that protein will take is the next step. When I consider price and availability my potential ingredients list will often be similar to this:

Fish - fresh or frozen white fish fillets, smoked & canned fish fillets,  green-lipped mussels, prawns or large shrimps, salmon.

Chicken - Whole chickens, chicken thighs or drumsticks, boneless breast fillet.

Red Meat - steak mince, sausage meat, lamb's fry, bacon, porterhouse steak, stewing steak, lamb shoulder chops.

From there it is easy to see how these could be made into meals such as:

Seafood chowder

Fish in parsley sauce

Frittata

Chicken chasseur

Roasted, stuffed chicken

Chicken chow mein

Meatloaf

Curried mince

Lamb's fry, onions and bacon in gravy

Grilled steak

Beef casserole

Slow cooked Irish stew.

Now all you have to do is plan the accompaniments to go with them such as the vegetables, rice, pasta, bread or sauce.

Recipes.  Keeping a file of tried and trusted recipes is also very helpful.  You could simply start a folder marked "Dinner Recipes" and divide it into sections for mince, chicken, eggs, fish, beans, lamb or whatever other main protein you wish to base your meals around.  In each section keep a copy of your favourite recipes for easy reference, for example:

Mince
Spicy Meatloaf
Curried Mince
Lasagna
Tasty One-Pan Meatballs
Spaghetti Bolognaise

This makes it even easier to complete your menu plan. 

Egg Sandwich Filling

Having lovely hens who produce rich, golden-yolked, free range eggs is one of the simple pleasures of life. 

It's so easy to hard boil some eggs, add them to a garden fresh salad with some homemade dressing and voila, a healthy and delicious meal!

And a nicely made egg sandwich is always popular.

Egg Sandwich Filling

Ingredients

6 free range eggs

1 tsp good quality dry mustard powder (hot)

2 Tbsps of milk (or water)

4 spring onions

Mayonnaise

Salt & pepper or your favourite seasonings

Method
Hard boil and mash the eggs with the back of a fork.

Mix the mustard powder into a paste with the milk.

Finely chop 4 spring onions (white and lower white/green parts only, not the tough upper green leaves)

Mix the mustard paste and spring onions with the mashed eggs with enough mayonnaise to form a good consistency for spreading on bread.

Add seasonings.

Spread on your favourite bread.

If you don’t have any spring onions then fresh chives are an excellent alternative.

If you have plenty of eggs you can always whip up a cream sponge.

Some of the girls at our cottage.

How To Cut Up Pumpkin

 

One day while surfing the Internet I happened to stumble across a forum where many people were lamenting how hard it was to cut up a whole, large pumpkin.  I've noticed over the years many people have a problem with this, especially those who have less strength and flexibility in their hands for various reasons.

Years ago I decided to cut up a pumpkin with an axe.  I was young and reckless, what can I say?   It worked fine but it was a bit - well, rough too.  Then I suddenly hit upon a better idea - the meat cleaver!   It worked like a charm.

Simply put down a good solid chopping board if you are using the kitchen bench, place your pumpkin on it, take your meat cleaver and with a handful of short, sharp chops you will have your pumpkin cut up in no time at all.  So clean, so simple, so fast and so stress free!  Of course if you have a wood chopping block this is also a perfect place to chop up your pumpkin.

If you use a good and sharp meat cleaver this works well even if you do not have particularly strong or flexible hands. 

Basic Smoothie

I love smoothies.  

They're such a great way to get a quick, nutritious, delicious, economical meal - and you can't ask much more than that now can you?  Fruit smoothies are great, but adding some greens to make a green smoothie makes them even  healthier.

This is my basic smoothie recipe which can easily be adapted to use whatever you have on hand.

Basic Smoothie
-3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt or low fat cottage cheese
-Fruit - whatever you like.  I often use an apple and a banana, or peaches and a banana.
-1 teaspoon of raw (liquid) honey.
-Dash of cinnamon.
-Enough liquid so that the mixture can be blended - use water or juice or milk or soy milk or rice milk, whatever your preference.
Put into a blender and blend.  Drink, enjoy!

To make a basic green smoothie just add a handful of greens to the above - for example spinach,  lettuce or parsley.

Good Greens & Additions For Smoothies

Good Greens For Smoothies:

(Wash first)

Spinach
Silver Beet
Swiss Chard
Parsley
Dandelion greens (small amount) 
Celery, including tops
Cucumber
Lettuce - green and red, romaine etc
Boy choy
Beet greens
Mint
Kale
Sprouts
Cabbage

Good Additions For Smoothies

Cinnamon
Raw honey
Lemon juice
Ground flaxseed
Ground almonds
Ground sunflower seeds
Ground pumpkin seeds
Spirulina powder
Peanut butter
Cereal - oats, bran, wheatgerm etc