Summer Menu Monday

I think this week is all set to be the warmest week all summer, so far. We had a couple of hot days last week ~ we spent them at the mouth of the Betka River in Mallacoota (close to the NSW boarder). The younger kids frolicked in the river waters. The older teens and Dads body surfed in the ocean. It's the perfect beach for a group of families with such varying age ranges and swimming abilities to cater for. It was certainly much cooler on the beach than it was at the caravan park!

Today.....the day I have been waiting for, ever since we moved out of our house in the suburbs six years ago. Today we are having evaporative cooling installed. Thank you Mr Rudd! That lovely grant intended for spending on Christmas has been put to far better use. It will ensure comfort for our family on awful hot summer days. We will no longer need to run away from home to seek cooler buildings and I will be able to plan meals more sensibly without drooping at the thought of having a single gas jet on the cook top going for just 10 minutes.

So, what are we having for dinner on a week of warm days?!

Monday: (bbq) Lamb rissoles (garlic & rosemary), cubed potatoes, salad
Tuesday: Ricotta fritters, salad, potato wedges
Wednesday: Fish, potato wedges, salad
Thursday: Warm Chicken Salad, dinner rolls
Friday: Quiche, salad, garlic bread
Saturday: Char Kway Teow (Malaysian noddle dish)
Sunday: BBQ chicken wings & sausages, cubed potatoes, coleslaw

I have a freezer drawer full of fish. Dh & Mr V (whom we camped with) caught lots of Taylor, Gummy Shark and Flathead. It came to me cleaned, scaled and filleted :). There is nothing better than fresh fish. We'll use the Taylor first, because I prefer the gummy & flatty and those are fresher as well.

Warm Chicken & Coriander Salad

One of the things I love about summer camping with friends is that you come across a new meal or recipe that is worthy of adding to your own menu repertoire. This recipe is absolutely delicious. Although we don't like fresh coriander...and so, as it is with many recipes, we've tweaked it to suit our likes and dislikes and taken on board some tweaking from the family who passed this on to us.

Warm Chicken and Coriander Salad

1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup slivered almonds
6 chicken thigh fillets, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
lettuce, chopped (something robust like cos or iceberg, not soft)
Dressing:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Heat oil in pan, add nuts and stir fry until lightly browned, remove from pan.
2. Reheat pan and add chicken. Cook until tender; drain on absorbent paper.
3. Combine the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well.
   
4. Combine nuts, chicken, coriander, capsicum, celery, lettuce and dressing. Gently stir in tomatoes, avocado and spring onions.

For those of us who dislike coriander, you could use flat leaf parsley, or basil instead. Or nothing. We don't enjoy celery raw, and certainly I don't have it with me when we're camping so that was omitted too. One of the tweaks from my friend, that I liked and used was to add some diced, sauted bacon. My friend also seasoned her chicken with some season-all type of thing. Hers was nice, but I had none so did it without and it was still very yummy.

I served this as a meal with cheese rolls from the bakery (I was given 6 rolls for free that day).

Mid January Menu Planning

I'm popping my head up out of books (my favourite holiday past time!) to post this week's menu plan....

Monday: Jacket Potatoes, topped with bacon, cheese, coleslaw, tinned corn, sour cream, maybe avocado if we're really doing well!
Tuesday: Chicken wings, salad
Wednesday: Warm Lamb Salad
Thursday: Chicken Kebabs, bbq'd potato cubes, salad
Friday: Souvlaki/wraps
Saturday: Take Away
Sunday: Frittata & wedges

Summer is just wonderful for lazing on the beach and reading books :)

Now, back to my books....

My Basil Surprise

Look what happened to the basil I bought, not so long ago! See...if you look carefully you will see little roots growing out of the bottom of the stems.

I find this very surprising. The basil was bought at the Safeway in Our Town, and I just shoved it in a glass, hoping to get to use most of it before it wilted, went smelly and died. But no, it's started growing. I believe I will need basil-striking lessons now! I've never had such wonderful basil that really wanted to grow!

Main Meal Salads

At the risk of appearing to think of nothing but food...today I'm thinking main meal salads. By far my favourite this last year is Maggie Beer's Smoked Chook Salad (using regular cooked chook!). You'll find her recipe here.

My other favourite is a warm lamb salad.

Herbed Lamb with Ricotta and Pea Salad

500g diced lamb
1/4 cup bottled mint sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup shelled fresh peas
100g sugar snap peas
100g snow peas
1 heat butter lettuce, leaves separated
100g cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
200g fresh ricotta (or feta)
Vinaigrette, to serve

1. Combine lamb, mint sauce and oil in a bowl; cover and chill for 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Blanch peas, sugar snap peas and snow peas in patches, in boiling water until tender, but still crisp and bright green; drain. Refresh in cold water; drain.
3. Preheat a bbq or char-grill to high; lightly brush with oil. Threat lamb on soaked skewers. Cook for 6-8 minutes, turning frequently, until cooked as you like it.
4. Meanwhile arrange lettuce, vegies, peas and tomatoes on plates; crumble cheese over. Drizzle with dressing. Serve with lamb.

Vinaigrette: Mix together 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1-1.5 tablespoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, sugar & salt to taste.

I'm not a huge fan of mint, so I marinate the lamb in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil (not overnight!) and I use chops, which are then sliced on the diagonal after cooking. It's much cheaper to use chops than diced meat.

First Menu Place for 2009

Here we go folks...menu planning in 2009. If I was smart I would just dig out last year's January plan and follow it. But how boring would that be LOL.

Monday: Bacon & Mushroom Risotto
Tuesday: ??
Wednesday: Cold meat, salad
Thursday: Warm Chicken Salad
Friday: Ricotta Fritters, salad
Saturday: Chicken Kebabs, salad
Sunday: BBQ meat (chicken wings or rissoles?), salad

I'm not sure what will happen for Tuesday night until Tuesday. We traditionally celebrate the day with friends for their son's birthday. Sometimes we get Chinese take away (we cook our own rice), and then do dessert. Sometimes we just do dessert. I'll wait to be led!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope 2009 is full of joy and blessing for each of you.

How cool for me ~ I found a picture of fireworks over Albert Park Lake on art.com!