Neely

This lunch was a ‘sort of’ congee made from left over cooked rice. Added green curry paste, pieces of chicken, soy sauce, fish sauce. It cooked together nicely smooth and porridge like and made me want to try the real thing which I’ve never had. Sprinkled my pickled red onions on top.

Left over mashed potato and Brussel sprouts from dinner last night became ‘ ‘bubble and squeak’ with a poached egg on top for breakfast.

We had slow cooked short ribs , mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts. It wasn’t a big piece of beef and I first rubbed it with a sauce which I concocted myself and wrapped it in foil to sort of marinate for a couple of hours. Placed in oven 160’C for 3 hours, then opened foil , splashed on more sauce and cooked for another hour. It was fall off the bone tender.

Dinner was chicken satay strips marinated for a few hours in an easy sauce found online. Served with broccolini and rice. Rice yet to be on the plate.

Some more dumpling and noodle soup. This was a pork broth made from bones and my soup is the top one … I wanted the pure tasting pork broth with pork dumplings and noodles. ( not even green onions )My husband said he’d rather the added vegetables same as usual so I added them for him.

@Smithy & @weinoo who mentioned okra last time I cooked it by frying. I said I was intending to buy some more okra to make Gumbo… which I have now done. I placed a more detailed description on the Gumbo: cook up 3 topic that Smithy mentioned on the previous page of Dinner page 25. It turned out good, rich and very flavoursome and my husband loved it. I stuck to “trinity” of okra, green pepper and celery which many people say is a real gumbo prerequisite and I used shrimp as I like them a lot. I understand there are many ways of making gumbo but the ‘roux’ is essential. I didn’t find making the roux a problem other than time consuming standing there stirring. The brown roux is something I learnt when young and the family would call it ‘brown stew.’I made my own seafood stock by boiling the heads and shells of the shrimp/prawns which were all Australian. There was enough left to put in the freezer for another meal in a couple of weeks.

@Smithy suggested I look at this thread as I was about to make Gumbo for the first time. I went to get some more okra at the market, good thing I did as they were almost sold out. I proceeded to make New Orleans Shrimp Gumbo as stated in a recipe I found online. To the recipe I added cayenne pepper powder to a heat we both like. I also chopped parsley, basil and thyme for the garnish topping which added freshness. I used a bought Cajun seasoning mix. I also sautéd the vegetables first as was mentioned in a posting here sometime ago. Verdict: Yes it was good, rich and very flavoursome and my husband loved it. I stuck to “trinity” of okra, green pepper and celery which many people say is a real gumbo prerequisite and I used shrimp as I like them a lot. I understand there are many ways of making gumbo but the ‘roux’ is essential. I didn’t find making the roux a problem other than time consuming standing there stirring. The brown roux is something I learnt when young and the family would call it ‘brown stew.’I made my own seafood stock by boiling the heads and shells of the shrimp/prawns which were all Australian. There was enough left to put in the freezer for another meal in a couple of weeks so that’s good. The roux before stock The sautéed vegetables Gumbo for dinner

No cooking involved but what I call Dutch breakfast. Gouda cheese and ham on a split English muffin.

One dinner was a breaded pork chop with ratatouille and a small corn I saw small ( 3 inches) fresh okra at the market and bought some to try again having had bad experiences with slime previously . I looked up recipes online and decided to sprinkle them with a little cornmeal and fry them. I cut off the little cap as suggested and there it was again, gloop / slime which came out and wet the cornmeal but I pressed on. I fried them until almost burnt as I read to do somewhere and YES they were good … very crunchy and tasty. I’ll go and get some more while they’re available and try to make gumbo … (never had it ) next time. Served it on left over ratatouille with chorizo.

Dinner was breaded pork chop with ratatouille and a small corn cob.

I just made us a Saturday lunch dumpling broth. We have these regularly and I add what vegetables are languishing in the fridge. The broth is quickly made from chicken powder, tube lemon grass and various herbs I have growing - Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese basil, green onions, mint, chives etc. The vegetables I added in this soup were mushrooms, beans and spinach. Little noodles and pork dumplings from Aldi. Splash of soy. It was a gorgeous day so we ate outside.

Early breakfast was a sort of scrambled omelette with avocado.

Pork fillet topped with grainy mustard, a typical salad this time with sorrel leaves which I have growing. I like sorrel for its bitterness and that it looks interesting. The rice was a sort of pilaf.

Today on account of it being St Patrick’s Day, I made traditional Irish Stew. cccc

Love Sunday roast and when the temperature took a dip to about 17’C I was happy to cook us roast chicken. Served the chicken with roast pumpkin, stuffing, roast potatoes and a mixture of chopped onions and mushrooms … there was gravy just not on the plate yet. No greens and I’m not sure why I didn’t cook peas as there are some in the freezer … just forgot.

I love the shape of those bowls @Ann_T. What a delicious spoonful that looks. Breakfast outside in the garden this morning was fried egg plus speck on rye sourdough toast.

This dinner was an improvement on the previous. Crumbed chicken with a salad that included fresh basil and peas

DH has been cooking again. This time a sort of chicken ’ragu’ to have with pappadelle. I love this pasta, so silky. Alas I do not like the way DH cuts and cooks this chicken fillet. Being fillet it doesn’t take long to cook yet it is dry but then the onions are not meltingly tender. Maybe I’m getting fussy in my old age but I could hardly eat this and did the old push around the plate.

Dinners the previous 2 nights saw us having a late lunch / early dinner of a large bowl of dumplings in pork bone broth. The other dinner was stir fry vegetables and rice with a fried, crumbed pork fillet and which I now understand is being called a tonkatsu

Hope it’s OK to show location photos …. It was so nice and a beautiful day with a fab view of turquoise water, that I thought I would show you that as well as the food we had for lunch. This hotel is situated on the bay - Port Phillip Bay where Melbourne is located. Below - view from the lower verandah Below I had the Moules frites. There is a mussel farm nearby so food miles about 2 away. I couldn’t eat the second chunk of sourdough bread because I could eat all the delicious chips/frites! Below- My friend had the seafood pasta

Lamb Ragu two ways over two nights. First night, with sweet potato. Tonight the remaining sauce over pappadelle. I liked this way best. K

Sunday evening dinner was Duck Confit with balsamic braised cabbage and an orange salad . It was very good. The duck was a bought package of the confit duck legs from a local producer and they are good value and very easy to do … tasty as well. The sauce was in the package with the legs, and I added fresh orange juice.

Very easy dinner that tasted good. Crispy skin salmon with beans, onion, spinach, tomatoes and a sprig of thyme. We used to eat a lot more salmon but went off it. It was good to have it again the other night for dinner.

Take out/ away rich butter chicken from the freezer from a previous meal, plus I made a yeast Nan type bread. Served with pickled cucumber, chutney, rice and yoghurt.

Went to a restaurant for lunch. I had Ceviche which was delicious. You can see my grandson’s fingers making a grab for my bowl. I managed to divert him, save the bowl and take the photo so was quite pleased.