sartoric

Wow, this reminds me so much of the dinners hosted by various elderly Italian relatives. It was always a marathon 5 or 6 hour effort, and that's just the eating. I'm curious about the cauliflower fridge pickles, could you elaborate ? i should have said the peas got et on Wednesday night, bummer, and our spring onions are nearing the end of the season, I'd be lucky to find one as thick as a pencil, they're more like large chives Some good ideas here @Lisa Shock, thanks.

Spicy pork ribs marinated in a mix of soy, Shaohxing wine, chilli, garlic and honey, baked for two hours at 160 C. Carrot batons go in for the last 30 minutes, plus stir fried green beans with garlic, steamed rice and a little kimchi.

Sure, I browned off the meat, fried diced onions and garlic, sprinkled with smoked paprika, added tomato paste, tomato passata and chicken stock. Put the pork back, simmer for an hour, add cubed sweet potato, simmer another 40 minutes, then reduce sauce and stir in sour cream.

Hmmm, going down like a lead balloon here. The pork scotch fillet is long digested, a fantastic cut for a long slow braise, it was very tender. Details are on the dinner thread. The ribs are destined for tonight, as are the green beans. I'll cook on Saturday, so a helping hand is available

Pork and sweet potato goulash, serve with a saute of sauerkraut, bacon and peas, crusty bread and a few cornichons.

Twenty five years ago I was invited to a colleagues share house for dinner. She cooked pasta with vegetables and banana....we're still good friends. She has become a better cook with needing to feed three children, but still sees recipes as a challenge. I think I've finally convinced her to stop putting cream in carbonara, but wouldn't be surprised to find carrots lurking.

They were available to purchase AUD $72 for two, I declined. Very pretty though

Make the pierogi please !

Beef and pork enchiladas. I go away for a week, so he who stayed at home made a mountain of bolognaise style sauce. Here it is repurposed with the addition of corn kernels, lots of chilli and extra passata, rolled in soft wraps, blanketed with grated cheddar and baked for 20 minutes. Served with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a mixed salad.

Here's my sprout farm. It cost about $20 at Bunnings (an Australian chain hardware store). Radish sprouts were the lonely latest, although I can grow 3 trays at once. I've tried mung beans, soy beans and unspecified mixed beans. The yellow jug gets the poured off water, which then goes to the herbs growing on the deck. It's winter here and a bit too cool to really get good sprouts. Spring is only a few weeks away, yay.

No, it's not smoked, it's salt cured. I can get all sorts of artisan bacon if I'm prepared to drive a few extra kilometres, this is the lazy supermarket variety

Daylesford is a spa town about 100 km west of Melbourne. It's popular on the weekends as a getaway from the city, here's the Lake House details https://shar.es/1ZMmRc The ninth of August is my mothers birthday. This year she turned 94, and of course, every birthday after 90 is a special one, so I made the 2000 km trek to Victoria. My sister joined us. I had a starter of oxtail and bone marrow tortellini with Jerusalem artichoke custard, veal and sherry consommé and truffled brioche. Here's some local olives, crusty bread and Parmesan sticks. Here's a salad, plus Brussels sprouts with bacon and chestnuts. We ordered this as a side, mum said she didn't like them. So why did she make us eat them as children ? Oh, that's what you do apparently. Followed by by pine needle smoked, roast truffled quail with polenta, pumpkin and local forest mushrooms. Mum wolfed down an amazing dessert before I had time to photograph it. Then came petit fours and coffee. The cost for three people, two courses and one glass of wine each was AUD $344. A special occasion venue with an ever changing seasonal menu. Roll on 95....

@Bhukhhad, I'm sure you won't need to explain your cake message. It's perhaps not traditional, but easily understood and a lovely gift. To go back to bacon....here's our generic supermarket variety about $10 per kilo. For scale, the cleaver measures 29 cm (11 inches). Almost everything is better with bacon !

I wonder where Australian bacon fits on the scale, similar to British me thinks. Anyway, here's my list of items. Chicken - wings and thigh fillets. Pork - baby back ribs, scotch fillet (that's the neck, boneless), pork and fennel sausages. Gravy beef (that's the leg, boneless). Black lip mussels. Cauliflower Green beans Sweet potato Peas from the garden. Herbs - I have mint, Vietnamese mint, curry leaves, kaffir lime leaves, garlic chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, marjoram and spring onions growing. Hit me !

I started this thread, but don't feel the need to own it. I'm happy for others to jump in, post a list and get suggestions. I can't see any reason why we can't have simultaneous challenges going.... what do other participants think ?

Yes, arvo is an abbreviation of afternoon. Happy to provide an insight into our, ahem, culture. Have a look on YouTube for "how to speak Australian", it's pretty funny.

Okay, need a short hiatus though. I'm currently away, and will be home tomorrow arvo. I'll shop on Tuesday and try to buy some interesting things/produce. Will post a list after.

A late suggestion, make a spicy sauce with onions, canned beans, tomatoes (canned if nec), chilli and mushrooms. Brown the pork chops, then simmer in the bean sauce until cooked through. Serve with crusty bread and a salad.

A pan Asian style beef noodle soup. With green plate.

Okay, do Wednesday. You're a trooper !

Maybe Tuesday ? Just a thought, I know stuff happens

@ElsieD, that looks delicious. I had a quick look at Google and there are many recipes. Would you share your one provided by the nice chef ?

There's some great vegetarian food in India. I'd be tempted to go for tofu in a spicy tomato sauce, cabbage sautéed with mustard seeds and green chillies, onion relish with mint, and maybe make parathas.

It's an olive sourdough bought from our local supermarket

I look forward to seeing the result @ElainaA. I'll be away from home for a week, so perhaps we could ask for volunteers? @robirdstx, @Lisa Shock, @gfweb anyone......