The Big Post Christmas restock :)

joedenise

kerrypn wrote: »

I have never tried white beans, are they butterbeans?

White beans are either haricot beans or Navy beans. I use haricot beans which I usually buy in France because they are cheaper but you can buy them here as well.

Denise

Almo

http://australianfood.about.com/od/soups/r/CurriedSweetPotato.htm

This is absolutely lovely, I can't get enough of it!

Mayflower10cat

I made a decision this year to make one 'new' dish each week as part of the meal plan. Could be something I haven't cooked for years or a brand new dish from any of my Christmas recipe books. Last week was Moussaka (veggie for us). Gosh, we'd forgotten how delicious it is! The recipe I followed used fried aubergine on it's own, no potato, and the topping was a savoury bechamel sauce with a little cheese, but with 2 egg yolks added and then the beaten whites folded in, so the top souffle'd a bit in the oven. To feed more hungry mouths I'd use potato layers mainly and less/no aubergine. The meat free layers were quorn mince, fried with onions and garlic, tin of tomatoes, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a half teaspoon of allspice and a half tsp of ground cumin plus a few teaspoons of veggie gravy granules and a little water.

Next week I'm looking at a very lovely sounding 'tian' (there's posh!! I think it means little stacks of stuff) polenta base with various layers on top (spinach/mushrooms/goats cheese mainly) then baked. With a spicy tomato sauce.

I really want to enjoy breakfast at the weekends to its fullest! Last year we made waffles a lot (and I still love them) but this year, potato cakes in various guises are becoming a new favourite. This evening I've made a batch of leftover mash into a sort of colcannon cake, lots of garlic in there with savoy cabbage and spring onions and nutmeg. Beaten egg to bind together and some potato flour (left over from a gluten free meal for a friend). I really must make them as a weekday light tea, maybe with a poached egg on top....?

lostinrates

kerrypn wrote: »

We do but feel i need to rejuvenate it a bit, maybe something to put a bit of a twist on it?

Ever have those times when you want to cook something really different and tasty? thats me at the moment!

I used to! A few years ago I sap tarted cooking more seasonally. It really, really helps. You are eating what is right for the season, the weather......and it feels so much more right. You have times where. Observing natiral growth seasons, somethings are really not on the menu, when they come back on the menu its really exciting! We are not rigid about it....we have a huge deep freeze, and will buy stuff out of season, just not that routinely. We are passionately carnivorous but don't eat meat anything like everyday. I think we buy far less mince etc than most people.

bearcub

How about wraps of some sort, if your kids are old enough to put them together, and not make TOO much mess eating them? A fairly small amount of chicken or thin steak goes a long way, combined with 'value' stir fry veg. Add a suitable sauce (bought or homemade) to the stir fry then, when serving, you can add grated cheese, and even sour cream if you can run to that.

What we call Spanish eggs are tasty, too. Chop potatoes into cubes, roast in small amount of oil in oven tray until starting to go brown and soft. Chop onion, fry until soft, add tinned toms, herbs and chilli sauce if liked. Mix in potatoes, and put back into tray. Make wells with a spoon, and break an egg in each. Put back in oven until eggs are set.