Becoming Domestic

I love vegetables, Bealers isn’t so keen, he loves pasta & bread but I can’t eat gluten, I could eat rice every day and never get sick of it, he can’t abide the stuff, I rate fish and shellfish highly but Bealers doesn’t!

On top of all these likes/dislikes we’re trying to be healthier and more thrifty with our food budget so what meals does that leave on the list of things we both like and won’t blow the budget (and are easy to make!). Luckily we are both meat eaters so are at least compatible on that.

• Pork & cider casserole with mash/rice/baked potatoes
• Hungarian beef goulash with rice
• Chilli with corn tortillas, grated cheese, avocado, salsa and greek yoghurt
• Curry of all kinds (rice for her, naan bread for him)
• Roast dinners
• Omlettes of all kinds
• Fish, chips & mushy peas
• Spicy beanburgers and salad
• Wheat free lasagne
• Thai red curry with veg and tofu
• Jacket potatoes with homemade coleslaw & cheese or houmous & salad
• Lamb/pork chops with new potatoes salad/veg
• Fried breakfasts (bacon, eggs, tomatoes, baked beans and mushrooms)

Not a huge list there. A lovely new years resolution designed by Bealers was to use our plentiful supply of recipe books and try to cook something new from one of them every week of the year so we discover new dishes which we both enjoy. So far he has stuck to his plan and last week we had a very tasty supper from the latest Jamie Oliver book ‘At Home’ with chicken thighs, new potatoes and tomatoes all roasted together in a big oven proof tray.
When Bealers is away or out for the evening I always treat myself to one of my personal favourites:

• Rataouille with rice or a jacket potato or just on its own with grated cheese
• Chick pea and spinach curry
• Risotto either plain, ‘green’ (peas, courgettes, brocolli) with loads of white wine and parmeasan
• Fisherman’s pie
• Bacon, spinach & avocado salad
• Fresh soup

I’ve just realised that I’ve stumbled upon a new improved way of feeding my children which has been mighty successful.

Instead of cooking a classic dinner such as spaghetti bolgnaise, fish fingers and mash etc with vegetables and then battling with them to eat up and finally, defeated hoovering most of the left overs up myself. I now don’t know what I’m putting on the table until a few minutes before and just raid the fridge for ‘grazing items’ bearing in mind that a good meal will have representation from the major food groups (carbohydrates, protein and of course the all important fruit n veg).

It seems to me that both children are now eating far more fresh fruit and vegetables than before as they prefer raw snacks and as there is a wide choice of things to pick from both are eating their fill of things they enjoy but occasionally tempted to try something they would not have previously entertained eating. They are also rarely eating processed food.

As an example tonight for tea I opened the fridge and grabbed the following and a delicious spread was provided by the time they washed their hands and sat down:

• Half a corn on the cob each (microwaved) with a big knob of butter next to it
• Half a pitta each
• Cherry tomatoes for Edie
• Sugar snap peas for Mo
• A wedge of Edam cheese
• A slice of ham
• A glass of milk
• Chopped apple for Mo / orange for Eden
• A fromage frais

Yum!

So now I try to have a load of fresh salady items in the fridge (carrots, celery, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber) and a fruit bowl full of fruit (apples, oranges, pears, bananas, grapes), a few different cheeses (cream cheese, cheddar, Edam), some meats (ham is a favourite, so is beef, tins of tuna in oil), a few bready/cereal options (pitta, sliced white, tortillas, crackers, rice cakes) fruit juices, milk, yoghurts. My son also loves dried fruits such as apricots, banana chips, prunes, cranberries.

One of my kids loves rice, noodles and potatoes but the other hates them so as a result I never cooked a kids meal with these things in. I do however cook extra rice or potatoes in the evening if I am cooking them for myself and Bealers, pop the leftovers in the fridge and have a very delighted child when they are presented with a small, cold bowl of beloved carbs to munch on.

This morning saw another flash of foodie inspiration. It was Day 4 of kids being ready to leave the house for school by 8.20am. Yesterday I was charging around the house at 8.19 looking for hairbands, flannels to wipe faces, shouting for them to get their shoes on etc so I told them today would be different. They were to get dressed BEFORE they went downstairs (a first) I told them this was because they are now Big Children and I know they won’t spill cereal on their school uniform. They were then to brush teeth and then they would be allowed to watch TV but only until 8am when we would all do final last minute bits & bobs before leaving the house (ie. not gawping at the telly until the moment we were due to leave the house and then announcing they needed a wee).

It worked like a dream and as an added bonus they were sitting at the kitchen table chatting to me pleasantly and looking at their reading books (what angels!) while I merrily made their daddy’s lunchtime sandwich. I asked them if they’d like some bread or fruit. They both ended up eating half an apple (one chopped in half to share as , some milk and some nice warm crusty baguette. I was pleased as am not convinced that they’ll last until lunchtime without a snack at school.

Mealtime grazing seems to be the way forward for the younger members this family especially now that they are having hot school dinners of a traditional nature (shepherds pie, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken neopolitan, vegetable korma this week).

I’ve got two more meals left this week before my in-laws come to visit and babysit for us (yay!) while we go to see Leyton Orient play football in Cheltenham and spend an evening having a meal out together somewhere but have bought some pork chops to make mustard/cider pork chops and some stewing beef for hungarian goulash.

Tonight we ate:

(Kids) Tuna pasta bake

I always forget about this one which is strange as they both *love* it, it is easy to make and I always have all the ingredients in. Surprising that they don’t end up having it every night. Pasta with a cheese sauce with additional tin of tuna & sweetcorn, grated cheese on top and under the grill for a couple of minutes to make it look more appealing.

(Grown ups) Quorn lemon & black pepper things with sprouting brocolli and new potatoes

Not my favourite but there they were in the freezer and I opted for an easy dinner

Yesterday we ate:

Wheat free lasagne

What a revolution for someone who can’t eat wheat but loves lasagne - buy sheets of non-wheat lasagne from the local health food store and make the cheesey sauce using cornflour instead of plain flour. Delicious. Even more delicious having more heated up for lunch today as something magic happens to it overnight in the fridge.

Sunday we ate: 

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, peas, cauliflower, stuffing and gravy

Thank you Bealers! No idea how to cook a roast myself but do enjoy eating them… (Kids then had refried, sliced roasties for tea the next evening and we had loads of chicken sandwiches/salads)

I’m putting this list together as a reference tool as I often forget the things the whole family likes to eat. The girls in this house will eat anything put in front of them (especially salads and things made from chick peas) but the Beale boys are a little more discerning…

At some point I’ll type the recipes that we use out.

• Pork and cider casserole
• Crudites, crackers, dips, cheese and ham
• Curries
• Roast dinner
• Meatloaf, mash, broccoli/cauliflower cheese and peas (any left over mash, caul cheese and peas can be made into cauli-cheese burgers when mixed together and coated in breadcrumbs)
• Sausages
• Spaghetti & meatballs
• Hungarian goulash
• Home made pizza using the breadmachine for the dough
• Poached chicken and vegetables
• Lamb stew/Lancashire hotpot
• Veggie sausages in a roll with fried onions
• Noodles with clear chicken broth and thinly sliced veggies (pepper, chilli, onion, mushroom, brocolli)
• Falafels
• Baked potatoes with houmous; cheese and homemade coleslaw, cheese and baked beans
• Potato wedges
• Risottos (actually that’s a lie as its only us girls who love rice)
• Omlette with ham, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese
• Chilli con carne
• Tomato, bacon and cheese pasta
• Tortillas with cheese, pepper, onion etc inside heated on a frying pan

We had a lovely full house this weekend as our friends (two couples and their five children) came from Wanstead, East London to visit us here in the sticks.

We all had a really happy, relaxed time of it partly because the late November sun shone so we all got lots of hearty country air and exercise, the kids (all under 9 years old) got on fantastically well and enjoyed playing together, we kept the food and booze levels nice and high. Nobody (I hope) had more than a few moments between refreshments.

Now that our chums have left to go home and Bealers and I are sitting in the same breakfast room which saw so much chatting and eating this weekend we are saying that the food we did for the gang is a menu scheme we would do again - essentially hearty British winter stodge which everyone was able to pitch in with helping in the kitchen with preparation. Bealers and I talked on Thursday night about what we would eat and therefore what we needed to make and shop for and we’ve just agreed that it all went to plan - we particularly liked the fact that all the meals were done as a buffet in the kitchen for people to help themselves (or parents to help the little ones) which meant less clearing away afterwards…

Saturday lunch (kids & adults):

• Bread & butter
• Strong cheddar cheese
• Thick slices of ham cooked on the bone
• Quiches
• Cherry tomatoes
• Crisps & dips
• Soup (not really needed)
• Fruit juices (kids)
• Tea (adults)
• Victoria sponge cake
• (should have remembered that we had 8 jars of homemade pickled onions to use at this point but instead had them as h’ors d’oevres later)

[Big Walk]

Saturday tea/supper (kids):

• Pizzas (3 for six children)
• Chocolate upside down sponge pudding & cream
• Fruit & yoghurt

Saturday dinner (grown ups):

• 2 x roast chickens (stuffed with lemon, tarragon & garlic)
• Roast potatoes
• Roast parsnips
• Roast leeks & onions
• Stuffing
• Carrots
• Peas
• Cauliflower & broccoli cheese
• Champagne (thanks guys!)
• (far too full to even entertain the idea of desert - we would have had apricot tart & custard)

Sunday breakfast:

• Cereals
• Toast
• Croissants & pain au chocolat
• COFFEE
• Juice

[Blustery hilly walk]

Sunday brunch/lunch:

• Sausages
• Bacon
• Scrambled eggs
• Baked beans
• Tomatoes
• Brown bread & butter
• Fried potato
• MORE COFFEE

Contrary to my expectations I find it really tedious having to plan the family’s meals for the coming weeks. My repetoire of dishes we all like eating seems really small (husband and son not keen on vegetables, I can’t eat much wheat without being in agony afterwards, son doesn’t like anything with a ‘bitty’ texture, husband doesn’t like fish…).

We’ve got quite a few decent recipe books (Delia, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver and the like) but for some reason I find that the meals in there are not very inspiring - either they require far too many special ingredients (Jamie Oliver) or they are all too heavy (Nigel Slater) or more usually I just can’t be bothered to leaf through each tome to find 14 days worth of lunch/dinner possibiliities.

My solution? Ages ago I started a cutting file of magazine articles I liked. I was a real magazine addict but couldn’t store them all so started collecting any recipe which looked nice/easy and we’d all like to try (usually from Good Housekeeping or Country Living). I’d forgotten about this treasure trove until I recently unpacked the last box after our move in July. Had a flick through and suddenly had loads of tasty but EASY things to cook. Yay.

Tonight we are having lamb koftas which is simply minced lamb mixed with cumin, onion and fresh corriander, the other night we had falafels (very similar to lamb koftas only made with chick peas!), before that we had veg, coconut and lentil  curry, coming up soon we have a beef pie, salmon macaroni cheese, home made baked beans, poached chicken and so on.

The trick to taking magazine cuttings is to have a sharp knife/pair of scissors to hand where you usually read the mags (the bathroom in my case while bathing the children), an empty  box file to sling them in and then a lever arch file with loads of empty ‘pockets’ to actually file the articles every so often into their respective categories (in my case, gardening, cookery, things to do with kids and other misc.).

I’m really pleased I remembered my old files and had a flick through them as has brought joy to my kitchen but also as have just emailed the local Freecycle group to come and take a large box of Good Housekeepings off my hands. Will have to quickly go through and rip out anything of interest before they go to a new home.

Right better get squelching the minced lamb with the chopped onion and shaping them into long patties….

This list is expected to grow as I discover very quick things to whip together when everyone is whinging due to being to far gone with the hunger pangs (husband included) - criteria is cheap & nutritious but not too many ‘bits’ as my son has an aversion to bitty things.

• Tortilla with grated cheese, finely chopped tomato, spring onion on top warmed in a dry frying pan and topped with another tortilla
• Jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings (grated cheese, baked beans, ham, houmous)

• Cauliflower (or broccoli) cheese with bacon

• Pancakes with sweet or savoury fillings

• Omlette with cold potato, ham/bacon, red peppers, onion, mushroom and cheese (or any combination of these)

• Tuna and sweetcorn pasta bake

• Macaroni cheese with bacon

• Toasted sandwiches