What we're eating this week

I hate writing a blog post without any pictures, but as I haven't cooked any of these things yet I can't take a picture of them.

Wait a minute I've had an idea...

Home grown Blueberries

My somewhat small Blueberry crop, that I have plans for this weekend.

So here is our menu for the coming week:

FRIDAY:
Courgette Polpette with Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti

SATURDAY:
Veggie Burgers with Chips, Coleslaw and Tomato Salad

SUNDAY:
Salmon with Green Beans, Carrot and Potatoes

MONDAY:
Cauliflower Pilau with Sweet Potato Curry - thank you Jamie Oliver, or maybe I should reserve the thanks until after I've made it.

TUESDAY:
Moussaka - made with Turkey mince

WEDNESDAY:
Kale and Mushroom Lasagne

THURSDAY:
Creole Prawn - I have been making with for about 20 years and I can not remember where I got the recipe, but this will be the first time I have made it with raw prawns.

I'm also going to make some Cauliflower Soup to have for my lunch and some Beetroot and Chocolate Brownies.  The meagre crop of Blueberries will end up in Blueberry Pancakes on Sunday Morning. 

What we're eating this week

So even though I haven't been posting we have been eating.  I made a really yummy birthday cake for Fluffrick's birthday, much nicer than the one I made for my birthday.  

This is what we are eating this week:

FRIDAY

Risotto - well it was supposed to be until I realised we had hardly any risotto rice, so we had Risini instead, with Leeks, Courgettes and Peas

SATURDAY

Carrot Humus, Baba Ganoush, Pitta Chips and Tabbouleh

SUNDAY

Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Carrots, Broccoli, New Potatoes and Gravy

MONDAY

Chicken Byriani - sort of 

TUESDAY

Pasta with Squash and Sage

WEDNESDAY

Cauliflower and Broccoli Patties, Chips and Peas

THURSDAY

Mushroom and Cavelo Nero Lasagne

And as we got yet another squash in the veg box this week, here is how I make Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

For Base: 

20 Ginger Nuts (or however many there are left in the packet if I didn't tell Fluffrick they were for something specific)

50g of Melted Butter

Blend the biscuits in the food processor and them add the melted butter and blend again.  Press into a 25cm flan tin and chill

For Filling

500g Cooked Pumpkin/Squash

410g Can of Evaporated Milk

2 Free Range Eggs

125g Sugar

Half a teaspoon of Salt

3 teaspoons of Spice (Nutmeg, Ginger, Cinnamon, Mixed Spice)

Blend the cooked pumpkin in the food processor, add the evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt and spice and blend until smooth.

Pour over the chilled biscuit base and cook in a preheated oven at Gas Mark 6 for 15 minutes and then a further 45 minutes at Gas Mark 3.  Allow to cool before serving.

What to Eat This Week

To I haven't posted up my menu plan for a few weeks.  In my defence I've been busy (now don't faint) working.  I am back among the employed, albeit working part time, from home, with very variable hours, but it's work and I'm being paid and in a few months time I will have the joy of completing a self assessment tax return.

So what are we going to eat this week.

THURSDAY
Tartiflette (with totally inauthentic smoked salmon) followed by Chocolate Cake

FRIDAY
Sweetcorn Chowder

SATURDAY
Pizza

SUNDAY
Mushroom Dopiaza, Dhal, Naan Bread (approved foods) and Spiced Courgette Fritters

MONDAY
Moussaka 

TUESDAY
Veggie Sausages, Home made Baked Beans (white beans from approved foods) and Roast Potatoes (Fluffrick loves a Roastie)

WEDNESDAY
Scallops, Couscous salad and Fennel

This chocolate cake was a much better success that the one I made for my birthday, that cake was rather dry, but the post about it has proved very popular.  I let everybody eat the cake and tell me they enjoyed it before I told them the secret ingredient.  Drum roll please...courgette.  Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Courgette Cake, it doesn't say in the recipe how finely to grate the courgette, but I did it on the fine side of the grater and apart from the moisture it adds to the cake you can't tell it's in there.  For the icing I just made a simple ganache with plain chocolate and a little warm milk (rather than cream). Yum, yum, yum.

What to eat this week

I haven't written about our weekly eats for a little bit, maybe because it all gets a bit samey.  Well my lovely Mum in Law gave me a book voucher for my birthday, so yesterday when we were in town I heard Waterstones calling and I cam away with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's new book Three Good things... on a plate, so hopefully my menus will get more interesting.  Well we still have to eat this week, so this is what I'm going to inflict my Mum and Husband.

FRIDAY
Courgette Spouffle - this has been in heavy rotation over the last few months, but it is very yummy

SATURDAY
Cannellini Bean and Tuna Burgers, with Sweet Potato Chips and Salad - this was the first time I have made these burgers and I think they need work, if I can improve on the recipe I will post about it

SUNDAY
Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots, Broad Beans, Stuffing and Gravy, followed by Cinnamon Buns - the broad beans came in the veg box this week and they had to be podded, blanched and skinned, talk about a hard work vegetable

MONDAY
Chicken Biryani and Pea Cakes - must remember to put the split yellow peas on to soak, or else we won't be having these tomorrow

TUESDAY
Mustardy Mushroom Stroganoff

WEDNESDAY
Butternut Squash and Sage Spaghetti -  haven't tried this one before, we will have to see how it turns out

THURSDAY
Stir Fry Vegetables and Noodles

What to eat this week

I am really wanting to cook quick things this week, but that isn't always easy when you cook everything from scratch.  The Olympics are sustaining me, do we really need to eat as well?


If I can drag myself away from the TV, this is what we have and will be eating this week.


FRIDAY
Twice Baked Potatoes


SATURDAY
Sushi


SUNDAY
Salmon and Prawn Skewers with Couscous Salad


MONDAY
Sweet Potato and Peanut Gratin with Salad


TUESDAY
Mushroom Diopiaza, Gobi Aloo, Pea Fritters and Rice


WEDNESDAY  
Pizza


THURSDAY
Smoked Salmon, Mushroom and Cream Sauce with Spaghetti

What to Eat this Week

I wish the weather would make up it's mind.  Is it going to be cold miserable and grey, or lovely and sunny as it has been today?  Do I want salad or a nice warning bowl of spaghetti?  Weather won't you please make you mind up, so that I can decide what to eat.  Anyway this is the menu, provided the weather doesn't make to dish too inappropriate.


FRIDAY
Pizza - I do most often make my own pizza, but instead we ordered in the lovely pizza from Nibbles the best pizza in Sheffield.


SATURDAY
Sushi - I have never made sushi at home before, it took a bit of trial and error to make up the sushi rolls but it seemed to work okay. It also involved a trip to the local Oriental food shop.  


SUNDAY
Moussaka - this is in no way a traditional moussaka, for a start I use turkey mince, but it is tasty not the less.


MONDAY
Mezze - Falafel, Foul, Bulgar Wheat and any other dippy, picky thing I can think of.


TUESDAY
Mushroom and Stilton Pie with new Potatoes and vegetables.


WEDNESDAY
Stirfry Vegetables, Noodles and Potsticker dumplings.


THURSDAY
Spaghetti with Walnuts and Crumbs.

What to Eat this Week

I've missed a couple of weeks as we've been on holiday.  We didn't go very far, just twenty miles away in the Derbyshire Dales and but wasn't a resounding success,  We (Me, Fluffrick, both Mums and two dogs) were staying in a very pleasant cottage that was supposedly dog friendly, personally I would only regard it as dog tolerant. I completely understand the rule of no pets on the furniture, but this is the first time I have encountered a rule about no pets in the bedrooms and that didn't end well for us.  In brief a spooked Hagrid vaulted the stair gate at the bottom of the stairs, ran up to our bedroom and in his attempt to clamber under our bed knocked the radiator off the wall.  We ended up cutting our holiday short and coming home the next day.  We did all get a break, but not quite the one we intended.


But now we are back and so is "what to eat this week".  So in the veg box this week we got, the lovely tomatoes above, courgettes, an aubergine, red onions, a pointed cabbage, flat green beans and sweet potatoes.  We were meant to receive spinach rather than sweet potato, so I had to jig the menu a little and drop the Spouffle.


FRIDAY
Pizza - well that is if I get off my backside and start proving some dough


SATURDAY
Sweet potato and Peanut gratin with salad - another lovely recipe from Hugh which I tried last week and everyone said they liked. 


SUNDAY
Roast Chicken with potatoes, stuffing and vegetables.


MONDAY
Chicken with rice - using the leftover chicken, this is an Allegra McEvady from Economy Gastronomy.


TUESDAY
Spaghetti with a salmon, mushroom and cream sauce - especially asked for by Mum, previously blogged about here


WEDNESDAY
Vegeree - another recipe from River Cottage Veg Everyday.


THURSDAY
Veggie Sausage and Chips.


I'm watching the European Athletics Championships at the moment from Helsinki which puts me in mind to look at my Nordic Bakery book and rustle up some yummy Scandinavian treats. 

What to Eat This week

So what are we going to eat this week?  I do have a process for the weekly menu and it starts with the veg box delivery on Thursday.  This is what we received this week...

New Potatoes, Onions, Salad Leaves, Lettuce, Cucumber, Carrots and Spring Greens.  I have to admit this is not the most inspirations selection I have ever received, but it made the decision that Fluffrick will be having salad for lunch an easy one.

Of late my trusty copy of River Cottage Veg Everyday has been my first port of call when deciding how to make best use of the weekly veg box.  It is a wonderful book with a vast selection of great veg recipes, the Spouffle has made a frequent appearance on the weekly menu.  

So what is actually on the menu...

Friday

Tartiflette - veggie style made with potatoes, onions, cheese and double cream

Saturday

Salmon & Prawn Skewers and salad

Sunday

Roast Chicken, New Potatoes, Carrots, Spring Greens and Stuffing

Monday

Chicken Biryani and Naan Bread - this is not an authentic biryani more of a spiced Chicken rice really, but very yummy

Tuesday

Chilli Cheese Polenta with Tomato Sauce - courtesy of Mr Fearnley Whittingstall

Wednesday

Toad in the Hole (with Veggie Sausages) with Carrots, Spring Greens and Onion Gravy

Thursday

Macaroni (well Penne actually) Cheese

I also plan on making a simple Apple Cake at some point this week, which I will document if I can get the camera working again.

Getting to the root of the problem

I always start to plan my weekly menu on a Thursday after I have received by weekly veg box delivery from Wild Star Food.  We alternate between the Food Miles box and the Mini Gourmet, but at this time of year you will always get root vegetables, so what to do with them.  This weeks menu has very much been lead by an over abundance of roots, especially considering I hadn't used up all the veg we had received the previous week. So this is what I had to work with, Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, Swede, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Golden Beetroot, Sweet Potato, Onions, Green Pepper and Cabbage; and this is what we are going to eat.

• THURSDAY - Spouffle, this is one of my go to recipes at the moment, but as I didn't have any spinach or courgettes I substituted leeks and it turned out quite well. 
• FRIDAY - Smoked Salmon, Potato Salad, Beetroot Salad, Rye Bread and Dill & Creme Fraiche Sauce. I'm currently torturing Fluffrick every day by watching Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and I saw him do an iteration of this a couple of week ago.  It did take far longer than 30 minutes as I baked my own bread and cooked my own beetroot.
• SATURDAY - Tomato Cheesy Pasta Bake,  this I usually make with the addition of Broccoli the like, but instead I had to use Kohlrabi and Carrot and it turned out okay, well everyone ate it.
• SUNDAY - Country Chicken Casserole, I already blogged about this in Warming Food for Cold Days.  It's really good for using lots of root vegetables.
• MONDAY - Mushroom Dopiaza, Bombay Potatoes and Rice, I think I'll try and sneak some Cabbage into the Bombay Potatoes, just a little and hope Fluffrick doesn't notice.
• TUESDAY - Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Parsnip and Rosemary Rolls, this should use Parsnips, Leeks, Carrots, Onion and Swede.
• WEDNESDAY - Vegetable Stir Fry with Potsticker Dumpings and Noodles, this should utilise, Onion, Carrots, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Green Pepper and Mushrooms.
• THURSDAY - Twice Baked Potato, if it's a cold day, this will be like a lovely edible blanket, yum.

I'm giving Mum an animal based protein some kind, every other day, hopefully that will go down okay and hopefully I won't get too many root vegetables in this week's box.

What to Eat This Week

Although most of the focus at this time of year seems to be on what to eat next Sunday, we still need to eat this week, so this is what I'm going to inflict on the family.

Sunday:
Mushroom and Stilton Pie with Creamy Potato and Celeriac Bake and Carrots

Monday:
Norwegian Fish Pie - from the wonderful show Economy Gastronomy, why did they never make a second season?

Tuesday:
Vegetable Fahitas

Wednesday:
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Thursday:
Vegetable Lasagne

Friday:
Smoked Salmon Tartiflette

Saturday:
Courgette Spouffle

What to eat this week

Started the weekend by making Quark Pastry (from my Nordic Bakery cookbook) and making Jam Pinwheel Pastries. Very yummy.

SATURDAY:

Spouffle - quick easy and very delicious

SUNDAY:

Mushroom & Stilton Pie with Potato & Celeriac Mash and Broccoli

MONDAY:

Moussaka

TUESDAY:

Orecchiette with Broccoli, Chilli & Pine Nuts

WEDNESDAY:

Spaghetti & Meatballs

THURSDAY:

Smoked Salmon Tartiflette

FRIDAY:

Chicken & Mushroom Pie and Veg (lets see what comes in the box)

For Fluffrick's lunch this week I made "Mexican Tomato & Bean Soup" from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's new book.

What to eat this week

So we are already half way through the week, but I want to keep a record of what we are eating.

SATURDAY:

Cauliflower Cheese

SUNDAY:

Country Chicken Casserole with Dumplings

MONDAY:

Vegetable Fajitas

TUESDAY:

Trout, Potatoes, Broccoli and Dill cream sauce

WEDNESDAY:

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese and Walnut

THURSDAY:

Turkey Lasagne and vegetable

FRIDAY:

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto - we should have had this last Friday, but I've had a cold, so we had Chinese Take Out instead

For Fluffrick's Lunch this week I made him Five Root Soup a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Special, I was going to make some bread from my new Nordic Bakery book, but I haven't felt up to it, I hate having a cold.

What to eat this week

SUNDAY:

Moussaka

MONDAY:

Pumpkin & Prawn Curry with Naan Bread

TUESDAY:

Roasted Squash Falafel, Cous Cous and Halloumi

WEDNESDAY:

Twice Baked Potatoes

THURSDAY:

Pizza

FRIDAY:

Chicken & Mushroom Risotto

As I am a cooking from scratch sort of girl, this week's menu is dependent on me not be totally shattered. Fluffrick is on holiday this week and we have plans to tile the hall floor. It's about time too, as the tiles have been hanging around for ten months patiently waiting to be put into service. I just can say I'm looking forward to trying to tile a floor that is in constant use. We may just end up having Scrambled Eggs or Cheese on Toast all week.

What to eat this week

The menu planning seems to be going okay so far, what I planned I actually ended up making last week. So here we go again...

SATURDAY:

A trip to Green Steps Fish & Chips - should this be on the list as technically I'm not cooking?

SUNDAY:

Roast Chicken, Stuffing & Veg followed by Key Lime Pie

MONDAY:

Mushroom Omelette for Mum, Fluffrick & I are off out

TUESDAY:

Arroz con Pollo - Chicken with Rice

WEDNESDAY:

Tuna & Pasta Bake

THURSDAY:

Tartiflette 3 ways - Mum likes the classic with Onion and Bacon, Fluffrick likes his without the Onion, mine is without the Bacon but with Mushrooms instead.

FRIDAY:

De-constructed Toad in the Hole - My sausages in Toad in the Hole always seem to go rubbery, so I'm going to try cooking the batter and sausages separately, wish me luck.

What to eat this week

My Mum is always asking me "What are we having for Tea?" to which I usually reply "Food." Maybe now I can just point her in the direction of this blog.

MONDAY: Mushroom Dopiaza, Aloo Gobi, Rice maybe some Naan Bread

TUESDAY: Turkey Burgers, Sweetcorn Fritters, Mash Potato

WEDNESDAY: Cashew Fried Rice, Potsticker Dumplings

THURSDAY: Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

FRIDAY: Spinach (or Courgette) Penne Cheese Spouffle

We get a weekly Veg box delivery, which this week contained, Cauliflower, Cavelo Nero, Tomatoes, Large Red Pepper, Courgettes, Leek, Green Beans

Mum may not be delighted that there are more Veggie meals than meat meals, but that seems to be the direction that Fluffrick and I are taking.

Of course the plan may well go out the window, we'll just have to see.