Friday 27th November '09

There are so many different ways to eat stew. I love it with rice, pasta and mashed potato. I suppose any carbohydrates would go well with it to make it a complete, hearty meal.

Lunch
Ossobucco Beef with Rice
& dried chilli flakes

I loved how much marrow there was in the hollow of the bone!!
I used my fork to scrape it all out!

Dinner at Work
Ossobucco Stew with Pasta Shells

So...how far did that stew stretch?

Thursday - 2 x serve of stew with spaghetti
Friday - 1 x serve of stew with rice & 1 x serve of stew with pasta

I got four serves out of that stew. And how much did it cost to make?

Less than $6

See, it's easy to cook on a budget. Not that I'm on a budget...this is what I'd usually eat regardless of how much I have to spend on groceries.

Supper
Instant Korean Claypot Ramen with sliced Fish Cake & Been Shoots

Thursday 26th November '09

Lunch
Instant Korean Claypot Ramen with Chicken

For dinner at work tonight, I prepacked it all yesterday. What's on the menu?

Fish and Salad.

I'm always looking for simple things to take to work for dinner when I'm on the night shifts. I don't always feel like eating leftovers and it's hard to predict what I will feel like eating. Some nights I might want to pig out on carbs. Some nights I feel like something light. Some nights I just eat junk food to satisfy the sugar cravings. Some nights I don't have time to eat dinner at all.

Firstly, I seasoned a piece of Ling with sambal belachen, fresh coriander and a drizzle of olive oil. I wrapped it up first in baking paper, then in an outer layer of aluminium foil. I placed this in the bottom of a large container. Then...I packed some washed spinach leaves and sliced white onion in a ziplock bag. I poured some olive oil and white balsamic vinegar into a little Tupperware 'Smidget' container and put that into the container. All done!


So...at work when it came time to prepare dinner, I removed all the salad ingredients and then unwrapped the fish from the aluminium foil, leaving it in the baking paper. I cooked it on high in the microwave for two minutes.

Perfect! Aah the aromas!

I emptied the salad into the container, shook the dressing up and poured that over the salad, and it was all ready to eat! I love how quick it is to cook fish at work.

Dinner at Work
Ling with Sambal Belachen & Coriander
served with Spinach Salad

Supper
Spaghetti with Beef Ossobucco Stew

I bought a large piece of beef ossobucco cut from the supermarket the other day and before work, I made a stew. I coated the beef in plain flour, seared both sides and all edges in the fry pan (I didn't do this in the Corningware dish because everytime I do, the flour burns) and then put it aside. In the Corningware dish , I sauteed onions, garlic, carrots and potatoes. I added rosemary, a beef stock cube, a can of diced tomatoes, some red wine and water. I wedged the beef back, making sure it was beneath all the vegetables, then put it into the oven for just over an hour.

Delicious! It was such a sweet, hearty, rich dish. I love stews. I had it with spaghetti tonight.

Wednesday 25th November '09

Yes I know, I know. I've been really slow with the posts all week. But with good reason. I've been on the night shifts at work and have no access to internet because Long needed his prepaid mobile broadband back. So...I will be looking into buying my own DONGLE!

Lunch
Chicken Laksa

I made a large pot of Italian tomato sauce today. I'm going to freeze it to use in the upcoming weeks. It will save me some time!

fresh parsley from the shops and
fresh basil from my garden

Look! A double leaf of basil!

Chopped onion, crushed garlic, chopped parsley and basil,
a can of diced tomatoes, a bottle of tomato puree - all set to go!

I had some leftover Mustard Chicken for dinner at work tonight.

As a side, I packed some instant cous cous with the intention of rehydrating it at work with some hot water. I added the boiling water and allowed it to sit with the lid on for a few minutes. I ended up with rather gluggly cous cous though, because I had added too much water! I stirred in my butter, pinenuts and parsley and it tasted ok. It just wasn't fluffy.

Supper
Mum's Kuay Teow Soup with Squid

Tuesday 24th November '09

Breakfast
Mushroom Omelette

I had to visit the optometrist this morning so I caught up with Benoit and Ivy for lunch at Taka's on Shaftoe Lane, CBD.

Assorted Sushi

I walked around the malls until my poor aching feet could walk no more, then headed to Westfield Carousel. I enjoyed a coffee, then went and got a very much needed massage.

I had the neck, shoulder and reflexology special for $50 at Li's Massage. I can't wait for my trip to Singapore where I will be spoilt with reflexology centres everywhere! I am in real need of a manicure and pedicure too!

Afternoon Snack
Mum's Mee Poh

Dinner
Seafood Laksa

While I was peeling the prawns for the laksa, I was amazed at how large this prawn was!

Australian Banana Prawns

Monday 23rd November '09

Lunch at Work
Mrs Macs Beef & Mushroom Pie

I went grocery shopping after work today. I needed to replenish the fridge and pantry for my upcoming stint of night shifts.

I bought a few chicken thigh fillets on the bone. With skin on. They're more than half the cost of deboned chicken thigh fillets without skin. One of my guilty pleasures is chicken with the skin on. Whether it's boiled, fried, BBQ's or roasted....I love chicken with skin and if anyone doesn't want their skin, I'm more than happy to take it off their plates.


ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH MUSTARD

Ingredients:

2 chicken thigh fillets on the bone, skin on

2 Tbn Masterfoods seeded mustard

kitchen string

2 Tbn olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
2. Prepare the thigh fillets by removing some of the fat and then make several slits on the top through the skin and into the meat below.
   
3. Rub the chicken thigh fillets over the thigh fillets.
   
4. Tie the thigh fillets up with the kitchen string.
   
5. Drizzle the olive oil over the fillets.
   
6. Roast in the oven for about forty minutes.

I also parboiled some baby potatoes, tossed them in some butter and then threw them into the baking dish with the chicken. About five minutes before the chicken and potatoes were done, I threw in the asparagus.

Dinner
Roasted Chicken Thigh Fillets with Seeded Mustard
served with Butter Roasted Potatoes & Asparagus

See...anyone can prepare restaurant quality meals at home. What would you expect to pay at a restaurant for this meal? Probably between $25 to $30. How much did I cook it for?

Less than $4.

Sunday 22nd November '09

It was a late night for us last night. It was about 4:30am by the time I got into bed. The dinner last night was a buffet but I didn't have time to eat much because there was just too much going on. I can't believe I only had two plates of food - one of hot foods and one of seafood. I was still hungry but filled up on champagne instead.

When I finally got home in the wee hours of the morning, I made myself some instant ramen to eat before crawling into bed.

With no plans for the day, I slept in until about 6:30pm. Yes, I slept the whole day away.

Dinner
Mum's Braised Pork Hocks

I also made some Chicken & Vegetable Risoni Soup

Served with fresh cut chillies and grated pecorino.

Saturday 21st November '09

Breakfast
Instant Spicy Mushroom Ramen

Lunch at Work
Roast Pork & Salad Sandwich with Mayo
fresh Mango

Today was a whirlwind of work and then rushing home to get ready for the work Christmas party. This year it's at Burswood in the Summer Marquee. I haven't been able to attend the work party for the last few years because I've either been out of Perth or had to work and couldn't find someone to swap shifts. So, I've really really been looking forward to tonight for most of the year!

The theme is Hawaiin so I went dressed as a coconut. I made the costume out of two hanging planter liners, some twine and felt circles. I cut up a plastic folder and rolled it up to make a 'straw'. Finish the look off with a few leis.

While we were enjoying our pre-dinner drinks, a gentlemen approached our group to comment on my costume. He introduced himself as our CEO - I was gobsmacked and we were all pleasantly surprised at how down to earth and friendly he was to come and say hi to us.

I didn't realise that I would be awarded for five years of employment with the company tonight. I had to walk up to the stage wearing my coconut costume to receive my award. My gift was a coffee plunger and mug with the SJOG logo engraved on it. Nice.

The prawns on the antipasto platter were delicious! A light creamy dressing.
The food was good - the only complaint I can make is that they didn't have any lighting for the buffet. They had two identical buffet lines along the wall at both the left and right sides of the stage, but there was no lighting so we couldn't see what the food was. It was a bit of a guessing game. I only had time for this plate of food, and then I found out that there was also a seafood table in one corner of the room, so I went for a plate of prawns and oysters. I could have gone back for more, but there wasn't time to sit and peel them. It would have been the antisocial thing to do.



My little coconut baby I named Neville.

"Oh Neville, stop it! You're so funny!"



Blue Steel!
Overall, it was a fantastic night!