Thursday 20 October 2011

Favourites

When you have a big family, it’s difficult to please everyone all of the time. My kids are generally pretty good and will eat most things but I certainly know their favourites. I try to spread out these dishes across the week so that everyone gets something they love.
When you have a big family, it’s difficult to please everyone all of the time. My kids are generally pretty good and will eat most things but I certainly know their favourites. I try to spread out these dishes across the week so that everyone gets something they love.
Favourites – savoury and sweet
Andrew - Indian, anything with chicken, quinoa and sultana cake
Calum - anything with pork or marinated meats/roasts on the BBQ, hummus and walnut cake
Harrison - Mexican, lemon tea cake and choc chip cookies
Austin - marinated lamb, spinach pie, carrot cake and Anzac biscuits
Sylvia - lasagne or any pastas, bangers and mash and chocolate cake
Me - I love my veggies, stir fries, risottos, fish and jam drops (delicious jam-filled biscuits)
I’m hungry just thinking about it all!

Hummus

Hummus is a great staple to have ready in the fridge for a pre-dinner snack with pitta bread or a quick sandwich at lunchtime. I love that you can just put all the ingredients into a food processor and in a few seconds it’s ready.
Hummus is a great staple to have ready in the fridge for a pre-dinner snack with pitta bread or a quick sandwich at lunchtime. I love that you can just put all the ingredients into a food processor and in a few seconds it’s ready.







Ingredients:
1 x 400g can chickpeas
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbs lemon juice
5 tbs olive oil
1 tbs tahini (sesame paste)
Salt and pepper to tast


Combine all the ingredients, except the seasoning, and place in a blender. Whizz to a puree, transfer to a bowl and season. Drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil and serve with fantastic warm pitta.
For a spicier hummus, you can add a sliced red chilli or a dash of cayenne pepper into the mix.

Roasted garlic bread with feta

I love garlic bread – it’s great as a snack or to accompany pasta dishes or BBQs. Plus, it’s so quick and easy to make. My friend and author of Love Menu (www.lovemenu.com.au), Margun Carless, introduced me to her twist on the old favourite recipe which uses feta. 
I love garlic bread – it’s great as a snack or to accompany pasta dishes or BBQs. Plus, it’s so quick and easy to make.
My friend and author of Love Menu (www.lovemenu.com.au), Margun Carless, introduced me to her twist on the old favourite recipe which uses feta.






Ingredients:
2 whole heads of garlic
1 Vienna loaf or baguette
½ tsp thyme
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Feta
½ tsp thyme
180g feta
½ tsp chives
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup canola (rapeseed oil)
½ tsp cracked black pepper
½ tsp chopped chilli


Method
  1. Cut the tops off the heads of garlic and wrap in foil
  2. Roast in the oven at 180°C for about 40 minutes
  3. Mix the olive oil with the thyme and brush on to cut pieces of the bread
  4. Cut feta into small cubes and marinate with thyme, chilli, chives, oils and pepper
  5. Toast each side of the bread and serve with roasted garlic and feta

A week in the Peace household

As I mentioned in my first post, I have to plan ahead for our week’s meals otherwise I’ll run out of time during the week and be running around like crazy. Here’s an idea of what a typical plan would look like for the Peace household. I hope it will inspire you to do a similar plan for your family.
As I mentioned in my first post, I have to plan ahead for our week’s meals otherwise I’ll run out of time during the week and be running around like crazy.
Here’s an idea of what a typical plan would look like for the Peace household. I hope it will inspire you to do a similar plan for your family.

Monday:
Pasta dish, which could be veggie, with salad and homemade garlic bread. I don't like bought garlic bread as it is usually overloaded with butter which isn’t necessary – plus it’s so simple to make!

Tuesday:
Lamb, spinach pie, tabbouleh, hummus, steamed greens and homemade ciabatta. I can then use the leftover lamb and salads for wraps for lunch the next day.

Wednesday:
Chicken stir-fry with sticky rice – one of my favourites. I use the leftover sticky rice to make nori rolls – a type of sushi - for the children's lunch the next day.

Thursday:
Pan-fried salmon with couscous or quinoa, chickpeas, zucchini and carrot or radish and capers – delicious.

Friday:
Most Fridays we have all the family round, so we can have at least 20 for dinner. We usually put on a BBQ, pizzas, or a selection of curries and casseroles (veggie and meat). I might make home-made pizzas or grilled steak with zucchini, capsicum, mushroom and onion which can be grilled on the BBQ finished off with balsamic vinegar and simple mashed potato. During winter, for the football boys, I make sure they have plenty of carbohydrates, and so include pasta and rice dishes to keep up their strength.

Saturday:
We often have dinner guests on a Saturday so I make a special meal. Starters might be ratatouille tartlets, prosciutto wrapped asparagus with blue cheese or guacamole (just finished eating this a lot as we had an abundance of avocados), prawns with garlic and chilli or our own olives. To follow, we might have stuffed calamari (that my neighbour’s uncle has caught me), smoked cod, grilled kangaroo or goat plus whatever veggies are in season.

Sunday:
This is a chill out day so I keep it fairly simple with a roast and some veggies.
I very rarely make desserts, but usually always have a fresh fruit platter or my homemade fruit leathers (a bit like beef jerky made from fruit) or bottled fruit during winter. Each week, normally on a Sunday or Monday night, I also bake a cake or muffins and a large tin of biscuits. If I have extras in the house, I might include a slice for dessert to keep the boys happy.

It may seem like an arduous task at first to plan all the meals for the week but as soon as you start doing it, I promise you that you won’t look back!

My cooking style

Hello! I’m Andrew's wife and co-Director of Andrew Peace Wines. As well as my busy business life, I have a hectic time keeping our big family fed and watered. This is my corner of the website where I’ll be sharing some of my hints, tips and recipes on how to feed a hungry brood.
Hello! I’m Andrew’s wife and co-Director of Andrew Peace Wines. As well as my busy business life, I have a hectic time keeping our big family fed and watered. This is my corner of the website where I’ll be sharing some of my hints, tips and recipes on how to feed a hungry brood.

I’m not into fancy, fussy recipes – my style of cooking is based on using fresh ingredients. I create meals around what is in season, what I have picked in the garden or what my wonderful neighbours have supplied. I try to feed my family a balanced diet of two fruits and five veggies per day with, of course, meat and dairy in there as well. I don’t just stick to traditional Aussie dishes though; I’m very influenced by different food cultures and experiment quite often. Very rarely do I follow a recipe; I go by taste and past dishes I have had at restaurants that I think I must try at home.

As I’m always on a tight schedule, I try to just shop once a week and have learnt that with being so busy I have to do a weekly menu plan. I may change it a little from night to night but at least I have a base of what we should be eating for the week. I take into account how many I'm feeding each night and therefore if I need some ‘volume’ dishes or something special with a few courses.

When it comes to tucking in, I usually place all the dishes on the table for everyone to help themselves and I always make extra in case someone drops in (that happens a lot round here!). If not, as we all eat at home and I make the children's lunches, the leftovers are always eaten. Plus we have chooks and the dogs who get the rest, so nothing goes to waste.

I hope you will follow my blog and keep coming back for more ideas and recipes for feeding a family big or small. You’ll be one step closer to the Australian good life!