Spinach, leeks and brussel sprouts

My mum has an organic vege patch, and whenever I visit she lets me take home some of whatever is ready for the picking, along with a bag of onions or mandarines or other vege she has found at a good price... as long as she agreed to buy a 20kg bag! I love thinking about what will be in season this week at mums!

There really aren’t many foods I'm not fond of, spinach is one of them. It's rare for me to buy it, but is always readily available in mum's patch, and, as I can never pass up the opportunity to collect some freshly picked... anything, I let mum pick me a good size bunch.

It usually turn it into a quiche or some spinach/ricotta triangles for the freezer which are bought out for guests (as long as I can keep them from Neil!! or me he he!!).

Here’s a pic of my mum’s vege patch.

There's spinach, leeks, brussel sprouts, snow peas, capsicum, and broad beans. Tomatoes are in the seedling pots, getting ready for the 'big' garden.

You might be wondering why I don't have my own vege patch.... believe me I would if I could!!! We live in a duplex with a small grassed courtyard, which gets next to no sun (sorta need that hey??). We're hoping not to be here much longer, as the search for a house is on. YAY!!

Mum's brussel sprouts.

The snow peas, ready in Spring!! mmmmm

Leeks here. Potato and leek soup is one of my favourites. Neil's sister, Tory, recently cooked up a batch of potato and leek soup, leaving the veges in chunks. It was a refreshing change, and felt 'lighter' than my usual pureed version.

The spinach.

Here's to my mum and her vege patch!! Love ya mum! xxx

This Mexican inspired dish is just delicious... we serve it with an avocado and tomato salsa, sour cream and corn chips. You could also have it in tacos, or serve with tortillas.

Mexican Beef

You could easily serve 6 people with these quantities.

1 kg stewing steak, cut into small cubes 1 x 1 cm (yeah I know it sounds tedious, but it's well worth the effort)
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon mexican chilli spice mix (or make your own - Chilli, Cumin, Garlic, Salt, Oregano, Coriander, Allspice, Cloves)
2 cloves garlic
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
800g red kidney beans

How?

1. Heat oil in a large heavy pan and brown meat
2. Add spices, flour, garlic and cook for a few minutes, stirring.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Cook until meat is tender, and you have a relatively dry beef dish - it's not meant to be saucy. Up to 2 hours.
5. Serve in tacos, tortillas or with corn chips - sour cream, avocado, tomato, cucumber - the choice is yours!

Enjoy!

The four food groups...

Fast, Frozen, Instant, and Chocolate!

Up for discussion...

I recently read somewhere that traditional lasagne does NOT have a béchamel or white sauce in it, it simply consists of a tomato based sauce, lasagne sheets and a bit of cheese on top. All the recipes I have found on the internet and in my books contain the white sauce, which is apparently the English version of this Italian dish. I would love to hear from someone who knows anything about this! Also what is the traditional cheese to use on top?

Cooks quote #1
The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of
mankind than the discovery of a star.

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Ok - this may not be ENTIRELY true! But it does give you an idea of how I feel when one of MY recipes actually works!

This blog exists because early in July I stopped working as an Admin Assistant and decided to spend some quality time on a long standing novel which has been nudging at me for years. So, with all good intentions in mind, and in an effort to set myself up with a freezer full of yummy, healthy foods that would see me through days of writing madness, I found myself in the middle of a cooking frenzy... obsessing over perfecting recipes, and turning them into my own! I've always enjoyed cooking, but somehow I turned into a madwoman dishing up far more than Neil (my husband who I'll introduce later) and I could possibly eat in any reasonable period of time!!

This blog ALSO exists because of my wonderful friend Pamela. Thanks for the nags Pamela!

You will be pleased to know I HAVE put things into perspective, and now have a nice balance of writing AND cooking... until I get a bigger freezer! he he he