CHANELS

Speechless in awe and wonder........

The insides? That's for another post.......

p.s not mine, not mine *sobs*

Simon

When I read this article about Simon Cowell insisting his gardeners use a spirit level to trim his hedges, I couldn't see more sense than that. Isn't this the most sensible solution to ensuring your crockery, cutlery, placemats and glassware are lined up to absolutely straight lines?

I want one for Christmas to help me set my table in future.

oh, hang on - or can they be used on walls and now hedges only and not on tables?

Fri, 8th May 2009

I set a challenge upon myself to feed 7 people for under $25 (total) today. This was what I made.

2 roast chickens - the usual way.


Roast pumpkin - garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper and some chicken juices. Before.

After.

Roasted Tomatoes. 6 plump Indonesian tomatoes (Oz ones will be take me over the budget) cut into halves.

With multi-layer seasonings - garlic, sea salt & black pepper.

I had a little anchovy garlic olive oil in the fridge and this was the next layer.

Then seasoned home-made breadcrumbs - wholemeal bread whizzed, mixed herbs, garlic, salt & black pepper panfried (no oil) till crispy. Store in airtight tub in the fridge and sprinkle over just about anything - roast poatoes, pasta, chicken, tomatoes, mixed vegs.

Final layer - basil.

Roast till tomatoes are soft and pulpy. Yumms right?

There were lots of potatoes panfried and we have enough left for a salad tomorrow.

Here is the receipt - potatoes $3.00, chicken $6.04, chicken $5.62, tomatoes $2.26, pumpkin $1.29, and spinach $1.20 (which I did not cook). Therefore if you added cooking oil, herbs, gas, electricity, seasonings, umm.... oh, washing liquid for washing up later & labour - that will add another say $5 thereby just meeting my budget of $25.00!

A table shot.

p.s. Wine cost not included.

A few updates.... Sat, 2nd May 2009

I had a small dinner party last night and for the first time, I set up a dining table in our small back garden. It was a lovely night, not too hot or humid and there was a light breeze in the air.

Let's see - what did we have? Going backwards - here is a dessert of bananas cooked with rum and brown sugar, served with vanilla ice-cream.

A big juicy chicken, roasted with garlic, rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, black pepper, soy sauce and olive oil. I did not even bother to debone as I usually do. The chicken was cut into large parts then simply garnished - the basil is from our garden.

I served the roast chicken with garlic pasta.

A simple salad of lettuce, baby corn, beans, brocolli, peppers and tomatoes.

With a dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, herbs and chopped shallots.

My prep for the garlic pasta. I used 2 cloves of garlic only.

And the chicken before it went into the oven at approx 5.30 pm.

Some starters - garlic dip and a salmon dip with pita.

Ha - bit of my maxi dress in the right corner - it looks alarmingly like pyjamas..... but super comfy for a casual dinner party with friends.

Friday, 1st May 2009

I bought a tiny piece of beef and created this stirfry with leeks and edamame beans.

This plate of stirfry will make 3 meals for myself - Friday evening, Sat afternoon and there's a bit left in the fridge for another meal!! haha - I am trying, I am trying.

Mon, 27th April 2009

We had UR over for a simple steak dinner. No frills - lovely pieces of ribeye and sirloin, with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil.

Some sauteed mangetouts and simple roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes.

I made a sauce out of pan drippings, some booze and CREAM...

A bottle of red to share amongst 4, nice easy meal. It's a good start to another awful week.

Fri, 17 April 2009

After the Bobby Chinn cooking demo, I went to Z's house for her mum's soto ayam. Again this is one of my favourite dishes.

It's served with shredded chicken, beansprouts, potato patties, spring onions/coriander, chilli paste, fried shallots with a gorgeous tasty soup.

My favourite - potato patties.

We also had some rice cubes to go with the ayam soto - Singapore style.

Thank you, Z, for the food and especially for the chat.