Interesting book

I found this book at an end-of-lease sale at a local bookstore, and thought it looked interesting. Written by a British foodie, it discusses traditional British dishes, and compares them with modern styles. I found it an interesting and chatty, and there are some recipes there that I am interested in making, including a recipe for catsup.
Some of the recipes, especially one like sooan scones, are all but impossible to replicate, since they require an ingredient that is specific to a region. (To make sooan (or sowan, according to Wikipedia) you take the husks of the black oats, a low-producing but highly nutritious, variety grown in Orkney, and soak them in water until they ferment. The liquid is now sooan.)

For anyone interested in traditional foods, or just food in general, this is a very interesting read. If you're interested, you can purchase it from the Book Depository. (FYI - I get nothing from this. I just like them as they have free delivery, and that's important when you live in Australia.) And for more interesting information about traditional foods, check out Fight Back Friday on the Food Renegade blog.
Soon I'll discuss the cookbooks that I actually use. There's a whole 3 of them.

View from the kitchen window

This is what I see when I wash dishes. Sunset, facing East to Picnic Point.

You have to move to one of the other East-facing windows to see the 150-foot flag pole on Picnic Point. It was erected to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Queensland as a separate state. One a side note, my uncle recently discovered that our family were are Pre-Separation family - ie, we were here when it was still New South Wales.

Menu Planning

Ok, so here's the plan. I write down what I intend to cook, and I cook it. Complex, I know, but what can y0u do?

Thursday - Lasagna. Own recipe for meat and cheese sauces, and I'm going to try making lasagna sheets.
Friday - Tuna Rissoles with mashed potato
Saturday - Meatball Parmigiana. I had this at the carvery at the local K-Mart Plaza, and it was yummy! Of course, I'll have to make my own recipe, but that won't be too hard.
Sunday - Lamb Casserole
Monday - Chicken Normandy. Adapted from Fresh and Tasty Casseroles, a cookbook that I picked up at a discount store. Looks interesting - chicken with apples, pretty much.
Tuesday - Spaghetti Bolognese. Well, my version, anyway.
Wednesday - Tuna Casserole. Must remember to get eggs from Mum.

I'll probably re-post some of this on Monday, when I join in on Menu Plan Monday.

Fun with Onions

Okay, so it's not all about onions. But I do use a lot of onions in my cooking. I had a near disaster last night - no onions. We survived, but I have to go shopping today. Anyway, this is where I intend to blog about cooking, eating, cleaning (as little as possible) menu planning, shopping, and anything else that I think about. I do have another blog, which I'll try to bring back to just homeschooling, because, after all, that is what I set it up for. So... here goes. Fun with onions.