Now I've done my fair share of the latter (think impossibly perfect goat satay and delicate yet sharply spicy, flaky and moist fish, under a completely non-signposted and unlabelled umbrella set up halfway off a cliff just out of Pelabuhan Ratu for only a few hours every few days) but that kind of exploration takes serious planning and hard work. And just forget about matching wines with your dinner - the local stuff is closer to what you find in cardboard boxes back home - just slightly less refined.
But then there's Vanuatu. Inexplicably and incompetently jointly managed by the British and the French in its days as the New Hebrides, the French influence remains on the table.
Just don't leave your pain au chocolat on the table too long - the humidity here is no friend to pastry.
Organic beef, fresh coffee cherries, gargantuan tropical fruit and schools of deep sea fish find their home in the lush environs of Vanuatu. Combined with the precision of French training, enthusiastic local chefs and baristas, a wide selection of French wines and proper butter in the supermarket, white sand and gently cleansing waves, you've got something very special indeed.
Vanuatu is an island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, just North-East of New Caledonia and West of Fiji. It is only a few hours flying time from the East coast of Australia. Flights are available from Sydney and Brisbane and fly to both Port Vila (the capital, on the island Efate) and Santo. Vanuatu is also only a hop, skip and a jump from New Zealand.
The local Ni-Vanuatu people mainly engage in subsistence agriculture but the tourism industry is a growing source of employment. We met locals who proudly showed us their community crops, including bananas, coconuts and the oddly named breadfruit tree, which were tended to and available to the whole village. We were also shown markers in the water that were used to rotate fishing locations and protect fishing stocks for future generations.
The welcome we received from the locals was significantly friendlier than that given to some early European arrivals - many of whom soon became star attractions at the dinner table.
Vanuatu is now better known for its beautiful beaches, amazing scuba diving and snorkeling. There are American WWII relics that were thrown into the sea after the war and now make interesting and relatively accessible dive sites.
As keen snorkellers we spent plenty of time underwater. The visibility from the surface is impressive, particularly if you can avoid the touristy areas which have suffered from coral bleaching.
For political, military and history buffs, Vanuatu's past is interesting and worth discovering. Its recent status as a tax haven and the zero income tax also make it an interesting proposition - but be warned - it seems that the Australian Federal Police are as fond of Vanuatu as we are, and the Vanuatu Government is being increasingly cooperative.
Check back later or subscribe to see my reviews of accommodation and dining options in Vanuatu.
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]]>On Monday, I told you what I'd be eating this week. Like many of you, I have a somewhat crazy, hectic existence, juggling work, home, family, friends, blogging, admiring handbags and more.
Sometimes things don't go to plan.
In fact, that is why I plan. It makes things easier when it all goes wrong.
The hiccup
On Wednesday, I planned to go to the butcher (opening hours aren't all that open here in Perth-town) but ended up in the office instead.
Surprisingly, I couldn't find any lovely cooked crab or fresh, home-made angelhair pasta or even any beautifully hung sirloin steak in my CBD office. I did however find an overstuffed in-tray, too many emails and a meeting or two. Not that tasty. But hey - I had leftovers for dinner! Thanks, Tuesday!
The complication
By Thursday, my eyes were bulging, my nose was running and my brain was trying to chip its way out of my skull. I DO NOT HAVE SWINE FLU. My husband announced he would be going to the pub after work (sometimes he forgets about the existence of Fridays).
At about 7:30pm it occured to me I should probably find out if he intended to come home any time soon. He told me he'd be getting the 8:00 bus home. Good. Great. I continued to chat to a friend on facebook.
Photo: Bus Stop 3 by Bartek Kuzia
At 8:10 he called when he remembered that there *is* no bus at 8:00pm. So I threw some clothes on, got in the car and proceeded to drive a few blocks past where I said I'd pick him up. A roundabout or two later he was in the car, it was 8:30pm and we were hungry (and he was slightly drunk). We went to KFC and had zinger burgers (no chips!).
Photo: I'm sorry, I can't be perfect by Leeo
It wasn't that bad. I am not perfect.
The plan is dead
So, here comes Friday, my brain had pushed itself halfway out my right eye, the house was spinning and my tongue didn't know how to make sounds any more. My husband called a few times and on the 3rd time I answered it and slurred at him that he should come home early because gobbledegook. I don't know if he responded because I think I hung up then.
He got home at 4:30pm (I was still in bed), he attended to the dry cleaning and then made dinner of some sort. It resembled food and I ate it and I think I felt better because then I went to sleep.
Photo: body by wise.adam
Flexibility - adapt, change, compromise!
A menu plan is a guideline to make things easier for yourself - when grocery shopping, when you get home tired from work and don't have to think about what to cook.
It is not the be all and end all.
It must be flexible.
As Chive Talkin says - you rule your menu plan - it does not rule you!
What now?
So now it is Saturday and I'm about to head off to the friendly neighbourhood butcher to pick up some steak. The herbs and vegetables are in the fridge waiting to be turned into seared beef and noodle Thai-inspired loveliness.
I'm cooking the beef first, not the crab, because coriander and mint can be a little fragile in the fridge, whereas lemons grow on trees. I'm also still slightly delirious and feverish (if you can't tell) and it is always easier to cook something you've cooked a million times.
The angelhair and crab now gets moved onto next week's menu and my sister, her boyfriend and my grandmother can call in a dinner rain check. Easy!
How was it for you?
Did you have a crazy week? Or did things go to plan for you? Let me know in the comments.
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]]>I've previously mentioned how I use technology to plan my meals and write my shopping list. Of course, not everything is digital - I still have handwritten, scribbled notes and many favourite, sauce splattered and annotated cookbooks.
Try something new
I like to try at least one new recipe a week, and this may come from a cookbook, an idea posted on another blog, or something I invented in my sleep (this happens fairly often). This meal is usually scheduled for a weekend or a day I'm not in the office. I like to make things as easy for myself as possible.
Keep it fresh
My planning also takes into account my access to fresh produce. I prefer not to freeze steak or seafood for example, so I will always plan those meals around when I can buy fresh.
Save time with bulk cooking
I also like to ensure that at least one meal a week is something that can be doubled or tripled. I prefer not to have the same meal twice in a week but instead will use the extra from the first meal to make something a bit different. Alternatively I will prepare something and freeze it so we won't starve if I'm sick or I get home late.
This week I spread out some cookbooks and clicked through some favourite foodie websites. My husband chose Jill Dupleix's Angelhair with crab and lemon as the new recipe on this week's meal plan. He gets extra bonus points for choosing something quick, easy and light. He usually doesn't!
Photo credit: Betty Crocker by 427
Keep records
My planning system also includes recording each day's meals on our synchronised google calendars. It avoids the mid-day phone call, "what are we having for dinner tonight?" And here it is for you.
Monday:
Garlic and chilli king prawns stir-fried with onion and still crispy red capsicum, green beans and broccoli, lightened with oodles of fresh parsley, served on steamed Basmati (I use Basmati a lot as it is lower GI than other types) rice. I'd prefer brown rice but I haven't won that battle in my household yet.
Tuesday:
Home-made chilli and herb crumbed chicken schnitzels (oven baked), with macaroni cheese, roast grape tomatoes, baked herb field mushrooms, steamed greens. For some reason unknown to me, my macaroni cheese provokes bizarre reactions of rapture amongst my friends and family. My husband regularly begs me to make this, and due to the fact it is so insanely easy, I do indulge him. My version isn't too heavy either - the sauce is a roux enriched with mustard, cheese and herbs and lightened with low-fat milk.
This meal will give me leftovers - extra cooked chicken schnitzels to go into the freezer (I can then pull them out later, defrost in the fridge overnight, then top with a tomatoey sauce and cheese, then chuck under the grill) plus leftover macaroni cheese to have with a salad for lunch on Wednesday.
Wednesday:
Angelhair pasta with crab and lemon plus a simple garden salad. With any luck I'll be able to buy some fresh pasta from the Italian place down the road, but if not I have some decent quality dried pasta in the pantry. I don't mind making my own pasta but I'm better at ravioli or lasagne sheets that don't need as much precision!
I'm not in the office on Wednesday so I can skip over to the fishmonger and then the butcher for tomorrow's dinner.
Thursday:
Seared beef and rice noodle salad. I can make this one in my sleep and it is lovely and fresh and flavourful.
Friday:
My grandmother, my sister and her boyfriend are coming over for dinner to have my famous risotto. This one will have prosciutto, tomato, basil and baby spinach. We'll go heavy on the carbs with some home-made bread and a few simple salads. Dessert is likely to be sorbet and fruit or perhaps some cupcakes if I get time.
Saturday:
Duck salad with rocket and baby spinach, just warm slow-roasted tomatoes, red onion, capsicum and snow peas, drizzled with chilli jam.
Sunday:
On Sunday nights we usually have dinner with my parents or in-laws. Otherwise it'll be a quiet night at home with takeaway Thai or a wood-fired pizza with a few glasses of wine.
If you'd like to see what other people are cooking this week, you'll find more meal plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie and Chive Talkin.
Check back later in the week for recipe reviews and results!
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]]>This is my speedy, healthy-ish, completely not-Indian, not-curry version.
Mix a couple of tablespoons of good quality curry paste (if you're in Perth and haven't already, check out Prime Products) with roughly the same amount of plain yoghurt. Low fat yoghurt works perfectly.
Smear the curry paste mixture over a couple of chicken breasts (beef or lamb works too) and marinate in the fridge for at least 5 minutes. Chargrill until just cooked through (chicken breasts take 4 minutes on my Breville electric chargrill thingamy) and serve with basmati rice, vegetables of your choice and pickle or chutney.
If you cook double the chicken, you can serve it cold the next day wrapped in roti bread with salad, pickle and a bit of yoghurt.
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]]>This is my "cheat's roast" which will be tonight's dinner.
Smoosh a couple of cloves of chopped or pressed garlic into a couple of beef fillets. Massage some balsamic vinegar (or red wine) into the meat, cover, and put into the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes or more.
raw beef
While that is happening, chop up some veg. Tonight I used some kipfler potatoes, skin on, chopped into rough chips. Sweet potato, carrots, red onions, pumpkin etc would be great too - whatever you have on hand. I tossed the potatoes in a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil, flaked salt (I used Murray River pink salt but you can use Maldon or whatever takes your fancy), heaps of cracked pepper and some fresh thyme and spread them out onto a baking dish.
chips
I also put some tiny roma tomatoes into a mix of eevo and balsamic vinegar, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper in a small oven dish. You can also use cherry or grape tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in halves or quarters depending on how much time you have to cook them.
tomatoes (I realised i needed to chop these after the photo)
I had some large flat field mushrooms so I topped those with eevo, salt and pepper and some breadcrumbs and put them onto a tray.
Slide the veg into a hot oven, pour yourself a glass of red and tidy up the kitchen. Once that's done it will be time to cook the meat. Drain and then massage some oil into the meat. Chuck the beef onto a hot pan and cook to your liking. The balsamic will make the beef rather dark so don't worry.
Rest the beef while you set the table and pour more wine. Top the tomatoes with some crumbled fetta and pile the potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and beef onto some warmed plates, maybe with a bit of just wilted spinach. Deglaze the pan and pour on top of everything else.
I didn't have a lot of time to present this nicely because my husband was about to knock me out to get to dinner. So here it is.
dinner
Please forgive the awful photos, I am just learning. Feedback is more than welcome!
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]]>I'm making it for dinner tonight because it is easy (and I like easy) and it tastes pretty good too! (This does not purport to be an authentic Thai style salad.)
Ingredients (to serve 4):
- 250g rice stick noodles
- 4 150-200g pieces sirloin steak
- 1 1/2 tbs peanut oil, plus extra to brush
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 red chilli, seeds removed (or not), finely sliced
- 1 1/2 tbs caster sugar
- small piece of ginger
- 2 lebanese cucumbers, cut into strips
- 1 small red (spanish) onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, quartered
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- lime wedges, to serve
Method:
- Place noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 6-7 minutes until softened or follow packet instructions. Drain thoroughly and refresh if you like.
- Preheat a frypan or bbq until hot.
- Brush steaks with oil, then sear for 2 minutes on each side, if you like rare beef. (ed: If you don't, just keep cooking until the meat is all dried out and awful. )
- Transfer steaks to a warmed plate and rest for 5 minutes, then slice.
- Combine soy sauce, vinegar, chilli, sugar, peanut oil and ginger in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add noodles, beef, cucumber, red onion and tomato. Toss well.
- Top with mint and serve with lime wedges
While we're on the Thai style thing, there's a fabulous recipe for Thai Coconut Soup at The Food in my Beard that I think you may enjoy.
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