After a break last week and a much needed holiday, we were back and ready to get into the swing of things. Jamie Oliver Challenge night has become somewhat of a treat in our household - it is something to look forward to and it brings a bit of excitement into what would otherwise be an utterly average, completely unspectacular and mundane week of nine-to-fives and meat-with-three. (Not that either of those things are bad, afterall we benefit from having a job and nobody would argue the fact that a well-balanced diet is good for you. But you know how it gets....snore!).
This week we tackled Wonky Summer Pasta, Herby Salad and Pear Drop Tartlets - and it was by far the most relaxed week we've had. The ingredients were dead easy to find, we used far fewer dishes than we have in the past and once all of the prep work was done it was just a matter of tossing everything together. I have to wonder if the ease in finding everything is simply because I've come to know the layout of my local grocers and delis like they were my own personal playground, or if the ingredients required this week were just not as exotic or far-out as they have been in recent recipes. Either way, the grocery trip was basically a stress free affair and all up cost about $50.
I have to mention here that I am somewhat impressed with the cost of things. Each week we've spent between $50 and $80 on ingredients and each week we've fed four to five people at the dinner table, and always had leftovers. In the case of the Cauliflower Macaroni, we actually divvied up about twelve decent portions and it would have been dead easy and inexpensive to whip up enough salad to accompany that had we wished to. So easily, in fact, that I used the recipe to feed the starving masses (aka my extended family) with it a couple of weeks ago. So each meal is working out to be less than or equal to about $10 a serve.
Anyway, back to this week's challenge!!
Dear Housemate had her family in attendence this time, which was really nice. They treated us to a holiday with them last week and it was nice to offer a small token of thanks by way of a nice home cooked meal. Any dietician or nutritionist worth their salt will tell you that food should be regarded as fuel for the body, and nothing more, but as a proud half-european I would have to disagree. Food is a way to bring people together, it is a way to nourish and feed not just the body but the soul, and nothing beats the feeling of having a beautiful meal with beautiful people in a beautiful setting. Good quality food is needed for a healthy body and mind, so who says we can't indulge every now and then?
Now I have to say that I loved the salad this week, and I am always a bit dubious when it comes to strong fresh herbs. I must admit that I was a little bit put off by the idea of having a 'herby' salad, but all of the flavours seem to work together and it really beats having a regular garden salad. The salad dressing with this one is super easy (olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, salt and pepper) but it tastes amazing. I particularly loved watching Dear Housemate's family pick between the leaves in order to figure out of I'd filled the salad with olives, or if they were grapes. (They were grapes, by the way, thus the confusion). It was fairly easy to put together but you would have to be careful what you pair it with - the flavours are quite strong.
The pasta was really fresh and had a lot of kick to it. It is definitely one you would have to eat fresh (as Jamie Points out in the book) and I don't think it would fare too well if it had to be reheated. There is a fairly strong tang of lemon in this one, so if you aren't a fan of citrus then you probably won't enjoy this very much. Chopping up the lasagne sheets to make the pasta itself was a really interesting twist on our fifth pasta meal in a row - the texture is different to regular pasta, it cooks almost instantly and it has a different flavour. I can't say I'd get into doing that every week, but it was nice to shake things up (and to know that if there is a mass pasta shortage at my house, lasagne sheets will suffice!)
And finally, the tartlets. Yum. Like the tarlets that have come before them, these were dead easy to make and they came up amazing. They looked gorgeous and decadent and special, but they took all of five minutes to construct and they come in a serving size small enough to avoid that awful post-dessert unbuttoning of the pants and gentle roll off the side of the chair. They were just sweet enough to satisfy without being sickly, and there were no complaints at the table (no leftovers either!). These are definitely going on the repeat menu, simply because they are easy, well-sized, look really impressive and you could mass produce them in case of crowds.
And that rounds out another week of the challenge!! It is pretty crazy to think that we are only one-tenth of the way into the challenge, because it feels like we've been doing this forever. I am concerned about getting complacent or bored with things, but the more I think about it the more I realise that each week brings about the opportunity to learn something new, to try something different and to step outside of the comfort zone. This was a less exciting week than usual - whether through the lack of exotic ingredients or simply because the actual style of cooking and structure of the meals has settled in with me and is no longer a novelty. Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter - what does matter is that I know I'm serving up good, fresh, healthy and quality food to the people that I love, and we get to catch up and try something different.
So until next week (Summer Veg Lasagne, Tuscan Tomato Salad and Quick Mango Frozen Yoghurt in Baby Cornets - YUM!),
Bon Appetit!
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