Again this week it was really easy to get hold of all of the ingredients - a big plus! I have to say for the last couple of weeks I have missed the experience of wandering through the delis and fresh food markets to scout out the fancier ingredients, but that being said, it is so awesome to be able to waltz into a supermarket and just grab everything I need in one shop. Dear Housemate was in charge of the shopping this week and as far as I can tell everything was collected from the supermarket. So that's big points for convenience! And extra points for again being around $60 in total for a 6-8 serve meal (less than $10 a serve!).
As mentioned before, a bout of stomach flu has made things a little difficult this week. Therefore a lot less care was put into preparing the meal than I would ordinarily like. (A lot less eating of it, too, for that matter). And at the same time, the household is in the grips of a brand new healthy eating kick, so it is interesting to pay closer attention to what is actually going into our foods (and into our bodies as a result). For the most part, I would rate the meals pretty highly on the healthy food scale. Yes, they mostly consist of a pasta dish and some of them are a little heavy on the cheese - but the fresh ingredients used far outweigh the less-healthy ones. The dessert servings are always petite, and there is always a gorgeous fresh salad or veg dish to accompany it. So for a brain that is going mad analysing calories and portions and ingredients, I can still say that I would eat most of these meals again, but I would be sure to invite plenty of friends to share with so as to avoid overeating!
So, on to the actual cooking. I made the mango frozen yoghurt first because it was easiest and was only going to be stored in the freezer anyway! We were unable to find frozen mango at the supermarket so compromised by chopping up three fresh mangos last night and chucking them in the freezer overnight. I took them out today and let them thaw just enough to loosen up from the sides of the dish and then whipped up the dessert. It was dead easy, tasted amazing and is actually a lot healthier than most desserts! I will definitely be making this one again - I love mango and it was so fresh and delicious that I can see it being a great after dinner treat or sunny afternoon snack. Our presentation wasn't as good as Jamie's - we opted to have it scooped into a bowl with the cone on the side. I tried to break it up and make it artful and pretty, but honestly, I didn't feel well enough to care too much. Still tasted good though!
The lasagne ended up being... interesting. I think I must have gone wrong with it somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure where. Just put it down to me being under the weather and therefore my cooking skills at a weaker state than usual! It was all going very well for a while, I love how many fresh greens were used (broad beans, shallots, peas, asparagus) and I think that it is probably a lot healthier than your average lasagne. It was looking a bit pale when I pulled it out of the oven, but otherwise okay... Until I tried to serve it up. It was literally soup. Again, I'm not sure where I went wrong. I think it must have been somewhere around the boiling of the sauce (I couldn't look at it for long, it sent my stomach crashing into waves of nausea as it is not a particularly pretty sight!) or maybe it needed longer in the oven.... The taste was okay but sadly I could only get down two mouthfuls before my stomach objected to the cheese and cream. Dad had two servings though, to make up for it!
The salad was probably the best part of this week's meal - it had crunch and tang and was filling without being too heavy. I really can't think of anything about it that I didn't like or would have changed. We had trouble tracking down variety in the tomatoes so we stuck with the basics from the supermarket, but this worked really well anyway. The toasted bits of crusty bread soaked up just enough of the red wine vinegar and olive oil to be softened without going soggy. The whole salad tasted fresh and rich and had a distinct mediterranean flavour - yummm!! (Also highly enjoyable for its ability to get into my stomach without drama or nausea. Winner!)
So that was this week - a bit all over the shop, really. The salad and dessert were great, the lasagne would have been great with a bit more attention, I believe, and all in all the meal was a success. I wish I could have enjoyed it more!
Next week looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait to whip it up! We've basically started taking bookings from people who have flipped through the book and decided what they want to try and what they want to miss. I'm glad that other people are getting as much enjoyment out of our challenge as we are, it really makes all the extra effort worth it.
Til next week, wishing you good food (and good health!!!) - Bon Appetit!
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