My favourite roasted chicken recipe

This is probably one of my all time favourite meals now. I used this recipe and added fennel to it and oh my goodness, it was incredible. It's good all on its own but the first time I made it I also mashed potatoes with dill and steamed carrots on the side. As fantastic as it tastes the first day, it is even better the next day when the onion and fennel soften and caramelize further. It is so aromatic, it makes the whole house smell good. :)

Quasi Stew? I don't know...

I threw some stuff together, not entirely sure it was going to taste any good but it turned out pretty well. My partner raved about it so I'll make sure I make it again sometime soon!

4 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 pork sausages (farmer's market buy)

The potatoes were boiled and the carrots were steamed. The onions were sauteed around the sausages. I threw it all into a casserole dish, seasoned it with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano and put it in the oven for 15 min at 350F.

Tuna Casserole

When I was a little girl my parents worked different shifts - my father worked the afternoon shift and my mother worked the day shift. For as long as I can remember my father has been the cook of the house - my mother rarely cooked if my father was around. During the week though, when it was time for dinner and we were on our own, my mother would make one of three meals. Dinner was either Kraft Dinner, Rice-a-roni and some kind of meat, or tuna casserole. As a child I HATED tuna casserole. I have memories of my mother nearly having to force feed it to me. Then, years later when I was a teenager, I started really enjoying tuna and wouldn't you know it, my mother would rarely ever make it. Oh well... Anyway, I decided to forgo the Tuna Helper mix and made it from scratch the other night. Oh how I've missed homemade tuna casserole. I made enough for about four servings but it was so good we ate it all.

Pretty simple to throw together:

Pasta of choice
2 cans of tuna
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
2-3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese of choice shredded over top
350F for 20 - 25 min.

Chips even the Brit likes

The other night, I had a craving for fries. Rather than go out, I decided to peel a bunch of potatoes and make my own. I have to say, homemade beats fast food any day.


This picture was a one-off on the couch before we dug in. Seasoned with sea salt, rosemary and corriander and baked in the oven with a light olive oil coating. Yummmmmm.

Pancakes

Another pancake breakfast...



Organic whole grain pancakes with pureed blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate and rhubarb. Sooooooo good.

V-Day Menu

Valentine's Day Menu courtesy of various Michael Smith recipes... Received fantastic reviews from my partner so it was well worth it. :)

Brunch - Smoked Salmon Egg Cups with Dill and Havarti and Spice Baked Fruit Salad








Dinner - Tandoori Chicken with Aloo Gobi and Balsami Rice

6 Weeks

It has been six weeks since I started this project slow-food... whole, organic food that is cooked at home, not at a restaurant or sealed in a package. I've learned that broadening my palate wasn't as difficult as I thought, nor finding the patience and time (or rather energy) to hone my cooking (and more importantly, prepping) skills.

In six weeks I've lost 18 lbs, just by changing what and the way I eat. I have lost one pant size and one shirt size. I can tell I'm actually losing fat and not muscle because the first part of me that started disappearing was my belly. Amazing. I have more energy than I can remember ever having. I can jog up the stairs to our apartment and not be winded like I used to be. I don't get as many headaches as I used to either. I can tell when I'm full and I can tell when I'm actually hungry. This project is undoing almost 31 years of poor eating habits learned by myself and from family and learning new, healthier habits and skills...although I wish I had gotten to this point a long time ago, I'm glad I've reached it, period.