From Mothers' Day to school Easter holidays - the menu plan.

My card from son & heir

Well.  Last week proved one point, if nothing else.  The point that, if your plans change, the menu plan is capable of being changed - so long as you have a little warning and a couple of pounds in your pocket in order to pay for said change.

So what brought about this change of plan?  Mother's day.  I'd completely forgotten about it when I set last week's menu plan, but as it approached, hubby began to think that perhaps it was a bit much to ask me to do the cooking on what was supposed to be my "day off".  (In truth, every day is my "day off" thanks to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica, but it's nice to be spoiled and made to feel special).


Ultimately, we abandoned the pot roast chicken with gnocchi & tenderstem broccoli that should have happened on Sunday - and went for a chinese takeaway from No.1 Wok instead.  Oh my goodness but it was gorgeous!  We had the works - chicken chow mein, nasi goreng (they do Singaporean dishes too), special fried rice, chinese chicken curry, crispy shredded chilli beef, mixed seafood and sweet & sour king prawns.  Such a feast!

Having abandoned the chicken, that meant that the carrot fritters had to go too, as we didn't have any chicken to go with them.  I debated doing sausages with carrot fritters, but I liked the sound of the chicken - and a plan was forming in my head whereby I just moved them on to this week!  I had opted for sausages on Monday because we'd been given three sausages free from the butcher (because they'd split their jackets) and so it wouldn't cost very much to buy enough for everyone.  We just couldn't think of anything easy to go with them.  Of course, there are thousands of things we could have gone for - but it was late at night and my brain wasn't working (at all).  Somehow, don't ask me how, we wound up opting for savoury rice.  ~gallic shrug~  I can't help but think we're going to regret that, but previously, I would regularly eat savoury rice when I had my horses - it was one of my staple meals - so I'm hoping that distance hasn't blurred my view and we enjoy it.  Fingers crossed.

Now then, what's for dinner for the rest of the week?
 

Jamie Oliver's version of pork & rhubarb

Well beginning with Tuesday, I'm going to make the most of those pork steaks and buy some more.  These are going to get some chinese-style treatment, originally they were going to be braised with chinese five spice, star anise and plums.  However, looking at the enormity of Ruby (our rhubarb), I've been pondering the prospect of using rhubarb instead.  I wouldn't mind betting that chinese spicing would work really well with rhubarb - and I'm quite sure its astringency would suit fatty pork.  I guess you'll just have to wait and see whether a recipe turns up being blogged - which is always an indication of a successful meal.


Wednesday greets the return of the pot-roasted chicken with gnocchi and tenderstem broccoli.  I'm determined to do that recipe, because it sounded so nice!


Thursday is a work day and the cold chicken, carrot & feta fritters with salad are back.  You just can't keep a good recipe down.

Friday, contrary to my piece where I said goodbye to things like chilli con carne and thanks to a special request from son & heir, we'll be having chilli con carne made with beef shin & served with sour cream.


Every week I ask our son whether he has any requests for the menu list for the week and every week he says "pizza".  I guess when he comes up with something other than pizza, I should honour it!  Oh, and quite apart from anything else, he begins his Easter holidays on Friday, so it'll make it a bit special to have his choice of meal on that day too.  I do try!


Saturday is hubby's day to cook again - and this week he's promising us some Creamy Salmon Pasta with fennel.  It sounds glorious, but he's keeping the actual recipe under wraps, so I can't give you more of an idea of it than that, I'm afraid.


Sunday's recipe is the one I'm really looking forward to making.  It has been inspired by this post from my friend Viv.  We're having Steak & Kidney Pie - and it'll be a "top only" pie, with a top crust made with suet.  Not the most low-calorie of meals, but hey - it's Sunday!  I'll be using the lower fat vegetable suet, which will help, honest!  I'll also be using brisket of beef and the butcher's fresh lamb's kidneys and it should be something special.  Should be.  We'll be having good old carrots, parsnips and some broccoli - which will be sure to make up for the suet.  Um. Yeah, right.


It suddenly occurred to me that we haven't had a curry in ages - far too long, in fact.  So the last recipe of this week shall be a prawn curry.  It'll be useful in that it can mop up whatever bits of vegetables are left, the prawns will be fine in the freezer until required and it doesn't take much making.  Great, for a work day!


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So! What's on the menu list for this week, then?

Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park

This week, we shall mostly be thinking about fresh flavours, lighter flavours and trying a few new things.  Well, it IS spring - and if ever there was a time to cast off those heavy (but cosy) old overcoats of casseroles, dumplings, heavy sauces and old favourites such as Chilli con Carne, it's now.

Now is a time to lighten the load (not only around our waistlines) and wake up our tastebuds with tastes and textures that we haven't experienced for the last few cold and damp months.

So, out goes our reliance upon root vegetables, heavy stocks and sauces - and in comes citrus flavours, braising and salads.

I'm certainly ready for a change - and this week's menu reflects that.

As ever, my week kicks off on a Tuesday when I went to Spring Fields Catering Butchers to buy some chicken breasts and pork steaks.  The five chicken breasts were still priced at an incredibly reasonable £5 for the lot, but the pork steaks just amazed me.  £2.99 for six - and as he was cutting them from the huge piece of loin of pork, I couldn't quite believe my eyes.  In fact, I had to check what I'd got when I arrived home, such was my amazement.  If you were to buy the equivalent from your local Supermarket, I'm sure you wouldn't see much change out of £6.  Just superb value.

So Tuesday's dinner was Citrus Paprika Chicken with a watercress, rocket & spinach salad together with cherry tomatoes and avocado.  The carbohydrate aspect came in the form of some diced potatoes which were roasted in their jackets alongside the chicken, having been doused in the chicken's marinade.

Apart from the oven suddenly deciding to roast everything super-hot (and subsequently burning the edges of the spuds) this all came together really easily.  However, its reception wasn't quite universal.  I really liked it, hubby wasn't so keen and son just seemed ambivalent towards the whole meal.  However, I do think that it was more of a "girl's food" dinner, than a real "man's dish" - even though it contained an entire chicken breast each!

Wednesday should bring about a change from "girl food" to real "man food", with the pork steaks braised in cider & mustard, with mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli.  Goodness, but I'm looking forward to this one, having seen the loveliness of the pork.  I'm also going to be using a bottle of the gorgeous Sheppy's Dabinett single variety cider which I've used before with very good results.  Fingers crossed!


Thursday requires a simple, quick to cook dish as I'll have been at work during the day.  Hence, I've booked in a Creamy Linguine with prosciutto, lemon and basil, which I expect we'll have with garlic bread.  Now, don't tell everyone, but this will be the very first time I've ever cooked with prosciutto.  *blush*  I'm really quite excited to be adding another first to my repertoire.

Picture c/o BBC Good Food website

You might remember that I booked in Bobotie on last week's menu list, but it got bumped off when I ran out of steam and plumped for fish & chips.  Well, I've gone off the idea of Bobotie now, but I've still got the minced lamb in the freezer.  So, on Friday we'll be making use of it in a lamb meatball traybake.

This is where the mince is made into some tasty meatballs with onion and mint, which are then roasted off in the oven alongside some onions, courgettes, butternut squash pieces, sweet potato wedges, cherry tomatoes - and some feta is crumbled over at the last minute.  It just appealed to the desire for some fresher, less complicated flavours - and I'm hoping it will suit that just fine.  Son and heir won't like the courgettes or cherry tomatoes, of course, but then he'll have the butternut and sweet potato to console himself with.  I may also throw in a couple of mushrooms - it's the kind of meal where anything that will roast can be added as an afterthought.


Saturday is hubby's day for cooking - and he's promised us a risotto.  Yum!  I'm not sure what type of risotto - and neither is he - but he's leaving it to providence and seeing what is in the supermarket on the day.  If nothing else, the produce will be fresh when it goes into the pot!

Photo c/o BBC Good Food website

Speaking of pots, on Sunday I've booked in another pot roasted chicken - except this time, instead of the usual roasted accompaniments, we're going to be having gnocchi and tenderstem broccoli.  Now there's a brave break from tradition for you!


Which brings us to the last day of this week's menu list, which is Monday - or "cold chicken day" as I expect it is becoming known.  I think it is always such a terrible waste of some really quite glorious cold cooked chicken (which is one of my favourite flavours in the universe) to put it into some curry, or pasta, or make it into a pie.  So, this Monday is going to be all about the chicken - right up until we reach the carrot fritters.  To give them their proper title, "carrot, cumin & feta fritters" which will be served with coriander yoghurt and a side salad.  I thought it would be an intriguing accompaniment to that delicious cold chicken - and far more interesting than a boring old potato salad!


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