Improvements.....

On Saturday we had the fusilli with olive oil, garlic and lemon juice as planned, but as happens often, when the time comes I fancied something a little more......special. When I went shopping I saw some crayfish tails on special, so to the above mix I also added the crayfish tails, some grated courgette and some juicy tomatoes from the garden (yes, they are finally ripening now and they are delicious - though I am loving green tomatoes sauteed in olive oil!)

It was absolutely delicious! I had to pick out the tomatoes and the crayfish for Ben, but Jasmineloved it and had 3rd helpings! There was plenty left over too, so I had it the next day for lunch, this time with some black forest ham mixed in (we ate all the crayfish out!). Yummy and yet so quick and easy.

I added more courgette after this pic as it always looks a lot less once it starts cooking

I can never get it all to mix evenly, so that all the good stuff shows!

For Alex: Tomato and mozzarella tart

Well, Alex has this huge bounty of homegrown tomatoes and is stuck for ideas, so here's my recommendation. A delicious tomato, anchovy and mozzarella tart.....

Ingredients:

mozzarella ball, shredded

ready roll puff pastry

small tin of anchovies in garlic and olive oil

and of course. tomatoes - chopped into small segments

fresh basil

squeeze of lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil for drizzling

Method:

1. Line a tart tin with the puff pastry, taking care to overlap the edges.

2. Poke the bottom with a fork a few times. put in a pice of baking paper and pour in some baking beans or uncooked rice (this is to weigh the bottom down). If you don't have any of this, just poke many more times with the fork and accept that the bottom may puff a little!

3. Bake blind in the oven until just golden

4. Meanwhile, whizz some anchovies (as few or as many as you lie, with the olive oil and garlic from the tin) in a blender with the lemon juice, some freshly milled pepper and some basil leaves.

5. spread anchovy mix over the base of the pastry

6. arrange the pieces of tomato over the paste, sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and drizzle with some olive oil (drizzle!)

7. scatter over some torn mozzarella and torn basil leaves

8. Grill until the tomatoes are soft and the mozzarella has melted and is turning a little golden (only about 5-6 minutes, depending on temp - I just put it on HOT!) Don't let the pastry burn!

Serve with a salad

**If you don't like anchovies, give this a try anyway, it doesn't taste 'fishy', it just adds a real richness to the tomatoes.....if you can't get them in garlic and olive oil, then you'll have to add these yourself at the blending stage. Oh, and the tart tastes just as good without the mozzarella too.

Let me know what you think Alex! And send me a picture so I can add it to the post!

Weekly Menu: 26.09.09

Saturday: Fusilli with parsley, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, served with fresh bread and salad (yes, this is very similar to what we had on monday - I may even just add some courgettes......it's a weekly staple in our house as it is quick, healthy and all of us like it, Ben included!)

Sunday: Herby chicken skewers with lemon dressing, garlic flatbreads, roasted aubergines and feta salad (may just have to cook some rice with that too - I am obsessed with rice!)

Monday: Roasted Vegetable puff tarts, new potatoes and salad

Tuesday: Linguine and meatballs

Wednesday: Lentil, garlic and butternut stew with rice

Thursday: Vegetable fried rice, clear soup

Friday: Fried chicken, oven fries, cole claw, corn on the cobs

As the kids have football practice after school on a tuesday, I always try to make one of their favourites for them as they are usually ravenous!

Weekly Menu: 21.09.09

Planning the weeks meals ahead of time not only means that I save money doing the weekly shop (I only buy what I need), but I also have less waste and I'm never stuck for what to cook. Another bonus is that I sometimes cook part or all of the dish in advance and freeze it until I need it (though that's only when I am being super organised!).

This week's menu is as follows:

Monday: Spaghetti with shredded courgettes dressed in olive oil, lemon and garlic. Served with a tomato and mozzarella salad and fresh bread

Tuesday: Homemade chikcen and bacon puff pastry pie with roast potatoes and steamed vegetables

Wednesday: Beef and black bean enchilada's with salad

Thursday: prawn curry with basmati rice, poppadoms and raita (the kids are eating at their friends house this evening so I can make it extra spicy!)

Friday: Hainanese chicken rice (taken from Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey - this is book is worth every penny - we have tried a couple of the recipes already and they are delish!)

Normally I shop on a Saturday and plan meals from Saturday night, through Friday. We were away this last weekend so I didn't need to plan for those days. And other than the poppadoms, the puff pastry and the wraps for the enchiladas, I'll make everything from scratch (though normally I would also make the wraps too, but I've not been too well this week so am going a little easier on myself!). Nick thinks my obsession with making all my own bread is madness.....last week I made flatbreads, a wholemeal loaf, banana nut bread and wholemeal rolls. That was a lot of work and he ended up begging me to "just buy some bread!".