Margaret Fulton - An Institution

I recently bought the Margaret Fulton Encyclopedia of Cooking.  It is an amazing cook book (and I only paid $10).

I am one of those people that has trouble menu planning.  So I get to the end of the week and I have bits of bobs in the fridge.  One week I had tomatoes and some eggs.  I looked up Tomatoes and found a great recipe for a tomato and egg Gratin.

I currently have 3 big punnets of natural yogurt in the fridge (don't know why) so I have found a receipt for a yogurt soup and a Chicken Dish which uses yogurt as the marinade.

She really is a cooking legend.

Jen
www.shimi.com.au

I just realised I detest cooking.

I, tonight, finally came to the realisation that I really do not like cooking.  It is quite strange to admit that as I come from a family, most notably my Grandmothers, that love to cook or bake to be more precise.

Truth be told, I don't mind cooking dinners if they are simple, but baking, it is just not my thing.  I can bake, I just choose not to.  I do think this is something that has come about since I have had children as I don't think I had the same level of dislike prior to children, however I don't think I actually baked to much prior to kids, so that would explain that.

So why have I found this admission so embarrassing?  I am not sure to be honest.  I don't claim to be a great cook and if you come to my house for a coffee, that is all you will get unless I can rummage up a few store bought biscuits, and my friends are aware of this.  I love cooking shows, enjoy eating, can appreciate others that do cook, but basically can't be bothered with it myself.

How unfortunate that my husband doesn't like cooking either.  That is not to say we live on takeaway, in fact it is a rare occasion in our house.  If ever the kids and I are having a night to ourselves, I still prepare them a dinner of greens, protein, and carbs but I have to say my dinners can swing anywhere between cereal and a pasta made of whatever I can find.  I must admit in my student days I did make quite a good pasta out of not much more then tomato sauce and cheese (I know, sounds horrible, but its not bad when you have very little money, and who was going to waste money on ingredients when there was wine to be bought?  Ahh, the distant memories of actually having a glass of wine.)

So when my 6 year old shows interest in being on Junior Master Chef, I will be encouraging it all the way.  My husband and I are pinning all our hopes on our children loving cooking so we don't have to endure the nightly ritual.  At the moment they are more interested in cooking anything "chocolaty" (not sure if that is a word) and abandoning ship when the chocolate part is over.

Jen & Row
www.shimi.com.au

*Rowena does not endorse this blatant disregard for the art of cooking.

Rainy Days

As mentioned before I love rainy days. The rain brings back such sweet memories for me. I was really lucky to have a really wonderful childhood. I lived in a small town where my mother owned a drapery, the place that cultivated my passion for design. A short walk from the main street of town lived my Grandmother, who was the ultimate Granny. She was an ex Home Economics teacher and always had some sort of craft on the go, and when she wasn’t doing that she was cooking delicious traditional food – anzac biscuits, trifle, roast dinners, home made custard, rice pudding, the list goes on. Actually my most fond memory of her cooking was quiche and pizza, there was something in both of those dishes that made it taste so welcoming. I haven’t worked out what is was to this day but every time I put corn in my quiche it gives me a snippet of that flavour.

So, on the holidays I would spend my days at the Drapery helping mum out and when I was bored with that, I would wander up to Grans. In both placed my love of material, sewing, cooking (although that has certainly dwindle now I am a short order cook every night), and learning new ways to create was encouraged. Even when my ideas were are bit mad, both Gran and Mum gave me full rein to give it a go, but when I look back, I was always gently steered in the direction away from disaster. One of the great parts about creating something new was the discussions the three of us had trying to come up with solutions on how to make my wild idea come to reality.

My Grandmother passed away last year at 104. Unfortunately she spent the last 6 years of her life in a home (a wonderful nursing home I must add) with no quality of life. She had lost her sight, hearing and the ability to move by herself and it was very sad to see this once very independent woman be completely reliant on others. My last really fond memory of Grandma was when she first entered the home. The whole family was feeling guilty but we had no choice as she could no longer look after herself and that was the only option. So for the first 6 months she had visitors almost constantly and that never really changed. I travelled to visit her and my mum, aunt and myself spent a week sitting with her all day just chatting and doing handwork. Mum was then an avid patch working, so she spent the days embroidery what every quilt she was working on. I found a tapestry that I thought would be fun to attempt and it was although I still haven’t finished it (7 years down the track). I did get a little despondent about it when all the elderly ladies that came to visit Gran would study my Tapestry and every single one of them told me that a good Tapestry looks the same on the back as it does on the front. They did not appreciate my bulky knots at the back. Anyway I did better than my Aunt who, no matter how often she tries, is no craft person. I think she gave cross stitch a go and it is probably sitting half finished somewhere as well.

It is a very cherished memory, a quite week in a nursing home with my Grandmother, but the four of us had some of the greatest chats we have ever had in that week and rainy days always make me think of that week.

Jen & Row

www.shimi.com.au

Cooking for Fussy Children

I really struggle with cooking for my children.  My two will only eat what I call "clean food", for example plain pasta without any sauce at all.  There can be no sauce or marinade on meat, no salad dressing, no stews or casseroles.  All food has to be separate as well - I can't even make a pasta without sauce but mix in a little bit of bacon or peas.  It is highly frustrating.

I have know conceded defeat and the fussy ones get just about the same dinner every night.  Broccoli, corn, plain pasta and some sort of plain meat (steak, chicken).  Once I embraced that they will not be adventurous it actually takes a little of the stress of me and dinner time.  Dinner should be a happy time, and in my house it was becoming a disliked part of the day by everyone. 

I have always had the idea of creating a cook book for parents like myself that struggle to get anything nutritious into their children.  I have made a few attempts to hid the nutritional ingredients and I must admit my muffins (which have blended cauliflower, butter beans, and zucchini in it) are a hit, but that is about my only success.  So when I say food hidden, I mean food HIDDEN, not just grated carrot in with the mince.  Anyway, there is an idea for some creative chef out there.

So it is back to making two dinners every night, one lot for the kids and one lot for my husband and me.  Although I must say he can be less then appreciative, which while he has his many many good points, tact and forethought are not part of those good points.  Dinner tonight was a lovely salad of roast pumpkin, roast beetroot, and haloumi with (for him, I am not a meat eater) a eye fillet.  All he could say was "Geez Jen, what is going on?  Where is the onion?".  Hmmmm, tonight when I go to bed I am going to really enjoy JUST reading my book!!

Let us know your tricks of the trade when it comes to fooling the kids!!