In the kitchen this week ...

Monday
Lunch - chicken and sundried tomato risotto (TMX)
Dinner -  zucchini slice and salad (TMX)

Tuesday
No cooking - at mums


Wednesday
Sourdough tortillas (TMX) with bean chilli (TMX), cheese, sour cream, salad


Thursday
Beef casserole with mashed sweet potato and steamed veg


Friday
This dish from Quirky Cooking but with fish instead of chicken as it's Good Friday. It is easily our favourite dish to whip up in the Thermomix!


Extras
Sourdough bread, muffins, tortillas
Apricot bliss balls
Wholemeal bread

More Bulk Purchases

 

The local Halal butcher sells 3kg tins of tomato paste, how could I not buy one? I originally thought it'd be enough to last us forever but I've started making our own lacto-fermented tomato sauce so it may not last as long as I originally thought!

I froze one big batch for sauce making and the rest went in ice cube trays ready to be popped into soups, pasta sauces, chilli, casseroles, wherever tomato paste is needed!

The Modern-Day Wet Nurse

In days gone by mothers who had trouble breastfeeding their babies would turn to other women to step up and lend a hand, or more to the point, a boob, to ensure the baby thrived.

It's common knowledge that many wealthy women of history did not feed their babies themselves but employed wet nurses, women who had usually recently had a baby of their own and who was judged to have ample supply. In more traditional cultures it was not out of place for women to cross-feed each other's babies and young children. After all, the old saying it takes a village to raise a child had to come from somewhere!

But in today's world of individuals, consumerism, marketing and media what options are there for women who can't breastfeed? The most obvious answer is formula (or artificial baby milk) but are there other options? Yes!!!

The World Health Organisation has developed a preferential list of different ways to feed a baby. I think many people would be surprised to see where artificial baby milk comes on the list - 4th! 4th!!!

1st - mother breastfeeding her own baby
2nd - mother expressing her own milk to feed baby
3rd - mother using donor milk from other mothers
4th - artificial baby milk
 

 Expressed and frozen breast milk waiting collection

I have been donating milk over the past few months to a family not far away and I've been getting some mixed reactions. Most people are surprised ("Isn't it illegal?"), some are impressed ("Wow, what a nice thing to do for someone") and many are curious ("But why?").

This is one organisation that facilitates peer-to-peer milk sharing however there are others.

If you are interested in reading more about the risks and dangers of artificial baby milk there are links here, here, here just to list a few.

Meal Plan Monday

I was away over the weekend at a conference and was just not in the right frame of mind to meal plan this week with the same enthusiasm as normal weeks. A weekend of training, listening, learning and inquisitive-baby wrangling is hard work despite the big boys staying at home with Daddy and there being plenty of willing hands to help out with the baby!

Here is our plan this week:


Monday
Pasta Primavera


Tuesday
Nana's house for dinner - no cooking for me!!!

Wednesday
Chicken laksa (TMX)

Thursday
Zucchini slice and salad (TMX)

Friday
Bean burritos (TMX)

Saturday
Pumpkin soup (TMX)


Baking and Extras
Muffins, tortillas, bread and rolls (all sourdough and wholemeal)
plain wholemeal bread
bliss balls
yoghurt
pickled ginger carrots

What I'm Reading ...

The Politics of Breastfeeding by Gabrielle Palmer

A very old copy (published in 1993) but a very interesting read none-the-less. 

Who would have thought that in 1977 Papua New Guinea would have a formula by prescription only policy? More info here.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

I've read this so many times but keep coming back to it. We are trying to incorporate more recipes from it in our daily eating - soaking grains, sourdough bread and baking products, lacto-fermented vegies etc etc

A big pile of workbooks and assessments for me to study. I'm completing a Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Education (Counselling) with the Australian Breastfeeding Association.

Snap It - Old

My antique entry table - a 21st gift!

Snap It - Old

Meal Plan Monday

I'm linking up with Jo at Quirky Cooking for her weekly Thermomix menu plan. If I ever get my blogging mojo back I'll start up the Home Revolutions Meal Plan Monday linky-thingy again.

This week on our table will be:

Sunday
Sue-Ellen's Singapore Noodles (TMX)

Monday
Mushroom risotto (TMX)


Tuesday
Boys - eggs and toast
Adults - TMX Varoma demo

Wednesday
Homemade pizza on wholemeal, sourdough bases

Thursday
Pumpkin soup (TMX) with wholemeal, sourdough toast or rolls

Friday
Savoury mince (TMX)

Saturday
Pork sausages with mashed sweet potato and steamed vegies


Baking and Extras
Muffins, tortillas, bread and rolls (all sourdough and wholemeal)
plain wholemeal bread
bliss balls
yoghurt
labne
lacto-fermented tomato sauce
pickled ginger carrots

Holy Aioli!

I had a couple of egg yolks looking for a use and thought some aioli would be nice. I followed Stephanie Alexander's recipe from The Kitchen Garden Companion and it was really garlicky. Like, don't-have-too-much-hopefully-you're-not-going-out-afterwards garlicky. It was good, don't get me wrong, but less garlic next time would have made all the difference.

Nothing like making aioli or mayonnaise by hand to get the arm muscles toned!

6 cloves garlic
salt
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice

Crush up garlic and a pinch of salt to a paste, I just did it on the chopping board with the back of a large knife.

Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the egg yolks to combine. Very slowly drizzle in the olive oil, drop by drop to begin with, whisking as you go. It will become thick. When almost all the oil is added squeeze in some lemon juice and taste for seasoning. I also added a little bit of hot water at the end to thin it out, it was very, very thick.

Back to Meal Planning - again!!!

It seems that whenever I have an involuntary break from the blog, it's the meal planning that brings me back. I have a need (my husband may say it borders on an OCD need!) to meal plan. It just makes our week flow so much easier.

So, here is this week -

Sunday:
Savoury mince on toast with steamed veg on the side

Monday:
Meatballs and pasta

Tuesday:
No cooking for me! We're off to my Mum's for dinner.

Wednesday:
Adults - chilli con carne
Kids - beggs and toast (the boys creation of bacon, eggs and toast. A definite treat and sometimes food)

Thursday:
Pork sausages, mashed sweet potato and steamed veg

Friday:
Megadarra

Extras:
Sourdough bread
Sourdough tortillas
Chocolate sourdough muffins
Sourdough pikelets (anyone sensing a theme yet?)
Chicken stock
Yoghurt
Labne
Bliss balls - I'm not sure what sort yet, can you make any suggestions?