Category Archives: Pasta and Rice

Spaghetti with slow-cooked cauliflower & broccoli

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We are eating broccoli, snow peas, asparagus and avocados at the moment and lots of them.  The other day, Maus even said that she was sick of avocados.  Now that is a problem.  We have two trees laden with the buggers.  It is near the end of the season, though.  Soon she will be spared.  It will be tomatoes with this and cucumbers with that.

The broccoli situation, as I predicted, is serious.  As with everything you grow, it came all at once.  In one week, I picked seven broccoli heads.  Luckily, I saw enough people to find homes for them all.

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Penne alla senese

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That is: penne with sausage, walnuts and cream.  It sounds so much more exotic in Italian.

The day I made this dish I wasn’t looking for anything exotic.  I was just needing something, anything in fact, for dinner.  Sometimes, when you have lots of cook books, it is harder to find something to cook than if you have only a few.  It is a bit like when you have a limited wardrobe – it doesn’t take long to figure out what to wear but, when you have several wardrobes of clothes, the decision is significantly harder.

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Cannelloni with spinach and ricotta

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Sorry there haven’t been many posts of late.  I haven’t been feeling like cooking for one reason or the other, the latest being, I have a bloody head cold.  Waking up every morning with a headache is quite wearing.  As a result of my lack of enthusiasm for cooking, we have been eating meat and three veg more often than not. Continue reading →

Rigatoni with Broccoli, Almonds and Currants

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As I have mentioned previously, the Cookbook Guru has allocated this month for members to pitch for a book or books to be featured.  I have already pitched for The Food of Morocco, by Paula Wolfert, and now a pitch for someone closer to home.

If you were to ask me who my favourite cookbook writer is, I would probably say Maggie Beer.  Maggie Beer has been a significant contributor to the creation of an uniquely Australian style of cuisine. Continue reading →

Beetroot Risotto with Feta

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Maus and I are always in a dilemma about what to have for dinner.  Being the proud owner of a blog, I feel a need to try different things.  Maus, on the other hand, feels no such burden.  She is happy to have whatever I give her.  And if she is cooking, baked beans, an omelette or rissoles will do just fine.  Clearly, it is a balancing act between the two.

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Chicken Croquettes

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Today’s recipe is another from this month’s feature cookbook by The Cook Book Guru, The Book of Household Management by Mrs Isabella Beeton.

The recipe is actually called ‘fowl and rice croquettes’ in the book but I didn’t want to scare you all off with such a title, especially when Debi from My Kitchen Witch advised:

The 1907 edition significantly added an Edwardian genteel flourish for the upwardly mobile, dressing up what was once plain cooking, and included the affectation of French names for the recipes.

In that case, let’s call these lovely little croquettes: Croquettes De Poulet. Continue reading →

Linguine, broccoli and pancetta

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034copy1I planted broccoli this summer, notwithstanding my understanding that broccoli is a winter crop.

Friends came to visit in early spring and during their stay they toured a broccoli farm that specialises in summer broccoli.  The next day, I was at the local hardware shop and noticed summer broccoli seeds.  I was willing to be proven wrong, so I planted a row of seeds.  And now we have lots of broccoli.  🙂 Continue reading →

Arancini

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This is not a recipe, just something I learned not so long ago that I thought I would share.  I know I run the risk of people thinking I am a wee bit handicapped but, alas, that is the risk I have decided to take.

When cooking for two there are always leftovers as most recipes serve 4 or even 6.  Some meals taste better the next day, some a lot better, but one dish that does not reheat well is risotto.   It usually ends up gluggy. Continue reading →

Nigellissima

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I have recently been seduced by Nigella.  She has been swooning all over my television screen show-casing Nigellissima.  Of course, I succumbed to her charm and bought the book.  But I must say, it is disappointing.  Not that it isn’t a good book; just that it doesn’t compare to Nigella shrugging her shoulder as she licks a spoon. Continue reading →