THURSDAY: Food Memories

Growing up, seafood was a rarity in our house. We lived right inland, over an hour to any beach, Dad wasn't the fishing type and lets face it, feeding seafood to a family of six would be a very expensive exercise! On the rare occassion we were given some fish, I remember Mum making this delicious and simple fish dish, always accompanied by rice. Its probably been 10 years since i've had it and it has stuck in my mind. I've asked Mum for the recipe a few times, but always forgotten to follow her up. Last night, knowing I had fish to cook, but not wanting the frequented potato to accompany, I thought, "stuff the recipe" i'll just work from memory. And so came 'Mums Fish' with rice and salad.




And heres the recipe:

400g terakihi fillets (or other firm fish)
1 red onion, sliced
1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup cream (or evaporated milk with 1 tsp cornflour)
salt & pepper
Cut fish into large chunks and put in a bowl. Add onion, mustard and lemon juice. Mix together well and leave to marinate for about 2 hours.
Heat a little oil in a hot pan and add fish & marinade. Cook for a few minutes, then add the cream. Simmer for 5 minutes or until cream has thickened. Season well and serve on a bed of basmati rice, with salad to accompany.

Have a wicked weekend everyone.
Tamara xx

TUESDAY: Garfield's Favourite Meal

Yup, thats right, tonights dinner was Lasange.




Sheets of lasange, layered with beef ragu and vegetables, topped of with a cheese (bechamel) sauce and accompanied by fresh salad.

A time consuming meal to make, but well worth the effort.
Tamara xx

MONDAY: Dreaming of Summer Days

Our lovely warm spring days seem to have disappeared, leaving us with rain, wind and bitter cold. :( With summer coming within reach so fast, I decided to ignore the reversal of weather last night, so instead of returning to winter comfort food, I tempted summer with a light chicken pasta full of chilli & citrus flavours, accompanied by good, crusty bread.




My Chilli Citrus Chicken Pasta is a favourite in our house. You can find the delicious recipe here. Tonight I added lots of baby spinach to add some 5+ A Day.

Can't wait for summer.
Tamara xx

SUNDAY: 'Ave an Avocado

Yay its avocado season again. No more ridiculously expensive prices and more creamy, green Avocado. To celebrate I dined on Tomato & Avocado Toast for Sunday lunch. Mmm




One of my fave thing to do with avocado is make a salad of just avocado and feta. So good!
Tamara xx

FRIDAY: Spring Has Arrived :)

Clear blue skies, warming air, windows down, sunnies on, clear, calm blue ocean. These are the wonderful things that made my day yesterday. A trip round all my fave "foodie" places reminded me of how much I love Wellington. Then with my grocery bags full of delish kai, I headed home for a beer (Corona) and a BBQ, surf and turf style.




Premium Rump Steak, Big Aussie Prawns (marinated in garlic & lemon juice), new season scallops with new potatoes, and spring Asparagus.

Oh how I love Spring.
Tamara xx

THURSDAY: Dinner Out of a Packet??

At Moore Wilsons the other day, Shaun came across some packages ready made risottos and soups that looked rather tasty, especially for ready made meals. On the search for tasty lunch ideas that don't involve driving to McDonalds, or consuming curry five times a week, he decided to get one and see how it tasted. So last night we trialled it for dinner. Lemon, Pea & Cream Risotto.

The Results: Damn tasty, actually.



The Brand: Naked Organics. All ingredients 100% Organic and 100% Tasty
Tamara xx

WEDNESDAY: An old favourite on a new continent

In this house, we love homemade burgers, but they can be a bit repetitive. So with my latest middle eastern food craze and some inspiration from Jane Lawsons new book, Grub, last night we dined on these:




Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers
A tasty lamb mince pattie filled with cumin, cinnamon and paprika, salad and mint infused cucumber with beetroot chutney and tahini cream all upon a Turkish Pide.

And damn it was go-od!
Tamara xx