We visited a chicken farm today. Free range, chemical free, local and all that. Like to see where our food comes from. I think 'free range' can be a bit of a loosely-used term. It was still chickens sitting in a big shed being fed grain. They did have access to plenty of grass and herbs outside however, which apparently they like to get stuck into in the early mornings and late afternoons (we visited at hot midday and they were all in the shed). The upside was that I bought 5 kgs of chicken legs for $8. Bargain. There would have to be 8 meals in that. There were a few breasts in there too (I prefer boney bits) so I chopped one up and fried it in coconut oil with an onion, and put it on the pizza base I had removed from the freezer earlier. I had also spread some peanut butter on the base (great tip from a friend), and threw on a few sliced zuccs, celery, some olives, cheese on top. Even little person (4yo) liked it. It was just the two of us today, so that pizza, which would have easily cost $22 from a shop, cost us about $2. Tasted better too...
Lunch was leftovers, won't bore you with the details. Cost factored into previous meal.
Little person was being fussy, so I made some stewed apple and poured plenty of cream on top. Only took about 5 mins to make. Probably cost $1. We're cheap to feed today!!
Friday 28 August 2009
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Cheap food, good food
Had a bit of an egg day today. Good quality pasture-fed eggs. Rich golden yolks. These chickens know what the outdoors is like. So dinner was a fritatta. Fried an onion, broccoli and zucchini in plenty of coconut oil, till soft. Then mixed 8 eggs and a pinch of salt, and poured it into the frying pan on top of the veges. Sprinkled some cheese on top (raw is best) and finished it under the griller to give a lovely tan. I was eating with a friend, who cooked up some roast veges and stirfried greens. I'd say we fed 3 adults and 3 kids for $4 (fritatta) plus $9 (veges) = $13.
Lunch was meaty. A tomato-y kangaroo stew. Kanga mince is only $7/kg. I fried an onion and the mince in coconut oil plus ghee (kanga is a bit lean, so need to add extra fat) then added 3 cups of beef stock, lots of veges, and bits and pieces from the condiments cupboard (leftover chutneys and tomato sauces etc). Reduce to a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper, herbs. A sprinkle of cheese on top. Finish with kimchi. Even my little person liked it. Plenty of leftovers too. I reckon it cost $5.
Eggs for breakfast. Scrambled is little person's favourite egg dish, so we did that (scrambled with plenty of butter and some cream) with toast (home made sourdough). I also had liberal kimchi and parsley. Mmmm. Couldn't be more than $3.
Lunch was meaty. A tomato-y kangaroo stew. Kanga mince is only $7/kg. I fried an onion and the mince in coconut oil plus ghee (kanga is a bit lean, so need to add extra fat) then added 3 cups of beef stock, lots of veges, and bits and pieces from the condiments cupboard (leftover chutneys and tomato sauces etc). Reduce to a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper, herbs. A sprinkle of cheese on top. Finish with kimchi. Even my little person liked it. Plenty of leftovers too. I reckon it cost $5.
Eggs for breakfast. Scrambled is little person's favourite egg dish, so we did that (scrambled with plenty of butter and some cream) with toast (home made sourdough). I also had liberal kimchi and parsley. Mmmm. Couldn't be more than $3.
Saturday 22 August 2009
Delicious food on a budget
Delish Fish pie. It was exactly what I felt like for dinner. And my darling beloved cooked it beautifully. I was putting the kids to bed while he was cooking, so this is what he told me that he did - boiled a few eggs then quartered them, fried some onions and leeks, steamed some carrots and potatoes, put it all together in a baking dish with cream, salt and pepper, mustard, and a sprinkling of flour and breadcrumbs to thicken it slightly. Then a handful of cheese on top. Baked to perfection in about 45 mins. I tell you, it was divine. I really need to let him cook more often...
...oh, and about the budget side of it. You know, good food really doesn't need to be expensive. The fish was local caught, sustainable species (we hope) and cost $7. Eggs were $5 a dozen from the local organic markets, plus veges from there too (similar price to supermarket). Cream from the farm for $1.50 a litre. My estimate for the pie is $12 - and we have enough leftovers for another meal, so that makes it $6 a meal. Lots of good fats in there too, so very satisfying.
Lunch was a Thai vege curry. Fried an onion and Thai green curry paste, add a tin of coconut milk, lots of veges, some rapadura sugar, fish sauce, and lemon juice. Then cooked some rice to go with it. Would have been very budget. All organic. Probably cost a few bucks.
Pancakes for breakfast, with a difference. I soaked the flour overnight in yoghurt (predisgests it, very good for you), then in the morning added two eggs, pinch of salt, pinch of baking soda, and water to thin it, then fried them in coconut oil. Ok, nothing different about that. But this morning I grated a carrot and a green apple, and panfried them in butter. Yum. So my pancake stack had that carrot/apple/butter on top, with lashings of cream. Very yum. We buy the grain in bulk, and yoghurt is home-made, apples in a bulk box, and all organic or local spray-free. So I'm thinking that this meal only cost about $1-$2.
Real food. Budget prices. You can't beat it.
...oh, and about the budget side of it. You know, good food really doesn't need to be expensive. The fish was local caught, sustainable species (we hope) and cost $7. Eggs were $5 a dozen from the local organic markets, plus veges from there too (similar price to supermarket). Cream from the farm for $1.50 a litre. My estimate for the pie is $12 - and we have enough leftovers for another meal, so that makes it $6 a meal. Lots of good fats in there too, so very satisfying.
Lunch was a Thai vege curry. Fried an onion and Thai green curry paste, add a tin of coconut milk, lots of veges, some rapadura sugar, fish sauce, and lemon juice. Then cooked some rice to go with it. Would have been very budget. All organic. Probably cost a few bucks.
Pancakes for breakfast, with a difference. I soaked the flour overnight in yoghurt (predisgests it, very good for you), then in the morning added two eggs, pinch of salt, pinch of baking soda, and water to thin it, then fried them in coconut oil. Ok, nothing different about that. But this morning I grated a carrot and a green apple, and panfried them in butter. Yum. So my pancake stack had that carrot/apple/butter on top, with lashings of cream. Very yum. We buy the grain in bulk, and yoghurt is home-made, apples in a bulk box, and all organic or local spray-free. So I'm thinking that this meal only cost about $1-$2.
Real food. Budget prices. You can't beat it.
Tuesday 11 August 2009
Chicken, avocado, pancakes...
BBQ-d chicken wings. Mmmm. Tasty. First they were rubbed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano from the garden. Simple. I think the great flavour is due a lot to our new Webber BBQ. It works a treat. Eating off it is a treat. We also had a fresh garden salad, and potato-bake straight out of the oven. That was dinner. Potato bake is so simple. Slice potatoes into baking dish. Salt and pepper, top with cheese, and pour a cup of cream through it. Lots of good fat in the cream and cheese (raw is best).
Lunch was .... gee it's harder to remember than I thought ... ahh yes, we did an easy lunch of avocado on freshly baked sourdough bread. Spread with lots of butter first, topped with a pinch of salt. We also had a banana smoothie (raw milk, coconut oil, banana, vanilla, honey). Lots of good fat in that too.
Working backwards - breakfast was pancakes. I felt like savoury so I fried some veges (onions, carrots, zucchinis, broccoli) in coconut oil and butter, and along with a fried egg, put them on the pancakes. By the way the flour for pancakes was freshly ground the night before, then soaked in yoghurt overnight. Add an egg, salt and baking powder in the morning and you're ready to go.
Yum. Good food. All cheap and easy. Lots of fat.
Lunch was .... gee it's harder to remember than I thought ... ahh yes, we did an easy lunch of avocado on freshly baked sourdough bread. Spread with lots of butter first, topped with a pinch of salt. We also had a banana smoothie (raw milk, coconut oil, banana, vanilla, honey). Lots of good fat in that too.
Working backwards - breakfast was pancakes. I felt like savoury so I fried some veges (onions, carrots, zucchinis, broccoli) in coconut oil and butter, and along with a fried egg, put them on the pancakes. By the way the flour for pancakes was freshly ground the night before, then soaked in yoghurt overnight. Add an egg, salt and baking powder in the morning and you're ready to go.
Yum. Good food. All cheap and easy. Lots of fat.
Saturday 8 August 2009
Not the hips, nor the hip pocket
Money. Ahhh yes. We all have some sort of emotional reaction to that word. Kind of like food. So I'm going to combine these two emotionally charged topics in my blog. I'll not only write about what we are eating, but also how we eat on a tight budget. Perfect fodder for the financial crisis. If you can eat well in a crisis, well, it's not such a crisis is it!! Read on.
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Light the flame
I love writing, and I love food. So I'm going to write about food. This blog will follow what we eat at home. It's healthy, it's delicious, and it's full of good fats. FAT?? You say? Oh yes, we eat fat. Lots of it. But only the most healthy, glorious, organic, GOOD FOR YOU fat. Fat? Healthy? Ok, now you're interested....
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