Roast veges and fried liver

I'm always trying to get more fat into our diet. (I know, most people are trying to do the opposite). So the other night I cut up potatoes, carrots, squash, and eggplant, and roasted them slowly for a few hours in salt and a few tablespoons of duck fat (I keep it in the freezer, and just slice off some when I need it). Very yummy.

The liver is another toughie for people to get their head around. Why liver you ask? Like other healthy fats such as butter and coconut oil, it's full of Vitamins A and D, and natural cholesterol - all vital to good health. It won't give you a heart attack (that's a tired old arguement), but can actually protect you from this disease and many others. Traditional societies revered liver as a sacred food, and thought it was quite essential to good fertility. Plenty of scientific evidence abounds to calm your fears if you feel you need it. The Weston Price website is a good place to start.

Of course the whole organ meat thing is hard to overcome for a lot of people (especially those of us who were force-fed it as kids - my mum used to put sugar on it to entice us to eat it). It took us a while to get the cooking of it right, and now we find it delicious, and one of our favourite meals of the week. The kids love it and we end up scrambling for the leftovers. So here's my recipe.

Half of one lamb's fry
Half cup of flour in a small plastic bag
Salt
Milk
Fat for frying (tallow or lard are my favourites, but butter or coconut oil will do)

If it's in the freezer take the liver out the night before to thaw. The morning before you're going to cook it, soak it in a bowl of milk so it's covered. Then when you're ready to cook it peel off the fine 'skin' on the liver, and slice the liver into large but thin pieces. If you find some veiny bits you can cut them off too. They're a bit tough. Pat dry your liver slices and put them in the bag of flour with salt to taste (I like plenty).

Heat up your fat to quite a high temperature, and fry the liver very quickly on each side. It's best if it is still slightly pink in the middle. IIt's good to eat the liver straight away, so if you have your roast veges all ready to go, and maybe some pickled carrots or cabbage as a condiment, then you'll have a beautiful meal to eat. My five and two year olds love this meal, and one of them is a very picky eater.

By the way, as I love to mention, liver is cheap. We buy organic lambs liver for AUS $3 per meal, with leftovers. And it's even cheaper if you think about the nutrient-density of the food (ie, what you're getting for your money). Enjoy.

Emily

Pizza in a hurry

Home made pizza can be fast food when you already have the bases made. Then all you need to do is whip a base out of the freezer, pile on your goodies, and put it in the oven. Quicker than ordering one! (and far superior, not to mention heaps cheaper). So to make your bases beforehand you need to make some bread dough. I prefer sourdough as it has many health benefits - it's predigested and much easier on your system. But it's basically any bread dough recipe (about one large loaf makes about four pizza bases). So mix up your flour and water etc, knead, and leave to rise as usual. Then when you knock it back, instead of letting it rise again you shape it into four bases. I put the first one on a baking tray, then pile them on top of each other with baking paper inbetween. Put them in the freezer and you can use them from the next day onwards.

Tips for great toppings. Keep them simple and don't pile them on. Your base will cook better if you have a few gaps so it can cook from the top as well. I keep an organic tomato paste in the cupboard, then use a few simple tasty morsels and not too many veges. You might try sliced tomatoes, anchovies, salami, olives, mushrooms, capsicum or herbs and of course cheese. My friend does a great pizza with peanut butter and fried chicken.

We made a breakfast pizza the other day that was a hit with the family. Tomato paste, sliced tomatoes, bacon, cheese and eggs on top. The kids even ate all the toppings (they usually pick them off and eat only the base)..... yum.

Easy Spiced Chicken

I'm not talking hot and spicy. It's quite mild and sweet and the kids will love it. It's from my '70s cookbook which I'm loving at the moment. Such simple recipes, basic, wholesome, and with real ingredients like plenty of butter and salt. You'll need to start this recipe about an hour before dinner.

I use chicken legs that come in a 1.5 kg bag from the local cornerstore. It's real free-range (I've been to the farm) and they don't use chemicals. And somehow they're very economical, about $6 a bag. You could also buy a chicken and chop it into about 8 pieces. If you do, make sure you save that precious carcass for stock.

So, crank up your oven first, to 190deg C. Put your roasting tin on top of the stove on moderate heat, and melt 1/4 cup of butter in it. When the foam dies down add half a cup of honey, 12 teaspoons of German mustard, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of mild curry powder. Mix well together. I don't actually know what they mean by German mustard (but it may mean mild). I just use the grainy stuff in a jar that I keep in the fridge. Seems to work fine.

Take it off the heat and add your chicken pieces. Roll them around so they're coated in the lovely mixture you've made. Arrange them in the tin so they're side by side, and throw them in the oven. Bake for about an hour, or until the meat is tender. You can open the oven every now and then to baste the meat.

Serve it up to your hungry family with some potatoes or rice, and maybe some green beans (which you have skillfully cooked in the meantime). Pour the runny mixture over top of everything, and your family will praise your culinary genius. So will your accountant. This meal does us twice over, so I reckon it costs about $5-$6 each meal. Yum.

Quick eggy meal for kids

And adults, everyone loves this one. Especially the cook, as it only takes about 20 minutes to make. Chop an onion finely, maybe some garlic, and saute in oil. At the moment I'm using some yummy pasture-fed organic pig fat that I keep in the freezer and just slice off when I need a bit to fry with. The butcher actually gave me a shopping bag full of the stuff for a few bucks. He was going to chuck it out. What a waste! I think he was quite happy when I showed up willing to pay for the stuff. Thing is, it's full of Vitamins A and D. Great for growing kids' brains. Anyway, I digress.

So, while you're sauteing the onions, chop your veges, whatever you have at hand. I used broccoli, zucchini, and red pepper. Nice and colourful for the kiddies. Then as they are frying, beat together 5 or 6 eggs, depending on how many you are feeding, with some salt, cream if you have it (I used some bubbly kefir cream I happened to have) and pour onto the veg mix in your pan.

Wait till it's nearly set, then grate some cheese on top and whip it under the griller for a few minutes to brown on top. I reckon the whole meal would cost under $5. And that's using the best quality pasture-fed eggs.

Nearly forgot, I had a bit of left over ham I threw in, but bacon would also work well. Add 50 cents.

Yum!

Cheap and easy vege soup

This is the meal I make once a week that is so easy. Not to mention very cheap. And the kids love it. (Ok, loves a strong word, they eat it heartily). Usually I make it the day before I go shopping, to use up all those old veges hiding in the bottom of the fridge.

So, cut up an onion or two, garlic if you have it. Fry in plenty of fat (I use either lard, butter or coconut oil, or a combination) until soft. Add cut up veges, whatever you have such as zucchini, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, those wilting greens that you forgot to use, anything. Put the lid on and sweat the veges for about 20 mins with the onions. This really makes it flavourful.

Then add stock (see below) or water, and a cup of red lentils (soaked previously if possible). Bring to the boil and let it simmer until it's all soft - maybe half hour or so. Add salt to taste (I use plenty - good for you, and tasty).

Pour some cream on top to serve, chives if you have them. Maybe some toast. Total cost I think would be about $3.50. And if you're cooking with stock, very, very nutritious.

STOCK: This is a way to cut your budget big time. It's a very cheap, very nutritious meat meal, without the cost of the meat. You can actually get a shopping bag of bones from the butcher for about $2. They will make 3 weeks worth of stock! Will post stock recipe tomorrow....

Eating well on $150/week

Not just eating well. Eating delicious, wholesome, organic, fresh food on just $150 a week for a family of three and a half (myself, dearly beloved, Miss Four and bubs). Sound alright?? Well if you want to know more, then you've come to the right place. I've had a small break from my blog, but I'm back, with more food ideas, more budgeting tips, and more yummy recipes to help you along your eating and health journey. Glad to have your company. I was originally posting everything we ate for each day, but I have had a reality check, and now I'm just going to do what I can, most likely one meal/recipe a day, whatever I enjoyed cooking or eating the most. Cos that's what life's all about isn't it? Keeping it fun...short, simple, sweet!

Home-made Icecream

Icecream is so easy to make yourself. So you no longer have to eat the stuff from the shop which is yummy, granted, but full of weird components that you really don't want to be giving your kids. Ever wondered why icecream is so easy to scoop out? Yes, it's the anti-freeze they add to it. When you make icecream at home, it's hard as ice, which might be a bit harder to scoop out, but at least it's REAL. And it melts beautifully.

So, all you do is buy the best quality cream you can find. Preferably raw unpastuerised, or organic as a second option. But just real cream will do. Pour 3 cups into a container that's able to be frozen (I use a large stainless steel jug) and add 3 raw egg yolks (from pasture-fed hens), and some sweetner to taste (at the moment I'm using about 1/3 of a cup of rapadura sugar, as organic maple syrup is so expensive these days). Blend with your hand held blender, then put in the freezer! Easy, cheap, yummy, and, can I say it, NOT ENTIRELY UNHEALTHY, depending on the quality of the ingredients you use.

It's also a good idea to take it out of the freezer periodically (every 40 mins or so) for the first few hours, and re-blend it. The more times you do that, the less it has those icy bits. But still good if you don't get around to doing that at all.

PS Add any flavourings you like.