Hi all, and welcome to another week! I’m feeling pretty chipper this week, as I have my last exam for this semester on Tuesday morning and then I am freeeeeeee! I have about 10 books on my to-read list, all of them to do with either food or autism. Plus at least one website (nerdy psych stuff) to digest at my leisure. And I’m hoping to try and take this blog a little further – we shall see, we shall see. Exciting summer plans await!
So, of course, tonight I am studying for my exam menu planning! This week is a big one, not just the exam, but also… THANKSGIVING! I lived with my family in the US for a few years, and Mr T’s Dad and his side of the family are American. So we like to insert a bit of American into our Australian life! And there’s nothing like the post-Thanksgiving-dinner food coma for keeping the American flavour. There’s also nothing like sharing a delicious meal with some far too wonderful friends and family, and pausing for just a minute to have a think about all the things you are thankful for. 🙂
We’re celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday night instead of Thursday night, though, because we’re not in America and therefore we don’t get a public holiday so that we can cook up a storm! (Wouldn’t it be nice?)
So here we go…
Monday:
Breakfast: Raisin pancake in pieces, from the Travelling with Thermomix cookbook.
Fridge/pantry essentials: plain yoghurt (might change to vanilla bean at the last minute, though)
Dinner: Cauliflower and Broccoli Fritters, with mango dip and corn on the cob.
Tuesday:
Pantry essentials: mango and rose petal jam, dill pickles
Dinner: Baked Fish and Chips
Wednesday:
Freezer essentials: Pita bread
Fridge/pantry essentials: Tamari-roasted almonds, watermelon and rose petal jam
Dinner: GF Chicken Lasagne (modified from EDC)
Thursday:
Pantry essentials: pasta
Dinner: preservative-free sausages with tomato and eggplant pasta
Friday:
Dinner: Corn and Avocado Salad with thyme oil and pureed kidney beans on Pita Bread
Saturday:
Dinner: Vegetarian Pizza (on Pita bread)
Sunday – Thanksgiving Dinner!
Sides: Beetroot Salad (EDC), Green Bean Salad, Baked Borlotti Beans and the Kennedy’s Sweet Potato Souffle
Main: spiced and slow-roasted lamb, and maybe a goose (the goose is my sister’s job!)
Dessert: Pumpkin Flan with pecan-maple ice cream, and the Frozen Mojito Cheesecake from the Entertaining with Nico booklet
Oooohhh, I can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner! It’s going to be delicious and heart-warming. I have decided to go for an American-Australian hybrid kind of menu. It’s pretty necessary to do it this way anyway, as the temperatures are so different this time of year. In America it’s going into winter, so a lot of the traditional thanksgiving dishes are too heartwarming for this time of year in Australia! I have to keep the sweet potato souffle in, it’s just not thanksgiving without it. But instead of the traditional green bean casserole, I am keeping it summery by doing a green bean salad (this was a difficult decision for me, because I looooove green bean casserole!). And instead of thick, bacon-y baked beans I am doing a lighter tomato version. Turkeys just don’t compare here… In America you get these absolutely massive birds that just wouldn’t fit into most Australian ovens, and it’s not quite the same. Plus, I fell in love with a delicious lamb dish from the River Cottage cookbook and need an excuse to cook it again! My sister also wants to try her hand at cooking goose, so we might have a goose on the table as well. And dessert… mmmmm…. Instead of a hot pumpkin pie, I’ll be making a cold pumpkin flan and an almost-frozen cheesecake. And I have to get pecans in there somewhere, so I’ll make up some pecan and maple syrup ice cream too!
What a week, and what a happy ending this week will have! I hope everyone else has a wonderful week ahead of them. Don’t forget to menu plan, it can only make your week better! And don’t forget to head over to Quirky Cooking to check out some other fantastic menu plans! 🙂
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