Growing up,
Nana always served homemade-from-scratch meals. I never saw her buy a box of
anything, apart from custard powder, which she used to make a pouring custard
over sliced bananas, and quite liberally sprinkled grated nutmeg on top before
serving as dessert one night a week.
Everything
else was made from individual ingredients she grew, bought, swapped or had been
gifted. Her meals were simple fare, but so tasty, and most of them we ended up
having for breakfast the next day, because like I said, Nana didn’t buy boxes
of food, so cereal never appeared at our breakfast table.
These days we
have recipes, herbs and spices, from all over the globe to choose from. We have
television shows and social media sites where we can watch different exotic
recipes being made, and we have innumerable restaurants, markets and take-away
shops to try food from just about anywhere in the world. I sometimes wonder
what Nana would have thought of that? Knowing her as well as I did, I’m fairly
sure she’d have enjoyed trying something new every so often, but it would never
have made it to her regular menu.
The only meal
she ever made that was a bit different to the Australian fare she grew up with
and which she made for Pop and I, was a meat sauce she poured over spaghetti.
As a recipe she was given by a family member, this ‘experiment’ was huge to
her, having never tried pasta in her life, but encouraged by other family
members who said it was good, and discovering the only thing different she
needed to buy was long spaghetti, she made it for us one Friday night.
This was
around the time I started high school, maybe 12 years old, and really was
delicious. Simple, but delicious, and she continued to make it every month or
so after that. Just in case you ever want to give it a try, here it is. At the
time, we called it Spaghetti Bolognese, but years later as a young mother of
two moving away to the big city, I learned what real Bolognese sauce was…and
yet, I still love this recipe and the memories associated with it. In case you
ever want to give it a try, here it is…
Someone’s
Simple Bolognese sauce (from the early 1970’s)
·
400g
minced beef
·
One,
400g can Heinz Big Red tomato soup
·
One
onion finely chopped
·
One
small can of pineapple pieces, drained
·
One
small can of green peas, drained
·
One
heaped teaspoon of mixed herbs
·
One
tablespoon of butter or oil
Sauté
the chopped onion in a frypan with the butter or oil, and when it begins to
soften and become translucent, add the minced beef to the pan. Break up the
mince and cook till brown. Stir through the mixed herbs and the can of tomato
soup. Add the pineapple and peas, and stir until everything begins to bubble.
Turn down to a simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add some black pepper (and salt if you
like) and stir in.
Pour over cooked spaghetti, and sprinkle grated cheese across the top. Mmmm…simple. But good. Kids seem to really like it too.
In the second section, pages 8 -13, I’ve added recipes I intend making this year to build up our pantry, and they include bulk pre-mixes for things like cakes, puddings, pancakes and hamburger helper type things. These are mixes I want to make up for my daughter Blossom and her family too. I made a huge amount of pancake pre-mix for her last year and it really made life that little bit easier at breakfast with three children, but I lost my recipe notes, so have started over with a new one.
I
hope they give you some ideas, or help with your own pantry building. Like
Nana, I’m simple and enjoy living that way, especially in the kitchen. It’s
also important to us that we make food without nasty additives, but keep things
as basic and natural as we can. The more our family follows this example, the better we feel, and the more satisfied.
It's taken a lot of googling and reading to find a number of these recipes and pre-mixes, and then I needed to try things, read reviews, swap some ingredients out, and generally simplify if I could.
I didn't include my Rosemary Salt, because all it is are those two ingredients - rosemary and salt. You could make Sage Salt, Parsley Salt, or some other kind of salt the same way, but just remember to dry the herb first before mixing it with salt in a processor, and don't overmix. :-)
Of course, I had to include a little stitchery for you with a kitchen theme. While I sipped a morning cuppa I sketched it up and added it to the ebook. I'm hoping to stitch it with a bit of applique later this week, and would love to know if you'll be stitching too, and how you'd display it. The stitchery is on page 2.
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Use the link below to download the free ebook...
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It was Rafaella's 7th birthday yesterday, and despite a dreadful autumn heatwave, we celebrated well inside. I spent a week sewing more of those teeny tiny doll clothes for Rafaella's 6" bunny, and my fingers ache, but she was so happy, and that made it all worthwhile. She loves the lime curd I make, so it was only right to bake a swiss roll and fill it with more of the curd, then serve with fresh whipped cream.
There were eight outfits made for the little bunny this time - and included were a mermaid tail and bandeau top (like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, which is her favourite), a shell embroidered ruffle edged dress (she collects shells), and a dress with matching butterfly wings. I wrapped them individually in cellophane bags, and then popped them into a pretty floral bag, as though they came from a dress shop. ;-) I find some of my very small scraps of vintage Tilda come in handy for these outfits too.
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You will find me on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz