Budget

5160 of 171 items

Cheese and roast vegetable pie

by Dani

Maybe it’s end of season ennui or perhaps an effect of the strange summer we have had down here in Victoria on growing, but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around what vegetables to buy this week. I managed to make a decision after a full lap and a half of the market and returned […]

A chance to use chopsticks

by Dani

Recently we had yum cha with some friends to celebrate Chinese New Year. It was Son and heir’s first bone fide attempt at using chop sticks and he did remarkably well. I mentioned to him that they would be easier to get the hang of if they wee child sized. Ever since, he has been […]

Panzanella – another great budget meal in a bowl

by Dani

There is a blood red sun setting over Melbourne this evening. The day has been smoky and the light eerie. Running this evening made me feel like an emphysema sufferer, the smoke haze is thick enough to be worrisome for those with respiratory diseases. On a more cheerful note, we had another great dish for […]

Vegetarian Chilli – budget friendly, nutritous and just plain tasty

by Dani

Temperatures have been more than 20 degrees cooler this week in Melbourne than it was on Saturday. Which has brought about some difference in meals. We rely did get a little tired of salad variations. Yesterday I decided to soak some beans in preparation for tonight. Kidney beans were first to hand, bringing with them […]

Noodle and crab salad for a picnic…or not

by Dani

A lovely thing about summer in Melbourne is the amount of free music events that can be found in gorgeous park settings. Which is a lovely way to spend a Sunday evening. Particularly as a picnic the evening before your First Born starts school and work resumes for the year and routine craziness consumes your […]

Tuna and chickpea salad

by Dani

Melbourne is not a place to cook this week. It reached 43.4 degrees in the city today and 44 degrees i my neck of the woods. That’s around 110 in Farenheit. Admittedly I did get up at 6am to cook some chickpeas I’d had soaking but as it is still 37.4 degrees at 9.30pm, I […]

Baking advantage of a break in the heat

by Dani

Happy Australia Day people! Whilst tradition dictates that I should have spent the day having a barbecue, drinking beer and watching the cricket, practicality reared her ugly head. Which is not to say I didn’t watch the cricket. What I did do however, was to take advantage of the 28 degree weather to bake for […]

Eggplant, snowpeas and miso on rice

by Dani

This week’s slow food market yielded a lovely little collection of eggplants. A handful of different varieties and colours that I simply could not walk past. Nor could I wait to eat them. They were required market evening eating. I had been eyeing off a recipe for eggplant and red miso for some time. It […]

Greek Style Baked Beans

by Dani

I’m sick of boston baked beans, nice though they are and the whole ham hock thing presents problems of ethical procurement that I just can’t be bothered dealing with. So imagine my delight at the concept of ham hockless Greek style baked beans. I used this recipe as my base and fiddled the amounts which […]

School lunch planning

by Dani

We have one more week here until Son and Heir is released into the wilds of the school ground. At the same time, Lil Miss is back at creche and I am back at work. It’s going to be busier than ever for our little family this year. In my usual obsessive way, I am […]