Food revolution!

I love Mama J's post about sharing simple, quick and healthy recipes. I've been making an effort to try new recipes to expand my repertoire. Mister T is getting tired of my roasted chicken with vegetables.

I purchased the Jamie Oliver app for my iPhone and I really love the recipes. He claims they are 20 minute meals, but they are definitely more like 40 to 60 minute meals (I guess if you weren't cooking in your own kitchen and did everything really fast not caring about how big a mess you made because you weren't going to be the one cleaning up then it would take you 20 minutes). The app comes with a ton of recipes and he does provide app updates you can download for new recipes.

Miss L's favorite Jamie Oliver recipe is the chicken tikka masala. I've also tried his vegetarian curry with paneer, potato and peas. He has a wonderful potato leek soup and the sausage and zucchini carbonara is out of this world. A really simple one is sausages with baked cannellini beans.

I love the range of cuisine and the recipes are really easy to follow. The meals look so nice when they are plated and most of all they taste delicious! Sometimes you need to make little adjustments because he is writing the recipes from a British perspective, like always skip step 1 which is to put your kettle on (electric kettles aren't as popular here to boil water). One recipe called for chipolata sausages which are very hard to find here so I substituted toulouse sausages.

I also have also made the Mexican family dinner from goop a couple of times. It is really easy and a fun family dinner. Essentially you make shrimp tacos with homemade guacamole and pico de gallo with a side of black beans that have been seasoned nicely to add more flavor. I thought Mama J may like this recipe since Mister R makes such a great guacamole.

Sorry I didn't include the actual recipes, but I don't want to get in trouble with Steve Jobs for not using my iPhone correctly, nor do I want to get in trouble with Gwyneth's people.

Easy Recipes- Whole Wheat Pasta & Swiss Chard

I seem to be in a dinner rut so I thought I'd see if any of you have any favorites that are:

1. Quick to make

2. Healthy

3. Don't require a million items you don't have

3. You can prep in advance during the day when your kids are napping or playing

I'm finding by the time I get home from the park/playgroup at 6:30- the last thing I want to do is cook.

So- to start this off here is one of my favorites:

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion diced

1 bunch of Swiss chard/kale

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices (or fresh)

dry white wine to taste (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup but I do less b/c I like it less liquidy)
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
Pecorino or Parmesan cheese to garnish

Handful of pine nuts to garnish

EARLY PREP:

Chop the garlic, onion and cut the swiss chard into small pieces.

AT DINNERTIME:

Saute onions until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the chard and saute until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, wine, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. Add chard and cover and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and the chard is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season the chard mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti to the chard mixture and toss to combine.

Transfer the pasta to serving bowls. Sprinkle the cheese and pine nuts and serve.

**You can also add olives too.

Please share more- especially Mama L with her great fish taco recipe!

My new blog

Hello Mamas! It's been a while since any of us have blogged. I know we're all so busy living life that it's often hard to write about it too.

As part of my new and exciting career path I have set up a new blog Not Just Another Cupcake. It is still very much a work in progress. It's a bit of a tongue in cheek wink toward all those mums who start cupcake businesses. As a "home creator" I'll be writing about crafts, food, style, parenting, health and gardening. Additionally, with the purchase of our new house I'll share the transformation as we renovate and make it our family home.

I have transferred a number of the posts I have written on this blog only to fill it out a little. I'll also post on this blog too as it's a nice open letter to my friends across the pond.

Mama N xx