What's Cooking This Week

Barley & Roast Pumpkin Risotto

Funny how all of a sudden it's the beginning of the week again!  We had a fabulously lazy weekend and are all feeling very chilled and relaxed at the moment. 

On Saturday night some friends came over for dinner and I did a slow cooked Five Spice Pork Belly for the first time.  It was pretty sensational, if I do say so myself.  It was also one of the first things I've made in ages without using the Thermomix, though we did serve it with Thermie mash, of course.

For dessert we had an almond & lime cake which was filled with chocolate, fig & ricotta.  It was a recipe that I printed off sometime from somewhere and have stored in my "to do" pile.  In the end, it didn't work out so well - it wasn't awful, but it wasn't sensational.  I was glad to have tried it though - the pastry was a good flavour combination which I'll definitely use again. 

Which leads me to my point about what I'm loving about Quirky Cooking's menu link up each week.  It's fabulous getting to see what everyone else is having and drawing from their ideas.  It's given me a chance to include items like Jo's beautiful Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and Carla's Tomato Sauce into our menu (both of which were absolute winners, by the way).  I love that we're sharing the ideas and recipes - it's just another resource to get the maximum out of your Thermie!

So, here's what we're having this week.  Check the link up out and let me know if you include any of the dishes into your menu and how they go!

Monday:  Baking: bread, pear & raspberry muffins.  Dinner:  French Onion Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Greens.  (My Mum used to make french onion steak when we were little and I loved it.  I'm going to attempt to recreate it using fresh onion, garlic & umami paste.)

Tuesday:  We're having soutzoukakia from the Meat on the Menu cookbook.  A friend made it recently and it didn't quite go to plan, so I thought I should check the recipe out.

Wednesday:  Chicken Korma, with Naan and my first attempt at homemade Mango Chutney.

Thursday:  Seafood Stew from the Thermomix app.

Friday:  Baking:  Pineapple Upside Down Cake (I'm still working on the recipe, trying to get it right - Mr MLT's workmates are the lucky recipients of this week's attempt.)  For dinner we're out at Sammie's Welcome to School BBQ, so Thermie gets a rest.

Saturday:  Barley Risotto, with roasted pumpkin and pinenuts.

Sunday:  Vegetarian meatballs from the RoboGourmet App.


Happy Mixing!