My Meat Free Week

Having just completed Meat Free Week I thought I would fill you in with my experience of the week I just had where I wasn't able to eat any meat, fish or seafood for 1 week....That's right 1 week, 7 days, 168 hours.... in reality a very short time. To all the vegetarians out there I apologise as what I'm about to say sounds pretty pathetic but this 7 short days actually felt relatively long and it turned out to be harder than I thought!

When I decided to accept the challenge I did it purely for myself...I wanted to see how I would feel going meatless for a week. Generally we eat meat free meals about twice a week and in all honesty I never thought anything of it. Eating meat 7 days a week is a big no-go for me... I simply find it to be too much. Cost aside (which would be far too much for my budget!) meat everyday is just overkill (sorry, no pun intended!).

For years I have been an advocate of buying better quality meat and simply eating less of it and I really do stand by that. There are many issues associated with our global meat consumption, notably the impact it has on the environment, animals (increased consumption has lead to inhumane farming practices for a start) and of course our own health. As posted on the Meat Free Week website "the U.N. has identified the livestock industry as one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems" so we really do need to stop and seriously think about how much meat we eat.

Meal Planning Mondays Oct. 6th ~ 12th

Last week I was commenting on how Autumn was definitely here and so I guess it was only a matter of time before somebody got the first cold of the season! I was worried about it being Wee One with him being back at preschool and going to swimming and hockey lessons, but it turns out I am the first victim. Worse still it pretty much appeared out of nowhere and has knocked me for six! Anyway the good news is it's only a cold so I'm sure it will be gone in a couple of days!

This week is SUPER exciting because my Mum, Sister and beautiful nephew are coming to visit! Yay! We are so excited to see them (another reason why I need to get over this cold quickly!!) and are on full-on countdown! But we have a few days before their arrival and so I want to make the most of using up the food we have in the fridge. The Glad Fresh Food Challenge is going well and is really making me conscious of what I can save but I'll write more about that on Wednesday.

So what's on the menu this week? Well it seems like quite a lot of pasta! Saturday night's Cook Club was so much fun and everything worked out well. The theme was 70s food and it was just so much fun. The main course was fondue so I am using the leftover cheese and making a delicious Mac & Cheese for dinner tonight. Tomorrow is leftovers as we have lots! Still it makes for an easy meal so no complaints there. Wednesday night and I couldn't resist a delicious Middle Eastern Bowl which was featured in a supermarket magazine from the Summer. I'll admit it's not very Autumnal but I have all of the ingredients and it looks great. Thursday's meal is my classic Fresh Tomato Pasta - my standard recipe for family arriving after a long journey! It's delicious but not too heavy and we all love it. Friday is our standard hockey night so I am hoping to make something in the Slow Cooker but I'm still undecided as to what at this moment but I'll update it as soon as I have decided. For Saturday I couldn't resist my homemade BBQ'd Pizza and then Sunday we will be with family celebrating Thanksgiving!

So there you have it! Have a great week everyone with family, friends and of course, lots of good food! x

 Monday October 6th ~ 12th

                                  Monday  -       Macaroni & Cheese 

                                  Tuesday -       Leftovers 
                                  Wednesday -  Middle Eastern Bowl

                                  Thursday -      Fresh Tomato Pasta & Salad

                                  Friday -          TBD 

                                  Saturday -      BBQ'd Pizza

                                  Sunday -        Thanksgiving Dinner with Family

Meal Planning Mondays Sept. 22nd ~ 28th

Well today is officially the first day of Autumn and it certainly feels like it! After the most amazing send-off to Summer at the weekend (temps of 27C and nothing but clear blue skies) the clouds rolled in yesterday and today it hasn't stopped raining! Still no complaints here (other than I couldn't find ANY of my umbrellas this morning!) as it really has been the most amazing Summer ever. So now I am caught between using up the last of the best Summer ingredients and starting to edge more towards warming Autumnal Soups, Stews and Roasts. I'll be honest I like this time of year and I love the food so I'm looking forward to making the transition.

Meal Planning Mondays Sept. 15th ~ 21st

This week's meal plan is more than a little late to say the least! The reason being that I actually wasn't going to do one... Initially I had no links so it seemed a little pointless but then as the week went by things changed and in a bid to completely clean out my fridge I found some great new recipes to try which do have links! (Thank you BBC Good Food!) The downside to that is that I am desperate to try some new recipes from books that I am meant to be reviewing so unfortunately they have been postponed another week, however I will have the reviews up soon!

Kale, Tomato & Bean Soup

Normally when I post a new recipe on my blog I like to try it several times first to make sure everything is just right, however this is a new recipe for both you and I! I've been watching a lot of Nigel Slater recently and I love his relaxed approach to food and cooking and just using what you have and what's available, so perhaps he inspired me because the other day a friend came round to visit with her kids and they brought a huge bag of Kale and Tomatoes that they had grown in their garden. They were so amazing and I couldn't wait to use them in something, but since I had my meal plan done for the week (and was desperate to finish all of the curries from the weekend so I had some room in my fridge!) I thought how about a delicious, healthy soup! So that's what I did. I knew before I made it that it would taste good and it did - it was so good and even Ben absolutely loved it! 

The quantities for the tomatoes and kale are approximate since it just depends on what you have and your own tastes. I had more of both but felt that the amounts below were perfect for this batch, plus it means I still have enough kale leftover to enjoy a bowl of Spaghetti with Kale, Garlic & Lemon for a quick Saturday night supper after a day on the boat - double bonus! 

This soup is what cooking (and growing your own vegetables) is all about - using what you have at the right time of year paired with a few pantry staples and ending up with something so simple and easy to make but full of wonderful fresh flavours. 

Meal Planning Mondays Sept. 1st ~ 7th

I love long weekends.... In fact I think that Monday's should always be a holiday!! Although with it being Labour Day I don't like the idea that Summer is now technically over.... I'm hopeful that Mother Nature thinks otherwise and we see a final burst of sun before Autumn takes over!

Last week once again saw a few changes to our meal plan... The Nicoise Pasta made so much (and that was with me messing up and putting in 50 grams less pasta than suggested!) that it pretty much lasted us for 3 days! So the Risotto was pushed to Friday, Pizza was Saturday and once again Burgers were kyboshed!! This week however we are absolutely having Burgers! Seriously!!

Grilled Halloumi with Quinoa & Beetroot Salad (& my struggle with blogging)

Before I jump to the recipe for this delicious salad there is something I need to address with regards to my blogging...

It's hard to believe it but I started blogging 5 years ago. My reason for starting this blog was simple....I loved to cook and this was the easiest way for me to share my often-requested recipes with family and friends. To this day I still love cooking, I am a total food-oholic! I get excited about shopping for food, finding new ingredients, getting reacquainted with recipes and ingredients from my past and exploring new cuisines throughout the world from the comfort of my own kitchen.You are far more likely to find me reading a cookbook or food magazine than any other book and with a library of 1000 cookbooks (and growing) I'm never short of something to read! Of course the books and magazines just feed my enthusiasm for cooking by offering endless new ideas and inspiration and so it was only a matter of time before I started reviewing cookbooks and really putting them to the test to see if they were worth a place on my overloaded, sagging shelves! I love reviewing cookbooks and so I do plan to do a lot more of that on this blog but without doubt my favourite thing to do still is come up with my own ideas and recipes and share them with you. 

Meal Planning Mondays August 25th ~ 31st

Wow, another week has flown by and I'm having a hard time remembering where it went! After Mum & Dad flew back home I tried to keep Ben and I as busy as possible so we had trips to the beach, parks and visiting our family here. All of which were fantastic and definitely distracted us from how quiet the house was. Thankfully we are lucky enough to still be enjoying a beautiful Summer, unlike poor Mum & Dad (and everyone else in Scotland I think!) who returned to jumpers and the fire on! Scott was also away most of last week so once he was home we made the most of our weekend and spent the majority of it on the boat which was the perfect way to spend our Saturday and Sunday.....Chilled out, relaxing, enjoying the sun, a spot of fishing and I even went swimming in the lake for the first time ever! Quiet an achievement for me since I don't like cold water at all!

There was a slight variation to last week's meal plan after a trip to the supermarket on Friday where I spotted the most wonderful looking fresh tuna on sale so I of course just had to buy it! After a quick think of how to serve it I decided on a Tuna Niçoise Salad which has become a new favourite of mine. I improvised a little to use up some extra things in the fridge and it turned out to be the 'Ultimate Tuna Niçoise' which was absolutely delicious! Since we had that on Friday the Quesadillas were moved to Sunday night (perfect quick meal after a day on the ocean) so no burgers last week meaning we'll be having them this week most likely, especially if we go out on the boat. If the weather doesn't cooperate this weekend (as the forecast is predicting at this point!) then I might go for something a little more Autumnal and take inspiration from one of the cookbooks I am currently reviewing.

So onto this week's meal plan and I am once again making the most of what we have in the fridge. My plan is to clear the fridge up completely so that come next Monday (and scarily the start of September!) I can start afresh and do the giant shop that is needing to be done (once I have room!). I'm also excited this week to finally be enjoying the few but very delicious tomatoes we have growing in the garden which I will use in Tuesday's pasta dish. Monday is a new recipe that I am promising to have on the blog later on in the week. This is such a delicious quick and easy meal and perfect for Meat Free Mondays. Wednesday and I'm using up the leftover Tomato Sauce from last weeks Arrabiata which I popped in the freezer. I'm adding to it some beautifully spiced Chorizo but you could easily miss that out for another fantastic vegetarian meal. Thursday and I am assuming we will have some leftovers needing eaten and then Friday I'm excited to try a new recipe from a cookbook that I am reviewing. The weekend is always iffy as it really depends on the weather and what we get up to, especially this weekend as it's a long weekend here in Canada, but for now I'm happy with the idea of Burgers. If it changes then c'est la vie!

So there you have it! Have a great week everyone with family, friends and of course, lots of good food! x

 Monday August 25th - 31st

                                  Monday  -       Grilled Halloumi with Quinoa & Beetroot Salad (new recipe!)

                                  Tuesday -        Niçoise Pasta (using tomatoes from the garden)
                                  Wednesday -   Spicy Tomato & Chorizo Risotto

                                  Thursday -       Leftovers 

                                  Friday -           Fig Pizza (from The Macaroni's in the Basement)

                                  Saturday -       Burgers or Porcetta (from above-mentioned book)

                                  Sunday -         Dinner with family

Meal Planning Mondays August 18th ~ 24th

Well after a longer than normal absence from blogging I'm finally back! It's been a busy month but a fantastic one as I have had my parents and aunt over to stay and therefore have been making the most of Summer and family and generally just having a great time! As always the time flew by but within the 4 weeks we had a great 2 weeks in Whistler where we went for daily bike rides, hikes, many trips up the mountains, to the lakes and of course enjoyed many delicious lunches out and about! Lucky for me this included going to Araxi for my Birthday treat from Scott where I had (again!) one of the best things I have ever eaten - Steamed Asian Buns with Duck Confit served with a Cucumber Salad.... Delicious doesn't even come close to describing how unbelievably good it was so you are just going to have to take my word when I say it is definitely in my Top 5 best things I have EVER eaten!!

As well as our 2 weeks in Whistler we also managed to fit in a couple of trips on the boat and a weekend camping so really it was a great time that I will always remember. As always for me food featured heavily and during our time we feasted on many, many wonderful meals including our Best Ever Ribs, Curries, lots of pasta dishes (ideal holiday meals!), Steaks, Burgers and even a deliciously fragrant but light Thai Chicken Soup which was ideal after a long days hiking as it was quick and easy but also nourishing and very satisfying. Holidays for me always have to include delicious meals, they just have to be simple and straightforward but still packed with flavour and all of our meals were just that!

The downside to the last 4 weeks was that after returning from Whistler my laptop finally decided to pack it in and crashed in spectacular style and wiped everything. Of course it is my own fault as it has been acting up for a while and rather than backing things up I kept thinking - I'll do it next week..... so no back up this year. Stupid I know but it is what it is. I think I have most photographs but I have lost a few blogging things such as book reviews I was working on but also my recipe for 'Scott's Best Ever Ribs'. I'm just hoping I can remember what I changed from the original recipe but we may need to do a couple of tests to make absolutely sure it is just right!! I'm really disappointed about the book reviews that I have lost but I'll get there with getting them back and I have lots of  other book reviews coming up which I am super excited about testing.

So what's on the menu this week?! We started it off well with Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto which I served with a fresh Tomato Sauce, Caesar Salad and plenty of French Bread. Tuesday was all about leftovers and with enough steak leftover from the weekend Ben & I were treated to Steak Baguettes which we both devoured. On to Wednesday and Ben was desperate for Pasta ("tubes") with tomato sauce (his all time favourite!) so I made a tame version of my Arrabiata for a quick and easy mid-week meal which we love (with extra chillies on the side for me!). I am very excited about tonight's meal as I am debuting my brand new bread maker so we will hopefully enjoy some delicious homemade bread with a big bowl of Courgette, Potato & Cheddar Soup, thanks to our good friends who gave us one of their amazing giant courgettes/zucchinis fresh from their garden. Tomorrow night once again is all about clearing out the fridge as we have so many little bits of this and that so I am making Quesadilla's - pizza style! It's the first time I have done it (that I can remember anyway!) but I don't anticipate any disasters, just a quick and easy delicious Friday night meal. Saturday and we are heading to friends for a BBQ and Sunday I imagine will be spent on the boat so I'm thinking perhaps Burgers when we get home as they are quick and easy to prepare and cook, not to mention a firm favourite in our house!

So there you have it! Have a great week everyone with family, friends and of course, lots of good food! x

 Monday August 18th - 24th

                                  Monday  -       Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto with Fresh Tomato Sauce; Caesar                                                                Salad & French Bread

                                  Tuesday -       Steak Baguettes
                                  Wednesday -  Penne Arrabiata

                                  Thursday -      Courgette, Potato & Cheddar Soup with Homemade Bread

                                  Friday -          Pizza Quesadillas (experiment!)

                                  Saturday -      BBQ at friends

                                  Sunday -        Burgers

                                                               

Meal Planning Mondays May 26th ~ June 1st

Whoops, we have been so busy that I almost forgot to post this week's Meal Plan! Thankfully though although I wasn't organised enough to post it early this morning, I was organised to start it yesterday so that most of the week is planned. This week looks like it's another week of using things up as last week I was in a rush so I ended up buying quite a lot of my vegetables from Costco rather than where I normally get them from. Although it has the advantage of being very reasonably priced there is the issue that everything comes in giant portions and not necessarily what is needed for a family of 3! So this week I am working my way through a lot of veges before they go bad! No complaints though as at least I know we'll be eating well and I only needed to buy a few additional items this morning.

We're starting the week off with a simple, quick and easy Thai Green Vegetable Curry. Thankfully Ben loves curries as long as they aren't too spicy so I just need to keep the main dish mild and slice up some extra chillies on the side for me! This is a perfect dish for the vegetables that I have and it fits in well with it being Meat Free Monday. Tomorrow I'm using up the Mozzarella from our pizza's last week with my Spicy Tomato & Mozzarella Gnocchi, again just watching the spice level. Wednesday and it's back to the latest book that I am reviewing with another recipe from Bill Granger. I love how simple this recipe looks not to mention deliciously healthy! Thursday and we are making the most of the fact that Scott isn't eating with us with our favourite tomato pasta, although I'm using up some of the many cherry tomatoes I have. This is by far one of my all time favourite dishes and it's quick and simple to make, perfect for after swimming. Friday and I am undecided but thinking possibly fish....I'm hoping I'll find some inspiration from a cookbook so will update that once I've decided. Saturday and it's Ben's choice with some scrummy burgers and potato wedges which not only does he love to eat but enjoys helping to make which is a win-win situation for me. Finally and as usual Sunday is TBD as the forecast is looking good so hopefully we can get out on the boat meaning dinner will have to be something quick and easy and good for a hot, sunny day!

I'm also making up a batch of Creamy Celery Soup for lunches this week and we're now off to make some Priory Biscuits and possibly some Muffins to keep the cupboards full followed by our tummies!

Have a great week everyone with family, friends and of course, lots of good food! x

 Monday May 26th - Sunday June 1st

                                  Monday  -      Thai Green Vegetable Curry with Jasmine Rice

                                  Tuesday -       Spicy Tomato & Mozzarella Gnocchi & Salad
                                  Wednesday -  Spa-style Poached Chicken with Sesame Bean Salad (Bill Granger)

                                  Thursday -      Spaghetti with Cherry Tomato Sauce & Salad

                                  Friday -          Leftovers 

                                  Saturday -      Individual Pizzas

                                  Sunday -        Burgers with Potato Wedges (Ben's choice)
  
As always don't forget you can add links to your Weekly Meal Plans in the comments section below.  

Meal Planning Mondays May 19th ~ May 25th

Well this is going to be a quick post as today is a holiday in Canada and so we are hoping the clouds are going to disappear so that we can head out on the boat for a while!

As I usually do I came out with our meal plan yesterday and have now just found out that apparently it's National Vegetarian Week. I'm not going to change anything but I am quite pleased with myself that by coincidence 4 meals are Vegetarian! Tonight's dinner is a fairly light and simple Grilled Halloumi which we will cook on the BBQ. It's also very quick and easy and I love the squeaky, saltiness of the Halloumi so although it is still very early here I am already craving it! With Scott away on Tuesday Ben chose Tomato Pasta for dinner with the clear rules that he would really like tubes (penne) and tomato sauce as that is his favourite! I can't imagine where he got that from but let's just say I'm delighted! With all of the warmer weather we have been having I have been craving Thai flavours so I think the next book I am going to review is Bill's Everyday Asian by Bill Granger. There are so many recipes that I want to try but for a child friendly non-spicy start I chose the Hoisin Chicken as it looks finger-licking good! I also have all of the ingredients for it so it's a perfect choice. Thursday and it's swimming so I want something quick and easy and while shopping yesterday I saw that Naan bread was on offer so of course I grabbed a few packets. Since I love Naan bread and I love pizza this is the perfect quick and easy dinner once we are home. I also have some mushrooms in the fridge needing used so I'll quickly saute some of those with some garlic and thyme and we'll have delicious Individual Mushroom Pizzas in no time. Friday and it's back to those Thai flavours I am craving with my Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles which also just happens to be vegetarian. It's a quick and easy meal, packed with so many flavours and in my opinion it's much better than take away, not to mention cheaper! It's also a great way to get the weekend started. I'm really excited that we have Cook Club on Saturday - I love it so much and it can never come around fast enough. I wonder what the theme will be this month but don't worry I'll update it on our Cook Club Menus page as soon as I can after! As usual Sunday is still TBD as I have no idea at this point what our plans are but that's what weekends are all about.

So there you have it - another week and another menu. I'm off now to enjoy the Monday holiday. If it's a holiday for you, enjoy and to everyone else I hope you all have a great week with great food, family and friends x

 Monday May 19th - Sunday 25th 

                                  Monday  -       Grilled Halloumi with Oregano & Chilli, Salad & French Bread

                                  Tuesday -       Tomato Pasta with Salad (Ben's choice)
                                  Wednesday -  Hoisin Chicken with Celery Salad (Bill Granger recipe)

                                  Thursday -      Naan Bread Pizza 

                                  Friday -          Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

                                  Saturday -      Cook Club

                                  Sunday -        BBQ'd Pork Chops with Coleslaw & Potato Wedges
  
As always don't forget you can add links to your Weekly Meal Plans in the comments section below.  

Meal Planning Mondays May 5th ~ 11th

It seems it is getting to the time of year that when planning our weekly meals I also need to be looking at the weather forecast! Due to a couple of gorgeous hot days last week we had to rearrange things a little so that we weren't eating the Vietnamese Pork Curry when it was 25C outside! Not that I really mind eating spicy food when it's hot, I just don't want to cook it and be stuck over a hot oven! As it turns out the Vietnamese Pork Curry was a slow cooked recipe and was perfect for making on a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon. It was so good Ben has already asked if we can have it again and when!

Also new last week was Ben's first swimming lesson which is late in the afternoon so now Thursday's are all about either super fast meals I can quickly make after swimming or prepare ahead dishes, which is probably the best option! This week I have decided to make the Italian Meatball Soup which I might make in the slow cooker so it can slowly simmer away all day, or failing that if I am super organised I will make most of it on Wednesday. Ben's choice this week was Spaghetti and Meatballs with Caesar Salad which again I am delighted about - so far no complaints with his choices and he is definitely enjoying helping me make dinner. Finally it's Mother's Day in Canada and the US on Sunday so that means a day off for me!! Woo-hoo!

I hope you all have a great week with great food, family and friends x

 Monday May 5th - Sunday 11th 

                                  Monday  -      Leftovers

                                  Tuesday -      Spaghetti with Broccolini, Chilli & Garlic
                                  Wednesday - Cajun Chicken with Potato Wedges & Yogurt Dip (Hairy                                                                                Dieters)

                                  Thursday -      Italian Meatball Soup

                                  Friday -          Beetroot Risotto with Parmesan Crisps

                                  Saturday -      Spaghetti & Meatballs with Caesar Salad (Ben's choice)

                                  Sunday -        Mother's Day - off duty!!
  
As always don't forget you can add links to your Weekly Meal Plans in the comments section below.  

Cookbook Challenge ~ Week 2

Well I lasted 7 days (a full week!)....but then I failed! Thanksgiving proved to be too much and on Thanksgiving Monday following a day of cooking a huge feast I couldn't resist a quiet day of enjoying left-overs, so that was that. I don't feel too guilty though – as I said on last week's update, it really is proving to be far too much food for the 3 (ok so more like 2 ½!) of us and I am definitely trying to eliminate waste!! Unfortunately though the hiatus continued on Tuesday as I wasn't feeling well and definitely not up to cooking so another fail.... I got straight back to it on Wednesday though and made up for it by trying 3 new recipes (ok so they were all super simple but still a recipe is a recipe!!) Here's how the rest of Week 2 panned out......

Day 8:  Thanksgiving Monday – nadda!

Day 9:  Not feeling well – nothing again! : (

Day 10:  Fudgy Brownies (EYTF)  A definite thumbs up and at only 86 calories per piece you can't complain, however they are tiny little squares which might make you be tempted to have more than 1! Super easy to make and perfect if you are watching your calories.

Prawns with Maryam Zaira Sauce (Nigella Express)  Another thumbs up and not just because it's delicious, but because it's super quick and easy to make. The perfect starter, this is a Moroccan inspired version of the classic UK style Prawn Cocktail.

Mozzarella with Crazy Gremolata {NE}  I eat Mozzarella any way I can so I was delighted to find something a little different. Even more so when I saw that this 'crazy gremolata' included olives and chillies – 2 of my favourite ingredients. Before I even made this I knew I couldn't go wrong and I was right – completely delicious, quick and easy!

Day 11:  Granola {MFM} This is just 1 recipe for Granola that I bookmarked from several of the chosen books for this challenge but I couldn't resist this version because it just seemed to have a little bit of everything in it! It also makes a lot of granola which was another bonus. It was easy to make, more so just a question of measuring out the ingredients and stirring them up before letting the oven take over for 25 minutes. A delicious Granola which I enjoy scattered over some yogurt. I don't think it will last long in our house!

Minestrone in Minutes {NE} From the moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to try since it promised me a delicious minestrone in minutes using only 4 ingredients....how could I not try it. It really did take no time at all to make – the hardest part was waiting 10 minutes before eating it! I don't ever buy bought pasta/tomato sauces so I would probably change the one I bought but if you have a favourite bought tomato sauce then you will love this soup. I couldn't resist by finishing mine off with a sprinkling of some chilli, parsley and for completely unnecessary indulgence and greed, a little grating of cheese. It was delicious!! I will definitely make this again when I need something filling and hearty in a hurry!

Split Pea Dhal and Cauliflower Curry {MFM} Since it was National Curry Week (in the UK anyway!) at the time of making this I felt I had to make a curry (any excuse!), but I loved the idea of making a vegetarian curry, especially since I had cauliflower left over in my fridge. I was delayed a day making it because I had to let the yellow split-peas soak over night but that wasn't a big deal. Both recipes serve 4 but there was again there was a lot more than 4 servings for us. Both the dishes were good – a was a little worried about the Dhal but by the time I added some salt and finished it was the onion topping it was really delicious. The curry as it was wasn't great and I ended up adding some curry paste to it towards the end to give it more flavour. By the time I did that it was great, it was just a touch bland before hand. We both enjoyed the meal but I'm not sure if I will make those particular recipes again as I have lots of other vegetable curry recipes that I prefer (such as Jamie Oliver's Curry Rogan Josh).

Day 12:  Eggs Italian Style {EYTF} Another success from Eat Yourself Thin Faster. This was a great breakfast which was quick and easy to make, tasted fantastic, kept me full for ages and was only 186 calories! I will definitely make this again and again as something a little different!

Day 13:  Day off

Day 14: Sweet Potato Gratin {EYTF}  It was a miserable rainy day so it was the perfect day for a Roast Beef Dinner, so I made this Sweet Potato Gratin as a side dish. It was really easy to make and although there seemed to be little lumps through it (which I assumed was flour) you didn't taste it. That being said I would make it slightly differently next time to make sure that didn't happen again. Really delicious and the perfect side dish! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there you have it! Since the initial challenge (which was to make 1 dish a day) has failed a little, the targets I will use are to reach 31 recipes by October 31st. Here's how I am doing so far.....

Target no. of dishes = 31
Dishes made so far = 18 

Cookbook Challenge Oct. 2012 ~ 31 Days; 10 Books & 1 Challenge!

The Challenge – To cook at least one meal a day from a cookbook of choice for the month of October. The recipes must be followed exactly so as to properly test them and the budget must be no more (and hopefully less!) than an ordinary month.

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That's right folks, for the month of October I am challenging myself to cook at least one meal a day using a cookbook! Now while that might not sound like a challenge for a lot of you, for someone who owns over 1000 cookbooks and rarely cooks from them, this is a challenge for me! Inspired by the bloggers challenge 'Random Recipes' hosted by Dom over at the lovely Belleau Kitchen, I have stepped things up a few notches so that I am not making one recipe a month from a random book, but rather one a day!

With that said however, this challenge isn't quite so random as I have picked out 9 books of choice (fairly randomly and without looking through them) in order to help with meal planning and shopping. The final book for the challenge - book number 10, was picked by you - the readers (through facebook). For those of you that missed it I selected 5 books from my 'library' and the one with the most votes was the lucky book to join the challenge, which turned out to be the Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten. The other 9 books were fairly randomly picked - I tried to do a real mix and choose books that I thought might be fairly familiar to people..... so here they are the 10 books I will be cooking from in October.....