MENU FOR ONE WEEK

I've decided to try something new on the blog for a while.  Starting today, and for at least the next several Monday's to follow, I am going to post my family's dinner menu for the week.

Before you start thinking that I'm some kind of menu planning guru, I feel the need to clarify a few things:

•  do NOT prepare 3 course meals every night, although I have a 9 Children and depending on the age they needs two course.
• do NOT fix new, gourmet recipes for my family every night.
• do NOT spend hours in the kitchen preparing food every single day.

•   DO cook more than one meal at a time.
•   DO plan out meals for a week at a time so I can limit my trips to the supermarket.
•   DO ask my family to help with meals whenever possible.

Now,  I can share with you the strategies that I use when I plan meals for my family. I haven't cracked any secret menu planning code, I've simply figured out what works for my family and our crazy schedule.

This is the basic outline that I use to help me plan our meals.  It's way easier for me to use this little guideline so I know that we are eating a (somewhat) balanced menu every week.

Monday: Fish

Tuesday: Pure with Chicken

Wednesday: Soup or Salad or Sandwiches  or Croquettes

Thursday: Beef or Pork

Friday: Pasta or Pizza or Eggs

Saturday: Chicken or Turkey with rice or pasta

Sunday: Breakfast food, In My case, normally We are going of Picnic wherever.., Beach, Cenntenial Park, Balmoral some Park.. In Australia that is Marvelous!!

Having a menu planned for the week, doesn't make me immune from unexpected events that inevitably pop up either. ( rescheduled games, last minute meetings and .) There are some nights when we would just rather go out to dinner too.  In that case I put my dinner plan on hold for the night and take advantage of the opportunity to spend a night out.  It's not something that comes naturally to me, but I'm slowly learned to be flexible with the schedule.

So here it is, our menu for this week:

Monday: Grilled Salmon with  Potatoes and Salad.

Tuesday: BBQ chicken and fresh corn bread

Wednesday:  Salmorejo, Let me to show you the recipe:

 Salmorejo is a cold, creamy tomato soup, originating in Córdoba, Spain. It is a simple pink-orange, summer soup made with tomatoes, bread, oil, garlic and vinegar, similar to gazpacho. Then, it is garnished with diced Spanish Serrano ham and hard-boiled eggs.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

                                          

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

•  2 eggs

•  2 oz Serrano ham (substitute prosciutto)

•  1 (8 oz) baguette, stale

•  1 large clove garlic

•  2 lbs (1 kg) ripe tomatoes

•  8 oz (250 ml) extra virgin olive oil

•  2 oz (60 ml) red wine vinegar

•  salt to taste

Preparation:

Hard boil the eggs. Place in ice cold water to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut off hard crust from baguette, then cut into slices approximately 1/2-inch thick. Pour about a 1/4-inch water into a large glass baking dish. Add bread slices and allow bread to soak for 30 minutes. Squeeze excess water out of slices and place in a blender or food processor.

Peel and mince garlic and place in food processor. Peel tomatoes and remove seeds. Add to the food processor and pour in vinegar. Process.

Slowly pour in oil while processing. Continue to process until smooth. If mixture is too thick, pour in a bit of cold water while processing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

When ready to serve: Dice Serrano ham. Peel and quarter hard boiled eggs. Pour soup into four bowls. Sprinkle ham over bowls. Add two egg quarters to each bowl.

Thursday: Spaghetti Bolognesa

Friday: Pizza, normally I do the dough in the Thermomix, I love this machine. After you usually put different ingredients, first tomato (plain or fried) Cheese and ham always, salami and mushrooms.

Saturday: Smoked Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado Dressing (Using leftover chicken from Tuesday.) and Ravioli with cheese and Arugula filled. 

Sunday: The Picnic day, we usually varied sandwich, and sushi.

I can not stress to you strongly enough that it is highly likely that I will have to deviate from the menu at some point during the week.  My goal is to simply provide you with some inspiration and helpful tips and ideas that you can use to create a menu plan for your family.

If it is at all helpful or encouraging to any of you, I will do my best to continue the Monday menu postings.  Send me a comment and let me know if you think my menu postings are helpful or if you would rather I just stick to blogging recipes.

Have a great Monday!

Lovely!

Ele

I Love the Bag Accessory

SUMMER 2013

With the change of season and cold over heat, it's time to renew not only our wardrobe, but supplements and accessories to be with us for the new season. This means, among other things, banish serious heavy leather bags for something a little more fun and flashy, ecological and artisanal. 

The carrycot to the clutch, it becomes essential raffia material Spring-Summer 2013.

It's summer, after all!.

One of the most popular and elegant as summer bag is made ​​of raffia. Suddenly, this add become "shopper", "clutch" or carrycot becomes important, not only as the best option for our looks for beach, pool or festival, but also for a touch of grace to our outfits "working girl" . 

The celebrities we know and from a few seasons ago we serve not only inspiring, but we offer the classic novel alternative designs carrycot.

If last season, the original and "preppy" Woodstock 24 Hour Bag Gerard Darel was the undisputed king of "street style" more fashionistas, conducted both in case of worn raffia endlessly by Olivia Palermo, as in case exhibited point by Angelina Jolie, this season still appears uncertain without preferred model. However, it is clear that raffia bag is the accessory "must have" the good weather spring and summer.

Need to include in the last minute your swimsuit and towel?, How suddenly decide to attend an unexpected picnic, or does it take a refreshing dip in the pool before returning to work?. 

No problem, the rigid winter habits also relax in summer, thanks to avoid raffia bags your sumptuous designs staining with grass or sand spoil. And honestly, there is no better feeling bag hanging from the handlebars of a bike, one straw or raffia, in my case a stroller??? I think so..

Despite their air beachgoers or picnics, preferred fiber picnic baskets reinvents itself and clutch bags to wear "preppy" in the endless summer evenings, either maxi version more suitable for day or for evening smallest , bags and purses fiber become indisputable trend.

After rustic baskets designed to beaches or pools, walkways conquest raffia establishing itself luxurious material not only bags proposed by Dolce & Gabbana, but to those seen in Loewe, Alexander McQueen, Marni, Betsey Johnson, Tory Burch, Donna Karan, Francis Montesinos, DelPozo, Tsumori Chisato and Agnès B. among others.

Whether in its most classic and casual as carrycot, as with clever silhouettes, bright colors or decorated with sophisticated metal or leather details; subtracted raffia bag rigidity and sobriety both your office looks as sophisticated nights party.

DOLCE & GABBANA SPRING-SUMMER 2013 - BAGS RAFIA

ZARA About Braided, - ZARA About Rafia - Wicker Clutch ASOS Snap Cecile New Look - Red Lips Sexy Romwe Straw Bag

MICHAEL MICHAEL KORS Natural Straw Tote-Tote-FURLA FURLA BRIGITTE BRIGITTE Tote - ASOS twisted striped tote bag Gatu Pieces ....

So this summer, try us again with this trend, we love for the mums today, modern or Classic,  is comfortable, affordable, plus with everything ..

See You!! 

xxx Ele

BIG FAMILY : ORDER

How do Big Families Live? 

This is a photo of my extended family in Spain.

My husband comes from a family of twelve.

I am myself one of four.

Times have changed!!!  The massive incorporation of women into the workforce, coupled with the lack of support from the State make it very challenging for large families! In Australia surprisingly enough, the help available from the government is dependent on the inflow of money at home, not the number of children. So it doesn’t matter whether you are feeding two or twenty…

To give you an idea about numbers: the average number of children per household in Australia is 1.9. Most people (79.4%) live in households with one or two children, 14.9 per cent lives in households with three children and the remainder (5.5%) lives in households with four or more children. A slightly higher proportion of Aboriginal children live in homes with four or more children (10.4%). 

So that brings me to ask: this small percentage of families who have more than four children, are they crazy?  Or are we in a selfish society where having more children means less comfort?

While the standard of living has risen dramatically in recent decades, it is also true that we have become a society stressed, ambitious and overly concerned about our personal well-being. I feel we are in a society that is losing its human values; principles that are essential to the proper personal development, and ... more importantly that of children. Perhaps we need to think more about being someone rather than about having some things…

Being a mother of ten, what I think most important is the mental organization and intention for my doing things (I aim to write about this every Monday on this blog). I mean to talk about the organization of the house, meals with different recipes, the laundry cycle, etc. .., these of course in terms of implications, costs, times, locations, etc.

The Von Trapp Family from the well-beloved The Sound of Music.

In terms of mental order, here are some points that bring large families to what I think are realities of life:

• Food: never missing but neither spare. Stews and sauces are always present in the menu, potatoes and chicken, are favourites. When I think food, I think first economic dishes.

• Clothing just enough, removable and no extras that cause sibling rivalry. Children know to share and to inherit from others or from relatives or friends.

• Holidays then to be impossible for me. But then they are necessary. I find them exhausting to prepare but I have now learnt not to schedule. In fact, holidays are a few days with very little routine:  we talk with the children and try not to make too much of a schedules, just relax. The same thing happens in married life, sometimes you just need time together to relax, just be together, but this will be discussed later also.

• On a day-to-day routine, I need LOTS of organization. We use bunk beds, have shifts established for toilet in the morning and also turns for showering in the evening. The older ones have to help in the house, make the bed, pick up their room and have to help with the smallest children. I find these skills are setting my children for success in life as they learn from an early age to share, be responsible, be accountable and above all learn to be generous with their time. Family life is challenging but it is at the same time VERY enriching on a personal level.

I will wish to have this is Room.. Perhaps in the future

• No hairdresser, in my case I cut all my children’s hair as we cannot afford this. In general we can afford luxuries and whims only very few times.

• Rebates are a blessing, and other offers and promotions, great for our daily bread.

• For extra expenses such as camps or sports expenses, we use the help of grandmothers, uncles or godparents. That is what keeps the family bonded J!

This is the family from London They have 13 children!

·      Regarding education and children’s behaviour, all I can say is that psychologists and educators suggest that it is within a big family where the best conditions for proper mental development and lower psycho are achieved! Of course, you always run the risk, according to experts, that parents implement educational uniformity, i.e. an unconscious way they treat all their children the same way, without customizing or individualizing, without shades. In my particular case, each child is different and one works to be more severe and in others to be more conciliatory, of course, every child has their own character.

 Some My children at our last holiday!

I never thought about having so many children, and there are already 10!! I am happy despite the work involved, I hope we can share many experiences.

See you,

Lovely, 

Ele