Roast Chicken / Lamb Dinner

I have been craving lamb for awhile.  Now I know it's not everyone's cup of tea it's a strong tasting meat and the thought of eating they are eating also turns others off, I just try not to think about it and I just love the flavor and tenderness.  My husband on the other hand is not agreement with me and really cannot stand it so it's hard to justify a leg of lamb for myself, however I succumbed and the recent roast beef dinner just helped to tease me further.  So last night I cooked a small roast chicken with a small leg of lamb, well part of a leg.  Anyway the girls ate both chicken and lamb with no problem (yay!), my hubby was perfectly happy to indulge in the chicken and served it all up with roasted kale and boiled potatoes.  Have to say I was happy with fairly empty plates at the end of the meal plus plenty of left overs for my master plan to have a curry evening tomorrow night yum!  I am breaking out all the stops with tomorrow night's dinner but it's been so long I feel like indulging.  I will be making lamb and chicken curries, rice and aloo papdi chaat (I spent Saturday browsing the wares at a local Indian grocer).

Going to the grocery was a walk back in time for me, I had forgotten they really do get a lot of their supplies and spices from the UK which also means a veritable treasure trove of English delights that are hard to get most other places.  It has been years (like back when I lived in Jersey City) since I have frequented stores like this.  It brought back some pleasant memories and I was reminded of some great meals.  I cook with curry spices and powders on a fairly regular basis, I just happen to love the complex flavors, and I even tried some turkey curry sliders over the weekend (that btw were fantastic).  I am probably going to cheat with the curries and use premade mixes and sauces just as the meal is going to be pretty complex and I am not going to kill myself trying to make this.  I am also thinking I'm going to have enough of this meal left over to freeze for another night, yay!

Roast dinner and left overs

It's been a long time since I've done a full roast dinner with roast potatoes, parsnips and yorkshire pudding, so it didn't come that easily on Monday night when doing one for 10...I only had one small panic attack whilst trying to figure out how to get the meat out of the oven and bump up the temperature for the yorkshires (oh what I'd have given for a double oven).  However I managed with plenty of foil and some tea towels to wrap the meat up and keep it warm.  Overall the outcome was a good one with homemade gravy to boot :)  So glad I did a lot of the peeling a couple of days before so I didn't have to struggle too much although my timing was still a little off ah well there are more goes.  In an effort to make sure there would be plenty of food and fearing I wouldn't have time to make more roast potatoes I threw in some mash.

The total result was plenty of food left over to make into sheppards pie the last night, using the last of the gravy and adding a bit more of my own, some carrots, the last remaining parsnip in the fridge and the last stalk of usable celery (it had been in the fridge just over 2 weeks, foil does work miracles).  I used the last of the roasted veggies to mash in with the potatoes for the topping and added an egg to that mixture.  I also added a little thyme, a bay leaf, some wine and a little mustard, the girls were happy to eat this with a little encouragement and the overall effect was a good meal :)

I do so love winter and I love all these great comfort foods that I just won't cook during the summer.  It's funny how over the last couple of years how our diet has become far more seasonal.  I remember when I was growing up we had no choice but to use seasonal veggies, the wonders of global trade have meant that we don't get so much in the way of seasonal foods and for many years I was just cooking what I felt like.  However just the last couple of years or so I've been just tailoring my recipes more.  Winter I can have the oven on, so slow cooked meats and roasted veggies, summer grill and lighter fair because who wants a hot  comforting meal in the middle of the summer heat wave?  This year I'm partly obsessed about soups, I'm actually trying to incorporate one or two in the menu a week and attempting to make enough for left overs for another meal so I can have a break in the kitchen.

Eating out...we so rarely do it now it's funny it's become again the treat rather than the norm.  Take out...what is that?  Seriously what is that?  I can't remember the last take out we did and I think a lot of that is down to I think I can cook a better meal in the time it takes to go and get the food or have it delivered.

Remembering swede...aka rutabega

So day two of no sides to our cribs any more, and yes it's a challenge, but as our youngest has figured out how to climb out of the crib anyway it seems a moot point although it's certainly a challenge.  So far today no nap...a walk to the store and what seems to be boundless energy makes me hope for a decent night at least of just sheer exhaustion from the girls we shall see.

I've been busying myself in the kitchen doing the food prep for Monday, I have all the root veggies sitting in water, the green beans almost done as well and the apple pie has already been made.  I've also started on making Xmas presents also involving cooking.  James is being a doll and helping out with dinner tonight although I have done a lot of the food prep already so it shouldn't be too much of a challenge and all he really needs to do is follow the instructions on the back of the packet.  We are opting for an early dinner due to the lack of nap by the two horrors thinking that sooner or later they will pass out and won't want to be up too late tonight.

I do have to confess the kitchen smells divine at least and the oven has been put to good use:)  Tomorrow I just have to deal with making pasta and reheating sauce for the girls and soup for James and I, gotta love frozen left overs, far better than premade shop food and much healthier, and actually quick a bit cheaper too.

Tonight I'm finishing off dinner with mashed rutabega which I remember so fondly from my childhood.  For those that don't know rutabega or swede is basically a large turnip, cook until tender then mash with butter and a little milk.  It has a slightly spicey taste to it which is perfect with a stew.