Table For Five

When you're on a tight budget like we are, trying something different can sometimes feel like too much of a risk but cooking the same meals over and over becomes a such a bore. I recently picked up a cheap bulk load of apples. I've done apple pies, scrolls, crumbles, turnovers.... I wanted to try something different! These  chicken balls only get a 2.5 star rating from the family. Mr13 doesn't like anything that doesn't fit into his neat little world of 'what should be' and according to him, fruit in meatballs should NOT be! Miss2 gave an instant rejection and Mr.Wonderful said, "It's OK but could you just do it without the apple?" Full approval was given by Mr3 and I also thought they were pretty good. Just like my Chicken and Potato Rosties , these stay beautifully moist.  Chicken and Apple Meatballs

If you've been following my study of the sugar tree, thank you for joining me on what has been a flabbergastingly frustrating journey through the maze of fact, fiction and the downright ridiculous. Everyday, I come across people attempting to convince themselves and others that their choice of sugar is justified by some kind of health benefit or unique quality that makes it healthy.*scoff*  

Blueberries are one of those superfood thingos, you know those foods that are packed with antioxidants, other fabulous vitamins and minerals and apparently cures whatever ails you, but don't let put you off. They may be good for you but they are also absolutely delicious. Here in Sydney, blueberries are in early season so by next month we will be enjoying the price drop and fresh local produce *happy dance*. Cinnamon also has some pretty special qualities but don't let that fool you! These scrolls, with all their added bonuses' are still ideally occasional treats.

If I haven't said it before let me make it clear now, I am a lazy cook . If there is a shortcut, I will find it. I'm also not a big fan of the perfectly geometric. Let's face it, when you're cooking for kids, they don't really care if it's pretty, well mine don't anyway. If you really want to, you can reduce the amount of pumpkin to make a dryer mix, roll

Dinner time: A time when Miss2 will educate us on which foods taste best swimming in apple juice. Mr3 will prove that with enough persistence, you can break a piece of bread small enough to throw right into Mum's ear (if he's not too busy trying to lodge a fork up his father's nostril). And, poor Mr13 sits quietly, with his head in his dinner plate, avoiding eye contact, lest his parents attempt to make conversation with him.

After my son died, I had a recurring dream. The dream would occur not only in sleep but also in the hours I was awake. I sat, curled up in a ball at the bottom of a deep hole. It was bigger than a well but still perfectly circular.

Spaghetti bolognese is one of our family staples, a dish that Mr Wonderful and I have both cooked and improved on together to get it just right.  If I was to be sentimental about a recipe, this would be one.  It's not complicated, there's no special ingredients, it's just the recipe that we created together. It's not my recipe, it's our recipe and we all love it.

Part Four When Rice Malt Syrup popped up on my news feed, I thought I might need my eyes surgically unrolled! Here we are again, debating another sugar myth, banging our heads against that ever rigid brick wall of ignorance.