After a quick breakfast of cereal with milk, fresh fruit and yoghurt, my children made the most of this glorious Sydney summer weather and spent much of the day outdoors. 

The fort was turned into a pirate ship, the lawn became the setting for an impromptu tennis match with a dubious scoring system and the dog took on the role of “ball-boy” – a very unreliable one at that! In the afternoon they all gravitated to the outdoor table, setting up paint pots, paper and brushes and managed to inadvertently decorate themselves, the table and the poor dog whose coat still shows red and yellow paint splotches. Of course all this activity made my children hungry…very hungry. So in addition to enjoying this season’s juicy Australian grown stone-fruit, they also ate the following home cooked dishes…
PASTA with mushroom Napolitana Sauce, creamy ricotta and peas. Cook the peas in the pot of bubbling pasta, two minutes before the pasta is ready.

CANNELLINI BEANS pan fried in olive oil with hot chilli flakes, lemon rind and garlic. Served up with kalamata olives and sweet grape tomatoes alongside the lunchtime pasta dish. 

STUFFED VEAL is an easy way to add interest to tender, pink veal cutlets. Simply sandwich together the cutlets with a home made stuffing made by mixing together an egg, a handful of fresh herbs such as rosemary and oregano, a grind of salt and pepper and 4 slices of stales bread soaked in a little milk. Hold the lot together by inserting metal skewers. Wrap tightly in baking paper and foil and bake at 180 degrees conventional setting for an hour. Then unwrap and bake for another hour.

GARLIC VEGGIES make a colourful, healthy and delicious side dish to this veal. My mother-in-law prepares vegetables this way and the kids devour them. The combination of French beans, fennel, carrots, capsicum and broccolini stir-fried in a olive oil and 3 cloves of crushed garlic for 7 – 10 minutes are substantial enough as a stand alone meal. The cooking time depends on the size of your sliced ingredients. I like to roll leftover veggies into a piece of warmed Lebanese bread with a dollop of hummus and yoghurt. 

BANANA BREAD WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE is a mix and bake recipe that makes the most of any bananas past their peeling and eating fresh date. Simply combine 2 small bananas (300 grams in total) with a 300 gram tub of sour cream, 120 mls olive oil, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (I used half a teaspoon of each), 2 cups self raising flour, 3/4 cup raw organic sugar, 250 grams white chocolate chips. Mix it all together using a large fork, scrape into 2 loaf tins and bake at 180 degrees on a conventional setting for about 40 minutes. We only have a third of a loaf left…

Finally…Happy New Year! I look forward to cooking, eating and blogging about how to make home cooking even more manageable in 2014.