$10 Fettuccine with Lemon, Garlic, and Thyme

Success!! We have success!

Only a few nights ago Harry and I made the most delicious pasta! It contained colour, "balance," and seemed to be nutritious, a salad would probably have added value, but you have to start somewhere. 

We made Fettuccine with lemon, garlic, thyme, and mushroom (no I'm not ripping off the Nigella Lawson recipe - it IS the Nigella recipe but we didn't have linguine). The recipe is so amazingly simple I barely believed it. In fact I didn't believe it! It involves such minimal cooking - literally just boiling up some pasta) so it's super easy for even the most uninspiring cooks!

You can get Nigella Lawson's original recipe here. We followed almost to the letter....AND IT CAME TO A WHOPPING $13.90! (admittedly we were given a lemon from a friend but that would only have added a dollar).  There is one thing I would suggest add the cheese to individual portions because when we added the cheese according to the recipe all the cheese clumped at the bottom, but it is an amazing simple and meets the criteria of the $10 food challenge!

(see! You may also note we bought paper towels etc) 

So go forth and enjoy, this amazing and delicious pasta!

The Grounds of Alexandria

The Grounds

Over the weekend I had the opportunity of another ‘fine dining’ experience, I love going out with my parents! This week we went to The Grounds in Alexandria.

The Grounds is a great place, the venue is set up beautifully making you dream of gorgeous summer parties and drinks with friends. The food is delicious, it’s inventive, simple, fresh, and gorgeous looking. One thing to note, however, is The Grounds is not a place to go hungry… it’s more of a “I’ll be hungry in 30-40 minutes” place.  Luckily for the ladies there is a great underwear warehouse next door, to null the pain.

The set-up is beautiful. In this gorgeous – hard to find – warehouse, The Grounds has played into the building but also freshened up the whole barn-yard atmosphere with the great outdoor area (the one where I will hold all my future dream parties). Unfortunately it was very rainy last weekend so there was no outdoor area, but I enjoyed checking out the chicken run anyway!

We got our coffees and beverages fairly quickly. The Grounds knows how to put a flare on the simple things, even hot chocolate! I was so excited when presented with this gorgeous “make your own” hot chocolate. I haven’t been so pleased to see one of these since my first ever visit to Le Pain de Quotidien! Plus it didn’t have any of that hazelnut infused business. The coffees had mixed reaction, mainly due to the strength of the brew.

Looking at the menu, there are a few amazing sounding dishes! It’s like a barn world wonderland – eggs rolled in crispy quinoa ?! What is this madness? Considering by the time we are eating it’s about 2.30 I decided against the eggs instead going for the Confit ocean trout with pearl barley. Mum and I decided we would share so the second half of my meal was Slow Cooked Lamb Salad with Yoghurt. Dad decided to get the wonderland dish.  Lucky me I got to taste them all!

The Confit Ocean Trout was Ah-mazing! There was a delightful crunch of fennel that was sooo finely chopped that they provided a nice fresh crunch. The pearl barley ‘s subtle flavour and smooth texture was the perfect accompaniment to the delicate trout.

The Slow Cooked Lamb Salad with Yoghurt was delicious and comforting. Although there were no real surprises, warm lamb, yoghurt, some chickpeas, sweet potatoe and salad greens, the salad was comfortable, definitely a dish I’d return to on any day.

I didn’t have much of the rolled eggs in quinoa but Dad demolished it all. But I hear the soft boiled egg was complemented by the crunch of the quinoa… that’s all he said. It is definitely an intriguing dish… one I wish to try.

The Grounds has become astoundingly popular in a very short time, but it truly is a great place. The food, atmosphere, and décor are all very exciting! A place that feels comfortable but provides nice surprises to make sure that you will come back… and I know I will.

The rules...

The aim of this game is a simple fun way to try and eat good meals when you move out of home. Think of it as a nice break between instant noodles and cereal. 

1. $10 per person - this does not include staple things, for obvious reasons - if you buy soy sauce or oil for one dish your not going to use the whole bottle then and never again, so these things are staples. 
2. $10 is the maximum per person you are more than welcome to blow me out of the water and cook a kick as dish for 2 for a total of $10. 
3. The main aim of the game is to do as much as you can to make a nutritious and balanced meal - by laypersons standards, for example I like to think of it like this - if food is colourful it is balanced! If I am full it is nutritious :)
4. The ingredients don't have to be cheap, just within budget. I have been known to travel to get great ingredients for next to nothing... hello, 3kg of duck marylands for $10, who wouldn't travel for that?! Mind you I only needed to travel about 10 minutes away but I didn't just go to my local grocers. 

Get set... GOOOOOOOOO!

Another delicious snack I have recently is pictured above... Lavosh, fab brie, roasted walnut, and a drop of honey! mmmm. In fact this little bite is so amazing I have started eating nuts... well nut - walnut, for the first time in my life!  Handy hint, apparently extra tasty with a little mint!

The $10 Food Challenge!

*

Recently, my darling boyfriend** moved out of home. Since moving he’s lost a bucket load of weight… I’m a little jealous. However, let’s face it, it’s not so healthy.

I am beginning to see this quite often as more and more of my friends move out and no longer get to rely on home cooked meals and a packed pantry. Recently, I bought 500 grams of mushrooms, a head of ginger, and a bulb of garlic and it cost me $10 – no joke, $10!! So, I’m trying to find meals that are nutritious, balanced, and of course yummy meals!

Honestly, we already trialled it… maybe three times. It has been awful!

But I will continue!

For one, I found inspiration here… Spicy Coconut Chicken Soup for $9.80!!

Schweeet. 

*NB image not actually a part of the $10 meal challenge but super delicious snack!

** No insincerity intedended

Foodies little secret

I’m about to let you in on a delicious secret. A place where your wildest dreams of three course dining and a budget come together with a beautiful result… TAFE culinary school restaurants!

Most states boasts at least one TAFE restaurant where the next Peter Gilmores or Matt Morans of the country cook a delicious and seasonal three to four course meal for around $25 to $30! Each restaurant depending on its location varies on price and feel, with some in suburban areas including unlimited alcohol in the small fee.

Recently, I sampled the menus at two TAFE restaurants in New South Wales, one near Sydney’s CBD and the other a small suburban campus in the northern suburbs. While we shared to ensure we tasted absolutely everything, each dish is generous and plated with care.

Usually there are three to four options for each course, depending on the restaurant and/or the number of bookings you may order a la carte or just be served a dish at random.

  

As a teaching school you aren’t paying for perfection, but the students talent is obvious. You will get an above average meal that is filling and delicious. Some things of course don’t work out as well as you would like with my friend’s gnocchi disappearing in a rich veal and mushroom sauce/goulash and a slightly fishy crab meat in the gazpacho.  The most popular items tend to run out quickly and some dishes are more filling than others but there are really so few reasons to complain when the menu more often than not contains some pretty lavish items including duck and seafood. 

To ensure no funds are wasted the restaurants are usually pre-pay and can be reserved either online or over the telephone.

For a hearty meal on a small budget TAFE restaurants are always a winner! I highly recommend getting in contact with your closest TAFE to enjoy the experiences for yourself!