Sarah Discovers How to Eat – Progress Report #7 [December]

Sarah gets busy. And she gets recognition from Nigella herself! FAINT!


Facts & Figures

I made 48 recipes this month, bringing my grand total to 232. This means that, 214 days into the project, I’m going at a rate of 1.08 recipes per day. Not quite on track, but getting there, and a significant improvement from last month.

I seem to have cooked a wide variety of recipes, from all chapters of the book. There were quick midweek meals, hearty family stews and soups, more complicated impressive stuff, and a good dose of domestic goddess-style baking.

I entertained heaps this month (liam and pork; Summer Dinner for 6; Christmas Eve goose; Christmas) from the Dinner chapter, the Weekend Lunch chapter and the Basics etc. chapter (Christmas). Additionally, I made up a couple of Weekend Lunch menus just for my family, (Another Spring Lunch, High Summer Al Fresco Lunch).


Hits

Almond and Orange-Blossom Cake (Cooking in Advance)
Chicken with Salsa Verde (Fast Food)
Aubergine Moussaka (Cooking in Advance)
Cawl (Cooking in Advance)
Roast Pork (Weekend Lunch)
Swedish Rhubarb and Horseradish Sauce (Weekend Lunch)
Marinated, Butterflied Leg of Lamb (Dinner)
Garlic Potatoes (Dinner)
Poached Peaches (Dinner)
Christmas Eve Goose (Basics etc.)
Red Cabbage Cooked in the Viennese Fashion (Weekend Lunch)
Frangipane Mince Pies (Basics etc.)
Turkey (Basics etc.)
Gravy (Basics etc.)
Roast Potatoes (Basics etc.)
Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts (Basics etc.)
Bread Sauce (Basics etc.)
Bubble & Squeak (Basics etc.)
Hummus with seared lamb and toasted pine nuts (Weekend Lunch)
Garlic chicken (Weekend Lunch)
Beans wrapped in prosciutto (Dinner)


Misses

Thankfully, there weren’t any disastrous recipes this month, so I’m giving the “misses” section a miss.


My progress

One thing I've noticed is that How to Eat is heavily biased towards Western-style food - roasts, potatoes, stews, etc. And although I do love them, it turns out that every single time I don't cook or that we eat out, we always go for Asian food. Who knew I'd ever be craving fried noodles and rice so much?

We've also been eating shitloads of leftovers, but I have learnt how to deal with them more satisfactorily... and also I've learnt how to restrict portions (sometimes).

But in terms of the cooking side of things... well, after so much practice, I can now make pastry like a pro. I also learnt how to roast pork and to make a mean crackling. And I most definitely know the proper way to treat a bird.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!

xox Sarah