This week's menu

Inspired by the Meredith's Carnival of Meal Planning I thought I'd post this week's menu, which is basically my menu plan Week 1 with a little variation ... my menus have mutated a little over time. My four week rotation for lunch and dinner is working well, but I do need to get to grips with breakfast, which is at best boring and at worst chaotic with everyone eating separately and Star forgetting (and being forgotton) completely.

Sunday
Lunch: Roast chicken, roast potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts
Dinner: Fish balls and salad

Monday
Lunch: Tortilla pizzas
Dinner: Chicken, mushroom and potato bake, sugar snap peas

Tuesday
Lunch: Cheese on toast
Dinner: Beef casserole and yorkshire pudding

Wednesday
Lunch: Baked potatoes in jackets, baked beans
Dinner: Lamb chops, sauteed cabbage, mashed potato

Thursday
Lunch: Egg mayo sandwiches
Dinner: Breaded chicken strips, chips (= fries), sweetcorn

Friday
Lunch: Macaroni cheese
Dinner: Baked salmon, peas, rice or mashed potatoes

Saturday
Lunch: Burgers and salad
Dinner: Hot chicken and crusty bread

Dorset Apple Cake

Star and I discovered Dorset apple cake (with lashings of whipped cream) a couple of years ago when on holiday in ... yes, you guessed it ... Dorset. I found the recipe in this little book: Favourite Dorset Recipes.

I rarely buy cookery books as they usually have so few recipes I can use. Tevye doesn't eat non-Kosher foods (pork, bacon, ham, seafood), doesn't like anything spicy, and hates cheese in any shape or form, however well disguised. This rules out a lot! The Favourite Recipes books are cheap enough that even if we only like two or three of the recipes they are worth buying. They are also often sold at tourist spots, so I usually pick them up when we are on holiday. I have several, but as there are over sixty books in the series there is plenty of scope to collect more.

I digress ... back to the recipe. I hadn't made this for some time before today, and had forgotten just how much everyone likes it. The "cake" is something of a cross between an apple cake and an apple crumble. It can be eaten hot or cold, and is at its best with whipped double (heavy) cream.

Ingredients
8 oz self-raising flour
4 oz butter
4 oz caster sugar
8 oz cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
Grated rind of one lemon (I don't bother with this as I often don't have a lemon to hand)
1 medium egg, beaten
2 oz sultanas (golden raisins) - optional

Method
Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Sir in sugar, apples, lemon rind and egg and mix well.
Add sultanas, if desired. (I skip these, as certain picky people in my household don't like them)
Put the mixture into a well greased 8 inch diameter cake tin
Bake at 375deg F or Gas Mark 5 for 30-40 minutes until golden in colour.