The Family Table { The Recipe Journal }

"Family ties are precious threads, 

no matter where we roam. 

They draw us close to those we love, 

and pull our hearts toward home."

My recipe journal. A handwritten walk down memory lane of food shared. The best of the best recipes, that I've eaten throughout my life. It was something I started after seeing my Mum's own recipe journal, on one of her trips to visit us. The sort of sentimental possession that travels only in your hand luggage. Too precious for a suitcase. Too irreplaceable if lost.

Flipping through the pages, I always feel nostalgic. Dinners remembered. Moments shared from a younger more simple time. Recipes that I associate with their "true" owners. That are shared seldomly, and only with a select few. My recipe journal, is a testament, to the large, extended family that I was lucky to grow up with. Of strong characters who lived, and still live, long fulfilling lives. Passing down stories. Recipes. Of people still present. And of people who have passed on, but who's presence is still felt in conversation.

Food, and the sharing of food, has always been a large part of my family. It has shaped my memories in more ways then I realised. It makes me sentimental for certain people, who made a recipe their own, in such a way, that nobody can ever quite make it as well. For those afternoons, of endless cups of coffees around Nanna and Grandads table with chocolate cake.

Voices speak to me through their individually, distinctive handwriting. And confirm, that this recipe was theirs, to be shared and enjoyed by others.

Eating around our family table, now that we are together as a family every night, feels more important to me now than ever before. So many of my family memories, from my childhood, involve sitting down together, sharing food, talking. It is something, that I also want to pass on to my children.

Don't get me wrong. My daughters are two and a half years, and fourteen months old. Dinner time is often a rowdy, noisy, messy affair. Consisting of a little gentle coaxing for my eldest, who is often full after 1 or 2 mouthfuls, as only a toddler could be. And sadly, on those days where everybody has reached breaking point by dinner time, and toddler and adult tantrums loom, we might just be watching Peppa Pig while eating too. Whatever works, right? But the aims there. To create that family feel. To create our own family traditions and ways of doing things. There's no gourmet fair cooked daily here. Just good home cooked, mostly healthy meals, with lots of flavour, that aim to feed and please all 4 of us. Without fuss, in a minimum amount of time.

At our table, there is one recipe, that everybody loves. That the girls both eat seconds of (a rare occurrence). My recipe, that I'm now known for in our house. And it has even made Mum's recipe journal. Worthy of putting my name in front of. Hope it's as popular in your home.


Carla's Oven-baked Tuna Risotto
875ml chicken stock
10g butter
2 tspns olive oil
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
425g can tuna in oil, drained gently
1 cup frozen peas
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbspns lemon juice
Preheat oven to 180C, or 160C fan forced.
Bring stock to boil in medium sized saucepan. Meanwhile, melt butter with olive oil in large saucepan, cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion softens. Add rice, stir to coat in onion mixture. Stir in hot stock and tuna.
Place risotto mixture in a large shallow baking dish, cover with foil. Bake in oven, 15 min, stirring halfway through cooking time. Uncover, bake another 20 minutes. Stir in peas, top with tomatoes, bake uncovered, about 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from oven, stir in lemon juice.


A family table series. That I aim to blog about regularly. Sharing thoughts,occasional recipes and memories, of all that occurs and has occured around our family table.

2014- A year to get organised

I missed the RSVP date to a wedding invitation today. When we had our wedding in 2008, we had the same thing happen to us. It is so annoying, having to chase up RSVP's to your own wedding. I lamented to my husband, "how rude of them", "what a waste of an invitation." All those things.
And now I've gone and done exactly the thing that I couldn't stand myself, to somebody else.

This was to a girl, who I've known a long time. Our Mothers were high school friends, and we kind of grew up with each other, despite living in different states. I think of Lauren, and I think of endless afternoon games of Rummikub, and Milo's at her Nanna's house during Lauren's school holiday visits. And, to be honest, they are afternoons that I have often thought of . Because, I love Rummikub, and have never been able to find anyone else since, who is happy to play back to back games with me. (I tried with my husband, but he was completely disinterested. He prefers to play Scrabble and cheat using words that aren't really words.)

I'll be honest. Organisation, is not my strong suit. After our first child, my attempts at organisation were hanging by a thread. Now after our second, it's kind of gone completely out of the window. If something has a due date, whether it be a bill, library book, or RSVP (!!!), then you can almost guarantee, that I'm going to miss that due date.

After sending a heartfelt apology and explanation, regarding my still ongoing case of baby brain, I decided that I REALLY need to sort my shit out from now on. Pre-girls, I would never have done such a thing.

So my attempt to get myself organised, starts now.

In the past, I've tried all types of diaries and layouts, in an attempt to be as organised as possible. I've tried a digital type diary, on both my ipad and my phone. The reminders were great when they popped up, but it did actually require you to enter the details into the diary for that to work. Suffice to say, it didn't last too long. The reality is, I'm a visual person. I need to see and flick through the pages of my diary to really appreciate what is on my to do list for that day and week.

What I have found that works for me. A 7 days to a page diary. A5 size. Not too big to be overly bulky, not too small to be useless and difficult to write in. Unless you're a man. Than a big diary seems to be always the more popular choice. And if you're a daily list maker like my husband. Than the biggest diary you can find.

This year I've chosen this lovely little number from Kikki K. Yellow (of course).

And coloured pens, to highlight different appointments, birthdays, activities, due dates for bills and so on.

Typically, I've always kept my diary away in a corner somewhere, nice and neat. Pulled it out, when I needed to use it. But I'm aiming to keep it in a new reserved spot in the kitchen, to compensate for my lack of a desk (let's not analyse the kitchen being my now new office spot.) And a new routine to go with it. After making the girls their breakfast, and while I'm making my morning coffee and own breakfast, I will visit my diary. Every morning. Glance at my day. My week ahead. Like a normal person would do. Sounds basic doesn't it! And makes me wonder, why I haven't been doing this all along.

How do you diary? And keep on top of all those to do's, whilst being totally distracted by looking after young children.