Day 112

2 days and 0 recipes to go! Woo hoo!
Wow I can't believe I've finished. I had lots of fun and learned a lot along the way. Mum's a bit sad that I've finished because now she has to think about what she's going to cook for dinner!

Monday
Parsnip and Pancetta Tagliatelle with Parmesan and Butter (from Happy Days)
This is a surprisingly tasty combination.
Summer Fruit, Elderflower and Prosecco Jelly ( from Happy Days)
We used lemonade instead of Prosecco - so it wouldn't be alcoholic - these jellies look lovely.

Sunday
Lovely Lamb Shank Pie (from Cook with Jamie)
King of Deserts (from Happy Days)
Meringue and lovely jammy custardy pud.

Friday
Omelettes (from Jamies website)
Easy and quick dinner.

Thursday
It was Poppie's (my grandpa) birthday today so I made dinner for him.
Asparagus and Mint Risotto (from Cook with Jamie)
Pavlova (from Cook with Jamie)
Poppie's favourite desert - he had two serves so it must have been good.

Day 107

7 days and 7 recipes to go

Tuesday
Herby Chicken Skewers (from Jamie's 20 minute iphone app)
Mmm these were really good in pita bread - and nice for school lunch the next day

Monday
Baked pasta with Tomatoes and Mozarella (from Jamie's Italy)
I love pasta! Apparantly the Italians eat this cold - I took it to school for lunch cold the next day - and I reckon it's good hot or cold.

Sunday
Broad Bean, Asparagus and Bean Salad (from The Naked Chef)
Mustard Dressing (from The Naked Chef)
Every year Mum grow broad beans because they're really easy to grow and she loves them. She says the frozen ones you buy are like bullets compared to the fresh ones from the garden.

Saturday
Baked Eggs (from Jamie's website)
I din't think I'd like this but I did - kind of like an unmixed quiche without pastry!

Friday
Past a Ceci ( Pasta with Chickpeas) (from Jamie's Italy)
Jamie's not sure if this should be classified as a soup dish or a pasta dish! I agree - but it's worth trying.
Bannofee Banana Splits (from Jamie's 20 minute iphone app)
Really, really, really, really num num nummy - from Mae.

Thursday
Simple Baked Lasagne (from Jamie's Dinners)

Wednesday
Hot Chocolate (from Happy Days)
Good before bed

Day 98

16 days and 16 recipes to go

Monday
Chargrilled Tuna with Oregano Oil and Beautifully Dressed Peas and Broad Beans (from Cook with Jamie)
Roasted Asparagus with Cherry Tomatoes, Black Olives and Basil Leaves (from The Naked Chef)
Summer Berries with Orange and Vanilla Mascarpone (from Jamie's website)

Sunday
Boxing Day Bubble and Squeak (from Jamie's website)
Lolly Pops (from Happy Days)
The Return of the Breville (from Jamie's Dinners)

Saturday
Frozen Fruit Smoothies (from Jamie's website)
Le miglione palpette di tonno - the best tuna meatballs (from Jamie's Italy)

Friday
Easy Peasy Ginger Beer (from Happy Days)
Jammy Apple Tarts (from Jamie's Dinners)

Thursday
Spinach and Goat's Cheese Risotto (Cook with Jamie)
Yoghurt with Blueberry Jam and Elderflower Cordial (from Happy Days)

Day 93

22 days and 28 recipes to go

Wednesday
Rogan Josh (from the 20 minute Jamie iphone app)
This is a nice curry - spicy but not too hot.

Tuesday
Souvlaki (from Jamie does...)

Sunday
Tagliatelle with Spinach, Marscapone and Parmesan (from Cook with Jamie)
Very quick to make and scrumptious.

Saturday
Courgette Bread (from Happy Days)
Last year we grew zucchinis (that's what we call Courgette's in Australia) and had so many of them we didn't know what to do with them all. Now we know - make bread! This bread is lovely with a nice bit of cheese in it.

Pot Roasted Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce (from Happy Days)

Friday
Mango Lassi
A lovely, filling yoghurt and mango drink.

Thursday
Tasty Fish Bake

Wednesday
Young Sara's Torte (from Jamie's Italy)
Lovely cake - very simple to make.

Tuesday
Summer Chickpea Salad
We'll be making this one again. Mum loves chickpeas!

Day 82

33 days and 37 recipes to go!

Tuesday
Kinda Spaghetti Bolognaise (from Happy Days)
This is a great recipe - Mum has been using this one for her everyday pasta sauce for years.

Wednesday
Asparagus and Pesto Risotto (from the 20 minute meal iphone app)
Asparagus is really cheap at the moment - so Mum keeps buying it - and this is a great way to use it

Thursday
Stir Fried Tofu with Salad (from the 20 minute iphone app)
This recipe makes heaps! Mum has been having it for lunch ever since we made it. Yummy and fresh tasting.
Amalfi Style Fruit Salad
A two fruit salad - Strawberries and Oranges. What really makes this is the vanilla sugar - the cheapest way to make that is to keep a vanilla pod in a container of caster sugar in the cupboard - the real thing tastes great.

Saturday
Smashed Celeriac (from Happy Days)
This vegetable looks a lot like a Mandrake from Harry Potter. Probably easier to peel though! When cooked it's a bit like a cross between a potato and a celery heart!
The best whole baked Carrots (Cook with Jamie)
Not that into carrots but it was ok and easy to make - Mum liked it!
Roasted Chicken Breast with Creamy Butternut Squash and Chilli (Cook with Jamie)
Yummmm.

Day 77!

38 days and 44 recipes to go!

Thursday
Working girls Pasta (from Happy Days)
Really, Really delish, good stuff, and very quick.

Saturday
My Old Man's Superb Chicken (from Happy Days)
Not my old man, Jamie's old man.
Really nice dish, all of us liked it.
You could serve this in a restaurant!
Baked New Potatos with Sea salt and Rosemary (from Happy Days)
Really great, I liked them.
And they are REALLY easy to cook.
Swiss Chard with Cannellini Beans (from Happy Days)
Swiss Chard is what we call Silver Beet in Australia. It is a neglected Vegie.
I thought it would taste gross, but i was wrong. This was absolutely delicious, I even went back for seconds.
Frozen Yogurt (from Happy Days)
This was quick and easy, Tash and I made it together :)

Sunday
Sticky Toffee Cupcakes (from Happy Days)
These are heaps good. They taste just like Sticky date pudding.
Fantastic Fish Finger Buttie (from Happy Days)'
These were really really nice! In Happy days Jamie had to lie to the photographer saying they were 'Lemon Sole Goujons' because he felt like an idiot saying he was eating a fish finger sandwich. Lol.

Monday
Mexican bean wraps (from Jamie's website)
These are one of the best things so far.
Well, apart from everything else that i liked, e.g The awesome Banana and Honey Bread!
Simple Crunchy Salad (from Jamie does...)
This was good. But i didnt like it very much. Mum loved it though!

From Mae (Tasha's big sister, she's in bed ;) )

Day 72

44 days and 53 recipes to go!

Saturday
Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin, Coriander and Almonds (from Cook with Jamie)
We had this with some Tandoori Chicken - it was nice but not as nice as:
Fifteen Chocolate Brownies (from Cook with Jamie)
These are really good. The recipe has dried cherries in it (optional) but we couldn't find any of these, so we replaced them with some dried blueberries. We still have heaps of brownies left because just a little one at a time is enough.

Sunday
Parpadelle with a Ragu of Tiny Meatballs (from Cook with Jamie)
This pasta was delicious - I love meatballs and these were really easy to make and didn't fall apart like meatballs sometimes do.

Monday
Greek Salad (from Cook with Jamie)
My Mum reckons this is the best Greek Salad she has ever eaten.
My favourite Coleslaw (from Cook with Jamie)
Nice - with apple in it.

Wednesday
Grilled Lemon and Herb Chicken with Mash (from Jamie Oliver 20 minutes meals iphone app)
Quick, simple but very tasty. My Mum loves her Jamie iphone app.

Day 67

49 days and 59 recipes to go

Well I've had a bit of time off because we've been away on holiday in Melbourne, and although I did cook while I was there, I didn't cook Jamie. I did get to visit his restaurant Fifteen while I was there though. And I bought an apron from there too - they thought they had run out but when they found out I was from Adelaide they found one tucked away in the office for me.

Tuesday
Barbecued Thai Chicken Legs (from Jamie's website)
This is a really easy recipe and super yummy. The lime and lemon grass make it nice and fresh. We just had it with some salad.

Wednesday
Wicked chicken with coleslaw (from Jamie's website)
A great chicken burger recipe with lovely coleslaw with a nice dressing.

Thursday
Cheese and Onion Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing (from Jamie's website)
If you like pickled onions or cheese or both you are going to love this one. We'll be making this one again a lot I reckon.

Friday
Tomato Soup with Bread (from Jamie's Italy)
This tasty tomato soup has bread in it! A traditional Italian recipe it is sweet and filling.

Day 51

65 days and 63 recipes to go!
Wow we've come along way!

Saturday
Banana Bread with Honey
My sister loves this she's been eating it for breakfast every day and requested an ongoing supply but all my class mates thought it was a rock and threw it at each other!

Monday
Beetroot
Scotch Stovies
Yum...Gourmet mashed spuds - ok it had onion which was a bit different but still good

Tuesday
Risotto ai Cavolfiore (Jamie's Italy)

Wednesday
Pollo alla Cacciatore (Jamie's Italy)
Fagioli all'Italiana (Jamie's Italy)

Day 47

72 days and 69 recipes to go!

Saturday
Quesadillas with Guacamole (from Jamie's Dinners)
Yummo - toasted cheese tortilla sandwiches - if you like toasted cheese sandwiches you're going to love this one. And lovely fresh guacamole to dip them in. Everyone loved this - even Nan and Pop!

Sunday
The Ultimate Burger and Chips (from Jamie's Dinners)
It was lots of fun making the burger patties. We did something slightly wrong with the chips though and they came out a bit soggy.

Monday
Awesome Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni (from Jamie's Dinners)
Piping the mixture into the Cannelloni was good fun and it was really tasty to eat.

Wednesday
The Best Chicken and Sweet Leek Pie with Flaky Pastry (from Jamie's Dinners)
Not at all tricky to make and we've got enough left over for another dinner. Really good with mashed potato and sweetcorn.

Day 42

77 days and 74 recipes to go

Wednesday
Schnitzel (from Cook with Jamie)

Friday
Farfalle with Carbonara and Spring Peas (from Cook with Jamie)
Lovely Lemon Curdy Pud (from Happy Days with the Naked Chef)

Day Thirty-Eight

81 days and 77 recipes to go

Saturday
Chicken Breast Baked in a Bag with Cannellini Beans, Leeks, Cream and Marjoram (from Happy Days with the Naked Chef)
We had a power black out that lasted nearly 24 hours. Lucky we have a gas stove! We put all our ingredients in the pot and cooked it in the oven - and ate by candlelight. One of Mum's favourites.

Sunday
Honeycomb Cannelloni (from Cook with Jamie)
The Ultimate Fruit Meringue with Vanilla Cream, Hazlenuts and Caramel (from Cook with Jamie)
It was Father's Day so we had my Grandpa over for lunch. He loves pavlova so he was really happy with the meringue for desert - so happy that he had four servings.

Monday
Roasted Fennel with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Garlic and Olive Oil
This was really easy to make and I really like the tomatoes and olives. I'm not that keen on fennel but Mum really loved it. We had it with vegie burgers but it would go well with fish.

Day Forty-One

84 days and 81 recipes to go

Monday
Eaton Mess (from Jamie Cooks)
Mmm the best desert ever - meringue, berries, cream in a not very tidy smushed up mess.

Wednesday
Puy Lentils braised with Rosemary and Garlic (The Naked Chef)
Mum likes this but she's kinda into lentils! Tasty but a weird colour.

Tonight
Pasta with Sweet Tomato Sauce and Baked Ricotta (Jamie's Dinners)
Yum - try and find the stiffest ricotta you can I reckon.

So while I wasn't busy all week with Jamie recipes - I was making Julia Child recipes instead. I had to give "French news" at school this week. So, I talked about Julia training at Le Cordon Bleu and setting up L'Ecole des Trois Gormandes. I also made a batch of Pate de Choux from the Recipe in "Mastering the Art of French Cookery" by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louise Berthold. With the Choux Pastry I made a batch of Profiterole for my classmates to taste.

Day Thirty-Five

91 days and 84 recipes to go

Monday
Stir-fried Chinese Greens with Ginger, Oyster and Soy Sauce

Tuesday
Spicy Squash Risotto with Thyme and Mascarpone

Wednesday
Custard

Friday
Meringues

Today
Borlotti Beans with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

Well it's been a busy week and we haven't had time to write. I made a decision this week to replace some of the recipes in the book with some from other Jamie cookbooks. I just didn't think I could cook a bunny! Also my sister doesn't eat much meat so it makes sense to replace some of those recipes with things she can eat. Anyway, this decision meant that I got to make custard (from Jamie Cooks) - Mum reckons it's the best custard she has ever had, probably ten times as fattening as the bought sort but tastes ten times as good. With the left over egg whites we made Meringues - its hard to believe that six egg whites could make that much meringue. They are yummy and tomorrow I think I will make Eton Mess using the meringues.

Day Twenty-Eight

98 days and 89 recipes to go

Today's menu
Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic
Spicy Roasted Squash
Roasted Red Onion with Thyme and Butter

Day Twenty-Seven

100 days and 92 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Radish and Fennel Salad
Warm Salad of Raddichio, Gem and Pancetta

Today's menu
Parpadelle with Dried Porcini and Thyme, Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce

Mmm the salads were pretty intensely flavoured - the radicchio is pretty bitter - but they were ok. Today's pasta was great - the porcini smell a bit potent when you soak them but they taste nice in the sauce.

Day Twenty-Five

102 days and 95 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Snap Bread
Cottage Bread

Today's menu
Creamy Aubergine, Cannelini and Ricotta Soup

Day Twenty-Two

105 days and 98 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Seared Encrusted Tuna Steak with Fresh Coriander and Basil
Green Salad

Today's menu
Everyday Quick Pasta Recipe to make...
Mixed Cheese and Basil Tortellini with a Fresh and Chunky Tomato Sauce

Yay! We cracked the 100 mark - that means I've cooked 38 recipes in 22 days - whew!

The tortellini was heaps of fun to make and tasted heaps better than any cheese filled pasta that you get at the supermarket. Our pasta machine is a bit dodgy though so we're going to see if we can find a new one.

Day Twenty

107 days and 102 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Twister Bread
Beetroot with Marjoram and Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Today's menu
Baked Fruit

Day Seventeen

110 days and 106 recipes to go

Today's menu
Papardelle with Sweet Leeks and Mascarpone

I love pasta - so we decided that, as it is a school night, we wouldn't make our own pasta for this dish. Mum found some really nice traditional made ( with eggs) parpadelle at the supermarket and we made it with that. Making it this way makes it a really quick dish - about 15 minutes from start to finish but super tasty.

Mum also made a chocolate steamed pudding with the leftover cherries and syrup from the Black Forest Cake she made on the weekend - it was good - and Mum surprised herself a bit with her good idea!

Day Sixteen

111 days and 107 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Pizza

Today's menu
Fragrant Green Chicken Curry
Chunky Coconut, Tomato, Cucumber and Lime Relish

Yesterday we had my birthday party - a few of my friends came over for lunch. In the morning we made a batch of dough and made pizza bases. We put out a selection of meat and vegetables and we all made our own pizzas which Mum baked for us. They were great. We had Black Forest cake topped with Chocolate Ganache for my birthday cake - mmmm!

Today I whizzed up the paste for the curry in my new whizzer. It had heaps of leaves and herbs and smelled good. My sister attacked the coconut with a hammer and helped get the meat out of it. I made a salsa to go with the curry. My sister thinks this is the best recipe yet!

Day Fourteen

113 days and 110 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Mushroom Risotto with Parsley, Thyme and Garlic

Today's menu
Braised Cabbage with Smoked Bacon and Peas

It's been a busy week, it was my birthday on Wednesday so Mum cooked me pasta - I love pasta. Last night we made risotto, lots of stirring but always worth it in the end. Tonight I made another batch of Homous. I got a new stick master pro mixer for my birthday so I used that to whizz it up - that homous is sooo good. We made some mashed spuds and Braised Cabbage which we had with some meat and homous.

Day Eleven

117 days and 112 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Basic Steamed Pudding Recipe - the Chocolate variation

Tonight we went out for dinner, so I had a night off, which was nice.

Last night we ate our leftover meatballs - they were just as good second time around. We made a steamed pudding for dessert. We didn't own a pudding basin (the last one got broken) so Mum took me to the kitchen store to buy one. The lady tried to sell us a metal one with a lid, but Mum bought a stoneware mixing bowl which she said would do the job and was half the price. Mum said it was like a miniature version of her grandmother's mixing bowl and brought back happy memories of her grandmother's kitchen. We put the the pudding mixture in the bowl, covered it with greaseproof paper and tied it with string, lowered it into the pan of water and let it cook for two hours. When we pulled it out and turned it onto the plate, it made us smile because it looked so good. It tasted as good as it looked too. We'll be making this again.

Day Nine

119 days and 113 recipes to go!

Today's menu
Humous
Roasted Tomato Salad

Today we cooked up the chick peas that we put on to soak last night. While they were cooking we mixed some lovely ripe tomatoes with some herbs, garlic and olive oil and put them in the oven to roast them a bit. Once the chick peas were done we put them in the food processor with a dried chilli, cumin, garlic, lemon juice and tahini. While I did that Mum grilled some chicken breasts and heated up some flat bread. When it was all done we sat down and spread the lovely humous on to our bread and added chicken, the roasted tomato salad and some lettuce - wrap it up and yummo! My sister was really pleased that we were having humous - it is one of her favourite foods - she is going to have it on toast for breakfast tomorrow! Mum was pleased too because making the homous was heaps cheaper than buying it and pretty simple too!

Day Eight

120 days and 115 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Dry Grilled Chicken with Ginger, Chinese Greens and Noodles in a Herb Broth
Lemon an Lime Cream Tart

Today's menu
Basic Tomato Sauce to make...
Meatballs
Boiled Asparagus with Any Interesting Melted Cheese

Yesterday's soup we made with our leftover chicken stock which we made on Wednesday for our Risotto. We made the stock using the leftover chicken carcass from last Sunday's Roast Chicken - so nothing got wasted which was good. I thought the soup might have been spicy but I was happy because it wasn't - I don't like things too spicy.

The filling for the Tart was really simple to make - but I think I should have whisked it for longer as the cream still had a few lumps in it. The tart is quite tart - lol - from the citrus juice in it but yummy. My grandmother told me that she thought my pastry was lovely and short - that's a nice compliment.

Today we made meatballs. We made some bread into crumbs in the blender, bashed some cumin and dried chilli in the mortar, separated the egg yolk (like an expert - and only my second time) and mixed it all together with the minced meat. I made them into lovely meatballs and fried them. Then into the oven covered with the Simple Tomato Sauce, basil leaves, mozarella
cheese and parmesan. Then we cooked some asparagus and tossed in through with some pecorino and parmesan. It was the first time I had tried asparagus and I really liked it. Mum eats it all the time but I've never wanted to try it before - next time she has it I will have some too.

Day Five

124 days and 120 recipes to go

Yesterday's menu
Fruit Crumble

Today's menu
Chicken Stock to help make..
the Basic Risotto Recipe to help make..
the Rosemary, Pancetta and Borlotti Bean Risotto

Day Three

126 days and 126 recipes to go

Today's menu
Minestrone served with Crusty Bread

Okay so we cheated with the bread and bought a loaf of "Bake at Home Turkish Bread"! But we didn't cheat with the tomatoes - we peeled and seeded 10 Roma tomatoes ourselves rather than taking the easier option of tinned tomatoes. I'd never peeled a tomato before, so that was something new. This soup was really yummy, packed full of vegies and great with some Parmesan Cheese on top. For dessert we had some leftover Chocolate Tart from last night ......mmmm!

Day Two

127 days and 127 recipes to go

Today's menu
Potato Salad with Salsa Verde
Jamie's Perfect Roast Chicken
Short Crust Sweet Pastry to make...
Simple Chocolate Tart

This morning we made the pastry for the chocolate tart- I had fun making it and Mum was very helpful, even though she had never made pastry before! We had to let it set in the fridge for at least an hour..... We took the pastry out and cut it to put in the two tart tins and froze it for about an hour before we baked it. We tried not baking it with a lining and that worked quite well. Next we made Salsa Verde which had lots of herbs and 2 anchovies....ew, we were supposed to
use six but I thought two would do. Tasted good though! Then I peeled some potatoes and mum cut them and cooked them .We made Jamie's perfect roast chicken - we made holes under the skin over the breast and stuck herbs in them and stuffed it with more herbs and lemon. We made some melted chocolate to put in the tart. We ate it and it was very nice.

Our Chook!

Day One

Day one and three recipes complete. 128 days and 132 recipes to go.

Today's menu
Fish in Salt
Baby Spinach, Fresh Pea and Feta Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing

We don't often have a whole baked fish for dinner and Mum forgot to get the fish monger to scale the fish. So we had heaps of fun scaling the Snapper. The scales went everywhere - in our hair, across the room, stuck to the kitchen window! The fish gets cooked in the oven covered in Sea Salt - you would think it would come out tasting incredibly salty - but it didn't - it was really nicely cooked - and yummy.

We had a family favourite with our fish - Jamie's Spinach, Pea and Feta salad. Mum has been making this for Christmas Day lunch since 1999 - so it's a family tradition now! The fresh peas Mum bought from the fabulous Hahndorf Vegetable Garden were scrumptious.

Tash cooking with Jamie

The challenge
135 recipes in 129 days
The book
"The Naked Chef" by Jamie Oliver, first published the year I was born.
The inspiration
I was inspired to cook my way through Jamie's first cookbook after watching the great movie "Julie and Julia" about Julie Powell's adventure of cooking her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". As well as this, watching Jamie's "Food Revolution" really inspired me - I couldn't believe how many kids were missing out on some really yummy food because all they ate was processed food.

So 129 days to cook 135 recipes. Lucky I've got Mum as kitchen hand! Can it be done .....watch this space!