Posts Tagged "lunch"

5 happy things

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Sep 20, 2011 in Cooking, Home & Decor, Lifestyle, Love | 0 comments

It was an incredibly busy weekend, which left me pretty exhausted, but so filled with happy moments that it was hard to begrudge it or deem it unworthwhile.

To start with, Friday night was a gathering of friends to celebrate Lys & Etienne moving in together, and it was nice to catch up with everyone, particularly my girls.

S also keeps upping the “perfect boyfriend” bar by sending me a little “romance is alive” gift after I had a bit of a melt down about being 30 and frumpy (shh, i know, i know, but let me have my moments!). I saw a quote a friend posted on facebook that was something to the tune of “Women aren’t made to be understood, they’re made to be loved” and I’m super lucky S gets this down pat every time. Instead of trying to fix my (totally non issue) problems, he just lets me rave and rant and then shows me he adores me anyway. LOVE.

After performing for the first time in months on Saturday night, S and I also spent Sunday in the garden, enjoying the great weather and the fact that we can start working on the house together again now that spring seems to be officially here. I did pretty useless things given my physical limitations, but did manage to pot my gorgeous new azaleas for right by the front door. Aren’t they pretty and welcoming?

And as I did this, S, to my utter awe and amazement (see above re “perfect boyfriend”) – pulled up ALL the grass and soil in the backyard with a spade, then re-soiled with over 20 bags of soil, and then reseeded it all. It took him over 9 hours of solid work, and he never stopped. And now, we have what is looking like a lush and healthy backyard that will be some very pretty lawn soon (hopefully!).

Lastly, we did what we always do for the week ahead – prep our lunches. It’s a soothing 1-2 hour activity that we adore doing together. Except this week I also made a bunch of asian boxes for me – rice covered in sambal eggplant tomato and mushrooms, stir fried vegetables and grilled pork belly. Oh, heaven that’s gonna last me all week long.

So yes, it was a good weekend. Did you have a nice one what with the incredible weather? Any particularly good moments? Somehow the sun being out seems to correlate with good things happening, or at least a better mindset to view everything in a better light, don’t you think?

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healthier habits: easy healthy lunches

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Jul 12, 2011 in Cooking, Health | 0 comments

Well, the whole newer, healthier lifestyle thing I posted about a while ago is going swimmingly, thanks very much for asking, S and I are feeling much better and in the last 2 months, it’s been habit forming.

I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy in the beginning – I’m not used to consulting recipes and measuring portions for a start, and also we both love comfort food. Plus, winter is not exactly the easiest season to commence a fitness regime in (this I say on behalf of S, with my back issues there’s no jogging for me whatsoever)!

After a few weeks though, we’ve settled into a nice rhythm and have found ourselves at the supermarket gleefully buying mostly unprocessed foods, actively craving vegetables and fruit more, and happily, S looks incredibly fit (yayy for him being handsomer than usual).

One of the nice habit forming activities is that every weekend now, we buy a heap of food and prep it all for a week. I’ve got this particular recipe down pat, and its been adapted from one of Michelle Bridge’s Losing the Last 5 Kg recipes to suit what’s in season, and to last a week of prep.

Here’s how I prepare a week’s worth of healthy lunches for S and I (that’s 10 lunches) in less than an hour.

(Shopping list: 2 zucchinis, 1 large eggplant, 1 head broccoli, 1 large head cauliflower, box of cous cous, dried mixed herbs, 600g tuna in springwater, 3 tins of beans/bean mix.)

This week, I started off by preheating the oven to 180 degrees celsius, then whilst waiting for that to heat up, I chop all the veggies up into 1 inch cubes, and lay them in baking pans. I also set the kettle to boil (you’ll see why later).

Then, I spray them all with olive oil, and sprinkle fresh ground salt and pepper all over (this is the only salt you’re going to have in the lunches to keep them healthy, so I don’t skimp here). Also a liberal sprinkle of dried mixed herbs all over it. Fresh herbs would be better I’m sure, but I also try to keep these meals cost effective and pantry supplied.

Give them a good shake, and chuck baking pans in oven. The quickest to cook will be zucchini (10 min), then broccoli and eggplant (12 min) then cauliflower (15 min) so I set the timer for 10 min to start with.

Whilst the veggies are cooking, I measure out 1.5 cups of couscous, and pour over it 1.5 cups of boiling water that I thoughtfully prepared earlier. I cover the bowl with a saucer and leave it.

Then I take out a bag of carrots and cucumbers and start slicing them up and putting the slices in ziploc bags. We go through about 1.5 – 2kg of carrots and 4 cucumbers between us in a week, and so I do this all in one hit.

BEEP! The zucchini is done!

Take the zucchini out and place the tray on a trivet. I like my zucchini caramelized to the hilt, as you can see.

The cous cous will be done by now, so I uncover it and fluff it up with a fork.

At this stage, I like to stir through a bunch of mint (either fresh or the kind in a tube) for great flavour, and sometimes lemon juice if my lemon tree has been kind to me.

BEEP! The broccoli and & eggplant are done!

I didn’t take a picture of the eggplant so you’ll just have to use your imagination.

Take those trays out and place on trivets. Then I go get all my other food items together whilst waiting for the cauliflower.

I took 3 standard sized tins of beans (kidney, chickpeas and lentils in case you’re wondering) and drained and rinsed them, then combined them in a bowl. Then I searched in my pantry till I found tins of tuna totalling 600g, opened and drained it all.

BEEP! The cauliflower is done.

Take THAT out too. Sigh happily at the amazing smells filling your kitchen.

Then, you lay out your 10 containers/bowls/pyrex dishes/tupperware.

From here, you can do 2 methods. You can layer each ingredient, or mix it all up. I’ve shown you both below, coz I’m nice like that.

If layering, you divide your couscous up between all the containers, then divide your beans up, then the tuna. Like so:

OR you can mix up the cous cous, bean mix and tuna, in a big bowl, THEN portion it out, like so:

Then, I layer up the roasted vegetables over that.

AND YOU’RE DONE.

Behold the beauty:

The containers are for S, the bowls are for me.

Now, if you’re feeling addedly Martha Stewart-sh, these meals are meant to be eaten with a dollop of natural yoghurt. We like Jalna. It tastes rich, despite being fat free, and come in big tubs which are reusable, which means we aren’t earth killers, because I said so.

For S’s containers, I tuck a little muffin cup in, and plop a dollop of yoghurt in there. That way at work, he can just take it out, microwave the rest, and then pour on the yoghurt before eating (and throwing out the muffin cup) – saves us an extra mini-container he would otherwise take. I learnt this trick from ogling Bento lunchbox sites.

S and I have rated this lunch system the best so far, for its combination of ease, yumminess and nutritional factor. Portion control IS important too – the measurements and amounts I give above are for 10 lunches for one very big man and one generally hungry girl. They are reasonably filling, I don’t feel hungry for a good few hours after I eat these!

They’re SUPERBLY yummy, and infinitely changeable – sometimes I drop a handful of spinach on top of it all to wilt in the microwave, and in summer I can replace the vegetables with salad type condiments. Cous cous is super quick and yummy and full of fibre, but I can also change it up with a small amount of brown rice or even buckwheatsoba noodles. We also vary the protein – this works well with lean cooked chicken, tofu, salmon, and amazing with lamb strips.

Once I’ve packed it all in the fridge, I then finish chopping up our vegetable sticks and fruit salad for the week – it’s a no brainer to grab it out of the fridge in their ziploc bags each morning.

All in all, the entire process takes 45 minutes (after a few weeks practice), maybe an hour including cleanup (though I’m lucky to have a dishwasher AND an enthusiastic handsome pan scrubber). Our grocery bills have gone down significantly, and we can see the difference in our bodies – especially for S who has been diligently exercising as well! It’s food that is yummy enough to keep eating, but certainly not so yummy that it’s bad for the waistline. In fact, I’ve found myself roasting up vegetables when I’m after a savoury snack, and craving fruit and veg all the time.

And the best part?

You only have to do it once a week, and then you’re all set, all week long.

Do you have any packed lunch favourites? Have you been practising a healthier lifestyle? Share your tips with me!

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birthday month update: ladies who lunch

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Jun 3, 2011 in Lifestyle | 0 comments

I’m lucky enough to have some of the loveliest friends any girl could ask for – a diverse crew of fine young ladies who continue to inspire me more and more as the years go by. We all came together over the years, and everytime we manage to all catch up, you just know it’s going to be a good time.

For my birthday month, the incredibly clever Gemma came up with the brilliant idea of the whole group getting together and indulging in Number 8′s Sundays with Mumm menu – set lunch with free flowing Mumm champagne. BRILLIANT, I tell you.

So we all got frocked up last Sunday, and excitedly bustled our way to Crown for what was sure to be a delightful afternoon filled with giggles, tipples, stories, gossip, catchups, and just good ol’ girl time. How very Sex and the City of us.

As anticipated, it was full of hilarious moments that only got better as the champagne kept being poured. We sat there from midday to late afternoon, and Number 8 did NOT disappoint in showing us a good time. The set menu’s food was rather incredible, for starters:

We enjoyed it very very very much, along with our Brasilian accented waiter who served and pampered us rather wonderfully. Yup. *nods enthusiastically* Enjoyed it VERY VERY MUCH, especially the rather winning way in which he kept topping our champagne glasses up every time they’d subsided even a few millimetres! WINNING.

So how does it feel to have all your girlfriends sit and enjoy a lazy afternoon with you to support you through the crisis of turning dirty thirty? JUST SWELL. As we are growing up, we’re all just geting busier, and actually having an entire afternoon with all of them is rare and pure bliss. Bliss, and being surrounded by friends? Total win for me. All the ladies distracting me from GETTING OLD FEELINGS? Well, I didn’t even cry. This time.

(Yes, I’m usually notoriously bad with birthdays and feeling inadequate and like time is running out. NOW YOU ALL KNOW MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET).

So anyway.

As we finished our meal, I heard the clink clink clink of a knife being tapped on a glass, and before I knew it, I was being showered with affection and chatter. GIFT! SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A GIFT.

And then, there was a gorgeous wooden box laid in front of me.

And let me just tell you, I AM ONE SPOILT LADY, whose girlfriends bought me a simply lovely Samantha Wills cuff – in Anita’s words “the one Rihanna has”. FREAKING AWESOME. I recently had a few jewellery items err, lost due to err, travel, and this cuff made my day, because now I have one more sentimental piece to add to my collection. THANK YOU GIRLS, I LOVE YOU LONG TIME!

With that, I see the girls sitting across the table from me clap their hands in glee, eyes widening, and what I think is mere excitement at my happiness from gift receiving, turns into SPARKLER CLAD CREME BRULEE CARRIED OUT BY NICE ACCENTED WAITER.

HOORAY!

There was some singing (and some staring from the other patrons) and some dawning realisation that egads, 30 was most DEFINITELY HERE. I STILL managed to hold it together and not weep, though I did get a tad emotional.

Yes, I am a true LADY.

ANYWAY.

I had a glorious time. We spent a lovely few hours together, and all tottered home much happier for it, that I am incredibly sure of. And you can’t buy that kind of time or experience – you can only enjoy it immensely, and hope for its return as soon as possible.

Thank you ladies. I appreciated it SO. I’m truly SO lucky to have all of you in my life, and am constantly reflecting upon the fact that it is you all that make Melbourne my home, and a place I WANT to stay.

 

 

 

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easter noice-ness

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Apr 25, 2011 in Lifestyle | 0 comments

Did you all have a nice Easter?

I’d never celebrated Easter before so it was particularly wonderful to have Easter lunch with S’s family, and also my dad who’s here visiting from Singapore.

Evelyn (S’s mum) put on a lavish spread, with 2 legs of lamb that fell off the bone, a slew of roast vegetables, and her absolutely famous cheesecake.

Ok, so it’s not famous, but it seriously should be.

It was truly a lovely day, with lots of lounging about, plenty of laughter, and the kind of warmth only really great family days can bring.

Meanwhile, the womenfolk had fun too, giggling, sharing the latest goss, and bustling about.

I love this shot of S’s mum and I, think it’s the best one we’ve got. She’s just a gorgeous, warm and loving mum figure and I’m so lucky to have been as welcomed by her as I have into her family. This photo I think really reflects how much affection we have for each other!

And then don’t forget whilst being able to spend Easter with my favourite man and his family,

SORRY, I interrupted myself with his hotness.

But back to the sentence – …I ALSO got to spend Easter with my first ever favourite man, and definitely the most loved man in my life.

It was truly a double happiness moment!

Did you have a nice Easter too? How do you celebrate it?

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i’m no ploughman!

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Oct 25, 2010 in Lifestyle | 0 comments

So it turns out, I’ll never be a ploughman.

Why? Well, I wanted a simple ploughman’s lunch. Wikipedia defines this as:

A ploughman’s lunch is a cold snack or meal originating in the United Kingdom, composed ofcheese (usually a thick piece of Cheddar, Stilton or other local cheese); pickle (called “relish” outside the UK), bread (especially crusty bread, which may be a chunk from a loaf or a bap); and butter.

Sounds good right? Except the princess in me couldn’t resist err, making it a bit more… luscious. So, blue cheese, gourmet crackers, smoked salmon, chunky capsicum dip and pate later, here was my simple “ploughman’s lunch” though it should really be renamed “princess lunch”.

So yummy. So, so yummy.

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