Feasting in the Famine: And so it begins....

"The years of famine have begun."
That's what my husband jokingly remarked as we peered at our bank account. The final installment of my maternity pay had come in, it is now official; we're a one income family.
Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets over the choice we have made. None at all! We always intended (and still do!) that I would be a stay-at-home mum. I LOVE being at home with my delightful new daughter. A lot of people are already asking me "do you miss work?", "will you miss having something to do?". I try not to sound overly eager as I think to myself "OF COURSE NOT! This is a million times better than work!"
So here we are, entering a new phase of life. One of less "cushions" or material comforts. But more family time, more washing, more cuddles, more mess, more laughs, more sleepless hours, more discoveries and.. more time I get to spend in the kitchen (albeit segmented through the nap times of one lovely little lady).

I love my kitchen. Not because any physical attributes it has or a particular design. But it's my space, my haven, my outlet, a creative workbench to produce new experiences.
I don't consider myself a good cook. I stuff up often and there a many dishes I would never repeat (and those I try to forget). I'm not the kind of person who would make it far in any cooking competition, but I love food and I love the process of creating a dish then enjoying it with others. There's nothing like talking and laughing over a good homemade meal - that's what I consider a true feast.

On the cusp of this new phase I see fresh opportunities to branch into new areas of cooking...
Fresh, inexpensive, healthy, homemade and hopefully... delicious!
My wonderful sister-in-law (who has also just entered the world of motherhood) asked me if I would supply fortnightly recipes for inspiration. I'm using her request to motivate myself to make new things, learn new techniques and discover new flavours.
I never thought I'd be a "blogger"; I'm not quite so adept a writer as my talented and inspiring older sister, and it takes some discipline to stick to activities I start, but I figured this would be a good method by which I can supply those recipes and prompt myself to continue.
So here goes....

On thinking of where this new food-blog adventure should begin, I decided to neglect the new and kick-off with an old favourite of mine; Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing.
I can't count the number of times I've enjoyed a variation of this meal or remember when I first ate it, but it's become quite a regular in our house. In years gone by it was the meal I requested for a special occasion (subsequent to the years I asked for macaroni cheese - esh, what was I thinking?!) and it's the very same dish I cooked for a celebration dinner with my parents the night my now husband and I became engaged. As with most of my current meals, there's no strict recipe to follow and it allows room for great variation, but here's the basics...

Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
(serves 2)

Salad:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 chicken breast, skinned & chopped
1/2 packet ravioli or similar pasta (my current favourite is three-cheese sacchetti)
2 tbsp (approx) Thai sweet chili sauce or Spiced apricot sauce
salad greens
Then whatever other salad ingredients you enjoy!
This particular round I used:
tomatoes, sliced
carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
camembert cheese, sliced in thin wedges
slivered almonds
dried apricots, chopped

Dressing: (you won't use it all up on this one meal but its handy to have extra in the pantry)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tbsp honey