Jessica Rowe remembers growing up with Women's Weekly cookbooks in her family kitchen. Titles such as Best Ever Recipes and Chinese Cooking Class, alongside Cakes and Slices and Beautiful Biscuits. And, like many of us of a certain generation, birthdays were always celebrated with a novelty cake inspired by the Weekly.
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Now she can't quite believe she is the author of a Women's Weekly cookbook.
"For the simple reason that I can't cook," she laughs.
Rowe's a self-confessed crap housewife. Indeed, she's made something of a second career of it, with books and a website selling the message that it's okay to admit you don't have it together all the time.
"One of the most tedious things about being an adult, in inverted commas," she says, "is that realisation that you have to cook dinner every night for the rest of your life.
"There's nothing more soul destroying than that eternal question, what's for dinner?"
So, she says, she was kind of surprised when the Weekly approached her wanting to do Everyday Not-So-Crap Family Meals.
"You don't have to be a gourmet chef for these recipes, it's simple and straightforward, there's plenty of jars and packets and shortcuts."
Whether you're using a supermarket barbecue chicken to make a pie, or microwave rice to whip together a Friday fridge-raid fried rice, the book is full of meals to appeal to families of all ages and stages.
Rowe, who is married to journalist Peter Overton, has two teenage daughters Allegra and Giselle. She admits when they were little, dinner time was a challenge.
"There were always things one would eat and one wouldn't and I'd often end up cooking three different meals. Sometimes I'll even do that now, just to keep everyone happy. Poor Pete loses out the most of all because it will be spaghetti bolognese again."
She recognises families are doing it tough at the moment with an increased cost of living.
"People are leading busy, complex lives and we shouldn't be making things any harder than they need to be. We should play to our strengths and I know cooking isn't one of mine but I still have to make dinner so I want to make it stress free."
Rowe's had her fair share of stress over the years. Her mother Penelope raised Rowe and her two sisters on her own. When Rowe was 10, Penelope was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder and their childhood swung wildly on their mother's condition.
Rowe herself has struggled with her mental health. After the birth of Allegra, she was suffered from post-natal depression before seeking help. "Asking for help is one of the bravest and best things you can ever do," she has said.
And then there's the career setbacks she's had over the years. She started her journalism career in Canberra at Prime television in the mid-1990s before moving to Sydney to co-present the Ten News at Five bulletin. When she joined the Nine Network in 2006 to host Today alongside Karl Stefanovic, Ten pursued legal action to stop her.
Her move to Today was met with criticism and later that year, then-Nine chief Eddie McGuire called for her sacking in what's become known as the "boning saga". Rowe has admitted McGuire made her life hell at Nine.
"It's about resilience and not allowing other people to define what you're doing to do in your life," she says.
"Early on, I defined myself through my job title but I then realised I was far more than that. And once I was able to let go of that, it was freeing and it allowed me to take risks in my career that I perhaps wouldn't have before."
Rowe's a great interview, she's full of laughs, happy to share information, she takes it in her stride when I tell her I have some issue with her labelling herself as a crap housewife.
We're all doing the best we can, no one's "enough" is ever better or worse than anyone else's. I'm sure if I asked her family about her efforts as a wife and mother, they wouldn't be saying she was crap.
"I own being a crap housewife, turning that idea of the perfect 1950's housewife on its head. How it came into being was, more and more for women, we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect in every aspect of our lives, in our careers, with our families, in our partnerships, at home, in our friendships, all of that.
"So it was my way of sort of owning the fact I'm imperfect and flawed and messy and complicated.
"What began as something where I suppose I was laughing at myself and making myself feel better has united a whole lot of other people who are now happy to admit they're a bit crap too.
"I'm a huge advocate for women supporting each other for the different choices we make in our lives and in the different stages of life.
"No one is perfect, we're all doing our best, all of us having something going on. Life is hard and messy and complicated but it's also pretty wonderful."
- Everyday Not-So-Crap Family Meals: Saving your sanity in the kitchen, by Jessica Rowe. Are Media. $29.
The disappearing frozen cheesecake tart
Cheesecake is my husband's favourite dessert. (And I love anything and everything sweet!) It's hard to stop at just one piece of this scrumptious cheesecake.
Ingredients
- 90g butter
- 3 packets Red Velvet Oreo cookies (400g)
- 395g can sweetened condensed milk
- 750g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- canned whipped cream and sifted cocoa powder, to serve
Method
1. Grease a 24cm (3-cup capacity) round metal pie dish.
2. Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium in 20-second bursts, stirring, until melted.
3. Place one packet Oreo cookies in a zip-lock plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the cookies until coarse crumbs form. Set aside until needed.
4. Reserve four Oreos, then place remaining Oreos in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely crushed. Add melted butter and process until well combined. Press into prepared pie dish to cover base and side, reaching to the top of the pie dish.
5. Place condensed milk, cream cheese and vanilla in cleaned food processor bowl. Process until smooth.
6. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Stir through crushed Oreos until just combined. Pour cheesecake mixture into pie dish; smooth surface.
7. Freeze cheesecake for five hours or overnight until firm.
8. Stand at room temperature for 10 mins to soften slightly before serving. Halve the reserved Oreos.
9. Serve topped with whipped cream and halved Oreos; dust with cocoa powder.
Serves 8.
Chicken pie doesn't lie
The joy of the barbecue chook. Plus if the leek business is too fussy, leave it out and just mix the soup mixture and cream with the chook. I often do!
Ingredients
- 1 barbecue chicken (900g)
- 60g butter, chopped
- 1 large leek, sliced thinly
- 2 stalks celery, trimmed, chopped finely
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tsp thyme leaves, plus extra to serve
- 420g can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 250ml pouring cream
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg yolk, beaten lightly
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Grease a deep, 23cm, 1.5-litre square ovenproof dish.
2. Remove skin from chicken then pull off the meat in large chunks. Coarsely chop chicken (or break with your hands); you will have about three cups (480g).
3. Heat butter in a medium saucepan; cook leek and celery, stirring, for five minutes or until softened. Add flour and thyme; cook, stirring, for one minute. Gradually stir in the soup and cream; cook, stirring, for three minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in chopped chicken and the mustard. Season to taste. Cool for 15 minutes.
4. Spoon chicken mixture into dish; place puff pastry over filling, trim to fit the dish. Brush pastry with the egg yolk.
5. Bake pie for 20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and browned. Serve sprinkled with salt and extra thyme.
Leftovers: Take two slices of bread and pile high with pie filling; place in a sandwich press or jaffle maker and toast for four minutes.
Serves 6.
Magic mince one-tray meatballs with spaghetti
Mince works its magic again! Try chicken mince this time around or you can always get the meatballs ready-made by the butcher.
Ingredients
- 80g frozen peas
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley
- 500g chicken mince
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 25g dried breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 80g fresh ricotta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
- 3 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 500g spaghetti
- 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
- basil leaves and sliced
- baguette, to serve
Method
1. Preheat oven to 240C/220C fan-forced. Line a shallow roasting pan with baking paper.
2. Place peas in a heatproof bowl; pour over enough boiling water from the kettle to cover. Stand peas for one minute; drain. Blend or process peas, lemon rind and parsley until just combined. Add the chicken, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and ricotta; pulse until combined.
3. Using wet hands (this will prevent the mixture sticking), roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.
4. Place in roasting pan; drizzle with oil. Roast meatballs for 15 minutes, turning once. Add tomatoes and vinegar; roast for a further 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and sauce is hot.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water following packet directions until just tender. Drain.
6. Divide the pasta, meatballs and sauce among bowls. Top with parmesan and basil. Serve with bread.
Prep it: You can freeze the raw or cooked meatballs; thaw in the fridge before cooking or reheating.
Serves 4.
No-cutlery nachos
Nachos is at the top of my food chain. What I love about it is the simplicity. There's plenty of cupboard staples including cans of beans, tomatoes, pasta sauce and corn chips.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 600g beef mince
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 400g can diced tomatoes
- 400g jar Arrabbiata pasta sauce
- 250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 avocados, halved, stone removed
- 400g can kidney beans, drained, rinsed
- 400g can black beans, drained, rinsed
- 2 x 200g packets corn chips
- 100g shredded pizza cheese
- 280g jar nacho cheese salsa (see tip)
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves
- lime wedges, to serve
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Line two large oven trays and your dining table with foil.
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the beef; cook for five minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, until beef is browned.
3. Add garlic and spices; stir for one minutes or until fragrant. Add canned tomatoes and pasta sauce to pan. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for five minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and half the lime juice in a small bowl; season to taste.
5. Scoop avocado flesh into a second small bowl, add remaining lime juice and season, then crush with a fork.
6. Add beans to the beef mixture in pan. Cook for a further three minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef mixture is thickened slightly. Lightly mash some of the beans in the pan with the back of a fork or a potato masher.
7. Meanwhile, arrange corn chips on oven trays overlapping slightly; scatter with cheese, bake for five minutes or until cheese is melted and chips are warmed.
8. Slide chips onto foil-lined table. Spoon the beef mixture over corn chips. Top with the tomato mixture, mashed avocado, cheese salsa and coriander leaves.
9. Season with pepper. Serve with lime wedges.
Tip: Nacho cheese salsa is available in supermarkets.
Serves 8-10.