Indian-style chickpeas and rice

Yum, yum, yum.  I have just has such a delicious lunch. It felt so decadent for a frugal lunch, just for me, but it consisted of chickpeas, a cup of brown rice, a droopy stick of celery, half a red pepper, a soft carrot, a shallot, a small piece of chorizo, some wild garlic (freshly picked this morning), a few cherry tomatoes, half a lemon, a tsp coconut milk powder and lots of herbs and spices. Nutritious and yummy. 

I stood and looked in my, end of budget, fairly bare fridge. The salad and veg drawers had the following:

A turnip

Some cherry tomatoes 

3 carrots 

1 stick celery

Half a red pepper

A yellow pepper

2 shallots

An onion

2 potatoes 

I have run out of my staple, go-to ingredient, tinned tomatoes so I had to get a bit creative. 

I love spicy food and playing around with spices. If you understand herbs and spices, and keep a nice selection of them in your cupboard, it is possible to make the most delicious, flavoursome food from very few ingredients. 

Yesterday, I had an almost identical set of ingredients in my lunch and, by using a different combination of herbs and spices, and lime, I had a delicious Caribbean/ Mexican-style (leftover) rice dish. 

Method

Cook the rice and heat a frying pan. Add groundnut oil, the chopped chorizo and veg. While the oil is still very hot add a sprinkling of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, caraway seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, pounded coriander seeds and chilli flakes. Stir. Add a, drained, tin of chickpeas, some hot water and the coconut milk powder, and stir. Add some lemon zest and a good squeeze of the juice. Stir in some chopped, fresh mint.  Taste and add salt, if needed. Simmer for a few minutes. Just before serving, add some chopped wild garlic. 

When the rice is ready stir it into the chickpea mixture and serve. 

Enjoy! 

Northumberland Gazette Article Thurs 24th April 2014

For those of you who didn't see last week's gazette, I have been challenging myself to only spend £50 per month on my grocery shop, which has earned me the nickname of the frugal foodie. 

It's nearing the end of month 2 of my £50 challenge. I'm still in budget and feeling pretty confident. 

So many people have told me how inspired they are to become a bit more frugal, to grow a bit of veg and even to get themselves some hens. I think it's great! 

Anything that makes people think about what they're buying and, more importantly, wasting has got to be a good thing and that's what people are telling me they're doing! 

This week I have had friends using their chicken carcasses to make meals and foraging for wild garlic. Something that they had never done before! This makes me feel warm and fuzzy! 

In order to stick to budget it's been really important to make every ingredient go as far as it possibly can. I have become the queen of bulking meals up and you really can't tell the difference. They are just as delicious and knowing that you've saved lots of money makes it taste all the better! I thought I would share some of my vital ingredients and tips with you. 

I use breadcrumbs all the time. I always have jars of them in my cupboard. Whenever you have a bit of stale bread, if you're not going to use it, whizz it up into breadcrumbs. Stick them in the oven on a low heat until they are all completely dried. You'll have to give them a stir, midway. Then you can put them in sterile jars to use whenever you need them. 

Use them to coat fish and chicken, for fish cakes and pie toppings and for adding to dishes to make a little meat go a long way. They're so versatile. 

If you haven't got time to cook your breadcrumbs, just stick them in the freezer and take what you need, as and when you need it.  Why not try whizzing some Parmesan cheese up with it too. You'll have a great cheesy topping at the ready, whenever you need it. 

I am never without tinned tomatoes in my kitchen. If you have a tin of tomatoes, you can rustle up so many meals out of what seems like nothing. Use them to make pasta and pizza sauces, soups and to make fresh vegetables and meat go further.  Remember, too, that tomatoes are even better for you when they're cooked!

I challenge you to see how many meals you can make from 500g beef mince. I made mince and potatoes for the kids one night. I split the remainder into 2 and made a lasagne and a cottage pie that would easily feed 6 adults each. In fact, all 4 of us had 2 meals out of each and I also had lasagne for my lunch on another day! Check out my blog for full recipe details but, suffice to say, breadcrumbs and tinned tomatoes, along with, the indispensable, plain flour, played a big part in making this possible!

It's not just breadcrumbs that I use stale bread for. I can make numerous meals where the stale bread, that would otherwise end up in the bin, is the star of the dish. One of my most popular blog posts has been 'ways with stale bread. Meals from nothing'.  Tuscan bread salad is to die for, eggy bread is one of my children's favourite meals, cheese pudding is like a super-simple, comforting, soufflé without the faff or worry! Make a gourmet toasted sandwich that is far too good for a quick lunch! And treat the family to a bread and butter pudding. Jazz it up with fudge, marmalade, banana or chocolate or go adventurous with coconut and cardamon. This can easily be frozen and you've got a fantastic pudding at your disposable if you have impromptu guests or just fancy a treat. Or go all American and make a meat loaf! And then there are the obvious things (aren't they?) like croutons, bruschetta, stuffings and toast. The world's your crumb-topped oyster! 

Chickpeas are another amazing way to make really filling meals with little or no meat in them. I use them so often, nowadays, that they've become almost as important as tinned tomatoes in my cupboard. I'm going to add to my 'ways with...' series with chickpeas in a couple of weeks. They count towards your 5 (or 7!)-a-day too.  Remember, it's not just fresh fruit and veg that count, beans and pulses count too.

Although, they might not count towards your 5-a-day, potatoes are an essential ingredient if you want to make your, more pricey, meat and fresh veg go further.  I'm about to publish 'ways with potatoes' on my blog. Keep an eye out for it!

Other absolute essentials are flour, sugar, eggs, butter and milk. Have these and you have batters, doughs (breads, pizzas, scones etc), pastries, custards and sauces at your fingertips to make the cheapest possible everyday meals. If you've got the freezer space, buy milk and butter in bulk so that you can stay out of the shops and away from temptation as much as possible!  It may sound silly but learn what your dairy products should look and smell like. You get a lot longer out of them than you may think! 

I'm going to share a classic bread and butter pudding recipe. You can add so many different flavours to this and I was tempted to use peanut butter however I decided to stick with the original as it really is the ultimate frugal store cupboard treat. 

Bread and Butter Pudding 

Butter approx 6-8 thick slices of stale bread and cut them into triangles. Leave the crusts on - they're lovely when they're are sugary and crunchy. 

Soak a handful of currants in some tea for around 15 minutes or as long as you can. 

Arrange half of the bread in a buttered pie dish, slightly overlapping each triangle.

Sprinkle most of the currants over the first layer of bread. 

Arrange the rest of the bread on top and sprinkle the remaining currants on it. 

Beat 3 eggs and whisk together with 350mls milk, 60g caster sugar and a pinch cinnamon. If you have any vanilla sugar, you could use this or substitute some for it. 

Pour the custard mixture over the bread and leave in the fridge for 30 mins but longer is better. 

When you're ready to cook it, mix 1 egg with 2 tbsp sugar and 100mls milk. Pour over the bread. 

Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the pudding and bake for around 50mins at 180c/ gas 4. 

Serve with custard. 

Does it get any more frugal?  

Frugal cleaning!

I ran out of rinse aid a few weeks ago and I've been trying to save money on cleaning products too so I poured some cheap-as-chips, bog standard malt vinegar into the rinse aid drawer of the dishwasher and it worked! 

Since then, I've been trying out alternative cleaning products elsewhere too. 

I've got loads of bottles of the cheapest vinegar that you can get because I make chutneys so I've been using it all over the house now! It's fabulous! 

Uses so far:

Pour some in your washing machine drum and powder and softener drawer and put it on a normal cycle to clean the machine. 

Use it instead of fabric conditioner in the washing machine. 

Clean your windows with it. 

Use it to clean greasy cookers and splash backs. 

Top up your washing up liquid bottle with some vinegar and it'll go much further. 

Pour it in your loo and leave overnight to give the bowl a good clean. 

I'll add more to this list as and when i find more uses! 

I'm now challenging myself to find a cheap alternative for all my cleaning needs!! 

I'm going to try and make a dishwasher detergent next..

Something else that I've done in the past is pour a bottle of the cheapest cola you can find down the loo and leave overnight.  Sparkling loo to follow! 

I've also been all round the house with a cheapy bottle of bleach and a toothbrush. God it is seriously satisfying!! Sad, I know!

Bicarbonate of soda is next on my list to find lots of uses for... Watch this space..

Meal planner

Hi! 

Feels like ages since I've been on here properly. Been busy getting my pieces for the paper sorted but think I'm finding my feet a bit now so it shouldn't affect my frugal blogging!

We have been away down south for the long weekend with Ian's family so I've not done much cooking since last week. 

We got home on Monday so I made a quickie supper of pasta with wild garlic pesto, prawns, chorizo and lots of grated Parmesan with a crunchy breadcrumb and chilli flake topping. 

I did a serious stocktake in the freezer and cupboards on Monday night. It is amazing what I've uncovered from under mounds of ice! I found a pack of chicken thighs and a homemade beef and Guinness pie. Total result. Tasty, speedy suppers to follow! 

On Tuesday I had leek and potato soup with some sorry looking rolls from the freezer. In the evening I made the chicken thighs into a cheesy chicken & broccoli bake with the purple sprouting broccoli from my dad's garden. I poached the chicken in water with a stock cube, some asparagus stalks, a celery stick send a carrot for about 15 mins, until cooked through. Just before I took the chicken out I chucked the broccoli in for a few mins, until tender. I then strained the chicken and veg and removed the stock veg (and gave it to the hens). I put the stock to one side. 

In a large pan I melted some butter, mixed in a few spoons of plain flour and whisked in some of the stock until I had the desired consistency. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, a tsp curry powder, added a large splash of white wine, a good grating of cheese. 

I took the chicken off the bones, discarded the skin (well, gave it to the cat actually!) and chopped up the meat. I added the meat and broccoli to the sauce, covered with a mixture of dried breadcrumbs and crushed salted crisps. I baked it for about 30 mins at gas 6/ 200c until bubbling and calling my name. 

While it was cooking, I rustled up a lovely pan of creamy mashed potato with lots of wild garlic butter. I also made some rice for Robin as a going back to school treat! It went very nicely with both but the mash is definitely the winner!

With the leftover mash from Tuesday's supper I made easy pea-sy fish cakes for the kids (and, although Ian and I were going out for a cheap and cheerful Italian with friends, we also had some!!). 

I defrosted 1 fillet of pollack and 4 raw king prawns. I then poached the fish with some milk, seasoning and a pinch of paprika. Just as it was about to be ready (only takes 5 mins), add a small handful of frozen peas and the prawns. When it's all cooked drain the fish, prawns and peas and save the cooking liquid. 

Chuck the fish etc in a food processor along with some mash, salt and pepper, a few chilli flakes, some fresh herbs (I used mint, chives and oregano from the garden), some grated cheese and some dried breadcrumbs. Whizz it together and then let it cool in the fridge until you're ready to use. My mash was very milky already so I didn't add any wet ingredients but you could add an egg, some of the cooking milk or some mayonnaise. 

When ready, shape them into balls (about the size of ping-pong balls) and then slightly flatten. Coat in more dried breadcrumbs. If the mixture isn't very sticky, you may need to use a little beaten egg before the crumbs. 

Heat a frying pan, add 1 tbsp groundnut oil and add the fish cakes. When browned, turn them over and continue to cook on a low heat until brown on both sides and heated through. The combination of the fish, peas and mint was delicious. We all enjoyed them with carrots and chips and there wasn't a crumb leftover!

So, we're at Thursday already. I've just inhaled an enormous bowl of bread and butter pudding and ice cream so nothing else for me until tonight. I'm going to give the leftover chicken bake to the kids, with rice, for supper and Ian and I are going to have the beef and Guinness pie, with the rest of the freebie purple sprouting broccoli and some minty peas, for ours. Then Ian will have the leftover pie on Friday night as I'll be gallivanting in Harrogate at the Good Food Show Live (my birthday present from my lovely friend, Gail) with, aforementioned friend, Gail!

On Saturday my menu consists of fish pie. If you are making my menu make extra mash for the fish pie and fish cakes, when you're making it for the chicken bake. And, when you make your fish cakes, poach extra fish and prawns and use them for the fish pie, using the poaching milk for the cheese sauce. Use hard (but soft, if you know what i mean?!) boiled eggs and peas, spinach and sweetcorn are all good additions too. 

To make your eggs, put them in cold water and bring the water to the boil. Take them out of the pan 6 mins after putting them in. Put them in iced water to cool quickly and then peel them and half them for the pie. 

I assemble all the fish, nestle the eggs in amongst it, add the veg and then pour lots of cheese sauce over the top. I top it off with crumbs and bake until bubbling. 

Freeze if you're not using it for a few days. 

The kids are at a party on Sunday so we'll just grab a toastie and/ or soup for lunch. For supper I'm going to make an oven-baked risotto with some peppers  and cherry tomatoes I've got in the fridge.

Hope this has given you a little inspiration. 

Next week I will, almost certainly, be melting Easter chocolate to create something to share with friends and get out of our house whilst I'm working on my bikini body!!

Potatoes

Potatoes are cheap, filling and really easy to grow. A staple frugal foodie ingredient. 

Here are some of my favourite potato recipes. 

Rosti with poached egg

I love a rosti. I often make them for sat lunchtimes or Sunday suppers. 

Grate some potatoes (I use the food processor), squeeze the excess water out of the potatoes, add a beaten egg, 1 tbsp flour, pinch of salt, some chopped herbs, 1 tbsp grated cheese and any leftover chopped veg and meat. I like to use ham. 

Shape into balls and squash them down to about 1.5cm thick. 

Fry them in some butter or oil on a fairly low heat. 

While they're cooking make some poached eggs and serve 1 on top of each rosti. 

Bring your pan to a boil, add salt and white wine vinegar and then break your eggs into the pan. Turn off the heat and cook for about 3 minutes or until you reach the desired consistency. 

Yummy and family friendly. 

Gnocchi

Simple ingredients and gorgeous with a cream or tomato sauce. 

Simply boil 380g big, floury potatoes until tender. When they're ready, let them cool slightly and then put them through a potato ricer. If you haven't got one, I'd really recommend getting one. It will revolutionise your mashed potato!

Knead in 75g plain flour until you have a dough. 

Roll it into long sausage shapes and cut into small pieces of around an inch each. Then take each piece and roll it along a fork to make the correct shape. You can find demonstrations online. 

Finally, cook in boiling, salted, water for a couple of minutes until they bob to the surface. 

Serve with any of your favourite pasta sauces. The following all work well: tomato and basil,  creamy mushroom, cream and bacon. Sage, thyme and tarragon are all good herbs to add to a nice creamy sauce. 

Loaded baked potatoes

Bake some potatoes in a hot oven for around 50 mins - 1 hour.

Fry some bacon. When it's cooked, cut into small pieces. 

Remove from the oven and spoon the insides into a bowl. Set the skins to one side.  Add lots of grated cheese, butter, a little milk, seasoning, sweetcorn and bacon. Mix it up well. 

Fill the skins with the mixture and top with a little extra grated cheese. Pop in the oven for around 10 mins until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted. 

So moreish!

Fried potatoes with curried, tomatoey peppers and fried egg. Posh egg and chips!

Fried potatoes are delicious. I use up any leftover, cooked potatoes this way. In fact, I usually cook too many so that we have leftovers to be able to fry them. The kids love them too. 

It goes without saying that they're nicest when they're fried in butter and oil but, when I'm doing them for myself, I often use fry light or a tiny knob of butter to save on calories! 

When I'm making this recipe I always go for the fewer calories version as the sauce will compensate for any loss of flavour anyway. It makes it a really healthy, filling, quick and easy supper. 

I simply fry some sliced red and/or yellow peppers until they start to soften. Add 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp ground coriander, half tsp ground cumin, half tsp turmeric, half tsp chilli flakes and a good grinding of salt and pepper. Mix together and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and 1 tsp sugar. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. 

When it's almost ready, fry an egg or 2. Make sure the yolk's really runny. 

To assemble, simply put the potatoes in a bowl, spoon the tomatoey peppers over the top and top it all with the fried egg. I usually crumble some feta over the top too but it's entirely up to you!

Break the egg so that the yolk runs through the peppers and potatoes. Yum. 

Potato cake a la master chef 

I haven't made this yet but I definitely will. 

Use tinned chickpeas and dried garam masala powder if you'd like to speed things up. If you've got leftover mashed potato, use that too. Make it as simple or as authentic as you'd like. 

For the spiced chickpeas

- 500g/1lb 2oz cooked chickpeas, cooking liquor reserved (chickpeas should be soaked overnight in water, drained, covered with fresh water and cooked for two hours until tender then cooled in their cooking liquor)

- 50ml/2fl oz vegetable oil

- 10g yellow mustard seeds

- pinch salt

- 5g chilli powder

- 75g/2½oz piece root ginger, peeled and shredded

- 5 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

- small bunch curry leaves

- small handful coriander leaves

For the garam masala

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 3 cloves

- 4 tsp cumin seeds

- 5 green cardamons

- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

- 1 tsp black peppercorns

- ½ tsp sea salt

For the potato cakes

- 3 baked potatoes

- 1 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting

- ½ tsp salt

- 4 tsp garam masala (from above)

- 2 red chilies, seeds removed and finely diced

- small handful coriander, chopped

- flour, for shaping

- vegetable oil, for frying

1. To make the spiced chickpeas, drain the chick peas, reserving the cooking liquor.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan until hot then add the mustard seeds and salt and cook for a minute or so until the mustard seeds start to pop. Add the chili powder, shredded root ginger, chickpeas, tomatoes and a good handful of curry leaves. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down. Add 200ml/7fl oz of the reserved cooking liquor from the chickpeas. Allow to cook, topping up with more cooking liquor if it becomes too dry.

3. Next make the garam masala. Toast all the spices in a dry frying pan and grind to a powder in a pestle and mortar with the salt.

4. For the potato cakes, remove the potato flesh from their skins. Allow to cool a little (if hot). Put two thirds of the potato flesh into one bowl and the other third into another bowl. Add the flour to the larger amount. To the smaller amount add the salt, garam masala, red chilli and coriander leaves. Mix both well.

5. Divide the flour and potato mix into 110g/4oz balls and flatten out into rounds using floured hands. Squeeze the seasoned mix together and make into 55g/2oz balls. Place a ball into the center of each flattened round of potato and wrap around so that the ball is encased completely.

6. In a large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil until hot. Shallow fry the potato cakes on all sides until brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

7. Finish the chickpeas with some coriander and curry leaves. Serve with the potato cakes. 

Couscous with Mediterranean Vegetables.

Marinate sliced aubergine, courgette and pepper in olive oil, crushed garlic, dried oregano, chilli flakes, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. 

Cook them on a hot griddle pan. 

Meanwhile, cover couscous in boiling water, a tbsp olive oil, a good squeeze if lemon juice. 

When the couscous has absorbed all the water use a fork to separate the grains. Mix in chopped mint, some lemon zest, salt and pepper, the cooked veg, some cherry tomatoes, halved, a handful of rocket and some crumbled feta cheese. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or chilli flakes, if required. Mix it all together and serve. 

Makes a great, filling, packed lunch to take to work. 

5 ways with.....eggs (for Easter, geddit?!) (sorry!)

As we have hens, eggs are a big part of our weekly diet. Even if you don't have hens, eggs are relatively cheap, make super-quick meals and are good for you. 

Here is some Easter eggspiration! 

Toad in the hole

Serves 4 (but easily doubled)

Quick prep, easy, comfort food! 

Preheat the oven to gas 8/ 230c. 

Pop some sausages and oil, in an oven dish, into the oven for around 10 mins until just starting to brown. 

While the sausages are cooking, mix up 4oz plain flour, 3 eggs, 1/2 pint milk and a pinch of salt. 

Pour the batter over the sausages and put it straight back into the oven for around 25 mins. Don't open the oven before 20 mins or they'll deflate. 

You could make individual toad in the holes by making them in a Yorkshire pudding tin. Great for kids. 

Heat oil in the tin until very hot. When it's ready, add half-cooked sausages, chopped up, into each portion and pour the batter over the top. Cook for 20-25 mins until golden and HUGE! 

Serve with mash, peas and gravy! 

Frittata 

Serves 4 

Speedy, easy, one pan dish. 

A great way to use leftovers or sorry-looking veg and cheese that might, otherwise, have ended their days in the bin. 

I like to use cooked potatoes, chopped into chunks, pretty much any cooked veg, chorizo, chilli flakes, spring onions and herbs. 

Cook the chorizo, potatoes, and veg in some oil in a frying pan. When the potatoes are starting to brown, turn the heat down and add 6 beaten eggs (seasoned with salt, pepper and chilli flakes). If you're not as greedy as we are, you might get away with 4!

Sprinkle in some herbs of your choice. Some chopped chives or dill, or dried mixed herbs or oregano are nice. 

I often pop in some halved cherry tomatoes at this point too. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Any cheese is fine. I love feta. 

Cook for around 8-10 mins until the the bottom and sides are set. Then pop it under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted and the egg is cooked. 

Serve warm or cold. Great for picnics. 

Pancakes 

Quantities can be made according to how many servings you need.

Great for a comforting weekend lunch. 

Savoury or sweet. Both amazing and seriously quick and easy. 

I love to make a sort of cheesy, pancake bake... Bear with me! 

Preheat the oven to gas 6/ 200c

Make a good pile of pancakes. See recipe on the blog. 

Sauté some sliced mushrooms and leeks in some garlic, butter and herbs.

Rustle up lots of cheese sauce. 

Put some of the mushroom mix into each pancake and roll. Put each rolled pancake next to each other in an oven dish. A bit like making cannelloni. 

When you've used all the pancakes, pour the cheese sauce over the top. Shuggle the dish so that the sauce makes it into the pancakes. Pop some sliced tomatoes on the top and some grated cheese. 

Bake for around 25 mins until bubbling and golden. 

Quiche 

Perfect freezer food! I made loads when I was pregnant for quick suppers after the twingos appeared!

I love a Quiche Lorraine. This is pretty similar to how I make it. I use the food processor to make the pastry though #lazy. And I use oregano ('cause I flipping love it). Don't be put off by the long recipe, it's really easy and freezes fantastically. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/quichelorraine_71987

Ingredients

For the pastry

- 175g/6oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

- salt

- 75g/2¾oz butter, plus extra for greasing

- (alternatively use ready made pastry)

For the filling

- 250g/9oz English cheddar, grated

- 4 tomatoes, sliced (optional)

- 200g/7oz bacon, chopped

- 5 eggs, beaten

- 100ml/3½fl oz milk

- 200ml/7fl oz double cream

- salt

- freshly ground black pepper

- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

1. To make the pastry, sift the flour together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft breadcrumb texture. Add enough cold water to make the crumb mixture come together to form a firm dough, and then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Roll out the pastry on a light floured surface and line a 22cm/8½inch well-buttered flan dish. Don't cut off the edges of the pastry yet. Chill again.

3. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

4. Remove the pastry case from the fridge and line the base of the pastry with baking parchment and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for another five minutes to cook the base

5. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.

6. Sprinkle the cheese into the pastry base and add the sliced tomatoes if you are using them. Fry the bacon pieces until crisp and sprinkle over them over the top.

7. Combine the eggs with the milk and cream in a bowl and season well. Pour over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle the thyme over the top and trim the edges of the pastry.

8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.

9. Trim the pastry edges to get a perfect edge and then serve in wedges.

Fool-proof eggs benedict 

A real weekend breakfast/ brunch treat

My perfect poached eggs:

Use the freshest eggs possible.

Bring salted water to the boil. Add a capful of white wine vinegar. 

Break your eggs into the pan. 

Turn off the heat immediately and pop a muffin or bread in the toaster. When they pop up, the eggs should be ready. 

Fool-proof hollandaise:

Melt 100g butter in the microwave. 

Separate 2 eggs. Put the egg whites in the fridge or freezer, for future use. 

Add juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper to the egg yolks. I also like a dash of Tabasco sauce. 

Using an electric whisk, beat the egg yolks on a medium speed until they go paler and start to thicken. 

Up the whisk speed and gently pour the melted butter into the egg mixture until you've got a nice thick, creamy consistency. 

Assemble:

Butter the muffin or toast. 

Drain the eggs on a piece of stale bread (or kitchen roll).

Put the eggs on the muffin/ toast. 

Spoon the hollandaise over the poached eggs. 

Grind some black pepper over the top and serve. 

I warn you that, when you realise how easy this hollandaise is, you will need to stop yourself from making it every day! 

Just a few suggestions here but the list of possibilities is endless (well, almost!) 

I'm published!!!

Check out my article in the Northumberland Gazette...

http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/new-gazette-columnist-the-frugal-foodie-1-6566920

Prep for Easter! No-bake fruit and nut bars!

Ahead of Easter, I've been on a mission to rid the house of all chocolate remnants, that seem to be everywhere, from Christmas! So, I made a fruit and nut bar and broke it up into jars. It is truly scrumptious. 

I melted every old bit of chocolate that I could find over a pan of boiling water. This included some very sad looking chocolate that I found in the fridge, half a Lindt teddy, part of a choc Santa, some Roses and some kinder bars that had seen better days. 

I melted some butter, mixed in some soft brown sugar and 3/4 tin of condensed milk. I stirred this into the melted chocolate. I then mixed in sultanas, dried cherries and berries, Rice Krispies and some salted peanuts. I spread it out onto a lined tin and popped it in the fridge to set. 

When it's set, you can break it into pieces and jar it up! 

It's pretty addictive. You have been warned! 

Aubergine and chickpea lasagne

Ingredients 

For the tomato and chickpea sauce:

1 tbsp oil

A couple of inches of chorizo sausage, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

A handful of mushrooms (but I only had 3!), chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped 

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp mixed herbs

Half glass red wine

2 carrots, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

Salt and pepper

1 tin chickpeas

1 tbsp pesto

For the aubergine:

1 aubergine, finely sliced lengthways 

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp oil

For the cheese sauce:

Approx 40g butter

Approx 3tbsp plain flour

Approx 500mls milk

Lots of grated cheese

Salt and pepper

A grating of nutmeg

Method 

Dry fry some chorizo and then add oil, onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic in a large pan with chilli powder and mixed herbs.

 If you have some leftover wine (see tip), add this now and let it boil for a couple of mins so the alcohol cooks off. Add the carrots and any other veg that you want to use. I used a yellow pepper. Add tins of tomatoes, chicken stock cube, tomato tins filled with boiling water, balsamic vinegar, sugar, tomato ketchup, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 45 mins.

 Add a tin of drained chickpeas 10 mins before the end. 

Stir in 1 tbsp pesto, if you have any. 

Slice an aubergine, lengthways, and pop the pieces in a freezer bag with 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp dried oregano. (You'll prob have to do this in 2 goes) Give the bag a shake and make sure all the aubergine slices are coated. Now fry these in a hot pan on each side. I'll use a griddle pan. 

Prepare a cheese sauce - make a roux with flour and butter in a saucepan. Whisk in warmed milk, season with salt and pepper and a grating of nutmeg. Add lots of grated cheese and stir it in until it's melted. 

(See cheesy tip re cheese rinds for extra scrummy sauce)

When all of the components are ready, assemble the lasagne in a large oven dish. 

Start with your tomato and chickpea sauce, sprinkle some grated cheese over it, add aubergine slices then cover with cheese sauce and repeat. Finish with a good top layer of cheese sauce and some grated cheese. 

Bake gas 7, 220c for around 25 mins until golden and bubbling hot. 

Serve with garlic pizza and a green salad. 

I'll make pizza in the same way as my other recipes but I'll just use garlic butter and cheese as toppings. 

Tip: if you ever have any leftover wine (well, you never know!!! ;-)), freeze it in an ice cube tray and just use as many cubes as you need, as and when you need them!

Cheesy tip!

Tip: don't throw away cheese rinds. They last for, what seems like, ever and are great for infusing sauces and risottos. 

My week of meals w/c 7th April 2014

Weekday breakfasts consist of cereal, bread/ toast and eggs

Monday

L: ham, cheese, tomato and chutney (homemade, obvs) toastie

S: Ian and I had a spaghetti and wild garlic pesto 

Kids were at Lucy's for sups

Filo tarts for pudd 

Tuesday 

L: I had courgette, mint and feta soup from the freezer, kids had tomato soup with garlicky croutons, Ian forgot his soup and had something that sounds entirely rank from his drawer at work!!

S: We all had leftover sweet and sour chicken (see recipe) and I made special fried rice to go with it. I fried 3 spring onions, 3 mushrooms, 1 celery stick, half a tomato (all chopped) and a handful of frozen peas with some cooked long grain rice. I added a few chilli flakes and a sprinkling of Chinese 5 spice and some salt and pepper then I added beaten egg and, when it had started to cook, stirred it through the rice. 

I enjoyed it more the second time!

Wednesday

L: kids and I - leek and potato soup, Ian - wild garlic and mushroom soup

S: aubergine and chickpea lasagne with garlic pizza bread (see recipe)

I'm going to make a bolognese sauce with chickpeas to bulk it up instead of mince. 

Served with salad and garlic pizza bread. 

Update: It was delicious! Thumbs up!

Thursday

L: kids and I - omelette with chorizo, spring onion, chopped tomato and feta. If I have any green pepper left, I'll add that. 

Ian - sandwich

Jelly for pudding

S: Leftover aubergine and chickpea lasagne

Friday

L: Ian and I - soup from freezer 

S: bangers and mash with a warm tomato and caramelised onion chutney.  Kids at Lucy's 

Saturday

B: poached eggs on toast

L: homemade pizzas (my 8 and 10 year old nephews will also be here)

S: chicken (cooked chicken from freezer) in a tomato and olive sauce with couscous 

Sunday

B: scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (from freezer - great find!) on toast

L: beans/ spaghetti on toast 

S: wild garlic pasta 

I will only need to buy some more potatoes and I may need another pack of butter, this week. 

I had an anonymous food drop of some bread flour, yeast and tinned tomatoes from a true friend, thank you Gail :-) - I worked it out!, yesterday so won't be needing those this week! And my brother in law, thanks Dom :-), borrowed my rotovator and gave me a bottle of white as a thank you! Barter away, frugal foodies, barter away!

Fruity, filo tarts and meringues

I have thoroughly stuffed my face today. I blame the pie that I took out of the freezer yesterday. If only I had put pastry on it when I made it, way back in Dec 2012, I wouldn't have defrosted a pack of filo pastry. And I then wouldn't have had to make filo tart cases and then I wouldn't have made creme patissiere to go in them. And then I wouldn't have had to use the egg whites, that I didn't need, to make meringues... And then I would have been about 4lbs lighter. Hey ho!

This is what I made!

I cut the left over pastry into squares and placed them in a greased muffin tray. I buttered each sheet and lay them on top of each other, pressing down into the tray to create the right shape.  It took about 4 pieces in each to make a strong enough case.  I then oven cooked them at gas 5/ 190c for about 5-10 mins until they were golden and cooked.  I cooled them on a wire rack.

This morning, I took some strawberries and blueberries out the freezer to defrost and made some creme patissiere (a thick style custard that you use in tarts etc).

It's really easy, as long as you have a few mins spare so that you can keep your eye on the ball and a hand on a whisk.

This is how I make it:

Whisk 4 egg yolks (reserve the whites) with 100g caster sugar until it's really pale and nice and thick. Mix in 25g plain flour.

Slowly bring 350mls milk to the boil. If you have a vanilla pod, pop it in the milk too. As soon as the milk has come to the boil, remove the vanilla pod and pour the milk over the egg mixture. Whisk well until you have a lovely smooth custard. Return the mixture to the pan over a low heat and stir until the mixture comes to the boil. Keep stirring (whisk if there are any lumps) and when it is nicely thickened, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. 

Lay a sheet of cling film directly onto the mixture and leave to cool.

When it had cooled, I put some in each pastry case and topped with some of the fruit.

While it was cooling, I used the egg whites to make some meringues for the freezer - 4 egg whites, whisked until form stiff peaks. 1 tbsp at a time, slowly add 100g caster sugar, whisking all the time. Then fold in 110g icing sugar, a tbsp at a time. Don't over-mix.

I spooned some of the mix on top of the filo tarts and popped them under the grill for a minute and made the rest into meringues for the freezer.

One I ate earlier (oops):

Pipe or spoon them onto a non-stick tray (I use a silicone sheet) and cook for about 2 hours at gas 1/2 or 120c.

Don't waste the vanilla pod - wash and dry it and put it in a pot of sugar for some vanilla infused sugar.

Think I'll do a 'ways with....eggs' next. Watch this space!

Sunday night supper. Freezer diving!

I found a chicken, bacon and leek pie in the freezer this morning that was just ready for pastry to be added. I also found a pack of filo pastry so decided I'd use that in a bid to be slightly healthier!! 

Once I'd put a lovely crunchy topping on the pie, I needed to think of something to do with the remaining filo so I have gone down the dessert route (not so healthy!). 

I've made little tart cases and I intend to make creme patissiere tomorrow and put some strawberries and other berries from the freezer in them too. Yum. 

Here's a little pic of supper. Will get the, more exciting, pudding pic and recipe up asap. 

Chicken, bacon and leek pie with filo topping and served with buttered leeks and peas. 

A lemon and almond drizzle cake kind of day

I had chair painting and veg garden plans for the day so, obviously, I needed a cakey snack for break time!!! I really wanted orange and almond but, alas, I had no oranges so lemon it was. 

150g caster sugar

120g butter, softened

100g ground almonds

50g self raising flour

3 large eggs

1 lemon, juice and zest

1 tbsp milk

Half tsp baking powder

Half tsp vanilla extract

A few sliced almonds. 

For the drizzle:

40g caster sugar, 1tbsp icing sugar and the juice of 1 lemon. 

As easy as it gets. Just put all the cake ingredients in a mixer and whisk on high speed until all combined and lump-free. If you don't have a mixer, you can do it by hand.

Grease and line an 8" round tin. 

Pour your mixture in and arrange the sliced almonds on the top. 

Bake for around 50 mins at gas 4, 180c.

Lick the whisk and the bowl. This is essential. 

I use a skewer to check the cake's cooked through. When the skewer comes out clean, it's ready. 

Spike it all over with the skewer and pour over the drizzle. 

For the drizzle: heat the lemon juice. Mix in the icing sugar until all dissolved, add the caster sugar and stir in. 

It's quite a dense, wet cake, which is how I like it. It's deliciously moreish. 

Sweet and sour chicken - slow cooker stylee

1kg chicken thighs

Tin pineapple, cut into chunks

1 green pepper, cut into squares 

1 red pepper, cut into squares

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Handful mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 chunk of ginger, chopped 

2 carrots, chopped into batons

1 tbsp cornflour 

Sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp Tomato ketchup

2tbsp white wine vinegar

4 tbsp dark soy sauce

4tbsp brown sugar 

Mix the soy sauce, juice from the pineapple tin, brown sugar, tomato sauce and white wine vinegar together. 

Put your onion, carrots, ginger and garlic in the slow cooker. 

Remove the skin from the chicken and pop the thighs on top of the veg.

Pour the sauce over the top. 

Cook on high setting for about 3 hours or until the meat is cooked through and easily comes away from the bone. 

Remove the meat from the slow cooker. Add the chopped peppers, pineapple and mushrooms. Stir in sweet chilli sauce. 

Remove the bones, it will be very easy (but remember it's very hot so either wait or use gloves if you haven't got asbestos fingers). Removing the meat at this stage means you waste no meat as it comes away from the bone cleanly. Chop the meat up. 

When the veg has been cooking for 20 mins, mix the cornflour with a little water and stir it into the sauce to thinken. Stir the chicken into it and leave for a further 10 mins. Pop the rice on at this point. 

Very easy, tasty and frugal. It serves at least 4 greedy adults!