About ME!

HELLO!!

I'm Christine. I'm a busy mum to 5 year old twins, Robin and Evie and wife to Ian. I also run a property management company. We live in a small village in beautiful, rural Northumberland. I love spending time at home with my family, running and exercising and socialising with my fabulous friends.

When I'm not busy with work, family or friends, my favourite pastimes are cooking and eating (often a combination of family/friends and food). I particularly get so much (too much?!) pleasure from making healthy, nutritious meals from nothing (well, whatever I've got in the house!), making leftovers exciting and not wasting a thing. I HATE waste. I've wanted to start a blog for a few years but time just hasn't allowed it. But I'm very excited about getting it going now and sharing my passion for food with the world!!

I'm very health conscious and want to feed my family good food, on a budget. As you can imagine, time is not something that I have a lot of so my cooking has to fit in with my busy life. Weekday cooking has to be fuss-free and speedy but I still want it to feel indulgent.

I am also a keen vegetable gardener. There is little better than creating a whole meal from produce that you raised with your own fair hands. And in the British weather, it's not always easy. It makes you appreciate it even more though! I would urge anyone to have a go at growing their own. Even if it's just a few of your favourites in pots or some herbs on the windowsill. Do it!

I'm going to try and share some of the recipes that I create and any tips that I have along with general ramblings about food and the good life!

Don't expect fine dining, just homemade, tasty, healthy and wholesome food. Always on a budget! Maybe with the odd flashy, entertaining number thrown in for good measure. The budget won't go out the window though.

I'm very new to this so please bear with me until I find my feet!!

I hope you enjoy it. All feedback very much appreciated!!

Thanks y'all!

Tuesday, 29 April 2014

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! 





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