Holy Nora - where has Bircher muesli been all my life?

So surprised how seriously lovely this was.
In truth, I was expected a rather unpleasant experience
and what I had instead was a creamy, indulgent bowl
of loveliness that gave all the 'naughty treat' vibes
whilst creating a halo of nutritional virtue. 

Breakfast - the meal of champions, or so they say. Now, I've never really done breakfast - not unless we're talking elevenses of either a full English fry up or a weekend brunch, but this whole eating just because you've got up and need to boost your energy stores -nope.

But in the interests of the Frugal Snob project, I have been trying to eat a better breakfast knowing that in my heart of hearts, it's the 'better' thing to do. My go to has been a slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter, because the salty creaminess is just about bearable.

However, Jonathan is a breakfast man (he also does that whole healthy drinking water thing, too) and having spent quite a bit of time in the Nordics, we have come across the idea of that nordic style of breakfast - oats, muesli, flax, sunflower seeds, fruits, yogurts, all that healthy stuff.

You've seen the beautiful images floating around Fantasygram I'm sure. Big socks, giant knits and fairy lights - little kilner jars of ridiculously healthy 'cold porridge'.

It's never really appealed to me as I'm the 80's generation who grew up on Readybreak with five tablespoons of sugar but as we have said, The Frugal Snob project is all about experimentation and doing things differently - embracing a more healthy lifestyle and so.....

I went out yesterday and purchased a kilner jar (although I have since discovered this isn't entirely necessary) and 2 giant bags of oats from TESCO for 70p a bag - which I have now discovered was a) slight oat overkill and b) ridiculously economical for the amounts you make.

Putting on my new wave nordic folk - which actually, I am genuinely a massive fan of (check out the incredible Rebecca Karijord and Anna Ternheim, who I'm listening to at this moment) I set about making Bircher muesli

The idea is to make it the night before, so it's perfect for those who are in a rush in the mornings or who want to take it to work as part of their commute ritual - which is what Jonathan has done. Although be warned, as pretty and instagramable as his blueberry and pistachio Bircher was when he made it in his kilner jar, he's just messaged me to say that after a 40 minute overland and underground commute it looks like it's now been through a washing machine.

I have a plan for that - and it's going to involve a sewing machine; watch this space for Hipster commuter Bircher Museli carriers coming soon.

INGREDIENTS for 2 generous servings (but you can multiply and it will keep in fridge for 3-4 days)

110g Porridge oats
200ml Greek yogurt
350ml Whole milk or semi-skimmed

You can fiddle with these quantities depending on your personal preference of consistency.


TOPPINGS:

Grated apple, sunflower seeds, flax, chi seeds and honey

Blueberry compote (simple cookdown Blueberries with a tablespoon of honey)

Fresh blueberries, pistachios, honey or maple syrup

Cherry compote with flaked almonds


METHOD: 
In a tupperware box add the oats, yogurt and milk and then leave over night to soak and chill.

Add your toppings.

Yep, it really is that simple and I can't imagine us now ever looking back.

Is trendy instagram 'Bowl Food' just food porn?

Lunch today. It may not be beautifully
styled but it was certainly more of
an experience than I'd been banking
on and it's made me think. 

So, in the interests of spreading the Frugal Snob message out to a wider base and engaging with a community who really know what they're talking about when it comes to foo and environment, I set up an instagram account for The Frugal Snob. You can follow it here. 

I am a massive Instagram girl and use it a lot with the other side of my life, which is writing YA fiction. I love the aesthetics of Instagram and how it brings out people's passions and creativity.

The food communities are insanely food obsessed. I mean, half an hour on there and I feel somewhat of a fraud, but I'm carving out  my own little cosy, middle-aged, elder niche and have had some great interactions so far.

It's fascinating exploring other people's relationships with foods, and being that a lot of what we are doing on Frugal Snob is about trying to change our lifestyle habits as a family, obviously I have been engaging more with the health guru timelines than the copious amount of accounts that are temples to the great burger and BBQ

Instagram is full of beautiful presented #bowlfood
or #nourishbowl as they are sometimes hashtagged
I shall be following them much closer from
now on as I'm converted. 

Because of that, I've come across this really pretty but sort of food porn version of eating called 'Bowl food'. Now when I first started seeing picture after picture of food arranged like carefully arranged flower arrangements, my grumpy middle-aged lady mode switched immediately to cynical.

WHAT IS BOWL FOOD?

Well, I'm certainly no expert but what I see is the idea that you take a bowl and you arrange your ingredients in it (attempting to be artful, I guess) so that they are all separate in their own little sections, with the idea that you can see how your various components measure up against each other and balance. It also helps you check your colours as well as separating them out so you're forced to mindfully select what item you're going to choose rather than just dipping into it all jumbled up.

WHY IS BALANCE SO IMPORTANT?

I've been reading (well, actually TEDx Talk watching and internet surfing) around the idea of superfoods and nutrients, mostly with the idea of satisfying my own beliefs that a lot of it is all nonsense and over hyped.

However, it seems that it's not quite such nonsense after all. I'm educated, like the vast majority of folks and we all know what a healthy diet looks like - or at least we think we do, but these guys, they are seriously into knowing how foods work on the various parts of the body, and importantly, how our requirements change depending on our age, lifestyle and medical health.

As a young family, we've had our share of health issues over the last twelve months. There's me who's diagnosed prematurely perimenopausal and having suffered years of IBS, there's our daughter who has had two episodes of pneumonia in three months and as a result has obliterated her immune system, then there is hubby who is having a minor mid-life crisis about his executive commuting lifestyle, and we have a pre-teen who is hormonally all over the place.

We're a great candidate for needing some serious nutritionally input and boosting - which is partly why our family project is The Frugal Snob.

So having read about nutrition plates, and rainbow food and food colour theory over the last few weeks and how it can medically and psychologically impact on our well being, I returned to some of the food bowl gurus and have given it a bit of a go. Now my Instagram page prides itself on the fact that all the food pictures are real food that is minutes away from being in our bellies, so it's not food porn, but food love -- so this is my lunch today. It's not perfect but I'm applying the principles that I've picked up and here's my findings.

WHAT DID I DISCOVER? FOODPORN OR FOODLOVE? 

1) It's ridiculously filling to eat like this -- I left nearly 1/3 of it.

2) By dividing your food up like this, every forkful becomes a conscientious mindful choice, slowing the eating process down and helping you engage with your food.

3) I'd forgotten what some of those flavours tasted like in their natural standalone state. I can't remember the last time I had celery without a big spoonful of stilton on it.

4) It felt clean and light - now I know that's hocus-pocus, but I can't fully explain how it just felt good to eat. Like when you're thirsty on a hot day and you drink a chilled drink.

5) In preparing it, I made choices and thought more carefully about how I was balancing out my vitamins and mineral intake in a way that I don't normally do when slapping together a cheese sandwich.

6) It was easy to eat whilst typing at my desk - which is how I have lunch everyday despite working at home.

So, what's the conclusion - it may look all a little foodporn - but trust me when I say, just like with other aspects of our lives, sometimes it's nice to make the extra bit of effort and feel like a goddess.

Cookbook Review: 'Delia's Vegetarian Collection'.

Today I'm doing a quick book review on Delia's Vegetarian Collection, which is proving to be an absolute inspiration and motivation. We have a joke in our house about vegetarian food, and it comes from trying to eat less meat for years. We go through the vegetarian recipe books, magazines and invariably ask, "Nice but where's the lamb chop?"

So many vegetarian recipes are what we think of as side-dishes and seem to sit on the plate missing something, a bit like a room without the focal point of a fire. 

A lot of vegetarian recipes also rely on the whole one pot / mixed pot kind of meal, which is okay, but I have always preferred my foods separated out on the plate, so that I can blend and mix my own combinations. It's a reason I have never gone too potty over pasta dishes or risottos; after a couple of mouthfuls, all mouthfuls are the same - sometimes, like with rice pudding, that's the beauty of it, but a lot of the time, it's just disappointing. 

NOT THIS BOOK: Thank the heavens for Delia, a long term heroine of mine. Delia and Floyd are my first memories of the whole cooking thing. It's thanks to them that I fell in love with food and cooking. Now, Floyd was not the man to turn to in a meat-free crisis, but Delia has proven her goddess reputation with her book 'Delia's Vegetarian Collection'. 

When you flick through it, you see recipe after recipe that is proper, wholesome, home cooked, comfort food that has a main focal point to the meal. She  has managed to collect many recipes in this book whereby you don't even think about 'where's the lamb chop'. 

The only criticism I would have of this book is that her methodology is sometimes over complicated for the same end result. I used her Chickpea cake recipe last night as a starting point for the recipe I posted earlier today - but being an intuitive home cook, who REALLY struggles with following instructions, the very lengthy method was a little confusing. I read it over a couple of times and then streamlined it in my head, missing out or combining several stages so that it became a lot less overwhelming. 

But other than that, this is definitely a book that is worth investing in if you are determined to make the switch from total carnivore to more meat-free days. It won't leave you disappointed. 

4.5 STARS and highly recommended. 

IT's currently on Amazon for around £6.50 in the hardback. Here's the link  But it's also worth checking out your local charity shop, too. That's where I got mine from a year or so ago. 

The ultimate mouth party: Spicy chickpea cakes with Red onion and coriander Salad

Throw a party for your mouth and embrace
Meat Free Monday in style. Perfect
pick you up for a cold and gloomy day
as it has tastes of summer. Don't stomp
on the citrus element of this dish. It's the
ingredient that makes it. 

Okay, so I have fallen in love. If you are people who love BIG flavours then these moreish little chickpea cakes are for you. They are fabulous for entertaining on a big scale because you can just multiple the quantities and batch cook them.

There is a definite nod to Indian cuisine and I went quite heavy on the green and red chilli because I like it spicy.

This recipe is an adaptation of Delia Smith's Chickpea Cakes in her fabulous book Vegetarian Collection (A book I can't recommend highly enough).

I've stripped down the rather long methodology and tweeked a few ingredients due to my own stock cupboard staples and the result is divine.

LEVEL: EASY
COST: SUPER CHEAP (approx)  £1 per person
TIME: 30-40minutes all in.

SERVE on top of a big salad platter. I added avocado to the salad just to balance out with the heat of the chick pea cakes.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 3 as a main or 6 as a starter) Makes about 12 cakes.

1 Tin of chickpeas
1 finely diced medium onion
1 red onion
1 bunch of coriander
1 tbsp of low fat mayonnaise.
1 egg
1 lemon
cup of flour.
2 medium garlic cloves
1/2 a green chilli
1tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds
1tbsp turmeric
pinch of dried red chilli flakes

METHOD

The smell that will fill your
house is amazing and will
make you feel instantly
uplifted. 

1. First thinly slice the red onion. Place in a nice serving bowl. Roughly chop half the bunch of coriander (approx 10-15 stalks) and then squeeze the juice of half a juicy lemon (1 full not so juicy lemon) and let sit whilst you prepare the rest of the meal. 

2. Place the caraway and fennel seeds in a heavy based frying pan. Warm and then add the diced white onion and cook until softening down and taking colour.

3. Add the garlic, turmeric and chopped green chilli. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Don't over blitz your chickpeas.
You want them to still hold some
structure and texture. 

4. Meanwhile: Using a blender, pulse the chickpeas and about 15 stalks of the coriander until they are broken down but retain some texture.

5. Add this to the frying pan with the onion mixture and give a good stir. Squeeze in the juice of half a juicy lemon. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

6. Add the mayonnaise and stir thoroughly.

7. Taking a table spoon, heap the mixture and then work in your hands until it becomes a small ball. Dust it in flour and then using a pastry brush, brush with beaten egg.

Would make a great buffet
party dish, too. 

8.
Fry off in batches until it takes a golden colour. Place on a baking tray in the oven for 10 -15 minutes whilst you prepare the salad.

Serve on one big platter and get folks to dip in.

TIP: They would be nice served with a pot of lemon mayo or a yogurt and mint raita. We served ours with a mango and apricot chutney we had lurking in the back of the cupboard (part of some random hamper we got at christmas LOL)

Fail of the week: Shocking Avocado story ...

Well, welcome. Thanks for following my somewhat hyperbolic click-bate kind of title - and yes, there is some irony in there (just a bit) but on a more serious note, there is a valid and important point in my failure this week.

This week were away the weekend travelling to see Jonathan's nan right at the top of the country. She was celebrating her 100th birthday - which is certainly reason to celebrate.

Last week, avocados came home in a
brown paper bag, which was then folded
ready for the next green grocer tip. 

As a result, I pre-booked a shopping delivery from Waitrose (Who, interestingly by using their ultra-user-friendly website and combining their genuinely good offers, I find to come out cheaper by the time I get to the end of the receipt - kudos to Waitrose.)

This meant that we did not do our usual green grocer's shop and the impact is immediately evident, and to be honest, it's made me feel quite shameful.

I appreciate that avocados are delicate little creatures, who bruise easily and who people are quite precious about (I count myself in that bracket). I appreciate Waitrose have a duty to their client base to ensure that people's avocados get to a home in good condition and only have us in mind

BUT

Last week, I got four avocados from our green grocers, shoved in a brown bag, transported on a bus with handfuls of other overloaded bags, knocked by two kids, and they still managed to get home in one piece - okay, one had a little bruise but really? I just cut it out.

This week, avocados came in home delivery
in 2 sets of plastic houses and cellophane
wrapping. 

OR

Why not pack avocados in paper based boxes, like eggs?

THIS IS THE VERY REAL result of straying off the path and falling back onto easy one click shopping where you do it without thought.

I can't promise I won't fall into this trap again - I'm human and family life is busy and often distracting, but my heart sank a little with self-disappointment today.

I guess there is another option in that I keep the avocado plastic boxes and put them in the 'shopping bag'  basket we have in our kitchen and then I can use them to transport my non packaged avocados from the green grocers in the future. At least then, it won't feel so disposable.

LET'S THINK OUTSIDE THE PLASTIC BOX

EASY HOMEMADE GNOCCHI, with ANYTHING YOU LIKE

This is a recipe that once tried, you'll come back to over and over again.

1. It's SUPER EASY
2. It makes you feel like an Italian Domestic Goddess
3. It's SUPER CHEAP
4. It's versatile to the point you can pretty much stick anything you like over it. 
5. It's great to make with the kids. 

When Roo was weaning and we were very skint, I made a lot of gnocchi. That was about 9 years ago. We were mad for the stuff, and then I kind of just forgot about it. Well, in the interests of our budget saving, I returned to it last night - and honestly, I can't believe how easy it is and how silly I've been for not making it in several years. 

I had forgotten the simple joy of making dough, cutting it and then watching with child-like fascination as it pops to the top of the boiling water announcing to the world that it's cooked. 

I'm going to give you last night's recipe but at the end of it, I'm going to talk you through some fabulous alternatives. 

Last night I fried mine off in butter - because that is how I really love gnocchi, but very often you don't need to do the frying stage, especially if you're going to do sauce based bakes - more on that later. 

Gnocchi is so versatile, you can do a lot of
different things with it. Last night we had it
with wilted spinach and blue-cheese and
roast tomatoes. It was delicious with salad,
and very man-pleasing LOL. Jonathan
said it was his favourite dish of the week,
and there has been some stiff competition
this week. 

So many recipes and cooking books suggest that Quick and Easy is all people want. This has always frustrated me. There are some days that I actually want to take it SLOW and MINDFUL in the kitchen; when I'm not looking for a chuck it together kind of deal. I want dishes that I can chill out and cook with the kids whilst chattering about school, life and the universe. This is one of those dishes. 

It's a time to put on your pinny and the radio and lose yourself in the simple pleasures of turning basic ingredients into something special, just as if you were a magician. 

This dish will do ANY social occasion from after school children's dinners, to date night, to big family gatherings, to Sunday lunches. 

LEVEL: EASY

COST: £ (per portion, the gnocchi is about 40-50p a portion and then toppings vary) 

VEGETARIAN

TIME: About an 1 hour of lovely relaxing prep. 

INGREDIENTS  (Serves 6)

Basic Gnocchi recipe

1. 4-5 medium potatoes peeled, quartered and boiled until just soft. 
2. 90-100g of flour 
3. 1 egg

Pan Fried in Butter with wilted spinach, blue cheese and warm tomatoes. 

a couple of teaspoons of butter

1 bag of spinach or 2 large bunches from the market

1 palm size piece of blue cheese - gorgonzola or stilton or any other blue cheese

5-6 cherry tomatoes. 

METHOD. 

The dough should just hold
together like this. You'll
feel when it's right in
your hand. 

1. Rice or mash your boiled potatoes until they are fluffy and lump free (I always use a ricer) 
2. Scatter and fold in half the flour into the mashed potatoes 
3. Add the beaten egg and fold
4. Add the rest of the flour. and with your hands, begin to turn the dough over in the bowl. You want to keep the dough as soft as you can but so that it still holds together. You may need to had a small handful of extra flour if you're potatoes were a little bigger. 

NEXT 

They firm up whilst cooking
and go a little heavier and a
little slimy. 

1. Cut the dough into about 6 pieces and using your fingers on a floured board, make it into a small sausage / snake shape. Cutting it into small pieces a little wider than the width of a fork. 
2. In a large pan, bring water up to the boil and turn down to a gentle simmer. Plop your little soft dough balls into the hot water and watch as they sink to the bottom. After a minute or two, they will float to the surface and let you know they are ready. 



Cut them a little wider than
a fork and then press the
fork in - the idea is that
it will trap the sauce and
flavours, as well as making
it look pretty. 

3. Scoop from the surface and put on a plate. Repeat this process until you have used all your dough. 

NEXT - if you're not making a sauce-baked dish (see below for details) 

Fry until golden brown

1. In a frying pan, heat butter and oil until the butter starts to foam. Fry them off in batches (if you add too many, the residual water will make them sweat rather than fry golden brown.) Each batch takes a few minutes and they need a little care so as to keep them golden and not burned. 

2. In the same buttery pan, add your washed spinach and wilt it down. Spread out across the bottom of an oven proof dish and layer up the gnocchi around it, pulling out bits of spinach to make it look pretty. Add crumbled blue cheese and the tomatoes halved. 

3. Warm through in the oven for about 15 minutes. For the purposes of last night, I wanted to serve it with salad so didn't want it piping hot - just warmed, but leave it in for 20-25 if you want it really hot. 

TOP TIP: You can make these in big batches and then keep them in the fridge in a Tupperware box for 3-4 days, just heating them up when and as. 

OPTIONS & IDEAS

SPINACH AND PARMESAN

I split the gnocchi portions and fed the girls with the gnocchi, wilted spinach and parmesan - a drizzle of truffle oil is wonderful on top. 

BAKED TOMATO GNOCCHI

Stop at the boiling stage and place in a casserole dish / oven proof lasagne dish. Add pasta, basil leaves and mozzarella and bake for around 30-40 minutes. 

CREAMY CHICKEN GNOCCHI BAKE

Stop at the boiling stage and make a white cheddar cheese sauce. Add either fried or roasted chicken, asparagus or peas and / or blue cheese and pour over the gnocchi, baking for around 30-40 minutes 

PAN FRIED WITH HOT SMOKED SALMON & HORSERADISH CREAM

Pan fry the gnocchi, place on a warmed plate and flake over hot-smoked salmon or trout. 

3tbsp Mayonaise

1 tbsp Creme Fraiche

1 tsp (to taste) Horseradish

PAN FRIED WITH PRAWNS & SCANDI CREAM & DILL

Pan fry the gnocchi, place on a warmed plate. On the side place the Prawn and Scandi Cream & Dill mix

3tbsp of Mayonnaise

1 tbsp Creme Fraiche

About 2-3 tbsp of finely chopped dill

3 handfuls of small atlantic prawns. 

The options are endless and I look forward to reading some of your favourite combinations in the comments. 

Parmesan Truffle Polenta with Garlic Wild Mushrooms.

So of all the dishes I have made during the last fortnight, this has to be my absolute favourite. It's so packed with big flavour, indulgent, and elegant enough to be used for entertaining - or humble enough to eat on the sofa with a box-set.

Polenta can be a bit of a tricky ingredient to conquer,
but I promise you that it's worth the persistence. It's
temperamental but divine once you've cracked it - and
like most life-skills, once you've learned how to
do it, it becomes second nature. It's delicious with
chicken / guinea fowl and fabulous with casseroles
and stews. Be brave. 

Polenta is one of our family favourites, but there's no denying that it's a little bit of a tricky beast to master. We like ours soft, just slightly loser than the consistency of cream mashed potato. We also like it heavily loaded with butter and parmesan; so this isn't the best of the healthy eating recipes, although it is all natural ingredients and it is meat free, so it has that going for it. It's also fantastically economical as an entertaining / dinner party dish.

The trick is to fry your mushrooms longer than you think you need to and play Russian Roulette with your chopped garlic pieces so they are just on the cusp of burning. You need them to caramelise but not go bitter.

This is why I'm giving this recipe a MEDIUM-TRICKY level because it's very much about being confident to work organically with the recipe and the instructions, and also because quite a lot could go wrong with this recipe if you don't keep your eye on the ball. It all happens within a slightly hectic 8 minutes - but honestly, the results are more than worth it, and I promise you, the more you cook with polenta, the easier it gets.

If you've never cooked with polenta, I would save this recipe until you've got it down pat. The best way to do this is to cook polenta as a mashed potato replacement with big stews and ragu so that if it goes a little wonky, it doesn't matter too much. I cut my teeth making polenta for Sunday lunch to go with Chicken or Guinea fowl, as it makes a lovely Sunday lunch accompaniment.

LEVEL: MEDIUM-TRICKY (Polenta experience recommended)
COST: £ approx £2 a portion
VEGETARIAN
TIME: 10 minutes start to finish.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 2-3)
3 cups of Polenta grains
Hot water approx 750ml
35g of butter
truffle oil
Standard Box of mixed wild / exotic mushrooms
3 large cloves of garlic
Good handful of grated parmesan

(I'd serve it with wilted spinach in future, although I served it with Salad this week, which was fine but wilted spinach or black kale would be nicer)

METHOD
Okay, hold your horses, you're going to have to multi-task.

• Each polenta grain mix has ever so slightly different properties so follow the ratios they recommend on the box. The ones I have given above are a rough guide and I sometimes add a little more water as I go along to thin it slightly. 

• Boil water in a sauce pan and add half the butter, then sprinkle the polenta over the top, stirring all the time. It will swell almost immediately, but it's still quite grainy. You need to cook it out until the grains split and it transforms from grainy to floury/ soft. It will thicken rapidly and that's fine just keep stirring. If it becomes so your spoon doesn't move easily through it, add a little more water. 

• Add in the parmesan and the other half of the butter (be as generous as your conscience will allow) turn down to a low heat and continue to stir with one hand - it will take around 8-10 minutes for it to change state. 

• Meanwhile, in a good heavy frying pan, melt a knob of butter and a splash of olive oil (to stop the butter burning) until it foaming. 

• Break the mushrooms apart with your fingers - and for the button mushrooms, slice into 1cm slices. 

• Roughly chop the garlic at least 3 cloves but more if you like. 

• Place the sliced button mushrooms in the butter first and let them start to get brown. Add the garlic at this point and give a good stir / toss of the pan. 

• Add the broken down softer mushrooms and cook out until they are golden brown and the garlic has started to caramelise. This may take a good 6-10 minutes. You don't want them soggy but golden.

• Add about 1-2tbsp of truffle oil to your polenta and spoon onto a warmed plate. It should just hold but sort of sag around the edges.

• Place the mushrooms on top 

Snuggly, Creamy, Warm Rice Pudding...

On a cold winter's day, when the ice
is on the cars and the night has come in
early, the perfect remedy for the January blues
is the rich, creamy, indulgent hug that
old fashioned rice pudding gives you. 

My children love Rice Pudding, which was my completely self-interested excuse to make homemade rice-pudding. 

My mum was a great cook but she never really liked puddings and so didn't often make them, which is a bit like me now. However, one of my resounding memories of my childhood is my mum's homemade rice-pudding. 

Simply, one day, after years of me loving and eating the tinned rice-pudding (hot or cold) my mum produced a casserole dish from the oven and presented me with homemade rice-pudding. Perhaps it was its completely unexpected arrival that added that extra note of sweetness, but ever since, Rice Pudding as been one of my favourite non-pudding-sort-of-girl puddings. 

Then whilst we were in Copenhagen over New Year's Eve, every tea room and eatery we went in had a very special rice pudding dish on the menu, which when I first ordered it, I hadn't realised was something very specific to Danish Christmases. Which is why, when on Jan 2nd when I went to order it, I was told in no uncertain terms that Rice Pudding was finished for the year! It seemed that it was as ridiculous as me asking for Christmas Pudding in July.  

Rice Pudding, the Danish
Christmas way. We had this
in a tea-room in Copenhagen.
Served cold with almonds and
 a cherry compote, it's a very
 special celebration dish. 

In Denmark, it's served over the Christmas period, cold, creamy and with almonds, topped with a rich cherry compote. Next year, on our Christmas Eve's Eve Book Gifting Night (another tradition we've adopted from our beloved Denmark) I shall be making it the Danish way. 

But for now, whilst it's gloomy, grey, icy and snowy, the only way I can think of Rice Pudding is hot from the oven, baked with the caramelised bits around the edge and the nutmeg turning the top a golden brown. 

It's not a necessarily cheap dish to make but it's worth making indulgently if you're going to do it. There's no room for skimping on calories here. 

This is a mash-up recipe from my mum, who she thinks used a Delia Smith recipe all those years ago -but to be honest, no one can really claim to own the Rice Pudding recipe; it's been a nursery pudding for as long as time itself. 

INGREDIENTS: 

1/4 a packet of pudding Rice

1 standard can of Evaporated milk

1 pint of milk

30g of golden caster sugar 

25g of butter

1/2 a nutmeg

METHOD

Heavily butter line a heavy based casserole dish

Pour in the rice 

the evaporated milk

the milk

the sugar

the butter

Give it a good stir with a wooden spoon and place in the oven on 180 for around 40 minutes. Remove it and give it a really good stir, loosening the rice from the bottom. 

Grate half a nutmeg over the top and return to the oven, turning it down to about 120 for a further 40-50 minutes.

Serve immediately. 

TOP TIP, if left or you put left overs in the fridge, it has a habit of going solid as the rice takes up more of the liquid. Don't panic, get another ovenproof pan, spoon in the solid mass and break down with a fork, add about a cupful of milk and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes and it will be all good again. 

Look At This Really Rubbish Photo...

As the title of this blog post suggests, it really is a rubbish photo and yet it is one of the proudest photos that I have taken, and the reason why is because it is the actuation of a resolution. It is the visible results of making a change that is important for our children's future.

Visible difference of the lifestyle choices
we are making as a family. We've got a
long way to go, but we've made a start and
the feeling of making a difference is powerful.

It was with a very heavy heart that we watched the BBC's Blue Planet with the gorgeous David Attenborough, and watched as the most incredible, noble, miraculous sea-life navigated our increasingly polluted oceans. We, all of us, have the power to do something about that in our own small way. 

There's a long way to go, there's no denying it but as a family, we hit our goal to only have ONE black bag of rubbish and to recycle all our other household gods. We SMASHED that target in our second week of trying. 

BREAKING DOWN PACKAGING.

We've always generally recycled, in as we've always had a full glass / plastic box and a full paper box, but being as this is an honest place, I was a lazy recycler - if it was easily one thing or another it would get put in the bag and if he was a sort of mash up of materials, it often, for the sake of what I thought was time saving, just got shoved in the main bin. 

NOT ANYMORE - nope, this just goes to show the impact of how taking that extra 1-30 seconds to tear apart packaging and separate the materials makes a massive accumulative difference.

This week we had three recycling boxes, a full food box from peelings, scraps and tea bags, and just one black bag of landfill. 

Our aim is to get down to just 1 black bag a fortnight - and being as there shouldn't be any smelly food items etc in the bin, that should work. 

MINDFUL SHOPPING. 

This result isn't just about better waste sorting, but of shopping more mindfully, of buying less packaging in the first place. By turning to a mostly meat-based diet and shopping at the green grocers,  using paper bags in that old skool way, the amount of potential rubbish being brought into the house has reduced significantly. 

Big and Small Revolutions. What a trip to the coffee shop taught us last night.

Last night, after drama-rama class, I took Betty to Cafe Nero as a treat for going up a level in her reading at school. It was freezing cold, her sister was at the later  drama session and we had an hour to kill.

Huddling round with our hot-chocolates we chatted about the day and suddenly, because I have all but killed our coffee-cake cafe habit (saving us nearly £200 a month), this 'naughty' rule-break felt really special.

It went to show how mindset is so adaptable and that the smallest changes can make the biggest difference. There have been many times I've sat in the coffee shop not really being present with the girls because it's all so much part of routine, but last night wasn't like that. I wasn't going to waste our precious treat checking my phone or glancing through the newspaper. No - heading out and spending £12 on a tea-time treat was suddenly seen in terms of being 25% of our weekly food bill challenge. It was special. It put it firmly in perspective.

What was also interesting was that as Betty didn't finish her chocolate cake, which was almost bigger than her head to be fair, we asked to take it away with us. The barista was very happy to pack it up and grabbed for a clear plastic box. I bravely asked if he would mind putting it in a paper bag and explained that we were trying to reduce our plastic as part of our New Year resolutions.

He broke into a wide grin and told me that I was just one of many people that day who had said something similar and that many people had started bringing their own cups.

So as Betty and I walked back to meet Rosie, hand in hand chatting away, swinging our paperbag of left-overs by our side, it made me feel that we are actually part of a vastly spreading movement between ordinary families like our own who are genuinely determined and committed to making as much change as we can - and I felt genuinely optimistic that things are changing.

Brilliant Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

WE LOVED THIS MEAL.

We had these last night because our original meal plan (which was fish gratin) was taking into account that usually we have 4 for dinner on a Tuesday and as it was just the two of us, I didn't want to use the larger fish portions that were in the freezer.

Instead, I did break the rule of heading to the supermarket more than once in the week, but I was good when I got there, just picking up a pack of field mushrooms.

We still have stilton left over from christmas and so this proved to be a very economical meal with surprising results. If you are a die hard carnivore who really misses meat, then this dish is a really great compromise, and I promise you, you won't miss the meat element of your dinner.

The sweet potato is a really important element in elevating this dish from just being a stuffed mushroom; it adds a really satisfying layer of flavour, and the sweetness works beautifully with the salty blue cheese.

This has by far been one of our favourite veggie dishes and we'll be having this as part of our regular meal plan.

LEVEL: EASY
VEGETARIAN
COST $ approx £0.60p per person
TIME: 10 minutes prep and 20-30 minutes cooking.

INGREDIENTS for 4

4 field mushrooms.
3 medium sweet potatoes.
2 slices of white bread
1 cup of blue cheese broken into pieces
1 tbsp of olive oil.

METHOD
Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs. Add the mushroom stalks and blue-cheese and blitz in a blender.
Place the field mushrooms into an oven-proof dish.
Spoon mixture evenly into the field mushrooms and drizzle over the olive oil ready for the oven.
Cook on 150-180c for about 25-30 minutes until the topping has gone a nice golden brown and the mushrooms have relaxed.
Meanwhile peel and boil the sweet potatoes, When they're soft, add a teaspoon of butter, stir in and then blitz with the hand blender.

On the plate, spoon the sweet potato onto the plate and place the mushroom on top. Serve with a selection of green vegetables or salad.

The Very Early & Dramatic Effects of our 2018 Life Detox.

What we thought was going to be a really hard
change to make, what we thought was going to be
a month of iron will-power and sacrifice is turning
into one of the most positive months of
our lives. The decisions we are making are so
flipping obvious now we're actually living them.

We're now almost three weeks into our new family approach to living - call it a kind of detox if you want to be all hip and trendy. It's hard changing a lifetime of behaviours. It's hard breaking habits, and that's why having the eye on the prize at all times is important.

It's about rewards and it's about ambitions; it's also about acknowledging that the actions you took before had consequences - I guess it's about adulting LOL.

So where are we as a family 3 weeks on.

* Skin: 
okay, so after a very visible reaction to the change in our diet and most importantly alcohol reduction by 75-80% less alcohol, my skin has literally transformed. 3 weeks on and I'm positively glowing, which at 37 is a nice perk. My skin feels much more velvety, like the cover of a good book, the pores have reduced and it's definitely in better condition, I now just need the tiniest dab of moisturiser to look like I've a full face of makeup.

After last weeks spot outbreak taking me back to teenage angst, this is a welcome relief. I had four great big zits (there's seriously no other word for them) across my neck / jawline - something I have never had before. Not only were they painful, but they we a weird distraction. This also happened across my shoulders. Obviously in the age of google, I looked this up in terms of alcohol reduction and yep, there, clear as day, this was my body detoxing. It was that visible. It was that causal. That was the crap pushing out of my body.

* Energy & Mental Health: 
You really aren't going to like this but yes, I have WAAAAAY more energy. Eating lighter, smaller and better balanced portion sizes before bed, and not drinking half a bottle of wine +  means I'm getting far better sleep quality. I've not had an attack of insomnia in almost twenty nights. My temperature fluctuations at night are settling down.

I'm finding the morning and the school run a LOT less of a struggle, to the point I'm almost sociable when in the first hour I wake up (and trust me, my family have learned over the years to let a sleeping bear lie when it comes to mum and bed)

I am SOOOO much more productive as a result.

The house is more organised, better kept. I've tackled jobs that seemed sometimes overwhelming and all of this is leading to a much better state of mental health and reduced stress responses. Our evenings have suddenly become viable time to do something other than sit on the sofa and drink wine. We're better as a couple at tidying before bed and this feels like some of the mum working from home burden is being considerably lifted.

As a result of the house being better organised and more efficient, I'm getting more time to actually do my work. I could never settle to write in a messy house and that ate into my time and motivation.

*Weight Loss: 
I'm going to reiterate that this is not a weight loss project, but it is a welcome side effect and upholds my belief that if you get life in the right balance, then weight is naturally maintained at a healthy level.

I'm guessing there are two factors that are causing my rings to finally spin around and my watch to slink up and down, and my jeans to need pulling up (I haven't weighed myself as I don't want that to become a focus and then I lose track of the real objective)

1)  the thousands of less calories we are not consuming through alcohol / wine -- but this is important; we're not replacing our evening drinking with replacements; mostly because all of those we've tried are crap. We've gone to drinking a cup of tea / green or black and that being enough. Dinner is Cranberry and tonic, a single glass, which is the only bearable soft drink.

2) generally more energy meaning that the metabolism is kicking in and burning off calories.

*Money:
We have saved hundreds of pounds in the first three weeks, which after Christmas has knocked some of the deficit that Christmas brings about. We are well on target to meet our 10k savings this year.

*Children & Values: 
Our children lead a very privileged life, I'm not going to deny it. Our philosophy has always been that as long as they are kind, compassionate, empathetic and not spoilt dicks, then they could pretty much have what they wanted when it came to books, stationary, magazines, day trips, fossils, fillet steak and lobster (trust me, our eldest is one of those) etc etc -

We reflected that although our kids seriously rock - and I mean they do. They care deeply about the planet and the vulnerable of the world (almost to the point it weighs too heavy on our 10 year old empath's mind) we also had to acknowledge that our kids were losing sight of the value of money.

International travel, tasting menus, patisseries from the Savoy, theatre trips etc were all becoming part of their 'norm' which is kind of what we wanted, but at the same time, there has to be a true appreciation of how many hours of the day job goes into paying a restaurant bill of a few hundred pounds, of how many books sold it takes to upgrade to business class on the plane - and how CHOICES have to be made to spread money out as best we can to maximise the experiences we have, pay the bills without worry, and to stash away for the future.

Never is this more apparent than in the super market and the 'Can we get' mantra that seems to pour out of a lot of children's mouths. The solution to this has been the lists, which also have the pre-checked prices next to items. The power  of being able to say 'It's not on the list' was immense, it was like Wonder Woman's arm shield.

I must have said 'It's not on the list' about 20 times on our last supermarket trip - and do you know what, there wasn't a SINGLE challenge about that. Not a single comeback, just a sort of huffy acceptance - and you should have seen their face when I said they could get an 80p treat of creme caramel pots that wasn't on the list. I don't think I've seen such appreciation for anything from either of them in a long time.

*Planet & waste
I can sense that previous habits are being broken and new ones are being established. The food waste bin was full this week and although we didn't quite make our waste target of 1 black bag last week, we have two days to go and we have only filled one black bag of rubbish in our kitchen. This is an insane difference. We were usually around 4 black bin bags and two recycling boxes a week.

This week we are looking at 4 recycling boxes + a full food recycling bin and just one black bag of landfill rubbish.

Two huge cotton shoppers were filled with veg from the green grocers, significantly reducing the amount of packaging we normally have from vegetables from the supermarket.

We had begun to make the change to cotton bags about 3 years ago but have been a bit haphazard, often forgetting them. But we have used no plastic carrier bags in 2 weeks - that's about 6 less plastic carrier bags floating around the ocean, landfill. I've got into the habit of a foldaway in my pocket and visiting the supermarket only once or getting home delivery has made a big difference.

There have been no straws or coffee cups in three weeks either. It's the small things that add up. I think that that action alone has reduced our plastic / cup consumption by one standard carrier bag full of waste - over a year, that's significant.

It's three weeks in, not long enough to become habit changing / breaking behaviour yet. But let's put it this way, Feb is coming and Dry January is becoming just Dry and the things we are putting in place are becoming sustainable and part of our routine.


Here's to better health, better bank balances and a better planet.

Hot Veggie Burritos

Saturday night is a chance for us to properly veg out (in all ways). It's sofa and t.v dinner and ridiculously light entertainment t.v. But it's great to do that once a week when the rest of the week is so much more structured.

A super economical vegetarian meal, just
perfect for a t.v dinner. 

This week, I decided to cook something spicy and easy that would be perfect for a sofa dinner, and that we could drink alongside our Budweiser Prohibition beer (more on that later.)

We wanted a veggie option being that is part of our 2018 resolution and the idea of Mexican child bean burritos just seemed to hit all the sweet spots. Spicy, cheesy, fun food.

This is great for feeding a crowd on a budget, too. There's something quite joyful about this dish, which maybe comes from the spices.

LEVEL: EASY/MEDIUM
COST: $
VEGETARIAN
TIME: About 1 hour cooking and half an hour prepping.

INGREDIENTS: (serves 4 at two burritos each)
1 medium onion
1 tin of mixed beans
1 tin of kidney beans
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp of oregano
1 tbsp mixed dried herbs.
2tbsp of hot smoked paprika (adjust to preference)
1 tbsp of cayenne (adjust to preference)
1 dried red chilli (omit for preference)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes, blended to a puree
Two handfuls of grated cheese
Fresh red chilli
Sour cream
8 soft tortilla breads

We served ours with sweet potato wedges, just wedged, oiled and baked in the oven with a dash of hot smoked paprika.

AS there was just the two of us, I split the bean mix and froze the other half portion, making it a super time economical meal.


METHOD:

• Sweat off onion in heavy based casserole dish. 
• Add in the oregano, paprika and cayenne and stir until well mixed. 
• Add the tinned beans and stir. 
• Add the tinned tomato puree
• a half pint of veggie stock 
• Cook down until most of the liquid has gone and the bean chilli is looking thick and good for filling approx 30-40 minutes on a medium to low heat. (Stir it occasionally as not to catch on the bottom) 
• Leave to cool a little and then in an oven proof dish, fill the tortillas down the middle, roll them into a wrap and flip onto the ovenproof dish so that the join is underneath. 
• Sprinkle with cheese and fresh chilli rings. 
• Return to oven for about 15-20 minutes until hot and the cheese has melted and started to brown. 

NOTES: We served it with Budweiser prohibition larger /beer - which I'm afraid to say, I took one mouthful and rejected the rest. It put me in mind of old fashioned toilet water. Was far too perfumed and flowery for my taste. Will not be buying again.

CHUNKY BEANY BIG SOUP

This week's menu plans are a little all over the place but we're still on track if not a little re-ordered and adapted. Tonight was meant to be Vegetable Green Thai Curry but Jonathan is at the dentist having work done so asked if we could have something a little softer and easier to eat.

Being as I hadn't made the Borlotti Bean soup for lunches (as I've been under a crazy writing deadline and haven't stopped for lunch) I decided to make it tonight for our supper.

The girls had leftovers, being that we unexpectedly had them. One had the courgette penne and the other had the Italian Cottage pie from yesterday - which is where your stock of tupperwear comes in really handy.

LEVEL: EASY
COST: £ (approx £3.50)
VEGETARIAN & VEGAN
TIME: 20 Mins.

INGREDIENTS: Serves 6.
Olive Oil
1 medium onion
Half a courgette grated
2 x garlic cloves
1 x Tinned tomatoes
1 x tin of Borlotti Beans
1 x tin of Kidney Beans
1 small red chilli
2 x vegetable stock cubes
Blanched finely cut Kale or dark green cabbage.
tbsp Paprika
tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper to Season
OPTIONAL: Parmesan cheese to garnish

METHOD:

• Sweat the onions and garlic off, add the courgette. 
• Add the tinned tomatoes and fill the tin 3 x with hot water, stirring in the stock cubes. 
• Add the Borlotti Beans, the Kidney beans and 1/4 -1/2 of a red chilli thinly sliced. 
• Cook for around 15-20 minutes until all softened down and thickened a little. 
• Using a hand blender, pulse the mixture down so that it breaks the beans down a little but keeps some of the texture (you don't want it smooth) 
• Add Paprika and Cayenne and cook for a further 5 minutes (tasting and adding more heat to suit your palate.) 
• Add 3 handfuls of blanched green Kale / collards / spring cabbage.
• Serve with a generous handful of grated parmesan (unless Vegan) 

This is a soup that is even better if it's left to sit for a few hours / overnight to really secure the flavours. 

BIG ITALIAN COTTAGE PIE

This recipe has arisen because originally on the weekly plan it was meant to be lasagna, however having had pasta the night before, and not being great on too much pasta, I made the snap decision to shake it up a little bit - and I'm so glad I did because my youngest, who is a very selective eater, sat and polished off a full portion and verbalised how much she was enjoying her dinner (not something she does very often) 

In order to stuff in some extra vitamins and goodness, and with the added effect of bulking it out too, I added a bowl of grated veg which cooks down, deepening flavour and adding to that 5 a day goal. 

This dish is an absolute winner for several reasons. 1) It's super economical (6 portions for around £5 less than £1 a portion), 2) It's a crowd-pleaser 3) It's a well balanced (it has hidden veg) and 4) It's super low effort.  

I served it with dark chopped kale because I had half a bunch left over from Sunday lunch and because my children love the stuff, especially when it's been buttered and sprinkled with a little salt. 

LEVEL: EASY

COST: £

MEAT

TIME: 15-20min PREP and 1.5hours cooking

INGREDIENTS: (MAKES 6 PORTIONS)

400g Lean Beef minced meat

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

1 chicken stock cube / gel

1 tin of tomatoes

2 tsp of tomato puree

3 finely chopped sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 carrot

1 courgette

6-7 medium mashing potatoes

Butter

2 tbsp of milk

2 handfuls of grated cheddar cheese

Optionals: I added a 1/4 bottle of old left over red wine being it was in the kitchen and if you've got a little spare budget, red wine is always a nice edition to this dish. I also added a spoonful of pesto from the jar in the fridge. (It keeps for two weeks and is really good to always have one in the fridge as a spoonful here and there really jazzes up dishes)

METHOD: 

• Grate your carrot and courgette into a bowl 
• finely chop your garlic and onion and fry off in the bottom of a heavy casserole pot
• add your minced meat and fry until it has taken some colour.
• Add the bowl of grated vegetables and finely chopped rosemary and cook down
• Add the tin of tomatoes and about half a pint of chicken stock. 
• Leave to simmer on the stove top for about 30-40 minutes until it has cooked right down and the oil is starting to split. It should have taken on a deep red colour and look rich and thick by this point. 
• Set aside and leave to cool and firm up slightly 
• Peel and cut your potatoes and place in a boiling pan until soft. Remove, Strain, return to pan and blast any remaining water off. Add butter, salt, pepper and a tiny splash of milk then mash until fluffy. 
• Spoon over the meat mix and fork until covered. Sprinkle with the cheese and then return to oven to cook for about 20 minutes 

NOTES: If like me, you tend to prep several hours or a day ahead, then it will need about 40-45 minutes to be piping hot. It's a great dish to make on a Sunday whilst cooking your roast, and then set it aside. If there's just the two of you, it can be boxed up and frozen and that's three lots of dinner all ready to go when it's needed. 

Grown Up Dry January Drinks.

Who else here is doing Dry January? I'm going to fess up, as much as we love good food, we love good wine and like many folks we have slipped into a happy habit of drinking wine every evening with our meal.

What's that quote so often chalk painted on gastro-pub walls, "A day without wine is like a day without sunshine"? Well, that's kind of been our mantra for the last 15 years, but as we get older we're coming to the conclusion that too much sunshine is bad for you for several reasons.

The main reason we have drank wine with our food everyday is because the alternatives are terrible and by terrible I mean SWEET. For me, not only do sweet soft drinks ruin a meal (we won't even let our children have fruit juice on the table for fear it kills their palate) but it makes me feel about 5 years old.

I don't have a massively sweet tooth either, so the sweet drinks are even sweeter. However, in the spirit of 'no excuses', we have decided to embrace (almost) Dry January.

Knowing us, I knew that to say absolutely no alcohol would be like enforcing a punishment rather than us making a conscientious lifestyle change. So we have come to the following compromise. We are drinking wine / alcohol on one night a week only. We've menu planned for a Friday, except for when we are going away for a weekend and we've switched to Saturday.

By allowing ourselves this one treat day a week, I honestly believe that we will work our new approach well into the New Year, maybe even make it through the whole year. As we know, denied pleasure is always the most tempting and so knowing our reward is coming in just a couple of days, really makes the decision the other days a perfectly manageable thing.

And at an average daily spend of £7 a day on a bottle of wine, 6 days of alcohol free is a saving of £42 a week and £168 a month. Even with replacements being budgeted for, that's a at least a saving of £130 a month.  (£1560 a year)

Now to the drinks. Having done some reading around before taking on this challenge we have had a very successful first week and a half mainly due to the following life-savers...


***

ALCOHOL FREE BEER:
Our preference is Budweiser Prohibition Brew.

So it doesn't do one of the main advantages of Dry January in that it still has a whack load of calories, but it is a perfect cheat treat for meals that demand a little drier / more bitter kind of accompaniment. We have this scheduled in to accompany the spicy bean burritos this Saturday, and it will work with the green curry next week.


ALCOHOL FREE GIN:
Our preference is Seedslip (Spice)

Yes, you did read that right. Some genius has actually come up with something that resembles gin closely enough that you really can feel like you've discovered a secret elixir. It's a little pricey at around £26 a bottle (currently on offer in TESCO for £20) but it's worth it, and still much cheaper than the wine habit.

Made up with a good tonic water, a slice of lime, a circle of cucumber and a sprig of thyme, you honestly can't fault it for giving you all the feels of a G&T. I cheekily served this up to my mother with dinner on Monday to see what she thought, and as a blind tasting, she didn't notice the difference.

Looking forward to using this in cocktails to see how it changes the balance of Cranberry and elderflower mixes.


ALCOHOL FREE WINE:
This is a complicated one. As wine lovers who really appreciate good wine and have always invested in the best we can afford, and having a husband who has a real knowledge of wine, this is a bit of a scary landscape;  our head is still working around the word 'wine' -- however, in the spirit of it all, we purchased a bottle of Esiberg Sauvignon, from TESCO currently on offer for £2.80with the idea of making spritzers.

On its own, it is far too sweet. However mixed with soda water and garnished with a couple of slices of lime and some ice-cubes, it became a perfectly palatable and well balanced grown up 'juice' to accompany our courgette pasta last night - the use of a wine glass helped the illusion and maintained standards.

I think that's the way to approach 'Alcohol free wine' - to not think of it is as the same beast as 'wine' but to think of it being a base or a mixer to add a slightly more complex layer to the usual soft options.

VIRGIN MOJITO'S
This is a fabulous alternative because there really is very little difference between the 'dirty' mojito and the virgin. Made in the same way but without the generous glug of Bacardi, this is a great social option and perfect to go with spicy dishes such as Chili con-carne and curry.

THE OLD (NOT SO) FAVOURITES:

ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL:
There are of course the go to non-alcoholic soft drinks such as Elderflower cordial / presse, but I can tell you, after two pregnancies, Elderflower has become a real thorn in my side - okay, it's a nice drink in itself but it's that whole thing of oh, you're not drinking, here have an elderflower presse. It's the equivalent of a stuffed pepper to a vegetarian and elicits immediate eye-rolls from me. However, not to be defeatist, I have purchased a bottle of elderflower cordial and I know that mixed with tonic water, it will be perfectly okay.

CRANBERRY & TONIC WATER:
This is okay as it does have that slightly bitter edge that my palate prefers and the astringency of the cranberry balances well with red dishes  - although it is still sweet and fizzy, two elements that are not that ideal. I am looking forward to trying it with some Angostura Bitters, which has been recommended.

I would love it if you could drop any of your alternatives in the comments, and especially some great, not so sweet cocktails that we can try.

Courgette, Chili Penne Pasta with Spinach Balls.

LEVEL: Medium
TIME: approx 20-30 minutes
VEGETARIAN
COST: £

This was tonight's dinner.

Antonio Carluccio was a great food hero of mine. He elevated simplicity into something divine; his food based on principles of flavour, freshness and balance.

For years as a family we have loved going to Carluccio's and eating the courgette and spinach ball pasta dish; a firm favourite regardless of age.

Over the years, the dish has been assimilated into our own family recipe book. It's a dish that will force even the most dedicated carnivore to admit that there are really enjoyable vegetarian dishes.

In order to kick start our move towards more vegetarian dishes, this was put on the menu plan as a way of reassuring the family that it was all going to be alright LOL

INGREDIENTS: (For 4)

Good Quality dried pasta shells
1 large courgette
Half a red chilli
1 clove of garlic
olive oil

FOR THE SPINACH BALLS:

5-6 Frozen spinach balls
parmesan cheese
1 Egg
1 cup of white bread crumbs

This is my Tefl electric grater (several
different grating wheels for different jobs). It's
 fab
for making up 'posh' salads, and for jobs
like this. It's a really handy piece of
kitchen equipment. 

• Defrost the spinach balls by placing in a frying pan and stirring until all the moisture has gone and put aside.
• In a mixing bowl put a cup of breadcrumbs, a cup of grated parmesan, and one beaten egg. Add the spinach and mix well. 
• Place the pasta on to boil for about 10-13 minutes depending on preference. 
• Grate the courgette and fry in a pan with chilli and garlic and a generous slug of olive oil. 
• Form the spinach balls into balls about the size of a small ping-pong ball and shallow fry them in a frying pan, turning regularly until they turn a golden brown where the cheese and bread are. Place on baking tray and keep warm in the oven. 
• Drain the pasta, toss in the courgette mixture, plate up and place three spinach balls on top, sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese. 

Pork Chop and Blue Cheese Tray Bake

LEVEL: EASY
COST: ££
MEAT DISH
APPROX TIME: 15 minutes + 30-35 for roasting

Pork is one of my favourite meats. It's so versatile and
appears to be light on the digestion as well as being
really well priced. It's one of the cheaper organic / free-
range meat options out there and makes a great base for
loads of different flavours. 

This is one of the most deceptive dishes that I've found. When presented at the table it looks like you've been slaving over a hot stove for hours, and the rich blend of flavours enhances that illusion. In truth, this is a really great midweek meal because you literally sling everything into one roasting pan, stick it in the oven and walk away from it for 35 minutes. This week I used that time to fold and put away the washing, ensuring that for one rare time in my life I actually felt like I was nailing adult life.

This recipe is neither particularly healthy (although it's  not unhealthy either) and it's clearly not vegetarian, but it is cheap - especially being as the pork chops were on half price offer from Waitress this week. Having mum over on a Monday for dinner and the eldest staying up, the cost of this dinner came in at £8 for the four of us, so at £2 a head, that's pretty good going.


INGREDIENTS (FOR 4)

4 Pork chops with the bone in
Two handfuls of new potatoes,
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme
2 cloves of garlic
1 apple
A palm size of blue cheese

Bag of green mixed salad or serve with broccoli.

METHOD:

• Slice the new potatoes into slices about 1.5 cm thick, spread out on the bottom of a roasting pan that has already been brushed with olive oil. 
• Cut the apple into slices, removing the core and spread out over the potatoes
• Season with salt and pepper and lay the thyme sprigs on top. 
• Lay the pork chops on top of the bed of veggies and place in a pre-heated oven at about 180 for approx 30 minutes or longer (until the pork chops have gone a nice golden brown colour and the potatoes look cooked.)
• Sprinkle the chops with blue cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes until the blue cheese has melted over the chop. 
• Serve on one big serving platter with a bowl of hot or cold green accompaniment and voila. Dinner is served.