Strawberry ice cream

We made this ages ago, but I forgot to publish the post, oops!

300ml double cream
200ml milk
200g strawberries
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey

Wash, hull, and chop the strawberries. Crush with a hand blender, food processor, or potato masher. Sieve to remove the pips.

Mix the cream, milk and maple syrup or honey. Then mix in the strawberries.

Pour into an ice cream machine and leave to churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. For our machine it takes about 20 minutes to create a thick, yet soft ice cream.

Delicious!

Wholewheat fudge brownies {Baking with my babies}

Sophie and I have been getting up to lots of baking mischief in the kitchen recently. She's now at an age where measuring, tipping, and stirring are really fun activities, and she also really enjoys eating the cakes afterwards! We've tried a few recipes. I keep things simple because we have to fit in the entire process (except the actual baking) within 45 minutes, as that's how long Matthew tends to sleep in the afternoon.

We made wholewheat brownies which were really delicious, more like a slightly fudgy cake than a brownie really but I'll still call them brownies because of their shape.

Wholewheat fudge brownies
Makes 16 squares

175g caster sugar
60g wholewheat flour
30g cocoa powder (I use Green and Black's)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
125g butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g plain chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Butter a brownie dish (I used a 9x9 inch tin).
2. Gently melt the butter.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients. Tip in the eggs and vanilla, give it a quick stir, then gently pour in the butter and mix thoroughly.
4. Add in the chocolate chips and fold in.
5. Tip it into the dish and flatten the top. Bake for about 30 minutes until a wafer-like crust forms on the top. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

V is for Vacation {Recipe: Christmas pudding}

We're off on our vacation today, so this and the rest of the advent posts have been pre-written and will appear as if by magic while I am far away from a computer!

We will be having a French Christmas this year, with family in north Brittany. Oui! I have packed all the essentials: Christmas pudding, brussels sprouts, mince pies, pigs in blankets. How do the French survive without these annual delicacies? (To be fair, they do feast on fruits de mer, foie gras, and a strange ice-cream concoction which they go ga-ga over for dessert, so they've got their own flavours to gloat over.)

I made my Christmas pudding, as is traditional, on stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before advent. I can't wait to try it!

My Christmas pudding
Serves 8-10

90g self-raising flour
125g chilled butter
30g flaked almonds
125g carrot, grated
250g raisins
125g currants
125g sultanas
125g breadcrumbs
60g Italian mixed peel
90g light muscovado sugar
Zest and juice of a lemon
A whole nutmeg (you'll use half)
2 eggs, beaten
75ml brandy

Grate the butter into the flour and rub together to a breadcrumb texture. Add the almonds, carrot, raisins, currants, sultanas, breadcrumbs, mixed peel, sugar, and lemon zest. Grate in half of the nutmeg. Mix these ingredients together. Add the lemon juice and eggs, and mix well until fully combined.

Butter a 1.25-litre (2-pint) ceramic pudding bowl, or several smaller bowls (this year I used a 1-litre bowl and two mini pudding moulds). If using a large bowl, cut out a circle of baking parchment to fit in the top of the bowl, butter it well, and place it in the bowl. (This helps the pudding to stay together when you are releasing it from the bowl.) Spoon in the pudding mixture almost to the top. Flatten the surface, pressing down well.


Cut out a circle of baking paper and a circle of foil, each two inches bigger than the diameter of the bowl. Butter the baking paper. Make a pleat in the middle of both the baking paper and the foil. Lay the baking paper buttered side down over the bowl, and the foil on top. Tie them tightly with string under the rim of the bowl.

Put the bowl in a steamer or in a pan of simmering water which comes halfway up the side of the bowl. You now have two options:

1. Steam the pudding fully, for 8-9 hours. Afterwards, remove the foil and baking paper. Pierce several holes in the pudding with a skewer and pour over the brandy. Cover the bowl. with clingfilm. Store in a dark place. On the day of eating, replace the clingfilm and pierce it several times. Microwave on full power for 5 minutes, stand for 3 minutes, microwave on low/defrost for 7 minutes, and stand for 5 minutes before unmoulding.

2. Steam the pudding for 6 hours. Afterwards, remove the foil and baking paper. Pierce several holes in the pudding with a skewer and pour over the brandy. Then put on fresh baking paper and foil, buttered and pleated as before. Store in a dark place. On the day of eating, steam the pudding for 2-3 hours, then rest for 3-4 minutes before unmoulding.

Whichever method you use, you must make sure that you keep topping up the steamer/pan with boiling water.

Serve the pudding with traditional brandy butter, custard, or (my favourite) extra thick cream.

H is for Hot Toddy {Recipe}

Hi everyone,

It's turned very chilly here in Oxford this weekend. This afternoon we went for a walk to the local duck pond, armed with bread. Half an hour is more than enough time outside in the cold weather!

So, this evening I'm making warming mugs of hot toddy for us to enjoy while snuggled on the sofa. My recipe is very simple and great for people, like me, who like to cheat or take shortcuts when it comes to cooking!

Hot toddy
Serves 2

Put a measure of whisky, a teaspoon of honey, two or three cloves, a dash of lemon juice, and a slice of lemon in two small mugs. Top up with freshly boiled water.

Note: don't drink this if you have to drive, or if you are taking prescribed medication!

Laura x

Blackberry jam

Last weekend was jam making weekend! I had already made a batch of cherry jam with the fruit from my parents' garden earlier in the year (yet to be tasted), now it was the turn of the blackberries picked from our local area. There were just so many this year! Big ones too!

Because I knew I wouldn't be able to use them straight away, and wild blackberries don't keep long at all, I froze them in bags, waiting for the day when they would meet their destiny.

Jam is so easy to make at home. It tastes so much better than supermarket stuff. It doesn't necessarily cost less though, unless you recycle jars. I sometimes do, but generally I buy jars from Lakeland because I like giving jams and preserves as gifts and they look nice in a fresh jar.

It takes about 30 minutes to make a basic jam, and about 45 minutes if you want a smooth, pip-free jam (which is what I made this time). Here's the basic version:

Blackberry jam
A quantity of blackberries (or raspberries, hulled and chopped strawberries, stoned cherries, or a mixture)
Jam sugar

Weigh your berries. You need the same weight of jam sugar to berries.

Put a saucer in the freezer.

Put the berries in your largest pan on a low heat. Cook them until soft and liquid. Mine started out like this

and I cooked them until they were like this. I used a potato masher to help speed things along.

Next, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Then raise the heat, and bring it to a fast boil. Keep it boiling rapidly for five minutes, like this

After five minutes, take the saucer from the freezer, and carefully drop a spoonful of jam onto it. Wait a few seconds, then push it with your finger. If it wrinkles up, the jam is ready. If it's still runny, boil for another minute, then test again.

Pour the hot jam into sterilised jars (see my page on How to sterilise jars).

To make a smooth, pip-free version
You don't need to weigh the berries before starting, as the weight will reduce when the pips are strained out. Before adding the sugar, set a bowl on your weighing scales, and a coarse sieve over the bowl. Set the scales to zero. Then spoon the hot berries into the sieve. Press them to get as much juice out as possible.

It's best to do this in batches. Eventually, you will have a pile of discarded pips, a bowl of juice, and a scale that tells you how much juice there is. This measurement is the quantity of sugar you need. Pour the juice back into the pan, and continue with the recipe above.

You get a lot more jam if you don't strain out the pips (almost double the quantity with the berries I used), but it does taste really nice!

What is your favourite flavour of jam?

See you soon!

Laura x

Great British Bake Off 2013

Well, everyone, the Bake Off is over, for this year at least. What fun! It's been a source of escapism, frustration and inspiration for me and, judging by the online furore, for lots of others as well.

The final, alas, was sadly disappointing. I felt that none of the three bakers really shone as the clear winner. Frances's wedding cake was beautiful, but her pretzels were disastrous. Ruby's pie was a clear favourite, but her wedding cake wasn't finished. Kimberley's pretzels were good, but her wedding cake looked a mess. Not that I can really judge - I certainly wouldn't be able to produce a three-tier wedding cake in only six hours!

What I love about the Bake Off is that it takes something so simple that so many people do and makes it into a form of light-hearted yet competitive entertainment for the masses. I don't think many TV shows achieve that. Everyone knows it's a bit of fun, but everyone takes it so seriously! Is it a British thing to do that? Oh and I love Mel and Sue. Whoever got them on board as the hosts was a genius.

The bakers had to tackle so many different types of baking, some of which I've never even contemplated. Bread and cakes were only the beginning - there were biscuits, meringues, pies, and patisseries too. It's inspired me, though. I may well be getting my bake on in the coming weeks. Although now I'm not running any more (too cold and dark now that the clocks have gone back, boo), I can't exactly excuse myself for eating all the pies. Ahem.

A bientot!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #8

Hello everyone!

Well, what a hot week it's been! Sophie and I went to the outdoor pool again, to cool off, and we've been eating a lot of salads and fruit (whether in its raw, healthy form, or in cheesecake form, mmmm). Salads are great because they take so little time and effort to prepare.

Here's what we've been eating!

Monday - Red pepper and mushroom quiche
Tuesday dinner with friends - Moroccan chicken, couscous salad, tzatziki, green salad
Wednesday - Steamed salmon with leek and lentil salad
Thursday barbecue with friends - meat! plus potato salad, green salad, and key lime cheesecake (so good)
Friday - lots of leftovers!
Saturday - lentil and beef burgers / Spaghetti nicoise
Sunday - Nectarine, mozzarella, chicken and prosciutto salad / Aubergine and chickpea ragu

I hope you've had a good week, too!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #7

It's the end of the week, already!

We're not around much this weekend, so I don't have to do any cooking, yay! As much as I love cooking, I do enjoy a break sometimes!

Here's what was cooking this week:

Monday - Prawn and choi-sum stir-fry with sweet chilli sauce
Tuesday - Chicken and butternut squash Thai curry
Wednesday - Salmon and spinach lasagne
Thursday - Sausage and pesto pasta
Friday - Leftovers, and scoot for the weekend!

It was a very hot week! I looked at the weather forecast when planning and all I could think of was ice-cream. But I thought that wouldn't be a balanced diet. So I opted for some light and tasty meals instead.

Does the weather affect your appetite?

Happy weekend!

Laura x

Saturday ice-cream: Coffee ice-cream

I hope you're enjoying the hot sunny weather that has arrived here this week! We certainly are.

Our ice-cream on Saturday was coffee flavour. I don't think I'd ever had coffee ice-cream before. Our verdict: it doesn't really hold up by itself, but it would work well accompanying a dessert. I'm not sure what, exactly. Ideas on a postcard (or in the comments box!), please.

Laura x

Coffee ice-cream

Takes 1.5 hours (25 min hands-on, at least 35 mins cooling, 30 mins churning)

Serves 4 on its own, 6 as a side

200ml milk

3 egg yolks

50g granulated sugar

300ml whipping cream

2tbsp instant coffee mixed with a little hot water

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Heat the milk until nearly boiling (small bubbles will appear around the edge of the pan). Slowly pour the milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Then stand the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until it thickens (about 10-15 minutes). Take it from the heat, and set aside to cool.

Just before churning, add the cream and the coffee (little by little, tasting as you go until the flavour seems right to you). Churn in the machine for 25-30 minutes.

What's cooking this week #6

Happy Monday!

Last week we had a company a couple of times. It's always so nice having friends and family round for meals. I love cooking special food and enjoying it with plenty of good conversation and laughter. But it doesn't have to be special food! Twice, we had last-minute company, and it's wonderful when that happens, because we can just share whatever we're having.

So, here's what was cooking:

Dinner
Monday - Salmon tikka with naan (because last week, it turned into fishfingers and chips at the last minute, because that's life)
Tuesday - Lentil dahl
Wednesday - Prawn korma with rice
Thursday dinner with friends - Salmon en croute, new potatoes, salad, followed by white chocolate fondue (yum)
Friday - Mediterranean beef stew
Saturday - Tomato and fennel soup for lunch / Stew leftovers for dinner
Sunday - Barbecue with several members of my lovely family - and a delicious and easy layered fruit trifle for dessert

How was your food week?

And when will I get round to posting some of these lovely recipes?

Laura x

Saturday ice-cream: Brown bread ice-cream

Hi everyone!

Brown bread ice-cream. It was predicted to be a 'waste of good custard', but it was a massive hit. Although, we found it doesn't really keep well, as the caramelised bread goes a bit soft.

What is your favourite flavour of ice-cream?

Laura x


Brown bread ice-cream
Takes 1 hour 40 mins (35 mins hands-on, 35 mins cooling, 30 mins churning)
Serves 4-6

1 small wholemeal roll (about 125g)
50g demerara sugar
4 egg yolks
75g caster sugar
600ml single cream
1tsp vanilla essence

First, make the caramelised breadcrumbs. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Blitz the roll in a food processor to reasonably fine breadcrumbs. Mix the crumbs with the demerara, then spread them out on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until evenly browned, turning frequently. Remove from the oven, break up any lumps, and keep until needed.

Next, make the custard. Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until small bubbles appear round the edge of the pan. Slowly pour onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Then stand the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until it thickens (about 10-15 minutes). Take it from the heat, add the vanilla essence, and set aside to cool.

Churn in the machine, and add the breadcrumbs a few minutes before it is ready.

What's cooking this week #5

Hello!

I'm posting my meal plan at the start of the week this time. We'll be away or out for some meals, so I've only had to plan for five days worth of food. I've been giving lunches and breakfasts some thought, too. I saw on another blog (goodcheapeats.com) the idea of using a breakfast rotation, and I'm wondering if that would be a good idea for us here, too.

Anyway, here's what I'll be cooking this week.

Lunch
Chicken soup leftover from the weekend
Leek and cheese omelette
Hummus with pitta bread and carrot dippers
Ham sandwich with sweet potato chips
Hummus and tuna wraps

Dinner
Beef and bean burritos
Sweet and sour pork with rice
Chicken ragu with pappardelle
Falafel burgers
Salmon tikka with naan bread

Since I started doing a proper meal plan and an online shop each week, I've found myself really looking forward to each meal, and enjoying having lots of variety in our diet. And I feel a lot less rushed and stressed about meals than I did before! I no longer have to visit the supermarket with pushchair and a baby who might cry or get hungry or wake up at an inconvenient moment four or five times a week, which is a relief, I can tell you! I do pop in for the odd thing if we run out, but my pram basket is no longer full to bursting each and every time I go into town. Hooray!

What are you cooking this week?

Laura x

Saturday ice-cream: Maple and pecan ice-cream

Happy Monday morning!

I almost had an ice-cream fail this weekend. Note to self: always follow the manufacturer's instructions. Six hours in the freezer is not enough.

So, on Saturday, we had chilled maple-flavoured cream with floating pecan nuts. But on Sunday, having reserved the remainder of the prepared ice-cream mixture, we had delicious, soft, and frozen maple and pecan ice-cream. 

As with most ice-creams, it has a custard base, which is something of a labour of love to prepare, but totally worth it. Oh my, it was delicious. 

Here's the recipe. Did I mention how delicious it was?

Laura x

Maple and pecan ice-cream

Takes 1.5 hours (25 minutes hands-on, 35 minutes cooling, 30 minutes churning)

Serves 6

250ml milk (semi-skimmed or full-fat)

3 egg yolks (put the whites in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer for meringues later on, don't forget to label the bag!)

175ml maple syrup

300ml whipping cream

50g roughly chopped pecan nuts

25g butter

1tbsp golden caster sugar

1tsp salt

Heat the milk until almost boiling (look out for little bubbles round the edge of the pan). Whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl, then very slowly pour the hot milk onto the eggs, whisking all the time. Don't pour too fast!

Put a small amount of hot water in a pan and set to a rapid simmer. Place the bowl with the egg mixture on top of the pan, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Take it from the heat, stir in the maple syrup, and set aside to cool.

To make the caramelised pecan nuts: Melt the butter in a small frying pan. Mix together the nuts, sugar and salt, and then add them to the pan. Fry them over a medium heat, stirring continuously, for about 3 minutes, until they turn golden. Then quickly remove them from the heat to a cold bowl, otherwise they will burn. Set aside.

When the maple mixture is cool, add the whipping cream. Pour into the ice-cream machine and churn for about 30 minutes. Add the pecan nuts and churn until they are mixed in, about 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

What's cooking this week #4

Hello!

It's the end of the week, and here's what's been cooking:

Monday - Beef lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce from last week)
Tuesday - Thai red squash curry
Wednesday dinner with friends - Mediterranean beef stew, followed by pineapple upside-down cake
Thursday - Turkey meatballs with barbeque sauce
Friday - Tex-mex fish tortillas with guacamole
Saturday - Summer chicken soup for lunch / Apricot and cumin stuffed pork for dinner
Sunday - out for anniversary lunch!

I've been making a lot more of my own spice mixes since Sophie started eating with us, since babies can't cope with a lot of salt and most ready-made pastes and seasonings have a whole load of salt added. This week I managed the Thai red curry paste and the tex-mex seasoning, but I'll need to figure out how to make the barbeque sauce without tomato ketchup - I think with tomato puree and a little sugar.

For lunches, and for Sophie's tea, we mostly eat leftovers or things foraged from the fridge, but now she's eating more and more I'd like to give her some varied, nutritious things that don't take a lot of preparation. More thought required!

Hope you too had a good food week!

Laura x

Saturday ice-cream: Frozen raspberry yoghurt

Hello again!

This weekend's ice-cream was just for me and a friend, left in Oxford for the weekend as our husbands travelled east for a wedding. So, it was time for a girly one.

This one is super-easy, healthy, and full of flavour.

Laura x


Frozen raspberry yoghurt
Takes 40 minutes (10 minutes prep, 30 minutes churning)
Serves 4

400g fresh or defrosted frozen raspberries
300g plain yoghurt
Honey to taste

Quite simply, puree the raspberries, mix in the yoghurt and honey to sweeten, and churn in the machine for 30 minutes.

For a smooth texture, sieve the pureed raspberries before mixing with the yoghurt.

Alternative fruits: ripe mango, strawberries, blueberries, banana

Flourless chocolate cake

Good morning!

Our curry night on Wednesday was lots of fun. Twelve people filled our living room with noise, joy, and spices. For pudding, we had a flourless chocolate cake which I made that afternoon.

It may have looked like a sunken volcano crater, but it tasted dense, moist, and delicious.

Here's the recipe. Note, it's not health food!

Laura x

Flourless chocolate cake

Takes 1 hour 20 minutes (30 minutes prep, 50 minutes baking, plus cooling)

Serves 12

400g dark chocolate (I used Tesco Everyday Value)

100g soft light brown sugar

6 medium eggs at room temperature

1 tbsp Cointreau

1 tsp ground cinnamon

300ml extra thick double cream

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and base line a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin.

Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until melted.

Meanwhile, using an electric hand whisk, beat the eggs and sugar together for 10 minutes, until somewhat thickened.

Add the Cointreau and ground cinnamon to the chocolate and stir. Then pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture, stirring all the time. (Be careful here, because if you pour too quickly and/or don't stir, the eggs will curdle.) Mix thoroughly.

Stir the cream a few times with a spoon to loosen it a little. Add the cream to the chocolate mixture and fold in thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin (it will sink quite a lot), then remove from the tin when cold. (I didn't manage to release it from the base of the tin, since inverting it would have destroyed the top.)

Cut into slices and serve with fresh fruit and cream or yoghurt.

Breakfast special: American pancakes

Baby-led weaning is more like baby-led mess a lot of the time. Here's Sophie demolishing some Oatibix, which she loves, and some banana:

Most days, we eat cereal, toast, fruit, or porridge for breakfast, but some days I like to make something special. One of our favourites is pancakes, or drop scones as they're often called this side of the Atlantic.

American pancakes

Takes 15 minutes

Makes about 8-10 pancakes (easily doubled)

125g flour

150ml milk

1 egg

Oil or butter for frying

Whisk the egg and milk together. Make a well in the flour and gradually add the milk mixture, whisking all the time until it forms a thick, smooth paste. 

Heat some oil or butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Lower the heat to medium. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip, and cook 1-2 minutes on the other side. 

We eat ours with maple or golden syrup, fruit, or yoghurt. Sophie absolutely loves them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! 

They freeze really well between sheets of greaseproof paper. 

Variations: add fruit (blueberries, banana, raspberries...), cooked vegetables or grated cheese to the batter.

Saturday ice-cream: Vanilla yoghurt

Hello everyone!

We've been enjoying warm, fine weather here for the past two weeks. It's been wonderful! 

A couple of years ago we purchased a Magimix Le Glacier 1.5l ice-cream maker. It was a hot summer! Last year, it was barely used. So, to celebrate this summer, I came up with a plan: Saturday ice-cream. This idea has proved very popular with my lovely husband!

So, each week (give or take a few) for the duration of the summer, you'll find here a post about our weekend treat! 

Home-made ice-cream is great: even though it's never exactly healthy, you can enjoy it knowing exactly what has gone into it.

This week's ice-cream was vanilla yoghurt. It was really easy to make and came up light and flavoursome. The yoghurt cuts through the sweetness really nicely.

Enjoy!

Laura x

PS. Another upside of making ice-cream? Lots of leftover egg whites, a perfect excuse for me to continue my mission to master the macaron...


Vanilla yoghurt icecream
Takes 1.5 hours (15 minutes hands on, 45 minutes cooling time, 30 minutes churning)
Serves 4-6

150ml milk
1 tsp cornflour
1 egg yolk
50g caster sugar
150ml good-quality plain yoghurt
150ml whipping cream
1 tsp good-quality vanilla essence (not vanilla extract)

Mix the cornflour with a little of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan.

Whisk together the egg yolk and sugar, then pour on the hot milk very slowly, whisking all the time. (Pouring it too fast will curdle the eggs.) Stir in the cornflour mixture.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and gently heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens (around boiling point). Leave to cool.

Mix in the yoghurt, cream and vanilla essence, then pour into the ice-cream machine and churn.

What's cooking this week #3

Hi everyone!

The plan is ready, the ingredients have been delivered. Let the week begin!

Monday - Roasted herbed veg with fried halloumi
Tuesday - Chicken and leek fricassee
Wednesday - Bolognese
Thursday - Leftover chicken
Friday - Mexican chicken bake
Saturday - Lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce)
Sunday - Roast chicken with roast butternut squash, sweet potato, and parsnips

I'll post some recipes at some point.

We're having a curry night with friends on Wednesday. They're bringing the curry, my contribution is a flourless chocolate cake and a fruit salad. Looking forward to making that!

And the shopping list:

Veg for roasting: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, courgettes, peppers, parsnips
Halloumi
Chicken thighs 1kg (for the fricassee and the Mexican bake)
2 large leeks
White wine
Single cream 400ml
Chestnut mushrooms 300g
2 lemons
Minced beef 500g
3 tins chopped tomatoes (for the bolognese and the Mexican bake)
White mushrooms (handful)
3 carrots
1 onion
1 tin kidney beans
Fresh coriander
Cheddar cheese
Soured cream

From my storecupboard:

Olive oil
Dried mixed herbs
Butter
Spaghetti
Balsamic vinegar
Low-salt vegetable stock
Taco spices (paprika, garlic, cumin, chilli)
Rice

Have a great week!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #2

Here's what we've been eating this week:

Chilli con carne

Salmon fishcakes

Vegetable balti

Fishfingers and chips - Nick's choice!

Quick and easy tortelloni
Lemon roast chicken with new potatoes and salad

The salmon fishcakes a la Jamie Oliver were a disaster. Note to self: don't be lazy, make your own mash for fishcakes, supermarket stuff is too watery. 

And my shopping list:

3 chicken breasts

Ratatouille veg: courgette, peppers, aubergine, sweet potatoes

Minced beef 500g

3 tins chopped tomatoes

Kidney beans

Chickpeas

Red peppers

2 salmon fillets

Mashed potatoes

1 cauliflower

1 butternut squash

2 sweet potatoes

1 eating apple

2 carrots

Balti curry paste

Natural yoghurt

Fishfingers

Chips

Corn-fed free-range chicken (on special offer!)
Lemons
New potatoes
Salad

From my storecupboard:

Dried mixed herbs

Olive oil

Spices

Parsley

Penne pasta

Rice
Garlic