Category: Cooking

Breakfasts: Home created muesli; scrambled egg; toast and cheese with avocado mayo; toast and marmite; toast and honey or homemade jam; blueberry muffins; omelette.

Main – oh, I am so confused! What do I want? Being by myself I tend to have to live with whatever I cook for at least 2 days! So, I am thinking salad. So coleslaw, hummus, potato salad, garlic bread, salad nicoise, French dressing. And then a nut loaf, quiche or pasta cheese bake, and maybe smoked mackerel pate. So that is at lest 3 days.

I also fancy a really good ragu bolognese, so maybe spag bol, and then chilli con carne? – that’s another couple of days.

So 2 to go. Lamb with a flat bread and salad might use up left over salad with raita.

So my shopping list is : eggs, lamb chunks, beef mince, bread rolls, white cabbage, smoked mackerel – it is probably sad that I have everything else.

And for the days when I can’t be bothered my comfort foods are : tinned tomato soup, baked beans and tinned sardines in tomato sauce.

And just obviously I am not following this already 15 hours later. Making a salad as the weather is wet, windy and chilly! So spicy chick peas, hard boiled egg in avocado mayo with smoked paprika, baked potato,

I might do a pizza with stripes tomorrow (Red Leicester and cheddar and mozzarella. Rye bread dough in bin – it did not rise at all!

And then deserts – I tend not to do these so perhaps one a week – lemon drizzle cake this week I think? I am not brave enough for meringues yet!

Another recipe I will have try. Quesadillas

This was bit of a novelty – a cookbook with 120 recipes and no photo’s. At first I was a bit patronised by the simplicity of some of the recipe titles such as fried eggs, but each recipe is referenced by the authors research to other chefs recipes, and discusses their benefits and drawbacks. I particularly liked this as it gives me ideas and a choice. I also liked the sauces as they are always useful to add flavour and pizzazz to otherwise bland food.

Most recipes only use normal ingredients.

Good old Guardian supplement on tarts today.

Individual chicken pies BBC Good Food. and individual apple pies

Leek, gruyere and nutmeg quiche and this one from BBC Good Food.

Easy recipe

Basic recipe is 1 litre whole milk, 5tbs dried non-fat milk, 1 tbs live yogurt, sweetener as required and flavourings.

So this is the start of a list I intend to make, varying between savoury and sweet.

Stuffed with an orange and a couple of bay leaves by the legs.

And from todays Guardian feast magazine, carrot and coriander fritters. I also like the alternatives.

First of shred an onion and squeeze (save liquid) and lightly cook in olive oil, then the same with a large baking potato. and then celeriac and crushed garlic. Mix with an egg and some grated cheese. They fry or bake?

How to make baked feta pasta

• Using a baking dish safe for the oven, add the tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix to combine.
• Add the block of feta cheese to the center of the baking dish, and either flip it around a couple times to coat it with the olive oil and seasoning, or just add a touch more olive oil and a couple cracks of fresh black pepper.
• Bake it in the oven until the tomatoes burst and the feta looks melted (and your house smells heavenly!)
• As soon as it comes out of the oven, add some fresh minced garlic and fresh basil leaves.
• Mix it around immediately so that the garlic softens from the heat in the dish.
• Add cooked pasta on top and give everything a stir. The feta and tomatoes will essentially create a sauce for the pasta.