Head space

The pensieve is a wonderful idea, and blogging is as close as this muggle is going to get to a magical stone basin in which to store all that's in my head.



Monday, January 21, 2013

Ready Steady Cook

Anyone remember the reality TV show Ready Steady Cook? It was on BBC a good few years ago. Contestants would bring in a bag of groceries and celebrity chefs would have come up with two dishes, in 20 minutes.

Thanks to my end-of-the-month grocery cupboard, which started well before the actual end of month, I’ve been playing the home version of Ready Steady Cook for about a week now. It goes like this: rummage through cupboard, fridge and freezer and come up with a random selection of ingredients; Google recipes; cross fingers and hope for the best.

I had a few fresh vegetables in the crisper drawer last week, and a small selection of fresh herbs in my little potted garden, and was able to come up with a mushroom risotto (thanks to a box of Arborio rice I’ve had in the cupboard for years), pumpkin fritters (from a bag of frozen pumpkin pieces), chilli con carne (sans kidney beans, but with split red lentils instead), sweet corn fritters (not nearly as good as the pumpkin) and chicken mayonnaise for sarmies.

Not a bad haul when you consider that I made a point of spending no money for these dishes. It’s been fun, but honestly, I can’t wait to stock my freezer with chicken nuggets, veggie fingers, frozen pizzas and other quick and easy meals. Or add some fresh veg to my dinner plate. Or come off tea and coffee rations to make the dwindling supply last until pay day.

I have, however, made a decision that I will cook at least one meal a week from first foods. First foods is anything in its original form – cuts of meat, vegetables, eggs, potatoes, milk, rice, spices, herbs. Not included are things like flour, chips, chicken nuggets, cheese, pasta – all those quick, easy and tasty things that are the product of modern-day living.

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