Meals this week and Food Issues

Back to simpler cooking this week.  There are still lots of goodies to go at, but as we do not want copious amounts to eat at the moment I am not going overboard on quantities.  It has to be tasty though.

Starting from:

Wednesday

Home prepared Hunter's Chicken, basically a chicken breast wrapped in bacon and then fried in a pan until golden.  You then decant into another dish and add the sauce and cook for about 45 minutes.  Then add a load of grated cheese and cook for about another 20 minutes and serve.  I am serving mine with carrots, broccoli, and steamed potatoes in chunks.  A way of making sure you have potato and something to soak up any sauce or gravy without going overboard excessively, just using the bare minimum of potato.  I basically just cook them and then we mash the potatoes with our forks ourselves on the plate. Basically I used one medium potato each which cut into four segments. We are also having a large Yorkshire pudding each - not necessary but I have them and they need using up.  I bought these as a padder outer when I was in a hurry the other day. I am trialling a cheaper Hunters sauce from the shop which worked out at about £1.35 a jar.  Must say that the texture is very good and it smells delicious.  If it tastes good I will get a couple of jars in for the Pantry shelf.  

Thursday

Cottage pie.  This is a staple here during the winter months. I basically chop up carrot, leek, celery and sometimes swede.  I then boil the meat in plain water to take away some of the fat, strain and then add to a pan and saute the meat and then start adding in the veggies a bit at a time.  Then add in a little stock/water and cook.  I then season.  I like a bit of gravy but not too much as the mince mixture needs to be moist but not overly wet.  I then pop into a dish and then add cooked mashed potato to the top, add cheese and then cook.

Friday

Rosemary Tray Bake with mixed roasted veggies and maybe some Couscous or rice to accompany it.

Saturday

Toad in the Hole made with some Morrison Lincolnshire sausages.  Trialling them to see what they are like. They were on offer for two packs for £5.  Supposed to be cold again over the weekend and therefore proper comfort food will be very much needed

Sunday

Pork Melts and a Beef tray bake.  We have had these before.

I also intend to buy in two chickens, roast them and then cook the bones for stock.  Meat will go towards some more potted chicken and some pies.  I am cooking these for the meat more than anything else.  I have a pie maker in the cupboard and I might as well make some small/medium sized pies, freeze them and then cook from scratch as needed.  Can form the basis of another simple meal that will be filling with the addition of some veggies.  Another week I might buy in two chickens again and then prepare a couple of pots of Chicken stew, which will go away forward to providing some ready type meals from the freezer. Will see how it goes.  Then might also make some cream of chicken soup for going into the freezer as well with the scraps.  Might change my mind before then, but that is how it goes around here.

Food Matters

Prices seem to have hiked up in the shops again and there are problems afoot with growing conditions not being as good with things like cauliflower and broccoli. Things like getting rain at the wrong time etc. Not just in this country but also abroad. Not an easy balancing act for the Farmer.  Might be worth freezing some broccoli and cauliflower to take us through to the next main crop which is due in Spring as there is likely to be a shortfall due to crops having matured quicker than they should have.  

Interesting article here by Guy Watson-Singh:

Broccoli and Cauliflower

There is always something does not quite go to plan in a growing season.  Must get that garden planted this year.  Indeed when I went to the shop on Thursday evening I was only able to buy in one pack of two small heads of Broccoli.  Nothing the size of what they are usually are.  The only other Broccoli available was the stem version and there was not too much of that either.

As a result of which I think if I can grow some stuff in the garden this year whether that be in the ground or containers then I am going to do this.  Anything is better than nothing.

Hopefully I will be able to get going in the garden for this year soon.  I have paid for a subscription of the Grow Your Own Magazine (an offer on) to help and provide some seeds.  I also need to organise a couple of wooden boxes for storing my seed stash in so that I can organise them and keep them out of the way properly.

Right am off to potter.  In the dining room at the moment trying to reclaim it.  Have an awful lot of work ahead of me.

Keep warm and have a lovely evening everyone.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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