02.08.2013
I often see websites that give advise to Mum's on feeding the family better food for less money. Sadly I have found that some of the ideas for cheap meals do not match up with what I consider to be 'cheap'. When I found my way (whilst generally web surfing) to another blog claiming to have budget recipes, I was interested but not overly excited. Then I began to read the posts, and the recipes and I realised that this Mum had finally mastered the fine art of low cost cooking. You can read all about Jack Monroe on her blog
A GIRL CALLED JACK. Jack has even been offered a book deal after the publicity she has received surrounding her blog. The book isn't out until next year, but there are plenty of recipes on the blog to get on with (mostly vegetarian but not exclusively).
So, I have decided to give myself a 1 week challenge to see if we can stick to Jack's recipes, and save money, but the store cupboards are fairly full so I will be using up what we have instead of buying low cost versions.
I will be blogging my usual ramblings but look out for the budget meals at the end of my posts.
DAY 1 - Thursday 1st August 2013
Lunch
Feisty Soup, 23p
Ingredients:*
1 carton chopped tomatoes, 31p - (ours - Asda Smart Price 31p)
1 vegetable stock cube, 2p (15p for 10) - (Kallo Organic Chicken Stock Cube - £1 for 6 = 17p for 1)
Slice of ginger, 2p approx (1/8 of a 16p piece) - (Ginger Powder - 44p jar - 2p for a 1/2 tsp)
Clove of garlic, 3p (46p for 2 bulbs, avg 8 cloves each) - (Garlic Granuals 98p tub - 5p for 1 tsp)
2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 2p (60p/250ml)
1 chilli, free (grown on my window ledge) - (pinch chilli powder 2p)
Handful of parsley, free (grown on my window ledge) (pinch mixed herbs - Asda Smart Price 28p tub - 1p)
1 small onion, 5p (from a 1.25kg vegetable pack, £1) - 25p
How To:
1. Peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger and add to a saucepan.
2. Pour over the chopped tomatoes and add the chopped chilli to taste – i used half of one in this recipe – and simmer gently.
3. Dissolve the stock cube in 200ml boiling water, and add to the saucepan with the lemon juice. Chop the parsley and add to the pan.
4. Simmer away for about 20 minutes, until the onion and ginger have softened.
5. Blitz in a blender to achieve desire consistency, I left mine a bit chunky but can be blended smooth.
6. Eat, and feel better soon!
Jack says - "Feisty Soup, 45p, makes two portions at 23p each"
We say - "Feisty Soup, 85p, made 3 portions at 28p each"
Airy Fairy Easy Peasy Soda Bread
Ingredients, Serves 4:
200g self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200ml semi skimmed milk
Juice of half a lemon
Method:
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon, or 2 teaspoons bottled lemon juice, into the milk. Stand to one side to allow it to sour.
Meanwhile, weigh the flour and add the bicarbonate of soda, and mix through.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mix, and pour most of the milk-and-lemon in. Mix well with a wooden spoon to form a sticky dough. Use your judgement, if it looks dry, add the remaining liquid.
Tip onto a floured work surface and pat into a round shape, kneading ever so lightly. The trick to amazingly light soda bread is not to fiddle with it too much.
Pop it into a loaf tin, score it across the top in three places, and place in a 180C oven for 40 minutes. It should sound hollow on the bottom when tapped, and feel ridiculously light.
Break into chunks and serve warm with butter, or allow to cool completely and wrap in clingfilm
We had all the ingredients for this, but just for interest the flour was 45p for 1.5kg so works out at 6p and the lemon was concentrate at 50p for 125ml so about 3p, adding in the bicarb and milk may take it up to about 40p maximum (depending on the cost of milk). So about 40p total for our loaf
We shared our between 3 with the soup.
Lunch total came to £1.25 total aprox between3 =
42p eachVerdict - Very tasty, even Oscar ate it and he is FUSSY.
Dinner
Creamy Greek cheese and courgette pasta, 28p
Ingredients (Serves four at 27p each)
1 courgette, 30p (£1.80/6) - (Ours from Aldi - about the same price 30p)
1 tablespoon oil (sunflower or vegetable), 3p (£4.50/3l)- (we bulk bought pomace oil £6.37 3l - 4p)
Half a lemon, 9p (84p/bag of 5) (concentrate - 8p ish)
1 garlic clove, 3p (46p/2 bulbs avg 8 cloves each) (Garlic poweder - 8p ish)
50g Greek style cheese (feta or goats cheese – I use a value range ‘Greek salad cheese’ that is very similar to feta), 18p (75p/200g) (the same)
100ml Natural yoghurt, 9p (45p/500ml) (11p)
Fistful each of fresh mint and parsley, free (garden) (Dried - 15p + 10p)
150g green beans, 21p (£1.40/kg) (no green beans so used peas - 98p for 1 kilo - 15p)
200g pasta, 16p (3kg £2.87 = 20p)
This comes to £1.39.
I added some left over mushroom from the fridge which would have been about 25p worth.
Bringing dinner total to £1.64 between 4 = 41p each.
I was worried this was not going to be enough, but with a bit of bread and butter on the side, it was plenty. It also tasted yummy.
Valerie
xxx
