Corn Bread Recipes

The other day, I decided to make corn bread. I haven't done so for a long time because I have always had a hard time finding corn meal (corn flour in Canada) in the U.K. I went into my usual source, a health food store, only to discover that they don't stock it anymore. I also found out that it wasn't called corn meal by them but maize meal. Whatever it's called, it wasn't available. I then went to several supermarkets without much hope since I had never found it there before. Today, I had luck in Waitrose and discovered that they called it polenta. Funny! I often wondered what polenta was. It does say on the package that it is 'fine' and I wonder if the cornmeal/cornflour/maizemeal/polenta I'm used to is supposed to be coarse! I'll soon find out since I'm going to try and make corn break tonight! Wish me luck and below is the recipe I'm going to try from the website: http://southernfood.about.com

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups stone ground cornmeal
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
* 1/3 cup canola oil
* 1 large egg

Preparation:
Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Heat oven to 350°. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or large cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and egg. Combine the two mixtures until blended and spread in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned.


I'll let you know how it turns out!

Later!

I'm still waiting for it to come out of the oven but I just wanted to add that I decided to put 1/2 a red pepper in it. I think that the colour will look great and the flavour will add something to it. We shall see!

Chocolate Zucchini (Cougette) Cake

This cake is so easy to make and so good to eat that I may never use another recipe for a cake again!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 cup oil (6fluid oz)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (8 oz in a liquid measure cup)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (courgette)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Beat the eggs, oil, sugar, salt and vanilla until well blended. Sift four, soda, cinnamon, and cocoa, and mix well with the egg-sugar combination until smooth. Stir in the zucchini (courgette) and nuts. Pour into a cake pan about 9"x9" and bake at 350F or 180C for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. (The cooking time will depend on the size of the pan.) I prefer serving this cake slightly warm from the oven and without icing.

Watermelon revisited

I bought a watermelon and it turned out to be over ripe. It wasn't all that pleasant to eat so I had to decide whether to get rid of it or find something else to do with it. So, tomorrow I'm going to try and make watermelon ice. It isn't complicated but what will it taste like?

Ingredients:

1/2 small watermelon, pelled, seeded and cut into 1 chunks (about 6 cups) 3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

In covered blender at low speed blend 1 cup of the watermelon chunks with confectioner's sugar, juice and salt until smooth; add remaining watermelon and blend until smooth. Pour into a 9" x 9" baking pan; cover with foil or plastic wrap and freeze until partially frozen, about 2 hours. Spoon watermelon mixture into a large, chilled bowl. With mixer at high speed, beat until fluffy. Return mixture to baking pan and freeze until firm, about 1 1/2 hours. To serve: Remove from freezer and let stand for 10 minutes at room temperature for easier scooping.

(taken from: http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/118/17946)

Summer Water

Susan posted a recipe for a refreshing drink based using lemons and mint. It sounds refreshing.

Here are the ingredients for a"summer water" I've been making:
1/2 cucumber, sliced
big chunk of ginger, sliced
a lovely lemon, sliced
a handful of mint, chopped

Put above ingredients into a pitcher. Add water. Let steep in fridge then stir up a bit and pour into tall glass and enjoy. I top up the water and all stays fresh and refreshing for several days.

Lemons, watermelon and ...

It's my turn to say that I haven't checked the site in a while. Mary Jane has posted an interesting recipe with watermelon and cucumber. I must admit that I don't have many watermelon leftovers. Watermelons are not as plentiful in the UK as they are in Canada or the United States but I will keep it in mind.

She says that she likes the lemon recipes. I have a lemon obsession. One of my favorite drinks at the moment is boiling water, juice of a half or whole lemon and mint leaves to taste. It's wonderfully refreshing.

Naomi wants to know where to find madeleine tins. I bought mine in France but surely they are available somewhere in the UK. I will start looking. Unfortunately, I still haven't made the madeleines. I am moving shortly and will have a more reliable oven so I will definitely try that recipe.

I am weeding my cook books in advance of moving. I really should curb my habit of buying so many. For the most part, I get them from the Oxfam charity shop in Egham, a nearby town. At least they aren't that expensive. I have made a vow to only have things in my new house which are either useful or beautiful. That should eliminate a lot of things, including certain items in my kitchen!

Easy Salad for Hot Summer Days

I've made this salad twice this week. Don't have the exact recipe in from of me but don't think exact amounts matter much. It's refreshing and, as mentioned, it's easy. Good way to use up a leftover bit of watermelon.

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad

Gently toss the following together.

About one or two slices of watermelon, chopped into approx 1 inch squares
About 1/3 of an English cucumber, chopped into about same size pieces as watermelon
one clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 to 1/3 or so cup of fresh mint, chopped
about 2 T red wine vinegar
about 1 T olive oil
salt and pepper
about 1/3 cup of chopped Feta cheese--add gently after tossing to avoid breaking Feta up too much

Serve at room temperature.

The lemon tart and madeleines

This afternoon, I finally got around to baking the lemon tart I gave the recipe for a while back. It was simple to make and wonderful to eat! I had intended making madeleines as well but I didn't like the recipe in the Paris Sweets book so I've found one from Rick Stein's French Odyssey.

3 medium eggs
100 g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100 g plain flour (all purpose), sifted, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon (t) baking powder
100 g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the tins

1. Brush 2 x 12 madeleine moulds with melted butter and set aside for a few minutes till the butter has set. Then dust with four, tapping out the excess.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C.

3. Put the eggs and sugar into a large bowl and whisk with a hand-held electric mixer for 3 minutes until thick and moussey.

4. Whisk in the lemon zest.

5. Sift the plain flour and baking powder together, and gently fold in, followed by the melted butter and the honey.

6. Place the batter in the fridge and leave for 15 minutes to thicken slightly.

7. Fill each of the moulds three-quarters full with the mixture and bake for 10 minutes until puffed up and golden.

8. Leave to cool, then carefully remove from the tins.

A simple chicken dinner

I bought some chicken thighs from my butcher last weekend because I thought that I might make the lemon chicken again. They are quite inexpensive and I think, taste better. Here is what I did. It tasted very good so I thought that I should write it down.

Ingredients

1 or 2 small onions (or one large)
6 chicken thighs (2 or 3 people - add thighs accordingly)
1 lemon
1/2 C (4 oz) of dry white wine (not necessary but I had some left from another recipe - I buy 1/2 bottles for cooking)
1 or 2 chicken stock cubes and 1 cup of water (or chicken stock)
salt, pepper, Italian seasonings (whatever you enjoy most)
olive oil (or other)

1. Chop onion/s and gently fry them till they are soft. Don't allow to brown.
2. Remove chicken skins, dust thighs with seasoned flour and brown in frying pan with onions.
3. Once the chicken has been fried on each side, add the wine, and chicken stock (water + stock cubes).
4. Season and add lemon juice.
5. Turn down heat and gently simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
6. You could add cream or crème fraiche to make a richer sauce.

I served this with mashed potatoes and carrots but you could have rice and any other vegetables.

If you wanted to serve 4 people, you would need 8 good sized thighs.

Lemon Posset

At the beginning of my obsession with lemons, I gave a recipe for lemon posset. I hadn't tried it but now I have! Great recipe and really not all that complicated.

Baked Lemon Cheesecake with summer berry compote

Ingredients (t = teaspoon, T = tablespoon)

For the base:
100 g butter, plus extra for greasing
200 g digestive biscuits (graham crackers?)
2 T caster or demerara sugar

For the filling:
500 g full-fat cream cheese
200 g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
2 T cornflour (corn starch)
300 ml crème fraîche
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 3 T juice

For the summer berry compote:
22g rasberries
50 g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
350 mixed summer berries (halved small strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)

Icing sugar, to serve

1. Lightly butter a 20 cm clip-sided tin and line the base with a piece of non-stick baking parchment or buttered greaseproof paper. Preheat the over to 150C.

2. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Crust the biscuits into crumbs in a plastic bag, add to the butter along with the sugar and mix together well. Put into the tin, level out and press onto the base in an even layer with the back of a spoon. Set aside.

3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together in a bowl until smooth. Add the eggs, on at a time, and beat well between each addition. Add the cornflour, crème fraîche, lemon zest and juice and beat once more.

4. Pour the mixture onto the base and bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until just set but with still a slight wobble in the centre. Now turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside, and let it go cold.

5. For the summer berry compote, put the raspberries, sugar and orange zest into a bowl and crush with the back of a fork into a purée. Rub through a sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the summer berries. Chill until ready to serve.

6. To serve, carefully remove the cheesecake from its tin-you might need to run a round-bladed knife around the edge first-and transfer it to a serving plate. Dust the top with a little icing sugar and serve, cut into wedges, with the summer berry compote.

Lemons, a continuing theme!

I've just read an article in the Guardian by an English (?) journalist and the cooking lessons she is having with her French mother-in-law. (If you are interested, here is the link!) One of the dishes she learned how to make was a lemon tart. I had forgotten till reading about it, how much I love lemon tart, so here is a recipe from my French cook book. I haven't made it before and will endeavour to do so tomorrow!

Lemon Tart

Ingredients

1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) tart shell
1 average-sized lemon (about 4.5 ounces) rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour in UK)
4 oz (1/4 lb or 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Partially bake the tart shell at 325 F (165 C).

2. Slice lemon into thin wedges, remove the seeds, and toss the lemon and sugar into the container of a blender or food processor. blend or process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly puréed and blended with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the mixture into a bowl and, using a whisk, gently stir in the whole egg and the yolk, followed by the cornstarch and melted butter. Pour the filling into the crust.

3. Bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and lightly browned. Transfer tart to a cooking rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Best served the same day it is baked!

(from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan)

More on Lemons

I'm not sure why I'm so into lemons at the moment but they keep showing up in my life! Today, I came across a cookbook called 'Easy Cooking for one or two' in Oxfam and picked it up because it had some interesting recipes.

So here are some of the lemon recipes!

Lemonade

makes 1 pt

1 lemon
1 1/2 rounded teaspoons of caster sugar
1/2 pt of cold water

Method

1. Wash the lemon and thinly peel just the outer yellow part of the rind.

2. Put the rind in a glass jug.

3. Squeeze the lemon and add it to the rind in the jug.

4. Stir in the sugar and water.

5. Leave it overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

6. The next day, stir it again and make up to about a pint with cold water but taste as you add so that you don't dilute it to much and loose the tangy flavor.

More to come!

Lemons

Though lemons can be expensive, they go a long way. I have two bags in my refrigerator at the moment (a 2 for 1 deal) and I use them a lot since discovering that they are good at slowing down the digestion of certain carbohydrates. I've become very attached to lemon and hot water, and just recently, lemon and mint tea. I was really pleased to find this recipe by Nigel Slater in the Observer Magazine (5.4.09) for Lemon posset. Emma and I were served it at Oxford last weekend and every once in a while I find it in Marks and Spencer's.

Makes: 4 small glasses

Ingredients

500 ml double cream
150 g caster sugar
75 ml lemon juice

1. Put the cream and caster sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar.

2. Lower the heat and leave to bubble for 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3. Reduce the heat so that the mixture doesn't boil over. Let it boil enthusiastically for about 3 minutes more, stirring regularly.

4. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and leave to settle.

5. Put into glasses and refrigerate for a few hours.

Spicy Lamb Pie

I love this pie. The contents would be great inside pasties as well, or just over a baked potato. The pie itself is also nice cold the next day.

350g minced lamb.
Short crust pastry for one 9 inch pie dish.
1 onion, diced.
1 tin of chopped tomatoes.
2 cloves of garlic.
1/2 tsp cinnamon.
1/2 tsp ground cumin.
1 good pinch of ground cloves.
1/2 tsp salt.
Plenty of pepper.
Coriander.

Fry the onion in olive oil until soft and golden, about ten minutes then add the chopped garlic. Fry for a further three minutes. add the lamb and fry until the meat looses its raw look. Add the cinnamon, cumin, cloves, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir. Allow to cook gently on a low heat for 30 minutes. A lot of the liquid should evaporate leaving a thick meaty filling. Add the coriander. Roll out the pastry and line the pie dish. Pour in the meat filling. Brush the edge of the pastry the beaten egg the add the top. Pinch the edges of the pastry to seal and then brush the top with egg. Place in a preheated oven 220c for 35 minutes.

A few cans and et voilà! Dinner!

1. A can of corn: Corn Fritters: Your starter

Make a pancake batter (English or American? I imagine that bother would work!). Drain the corn of all the liquid, keeping some to mix into the batter. Add the corn and some chopped coriander (not absolutely necessary). Mix. You could also add chopped spring onion and green chillis. Fry in vegetable oil (each should be about 5 cm in diameter...quite small actually). Serve 3 person. Top with yogurt or sour cream. I wonder what they would really be like. Definitely a starter.

2. A can of Smoked Oysters and a can of tomatoes: Conchiglie with smoked oyster sauce: The main course

Sauté some plain white onion in a little olive oil. Chop in a c an of good, plain Italian peeled plum tomatoes and add to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and chopped parsley and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low simmer. At the end, add a tin or two of smoked oysters. Mix into the tomato sauce together with the oil they were marinated in. Add more chopped herbs for colour. Serve on shell-shaped paste. No cheese.

3. A can of pineapple: Griddled pineapple: Dessert

Heat griddle for 5 minutes. Lay out the pineapple on a tea towel or paper towel and lightly sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Cook on he griddle until the sugar is caramelised. Put pineapple on a plate, top with sour cream/yogurt/cream. You could top with chopped nuts of your choice.

Sticky Lemon chicken

I had two chicken breasts on the bone and thought that I would make a casserole of some sort. However, when I got home I realized that I had forgotten an essential ingredient. So what to do now! I decided to do something with chicken and lemons since I had two bags of lemons (on special at the supermarket). I couldn't be bothered searching through my cookbooks and tried the internet instead where I discovered this recipe and a short video to show you how to do it. Mine didn't turn out all that sticky but the gravy was wonderful.

1 large chicken jointed into 8-10 pieces (I used two chicken breasts, you could probably use legs and thighs as well)
sea salt and black pepper
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic halved horizontally (you could use less!!!!)
few thyme sprigs
splash of sherry vinegar (I didn't have any but that was fine)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
1 lemon, finely sliced
bunch of parsley, chopped (I also didn't have any)

Here is the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mARkUax2jg0

Seasonal shopping

I decided last week to buy a supermarket produced magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, to see whether I could find any new recipes to liven up our meal times. It was an interesting experience! There were some wonderful recipes but for the most part, they used vegetables that are not in season in the UK. They were encouraging me to use courgettes (zucchinis), green beans, asparagus (which is almost in season but not quite), peppers, cucumbers, broccoli (I could use frozen), cherry tomatoes and the list goes on. Not a root vegetable in sight on the whole, though potatoes did play a role. I know that our eating habits have changed dramatically since I was raising my children but considering the environmental consequences and the economic conditions, you would think that supermarkets would begin to reflect that in their magazine recipes at least.

On the same topic of vegetables, carrots were in the news on Farming Today this morning. Apparently, we are about to run out of carrots and some supermarkets have already started to import from as far away as Australia. Why is there a shortage? We did have a poor growing season last year but it seems that supermarkets are pushing farmers more and more to reduce their prices so that a number of farmers are moving out of carrots and into more profitable crops. Carrots can be a bit tricky to grow at home and so I have never bothered before but since they are also a root vegetable that can winter through quite well, it might be an idea to consider them this year.

This situation with the carrots makes me wonder if, perhaps, the supermarkets are being as irresponsible as the banks have been. They have our food supply in their hands and in the UK seem to be responsible for farmers in this country going out of business or changing to more profitable crops. I don't think that government policy helps either. Farming Today reported (I can't remember when it was) that it was policy to move to importing all milk with none being produced here. All this makes me want to find a plot of land and start a large vegetable garden.

I did find one recipe that I thought sounded good and here it is. It is a simple beef stew or soup and you could add other root vegetables to it, such as sweet potatoes, though I wouldn't add them till near the end. I do like the idea of the paprika.

Chunky beef, carrot and smoked paprika soup (serves 4 to 6)

1 KG diced braising steak (I imagine you could use stewing beef or is it the same thing?)
1 onion peeled and diced
a little light olive oil
1 lt beef stock (water and oxo cubes?)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes (I don't think you need to peel potatoes if they are washed. You keep more of the goodness of them that way)
3 carrots, peeled (again a good washing should be alright), and cut into 1 cm pieces
3T sherry, port or Madeira (optional)
2 t of sweet or hot smoked paprika
2 X 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
2 shakes of Tabasco sauce, or more, to taste
a handful of parsley, chopped (if you have some growing in a pot in the house!)

In a large pan, over a medium heat, soften the onion by itself in a little olive oil and then add the meat in batches. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the stock, potatoes, carrots, sherry and paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat and simmer covered for around 2 hours. You may need to add some liquid during the cooking process.

Add tomatoes and Tabasco sauce and continue to cook for another half hour.

Top with parsley.

Butternut Squash Soup

I bought a butternut squash at the supermarket last week because it looked interesting and it's also in season here at the moment. I wasn't sure what to do with it. Then I had the most wonderful butternut squash soup at a friend's house at this prompted me to investigate recipes. This isn't her recipe but it looks easy and tasty, two qualities which are highly valued in my house at the minute!

I large butternut squash

500g potatoes

1 onion

coriander leaves (optional)

1 stock cube

butter and olive oil

cream

pepper.

Peel the squash with a potato peeler, cut in half, scoop out the seeds and cut into 1 inch cubes. Melt the butter in the olive oil and fry the onions until soft but not browned. Chop the potatoes (peeled or not) into 1 inch cubes and add to the onions. Add the squash, cover and cook for ten minutes, turning everything to make sure it get coated in the olive oil. Add the stock and 1litre of water or enough to just cover the veggies. Cook until everything is soft. Season and top with a little cream! I'm not sure when you're supposed to add the coriander but I suppose you could garnish it with some at the end.

I don't know why I'm so into soups at the minute! It could be a combination of the weather and thinking about recipes I can make for Noah in a few months time!

From frozen vegetables to frozen fish

Last weekend, I went off to the frozen food section of my supermarket in search of broccoli and instead ended up looking at fish. Fresh fish is wonderful but very expensive. Over a year ago I bought frozen fish to make a fish pie. Obviously for pies and chowders you don't need fresh fish so since frozen is less expensive, it is the way to go. To my delight (and that of my wallet) I found 500 gram packages of individually vacuum packed pieces of haddock from Iceland for £1. I was expecting a lot more and still have no idea why it should be so inexpensive. Could it be the devaluation of the Icelandic currency? I don't know but we have been feasting on fish. The first night we had it oven cooked in foil. I put pesto sauce on mine and also included tomatoes, red pepper and snap peas. Tomorrow night we're having breaded fish and later in the week, either fish pie or a chowder. YUM. It pays to have a look in the freezers at the supermarket.

Frozen Vegetables

I had a eureka moment on the weekend. I always buy frozen peas, even in the summer, since fresh peas are so expensive. I went shopping on Sunday and intended buying fresh broccoli. Suddenly I realized that we were in the middle of the winter. What was I doing buying fresh broccoli? It will have come from overseas, it certainly is expensive and I don't need unfrozen broccoli since I don't eat it raw. I bought a huge package of it frozen and it will go much further and for far less money. This is what I used to do years ago. How did I fall out of the habit? I won't make this mistake again.

Here is a link to an article from the BBC website suggesting that out of season, frozen vegetables are the healthier options. Interesting!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2902223.stm

Charity Shops in trouble too!

Mary Jane posted this as a comment. I hope she doesn't mind if I've posted it here. In the UK, exactly the same thing is happening. It's interesting that the same thing is happening in both countries.

"[I] was talking to a woman who does marketing for second hand shops that benenfit adults with developmental challenges.

The adults' vocational programs benefit from the money raised in the three shops they have in this area and some of the adults work in the shops.

The marketing woman surprised me when she said the shops' revenues have decreased since the economic crisis began. She reports that they have a stocking problem. Their donations of saleable have reduced greatly and she gave two reasons for that.

People have less stuff to donate because they aren't buying as much new stuff to replace their old stuff.

The second reason for the decline in their revenues is competition. A large number of second hand shops have recently opened in this area, most of them raising money for their own good causes. This reduces the number of donateed items as well as the number of shoppers.

So maybe we will soon see "going out of business" signs plastered across second hand shops? They will have something in common with the high end shops in these parts."

Pea and Sausage Soup!

Here's a recipe for another really yummy soup I used to make (and will be making again now that I've remembered it!)

The measurements aren't exact. I just make it up depending on what I have in the house.

Sausages - cut into pieces

Flour

Stock (of any sort)

At least two tins of mushy peas (or you could use frozen peas I guess!)

Seasoning.

Fry the sausages until cooked. Add the flour and stir around until it has been absorbed by the sausage fat (making a roux). Add the stock gradually allowing it to thicken before adding more. Add the mushy peas and simmer. Add the seasoning and serve with bread or biscuits. Simples.

I like experimenting with different types of sausage; Tescos do some sweet chilli sausages which are really good in the soup.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

400g Chicken (or pork)

12g Sugar

50 ml Soy Sauce

50g Cornflour

1 Clove of garlic - crushed

25g Fresh ginger

1 Onion chopped

1 Pepper, green or red

1 Chilli - chopped

2 Pineapple rings - cut into chunks

100 ml White vinegar

150g Brown Sugar

125 ml Tomato ketchup

1 Tbls Worcester sauce

Cut the meat into chunks and marinade in soy sauce and sugar for 30mins. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetable. Then, boil the vinegar and brown sugar in a sauce pan.

Add the ketchup and Worcester sauce. Leave to simmer.

Take a wok and add enough oil to coat the bottom and heat. Add the chopper garlic and ginger and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the onion, pepper and chilli and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the sweet and sour sauce and allow to simmer. Add the pineapple chunks and cook on a low heat. Pass the chicken through the cornflour and deep fry until cooked. Drain and add to the sauce and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Serve with rice.

I don't deep fry the chicken I just add it to the sauce to cook. It's a good idea to coat it in some corn flour though as this thickens the sauce. I don't add chillis either but sometimes put in thinly sliced carrot. You can also play with the amout of sugar and vinegar you put in to get in sweeter or more sour depending on your taste. It tastes so close to the Sweet and Sour Chicken from the Take Away and is probably better for you! Granted, this is not one for the diabetics amongst us!

More on Cheap Food

I did watch the programme but only managed to watch part of it. I am going to try and see it later this weekend. However, I did see enough to know that part of the programme followed two families who were trying to lower their monthly food bills. One of the families bought the cheap supermarket lines of food and did save but decided at the end of the month that the only thing in that line they would continue to buy was the fruit and vegetables. The other family gave up the supermarket and started shopping at a local butcher for their meat and at the town market for much of the rest of their shop. They managed to save a considerable amount as well. However, for all of them, their savings also came from finishing what they had in their fridges and cupboards before buying more. They all planned better and had less wastage.

Cheap Food

The story continues on the issue of cheap food. Mary Jane and Naomi have both made comments on the previous post which are worth reading. Naomi pointed out that there is a program on channel 4 tomorrow evening on which the article I read was based. She's right that it could put you off processed food forever. However, I'm not a big one for processed food so I should be able to avoid most of those pitfalls. But what about other types of food that aren't processed such as Mary Jane pointed out. Chick peas, who would have thought that they could be a problem and I suppose that anything from China should be considered as suspicious.

I suppose the answer is to buy basic ingredients and build meals from those. However, if you don't have the expertise that can be quite difficult. I have just finished making the recipe from a few posts back for Banana-Chocolate energy bars. So far so good! They are sweetened by the bananas and the oatmeal makes them slow digesting. I'm not sure about the bitter chocolate but I shall give them a try and test my blood sugar levels and see what happens. They taste great and would be something simple to make for children and adults for the lunch box.

I shall watch the programme tomorrow night on cheap supermarket food and report back. I hope it isn't too disgusting!

Poor quality food for the poor!

I was reading an article today in the Observer about the quality of 'budget food' sold at super markets. How depressing! In Canada pork sausages have to be 100% pork. That obviously isn't the case in the UK because supermarkets sell 'value' sausages with only 40% pork and part of that 40% includes pig skin. Apparently, it's high in protein but would you want to eat it? I'm not certain that I would. There are even some beef pies that only have 18% beef in them and apple pies with only 4% apple. Even more of a concern is the fact that it would cost 1p at most to dramatically improve each one of those and of course, that isn't the choice of the supermarkets.
So, the poorest in our society eat the poorest of food. They suffer from malnutrition and their children under perform at school. And of course, with the economy as it is, even more people are turning to lower cost food.

Carrot and Parsnip Soup

I tried this today and really enjoyed it!

4-5 Carrots grated or finely chopped. (Or 3 Carrots, 2 Parsnips)

1 Onion finely chopped

6 Cups of broth

1tsp Soy Sauce (optional)

Rosemary or Thyme or Coriander.

Salt and Pepper

1/4 C rice.

Fry onion in butter until soft. Add grated vegetables and rice and broth. Simmer until everything is soft and has thickened. Add seasoning and Soy Sauce. Blitz in the blender until smooth and eat hot or cold!