Brenda the sourdough starter

Readers, I bought a bread machine. From eBay, because everywhere that sells them new had run out, obviously. It’s  a Lakeland Plus Breadmaker model, and will be the subject of a separate post later. But in short, I love it. However … my husband said the bread was all very nice, but he wished it could…

long winded soup

I made an epic chicken soup yesterday, which will never be repeated, due to the rather convoluted process which led to it. Firstly take one chicken. Set it on a bed of (thawed) frozen casserole veg, put a lemon inside, sprinkle with garlic powder, and roast. Serve with roast spuds, cabbage and stuffing. Second night was…

shepherd’s pie

Like most of you, we’re confined to the house right now, and comfort food is absolutely necessary. So yesterday, we had shepherd’s pie. The filling was 400g frozen lamb (from Iceland) 1 mug of red lentils 1 chopped onion a few rather wizened mushrooms a tin of baked beans some Henderson’s relish (use Lea and…

frozen veg

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but Iceland is our nearest “supermarket”, and we’re in and out of there every couple of days; it’s literally at the top of the road. We’ve moved more to frozen veg these days, less waste, and it’s always there, so here’s what we keep in: carrots (I tend to…

what’s in the freezer?

Well, a lot. And we need to eat it, because after Christmas is a bit tough financially, and I want to lay in some stocks in case Mme May runs amok and takes us out of the  EU with no deal, which I wouldn’t put past her. Don’t start me on politics, OK?  Just don’t. Please…

tired brassica pakoras

Sorry, more sprouts, but that’s the last of them for now, I promise.  Oh, and Pete wrote this, hence the long spice list! These pakoras were made with leftover cooked sprouts and an aging quarter cabbage lurking in the fridge veg drawer, but anything similar would do! Cauliflower, peas, potatoes – great way to use…

roasted brussels sprouts

Now, I know that brussels sprouts are much maligned, and many people claim to hate them. Well, we don’t – we love ’em. I bought a stalk of sprouts before Christmas for a quid, and there are still some left; the stalk has been out in the cold, in the log store, and they’re still…

everyday bread

This is, as named, my everyday bread recipe, lifted from Jack Monroe, the Bootstrap Cook. It is the most forgiving and adaptable of recipes; you can use pretty much any mix of flour, you can bake it into any shape you like, including rolls, you can add nuts or seeds, and it scales beautifully. Now I’ve…

smoked salmon and pasta

We’re getting to the time of year when we’re using up all the bits and bobs of festive fare. The last of the goose has gone into the freezer, the rest of the cheese is destined for lunches this week, along with the gammon. We’ve eaten far too much rich food over the past few…

potato scones

 Honestly, these are the easiest things ever – a really flexible recipe, and great for leftover boiled potatoes. My Irish grandmother made a batch of these almost every day. You need three parts cooked potato, two parts flour, and one part butter/marg/vegan spread of choice – I usually work on 150g of spud, but if…