Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

GQ

Your reminder of how to test if pearls were real reminded me of a society gossip column many years ago in New York.

A socialite was showing off her huge pearls when a "friend" said she would test them to see if they were real by biting them"

The acid rejoinder was "For that, my dear, you would need real teeth!"

Good Evening All, I hope you've had a productive day. Just another quick recipe here as I'm going to try and wheedle my daughter-in-law's chocolate pudding in a slow cooker recipe later(as long as it doesn't interfere with Sewing Bee) it's delicious!

In the meantime, here's a fish pie recipe. White fish is so expensive now but this makes a little go a long way and simple though it is, if you take care in making it, it's the best. The recipe is for 4 but it will stretch further with extra vegetables.

Fish Pie

A pound of white fish, pint thick white sauce, 4 hard-boiled eggs, 4 ounces grated cheese, 1 tsp dried mustard, salt and pepper, dried, breadcrumbs or mashed potatoes.

First bake the fish in a little water with a bay leaf (20-30 minutes). Drain the fish on to a plate, reserving the cooking water, remove any skin or bones and divide into chunks.

Make white sauce with 2 ounces butter, 2 ounces of flour and the fish stock made up to a pint with milk, stirring until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste then add cheese and mustard and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in fish and chopped hard-boiled eggs (I often put frozen peas in as well). Turn into an ovenproof dish and either sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs or spread a layer of mashed potatoes over it (nicer I think), dot with butter and bake in a moderate oven 180 degrees/gas4 until the top is brown. It's very warming, comforting and filling.

Wish me luck! I'll post it later if I'm successful.

Viv xx

Hello again, Everyone, here's the chocolate pudding recipe as promised:

Slow Cooker Chocolate Pudding.

2 cups plain flour, 2 cups sugar, three quarters cup of cocoa, 3 eggs, three quarter cup of oil, a cup of milk, a cup of black coffee, one and a half teaspoons baking powder, one and a half teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda.

Grease slow cooker. Mix ingredients in a bowl, pour the mixture into the slow cooker. Cook for two hours with a tea towel under the lid (the tea towel stops moisture).

Good Morning Everyone,

I did even better on the 'barter', Cheerfulness,as daughter-in-law gave me two garlic bulbs which should at least see me through another week. I'm going to go through my freezer and fridge later today (yes, I'm putting it off) and assess if I can go another week without buying anything. If I run short of vegetables, I have tinned beans,pulses and dried lentils so should probably be ok; I just need to exercise ingenuity in using them all. Here's another Jamie Oliver recipe from 'Save with Jamie' -I've scribbled next to it in pencil 'yummy - really worth the effort' . He suggests it as a side dish for 8 but I love it so much I eat it as a main but halve or even quarter the quantities.

The Best Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese

2 cloves garlic, 50grams unsalted butter, 50grams plain flour, 500ml milk, 500grams broccoli,75grams mature cheddar cheese, kilo cauliflower, 2 slices ciabatta or stale bread, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 25grams flaked almonds, olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/gas4. Peel and finely slice the garlic and put it into a medium pan on a medium heat wth the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour for a minute to make a paste, then gradually add the milk, whisking as you go, until lovely and smooth. Add the cut up broccoli and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked through and starts to break down, then mash or blitz with a stick blender. Grate in half the cheddar and season.

Arrange the cauliflower, cut into florets, in a baking dish, pour over the broccoli white sauce and grate over the remaining cheese. Blitz the bread into crumbs in a food processor, then pulse in the thyme and almonds. Toss with a lug of oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, then scatter evenly over the cauliflower cheese. Bake for an hour or until golden and cooked through.

On the subject of pearls, I bought some large, cultured ones (not graduated, all the same size)when I was in the Caribbean for around
£10 -but I think you could find similar ones on any of the auction sites; they are no doubt coming out of the Far East. If you do have some, remember to wear them as they get better with wear/skin contact.

Have a good day, Everyone.

Viv xx