Weezl's phase 1- recipe testing and frugalisation- come one, come all!

weezl74

evening meals only for a 31 day month beginning on a Wednesday # 1 please be gentle with me!

weds sweetcorn fritters + HM chutney

thur chana mutter masala + rice

fri pasta Formaggi e pomodoro

sat risotto vegetale

sun roast belly pork , stuffing, veg, roasties and gravy

mon spicy sausage meatballs+ rice

tue chick pea crumble

weds pasta puttanesca

thur veggie burgers with wedges and chutney

fri chana mutter masala + rice

sat penne con pesto I Fagiolini

sun slow cooker roast turkey thigh, stuffing, veg, roasties and gravy

mon Delia's Thick onion tart

tue cauliflower cheese with green bean and beetroot salad

weds pork and apple burgers with HM wedges and veg

thur risotto vegetale

fri cauliflower cheese with green bean and beetroot salad

sat penne con pesto I Fagiolini

sun roast belly pork , stuffing, veg, roasties and gravy

mon spicy sausage meatballs+ rice

tue chick pea crumble weds sweetcorn fritters

thur chilli con carne

fri penne con pesto I Fagiolini

sat Delia's Thick onion tart

sun slow cooker roast turkey thigh, stuffing, veg, roasties and gravy

mon pasta puttanesca

tue HM pizza, garlic bread

weds pork and apple burgers with HM wedges and veg

thur cauliflower cheese with green bean and beetroot salad

fri risotto vegetale

ceridwen

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

The poor people's food provoked a lot of thought for me.



So for me, poor people's food is comfort food of cakes and biscuits and the high fat high sugar stuff that involves trying to make yourself feel better via food when you are struggling with getting enough to live on (not many people comfort themselves with chickpea crumble!) Most people head for the brown food mentioned earlier, pappy bread, cheap pizzas and all the stuff that on OS we try not to do.

Very true from my observations. Most of us seek a bit of "comfort" of some description in s****y circumstances (poverty being one of them) and it might be a temporary blowout on unhealthy food/booze (guilty as charged m'lud:o). If its a situation that is more ongoing - then...yes...it certainly does seem to be the "comfort food" on a regular basis for many people. Hmmm...wondering about healthy ways of providing such comfort? hmmmm.....pancakes is coming instantly to mind - as a possibly healthIER bit of summat "naughty but nice" (the only possible sugar for instance being just a small sprinkle of sugar on one - rather than great dollops of sugar/fat as with some sweet food).

It DOES take a lotta willpower/longer-term thinking to treat chickpea crumble as comfort food:cool: - and if its not what you see people around you eating on an everyday basis...then 'tis harder again.

We havent all got a large "reference group" of people that we know personally focusing on healthy food-eating...and it must be harder for people in that situation to "keep on track" than I would find it for instance..

System

Bravo, Weezl! That looks jolly tasty (and my husband and teenage daughter agree) :-)

weezl74

Avocet wrote: »

Bravo, Weezl! That looks jolly tasty (and my husband and teenage daughter agree) :-)

thank you avocet

Erm, whilst you're on, is there a chance I could ask a cheeky maths favour, I always feel that you are good with maths and I need an extra brain! I know you are a busy lady though, so I understand if not possible

System

weezl74 wrote: »

a cheeky maths favour

Ask away. (I read your clarification this morning, by the way, and this project of yours is surprisingly close in concept to something I am interested in myself -- although you are way more active/proactive/proselytising than me, and we are coming from very different angles. Anyhow, I am more than happy to help out, so if there is anything you would like me to do, please shout.)

I like the use of Italian in your menu plan -- things always taste good in Italian! :-)

ceridwen

Whoops....absent-mindedness - didnae notice our Weezl's earlier comment about pancakes before mentioning it myself.

Was just having a little thinkie that actually I believe the recipe is the same for pancake batter and yorkshire puddings?? Dunno - as I rarely make pancakes (on the grounds I can resist everything except temptation I guess:rotfl:) and have never made Yorkshire puddings.

Wondering vaguely along the lines of Shirley/bob making up a double batch of batter and having it as pudding (in the form of pancakes) one day and savoury (in the form of large Yorkshire puddings with some sorta savoury filling and served with an onion gravy the next day)?

weezl74

Grazi!

It's about working out how much of certain key ingredients is left after I've made a particular recipe so I know I've got enough of things.

ie First question, if I made 2 batches of the carrot cake in post # 2 how much would I have left of it's ingredients as shown in the currentest Asda list?

Does that make sense?!

weezl74

avocet, I think you're right about me coming across a little proselytising. It's something I've been challenging myself about. I keep thinking, 'shall I answer this question or will it come across as a bit soap boxy?'

My usual thinking on here is that because it's the internet, people have much more freedom to just click away to another page if they feel I am attempting to persuade them of something they're not sure about. I'm tending to think that keeping reading is a sign of agreement ish or interest.

In real life I think I say things more gently, because I know it's harder for folk to just feel they can walk away.:D

Well that's my logic anyhow :rotfl:

Lesley_Gaye

well reading that list I don't think many people would think it was subsistence level

It looks a lovely list of food, well done. I don't think it would be hard to stick with that for a months main meals, can't wait to see the other items in the day now. Very exciting

I don't know if you want any more ideas for the beetroot but I had a thought today. I had a wonderful roasted beetroot tart in a pub some time ago. It was buttery pastry, blind baked, with beetroot chunks roasted with olive oil and rosemary and scattered with tiny pieces of feta and a few pine nuts. Could be frugalised.

And on the chickpea flour thing, my brother is coeliac (he can't have gluten which is in wheat, barley, oats and rye) and I have created several things for him including a tart made from chickpea flour and filled with roasted vegetables tossed in yogort spiced with masala spice mix. It was delish.

Another thing I did for him was Spinach Dumplings using Natco tinned spinach and chickpea flour in the main, served with a spicy tom sauce rather than the yogort one suggested

I just LOVE this recipe swapping, my Word doc is nearly 90 pages long now! And that's just the main meals!

HariboJunkie

Weezl, I'm not saying you should use it but my recipe for corned beef hash is very simple and I will try to cost it for you if you want, except I don't use Asda....:o
It's basically, par boiled spuds, chopped and fried in a little olive oil. Add chopped corned beef (from the fridge to keep it firm), one beef stock cube and enough water to cover or HM stock. Simmer until spuds are cooked and stock is absorbed.
Transfer to a shallow oven proof dish and make four wells in the top. Crack eggs into the well and bake until the eggs are set.
Serve with baked beans.