I am what I eat

Stingy_3000

I thought i would start a diary of what I cook and how much it costs. I will be able to refer to it later for inspiration and it might help someone else too...

Polenta and vegetables for 4 people:
Polenta, 375g, £1.45
Fresh black olives, 130g, £1.99
Organic broccoli, 2 heads, £3.00
Organic chesnut mushrooms, 250g, £1.11
Shiitake mushrooms, 150g, £2.00
Organic garlic, 1 bulb, £0.35
Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
Vegetable bouillon, 1/2 tablespoon
Dried thyme, 1 tablespoon
Salt
Cost per person: about £2.50


Step1:
Cut the broccoli into half florets.
Cut the mushrooms into slices.
Cut the garlic into little pieces.

Step 2:
Steam the broccoli for 5 minutes.
Put the olive oil in a saute pan. Once the oil is hot enough, add the broccoli, the mushrooms, the olives, the garlic and the thyme all at once and cook on high heat.

Step 3:
Put the water with the bouillon and the salt in a saucepan. When it boils, add the polenta and cook on low heat for 8 minutes while mixing continously.

Steps 2 and 3 should be done in parallel so that the polenta does not solidify...

Spread the polenta thinly in individual plates and serve the mushroom and broccoli on top.

Wash the saucepan immediately as the polenta sticks...

Lizling

Stingy_3000 wrote: »

Cut the broccoli into half forests.

Florets? :cool:

Reminds me of when I convinced my little brother that broccoli was mini-trees, when we were little.:D

Stingy_3000

Today we bought fresh fruit and veg at Aldi.

Ratatouille for 4 people:
2 Aubergines, £0.90
3 Courgettes, £0.85
1 large onion, about £0.15
680g organic passata, £1.35
Half a jar of sun-dried tomatoes inc. olive oil, £2.00 (recipe uses 4 fresh tomatoes and olive oil)
2 tbsp frozen basil, £0.15
1 tbsp dried oregano, £0.15
Cost per person: about £1.40

Cut the vegetables into chunks of similar size. Mix all the ingredients in a large oven dish. Cover with baking paper. Cook at 180C for 50 minutes until all vegetables are tender.

Stingy_3000

For four large portions

Gallo Organic Arborio Risotto Rice 500g, £2.47
Organic Chestnut Mushrooms 250g, £1.00
Fresh Scottish Girolle Mushrooms 160g, £6.00
Cheap dry white wine, £5
Olive oil, 2 tablespons, £0.50
Butter, 25g, £0.15
Garlic, 2 cloves, £0.15
Shallots, 2 tablespoons, £0.15
Parsley, 2 tablespoons, £0.15
Vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon, £0.15
Cost per person = around 4 pounds, including 1 glass of wine each

Mix the vegetable stock in 1.5 liter of boiling water.

Fry the garlic, shallots and mushroms for about 3 min in 1 tbsp olive oil then set aside.

Stir the rice in 1 tbsp olive oil and the butter and toast for one or two minutes. Pour a large glass of wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add a ladful of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender. It should take 18 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and parsley into the risotto and stir softly until the liquid is absorbed.

Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Drink the wine with the risotto :beer:

Stingy_3000

Makes 10-12 pancakes
Buckwheat flour, 300g, £0.66
Organic whole milk, 1 litre, £1
Butter, 110g, £0.75
Organic eggs, 3, £1.15
Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
Cost per person (3 large pancakes each) = £1.20

Frith

That's incredibly expensive for mushrooms and rice.

Skint_yet_Again

Have to agree these meals are very expensive. I guess its because you are using organic

Organic eggs, 3, £1.15 / Organic broccoli, 2 heads, £3.00 :eek:

Lizling

I agree. These meals are the sort of thing I cook, but I wouldn't spend nearly as much as this.

Even apart from the extra cost of organic, there are a lot of substitutions that would cut the cost. Onions instead of shallots, jarred black olives instead of fresh, dried girolles instead of fresh, field mushrooms instead of fancy ones (although I accept they wouldn't be quite as interesting.) Also, 75p for half a pack of butter means the pack cost 50p more than I pay and it doesn't appear to be organic.

Lizling

I forgot - 2 tablespoons of olive oil costing 50p?! That's very expensive olive oil: £14/litre if my quick calculations are right. I know you *can* buy olive oils for that price, but surely you wouldn't be putting them in a risotto.