Cooking for one (Mark Three)

PasturesNew

Did an early morning run to Sains and grabbed a pizza, dated 29 July so that'll be there when I fancy it.

I looked through the "what are you having for dinner" thread and many people are still eating "proper/hot food", regular food... and I figured pizza counts as summer food and is easy and I hadn't had one for awhile.

Still got a box of that veg curry in the fridge to work my way up to fancying.

Brambling

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

:rotfl: Who are these lucky people who lose their appetite?:rotfl:

Come rain or shine/happiness or otherwise = mine is still there regardless and demanding a meal every mealtime:cool:

Unfortunately this heat is the only thing that does :cool: I'm a mood eater, happy, sad, alone, social eater, you name it I can find a reason to eat. My family are feeders whether it's others or ourselves

caronc

Good morning everyone,
Unfortunately my appetite doesn't wane in hot weather, though I want eat does change to a certain extent.
Dull and overcast here but dry and warm. I don't think I'll get much done in the garden as still wonky on my feet but I will venture into the greenhouse to pick tomatoes. It's looks as though there are a few ready:)
Scotch egg, coleslaw and salad for lunch today. I'm not sure about tonight yet. There is a portion of roast veg left but I think I'll freeze that as I've had three days in a row already.

caronc

I sort of agree with you and sort of don't PN IFYSWIM
I agree that it can be hard to be motivated when CFO but not completely that you need to be wealthy to eat an interesting variety of food. I think that depends to a certain extent on what foods you enjoy and how much you like cooking. I appreciate it can be much more of a challenge if you have a very low income where food options can be much more limited.
I'm neither wealthy nor skint, my income is ok for one but the mortgage takes a large chunk of it. Days out are a rare treat and worth every penny when they do happen.:) However, in the main I live very simply so my day to day costs are low. Apart from some wine I spend very little on snacks & treats so that allows extra cash in my day to day food spend. I also usually enjoy cooking & eating so don't mind spending a bit more than I absolutely need to on food as it gives me pleasure and to me life is too short not to eat what I enjoy and that's not always fancy or expensive stuff.

Wednesday2000

I can't take the advice to keep all windows and curtains shut during the day as it makes it too airless!

I just had a blueberry yoghurt and am about to make myself some toast.

[Deleted User]

I have been very busy for 4 hours this morning, outdoor packing and done for the day. A quick meal today, chopped chorizo and turkey breast, fried together and mixed with purple french beans, courgettes and carrots from the allotment. I enjoyed that a lot


Family visiting on thursday so will just raid my freezer and allotment. Costco burgers for all of us and various veg plus brown rice. I have freezer rhubarb and will stew gently and serve very cold with yoghurt and a little crunchy granola. If any more is needed then I have frozen hm bread

Brambling

I'm more on Caroncs side of the fence than you PNs on this, but I understand that you don't enjoy cooking and I believe don't like to use your oven or hob which would add to the challenge of cooking

Yes CFO can be difficult and it's easier to have cba days when you don't have to cook for others, but you can cook tasty food on a budget using herbs and spices help. My situation now means I have a healthier food budget than previously but old habits die hard and I still look for YS and bargains when shopping. A whole chicken will easily feed me 4 or 5 meals before I make soup which is usually another 4 portions for far cheaper than chicken portions, but I don't do that often as I fear I will cluck:rotfl: When trying not to eat down the contents in my freezer I try to be meat/fish free a couple of days a week which is cheaper.

The internet makes it easier to pick up tips and methods of cooking but I do think schools could do more, cooking cheap ingredients can be more of a skill sometimes and we are now reaching a second generation who haven't had cookery lessons at school. I'm not talking about how to bake a cake or a quiche but the basic building blocks to extend from, how to cook on a budget, meal plan and what to do with LOs so they become a different dish.

I'll get off my soap box now . During decluttering I found some books given to me and parked in the spare room a few months back so I've been led astray by them . Lunch mmmm I'll open fridge and see what jumps out at me,

moneyistooshorttomention

Fruit-based lunch here today. Aronia berries (from garden) to start with and then plums (from the garden - ie the first ones are now ripe - and there's loads of them) and apple with coconut yogurt and oat "cream". Then some of my homemade bread toasted.

Dinner tonight - will basically be leftovers from yesterday ("cheat" quinoa and rice, baked sweet potato). Adding some kale (from garden) and leftover Caesar salad dressing recipe I tried out yesterday (verdict - okay enough to finish it up, but won't be doing that version of it again).

PasturesNew

Brambling wrote: »

... A whole chicken will easily feed me 4 or 5 meals before I make soup ...,

I can't bear the thought of going anywhere near a whole chicken. I avoid all fat, bone, skin on any meats. I mostly avoid meat as that's easier. I don't touch meat. I probably buy mince, or chicken breasts 4-5x a year ... and tip it into a SC without touching it Xmas dinner is a frozen breast joint, as there's just me... that's 3-4 meals worth for £2.50.

As for soup ... I've come to the conclusion I'm not really a lover of soup. I don't mind a bowl of soup for a pub meal - although not actually had a soup in a pub for 10+ years. Soups though are a 1-2x a year thing in the main ...

caronc

Good afternoon everyone,

Wednesday - same here I like to have my windows and doors open in good weather. I benefit from the front of my house being north facing so it's always cooler than the back. It's less of an advantage in the winter though...
kittie - your turkey with all the allotment veggies sounds gorgeous
Brambling - I'm not going to even start on kids not being taught to cook either at home or school. I worked with a project that supported young adults moving into their own tenancies after leaving care. They had been given loads of advice re managing budgets, how to look after yourself/home but no one had taught them to cook. Consequently they were spending a fortune on microwave meals or takeaways so really struggling to manage financially.:mad::mad: Talk about setting folk up to fail!! Thankfully we were able to get another project to run cookery classes for them (which they loved!) and now these form part of the leaving care proccess in that area.
MTSTM - saw this and thought some of it might be of interest to you https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/23/best-vegetarian-vegan-recipes-samosas-fregola-goats-cheese-pumpkin
PN - not like soup :eek::eek:, I reckon I eat soup at least 50% of the days in the year. I love it and can't imagine not having it.


I picked 6 tomatoes in the greenhouse, ping pong ball sized and my they are heavenly. :DThree have been eaten and I doubt the rest will still be here tomorrow.