All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Seasonal Stir Fry

By 9 Comments

ingredients for stir fry
It is almost the end of the week and time to use all that is left in the fridge to make room for all next weeks new and exciting food. Trips to delicatessens and markets have been planned in. I found some stir fry strips lurking in the freezer that I had bought from a lovely lady from Challow Hill Meats at the farmers’ market. This meal seems somehow to always be ready at just the right time, it all comes together precisely at the end.

Ingredients

What you will need (for 2):

  • Stir fry strips or other thinly sliced steak
  • Vegetables of your choice, I used onion, garlic, ginger, sweetcorn, carrots, spring onion and spinach
  • Noodles
  • Soy sauce
  • Lemon or lime
  • Oil, preferably vegetable or groundnut
  • Salt and pepper

Method

I was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with the lady from Challow Hill Meats and she told me the story of her stir fry strips. She explained to me that when cutting the sirloin and the fillet off she was left with all these bits of meat. They used to go into the meat for stewing etc. Then she put them up for sale as I buy them now and I couldn’t be more pleased. The perfect amount of meat, of excellent quality and cut, ready sliced and for £1.84. Who can moan about that?
To make the most of these little bits of loveliness I let them marinate in salt, pepper and soya sauce while I cut up all my vegetables. read more

Quick Cheat Risotto and Roasted Vegetables

By 6 Comments

Apparently I have become a magnet for books and other similar reading materials. Old and new, modern and traditional, there is not a manuscript that passes me by without a glance or sometimes a purchase. Because of this new exponential accumulation I needed to reorganise and rearrange my boudoir in preparation for a charming new bookcase I had clapped my eyes upon. I wrestled with the idea of what to have for dinner and I knew this rearrangement would take many hours. Do I have a quick sandwich and feel an intense sense of disappointment or…Quick cheats risotto and roasted veg. read more

Baked Marrow

By 2 Comments

sliced marrow

What to do with quite a significant sized marrow, no time and a fridge full of food but nothing to eat. It was then that I remembered the very wise man who sold me the marrow in the first place. He recommended a baked marrow but not to cut it down the middle and then stuff it as one might expect but to go about it as follows.

Ingredients You will need (for four):

  • 1 marrow
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Small handful fresh mint
  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 small chilli, finely chopped
  • Small handful dill, roughly torn
    • read more

    Classic Toad in the Hole with Onion Gravy

    By 15 Comments

    toad in the hole, onion gravy, mashed potatoes and broccoli

    It’s been getting colder, the days getting shorter and the need for all things comforting increasing. I went to the butcher and managed to get hold of some local recipe sausages. Toad in the Hole would be it. With some gravy and mash. Proper British.

    Ingredients

    What you will need (for two)
    Sausages of your choice
    1/2 pint of milk
    120g flour
    3 eggs
    Pinch of salt and pepper
    2 onions
    2 garlic cloves
    90ml balsamic vinegar
    Thyme
    Stock cube

    Method

    I started off by frying my sausages and made the batter while they were cooking. I find the best way for Yorkshire pudding batter is to put it all in a bowl and whisk furiously. It’ll all come right in the end. I was also clever enough to plan ahead, pre-heat the oven as hot as it would go and heat some oil in a dish. read more

    Pea and Lettuce Soup – a farewell to Summer

    By Leave a Comment

    I just spent the last week in Dorset. It had me positively wanting to don my walking boots, breathe the fresh air – slightly tainted by manure – and whistle Greig’s Morgenstimmung all day long. Fortunately, my dignity stayed in tact. I was also hampered by the fact I don’t own walking boots and will only walk if there is the promise of food and drink at the other end.
    They are so proud of their food down there and Dorset cheeses were offered everywhere I went. They are most excellent. As an homage to Summer, on an almost scorching September day a soup was needed. I found the following things around and about: read more

    Carrot Cake

    By 11 Comments

    Carrot Cake with orange zest icing

    After spending my Sunday trying to resist everything I clapped my searching eyes on at my local farmers market, I ended up buying hundreds of carrots. How could I say no to a bunch just picked and two for £1 purple cauliflower? Either way I am now inundated with these sweet orange roots and so I consulted several recipe books and decided a carrot cake was the order of the day. They all asked for different things so I picked out what I thought were the best bits and tried it out.

    Ingredients

    What you will need:
    3 eggs
    275g self-raising flour
    1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    a pinch of salt
    1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
    1 tsp ground cinnamon
    200ml mild olive oil
    75g dark muscavado sugar
    175g light muscavado sugar
    150g carrots
    juice of one small orange read more

    Broad Bean Hummus and Courgette Surprise

    By 5 Comments

    homegrown courgettes and beans

    So as I am inundated with thousands upon thousands of broad beans and courgettes, instead of becoming the next Alan Sugar and make millions selling my prides and joys, I decided I shall eat them myself and share them around. I say thousands but I mean more than I hoped for.

    One of the meals we had entailed both broad beans and courgettes. I wish my tomatoes were ready but they are stubbornly green. As per usual with these lovely beans they needed to be extracted, boiled and popped out.


    After this inevitable ritual common sense prevails on the hummus making front. I put my little gems in my mini blitzer, a good squidge of lemon juice, some fresh mint and some seasoning. Blitz. Then, drizzled smidgen by smidgen, some tasty extra virgin olive oil until the texture is what you see fit as appropriate. Blitzing away all the while. Noisy yes. Worth it? Absolutely.     read more

    Broad Bean Omelette

    By 4 Comments

    Fresh broad beans

    To tell you nowt but the truth, my broad beans have been nothing short of prolific. I cannot urge you enough to throw a few broad beans in the ground and watch them develop. They are so nutty and so so green. There’s nothing like picking a few pods and whiling away a few moments popping the little guys out of their silk lined beds. I really enjoy squeezing them out of their old grey skins once cooked. Unless I’m in a rush.

    Despite all the care and affection I have given my beans I did manage to whip up some delectable meals and snacks. The first one (apart from eating a few raw off the stalk) was an omelette that I threw some of my emerald delights into. To start, I satisfyingly took the beans out of their homes. read more

    Gnocchi with Bacon, Broccoli and Creamy Garlic Sauce

    By 9 Comments

    Gnocchi with Bacon, Broccoli and Creamy Garlic Sauce

    This is another cheap and cheerful recipe that was recently discovered. Again, it feeds two for less than £3 and counts as two of your five a day. My recipe for gnocchi with bacon, broccoli and creamy garlic sauce is quick, easy and frugal too. It’s really creamy and just what you need when you’re craving a dauphinoiseque meal.

    Ingredients

    What you will need (for two people): Potato gnocchi – 59p 4 rashers of bacon – £1

    Small head of broccoli – 35p read more

    Feed 2 for £3 – Spaghetti Bolognese

    By 3 Comments

    It’s the end of term and funds are running low. Gone are the days of spontaneous eating out and in are the days of making whatever is edible from the darkest corners of the cupboard.
    Never fear. Over the last few days I have made meals which feed two for £3 or less and even if I do say so myself are rather nice. Also, they are at least 2 of your 5 a day! Here’s my recipe for a budget spaghetti bolognese.

    Ingredients

    What you will need (for two servings):
    200g minced beef – 99p
    A load of fresh tomatoes from the market – 50p
    Onion – 10p
    Garlic – 3p
    Tomato puree – 13p
    Spaghetti – 30p
    Milk, stock, seasoning and herbs Total price: £2.05 (not including the milk etc.)     read more

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