All That I'm Eating

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

Pea and Bacon Soup for a #thriftyorganic challenge

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In case it has escaped your attention, September is the month where people make a fuss about organic; aptly named Organic September. I have to admit that the majority of food that I buy is already organic so for me I wanted to try some new organic ingredients that I hadn’t tried before. I loaded up my weekly veg box with tomatillos, Homity pies and all sorts. I was challenged as part of Organic September to make an all organic three course meal, for four people, which cost less than £30.

I have done a few dinner parties before but not a budget conscious one so I was looking forward to seeing what I could make without going over the allowance. Initially I thought a roast chicken would be quite a good idea but with the cold weather closing in I wanted to make something a bit more hearty and autumnal. read more

Mushy Peas Potatoes and Ham

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Mushy Peas Potatoes and Ham

I absolutely love peas. For me, a life without peas isn’t worth living. I moved house late last year and I don’t have a freezer; no more emergency frozen peas for me. Happily it’s pea season now so lovely fresh peas are popping up in the veg box, at the farmers’ market and in the garden. If there’s one thing I like even more than peas it’s mushy peas. So for a deliciously easy summer dinner my mushy peas potatoes and ham is perfect.You will need:

  • Lots of fresh peas, podded (at least one mug full, the more the better)
  • 500g Jersey Royal potatoes, scrubbed, any larger ones halved or quartered
  • A few thin slices cured ham (I used Serrano), roughly torn
  • A couple fresh mint leaves, shredded
  • Small knob of butter
  • Salt and pepper

Start by podding the peas. This is one of my favourite kitchen jobs, no sarcasm. read more

Keema Rice

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Keema Rice - All That I'm Eating (2 of 2)

I don’t know about you but during the week when it comes to cooking dinner I want something quick, easy and full of flavour. It’s also a winner if it’s cheap to make and uses up a few bits and bobs I have hanging around in the fridge too. Keema rice is one of my guilty pleasures; I love the heavily spiced lamb, golden onions and fragrant rice. I thought it was about time I attempted to make it at home.

You will need (for 4):

  • 250g easy cook, long grain rice  £0.35
  • 2 cloves  £0.02
  • 2 cardamom pods  £0.02
  • 1 bay leaf  £0.02
  • 300g lamb mince  £2.40
  • 1 small tin peas, drained  £0.30
  • 1 onion, finely chopped  £0.10
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed  £0.10
  • Handful mushrooms, chopped  £0.35
  • Oil for cooking  £0.02
  • 2 tsp garam masala  £0.02
  • 1 tsp ground cumin  £0.02
  • Salt and pepper  £0.02
  • Fresh coriander £0.15

Total £3.89

Gently fry the cloves, cardamom and bay in a saucepan with a little oil. Add the rice and stir well to coat in the oil and spices. read more

Summer Vegetable Minestrone

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summer vegetable minestrone
I’m not sure you can ever have too many vegetables in the house at once but at this time of year with the peas in the garden, the veg box and whatever looks tempting at the farmers’ market I can find it a little challenging to close the fridge door. You know it’s got a bit excessive when your carrot fronds are getting in the way of the door seal. If you find yourself fighting some spinach to reach the butter or battling beans to get to the mayonnaise there’s only one thing for it: make a minestrone.

Ingredients

You will need (for two big bowls or four smaller ones):

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 small courgette, diced
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 1 handful summer greens, shredded
  • 1 handful broad beans, podded
  • 1 handful fresh peas, podded
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock
  • 90g small pasta
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Prepare the broad beans by adding the beans to a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3-4 minutes before removing, running under cold water and then squeezing the beans out of their grey skins. Set aside.

Put a large pan on a low heat and add the olive oil, garlic, carrot, onion and courgette. Put a lid on and leave to soften for around 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the tomato, summer greens and peas then pour in the hot stock.

Bring to the boil then add the pasta and a little salt and pepper.  read more

Pea, Carrot and Paneer Pilaf

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Pilaf with peas, carrots and paneer

I hadn’t done a vegetarian option for my Feed 4 for £6 series for a little while so I thought it was about time I did. I am a big fan of recipes which involve putting ingredients into a pan, putting a lid on and leaving it to its own devices and this is one of those. If you can’t find paneer for this recipe you can use halloumi but it’s saltier. All you need otherwise is onions, carrots, peas, curry powder and rice. Sorted.

Ingredients

You will need (for 4):
Rapeseed oil for frying  £0.02
1 medium onion, diced  £0.10
2 medium carrots, diced  £0.18
200g frozen peas  £0.25
250g basmati rice  £0.45
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped  £0.05
2 heaped tsp curry powder  £0.05
700ml hot vegetable stock  £0.10
Salt and pepper  £0.02
225g paneer, cubed  £1.54
Total  £2.76

 Method

Heat around 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the onion, carrot and garlic. Fry for around 10 minutes or until softened.  Add the curry powder and rice and cook for a further minute. Add the frozen peas and pour in the hot stock. Bring the pan to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, put on a loose fitting lid.  Simmer the rice for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed. Check on the level of stock while it’s cooking and top up a little if needed. While the pilaf cooks heat a pan up on a medium heat and add a little bit of oil. Season the paneer all over with salt and plenty of pepper before adding it to the pan. Fry the paneer until golden brown. Check the seasoning before dishing up the pilaf and divide the cheese between the plates.

Rice is always welcome on my table in whatever form it comes. In this it’s got a lovely curried flavour along with the sweet carrot, peas and onion and the peppery slightly salted cheese. My favourite bits are the golden edges of the paneer. I have to say that this has to be one of the most filling things I have ever made, I almost couldn’t eat it all (but I had just had some cake!). This costs less than £3 for four, is very satisfying and is easy to make. Ideal weeknight grub. read more

Curried Lamb Pie with Bombay Potato Topping with Schwartz

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Curried Lamb Pie with Bombay Potato Topping All That I'm Eating (1 of 3)
Dinner parties have a set of criteria that they should fulfil; the host doesn’t want to be stuck in the kitchen away from guests, the food should be tasty and the guests want to be relaxed and leave full. This is why I think something that can be prepared in advance and then finished later on is ideal. I love lamb curry and I have really been enjoying my new Hairy Bikers curry book so I fancied having a go at a curry using lamb mince. So when Schwartz got in touch to see what dinner party ideas I could think of using their spices I set about creating an ideal dinner party dish: Curried Lamb Pie with Bombay Potato Topping. I thought this would meet the above ‘Caroline Criteria’ very well.

Ingredients

You will need (for 4):

For the lamb:
  • Flavourless oil for cooking
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 1 tomato, seeds removed and chopped
  • 2 tsp tomato puree
  • 3-4 tsp Schwartz Curry Powder (I used mild but you could use a hotter one if you like)
  • 400g minced lamb
  • 100g frozen peas
  • Salt and pepper
For the potato topping:

  • 700g potatoes, peeled and diced
  • Flavourless oil for frying
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Salt and pepper
    • read more

    Creamy Pea and Bacon Pasta

    By 12 Comments

    After my last £6 supper on BBC Radio Berkshire, Paul Ross was quite disappointed that the recipe included no frozen peas. It got me thinking that actually there’s plenty to celebrate in the humble frozen pea. They’re cheap, you can always keep some in the freezer and they are a welcome shot of greenness and sweetness at this time of year. This quick, easy and cheap meal is a little mid-week fanfare of the frozen pea. read more

    Cheat’s one pot Paella

    By 21 Comments

    I didn’t realise how much rice I had been eating until I thought about the last time I ate pasta or potatoes and I can’t remember when that was. I like rice as a plain side to something, a herb encrusted rice salad or as a risotto. This quick and easy rice dish (or a cheat paella) is not a paella by any means but it’s a great dish to knock up after a hectic day with a nice bit of chorizo for a mid-week Spanish pick me up. Get out your flamenco. read more

    Paprika Topside of Beef with Roasted Garlic Mash and Peas and Onions

    By 22 Comments

    fried topside of beef with roasted garlic mashed potatoes peas and onions allthatimeating (3 of 4)
    I wrote on my blog a little while back that humble doesn’t have to be hum drum and it got me thinking. Can I make what might be considered a luxury into a cheap, and hopefully humble, meal. Steak, for me at least, is considered an expensive luxury; it’s not something I buy on a regular basis. It is however something I enjoy and it was about time I tried a cheaper cut to see if it could cut the mustard.

    Enter my knowledgeable butcher. I had heard that hanger (or onglet) steak was a cheap alternative that is normally used for slow cooking. Unfortunately there was no hanger available as it was all frozen, but not to worry, as I was assured that a few slices of topside would be a good substitute. My butcher took off a few thick steaks from the topside and butterflied them for me, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. The topside came in at £12.95 per kg whereas sirloin would have been £24.50 per kg. read more

    Peas, Broad Beans and Feta with Roasted Tomato and Chilli Sauce

    By 24 Comments

    Peas, Broad Beans and Feta with Roasted Tomato and Chilli Sauce - All That I'm Eating
    This is almost the meal that changed my life: broad beans and feta. Until a few years ago I considered any food that wasn’t plain boiled pasta disgusting. I was completely disinterested in anything that wasn’t beige and flavourless. I went to University and had to start fending for myself so a few more exciting things crept into my culinary repertoire; a little melted butter on my pasta for example. I know, exotic. 

    I suppose I was what you would call a late flavour bloomer; I think my olfactorary centre and taste buds started to develop with my wisdom teeth. Indeed not only had I grown some physical wisdom I also had some previous culinary knowledge on which to build, and now, more teeth to eat things with. I have always cooked; biscuits with my Granny, cakes and pastry with my Mum and barbeques with my Dad but it wasn’t until 2008 that I really started to experiment. 

    At University you become extremely good at procrastination. One of my favourite time wasters was trawling the internet looking for cookbooks. For someone who found flavour offensive I had a pretty large collection of cookery books; I found great pleasure in cooking for others things that I wouldn’t touch with a bargepole. I came across a particular cookery book that sounded pretty good to me; it was over 500 pages long which is a lot of bedtime reading. I ordered it.
    What I didn’t know when I ordered it was that it was a book about vegetables; pages and pages of green, red, orange and purple things which were all alien to me but they were organised alphabetically so I liked that. There was one particular recipe that caught my eye, mostly because it seemed cheap. It was green beans with roasted tomatoes. I made it and the textures and flavours were like nothing I’d ever had; the beans were still slightly crunchy and squeaked when you chewed them, the tomatoes were sweet but also acidic. I probably ate more beans at that moment that I had ever eaten cumulatively in my life before. read more


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