The Recipe Room

I haven't gotten as far as doing my post of yesterday's food yet but I wanted to just mention that I now have a recipe blog. Anything in my food diary which I have posted a recipe for will be linked. I'm thinking of transferring those recipes which I've already posted here (such as yoghurt and sourdough bread) but I'm currently undecided about that.

Spicy Sourdough Fruit Loaf or Sourdough Hot Cross Buns

(makes 3 loaves or 2 loaves and one batch of hot cross buns)

2 cups buttermilk
3 cups sourdough starter
1 tsp salt
¼ cup honey (3 oz)
2 tbsp butter
Around 6-8 cups flour (about 2lb)
1 lb mixed fruit
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp mace
1 tsp nutmeg

1. Put buttermilk, sourdough starter, salt, honey and butter into a large bowl.

2. Mix.

3. Add fruit and spices and mix again.

4. Gradually add flour and mix until it turns into dough.

5. Knead for 5-10 minutes.

6. Divide into three tins. (Or into two tins and one batch of buns.)

7. Bake at GM 3 for 1 to 1 ¼ hours. (Buns need less time - around 30 minutes.)

8. Turn out of tins immediately and cool on wire rack before slicing.

If you need to convert any of the units of measurement, try Gourmet Sleuth.

Frugal "Hamburgers"

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb mince (ground meat)
• 1/2 lb lentils and rice
• 1 cup (1/2 lb) mashed potato
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree (tomato paste)
• 2 tsps basil
• a tiny bit of chilli powder (depending on your taste)
  

Method

• Lard a baking tray or roasting tin (I use a roasting tin because it has a lid so saves using aluminium foil to cover).
• Put all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Mix thoroughly - this is best done with your hands.
• Use your hands to shape into about eight "burgers" and place in roasting tin (or baking tray).
• If using a baking tray, cover with foil.
• Cook at 350F/GM4 for 45-60 minutes.
  

Lentils and Rice

I just typed up this recipe for some friends (one of them has anaemia because they had cut back significantly on meat due to costs) and I thought it would be good to share here. As you will see from the figures at the bottom, it offers significant savings compared with meat.

Ingredients

½ cup lentils

1 cup rice

1tbsp whey

1 ½ cups stock (approx 750ml)

1 small onion, chopped

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepper

The night before

1. Place lentils, rice and whey in large jug and fill with water to double the volume.
2. Leave to soak overnight.

The next day

1. Strain and rinse lentils and rice.
2. Place in pan with all the other ingredients and bring to the boil.
3. Leave to simmer for 1-2 hours until all the stock has been absorbed.
4. This makes approximately 2lbs/1kg.

Serving suggestions:

• Can be served as is with vegetable casserole. We usually add some homemade salsa on the side to make it a little more tasty.
• Can be used in any dish which calls for mince (ground meat).
• Lentil burgers – mix with egg, tomato puree or salsa and seasonings (I usually use curry paste); place in heaps on greased baking tray; cover with tin foil and bake at GM4/180°C for 30-50 minutes.
• Meat loaf.

Iron Content

Lentils and Rice contains approximately 1.3mg iron per 100g which is roughly similar to chicken.

Lamb contains about 1.7 mg/100g.

Turkey contains about 2.1 mg/100g.

Beef contains about 2.7 mg/100g.

Ham contains about 1.1 mg/100g.

Pork contains about 0.9 mg/100g.

Bacon contains about 0.1 mg/100g.

Cost (1kg is roughly 2lb)

Lentils and rice costs about £1/kg.

Pork mince is £4/kg.

Lamb mince is £4.60/kg.

Beef mince is £3.75/kg.

Tesco value mince is £2.42/kg.

Getting Used to a New Routine and Other Bits and Pieces

From yesterday until Christmas Eve, Hubby is working late shifts Monday to Saturday so we're having to get used to a new routine. Yesterday was rather disorganised but today has been better. I'm trying out a meat loaf recipe I found on New Life. I never made meatloaf before (I think maybe it's an American thing) so I'm looking forward to seeing how it will turn out. I did make a couple of modifications as I used lamb mince instead of beef mince and I'm putting salsa on the top instead of ketchup. The loaf is now sitting in the oven ready to cook and the salsa is made and ready to be added.

Last year Little Girl was too young to particularly notice that Daddy was around at different times but yesterday after bath time she was calling, "Daddy" and trying to go downstairs to look for him. I'm sure we'll all get used to it soon though.

A while back I read about the "box of beans" toy at Lentils and Rice and had been trying to think of something suitable for Little Girl as I knew she would love it but beans would be too small at her age. Today I finally thought of pasta so she spent the half hour before lunch time playing with a cup of (dry) pasta and three plastic tubs:

One last thing I wanted to share before Autumn is over is our Autumn table decoration:

It's not really an English thing to do but I've been reading about Autumn decorations on lots of American blogs and thought it sounded like a nice idea to mark the seasons so this is my first time. The stuff is actually on a lazy susan which is nice as we can turn it to face different directions and it makes it easy to remove and put back when we need to. Hopefully on Monday morning we will go out foraging for holly so that I can make a Winter one.

Sourdough Starter - alternative to buying yeast

I've been making bread now for over a year without having to buy yeast. According to Milehimama, it costs about 9 cents for two loaves. I usually make three loaves a week so over a year that would cost about $7. In England, the same quantity of yeast would cost me 17p for two loaves which would work out at around £13.

Instead of buying yeast, I use sourdough starter which makes use of naturally occurring yeasts.

It is very simple to make: Place a cup each of wholemeal flour and water in a large bowl (or jug), stir, cover with a tea towel and leave to stand overnight. Each day for around a week, add equal amounts of flour and water, stir, cover and leave overnight again. (I think my book suggested one or two cups a day but I only did half cups as I didn't want too much starter.) After a while it will start to get frothy and smell a little "beery". It will hopefully look something like this:



After a week to ten days, if your starter has become frothy then it is ready to use.

To make a 2lb loaf, I use two cups of starter, half a cup of water, a pinch of salt and around 1lb flour. I mix the first three ingredients together before adding flour. I keep adding flour until the dough seems about right. How much flour you need will depend on your starter so if you need a lot of flour and your loaf is too big for the pan, reduce (or even cut out) the additional water. If you find your loaf is on the small side then add extra water. After putting into tins and leaving to rise overnight, I bake the bread at GM4 for 1 to 1 1/4 hours before turning out to cool.

Once you have used your sourdough starter, you no longer need to keep it at room temperature. (You can if you want but if so, you must remember to stir it every day otherwise it will go mouldy.) I usually transfer it into a new container and top it up with 1-2 cups each of flour and water before putting it in the fridge. Either on the morning of the day I want to use it or the night before I get it out and add more flour and water to help bet it going again and to ensure there is enough of it for the next use. You may be able to use it straight out of the fridge but I find I get leaden loaves if I do this. I keep my starter in a jug with a plate over the top. This allows it to "breathe" and also enables me to see exactly how much of it I have.

The Fun Way To Make Apple and Blackberry Crumble

1) Run a bowl of washing up water.
2) Mix 4oz flour and 3oz sugar in a bowl.
3) Add 3oz butter and try to rub in.
4) Decide the butter is too hard and use the food processor.
5) Put the crumble mixture back in the bowl and put the bits from the food processor in the washing up water (while feeling pleased with yourself for having been so organised).
6) Get the apples and blackberries out of the fridge.
7) Start cutting up the apples.
8) Put all your spoons in the washing up water to prevent yourself from eating any more crumble mix.
8) Finish cutting up apples and arrange in a dish with the blackberries.
9) Put the crumble mix on the top.
10) Start to make more crumble mixture because you ate half of the original batch.
11) Realise it was a bad idea to put the bits from the food processor straight in the washing up water.
12) Add second batch of crumble mixture on top of apples/blackberries.
13) Leave on worktop to bake nearer dinnertime.
14) Turn round and discover three apples on the table you have managed to forget about.
15) Put the apples back in the fridge.
16) Bake at GM4 for about one hour.
17) Serve with cream and enjoy. :o)

Frugal Friday - CrockPot Yoghurt

I've been making yoghurt for about eight months now and I only just realised how much money I save by doing it.

I use organic milk which is £1.50 for 2 litres (a litre is roughly equivalent to an American quart) meaning that for 1kg (just over 2lb) yoghurt it costs me 75p which I'll round up to 80p to allow for cost of electricity, wear and tear on utensils etc. If I bought organic yoghurt ready made it would cost £2.09/kg and even if I bought the very cheapest non-organic yoghurt it would cost me 96p compared with about 65p for yoghurt made with non-organic milk.

Originally I used a recipe I found elsewhere but I found that it produced very inconsistent results and was usually much runnier than bought yoghurt. Over time I developed my own recipe which I have found produces a nice thick yoghurt every time:

Equipment

• Crockpot
• Time switch
• Ladle
• Spoon (any old eating spoon will do)
• Pint/Half litre jug for mixing yoghurt and milk the first time
• Insulation for crock from crockpot (I use one of these but a large towel would do)
• Containers for storing yoghurt (I usually use a couple of old 1kg/2lb ice cream tubs and an old 500g/1lb yoghurt pot)

Ingredients

• 3 British pints/2 litres/2 American quarts whole milk
• 1 small pot natural yoghurt or a cup of yoghurt left over from the previous batch*

Method

1) Put 3 British pints (or 2 litres or 2 American quarts) of milk into your crockpot.
2) Set the time switch for 3 hours and turn the crockpot to low. (You can do it without the time switch but the time it is on for is a critical part so if you don't have one, make sure you set yourself an alarm to remind you to switch it off.)
3) Wait at least two hours after the heat has been turned off. (I usually aim for 2-4 hours but have left it for seven without affecting the results.)
4) Put the yoghurt in the jug
5) Ladle in an equivalent amount of warm milk.
6) Mix well and then pour half of the mixture into the crockpot.
7) Stir the warm milk (which now has some yoghurt added) and then repeat steps 5 &6 a couple of times before adding all of the yoghurt/milk mixture to the crockpot and stirring thoroughly.
8) Insulate using either a solar cooker or some large towels and leave overnight.

The Next Day

9) Remove slow cooker from insulation.
10) Ladle about one cup of yoghurt into the old yoghurt pot** and then put the remainder in the other tubs.
11) Place yoghurt in fridge.

* The longest I have kept yoghurt for the next batch is three weeks. Of course you should check for signs of mould and smell it to make sure it is okay. If in doubt, it is better to buy some fresh starter yoghurt than to risk getting ill.
** The cup of yogurt in the yogurt pot can be used for the next batch of yogurt. The milk can be mixed direct in the pot removing the need for a separate jug to be used.

Gravy

I realised my sausage and leek recipe refers to my gravy recipe so I thought I'd better post it...

Ingredients
=========

The quantities given are roughly what I use and is probably enough for about ten people but you can adjust them according to how many people you are feeding, what your personal preferences are, the size of the vegetables etc.

+ 1 medium onion
+ black pepper
+ 2tbsp cooking oil
+ 4tbsp flour
+ assorted vegetables (use what you are having for dinner anyway: an assortment roughly equivalent in size to the onion)
+ boiling water (full kettle)
+ a herb suitable for the chosen meat (I often use sage)

Utensils
======

+ Medium pan
+ chopping board
+ sharp knife
+ wooden spoon
+ kettle
+ 3 in 1 blender (traditional and smoothie/soup making attachments)*
+ gravy boat if desired for serving

Instructions
========

1. Reserve some of the vegetables prepared for cooking roughly equivalent to a medium onion in size (see ingredients) and put the kettle on to boil.

2. Chop onion roughly.

3. Put onion and other vegetables in blender and blend until most of the vegetables are of a grated/shredded vegetable consistency.

4. Heat oil on hob.

5. Carefully add vegetable mixture from blender and add black pepper. Stir until browned. (N.B. onion fumes can be quite strong.)

6. Take off heat, add flour and stir to form "roux". (This should mean that everything is evenly coated with an oil/flour mix.

7. Add about a pint of water (from kettle) and stir in until mixture is reasonably smooth.

8. Return to heat and bring to boil.

9. Remove from heat and use smoothie/soup attachment from blender to remove all remaining vegetable/roux lumps.

10. Ad herbs and return to heat.

11. Add water (from kettle) and stir in until desired consistency is gained.

12. Leave to simmer on low heat until the rest of the meal is ready.

13. If cooking a roast dinner, add juices from the joint when it is removed from the oven. (This step can be ignored if desired.)

14. When everything else is ready either pour over plates of food or put in gravy boat to serve.

Notes
====

i) If you don't have a blender, you can grate and finely chop the vegetables instead of putting them through the blender.

ii) This can be a sneaky way of getting vegetables into children who won't eat them.

iii) Left over gravy can be used as for soup, gravy or sauce.

Creamy Sausage and Leek Stew (aka Susini Sausages)

Ingredients
=========

The quantities given are roughly what I use and is probably enough for about four people but you can adjust them according to how many people you are feeding, what your personal preferences are, the size of the vegetables etc.

+ 1 large onion
+ black pepper
+ 2tbsp cooking oil
+ 2 leeks
+ pot of cream
+ 1 to 1 ½ pts chicken and/or vegetable stock with 1tbsp sage mixed in*
+ 3 bay leaves
+ juice of one lemon
+ pack of eight sausages

+ serve with either bread and butter, pasta, or mashed potato

Utensils
======

+ Large pan
+ chopping board
+ sharp knife
+ wooden spoon
+ grill and grill pan
+ lemon squeezer (optional)
+ gravy boat if desired for serving
+ large jug if preparing stock

Instructions
========

1. Put sausages on to cook in grill.

2. Put oil in pan on low heat.

3. Roughly chop onion.

4. Wash leek and cut into thin slices.

5. Remember to keep an eye on the sausages and turn when appropriate.

6. Fry leek and onion until almost browned.

7. Add a lot of ground black pepper (grind from mill for about a minute) and stir in.

8. Remove sausages from grill and cut into four using diagonal cuts (approximately 45 degrees angle).

9. Add chopped sausages.

10. Add stock/gravy and additional water if required and bring to the boil.

11. Add cream, lemon juice and bay leaves.

12. Leave to simmer on low heat and while preparing bread/potato/pasta to serve.

13. Once accompaniment is ready, the dish can be served onto plates.

Notes
====

i) This works best with leftover gravy from my gravy recipe.

ii) This can be a handy way of using up leftovers from Sunday dinner. (e.g. if ½ lemon put in chicken while roasting, use the other half; if cream used on pudding, just use the remaining cream; leftover gravy can be used; chopped leftover meat can be substituted for the sausages).