The Resourceful Cook is a new meal-planning website and I’ve been meaning to check out the site for a while now. I just used the site’s calculator to find out how much it can save me and it estimated £1117 by avoiding waste and controlling costs. Wow!

I’ve written about meal planning sites before, but what I love about The Resourceful Cook is how customisable and detailed it is. Even if  you don’t want to fully commit to a meal planner, I can see how it could really make your life easier (and save you money!) Plus just reading it makes me hungry and excited to cook.

You choose your family size (one, two or four), what type of pantry you keep (basic, typical or cook’s) and the supermarket you frequent. Then choose from a range of menu plans, from home take-aways (fish & chips!) to Mediterranean medley (king prawn paella) to low cal and great value options. I chose great value and narrowed it down to four meals for the week that we’d cook in. The groceries would cost me £17, according to the site. You then have the option of adding more things to your list (biscuits? toilet roll?) before finalising and creating a printable version.

There are other options too. Really busy? Pick a quick shop menu and you’ll instantly get a shopping list for three meals. You can also plan dinner parties for up to eight using the site.

Meal plans only ever use fresh ingredients in amounts that match the pack sizes available in the shops. According to the site, that means no waste, ever. Plus you get a price per person for ever recipe, which I love. I’m assuming they base that on where I indicated I shop most but I’m not sure. According to the company, prices are based on an average between a range of typical supermarkets but soon they will have it updated automatically according to specific supermarkets.

I haven’t cooked anything yet, but I’m impressed. If it could magically base the menus around what’s on sale at the supermarket  plus what I’ve got coming in my Abel & Cole box it would be even better, but you can’t have everything!! I recommend The Resourceful Cook a look.

We’ve been baking our own bread for about a month now and I’ve really enjoyed it. This week E requested a bloomer, so instead of our standard wholemeal loaves I looked up a new recipe. Oh my goodness it is HEAVEN! I’m eating a piece right now, warm, with butter, and it is so decadent. Our best loaf yet.

I adapted this recipe from BBC Good Food but I bought a new kind of yeast that doesn’t come in sachets so I had to modify it. I also used a tip from Budget Bytes, one of my new favourite food blogs, which recommended putting a pan of water in the bottom of the oven to create steam.

Here is the result. E actually said “oooh!” when I pulled it out of the oven, and it’s quite rare for him to get that excited over anything that is not related to Manchester United.

I’ve also been working on the quilt. I decided to try to quilt it together with a star pattern, which is taking ages but I’m so far happy with. As you can see I’m using tape to guide my sewing which was recommended by a friend.

My beloved HobbyCraft is celebrating National Cupcake Week (13th – 19th September) with a cupcake-making challenge!

If you join in the challenge you could win a fabulous mini cupcake maker which cooks your favourite treats in just four minutes! The winner’s creation will also be featured in the Ideas Library on HobbyCraft’s website so that cupcake fans across the country can re-create your recipe for success.

To enter, share your cupcake creations on HobbyCraft’s National Cupcake Week Flickr site. At the end of National Cupcake Week they’ll choose a winner. I have to warn you ladies, the competition is FIERCE!

Have a look at these entries already up on Flickr:

From Little Gem Bakery

From Renata Aguilar

From NaginskiCupcakes

Save money and eat well by choosing food that is in season. Here is what to buy in September, according to BBC GoodFood:

Fruit
At its best: apricots, blackberries, broadbeans, damson, figs, gooseberries, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, tomatoes

Coming in: bramley apples, cranberries, quince,

Veg
At its best: aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cavalo nero, celeriac, celery, courgettes, fennel bulbs, garlic, globe artichokes, kale, lamb’s lettuce, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, spinach, sweetcorn, swiss chard, watercress

Coming in: brussels sprouts, pumpkin, salsify, swedes, sweet potatoes, turnips,

Meat
At its best: autumn lamb, goose, grouse, guinea fowl, lamb

Coming in: duck

Fish
At its best: crab, halibut, oysters, salmon, tuna

Coming in: mussels

Other than our Abel & Cole delivery we haven’t spent much…except for a few investments in cheese. I love vegetables with cheese – beetroot with goats cheese or blue cheese, spinach or courgettes with parmesan. Yum! Anyway the increase in veg in our house correlates with an increased spend on cheese.

We were away this weekend visiting family and friends so we didn’t eat in very much but we’re trying to get back on track with the home cooking – even with MORE family in town this week!

Here is where we stand:

Running total: £137.52

31st August – £6.29 for massive block of parmesan (went on last night’s courgettes and pasta)
30th August – £4.25 for goats cheese (half off! to go on beetroot salad and baguettes) and £.89 for the baguette
29th August – nothing!
28th August – nothing!
27th August – nothing!
26th August – nothing!
25th August – £23.73 for Abel & Cole delivery, which included salmon and mussels (but we had a £10 off voucher)
24th August – £3.20 lunch stuff
23rd August – £28 misc lunch and dinner stuff (E didn’t save his receipts so this is an estimate)
22nd August – £5.20 baking stuff for chocolate chip cookies
21st August – £37.24 (guessing again here, as I also lost my receipt. argh!) mainly on fajitas stuff and also rye flour which we will someday use to make sourdough starter
20th August – nothing!
19th August – nothing!
18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

Chinese grocer Wing Yip sent along two recipes specially designed to introduce children to Asian food. Both recipes are simple enough that kids can get involved in the cooking and the ingredients have been selected for childrens’ picky palettes. I am VERY familiar with picky palettes and how easy it is to fall into the trap of fixing the same foods day in and day out (egg mayonnaise…again?!) so I love this idea.

Bananas in Coconut Milk (Kluay Buad Chee)

This is a typical Thai dessert. Choose bananas that are not too ripe as they need to hold their shape after cooking. This simple dessert is traditionally eaten warm, and sometimes as a snack. Remember to treat coconut milk as you would fresh milk or cream and refrigerate any that is left over. The addition of a little salt is important as it balances the sweetness of the sauce with the richness of the coconut milk.

Ingredients

• 4 bananas (cut each into 4 or 6 pieces)
• 400ml Mai Siam Coconut Milk
• 56g Mai Siam Palm Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Preparation

1. Peel the bananas and cut each into half down the middle of the fruit using a knife (with help from an adult) and then cut the banana across to make 4 or 6 pieces.
2. Heat the coconut milk in a pan (This must be supervised at all times) and add the palm sugar and salt.
3. Simmer gently until the sugar has melted. Do not cover the pot with its lid.
4. Gently add the banana to the coconut milk and simmer until bananas are soft. This should take about 2 minutes. (Again supervision is needed at all times)
5. Take care to keep the bananas submerged or they will change colour.
6. Adjust sugar and salt to taste.
7. Serve immediately in shallow bowls, allowing one banana per person.

• Serving – 4 children’s portions

Mild Chinese Curry

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (diced) (Any use of sharp utensils must be supervised by an adult)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 Tbsp Wing Yip Chinese Curry Concentrate
• 1 medium onion (small dice) (optional)
• 1 large potato (medium dice)
• 60g frozen peas
• water

Method

1.      Heat the vegetable oil in a pan (this must be supervised by an adult)

2.      Add the diced onions and cook until they are soft and start to turn a little brown at the edges.

3.      Add the diced chicken and the curry concentrate.

4.      Mix well and after 2 minutes add 500ml of water.

5.      The curry will start to thicken as it cooks and you might need to add more water as required.

6.      Add the potatoes and cook the curry until the potatoes are soft.

7.      Add peas at this stage.

8.      Serve with rice or on jacket potatoes

Wing Yip is the UK’s leading Chinese grocer, with stores in Birmingham, Manchester, Cricklewood and Croydon.

The second installment in my what on earth do I do with all this veg series is focussing on the sleek and very versatile courgette.

Wikipedia informs us that the courgette contains useful amounts of folate, potassium and vitamin A and 100 grams of the stuff also contains 19% of the recommended amount of manganese.

So…what should we cook with courgettes?

James Ramsden’s mum says: Courgette Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 beaten eggs
• 400g caster sugar
• 250ml sunflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 500g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• A pinch each of nutmeg, allspice, and salt
• 400g courgettes, peeled and grated

Method:

Whisk the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla thoroughly. Mix the dry ingredients and tip in the wet, stirring to form a smooth batter. It will seem quite stiff but the courgettes loosen it up. Now fold in the grated courgettes and tip into 2 greased loaf tins. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for an hour and a quarter. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack. Makes two loaves.

Jamie says: Beautiful Courgette Carbonara

Ingredients:

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 medium green and yellow courgettes
• 500g penne
• 4 large free-range or organic egg yolks
• 100ml double cream
• 2 good handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil
• 12 thick slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, cut into chunky lardoons
• a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped, flowers reserved (if you can get hold of flowering thyme)
• optional: a few courgette flowers

Method:

Carbonara is a classic pasta sauce made with cream, bacon and Parmesan and is absolutely delicious. Try to buy the best ingredients you can, as that’s what really helps to make this dish amazing. I’m using a flowering variegated variety of thyme but normal thyme is fine to use. When it comes to the type of pasta, you can serve carbonara with spaghetti or linguine, but I’ve been told by Italian mammas (who I don’t argue with!) that penne is the original, so that’s what I’m using in this recipe. Before you start cooking, it’s important to get yourself a very large pan, or use a high-sided roasting tray so you can give the pasta a good toss.

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger courgettes lengthways. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the courgettes at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller courgettes can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions.

To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly and put to one side.

Heat a very large frying pan (a 35cm one is a good start – every house should have one!), add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the courgette slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the courgettes become coated with all the lovely bacon-flavoured oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.

It’s very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the courgettes, bacon and lovely flavours, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you’ll scramble the eggs.)

Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straight away. While you’re tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. If you’ve managed to get any courgette flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.

BBC GoodFood says: Baked Parmesan Courgettes

Ingredients:

• 8 small courgettes , halved lengthways
• 4 plum tomatoes , chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• 1 chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• olive oil
• 4 tbsp breadcrumbs mixed with 6 tbsp grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)

Method:

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Scoop the seeds from the middle of each courgette half with a teaspoon so that you have 16 ‘boats’. Put in one large or two smaller ovenproof dishes and season. Mix together the tomatoes, garlic, chilli and rosemary with a slug of olive oil and season.

Pile the mixture into the courgettes then cover the dishes with foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender, then remove the foil and scatter the breadcrumb mix over. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for another 20 minutes until golden and crisp.

Method:

Oh, what an embarrassment. Our grocery shopping is definitely NOT frugal this week. We’ve had three mouths to feed plus friends over for dinner and that means lots and lots of food.

On the plus side, we’ve had some lovely meals, including prawn stirfry, bubble and squeak, baguette pizzas and chicken fajitas. Yum! And loads of veg are being eaten in these parts.

We also did lots of baking. We tried our hand at making bread using this recipe from Jamie Oliver. His countertop mixing method was a huge hit but the flavour didn’t blow my mind. I’m keen to try making his sourdough starter and see if that makes things more interesting. We also made some delicious chocolate chip cookies using this recipe and some fat chocolate chips we got in the States (although we used self-raising flour because it was all we had and scooped the dough instead of slicing it, as the recipe calls for).

That said, we’re definitely spending more than I’d like us to and I’m also annoyed with how careless we’ve been about receipts. But this month is about tracking and next month we’ll get down to the business of trimming away the nonessentials.

Here is where we stand:

Running total: £103.25

24th August – £3.20 lunch stuff
23rd August – £28 misc lunch and dinner stuff (E didn’t save his receipts so this is an estimate)
22nd August – £5.20 baking stuff for chocolate chip cookies
21st August – £37.24 (guessing again here, as I also lost my receipt. argh!) mainly on fajitas stuff and also rye flour which we will someday use to make sourdough starter
20th August – nothing!
19th August – nothing!
18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

Last post.

Well what do you know – it’s National Allotments Week! The event runs from 9 – 16 August and is put on by the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners.

I discovered this somewhere around the blogs so I went to check it out yesterday. I quite fancy the idea of an allotment. We moved into a flat in February with no outdoor space whatsoever and although we’ve attempted growing some herbs and chilies in our kitchen, it’s just not the same as having a proper garden. I’d really like to try growing veg! Plus kids just naturally seem to love gardening and it is so valuable for them to see where food comes from.

So, excited by National Allotments Week, I promptly got on the intrawebs and found my nearest allotments which are in a fancy part of Hampstead. They are surprisingly budget-friendly and I asked to be put on the waiting list (they all have a waiting list, wouldn’t you know). But then I got a sad note saying they’d actually completely closed even the waiting list earlier this year because 40 people were waiting. The next closest allotments, in the next borough over, have waitlists too but I admit I’ve become a bit demotivated.

However, dreaming of my very own patch of land in London and growing my own fruit and veg like some sort of domestic goddess got me inspired enough to do the next best thing and sign up for Abel & Cole’s weekly fruit & veg box deliveries. I’ve heard they are very good. I’m just hoping I didn’t get us in over our heads with the £15.95 box – that’s seven seasonal vegetables with potatoes and three fruits every week!

If you’re keen to sign up with Abel & Cole, I searched high and low for a voucher code but came up empty handed. They do promise that if you order a weekly box of summer fruit & veg you’ll automatically get the fourth free.

As for National Allotments Week, the idea is to “to promote the awareness and availability of allotments both locally and nationally and to show the public and the local authorities the strength of support and interest for the heritage of allotment culture.” Unfortunately I can’t see any actual events or activities listed on the site.

Do YOU have an allotment or a proper garden? Soooo jealous!

I had the thought that maybe it’s not enough just to post what’s seasonal each month. Not everyone knows how to cook every vegetable on the list. In fact, I had a random conversation with another blogger at BlogHer about how to cook beetroot (over a lovely beetroot salad).

So here is today’s spotlight vegetable, the gorgeous, sexy aubergine!

According to wikipedia, aubergines help block the formation of free radicals and are a source of folic acid and potassium. Some studies also show them to be effective in the treatment of high blood cholesterol.

But enough about that! How do we cook them?

At the most basic level, Jamie says you should “cut the aubergine across into slices 1cm/½ inch thick. Chargrill the aubergine slices, turning them 4 times until nicely marked, then remove.” You can toss with olive oil and serve, or try the marinade he recommends (follow that link I just gave you!)

And if you want to try using them in recipes, here are a few that look really tasty to me:

Jamie says: Incredible Sicilian Aubergine Stew

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 2 nice large purple aubergines, cut into large chunks
• 1 heaped teaspoon dried oregano
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed, soaked and drained
• a handful of green olives, stones removed
• 2–3 tablespoons best-quality herb vinegar
• 5 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
optional: 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Method:

Get yourself a large pan, pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil, and place on the heat. Add your aubergine chunks and oregano, season with a little salt and toss around so the aubergine is evenly coated by the oil. Cook on a high heat for around 4 or 5 minutes, giving the pan a shake every now and then. (Depending on the size of your pan you may need to cook the aubergine in batches.) When the aubergines are nice and golden on each side, add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Feel free to add a little more oil to the pan if you feel it’s getting too dry. Throw in the drained capers and the olives and drizzle over the herb vinegar. When all the vinegar has evaporated, add the tomatoes and simmer for around 15 minutes or until tender. Taste before serving and season if you need to with salt, pepper and a little more vinegar. Drizzle with some good olive oil and serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley leaves and the almonds if you like. Serves 4.

Delia says: Char-grilled aubergine and roasted tomato salad with feta cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 medium aubergines
• 8 small, ripe plum tomatoes
• 7 oz (200 g) Feta cheese, cut into thin slices
• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 heaped tablespoon torn fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 oz (110 g) assorted salad leaves
• 7 fl oz (200 ml) half-fat crème fraîche
• a little paprika
• salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

First of all skin the tomatoes by covering them with boiling water for 1 minute, then drain them and slip off their skins. Cut them in half and place them on the baking tray, cut-side up, then season well, drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over and place them on the top shelf of the oven to roast for 50-60 minutes. After this time, leave them aside to cool.

While they’re cooling, cut the aubergines across into ½ inch (1 cm) slices, lay the slices on a board and lightly sprinkle them with salt on both sides. Leave them for 20 minutes to draw out some of the excess moisture, then blot them dry with kitchen paper. Next, brush them on both sides using 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with freshly milled black pepper. Brush the grill pan lightly with olive oil and place it over a high heat, then, when it is very hot, cook the aubergines in batches for about 2½ minutes on each side (this should take about 20 minutes in all).

Now pour the remaining 6 tablespoons of olive oil into a large bowl, add the basil and balsamic vinegar, then toss the cooked aubergines in this marinade and leave them in a cool place until you are ready to serve.

Divide the salad leaves between 4 plates and arrange the tomatoes and aubergines alternately all around. Then place equal quantities of the Feta slices in the middle of each salad and drizzle with the remaining marinade.

Finally, put 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche on top of each salad and sprinkle a little paprika over.

GoodFood says: Aubergine curry with lemongrass and coconut milk

Ingredients:

• 3 large red chillies , deseeded and stalks removed, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves , roughly chopped
• knob of fresh ginger , peeled and chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and chopped
• 2 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2-3 aubergines (about 600g/1lb 5oz), quartered lengthways, then halved
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 6 shallots , finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
• 400ml can coconut milk
• 400ml vegetable stock or water
• small bunch coriander , roughly chopped, to serve

Method:

Using a food processor, pulse the chillies, garlic, ginger and lemongrass to a coarse paste. Set aside. Mix the turmeric and chilli powder together and rub it all over the aubergine wedges.

Heat the olive oil in frying pan, then brown the aubergines, remove from the pan and set aside. Cook the paste, sugar and shallots for a few mins, then return the aubergines to the pan. Add the fish sauce, coconut milk and stock or water, mix well, and bring the liquid to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the aubergine is tender, but not mushy, about 15 mins. Season to taste and sprinkle the coriander over the top. Serve hot with steamed rice or bread to mop up all the juices.