A no-food-shopping weekend

I've often wondered how long we could last for food without going to the shops. Of course there are things you'd run out of pretty quickly like fresh milk, fruit and vegetables but if you had a reasonably well-stocked storecupoard and freezer I reckon you could easily survive a week.

Anyway I managed it for a couple of days over the weekend. My husband was away, and I was working on the book so I thought I'd see how I got on. (I didn't plan it ahead so I didn't stock up beforehand, honest!)

Here's what I ate:

Friday
Late back from London so I skipped supper and had a banana. Easy.

Saturday

Breakfast
A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and stewed plums with Greek yoghurt and granola.

Mid morning
A leftover croissant, split and toasted

Lunch
A bit of a chilli-fest. Scrambled eggs with chillies, spring onions and coriander and a warm tortilla, sweet chilli sauce

Dinner
Leftover chicken stew

Sunday breakfast
Same as Saturday's

Lunch
Feta cheese and red pepper tapenade quesadillas. with a chunk of cucumber.

Supper
Linguine with Stilton and onion, a pear

I'm particularly pleased with the linguine and Stilton invention which was made from a (still in date) piece of Stilton I found at the back of the fridge. Funny though how it doesn't sound as glamourous as Gorgonzola. But it's cheaper and just as good. Here's the recipe:

Linguine with Stilton and onion

Serves 1

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
100g linguine or spaghetti
40g Stilton or other blue cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp double or whipping cream, crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt
2 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Grana Padano or Parmesan to serve (optional but nice)

Heat a frying pan, add the oil or butter then once it’s melted tip in the onion, stir and leave over a low heat to fry. Pour a kettle of boiling water into a large saucepan, bring back to the boil, add salt, then add the pasta, stir and cook for the time recommended on the pack. Before you drain the linguine set aside half a cup of the boiling water. Add 3 tbsp of water to the onion and tip in the crumbled cheese. Leave over a low heat to melt then stir in the cream or yoghurt (I used yoghurt which was fine) Drain the pasta and add to the pan along with the parsley and toss well together, adding a splash more water if you need it. Season generously with black pepper. Spoon into a warm bowl and sprinkle over some grated Grana Padano or Parmesan, if you have some. Some dark leafy green salad would be a good accompaniment.

A no-food-shopping weekend

I've often wondered how long we could last for food without going to the shops. Of course there are things you'd run out of pretty quickly like fresh milk, fruit and vegetables but if you had a reasonably well-stocked storecupoard and freezer I reckon you could easily survive a week.

Anyway I managed it for a couple of days over the weekend. My husband was away, and I was working on the book so I thought I'd see how I got on. (I didn't plan it ahead so I didn't stock up beforehand, honest!)

Here's what I ate:

Friday
Late back from London so I skipped supper and had a banana. Easy.

Saturday

Breakfast
A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and stewed plums with Greek yoghurt and granola.

Mid morning
A leftover croissant, split and toasted

Lunch
A bit of a chilli-fest. Scrambled eggs with chillies, spring onions and coriander and a warm tortilla, sweet chilli sauce

Dinner
Leftover chicken stew

Sunday breakfast
Same as Saturday's

Lunch
Feta cheese and red pepper tapenade quesadillas. with a chunk of cucumber.

Supper
Linguine with Stilton and onion, a pear

I'm particularly pleased with the linguine and Stilton invention which was made from a (still in date) piece of Stilton I found at the back of the fridge. Funny though how it doesn't sound as glamourous as Gorgonzola. But it's cheaper and just as good. Here's the recipe:

Linguine with Stilton and onion

Serves 1

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
100g linguine or spaghetti
40g Stilton or other blue cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp double or whipping cream, crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt
2 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Grana Padano or Parmesan to serve (optional but nice)

Heat a frying pan, add the oil or butter then once it’s melted tip in the onion, stir and leave over a low heat to fry. Pour a kettle of boiling water into a large saucepan, bring back to the boil, add salt, then add the pasta, stir and cook for the time recommended on the pack. Before you drain the linguine set aside half a cup of the boiling water. Add 3 tbsp of water to the onion and tip in the crumbled cheese. Leave over a low heat to melt then stir in the cream or yoghurt (I used yoghurt which was fine) Drain the pasta and add to the pan along with the parsley and toss well together, adding a splash more water if you need it. Season generously with black pepper. Spoon into a warm bowl and sprinkle over some grated Grana Padano or Parmesan, if you have some. Some dark leafy green salad would be a good accompaniment.

Delia's got a point

Much coverage in the papers over the last few days on Delia's new book 'How to Cheat at Cooking' a collection of recipes based on time-saving products.

Now you might think that would make the recipes costlier than cooking them from scratch but that isn't inevitably so as I explain on my website www.beyondbakedbeans.com today.

Last night was a case in point. Rooting around in the cupboards (it was a No Food Shopping Day) I found a jar of puttanesca sauce - not difficult to make, admittedly, but costly if you don't have olives, capers and anchovies already to hand.

The trouble with ready made products like this is that they tend to be bland so I fried off the last of the spring onions I bought a couple of days ago, added two crushed cloves of garlic and scooped in the sauce, finally adding a big handful of chopped parsley (one of my must-have fridge ingredients). Tossed together with half a pack of spaghetti it made a really tasty - and frugal - meal for two.

Delia's got a point

Much coverage in the papers over the last few days on Delia's new book 'How to Cheat at Cooking' a collection of recipes based on time-saving products.

Now you might think that would make the recipes costlier than cooking them from scratch but that isn't inevitably so as I explain on my website www.beyondbakedbeans.com today.

Last night was a case in point. Rooting around in the cupboards (it was a No Food Shopping Day) I found a jar of puttanesca sauce - not difficult to make, admittedly, but costly if you don't have olives, capers and anchovies already to hand.

The trouble with ready made products like this is that they tend to be bland so I fried off the last of the spring onions I bought a couple of days ago, added two crushed cloves of garlic and scooped in the sauce, finally adding a big handful of chopped parsley (one of my must-have fridge ingredients). Tossed together with half a pack of spaghetti it made a really tasty - and frugal - meal for two.

I manage a No Food Shopping Day

The main thing that stands in the way of my becoming a Frugal Cook is that I adore food shopping. Any excuse. And I'm incapable of coming away empty-handed.

This obviously has to change and yesterday it did. We were out with friends last night and there was food in the cupboard and fridge so I didn't need to buy anything for lunch. We had spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (a punchy spaghetti with oil, garlic and chillies) and a green salad.

Later I managed to walk past our local food shops (we are lucky enough to have some at the end of the road) without dropping in. So I turned my back on some very frugal breast of lamb and some lovely fresh fennel. This was prudent because a) they wouldn't have gone particularly well together so I would have had to think of at least two meals to use them and b) I'm off up to London for a couple of days and would have probably ended up throwing out the lamb at least when I got back. (The fennel would have been OK but less good two days on). I'm learning.

I manage a No Food Shopping Day

The main thing that stands in the way of my becoming a Frugal Cook is that I adore food shopping. Any excuse. And I'm incapable of coming away empty-handed.

This obviously has to change and yesterday it did. We were out with friends last night and there was food in the cupboard and fridge so I didn't need to buy anything for lunch. We had spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (a punchy spaghetti with oil, garlic and chillies) and a green salad.

Later I managed to walk past our local food shops (we are lucky enough to have some at the end of the road) without dropping in. So I turned my back on some very frugal breast of lamb and some lovely fresh fennel. This was prudent because a) they wouldn't have gone particularly well together so I would have had to think of at least two meals to use them and b) I'm off up to London for a couple of days and would have probably ended up throwing out the lamb at least when I got back. (The fennel would have been OK but less good two days on). I'm learning.