Free? Yes please!

Tonight (14 January) I made dinner for two - for free. Let me caveat this: while this blog is predominantly for my own low-cost recipes, often using leftovers, this recipe is neither my own, nor was it using any leftovers. But it was free, and for that reason it gets a mention here. 

This evening my husband carried home with him a brown paper bag. When I asked him what was in it, I got the succinct reply: "food". It transpired that as part of a PR exercise, several bags of 'food' had been delivered to the office, and a couple of days later, the final one - ours - was finally on its way home.

I had been planning to use up the veg in my house, but when I opened the bag it became clear that the contents would not keep. For within the brown paper bag lay a variety of vegetables, including a rather ripe avocado and some downcast spring onions. 

The bag also contained a press release and a recipe. The bag had been delivered from a new healthy eating venture called Mindful Chef.  Its mission is to encourage good healthy and delicious recipes suitable for vegans or those with gluten intolerances. The recipe card I had was for Chipotle black bean burger with parsnip and sweet potato fries, accompanied with an avocado, parsley and cherry tomato salsa. 

Every ingredient had been measured to perfection, from the tiny pot of chipotle paste through to the parsnip and sweet potato. No waste, nothing left over. Exactly enough for two people and I didn't need to add anything to bulk it out (except, of course, for the obligatory tomato ketchup!) 

Rather than write out the recipe I trust the photo (s) to the left and the right will suffice.

They're not very clear but I don't have a decent camera. Or a decent smartphone.

What I loved: 

1) the black beans were lovely and full of flavour. I'm not sure where these particular organic beans can be bought but I suspect they will be relatively expensive compared to a supermarket's brand. I will do a test to see how brands compare as I will do this recipe again.

2) The fact every bit of food was used, with no wastage. You don't need hundreds of ingredients to make a delicious meal.

3) I will be honest. When I first saw it was a vegan recipe, I swore. Effing vegans and their cardboard-tasting no-meat crap. I am not sure why we meat-eaters get so antsy about vegans. Partly because every single thing is healthy and we feel guilty? Or because old habits die hard? I was also a little sad that there was no cheese melting over the burgers. But as tempted as I was to adulterate the recipe with a bit of Snowdonia's finest creamery cheese, I obeyed the recipe and was very glad of it. My husband and I both thought it was delicious, filling and after it, we felt satisfied, without the bloating that often comes with eating rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. 

4) The sweet potato and parsnip fries were enjoyable and we did not miss 'real' chips (even though I make my own potato chips).

5) The recipe was quick and easy to follow. In fact, it was a delight to follow.

Vegan meal. Pic credit SimoneySunday

What I did not like

1) Probably as a result of the bag being left in the office for two days, the avocado was just too mushy to form a proper salsa. Everything in the salsa bowl was covered in a little green slush. I thought it still tasted lush, but I would have preferred a firmer, crisper texture to the salsa. 

However, the lime dressing was a little too sharp for my husband, so perhaps in future I would not use the whole lime.

The slushy avocado and cherry tomato salsa @SimoneySunday

2) I was indeed confused by the very first instruction to 'boil a kettle'. There seemed to be no reason why. Was it to make a cup of tea while waiting for the burgers to cook? Was it to wash the veg? We shall never know. Perhaps MindfulChef could shed some light? 

With those two minor caveats, I have to say I loved this recipe and the idea of creating healthy, gluten-free meals. Indeed, I often cook meat-free meals to make sure we vary our diet and do a little bit to save the planet, but the fact we ate five portions of fruit and veg each in this meal, with no extra naughties save some salt and ketchup, means I am going to introduce more vegan meals into our weekly routine. 

While I would not buy the meal packs from Mindful Chef - we are attempting our own wee garden and have a good local grocer supporting local farms - I applaud and support its endeavours. I just wish there were something similar but cheaper for the people my blog aims to support: those on the breadline, struggling to meet daily bills. This is the sort of healthy, waste-free food so many families need, but cannot always afford.

Applesauce

I have found two things to be true with regard to shop-bought apple sauce

1) The good, natural, stuff is expensive
2) The cheap, preservative-laden stuff tastes of sugar and had the
texture of mush

I wanted to make my own but I did not have a recipe to hand. So I did what anyone would do - ask a former Army corporal, aged 75 years, what he put into his own version.

'Lemon and spices' he said. 'And boil it properly without too much water'. So I took Rodger's advice when I came to preparing an apple sauce made with a bag full of Julia's lovely Bramleys. I love it when friends give you freebies! This is such a good way to save money and eat healthily! These apples were still not quite ripe although were windfalls, so had that extra crispness and tang.

Ingredients
200g of Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup of water
1/2 cup brown sugar tablespoons of brown sugar, to taste (add more if you like sweet sauce)
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of malt vinegar
1 teaspoon of mixed spices (cinnamon, mace, ginger, crushed cloves)
1/4 teaspoon of salt

How to
Clean the apple chunks. We do not like mushy food so left the chunks quite large, but you can dice or slice more thinly

Boil these in a pan with the water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and salt until it reduces. It should look similar to chunky babyfood.

Immediately put the pan on a low heat, and stir in the spices for 1 minute.
Taste it. It should be quite tangy and not too salty or bitter. If you need to, add 1-2 tablespoons more of sugar and stir for a couple of minutes. 

We do not like sugary tasting sauces in our house but I appreciate that everyone's tastebuds are different.

When it suits your palate, remove from heat and let it cool.
Wait until it cools before putting into clean jars.

The finished product - in interesting jars!

I keep old jam jars for this purpose, as it saves money buying new ones. However I do relabel them with the date of manufacture on it. This helps me to work out how long it will keep in the fridge, which is approximately 3-4 weeks, and stops hungry visitors from mistaking it for jam (recipe to come soon).

So far we have used this with 'posh' bangers and mash (recipe for 'posh' mash can be found here) and as an accompaniment to my hubby's ham and cheese sandwiches for work, which he said were 'really nice'. 

This is a compliment indeed; his usual response to 'how do I look' or 'what do you think' is 'fine'. will try it on Pork Roast for a Sunday lunch soon.

Thank you, Julia, for the apples and thank you, Rodger, for preventing me from drowning my apples in too much water!

Food Hack #99: The Gravy Train

I do not subscribe to the Bisto fan club. Every time I go to someone's house and the Bisto comes out, I sigh a little inwardly. 'Ah. Bisto'. I haven't got anything against Bisto per se and personally I love using Oxo and Knorr stock cubes for flavourings in sauces, pies, stews and soups.

But the art of using good natural stock seems to have gone down the (sauce) pan these days.

FREE gravy is the best gravy! It is healthier, not packed with salts and preservatives, and perfectly complements the food you are serving.

All you need to invest in is some supermarket own-label cornflour. I use Sainsbury's own and it has kept me going for almost two years.

Suppose you are cooking a roast dinner? Firstly, are you boiling any vegetables? Do not strain the water into the sink. Pour a tiny amount into a bowl or jug, allow it to cool and then mix in one to two tablespoonfuls of cornflour, depending on how thick you want it to be. Stir until it has become a white liquid. Add a little more water as necessary. It should look like milk.

Pour more veg water into a small saucepan and add the liquid cornflour from the jug. Add some salt and pepper, and put on a moderate heat. Stir occasionally. You will see it start to thicken.

Never add cornflour powder directly to a saucepan of hot vegetable water. It will not thicken but congeal in weird white lumps that look like snot.

Take the meat from oven and use a baster or large spoon to gather up some of the meat juices from the bottom of the dish. Add this to the saucepan and stir. If you fancy, add some herbs or spices. Sometimes to darken it up I add a tiny squirt of brown sauce, but only if I am cooking with beef or lamb.

What this gives you is gravy made from the very food you are about to eat, so the flavours match what you have cooked, instead of competing with it.

It is also extremely cost-effective and much healthier for you. Get on that budget gravy train!

Food Hack #98: Get that Salad Dressed!

Cheat's salad dressing

Do you ever have an urge to eat salad when you get in from work? You do? Crazy child. But who am I to judge? In fact I am here to help. If you have any leftover honey or Dijon mustard in a jar, here is how to create your own vinaigrette dressing cheaply and quickly.

Let's face it, paying £3 for an upmarket, home-style dressing is just nonsense when you can do it yourself for free!

Ingredients
Honey
Dijon or other grainy mustard
Vinegar
Olive Oil

How-To
If you have a smattering of runny honey left in a jar, add a few teaspoonfuls of Dijon mustard. Likewise if you have some Dijon mustard left in a jar, add a few teaspoonfuls of clear runny honey.

Then add a few ml of olive oil - about two teaspoonfuls, and a few dashes of red wine or white wine vinegar, replace the lid and shake what your mother gave you, and well.

Once it has all mixed together, et voila! You have a delicious salad dressing made up of leftovers.