A(nother) thrifty January
Buying an old house in need of a lot of love and having a very (very) tiny budget, every penny will count this year. Working out the finances for the long month of January and putting cash aside for Project House (and some adventures too), the food bill must be £25 a week...yep £1.78 per person, per day to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner. Time to get creative.
On the plus side, the larder is pretty full with dried beans, some tins, spices and herbs. Stashed away in the freezer, 'yellow-stickered' reduced items plus some unlabelled (therefore now unidentifiable) leftovers from long forgotten meals. In addition I have the bonus of regular produce from Dad's allotment (currently one massive Turks Turban squash, several monster sized parsnips, a handful of carrots and beetroot) plus some odds and ends of vegetables remain at the bottom of the fridge. Buying less will be much better for the environment and our waistlines.
On the negative side, there is practically no booze in the house and alcohol will be the first casualty as it eats up too much of a very limited budget. A 'dry January' it will un-intentially have to be. Pasta and rice are in fairly short supply (but at least are cheap) and I have tons of porridge oats, not my favourite. We have eaten all the Christmas cheese.
Monday's menu was a lunch of fried leftover mashed potato and greens with a fried egg (the luxury of a day working from home) and dinner, the leftover stew, sweetened with tomatoes, as a ragu with pasta and a grating of Parmesan cheese. Tuesday, back in the office, a flask of beetroot soup from the freezer for lunch with a couple of Christmas tangerines. A quarter of Dad's squash with some sage from the garden made a simple risotto for dinner. Wednesday's lunch, Puy lentils cooked with celery and garlic and a single grilled sausage from the freezer inspired by the wonderful Little Book of Lunch. Dinner, a shatshuka of sorts made with more veg found lurking in the fridge and additional butterbeans. Thursday's lunch, a mystery leftover from the freezer, which on initial inspection looked unappetising and a little dubious but turned out to be a delicious runner bean, tomato and butterbean stew, perfect heated up and taken to work in a flask. Another quarter of Dad's squash, coconut milk and chickpeas spiced with cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli made a particularly good curry (so good I may have to revisit as a properly written recipe) with enough for lunch on Friday. Jamie Oliver's spiced parsnip soup used up the remaining monster parsnip from Dad for Friday's dinner. This recipe is really lovely, very simple and the use of uncooked poppadoms is inspired. There is enough leftover for lunch next week. One week done! It's not been too bad and I don't think I've even missed the coffee I normally buy on the way to work (making do with the office kettle and instant instead).
Still, with the additional ingredients the weekend breakfasts were a feast of bacon, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on toast. The reduced price ham was enough for lunchtime sandwiches over Saturday and Sunday too. Saturday dinner, a homemade curry, with naans and beer was a treat. Sunday night was a rustic stew of more of Dad's massive squash, sausages from the freezer, cannellini beans and a load of sage from the garden. Half of this was saved for later in the week.
Some of Dad's beetroot plus a large root of wild horseradish foraged on our Sunday walk made a rather pious dip with raw vegetables for lunch on Monday. Horseradish can definitely be used as a weapon, many tears were shed whilst grating it and I can confirm that all sinuses are now very clear! After our rather spartan lunch, Monday's dinner was a substantial plate of tofu with chilli, ginger and garlic, steamed pak choi, pickled grated carrot and rice noodles. Tuesday was a day of leftovers, leftover parsnip soup for lunch and leftover sausage and bean stew with some pasta for dinner. Leftovers are fab, anything with spices always taste better the second time around and time saved in the kitchen can then be used for other things (or in reality, flopping out on the sofa for extended TV time). A tiny tin of tuna, chopped celery, chicory, grated carrot, olives, capers and a few spoonfuls of mayo filled a couple of wraps for lunch on Wednesday and five remaining mushrooms from the weekend breakfasts, sliced very thinly made a reasonable risotto for dinner. Tons of Parmesan cheese made up for the scarcity of the mushrooms. A ready cooked pouch of rice with some chickpeas, grated raw beetroot, chopped lettuce and a tin of mackerel made a passable lunch on Thursday, followed by a rustic Mexican style soup for dinner. The soup was good, sweet potato, chilli, some frozen sweetcorn, onions, garlic, a tin of tomatoes simmered together and brightened with shreds of the last of the spring greens. With it, I turned the remaining wraps into tortilla chips, brushing both sides with some olive oil and spices and grilling until crisp then cutting into triangular shards. There was enough of everything for lunch on Friday too. Late home after a long day, the planned dinner of pasta with a tin of tomatoes *somehow* turned into an Indian takeaway costing £16. It's bloody hard sticking to plan! I'm currently menu planning for the remaining two weeks of January but before I venture out with my list, this time I'm having breakfast. Supermarkets be warned, I've learnt my lesson.
On the plus side, the larder is pretty full with dried beans, some tins, spices and herbs. Stashed away in the freezer, 'yellow-stickered' reduced items plus some unlabelled (therefore now unidentifiable) leftovers from long forgotten meals. In addition I have the bonus of regular produce from Dad's allotment (currently one massive Turks Turban squash, several monster sized parsnips, a handful of carrots and beetroot) plus some odds and ends of vegetables remain at the bottom of the fridge. Buying less will be much better for the environment and our waistlines.
On the negative side, there is practically no booze in the house and alcohol will be the first casualty as it eats up too much of a very limited budget. A 'dry January' it will un-intentially have to be. Pasta and rice are in fairly short supply (but at least are cheap) and I have tons of porridge oats, not my favourite. We have eaten all the Christmas cheese.
Week 1
Shopping for the first week came over budget by 54p, not bad but its still a shock to realise just how expensive food is. In the basket, a minuscule bottle of wine (for cooking purposes although I may have a swig), 5 loose potatoes, spring onions, spring greens, a tiny piece of cheddar, bread, six eggs, a cauliflower, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes and the cheapest piece of Parmesan cheese. A single sweet potato, one leek and leftover broccoli found in the fridge from pre-Christmas made an excellent hash for Saturday's breakfast with a fried egg, filling enough (just about) to last until the evening meal. Dinner was also vegetarian, a kind of Sicilian style pilaff made with pan-fried cauliflower, rice, sultanas, capers and a jar of preserved artichokes in oil. I used the oil to cook with, very smug indeed. Mushrooms and a poached egg on toast formed Sunday's breakfast, a handful of nuts again from Christmas keeping us fed until dinner. For the evening meal, slow cooked beef in wine (beef from the freezer), eked out with a handful of parsnips and carrots, an onion, garlic, thyme from the garden and served with mashed potatoes stirred through with chopped spring onions and spring greens. Breakfasts during the working week were mainly yoghurt with whatever fruit was left (mostly apples, still eating windfalls from my neighbour) and when the yoghurt ran out at the end of the week, porridge oats soaked overnight with water and a handful of sultanas.
Monday's menu was a lunch of fried leftover mashed potato and greens with a fried egg (the luxury of a day working from home) and dinner, the leftover stew, sweetened with tomatoes, as a ragu with pasta and a grating of Parmesan cheese. Tuesday, back in the office, a flask of beetroot soup from the freezer for lunch with a couple of Christmas tangerines. A quarter of Dad's squash with some sage from the garden made a simple risotto for dinner. Wednesday's lunch, Puy lentils cooked with celery and garlic and a single grilled sausage from the freezer inspired by the wonderful Little Book of Lunch. Dinner, a shatshuka of sorts made with more veg found lurking in the fridge and additional butterbeans. Thursday's lunch, a mystery leftover from the freezer, which on initial inspection looked unappetising and a little dubious but turned out to be a delicious runner bean, tomato and butterbean stew, perfect heated up and taken to work in a flask. Another quarter of Dad's squash, coconut milk and chickpeas spiced with cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli made a particularly good curry (so good I may have to revisit as a properly written recipe) with enough for lunch on Friday. Jamie Oliver's spiced parsnip soup used up the remaining monster parsnip from Dad for Friday's dinner. This recipe is really lovely, very simple and the use of uncooked poppadoms is inspired. There is enough leftover for lunch next week. One week done! It's not been too bad and I don't think I've even missed the coffee I normally buy on the way to work (making do with the office kettle and instant instead).
Week 2
Budget fail! Total food cost for the week came in at £53.37, this isn't going as well as planned. The significant overspend was partly due to having to restock some essentials (olive oil, pasta, rice) but also because the shop was done with an empty stomach thus some 'rogue' items made it into the basket (bacon, naan breads, nuts, a reduced packet of ham, beer). I also fell foul of supermarket psychology which combined with my grumbling stomach created such a weak point in my resistance that a 'too good to resist' and 'special price' posh granola went into the basket too. What an idiot.Still, with the additional ingredients the weekend breakfasts were a feast of bacon, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on toast. The reduced price ham was enough for lunchtime sandwiches over Saturday and Sunday too. Saturday dinner, a homemade curry, with naans and beer was a treat. Sunday night was a rustic stew of more of Dad's massive squash, sausages from the freezer, cannellini beans and a load of sage from the garden. Half of this was saved for later in the week.
Some of Dad's beetroot plus a large root of wild horseradish foraged on our Sunday walk made a rather pious dip with raw vegetables for lunch on Monday. Horseradish can definitely be used as a weapon, many tears were shed whilst grating it and I can confirm that all sinuses are now very clear! After our rather spartan lunch, Monday's dinner was a substantial plate of tofu with chilli, ginger and garlic, steamed pak choi, pickled grated carrot and rice noodles. Tuesday was a day of leftovers, leftover parsnip soup for lunch and leftover sausage and bean stew with some pasta for dinner. Leftovers are fab, anything with spices always taste better the second time around and time saved in the kitchen can then be used for other things (or in reality, flopping out on the sofa for extended TV time). A tiny tin of tuna, chopped celery, chicory, grated carrot, olives, capers and a few spoonfuls of mayo filled a couple of wraps for lunch on Wednesday and five remaining mushrooms from the weekend breakfasts, sliced very thinly made a reasonable risotto for dinner. Tons of Parmesan cheese made up for the scarcity of the mushrooms. A ready cooked pouch of rice with some chickpeas, grated raw beetroot, chopped lettuce and a tin of mackerel made a passable lunch on Thursday, followed by a rustic Mexican style soup for dinner. The soup was good, sweet potato, chilli, some frozen sweetcorn, onions, garlic, a tin of tomatoes simmered together and brightened with shreds of the last of the spring greens. With it, I turned the remaining wraps into tortilla chips, brushing both sides with some olive oil and spices and grilling until crisp then cutting into triangular shards. There was enough of everything for lunch on Friday too. Late home after a long day, the planned dinner of pasta with a tin of tomatoes *somehow* turned into an Indian takeaway costing £16. It's bloody hard sticking to plan! I'm currently menu planning for the remaining two weeks of January but before I venture out with my list, this time I'm having breakfast. Supermarkets be warned, I've learnt my lesson.
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