Now as this is predominantly going to be a food blog, of course it’s obvious that I love food. All kinds of it. Omni, veggie, vegan. French, Italian, Jamaican, Thai, Spanish… literally put a plate in front of me and I will eat it.
These days, as I’m working minimum wage jobs, I often can’t afford the fancy and/or name brand stuff I would like to. I’ve gotten used to cooking with the basics range and making it taste great (God bless a well stocked and frequently used herb/spice cupboard). I’m a particular fan of Jack Monroe (website here) who writes great recipes and prices them per portion.
I’ve been able to lately (thanks to my bestie, Pippa) take advantage of a food parcel scheme where, for a small fee, you are given a couple of bags of groceries. The contents are completely random, change each week and so it’s basically a case of Ready, Steady, Cook when I get home.
The above photo is my most recent parcel. A real mishmash of stuff – 3 lettuce, 6 bags of spinach, 2 packs of chicken fillets, some biscuits, cucumber, taramasalata. At first glance, you think, ‘what on earth can I make with this?’ But then brainwave:
- chicken and spinach lasagne
- mushroom and spinach curry
- veggie pizza
- lots of salad – on sandwiches, with main meals
- corn beef hash
- garlic bread
I’m very privileged that I am a fairly decent cook, and I have the time to prep things. Especially with Violet, batch cooking is now our norm, as it means I make huge portions of good, wholesome food, then shove a load in the freezer.
This week I don’t even have to cook anything because I’ve got:
- sausage and veg casserole
- cottage pie
- sweet potato and lentil curry
- veggie lasagne
that were all prepped a few weeks ago!
Sometimes I feel like there’s a lot of snobbishness around food, and honestly I don’t get it. Even with the simplest ingredients, it’s possible to make great tasting food that doesn’t cost the earth. Everything is so expensive these days and it’s hard to figure out where to cut down. But cheap food doesn’t necessarily mean bad food!
Anyway, I’m off to portion up my chicken and spinach lasagne (and find it somewhere to live in my freezer!)
Sundresses Sarah 
Such a nice idea for the food packs! I always love those challenges on TV when they get random ingredients to cook with! I love cooking yummy things with simple ingredients 🙂 x
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It’s amazing what you can create with a few ingredients and the right tools 🙂 x
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That is pretty cool (the whole food parcel thing!) how does it work? Is it food that will go bad before the supermarkets can sell it? If so it’s a fantastic idea because you’re reducing food waste as well as getting good value grub! 😀
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It is a good waste reduction scheme too! So I can never predict what i get but it’s usually short dated x
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