Store Cupboard desserts and puds – the beginning

These days there are lots of shop bought options, usually expensive - sadly what looks inviting doesn't always deliver in taste. Here's the start of the sweet section of your store cupboard that I think you'll find more economical and just as good.

Blocks of dessert pastry for the freezer are now readily available – it's usually in smaller blocks than the savoury versions. You would probably get 12 tart cases – blind bake as per the instructions and cool. If you don't want to be bothered rolling out pastry then you can buy boxes of ready made dessert pastry cases from M&S and most supermarkets. Keep bags of frozen fruits in your freezer – most supermarkets have a good selection, for example at the moment, summer fruits comprising raspberries, blackberries, black/red currants. Usually in 480/500g bags.

Take 250g of mascarpone cheese, add 75g icing sugar and a tsp of vanilla bean paste, mix well. Spoon the mixture into the cooled cases. Top with fruit of your choice. This can be frozen and if it is, drain the defrosted fruit (reserve the liquid). I would not sweeten the fruit, the cheese filling is sweet enough but, if you've a sweet tooth then dust with vanilla bean or icing sugar. You can also use canned fruit of your choice or, finally, and best option of all, fresh fruit in season. Strawberries or raspberries would be scrumptious.

If you've reserved the liquid from the defrosted fruit, then turn it into a compote by straining, then heating gently, add a little caster sugar and lemon juice until the sugar has melted – adjust to taste.

Another alternative for frozen fruit is the fastest trifle on record. Use the compote to soak shop bought sponge fingers or madeira cake. Top with defrosted fruit, add the cheese mixture and if you happen to have a packet of chocolate buttons or similar to hand, use to decorate.

Meringue nests or “kisses” (smaller meringues, available in tubs) are invaluable. You don't have to make your own – you can buy “off the shelf” and either version has a good shelf life. Works well with the cheese mixture as above and any of the fruit options mentioned too.

Finally, today a post script on vanilla bean paste. A great ingredient and an absolute essential for your sweet shelf. As a general rule 15ml of paste = 15ml of extract or 1 pod. So much more convenient.

Oodles to follow.

GOM Chapter 8: Choo Choo & Goat. Sheep. Cow

This morning it's a drive to Sullivan's Island, a small beachside resort nearby. It has one main street with bars, restaurants and shops on either side, very pretty – must come back for dinner. The reason for our trip this morning is to visit the beach with Choo Choo. Beaches are sensible here, there are hours within which you may walk your dog and outside of those hours the beach belongs to everyone else. It's great, complete with lighthouse and lots of friendly “doggie” people. Nothing like fresh air to bring the colour to a girl's cheeks and the best way to start the day and Choo had the best time.

Later I'm on a mission – I've discovered a new gourmet cheese shop in Charleston called, “Goat.Sheep.Cow”. I think it must be a sign of age when retail therapy for designer handbags takes second place to gourmet cheeses and posh kitchen shops – how sad.

Specialist cheeses are quite difficult to find in this part of the world, you can get what I would call straight forward varieties like Gruyere, Brie, and may be Camembert in the posher supermarkets like Harris Teeter – for a price, but you won't see anything more exotic. It does make you realise how fortunate we are at home.

Goat. Sheep. Cow does not disappoint, cheeses to die for. I'm after a couple of my personal favourites, Reblochon for a tartiflette, (French potato dish (with bacon traditionally) the original comfort food, which is why it was served as apres-ski food). It's hopefully going to be part of my menu tomorrow evening. Success – Douceur du Jura an outstanding alternative for the Reblochon and finally a Tremblaye Camembert (stapled box imperative). I want this for tonight's supper. If you intend to bake Camembert a glued box is not a good idea for obvious reasons. Tonight, it will be infused with garlic, baked and served with bowls of chopped nuts and fruit and loads of fresh crusty bread. It would have been easier on my wallet if I'd opted for the designer handbag - $55 plus tax! – it probably didn't help that I can't buy cheese without good black olives and apricots not to mention the fennel biscuits and rice crackers – a perfect aperos.

P.s. I have to confess I did some research before I set off. Typing in “alternative for ...” in your search engine is so efficient, especially if it's going to save you time although certainly not money in this case – it's a treat.

Delicious.

Rocket Science and light bulbs

If you like the concept of the last week and you've been able to pick up any useful ideas and adapt them to suit you then it has been worth the read.

You could deliberately cook more than you'll use so that you create your own home cooked ready meals to freeze, so, when you're suffering from the revolving door syndrome (everyone coming and going at different times) you're able to pull meals out of the freezer.

In our house we've one meat eater and one vegetarian. As the cook, I never prepare one portion of any dish – I always make extra. What this habit generates is the ability when you are planning your week to draw on the contents of your freezer.

Think about creating a store cupboard of staples. Dried pasta, stock cubes/pots, oils – for me, rapeseed and vegetable are the best for general use. Keep a stock of microwave boxes and foil containers with lids in various (small to medium) sizes – both ideal for freezing individual meals. Check out the cheap shops for the best deals. If you're going to freeze liquids, i.e. stock, soups etc., Wilko's sell resealable pour & store bags especially for liquids – a really good product, very strong and inexpensive.

Create an emergency freezer store cupboard. Buy bags of frozen cauliflower cheese – enhance by adding extra grated cheese (from your stash). Gruyere and parmesan also work well either on their own or mixed – you could add breadcrumbs too. Remember the bacon bits from MTM? Add a sprinkle over your cauliflower cheese.

In conclusion, if you aren't stressing during the week, hopefully you'll have more enthusiasm and rediscover your cooking mojo. Whilst we haven't been talking about rocket science I hope that you may have had a light bulb moment.

Coming next ….. store cupboard desserts.

GOM: Chapter 7 The Hummingbird and The Maverick Store

Hide Report

Picture the scene – 11am, sat on the deck reading, waiting for friend to go shopping. Suddenly aware of very loud buzzing. In this neck of the woods you get huge insects, defying gravity, how they take off at all I'll never know so no great surprise. Lifting eyes from book and no further than two feet away was a hummingbird – dancing just for me. It's very difficult for me to keep still and quiet at the best of times but I managed it and for probably 20 seconds or so I was treated to this breathtaking display. I had no idea they were so tiny. I'll find this difficult to beat for the Hide Reports.

As quickly as it appeared it was gone. I said at the beginning I was on my own – no-one believed me! Suffice it to say that for the rest of my stay, if possible, I'll be on hide duty around 11am and we'll see if my diligence is rewarded. After all, tomorrow is another day – couldn't resist the closing line from Gone with the Wind...

Back to earth and a trip out Downtown with a friend. My first port of call is to Charleston Cooks! Maverick kitchen store. I visit this store every time I visit South Carolina at least twice - it's in two parts. The first a shop selling everything from high end kitchen equipment and gadgets to cookery books specific to the region. The second is a cookery school where you can enjoy a demonstration on a variety of menus. I think it's time to book. I've learnt over the years that there has to be two visits, particularly where the shop is concerned – one to look, one to buy.

Our lunch stop is Gaulart & Maliclet, aka Fast & French, on Broad Street - this is my kinda place, stools at a bar, noisy, friendly and the menu looks amazing. Spoilt for choice I eventually settle on hot goat's cheese on a croissant and my soup accompaniment is French onion.

It's hard not to anticipate – I had this image of a warm buttery croissant with toasted goat's cheese along with a dark rich soup. Sadly the croissant was split and toasted and the cheese spread on cold – what a shame – when you bit into it the croissant crumbled into nothing and the cheese could have been Laughing Cow, Dairylea or similar. The soup tasted ok but looked like washing-up water, not at all appetizing – not like the unctuous bowlful in the Citadel, Carcassonne.

However what was memorable was the Perrier Cassis – roll a drop of cassis around your glass and add ice cold perrier – heavenly and it has to be, a la francaise, gazeux. We are in the French Quarter after all, when in Rome!

A memorable day.

Saturday night slob

Saturday night has to be easy. Tonight it's burgers (with cheese if you wish), wedges and coleslaw.

The recipe attached is for burgers and meatballs, exactly the same that can be tailored to suit loads of dishes.

This was my first recipe, in the late 1970ies. I think the saying is “necessity is the mother of invention” - back then the only burgers you could buy from a supermarket were frozen and tasted like springy cardboard – not that I've ever indulged. Over the years the recipe has travelled far and wide in its various guises so it's included because it's tried, tested, useful and above all popular.

Fast food as we now know it was in its infancy. Some of us will remember Wimpy bars – they opened in 1954 in London, originally they were inside the Lyons Corner Houses. I worked in Mayfair in the 1970ies and there was a Wimpy Bar in New Bond Street then – my friend and I went once a week as a treat – we knew how to push the boat out. McDonald's didn't open until 1974 and again only in London, outside of the capital came much later.

I know that during this week there are two recipes using minced steak. In the same way that you can get salmon deals you can get meat deals in most of the major supermarkets or, if you're fortunate enough to have a local butcher, check them out but remember, if you are freezing make sure you freeze in the amounts you'll want to use. It doesn't matter if you use two packets from the freezer because you've got visitors you didn't expect – better that way than pull out one large pack and waste half.

Now for the wedges. If you've baked jackets left you can use them, you can bake your next stash or buy frozen – this is meant to be slob night. Top and tail your jacket, cut in half lengthways and then again - if you do want to add a little something, you can sprinkle a seasoning of your choice over your them. Alternatively cut your jackets in half, spoon the potato into a large mixing bowl, mix with grated cheese, pop back into the skins and bake. If you are feeling really decadent you can sprinkle parmesan over the tops.

Finally coleslaw. I'm not suggesting you spend a morning with a mandolin or a fancy food processor using every attachment known to man – buy a good quality version. You can tweak it. Personally I soak sultanas in apple juice so that they become plump (a couple of hours) drain, add to your 'slaw along with a chopped apple – a really sharp flavoured variety works well.

Have a good night.

GOM: Chapter 6 Broken fin and the vegetarian

Hide Report

I mentioned in Chapter 2 that the creek was tidal. One of the greatest treats is when Broken fin passes by. Broken fin is a dolphin and instantly recognisable because of his broken fin – clearly a battle scar but he's been passing through for years now. I know that you can see dolphins in captivity but there's nothing quite like getting up close and personal at their invitation. It takes a certain degree of dedication from the Hide – if you're lucky enough to spot broken fin up stream you can hurry down to the dock and wait for him to surface – if it really is your lucky day he'll surface right in front of you expelling water. Beyond words – can't think of a better way to spend time.

Back to reality (of sorts) class menu decided:

Croque Monsieur

Fish Pie

Chocolate orange mousse

and the grindstone.

First rule of any kitchen – clean it, whether it needs it or not. I could give CSI a run for their money – never be without gloves rubber for industrial cleaning and exam gloves for prepping – not that I'm OCD you understand. Another major cultural difference – an entirely necessary one – is the waste disposal. Usually a small sink so you can prepare fruit, vegetables, meat etc., and rinse away, flick of a switch and gone. Takes some getting used to but hygienic and efficient – one small point, don't ever put your fingers anywhere near the plughole when the motor is running – you'll lose them. In this part of the world you don't put any waste food out with the trash, the wildlife love it. Most bins are anchored down for a very good reason – shredded rubbish strewn for a mile that you've got to collect and re-bag ….. time you'll never get back.

Supper tonight, cook's choice, my style of slob food, cheese potato and onion pie – the vegetarian of the household gets to do her favourite and friend's middle daughter and son-in-law are visiting this coming weekend. Planning ahead, these guys live in Charlotte and so after finishing a week's work they then drive 3 hours plus on a Friday evening hey, it's the least I can do to make sure there's food when they arrive. It's a “Desperate Dan” size pie so that the remains can be frozen ready for the weekend.

It's a hard life but someone has to do it.

GOM Chapter 5: Trivia and fish & chips

Tonight is Trivia Night and no cooking since we eat at the Pub – O'Brion's – my spelling is correct, I jest not!

Since my potential students will be at Trivia I think a little class planning might be prudent – although never a boy scout I like to be prepared. Thoughts so far are:

Mushrooms in Balsamic

Fish Pie (including making a roux and mornay sauce)

Chocolate orange mousse

or

Croque Monsieur

Tarragon chicken

Orange tiramisu

I digress - back to this morning. Shopping trip today, hurray - nothing quite like a spot of retail therapy to gladden a girls heart. Coastal Kitchen a truly wonderful, but expensive, kitchen shop. I've recommended that my friend, who is a keen and competent cook, acquire a potato ricer. A piece of kit that removes lumps from potato and so for posh fish cakes and the like it's invaluable. Whilst there I acquired a new white jacket – a present from my friend who would not let me pay.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, shopping mecca for GOM is “Super Walmart” where I found – in the baby products aisle – Take & Toss – small pots with lids designed for baby food in great colours (or colors if you want americanese) six pots for $3. Perfect for the Chocolate Orange Mousse that may form part of the cookery class – funky individual containers for students to take away and keep. Result.

-x-

Off we set to Trivia, a journey of about 10 minutes. The Pub is in a really attractive area with a few expensive high end shops and cafes. As we swing into what my friend thought was a parking space, albeit a tight one, he “touched” the back of a large Mercedes – as those of us know if we ever “touched” another car, the sound is much worse than any resulting damage. In my friend's defence, along with my husband, they immediately checked both cars for damage, all was fine. Outside the Pub, there are tables and chairs and full of customers. As we crossed the road there were ribald comments from said customers. Another friend had already arrived and secured our Trivia table and along with the rest of the gang we were ready to roll.

That is until, a few minutes later, the main door of the Pub opened and your all American cop entered, sashayed through, saying, “is the owner of BMW registration... here – you've guessed it, our friend's car. He rose to greet the cop who said, so politely, please step outside sir …..

As you can imagine some fairly animated conversation took place between those left behind, thankfully and coincidentally it transpired that the car “touched” belonged to our Trivia friend already inside the pub, who high tailed it (sorry, seemed appropriate) outside to back up our friend. The assembled throng outside had called the police saying our friend was drunk! All ended well and the policeman actually apologised since it was clear to him that no alcohol had been consumed. Don't misunderstand me I applaud and agree with enforcing laws relating to drinking and driving but struggle when clearly by implication we were either all under the influence or guilty by association. In this state it is not against the law to speak or text on a cell phone whilst driving and believe me many drivers do. You couldn't make this stuff up!

Note to self ….. don't ever order fish and chips in an American bar ….. the flounder in a spiced crumb was outstanding, imagine my horror when it was served with an enormous heap of potato crisps. It takes a while to adjust, one has to be specific – whilst I appreciate the cultural differences with lots of different things I find it difficult to grasp why anyone would want to eat a really good piece of fish with a heap of crisps. For those who aren't familiar, in the US what we call crisps are referred to as chips - what we call chips they call fries.

Another quiet day at the office, oh and the class is on.

Friday supper and Much Maligned Mince

There are so many different versions of a shepherds pie (usually with lamb), cottage pie (ditto beef), shepherdess (vegetarian version) that some might think that it's not worth the time and effort giving much maligned mince a mention – hope you like the alliteration.

However I'm including my version for Friday supper called Spie – literally shepherds pie but I got fed up with writer's cramp labelling leftovers, shortened it and the title has stayed.

Sorry to sound like a broken record but food and recipes are personal, one man's meat is another man's poison and all that …. me, I loath wet/sloppy food and my overriding memory of shepherds pie as a child is both wet and sloppy. Not that I am a mashed potato snob – I just don't see why you'd create work peeling, boiling and mashing, not to mention the extra washing up, when you've no time nor inclination when you're busy and/or after a days work. The baked jackets just fit the bill.

There are so many variations to the basic theme, for example mix your grated cheddar with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan - sprinkle over your potatoes. Other cheeses that work well are Red Leicester and Gruyere.

Success of a recipe is measured by how often it's requested and whether you have any leftovers. The Spie meets the brief on both counts.

Thursday supper and stir fry

You've already got the recipe for tonight's supper – http://miammiamcookery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/life-with-gom-chapter-two.html -  Asian Spiced Salmon together with a sauce and stir fry recipe.

As the recipe for the marinade goes - 30 minutes will do fine if you are using star anise powder, so, if you make that your first job on arriving home, by the time you've split another atom or prepped vegetables you're ready to roll. Can I just remind you pre-heat your oven 180 fan/200/Gas 6 – better twice than not at all.

Stir fry is a great opportunity to use up an odd carrot, pepper etc., – ensure that all your vegetables are sliced as thinly as possible and of a similar size – they'll cook quickly and evenly.

Always check out what's in season, at the moment for example asparagus - you can buy tiny, thinner asparagus, ideal for a stir fry. For those who don't know, if you bend, gently, an asparagus tip it will snap naturally – discard the woody end – not the end with the tip! Lay the asparagus in a row and trim the ends so that they are the same size. If you shop smartly you can get bargains of ready to use vegetables, i.e. baby corn, mange tout etc. It's whatever takes your fancy.

Recipes are a guide only, not set in stone. How many times have you followed one to the letter and it's rubbish. It happens to us all and there's no doubt that some are better than others. With a dish like a stir fry amounts don't matter, it's personal taste.

There's another brilliant product available – noodle nests. They come in 250g bags, usually 4/5 nests. Here's my tip. When you are preparing your marinade for the salmon, boil a kettle. Place the number of nests you need in your wok along with a Knorr vegetable stock pot. Pour the boiled water over the nests and cover with a lid if possible. After 2/3 minutes turn the nest and begin to loosen gently with a fork, leave for another 2 minutes. Drain and they are ready to add to your stir fried vegetables.

Oh, nearly forgot, you can get great salmon deals – 3 packets for £10 and each contains 2 fillets. Back to my original mantra – if you were to marinade extra salmon as it says in the recipe it's great cold and if there's any stir fry left you've another lunch box.

Enjoy.   

Life with GOM: Chapter 4

Edna's and “Glad” gate

A great afternoon yesterday at the Charleston Historic City Market (“CHCM”) catching up with Edna's daughter. Some women love shoes, others love bags – I'm a bag girl (please note I resisted the obvious urge of bag lady) but it has to be said that mooching through any shop, stall, market, et al that is food related comes a close second. Here are a few of the examples from Edna's stall: marinades called “Jump up and kiss me” and “Pluff Mud”. Spices called “Devil's Tongue” and “Sexy & Sassy Garlic”. Any three for $10 – bargain. Sauces called “Total Insanity” and “Bayou Love Potion”. I could go on – so much fun.

Now for the “Glad” incident or what not to do with leftovers. Glad Wrap is another really good product that's been around for a long time in the USA. One version is called “Press & Seal” - freezer sealable wrap with “Griptex”. You may recall that yesterday was slow-cooked steak. My friend demonstrates the product – tear off a sheet to size, like clingfilm, tear off another similar sized sheet and press down the outside edges so you have a ready-made pocket. Are you with me so far ….... friend is holding up the pocket and I am spooning in the leftover steak – I should emphasise that I am carrying out instructions only as my friend is demonstrating, extolling the virtues of said wrap. So, the first large spoonful lands into the pocket and very gracefully the seal breaks and the steak lands (thankfully) into the sink below (clean of course), hey, it's back to the drawing board. Note to self - read the instructions on the box – Press & Seal is meant for individual pieces of meat, chicken, corn etc., i.e. products that can be wrapped FLAT!

Hide report today – or, more to the point, a snake report. In this part of the world there are snakes, some venomous, some not. There are snakes here that hang from the trees and shrubs – i.e. above you. It's one extreme to the other - there's a snake here called a water moccasin (also called cottonmouth) - lives in and out of the water and a wide berth is recommended – the other, when walking through the Country Park you pay attention to the path in front of you because quite often small(ish) snakes cross the path in front of you (non venomous and harmless) – guess who gets right of way.

Finally today there's a rumour circulating that a cookery class has been requested. That wasn't on the agenda - further news after tomorrow evening's Trivia Night (Pub Quiz in UK speak) when the gang assembles.

Life with GOM: Chapter 3

Jumpin' fish and A1 steak sauce

There's a song called “Summertime” from Gershwin's Opera Porgy and Bess, written in Charleston in 1935. The song begins “…. and the livin' is easy, fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high....”. I didn't realise that fish actually jump. Not to be confused with flying fish you understand. It's mesmerising and therapeutic – ideal entertainment when you're drinking your morning coffee so not really a “hide” report more a “normal everyday” report.

Back to the grind – early morning run – how virtuous is that. Then it's get the chores out of the way

- food prep for supper (of my choice) for the boys. Two essential matters to be considered, my friend cooks for himself and so looks forward to being relieved of duties and, when you're jet-lagged comfort food is the best medicine, so a treat today, braised steak and onions with sautéed left over potatoes and snow peas (mange tout in UK speak). With this braised steak I pay homage to a product that is quintessentially American – A1 Steak Sauce – fantastic stuff, akin to a combination of our HP Sauce and Worcester Sauce. The sauce is used neat when BBQ'ing and can be diluted to use as a rich sauce as is the case here for slow cooking, with chicken and pork too. It's also used in sandwiches, neat.

So using fantastic braising steak, sealed, large sliced onion, sealed and then a gravy made up of A1 sauce, a Knorr beef stockpot and tomato purée the slow cooker is left to work its magic.

I've always got a list of research projects on the go and this place enables me to devote time and attention to them. Top of my list today is catching up with Edna Taylor – of Edna's Lowcountry in the Charleston Historic City Market. Edna's stall sells Low Country Gullah gourmet mixes, mixed spices, marinades and sauces – time for a trip I think.

Kitchen investments and Wednesday supper

In my kitchen an essential piece of kit is a timer – inexpensive and comes into its own when you're doing your circus juggling act. There is nothing more infuriating than spoiling the supper because you've forgotten what's in the oven whilst supervising homework, sorting laundry or splitting the atom.

Many moons ago I invested in a frying pan (available with or without lid) that is suitable for use from hob to oven. It did not cost a fortune and has been worth its weight in gold. There are loads to choose from but, as a rough guide, approximately 30cms diameter costs £30ish. I've had mine for a few years now and the best recommendation I can give is that when it finally wears out I'd replace it immediately.

Back to Sunday's slow cooked gammon. Your joint will be in the region of 750g and should serve 4 with good appetites. Slice your gammon – although I suspect you'll find that it will fall apart – easy to remove any residual pieces of fat. You can serve it hot or cold. If hot then pre-heat your oven 180fan/200/Gas 6. Tear four sheets of foil (big enough to fold and pinch) and place equal slices of gammon in each, fold and pinch the ends to give a sealed pouch. Place on a baking sheet. Back to the good old foil trays – tip a bag of new/salad potatoes, approximately 1kg (skin on) into a 24 cms square tray and drizzle over a little rapeseed oil, season with a sprinkle of rock salt and black pepper. Finally honey roast beetroot – see recipe attached. This is a favourite – fantastic hot initially and then used cold afterwards as part of a lunch box or a salad accompaniment. If beetroot isn't in season use the vac packs available – you can get an organic option without any vinegar and they work very well.

Pop the potatoes in the oven, set your timer for 15 minutes. When the alarm sounds, shake – carefully – the potatoes, add the foil pouches of gammon (if to be served hot) and the honey roast beetroot (also in foil tray) set timer for another 15 minutes – serve when the alarm sounds.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Baked garlic and star anise

I talk about these two wonderful products together because of the Asian Salmon recipe already mentioned, one I use a lot.

Is there anyone out there who hates faffing with peeling and chopping 1 or 2 cloves of garlic for one recipe? I bake whole bulbs of garlic at the same time – see recipe attached – it's not rocket science and I think originally this recipe was also used by Nigel Slater. If you use garlic regularly this paste makes life so easy when you've no time.

You can keep the it in a screw top container in the fridge or decant into tiny pots and freeze.

Check out the baby aisle in the supermarket/cheap shops for tiny pots – inexpensive and don't take up space in your freezer.

Lots of Asian/Indian/fusion recipes include star anise. These pretty star shapes are readily available in most supermarkets but, if you are fortunate enough to have access to a Chinese supermarket you can buy ground star anise which is much more practical when you want a quick marinade – you'll get a more powerful result from using powdered star anise when you're in a hurry. Note to self – remember that it's more practical to buy herbs and spices in small quantities. They will deteriorate and so is a false economy - unless you've friends you can share with – in which case it's cheaper still.

By the way, you can also get staples like dark/light soy and Kecap Manis (sweet soy) at much more reasonable prices. If you use these ingredients regularly then you'll be able to buy larger bottles more cheaply. It's a win win.

Decisions, decisions : Frittata or Pasta?

Tuesday's Supper -Two choices :

Frittata – to serve 4

Use your leftover chicken, roast potatoes and any cooked vegetables from Sunday – dice and set aside. Raid the fridge for any raw vegetables Using a large frying pan, saute a diced onion in a little rapeseed oil, add any raw vegetables i.e. peppers, courgettes, carrots, sliced and diced - cook until soft, then add the cooked chicken, potatoes and cooked vegetables.

Whisk four eggs in a mixing bowl, add a couple of handfuls of cheese from your grated stash, add black pepper.

Pre-heat your grill – Before you turn it on ensure that the frying pan you're using will slide easily into the space – leaving at least two inches gap between the pan and the grill itself, otherwise you'll burn the top and the middle won't be cooked.

Add your egg and cheese mixture to the chicken and vegetables and cook on a medium heat on the hob for 2/3 minutes. Then transfer the pan under the grill – grill for 2/3 minutes remove using oven gloves. Using a fish slice gently flatten down the frittata so that you break the top - you'll find that the egg mixture underneath is still not quite cooked. Place back under the grill for another 2/3 minutes and check – it should be golden brown but if your preference is for a darker colour carry on to your desired taste.

A complete meal in itself but you could serve a slice with a salad or, if you are a fan, baked beans go well.

Pasta : Serve 4

Use your leftover chicken and any cooked vegetables from Sunday – dice and set aside. Peel and dice an onion. Raid the fridge for any raw vegetables – slice and dice. Using a large frying pan, saute the onion in a little rapeseed oil, add any raw vegetables and cook until soft, then add the cooked chicken and vegetables.

Quick onion sauce – see recipe attached – is a really useful pasta sauce and can be made ahead and kept in the fridge.

Cook pasta of your choice - for penne, 90g dry pasta gives 180g cooked serving that's 7oz approximately in old money. Check the packet - pastas vary in quality and in cooking times too. A shorter cooking time will give you a firmer pasta “al dente” texture (firm to the bite). It's personal taste and size of appetites. Drain the pasta, fold in the chicken and vegetables.

Serving pasta and sauce is a personal matter. Serve your pasta in bowls and add the sauce to the pasta – fold together gently so that the pasta is covered and serve with a little grated parmesan - you can control the balance and achieve your personal preference – if you've sauce left over you can always mop up with bread.

Remember the box of bacon bits from Sunday MTM – you could sprinkle a handful on top of either of the above dishes before serving.

With both of the above suggestions any leftovers can be boxed and you've lunch for the following day – either are great served cold.

Life with GOM: Chapter Two

I'm not a holiday photo kinda gal but when I decided to keep a journal I needed to give you an idea of where I am. This place has a spiritual feel – difficult to communicate in words so here's a shot of the front of the house and the back too. The back looks out onto a tidal creek and any weekend traffic is of the floating variety.

Because the creek is tidal with each tide comes a different wildlife surprise – my “hide” for the next four weeks is a large panoramic view from the room at the back of the house where I partake of my morning coffee. With each time of day comes something different. Today the first passer-by of the winged variety is a Peregrine Falcon clutching foliage, so nesting close-by. Watch this space!

Back to reality – of sorts - today's only chore is to shop for supplies so it's off on a whistle stop tour of Sam's (similar to Costco in the UK), Walmart (who now own Asda in the UK) and Harris Teeter. All is now right with the world, decided on tonight's menu, Asian salmon, coleslaw with apple and cranberries, roasted beetroot, tomatoes with oil and balsamic dressing and jacket potatoes. Like I said fly by the seat of your pants. The Asian salmon is easy, healthy and above all tasty and good hot or cold. (see recipe) It's a good job that I have a reputation (my only likeness to Nigella!) for never knowingly under-catered, (her words) after shopping it appears that we have an extra guest for supper, expected this afternoon.

It takes a day or two to get back into the swing of things – there are lots of products you cannot get here so, in a supermarket like Harris Teeter – equivalent UK would be between Sainsbury's and Waitrose – you'll have a section where you can get some UK products, however, when in Rome ….. think outside the box and find an alternative. It also works in reverse – for example years ago in the UK you were able to buy Campbell's Condensed Cream of Onion soup – they still make it – in the USA. It's a fantastic store cupboard staple – an ideal base for sauces to use in pies or to add to pasta.

Oh and lest I forget – it would be rude not to include a picture of the most important member of the household – Choo Choo – how lovely is she.

“Hide” report: heron diving for fish, spectacular.

MTM – the sequel

Before we begin can I pay homage to the foil tray and the steam bag. You can buy heaps of different sizes of foil tray – my personal favourite is from Wilkos – 24cms x 24cms or, in old money 9 ½ inches square – 3 for £1 – bargain. This size will give you four good sized portions.

Baco make an EasySteam microwave pouch – comes in packs of 5. I got my last stash from Home Bargains but would suggest checking out all the discount shops. Lakeland do sell them but they are pricey so shop around. Ditto re foil trays – find a size or sizes that best suit your cooking needs.

Okey dokey, back to the sequel. Pre-heat your oven to 200fan/220/Gas7. Now I hope you'll begin to see that all your efforts on Sunday were not in vain. Monday's supper is fish pie. Make a quick sauce using fish stock (Knorr stock pots) 400ml. Make a roux sauce from melting 20g butter then add 20g plain flour, gradually whisk in your stock which will thicken. Season with salt and black pepper. You can add a little double cream if you are feeling decadent. Flake the fish you baked yesterday into a large bowl and fold in the sauce – it should be quite stiff. Tip into a foil tray as above ensuring before you do so that the foil tray is placed on a baking tray – unless of course you have juggling powers that I do not. Take two of the potatoes you baked yesterday, slice thinly over the fish, grab a couple of handfuls of the cheese you grated yesterday and sprinkle over the potato – no need to add salt – there's enough in the cheese – a small “hat-tip” to healthy eating. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve with steamed veggies of your choice in the steam bags above.

If you want to cheat then you could always use a Campbell's condensed soup as a sauce base – there's a choice with low fat versions too . You could use a cheese sauce, a parsley sauce or a sorrel sauce. You could add chopped hard boiled eggs and/or saute some finely chopped shallots or spring onions in rapeseed oil and add to your sauce.

The joys of meal planning and grated cheese.

This title isn't mine – it belongs to my daughter in law Cheryl. Whilst she was visiting and we were relaxing with some light refreshment we had an impromptu brain storming session.

Here are a few of my initial questions put to Cheryl,

“How do you shop and cook now?”

“How many times each week do you visit a supermarket?”

“How much food and therefore money do you waste each week?”

“On arriving home from work are you greeted with “What's for tea”?

If the answers to the first three questions are along the lines of,

“I shop when there's nothing in the cupboard/fridge and rely on back-up convenience foods/ready meals”

“Probably 2 or 3 times”

“I throw away fruit and vegetables and other foodstuffs I'd forgotten were in the fridge and are subsequently out of date. I must throw away several pounds worth each week”

and

“Yes!” to question four

then I think you'll find making small changes can reap massive rewards - with forward planning and a relatively small amount of time in the kitchen control can be yours!

One of Cheryl's favourite light bulb moments was grating a large block of cheddar cheese, bagging and refrigerating - you're good to go without washing the grater eight million times. Whatever your domestic circumstances you'll free up valuable time much better spent with your family or, have more chance to prop a bar up somewhere – the world is your lobster!

Food for thought? (I'm sooooo sorry – really awful)

Life with GOM: Chapter One

Welcome to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina!

I am so lucky to have a friend who is generous and invites myself and my husband to share his home which he's had here for many years now.

A month on holiday is a treat. My particular passion is food – cooking it – South Carolina is culinary heaven, there's so much to learn and to sample. Our friend is English and a Northerner too, my contribution to the chores is to cook for the three of us and occasional guests that drop by when we are at home. As a cook, it's good to “fly by the seat of your pants”, check what's in the fridge and the cupboards (discarding shrunken heads first!) and hope!

My husband and my friend are best friends, they have one major hobby in common, they enjoy what I call “Chinese” crosswords, I use this phrase because to me they may as well be speaking Mandarin, this hobby has a language all of its own and is very complex. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there is a degree of competition here and anyone present at their early morning sessions is privy/witness to bickering like you would not believe. Hence my phrase, life with the GOM (grumpy old men), said affectionately of course.

The other, and most important member of the household is my friend's dog, Choo Choo, a wheaten terrier who, surprise surprise, came from Chattanooga (those of us who are old enough will of course be reminded of the Glen Miller song).

For those of us who have read the book (by Margaret Mitchell) or seen the subsequent film “Gone with the Wind”, this really is the deep south, untouched, except for “Downtown” Charleston where its popularity knows no bounds. Downtown is an experience – the street lighting is still in its original form and lit by hand each day. The original slave market is still there, although these days it has a different use – Charleston's Historic City Market - it's a mixture – at one end, the posh end, it's full of archetypal tourist type shop units selling prints, food, et al. The other resembles an open market in the north of England.

In this part of the world the range and quality of products is outstanding. Excellent meat, fish and seafood generally. One of my OCD habits is to compare the contents of my shopping cart – sorry – trolley, forgive the USA speak, to that of my counterpart. You'll find tetra pack cartons of instant mashed potato the size of a small house – small is not a word you'd apply to any portion size/control here. The choice of potatoes is wide – the Russet, the best baked version – Yukon Gold, so versatile boil, mash or in particular saute and Red Creamer for boiling, steaming and skin-on mash.

I hope you'll be entertained in the forthcoming chapters.

Multi-tasking Morning (MTM)

Long before supermarkets opened 7 days a week and internet food shopping and delivery was thought of, my commuting time to London ran at a minimum of 3 hours a day - British Rail permitting.  I used part of my journey to plan meals a week at a time and made my shopping list from that plan.

Whenever your weekend falls it's busy – my cooking morning was Sunday.  I made the best use of my oven, fridge and freezer – life is too short to faff around.

Here's a thumb-nail sketch.  Use every scrap of space in your oven.

Pre-heat your oven 180 fan/200/Gas 6
Roast a chicken – buy as large as you can afford.  Roast potatoes – cook more than you will need.
Wrap six large baking potatoes in foil and bake. I would bake for an hour and a half and then test – you want your sharp knife to move firmly through. Remove the potatoes and set aside to cool – bear in mind that they will continue cooking because they are insulated by the foil.
Wrap fresh fish in foil and bake – you could mix the fish i.e. salmon and cod.  (How long you bake the fish depends on how much you have - for example 400g of mixed fish serves 4.) Set aside to cool.
Line a baking sheet with foil and cover with bacon of your choice.  Bake for 15 minutes, turn and repeat – it will be crisp!  Let the bacon cool and break into small pieces, box and refrigerate.

I'm not one for bits of kitchen kit that costs a fortune, gathers dust and takes up valuable kitchen space.  However I would never surrender my slow cooker.

Your final task is to seal an average gammon joint (can usually be found in most supermarkets on offer 3 for £10 – freeze the other two!) slow cook in vegetable stock.  Slow cookers vary – I'd leave the gammon for three hours.  Remove from the stock and set aside to cool.

A busy multi-tasking morning but I don't think you'll regret it.

In future posts I'll expand the sketch and show you how your MTM morphs into a stress free week.

Fuwfa and Life with GOM

(Fed up with faffing around!)

Would you like to save time and money, and enjoy cooking again? Redesign the way you shop, cook and eat.

MiamMiam School of Cookery began life in 2010, teaching and demonstrating to small groups of students of all ages.

Then there's Life with GOM – an everyday story of grumpy old men, set in South Carolina – 'tis the story of a woman of a certain age observing said men going about their daily grind, plus food related history, recipes, et al.

Join me in all things food related – from saving time and money to relieving your stress levels. There will be short cuts and tips with recipes thrown in – the knock on effect being to revive a jaded cooking palate!