It has not escaped my notice …

...that the 2016 University year begins in late September – this varies from Uni to Uni but the first term is definitely the hardest – I'm not sure whether it's harder for the student being on their own full-time for the first time (and by that literally having to fend for oneself) or, probably more to the point, for the Parents left behind, bereft – not for nothing is it known as empty nest syndrome!

These days there are so many options regarding accommodation from sharing a twin room to a one bedroom flat and all points in between. There's a variety to suit budgets – some catered some self-catering. Indeed some Uni's offer a meal plan – can't help thinking that it's just putting off the evil day when you've gotta look after yourself.

I suppose there are those out there who have sufficient funds and no intention of ever cooking but there must be a considerable number of students who don't have or can't afford that luxury.

Is your child about to fly the nest? Many first year students (or fledglings) spend the first year in Halls of Residence (Halls) – it's regarded as a rite of passage – part of this transition relates to the making of new friends and sharing space - like a large kitchen for communal eating as well as cooking.

There's more than one way of looking at this – for a young person leaving home embarking on a new chapter it's massive – there are so many emotions to cope with – settling in to Halls and making new friends – food is the ultimate ice breaker – everyone needs to eat so what better way to get to know people.

Made up main …

… the end result

There is very little prep required for the Made up main but there is one thing you need to do ahead of the game and that is fry off the diced chorizo so that it surrenders all that delicious oil – it only takes a few minutes – just long enough so that it begins to crisp. Remove the chorizo, box and set aside in the fridge when cooled. Leave the oil in the pan, covered, ready for when you want to cook and serve.

Other than getting yourself organised, pulling ingredients from the freezer and frying off the chorizo this meal is brought together, cooking time, in minutes. If you look at the method for the Orzotto – heat the chorizo oil, ready to rock and roll, just before you add the lemon juice and frozen peas.

Add the scallops to the chorizo oil – remember the clock system, begin at midnight and add your scallops like a clock face – when you get back to midnight, turn them. Add your asparagus tips and prawns and toss around for 2/3 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread, sliced into “soldiers” (add to your Can't fail staples list).

Just in case you think I make this stuff up – here's a couple of photos of the finished product.

Well that was a baptism of fire – just goes to show what you can do when you have to think outside the box.

They did love it by the way.

Tickety Boo!

The ultimate …

... “fly by the seat of your pants” test

I have two ideas for the last evening meal – do I make a “mixed grill” style meal including ingredients I know that my friends love and indeed miss, like English sausages and bacon with everything thrown in, or, do I really wing it and produce a meal including elements I know they love but definitely would not figure on the traditional “English” cooking scale at all.

I did what any host should do – I gave them the choice, here's the result :

Orzotto

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

260g orzo pasta (in your pantry)

500ml chicken stock (or vegetable) (pantry)

juice of 1 lemon

200g frozen petit pois (freezer)

2 tbsp fresh pesto (pantry or fridge)

bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

extra pesto and slices of lemon to serve

salt and black pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for 2/3 minutes. Stir in orzo and cook for 1-2 minutes and then add the stock all at once. Simmer and stir occasionally for 7/8 minutes until nearly cooked. Stir in the lemon juice and the frozen peas. Simmer for 2/3 minutes until the peas are cooked then add the pesto and the parsley. Season to taste and serve with extra pesto and a squeeze of lemon.

Do yourself a favour – do all the mise en place ahead, it doesn't take long and you won't regret it.

Made up main

to serve with the Orzotto

150g scallops (approximately 1 dozen)

if they are thick slice them in half

250g diced chorizo

350g cooked, peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

and drained

100g fine asparagus tips, snapped so the wood is

removed, trim to ensure they are all the same size

Read on for the end result.

Post toast it's on to the roast

or rather my version of it. I said in What's in the fridge? the whole chicken was going in the slow cooker as part of a roast.

I also suggested, check what you've got in your fridge and freezer. This slow cooking/freezing malarkey really works. I had a container of sauce supreme in my freezer – aka posh gravy, which I placed in the fridge overnight to defrost. I made my normal roasties (á la Nigella – tossed in semolina) they never fail. Since the oven will be on for the roasties I will fill it so there will be carrots cut into similar sized batons, roasted in lemon, butter and black pepper.

So, for your roast, I meant what I said – easy prep, easy cook :

Serves 4

Chicken in slow cooker as per recipe on the blog -

it's going to take eight hours so time it so that you'll

be ready to serve it all at the same time

Pre-heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 when you

are ready to cook

Peel and parboil potatoes – as many as you want – in my

house a large tray full! Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of semolina and shake

to coat them – can be done ahead – place in hot rapeseed oil -

these will take one hour to roast, turn every 20 minutes

Peel 5/6 medium carrots and cut into batons

can be done ahead - place prepped carrots in a

food bag and fridge until you're ready.

Place the batons on foil on a baking sheet -

add 2 x 20g of unsalted butter, a couple of glugs of

lemon juice and black pepper – wrap tightly.

These will take 40 minutes – shake carefully after 20 minutes.

Grate parmesan for cauliflower cheese - **see below

A quick scan through the pantry also produced a box of sage and onion stuffing mix. Take a medium onion, finely chopped and softened in a large knob of unsalted butter then add to the stuffing mix with a glug or two of boiling water. Can I also point out that chestnuts are not just for Christmas. I always have vac packs in my pantry – add 150g, finely chopped to the stuffing mix.

I always cook my stuffing in a cake liner in a loaf tin.

**Cauliflower cheese. Since the object of this exercise is you haven't a clue what you or your guests are doing and when, there is nothing wrong with using a bag of frozen cauliflower cheese - tip into a foil tray and sprinkle with 75g of grated parmesan. It will take 40 minutes. You can make it from scratch if you wish but do so in the knowledge that you may finish up with a fresh cauliflower that you may not use. No waste at all if it's in the freezer.

The final flourish is the sauce supreme and is the only saucepan on your hob – note to self – do not be tempted to microwave the sauce – it will split. It may be a little too thick, if it is, whilst heating gently add either a drop of chicken stock or if feeling indulgent double cream.

To the roast purists a sauce supreme wouldn't cut it as gravy – my kitchen, my roast.

They loved all of it but the stand outs were the roasted carrots and the “gravy”. The chicken was moist and tender and the best bit is you get to save all that beautiful stock to freeze in readiness for your next sauce supreme.

Minimum fuss, maximum flavour.

A toast to toast!

Who doesn't love toast?

It would appear that toast is not just any old breakfast item.

Who'd have thought it evokes such a reaction! Twice in the last week toast has figured in completely different conversations.

Most of us would probably agree it's high up on the list of comfort food or midnight snack and probably the fastest too, whether it's with cheese on (toaster bags are a brilliant piece of kit for a lazy toasted cheese sandwich) or whether with a preserve of your choice. I have a Grandson who always has his with lemon curd.

Anyway, I would always have said toast is toast is toast – apparently not, as my Dil (Daughter in law for the uninitiated) pointed out to me recently. Cheryl overheard her daughter Alyce talking with friends saying, quite emphatically, “my Grandma makes the best toast”. “There has to be something you do differently” - not that I'm aware of …

Then as you know my friends arrived from France. The first morning it's “would anyone like toast?”. The best part of a whole loaf later, together with a certain famous Danish butter … perhaps there is something going on here …. it's simple enough - serve hot and a production line with enough butter on so that you have to lick your fingers, don't be shy about the amount of butter or guilty – this is a treat – not an every day occurrence.

That set me thinking – is there an art form – some don't like it hot, may be some like it toasted and then the butter on after it's left to cool – not my personal favourite I have to say.

I think I've done toast a dis-service – we take it for granted. I realised this when it was pointed out that whilst the French are fab at baguettes et al they are not so hot on sliced bread for toast – put good toasting bread together with a good quality butter and you've cracked it. Note to self – completely misjudged the bread order.

Post toast it's on to the roast!

What's in the fridge?

Start at the beginning – check the contents of your fridge and also your pantry/food cupboards to see what's already there – you never know when inspiration might strike!

In my case 2 x buttermilk in the fridge – yippee – 2 x soda bread and into the freezer. I've already mentioned a possible paté from the smoked mackerel so a nice lunch combination with leftover honey roasted beetroot.

This is definitely taking shape.

Back to the list making, 3 stops along the way :

Butcher – bacon, sausages, fillet tail – breakfast or posher mixed grill

M&S for meal deal -

whole chickens are usually part of the deal so that

hopefully takes care of the Sunday roast

Supermarket – the remaining bits and

pieces – note to self, check mixers for drinks

and ice bags (they take up less space than trays)

Fresh eggs

Thinking ahead … any leftovers from Saturday night – Charlottes can be bagged and fridged. By the way I'm slow cooking two medium sized gammon joints. One to serve and the remaining one is for the freezer – no waste.

I've decided that for Sunday's supper the whole chicken will go in the slow cooker. It will be served with a sauce supreme, roast potatoes, carrots roasted in lemon and butter and cauliflower cheese. Easy prep, easy cook!

I've now filled every available food space in the house - fridged and frozen - packed to the rafters – in theory I shouldn't need to shop for another month!

That's all I can do for now - the rest is in the lap of the Gods – keep your fingers crossed!

I need to consider …

… how to go about this task and since I not sure what meals I'm going to be serving then the best thing I can do, as well as plan Saturday evening's meal, is to plan Sunday's too since even if I don't serve it on the day it will keep for the next – I think I am beginning to feel better.

The next job is to make a list of “can't fail staples” and from that the shopping list begins.

Can't fail staples

Whole chicken – for the slow cooker -

it can then be frozen if not

served

Vac pack beetroots – or fresh to roast if you've

time. The upside of the vac packs is that they have

a long life so will not be wasted

Puff pastry sheet – for savoury pastries as an

appetiser or a lid for a pie – make sure there's a

good date so you can keep in the fridge until required

or freeze it if not

Pizza base – to make a Stromboli – same applies

as with the puff pastry

Smoked Mackerel – turn into paté or

make a warm salad – freeze if not required

Here's what I served on Saturday night :

Slow cooked gammon joint

Roasted Charlotte potatoes in their skins

Honey roasted beetroot

Coleslaw

Pudding

Roasted rhubarb

Strawberries

Vanilla ice cream

The method in the madness is that the gammon takes care of itself. The Charlotte potatoes will roast, as will the beetroot, when my visitors arrive. The rhubarb can be roasted the day before and the strawberries hulled on the day.

I suppose it doesn't do any harm to be well and truly out of your comfort zone – be assured I am definitely out of mine!