I've decided …

to carry on where I left off, sort of!

6^th January is the first birthday on my list, the Wednesday as the lockdown is introduced. My

friend Phyl lives locally and I hadn't got much time – hokey pokey I thought! I'd given her Rocky Road for Christmas which was very well received so it made sense to stick to the theme – I had to work fast – fortunately it's not complicated and I reminded myself when I went on a rummage that I had these small, neat trays which would be perfect.

Here's the tray :

Here's the tray full of hokey pokey :

Here's it is, bagged, with a bow too :

I delivered the gift on Tuesday, phew, that was close.

I received a lovely email from Phyl - “Thank you so much for the hokey pokey it is delicious. I had a fab day x”

It might not seem like anything huge in the birthday gift department – it was meant to make my friend smile and to let her know I'd thought about her birthday. Job done I think!

Where possible within the constraints I'll continue to make stuff for gifts if they can be delivered safely.

I've decided too that there will now be a “treat for the week” included in my menu ideas … up next

Making your shopping list!

Not the most exciting of tasks I grant you but you won't be sorry and lets face it you have the time.

I confess that since the original lockdown and the infamous “loo roll gate” I've created what I call a war chest – not a huge one and to clarify I mean that if I've emptied a jar or finished any staple from my pantry, fridge, or freezer for that matter, I've added that item or ingredient to my next shopping list – instead of flying by the seat of my pants and too late was the cry - assuming that you are sticking to the rules! I don't mean that I've swept up every loo roll or tin of beans and taken more than I needed, quite the reverse.

I know that you'll think I'm bonkers but as I replaced said item I logged it in a journal along with the use by or BBE date and kept the journal, to hand, in the kitchen – it's quick and easy to refer to and I don't lose track of the contents of my store cupboard. If you decide to try this idea it's smart to keep your “stand-by stash” separate from your normal store cupboard, jars and tins have a habit of getting buried and you can never find what you'd swear was there!

Using this method all I need to do is check my log to make sure I've a back up. As with the previous lockdown we're going to find that random ingredients will vanish from the shelves without rhyme or reason.

It may well be outside your comfort zone but, particularly in light of the above, if you want to save what sanity you have left spend a little while planning your weekly meals. You can include a “takeaway” and treat yourselves to a supper at the weekend that doesn't require any cooking, just the oven and your timer!

You might also want to get into the habit of cooking, as an example, more potatoes than you need, deliberately creating leftovers, to include in another meal. You save time, money and achieve little or no waste – it's a win win!

Don't forget to check out bargains and deals that are out there – resist the urge to get carried away, a bargain or a good deal is only so if you'll use what's on offer – if you have the space to freeze so much the better. It might also be a good idea if you add your freezer purchases, as you shop, to the journal mentioned. It'll save you time and frozen fingers too.

Coming up – a little light relief and then some menu ideas.

Here we go again folks!

I think we've got used to lockdown over the previous months – now though we have the added challenge of being in the depths of winter and miserable weather so no benefit of even queuing in the sunshine. After the disappointment of the strangest Christmas and New Year too we need to give ourselves a kick in the posterior and get on with the next two to three months at the end of which, hopefully, we'll have had a shot in the arm – I've never ever looked forward to an injection – bring it on!

Down to business. During the last lockdown I gave you a weekly menu of suggested meals, the purpose of which was to give you ideas of your own that you could tweak to suit you. It's more difficult in the winter – we've probably over indulged at Christmas and New Year and so added to the misery is an extra pound or two (or kilo if you prefer).

January is a long month and normally challenging for the already stretched budget, so all the more reason to get organised.

Most of you know that I'm a list maker – here's where it comes into its own but first :

Check your freezer – I'll bet that you filled it with all sorts of goodies most of which have sunk to the bottom and you've no idea what's buried in there. I'm no different and have got used to biting the bullet and doing a stock check. What I loathe and detest is that rummage into the depths and finishing up with fingers I cannot feel. Here's my tip – pull out a large portable freezer bag and don a pair of rubber gloves then empty your freezer contents into the portable bag, check as you go. There'll be gremlins that are too late to save so sadly you'll have to commit bits to the freezer burn mountain. Now you've rotated your stock and discovered stuff you'd forgotten you can use your freezer the way it's meant to be used and create meals using the contents!

Do exactly the same with your store cupboard and/or pantry. Check dates and be brave.

Now you're ready to make your shopping list!

My version - photo guide

Here they are :

shallots, finely diced sweated

with the garlic and sweet paprika

add the cheese, potato and parsley

ready to go!

with the lattice top and egg washed

baked and ready to inhale!

Coming up – here we go again folks!

The lattice pastry photo guide

If you're a novice then the best way of mastering the technique is to practice and use leftover puff pastry and follow the guide below – you're not under any pressure and it's not as difficult as you might think :

Flour your surface and roll out the pastry – you want at least 10 x 1cm strips for the practice run – you can continue and make it larger if you wish.

Place a strip of baking parchment on your surface. Glue the parchment in place with small pieces of pastry in each corner – it will stop the parchment sliding.

Lay six strips vertically then fold

back alternate strips – lay another strip horizontally

and replace the folded back strips

fold back the opposite three vertical strips

and repeat – lay another strip horizontally and

replace the folded back strips

keep folding back and alternating the strips

until you've created what looks to me like a portcullis!

It might sound complicated but I assure you it isn't and it's much easier to have a go when you don't need to produce an end result. All you're using is leftover pastry and it doesn't take a lot. I scaled it down in the photographs deliberately – it's easier to control.

When you decide to create it for real use a beaten egg to glue your strips as you are building your lattice – obviously it'll be on top of your filling anyway but it'll help keep the shape. Don't forget to measure the length of your strips – adding 10cms to whatever size pie dish you're using – for example, 23cms + 10cms – 33cms to give you overlap of 5cms each side of the dish to trim and tuck down into the pie. Finally egg wash and bake!

There are photos of my version up next …

Cheesy Lattice Pie – my version

I used shallots because I had them and they needed to be used. You can use whatever you fancy and what you might have to hand. Sweet paprika is a delicious spice originating from the Szeged region of Hungary. It's versatile – useful in curries, casseroles, soups and in any dish where you want colour and a little sweetness. Comté (aka Gruyere de Comté) is a wonderful cheese that melts easily and so perfect in any dish that requires “ooze”! It has a buttery, roasted nut and slightly sweet flavour. I had both ingredients in my cupboard and my fridge. Finally I've reduced the size of the pie to 23cm x 23cm and the pastry accordingly. A tip - Asda sell their own brand of puff pastry sheets, larger than the 320g norm – 375g.

You'll need a non stick wok – 28cms/11” - it makes life so much easier!

400g shallots, finely diced

a knob of unsalted butter and a glug of rapeseed oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed or roasted

1 tsp sweet paprika

200ml milk

1 heaped tsp of plain flour

celery salt and black pepper

600g Charlotte potatoes, cooked and finely diced

250g of grated cheese – I used Comté and Mature Cheddar

generous sprinkle of dried parsley

375g of puff pastry – a ready to use sheet

will be perfect

beaten egg for egg wash

Sweat the shallots gently for 5 minutes – technical term “sweat” i.e. the shallots shouldn't have colour, add the garlic and sweet paprika, celery salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and combine. Gradually add a glug of milk and mix, creating a roux sauce. Repeat and cook out until all the milk is absorbed into the roux. Add the cheese, potatoes and parsley and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Grease a pie dish or a foil tray 23cms x 23cms and transfer the filling, set aside to cool.

Lightly flour a surface and roll the pastry – you're aiming for 33cms - or large enough to cover your pie dish – 23cms dish size plus 10cms overlap – 5cms either side. Cut your pastry into 12 2cm strips – you'll need six vertical and six horizontal. Thread the pastry onto your pie dish to make a lattice effect keeping the joins nice and tight. Seal the edges of the pie by pressing down on the pastry with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with your egg wash and bake for 25/30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Your ingredients are cooked – you're cooking the lattice pastry and re-heating the base – check after 25 minutes – may need another 5.

For those who'd like to know how to create the lattice pastry, there's a photo guide up next.

Each to their own as they say …

I think this is a confused recipe. It was going well until the 400g of chicken style Quorn pieces. I should explain myself. As a vegetarian I use certain Quorn products regularly and think their range is great. What I'm not so keen on, as in this case, is including them in a recipe where they aren't needed. An ingredient “chicken style”?

I don't think the addition of a product that's whilst vegetarian, is designed to have the texture of chicken, fits - I'd have used potato instead. If you want to make a pie using Quorn chicken pieces which is intended to replicate exactly that ingredient then make a Quorn “chicken” and mushroom pie – the two are meant to be together in a delicious sauce. Quorn is made from a natural fungus, fermented and into a mycoprotein so lends itself to mushroom. It takes on whatever flavours you use in your cooking which is why it's such a versatile product.

This is a large pie – nearly Desperate Dan level and a tendency I think to be a little dry, not a good look for a pie filling.

Moving on to the pastry - unless you're familiar with creating a lattice then the description in the method of how to achieve it is poor – I have this vision of you covered in flour with a tape measure or a ruler and finally screwing it all into a ball and lobbing it at the wall!

It doesn't give you servings – it's either four large or six standard. It does freeze well.

I feel guilty for criticising but I owe it to you to point out the downside to any recipe.

Now it's time for me to step up and back up my mouth! As always my aim is to make life easier – what follows is my version of a cheesy lattice pie and hopefully the recipe is comprehensive.