Autumn comfort and joy!

Here's the thing – a meal should be a pleasure – it should make you happy – all the more so when the weather changes into Autumn - there's nothing more welcoming than “a comfort blanket” aka a slow cooker full of whatever takes your fancy.

The trouble is we live our lives at warp speed – constantly chasing our tails, juggling balls, whatever the description they mean the same. There are not enough hours in a day and it's so easy to resort to the ding of the microwave and a processed meal or rely on takeaways.

We don't have the time to cook from scratch every day and even if we did I'm not sure we would.

I've had a lot of practice planning meals. Three hours a day commuting to London every day before the advent of home delivery shopping taught me that life was too short to wing it. I planned weekly meals on the train and then made my shopping list. The earlier I made my weekly plan the better – it gave me an opportunity to check my store cupboard for the bits and pieces I'd forget about – you know seasoning, stock pots, condiments blah, blah. I gained valuable weekend time, was definitely less stressed and saved dosh too!

If you've been kind enough to follow my blog for a while you'll know that my mantra has always been to save yourself time, money and stress. If you're in the kitchen then make the best use of the time – what I call the “whilst I'm at it, I might as well” principle.

Here's what I mean :

If you have turned on the oven, fill it.

Bake half a dozen jacket potatoes – they don't take up too much space if, for example, you're cooking a roast. Prick them and wrap in foil – bake for an hour – check – depending on the size they make take a little longer. Set them aside to cool and then bag and fridge.

If you are cooking a roast, get into the habit of prepping extra veggies – you won't be sorry. Bag your extra roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots et al when cooled and fridge.

Slow cook a whole chicken – it takes 10 minutes at the most to place the chicken in the cooker and then spread with garlic and a stock pot (mixed to a paste) then sprinkle with oregano.

If you have sufficient space in your oven you could use a roasting bag until you

buy your slow cooker!

Grate mature cheddar cheese - bag, box and fridge. Grate Parmesan too – bag, box and fridge.

Start thinking about cooking 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, it's easy peasy – it's in the freezer.

I have a plan!

Check out your kitchen kit!

My “I can't do without” pieces of kitchen kit range from - the smallest - 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. The largest piece of kit is my slow cooker, so from one extreme to another!

If you don't own a slow cooker, may I respectfully suggest that you treat yourself, although treat is the wrong word – a slow cooker is an absolute must on every level. An electric slow cooker saves on your fuel bills – much cheaper than using a traditional oven – economical, saving time, money and waste. I could drone on, and on.

If there is anyone out there saying “but they are huge, I'm only cooking for one” - wrong on two counts – I cook for one meat eater using a medium/large slow cooker – I never slow cook for just one meal – I cook and freeze. The theory is that you get into the habit of deliberately cooking more than you'll use. You then create your own home cooked ready meals to freeze, so, if you suffer from what I call “revolving door syndrome” – you know what I mean - everyone coming and going at different times - you're able to pull your own ready meals out of the freezer.

I would accept that the larger versions take up space and not everyone has a large kitchen – you can buy tiny slow cookers, ideal for one person. If you've never used one, you'll never look back. The smallest capacity is 1 litre for one person, 1.5 would be sufficient for 1-2 people. They are inexpensive but shop around, the cheaper supermarkets have great deals so keep your eyes peeled!

Check out reviews – personally I'd go for a larger capacity than you think you'll need – you'll regret not buying a slightly larger version - give it some thought before you invest.

Just imagine coming home to a welcoming casserole on a chilly Autumn night.

My final “I can't do without” piece of kit is my frying pan.

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 28cms in diameter costs £15ish – if you shop at the right places.

For the best value check out IKEA – they tick all my boxes :

suitable for gas hobs

induction

glass ceramic

cast iron

they are also oven safe

I've had mine for at least four years now and the best recommendation I can give is that when it finally wears out I'd replace it immediately.

There's a really good range of smaller frying pans too, again suitable as above – definitely worth a look!

Now for some Autumn comfort and joy ...

Then there's your store cupboard

Okey dokey, that's the freezer done and dusted now for your other store cupboard - or pantry if you prefer.

Time to be as ruthless with your store cupboard or pantry as you were with your freezer.

It's no use relying on a store cupboard if you don't know what's in it or more particularly that your ingredients are well within “best before date(s)”.

If you have a reasonably well stocked store cupboard then you'll be able to plan your meals more easily, it will save you time and money. My pantry is one extreme to another, from the usual staples - tuna, small chunk Branston, tomato paste, stock pots, cornflour, passata, suet, Worcestershire Sauce, noodles and orzo – to name but a few - to what some may call the more “out of the ordinary” ingredients, a small tin or jar of black olives, a small jar of capers, Grapeseed oil for stick blender mayo and lets not forget the preserved lemons!

Once again you may not relish the idea but I promise you'll find it cathartic!

If you are easily bored sort and check a shelf at a time – if you want to be really organised you can re-organise as you go – baking and all things relating, sweet and savoury ingredients, tinned goods – again sweet and savoury – everyday stuff – teas, coffee, I could go on!

If you have a separate space for your herbs and spices check these out too – they lose their potency over time, so any that are out of date should be replaced. I should add that unless you use large quantities of particular herbs and spices it's a false economy to buy in large amounts – they'll finish up out of date and will be thrown away.

If you want to be really organised you could make a shopping list as you re-organise of any ingredients that are out of date and need replacing.

Kitchen kit is up next ...

Food for thought – you bet …

... especially in light of my recent price checking light bulb moment.

I'm reminded too of my own words in my ebook Splitting Atoms and Grating Cheese or, life's to short to faff around, published in 2019 – it's shown just above the labels, the top right-hand side of the blog.

The essence of “Splitting Atoms ...” was to inspire you to change how you plan, shop, cook and eat and as a consequence save you time, effort and dosh too.

It asked :

“How do you shop and cook now?”

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

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

“Are you constantly asked – what's for tea?”

If your answers are along the lines of, “badly”, “more than I should”, “too much” and “yes!” then you might find what follows useful!

You've heard of a Spring Clean – this is going to be an “Autumn Clean” - of your kitchen.

First and foremost and I know it won't be popular, it's time to empty and defrost your freezer, embarking on a voyage of discovery, setting aside in a large freezer bag the items that are in date and you want to use.

Discard the spoilt and out of date items and after cleaning and bringing back up to temperature, return the items you've kept.

I've no doubt there'll be a few surprises - you remember – that deal you couldn't do without – the posh loaf of bread that now has freezer burn and scarily some you don't even remember buying, all buried at the bottom, lost and forlorn.

I realise it's a boring and tedious job but you'll thank me when you see how much space you've created.

Next up, we need to look at your other “store cupboard”!

Your food shopping

Until the pandemic I used to vary my shopping and would go to certain supermarkets for different reasons – convenience in terms of how much time I had or for certain products I knew I couldn't get at one or another. The lockdown put paid to that routine and, like all of us, whether shopping once a week or on-line you were still at the mercy of whatever was available.

With the recent easing I have resumed my old routine, albeit very carefully and always at 8am when the “traffic” in both senses is quieter - on the road and in the supermarket too.

Have you caught the supermarket ads on the tv – the ones saying they have price checked and/or matched products with the cheaper supermarkets?

I thought you might be interested in my results. I'm not going to drone on and on, simply take three random items and their comparative costs. I have to confess I was gob-smacked at the results.

Here goes :

I suggested to my friend that we go to Aldi – like me she's an early riser so we could shop before anyone else had got out of bed!

Here's my random sample :

500g box of seedless green grapes – described

as “wonky” which means not all the same size - £1

with a use-by date four days hence

1.75L carton of pure orange juice - £1.55

480g British pork loin steaks - £1.89

My comparison is with Waitrose simply because it happened to be my next port of call.

500g box of seedless green grapes - £2

in the interest of fairness they were all the same size

with a use-by date two days hence

1.75L carton of pure orange juice - £3

which was an offer - normally £4

480g British pork loin steaks - £4.50

I think my maths is accurate – by my reckoning I saved £5.06 - £1 on grapes, £1.45 on the orange juice (based on the offer price of £3) and a staggering £2.61 on the pork loin steaks – just three items - I dread to think what the saving would be on a full shop. It's true to say that I can't get everything I want at Aldi but it does show that if you become a savvy shopper with selected items you'll save a lot of dosh!

Two other random points to raise for those who may not shop at Aldi or Lidl – they've never made a secret that their fruit and veg needs to be used straight away – I found their use-by dates were as good as, in this case, Waitrose.

My original reason for shopping at Aldi was the excellent quality and cost of their cod loin. I should say that it's still £3.79 for 280g (£13.54 per kg). During the lockdown the only “supermarket” I could get cod loin was Marks and Spencer, sold in different weights, but typically £6.56 for 285g (£23 per kg).

Food for thought – you bet!

It's time to take stock, literally, and look at how you plan, shop, cook and eat.

Now for the *cake notes and decoration choices

 *Cake notes :

You could bake your own Madeira cake if you wish but it seems unfair on the cake when you're going to dunk it in syrup! Why note use an “economy” range Madeira cake available in most supermarkets – a word to the wise – they vary in size so I'd buy two to be on the safe side.

You could bake a lemon drizzle cake instead of the Madeira or again, use shop-bought if that's more convenient or you're not a baker!

Now for the decoration choices :

2 x Cadbury's Flake – perfect for the kids

or

grated plain chocolate – or small chocolate

drops if you have them - perfect for the big kids

or

crushed Amaretti biscuits - perfect for those

who don't like chocolate and/or added crunch

A tip if you're using the Flake for the kids, bash it in its packet so that it doesn't fly all over the kitchen worktop, open carefully and sprinkle over to decorate. If you want grown-up “sprinkles” grate plain chocolate or use small plain chocolate drops if you have them in your pantry!

Crushed Amaretti biscuits are a great addition for “crunch” and texture – with or without the chocolate choices - since they are an iconic Italian ingredient it seems only fitting to include them.

That's the end of my entertaining stint for a while – I'm hanging up my apron!

Coming next – do you pay any attention to the supermarket ads that “price check” with other rivals?

A Tiddy Tiramisu – hints and tips

If you'd like to make a tiddy version here are some hints and tips!

The glasses I use have a capacity of 160ml – they measure 7 cms in diameter and 7 cms deep. The tiddy benefits from being made ahead – time to soak up all that lovely lemon syrup – and the alcohol too if you are indulging in a grown-up version.

For the size of glass mentioned you'll need a 4cm cutter and your cake should be 1cm slices.

The method for the syrup and the cream, mascarpone cheese and sugar mixture is exactly the same as for the larger recipe and will give you six tiddys.

The idea is to give the tiddy height using a circle of cake at the bottom of the glass and then line the glass with circles of cake. Place a generous blob of mixture on top of the circle in the bottom, then repeat with another circle of cake and mixture – you should get three tiers finishing with a circle of cake on the top.

You don't have to line the glass, you can just alternate layers of cake and mixture finishing with a cake top. Add a teaspoon of lemon curd to the cake top then cling film loosely and fridge until you're ready to decorate and serve.

Just before serving sprinkle with your decoration of choice – the curd “glues” the sprinkle in place.

Here's a photo of the latest :

If you'd like to see a photo guide, check out “A Tiddy Tiramisu” on the Desserts label. I'm amazed to see that these pieces were published in June 2017!

Now for the *cake notes followed by the decoration choices ...