Lovely lunch for 15p!

~  Menu  ~

Pease Pudding Soup

Multigrain Bread

Glass of Fizzy Water

This week is the Live Below the Line Challenge an initiative of the Global Poverty Project; the challenge is to spend no more than £1 per person per day on food and drink for 5 days.  I apologise for not mentioning this before but have only just become aware of it - good luck to everyone taking part.

Actually I myself personally eat so very frugally (and deliciously) I think I would often be hard pushed to eat cheaper and am sure I am often well below £1 a day although to be fair I do have a small appetite!

For lunch today I had pease pudding soup - every week or two I cook my Geordie lad a piece of ham and use some of the stock to make pease pudding  

A bag of split peas costs 49p for 500g.  I cook half a bag per batch so say 25p and this makes enough pease pudding accompany my darling's ham dinners say 3 times plus sufficient for a soup or a curry for me, that's 25p divided 4 so say 6.5p.  

The stock is a by product and possibly costs nothing as it is only water and seeped out ham juice.  I use 1 small onion.  

We recently bought a bag of little 'culinary' red onions for 12p reduced from £1.20 and as it contained um ... quite a few lets say 1p for the onion which is a bit high I think.  Incidentally these onions are still perfectly fine although about 3 weeks past their best before date.  

I used an abstemious amount of olive oil to cook the onion and, the stock being salty, nothing was spent on salt although I did have myself a sprinkle of black pepper. 

 So my bowl of delicious, homemade soup cost 7.5p, let's be generous and say 15p with the slice of toast I ate with it.  

This is typical of the way I eat but the funny thing is although we could no way claim to be flush with money I cook this sort of thing because I like it!  I am always telling my darling that if he wasn't so fond of meat and was more fond of 'interesting flavours' I could feed him much more cheaply but he loves his manly meals and at least I get to be creative with the leftovers.

I drank a glass of fizzy water with this - 17p for 2 ltrs so negligible really.  I only have it because I find sparkling more refreshing than still.

Incidentally I saw this good idea for storing onions on Pinterest ...

Speaking of best before - we had some of the best rhubarb ever, which I made into a crumble (recipe here), the other day.  It was sweet and tender, juice and very pink.  It cost 30p instead of the original £3.00 but I didn't cook it for a few days and it was still as perfect can be.

How to Make Grattons, Schmaltz and Gribenes

My romantic old darling brought me home a duck last night and I am making many plans for it because he says I can eat it all myself!!  I'm not much of a meat eater but I do love a duck! 

I have decided to confit the legs (plus another two I have in the freezer) and roast or pan fry the breasts in a couple of wonderful ways and I also might make some duck soup of the Chinese persuasion or maybe ... ooh I don't know, more about the results of these plans later including how to confit duck legs.  However the idea of confitting sent my mind running along skin and fat in general and duck and chicken skin and fat in particular. 

Of course it goes without saying that  all leftover duck fat resulting from roasting a duck should be set aside in the fridge and used to roast potatoes which will then be remarkably delicious. 

Bits of leftover chicken skin can just be popped into a hot oven till crisp and served as a nibble or garnish.

Grattons

These are diced duck skin with any adhering fat which have been fried (boiled in oil according to one Gascon recipe I recently read) till crisp, then seasoned and served as a snack or garnish.  I have often done a similar thing when serving duck breasts in a restaurant situation - I remove the skin, toss with salt and pepper and olive oil, spread them on a baking tray and cook in the always on hot oven till crisp.  They make a fine crunchy contrast to the tender breast meat.

Schmaltz

This is a Yiddish term for rendered chicken fat (pronounced שמאַלץ according to Wikipedia!) and is essential in many kosher dishes such as chopped liver and matzo balls or sometimes just eaten on toast instead of butter.  As with duck fat a small amount can result from roasting a chicken, especially a fatty one, but it is easy and well worthwhile to make it on purpose too.  Gather together, in the freezer is fine, enough fatty chicken skin to make the job worthwhile and then ...

~   Chop the skin and fat in 10mm or so pieces.

~   Spread over the bottom of a preferably non-stick frying pan, cover and cook over gentle heat for 10-15 minutes until the fat starts to render out and pool in the pan.

~   Remover the lid, turn up the heat to medium and continue cooking till there is plenty of melted fat at the skin is curly and starting to turn brown, maybe another 15 minutes.

~   Turn off the heat and allow to cool a little then strain through a metal seive - the melted fat is the schmaltz; cool to room temperature and then store in the fridge till needed.

~   Don't throw away the skin - now is the time to make ...

Gribenes

~   Return the skin to the still oily pan and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring till it starts browning again.

~   Add about and equal quantity of thinly sliced onion and cook together till all are crisp and golden.

~   Season with salt and pepper

~   Using a slotted spoon carefully lift the gribenes from any malted fat in the pan then spread them out on a piece of kitchen roll to drain and cool.

~   Add any remaining fat in the pan to the cooling schmaltz, it will taste even better than before.

In other news ...

1.   If these are just a few of the suggestions I can think of for leftover skin and fat don't you wonder what ideas I have for the other 450 potential leftovers in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers?

Squidgy Chocolate Meringues!

Whenever I roast a chicken my real man has it with all the trimmings (potatoes, homemade bread sauce, homemade stuffing, veggies, real gravy and cranberry sauce) but I just have some breast meat with butternut squash roasted with red onion and chilli plus a little gravy.  Today the leftover spicy sweet roasted butternut was excellent mixed into mayonnaise with some diced chicken and served with delicious homemade sourdough. 

Incidentally, see here for a lovely Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash Mayonnaise recipe.

Lunch pudding was one of my luscious ...

Chocolate Meringues

175g dark chocolate

2 large room temperature egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

50g caster sugar

~   Break up the chocolate and put into a small bowl and stand it in a small pan of boiling water to come about a third of the way up the bowl.  If your bowl is plastic it is a good idea to stand it on a metal jam jar lid or similar to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan.
~   Simmer the water until the chocolate is melted and then stir till smooth. 
~   Cool a little but it should still be runny.
~   Preheat your oven to 350ºF/180ºC/160°C fan/gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment or a  non stick liner.
~   Whisk the egg whites together with the cream of tartar (abiding by the rules of meringue making here) to soft peaks.
~   Add the vanilla extract and then, still whisking, gradually add the sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.
~   Add the cooled chocolate and fold in gently, gently to till all merged together. 
~   Immediately drop teaspoonfully onto the parchment a couple of centimetres apart and bake till shiny and cracked – about 15-20 minutes.

This recipe is taken directly from the chapter on Inclusions, Complimentary Stuff & Ancillary Recipes in my book Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine.

In Other News ...

1.   The reason I had two glasses of wine (other than I wanted to) is that there has been a bit of a cock up in the distribution of my "real" book, The Leftovers Handbook, department; people are still waiting for delivery, and I am in a Bad Mood!  Not surprisingly I cheered up after lunch!

News from the future ... by book is now in its second edition  and is called Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers.  In it I give all the information, ideas, recipes, handy hints, cook’s treats, storage info, ideas of what goes with what that I can think of for over 450 possible leftovers. 

Me and my Inner Womble!

The 'flu bug I had ages ago affected my appetite, my energy to cook and therefore the amount of leftovers I had for some considerable time.  The last few days, however, I feel that me and my inner womble are back on form.

Wombles, as you know, can't abide human wastefulness but they do appreciate the good food scraps that our species throw away because the burrow's cook, Madame Cholet ( pictured) is a dab hand at making great meals out of leftovers.  Unfortunately, however, a large percentage of the human race don't live near Wimbledon which is why, hopefully, this blog and my book, Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers, come in useful.  

Yesterday's Lunch ....

Pease Pudding Curry!

Rice

Cashews

Sparkling Water

Pease Pudding Curry (Geordie-Indian Sub Continent Fusion) was quick, easy and delicious.  One of my storecupboard staples is Patak's Madras Curry Paste.  I cooked half an onion my favourite way and, when it was soft and starting to caramelise, I stirred in a teaspoonful of said curry paste.  Once that started to smell so delicious that my Real Man asked "pooh, what's that stink?" I stirred in the leftover pease pudding (the amount you see in the picture) and a little leftover ham stock to soften it a bit. 

For another pease pudding dish, this time Geordie-Italian fusion, see here. 

Today's Lunch ...

Boursin Stuffed, Panko Crusted Potato Cake

White Wine Spritzer 

This just came about because I only had two large potatoes left last night when cooking mashed potatoes for dinner. One was too small, two was too much. Today I mixed a dollop of roasted garlic mayonnaise into the leftover mash, wrapped it round a remanant of Boursin (garlic and herb), rolled it in panko crumbs (lots more to do with panko crumbs here) fried and ate it. Both my lunches were truly delicious, both were made out of leftovers and both were decided on the spur of the moment.

Read more here.

Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers  

All the recipes, ideas, hints, suggestions, information etc. I can think of for over450 potential leftovers. Madame Cholet would be proud of me!

How to Use Leftover Easter Eggs!

I have to admit that this is not my own photo, I got it from freeimages.co.uk

I realise that to many people, me included, leftover chocky is a very strange concept but in my line of work it's still something I have to deal with so this post refers to leftover chocolate Eater eggs and not at all, at all to leftover boiled eggs.

There are, of course, numerous ways to use the lovely stuff and one of the easiest is just to eat it!  Sometimes, however, you might need to stretch the chocolate amongst a few people or you'd like to make a big thing of it so here are some suggestions.

Chop Chocolate and then ...

~   Sprinkle on ice cream or creamy desserts or stir into trail mix and go for a walk.
~   Stir into cake or brownie recipes. 
~   Have a chocolate sandwich!
~   Make Chocolate Chip Cookies - see my useful key cookie recipe here.

Chocolate pieces can also be add to chocolate friendly recipes, for instance ...

Chocolate Pancakes 

See here for the basic pancake recipe but do the following or you will end up with a real mess.

~   DO NOT add the chopped chocolate to the pancake batter.

~   Follow the recipe instructions and as soon as you have poured the pancake(s) into the pan sprinkle with the chocolate then spoon a little more pancake batter over the top.

~   Continue the recipe.

Serve for breakfast with good strong coffee.

Melted Chocolate

Use leftover melted chocolate to drizzle on, say, freshly baked cookies or to dip things such a pieces of fruit or stir stuff into like with those Rice Krispie things we used to make. There are some important rules to melting chocolate ...

~   Put leftover chocolate into a bowl and out the bowl into a small pan of simmering water so that the water comes about a third of the way up the bowl, and here’s a tip; stand it on a metal jam jar lid or similar to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

~   White chocolate is a little more delicate than dark and must be melted carefully over very low heat. 

~   Don’t mess with the chocolate as it melts just let it sit till there till it’s ready then stir till smooth. 

WARNING If you get water into the melting chocolate it will go all hard, lumpy and useless.  For this reason Do Not Cover as steam will condense on the lid and fall back into the chocky.

Hot Chocolate for One - maybe you!

~   Gently heat 250ml of milk till very hot but not boiling.

~   Stir in 50g grated or chopped chocolate (the darker the better) and stir till melted.  Do Not boil but you can simmer gently, whisking all the time, if you'd like the mixture a little thicker.

~   Taste and sweeten if necessary - I like to use light brown sugar for a fudgier flavour.

~   Add some flavouring if you like; a drip of vanilla or brandy, a pinch of crushed instant coffee granules, a sprinkle of cinnamon or maybe a little chilli syrup! 

~   Pour into a pretty cup, sip and grin.

Chocolate Ganache

This is very, very simple and nowhere near as posh as it sounds.  Weigh the chocolate, coarsely chop it and put into a bowl.  Bring an equal quantity of double cream (eg. 100g chocolate and 100ml cream) almost to the boil, pour over the chocolate and stir till smooth.   

Use as a hot sauce, cool till thick and use to ice a cake or chill and whisk as a lighter chocolate frosting or chill severely and roll into balls to serve as truffles - maybe coat with cocoa or chopped nuts or more leftover chocolate.

Dark, Milk or White Chocolate Caramel Sauce - all delicious

100g granulated sugar

50ml water

150ml double cream

90g coarsely chopped dark, milk or white chocolate

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

~   Set the cream beside the stove. 

~   In a deep saucepan over low heat stir together the sugar and the water till the sugar is dissolved and then bring to a boil.  Don’t stir any more but when it begins turning golden you can swirl it about a bit to even out the colour.

~   Cook to a deep golden brown watching carefully and swirling occasionally.

~   When you are happy with the colour add the cream and stir over low heat till the caramel which will have hardened has melted back into the cream.

~   Add the chocolate and stir till completely melted and mixed into the sauce.

~   Add the salt and vanilla extract and mix in.

If I can think of this many ideas for leftover Easter eggs, how many do  you imagine I have thought of for the othe 449 potential leftovers in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers?

Incidentally Easter Bunnies can be used for all the above ideas ...

(I thank you Elizabeth!)

More chocolate recipes here.

12 Delicious Cheese on Toast Ideas

I've been hitting the old cheese on toast pretty hard in the past week or so whilst being all feak and weeble. I fancy myself as being a bit handy in this department so thought I'd pass on my "expertise"!  Warning - I have said some of this before.

You'd think cheese on toast would be difficult to do badly and so it is if you don't burn it. It is also possible to do it extremely well indeed.  

Obviously good bread and good cheese are essential.  

The bread can be initially prepared in the toaster or under the grill, to butter or not is a personal decision!  Add cheese and other toppings and then finish either under the hot grill, or if the topping is quite thick then a hot oven till hot and melty.  

But that’s not all; the humble cheese on toast can be made in a variety of not at all humble ways such as…

Simply spread something delicious on top of the toast and under the cheese.

Add another nuance of flavour with a layer of garlic butter, pesto, tapenade, mustard, caramelised onions, chilli pickle or what have you, spread on the toast before topping with a complimentary cheese.  Flavoured oils are also excellent; for a really quick lunch just drizzle a little chilli oil on toast and sprinkle copiously with freshly grated Parmesan No need to finish it off in the oven; it's delicious as it is with a lovely a glass of red wine (aka Chef's Coffee!).

Add Mayonnaise to Cheese on Toast

Mixing mayonnaise with grated cheese (Cheddar is good but so are other hard cheeses) about 50:50 gives a lovely flavour and a creamy texture.  Ring the changes with garlic, chilli, fresh herbs, finely chopped red onion or other additions.  Spread thickly on toast and put in the oven till bubbling and turning golden in places.                                                                   

Cheddar & Leek Rarebit

This is a slight variation on traditional rarebit. For two slices of toast ...

~   Cook half a small leek, thinly sliced, in 20g of butter very gently till completely and utterly tender.  
~   Stir in a teaspoon of flour and a generous pinch of English mustard powder to make a roux.
~   Stir over a low heat for a minute or two and then whisk in 40ml of milk and 1 tablespoon of ale or dry cider. This last is not absolutely compulsory but is customary and very good.
~   Cook, stirring, till a thick sauce has formed then simmer for a minute or two to cook out the raw flour flavour.
~   Add 90g of grated cheese, Caerphilly or Wenslydale are great but Cheddar is too, and stir together till melted, season to taste. 
~   Put the toast in a shallow baking dish and pour over the sauce. 
~   Sprinkle with a handful of fresh breadcrumbs, which helps to hold the sauce in place and adds extra crunch, and bake in the hot oven till golden and bubbly. 

Locket’s Savoury

This is a classic savoury named after the restaurant where it was first invented.  Put toast in a shallow ovenproof dish and top with watercress, thinly sliced ripe pear and, finally, crumbled Stilton.  Finish in the hot oven and serve with a generous sprinkle of black pepper and accompany with a modicum of red wine.  

Brie, Bacon and Cranberry Sauce

This is a modern classic and an excellent flavour combination.  Simply top lightly toasted bread with brie, spread with cranberry sauce and top with cooked bacon rashers (smoky is best).  Pop into a hot oven till hot through and the Brie is starting to melt and brown.

Traditional Gruyère Croutons atop French Onion Soup 

For French Onion Soup recipe together with the cheese on toast topping see here.

Tartines/Crostini

Tartines (a French diminutive of “tarte” but generally referring to little open sandwiches) or Crostini (Italian meaning “little toasts”) are much the same thing and croûtes take them a little bit further.  They are all delicate toasts with a rich and decorative topping.  

~   Slice baguette thinly, about ¼” thick, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with crunchy sea salt and bake in a hot oven till crisp and golden, about 10 minutes; they are delicious just like this but try not to eat them all!  
~   Attractively arrange a delicious cheesy  topping on each crostini; suggested combinations include thinly sliced red apple and Cheddar, herbed cream cheese and smoked salmon, Gruyère and sautéed mushrooms, goat cheese and Parma ham, creamy blue cheese and sugared walnuts – the list is endless. 
~   Heat through in the oven for just a few minutes and serve, as is traditional, with a simple green salad dressed with vinaigrette. 

Goat Cheese Croûtes

For a delicious last minute addition to salad toast slices of baguette, brush with roasted garlic olive oil  and top with creamy goats' cheese.  Pop into the oven for a few minutes to heat and melt the cheese and add to salad whilst still warm. 

Bruschetta

More rustic than tartines/crostini, bruschetta (the name refers to the toast rather than the topping, coming from the Italian "bruscare," meaning to char or roast over coals) are toasted bread traditionally rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh tomatoes and basil.   Surely adding cheese, for instance a creamy herby goat cheese, before baking is not totally out of the question!

Pesto & Mozzarella Toasts with Roasted Tomatoes

~   Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6
~   Halve cherry tomatoes, or keep whole if tiny, and toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. 
~   Spread on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes till soft and collapsing. 
~   Toast bread, spread with a little pesto, add slices of mozzarella and bake for a few minutes to melt the cheese. 
~   Top with the hot roasted tomatoes and eat carefully – the tomatoes may burst all sweet and juicy in your mouth and make you dribble!

Honeyed Stilton on Toast

This is wonderful - see here for details on adding honey to blue cheese on toast. 

Pizza Toast

If you don’t have any tomato sauce to hand make a really easy base for this, which is much, much nicer than it sounds, by mixing together equal parts of tomato ketchup and tomato paste.   Spread tomato topping toast, add your favourite pizza toppings (but don’t use anything that actually needs cooking as the pizza toast will only be in the oven for a short while) and just pop into the hot oven to heat through and melt the cheese.  Try roasted vegetables with goat’s cheese or spinach, Feta and pine nuts.

 Four Cheesy Asides ...

1.   My Daddy used to call cheese on toast Patty Faux Pas.  No idea why!
2.   Lots more ideas for things to do with cheese in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers.

3.   Here is a close up of wonderful Davidstow Cornish Crackler  which I have mentioned before, over and over again, but just because it is so very yummy.  See the little crunchy crystals that makes it crackly!

4.   According to the Huffington Post there is a scientific formula for making cheese on toast!

And here's a collage I've added specifically for posting to Pinterest. Please!