A Christmas plan

First things first – before you get to the food choices and the shopping lists you need to be in position to store all your goodies and so clear the decks before you deck the halls!

Do you have a freezer the size of a shed – if you do then please disregard what follows! You need to think carefully about how you're going to stock your freezer which begs the question how full is it now?

I'm sure you know what's coming next – it's time to clear it out. It's no good going out and snapping up all manner of goodies and then have to climb on top of it all, ramming it in to make it fit!

Own up to all the stuff that has dropped to the bottom – the bargain that you couldn't live without and seemed like such a good idea at the time and has now gone to that freezer burn waste heap in the sky. Rest assured I'm not casting aspersions – I dread to think what's at the bottom of mine.

I cannot tell you how virtuous you'll feel once you've done the job, not to mention stress free to the point of horizontal when re-filling it.

Next you need to tackle your pantry – or store cupboard - in exactly the same way. You need to be sure that whatever staples you have are well within their “best before” dates – you can bet your bottom dollar that there'll be the same out of date gremlins here too, you know what I mean, shock horror a jar of passata a year past its best before date. You know I speak the truth – think of it another way – you need space for your non-perishable bits and pieces too - that you can buy now.

Speaking of which – how do you shop? If you are a fan of on-line shopping remember those three little words - “book your slot” - early!

Now you're ready to roll.

Next up … the lists and a little self control ...

Your flexible friend … the egg!

I make no apology for repeating this recipe – frittata is the perfect way to use leftovers, worthy of a rummage in your fridge, all your favourite bits brought together. The great thing about a frittata is that you can make it as big as you like!

Frittata

Use your leftover chicken, roast potatoes and any

cooked vegetables – dice and set aside

Raid the fridge for any raw veggies. Using a large

frying pan, sauté a finely chopped onion in a drop of

rapeseed oil

Add any raw vegetables, i.e. peppers,

carrots – sliced and diced to a similar size – cook until soft

Add the cooked chicken, potatoes and cooked veggies

Whisk four eggs in a large mixing bowl, add a couple

of handfuls of grated cheese from your boxed stash and black pepper

If you're not adding chicken serve with whatever floats your boat – bacon, sausages, fried chorizo and its oil – drizzled over the top, any cold meats and a salad – roasted portobello mushrooms make a perfect veggie addition. You could use Quorn pieces instead of chicken.

If your budget doesn't run to chorizo then use a packet of smoked bacon, place the rashers on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes – 180fan/200c/Gas 6 – turn and repeat. Set aside to cool – the bacon will be crispy – deliberately! When the bacon has cooled, break into tiny pieces, box and fridge.

Here they are :

A very handy “savoury sprinkle” over scrambled eggs, fold into mashed potatoes or add to chicken casserole – the list is endless.

Frittata is never wasted - it's perfect cold the following day as part of a lunch box – if there's any leftover – good luck with that!

leftover roasties – too good to waste

the frittata from the grill

Quick, easy and delicious. It is perfect on its own as a breakfast treat – if you prefer a brunch or a supper you could serve with, as I did, coleslaw – because I love it, or beetroot relish would definitely work well too.

Next up the method …

The Pasties – the photos

Have a look at the results :

These are large pasties – they measure 22cms/8½” x 12cms/4½” over the middle. Cut in half or leave whole if you're feeding hungry hoards or have a very large appetite!

The bonus – you can make a batch of the pastry, divide, weigh and wrap and treat the filling in the same way. I took my own advice and made two pasties and popped the remaining portioned pastry and filling into the freezer, ready for when I needed a comfort food fix.

I should also say that authentic Cornish pasties are cooked with raw ingredients – I've “borrowed” the pastry, used my own filling and am very pleased that I did!

A small tip - pasties will keep warm for a long time - wrap them straight from the oven in either greaseproof or baking paper and then a clean tea towel. It does work and the pasty will stay warm – it definitely saves burning your mouth when you're itching to devour.

Ta dah – and economical too!

Time for a rummage!

Back to normal!

We all get to a point where there is nothing left in the tank and totally devoid of any inspiration.

It's time for a rummage – in the fridge and the freezer! I'm sure I've got a shortcrust pastry sheet in the freezer - it's a start. Hmm, the fridge - an odd onion here and the remnants of cheese I've always got in my fridge, particularly after Christmas and the New Year – yippee, the usual suspects are there - Gruyere, Mature Cheddar and Red Leicester - I think we're getting there, then there's the ever faithful baked jacket potatoes I didn't use. I can feel a pie coming on!

Hmm I know this is probably sounding predictable and you'd be right. Experience has taught me that when it's a horrible grey and cool day there's nothing like a pie, especially when it's cheating using a ready-made sheet and easy - whether it's with shortcrust or puff.

Here's my thrown together recipe :

Rummage Pie – Serves 4

300g grated hard cheese, mixed – whatever

is in your fridge – 125g Mature Cheddar, 125g Red

Leicester and 50g Gruyere

1 medium onion, finely diced and softened

with a knob of unsalted butter until opaque

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 medium jacked potatoes, baked, peeled and

cut into small cubes

black pepper

1 shortcrust pastry sheet – 320g

1 egg, beaten

To assemble :

Make sure you take your pastry out of the fridge to allow it to “warm up” - you'll find the pastry is easier to use and won't crack. Line your pie dish with half the sheet – you may need to roll it a little to fit – for guidance my pie dish measured 27x9x5 cms approximately.

Tip the cubed potatoes into a large mixing bowl, season with black pepper. Add the mustard to the softened onion and then mix with the potatoes. Add the grated cheese and your filling is ready for the pie dish. Add your pastry lid, egg wash and fridge until you're ready to bake. Don't discard the beaten egg. Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas6, egg wash the pie again and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Note to self – may be add both the shortcrust and the puff pastry sheets to the emergency kit for the freezer – sounds like a plan!

Photo guide up next.

Return of the rant!

Before we move on to “pick a pie”, remember in “Making your shopping list” I said “As with the previous lockdown we're going to find that random ingredients will vanish from the shelves without rhyme or reason”. I should learn to keep my mouth shut!

I have a question – what systems are in place for those in charge of stock control and re-ordering in supermarkets? You must have seen staff walking around carrying what looks like a walkie talkie scanning products on the shelves - which brings me to the first rant of our current lockdown.

Have those responsible been away on another planet for the last while – have they not, like most of us, known that the odds on another complete lockdown was on the cards – and furthermore that, guess what, it's winter and therefore customers will want winter style ingredients. Here's the first random shelf disappearance – it didn't take long – I did my once a week shop on Monday – immediately before the current lockdown came into effect. In Waitrose there wasn't a tube of tomato paste to be had – aargh – hello!

This isn't the first time and I know it won't be the last. However I've decided that despite being loyal to Waitrose I've had enough and shall alternate my choice of supermarket and will be able to confirm whether the “empty shelf syndrome” (ess) is widespread – watch this space.

Rotation done and surprise, surprise, no shortage of tomato paste.

It's week two of “ess” the tomato paste vanishing act and back to Waitrose here's the proof :

I'm not normally driven to take photographs in a supermarket but really it is so frustrating.

My smile of the day came from my Sister who text me to ask “was there anything on the endangered list that she could get for me?” Thankfully so far so good, at least I can rotate my choice of supermarket.

Further updates to follow – week three, still an empty shelf and again in week 4. It is a watching brief!

Bring on the pies ...

A sweet interlude – photos and hints and tips

Here's the first photo :

You'll see that the fudge has a marbled top, not spread evenly as the recipe states – it's personal choice, I prefer irregular shapes!

Here's my tip – the recipe says “line a 20cm square shallow tin ...”. dip a teaspoon into the melted chocolate and place a tiny blob in each corner of the tin and then glue the parchment so that it stays put.

Here's another … make sure you sift the icing sugar otherwise you'll finish up with tiny white spots in the fudge.

Here's another – I turned the fudge into a chocolate orange version by adding 2 tsps of Valencian Orange Extract to the condensed milk and melted chocolate.

Here's the second photo :

Here's another … to remove the slab of fudge use an ordinary fish slice. Gently ease the slice along each edge of the tin and then tip it upside down. If the slab of fudge won't comply do not lose your temper just repeat with the slice and it will surrender!

Here's the third photo :

Cut your fudge into squares – the size of the square is up to you. The recipe states you'll get 50. They'll be large. I cut the slab in half and then each half gave me 36 pieces approximately 2x2cms – a total of 74 pieces. My tin has curved corners so I straighten each edge so that all the squares are exactly that, no “curved squares” if you get my drift!

Place the squares of fudge onto kitchen roll to dust with cocoa and leave space between each square for even coverage. Use a tea strainer or a small sieve, tapping the edge gently to dust.

Here's the final photo :

Boxed up, ready to hand round to the

members of your bubble or you can box in small

amounts and freeze

Enjoy!

Now for the return of the rant ...

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!

Time on your hands – time to think outside the box – or actually inside your store cupboard

Up to now we've rummaged in the freezer and in the fridge too, now for the store cupboard or pantry if you prefer.

Do you have a store cupboard or is it a cupboard for stuffing random purchases that seemed like a bargain at the time? Do you know what's buried at the back? You know what's coming next – time to sort it out! It's no good relying on a store cupboard if you don't know what's in it.

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!

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!

I can hear you saying so what?! If you're taking this current situation seriously then you won't be going shopping every day, you'll be staying at home as much as possible. It matters not whether you have to go out to shop or whether you have a home delivery – you still need to be organised.

Bear in mind too that now we're pretty much confined to barracks we won't need the volume of food (or calories if you like) that we've been used to when more active. Good luck telling your brain! If you want help balancing your diet and would like more information you can download the Eatwell Guide – GOV.UK which gives you chapter and verse on recommended portions.

Coming soon, a recipe using ingredients from my pantry that doesn't include a tin of tuna, but just before we continue with the something special and the cheap & cheerful ideas, I'm interrupting myself with a cake you can bake!

The seafood fotos

Here's the dish I used for the starter

it measures 18.5 x 11.5cms - 7”x 4½” in old money!

The black bean sauce – a definite addition

to your pantry or store cupboard

The scallops in clock face formation!

The scallops, turned and sealed one side

The scallops and king prawns in the sauce

ready to serve

How good was it? I was asked for the recipe, which I had never committed to print, until now so I think it was a hit!