Menu Ideas

Hello,

I got a request from D. McDonald for a menu. I can give you some ideas and you look up the recipes in your cookbooks or online. They can be modified according to what you prefer, diet, or what you have at home and to how many people you are cooking for.

The benefit of have a menu set out before you go to the shops is that you spend less at the supermarket! Your shopping becomes targeted to the groceries you need, rather than rambling up and down the aisles picking up things you may not use. Then there's the bargain trap..I'm not saying don't buy, but you can end up buying more than you need and end up not using it and maybe even throwing it away! 

I will put other options that you may want to try in brackets. Things like vegetarian options, if you can't have dairy you can substitute cream for soya cream. Alpro sell it in the big supermarkets.

Menu Ideas for you:

1. Chicken, beans and spinach with olives (tofu, seitan)

2. Fruity Lamb casserole (mutton, seitan, tofu)

3. Country pork with savoury apple dumplings (spicy peach compote) 

4. Mixed fish cobbler with dill(hashed potatoes instead of cobbler)

5. Italian turkey steak on tagliatelle (marinated quorn, tofu or seitan)

6. Beef stew with onions and broccoli (rehydrated soya chunks )

7. Linguine with wild mushrooms (or any mushroom you like)

I do hope this has helped you and don't forget to accompany the dishes with something fresh and in season if possible like a yummy salad. Bon Appetite!

This is a bit of a take on rice and peas...I did plantain and mixed bean salad with an obvious bit of the Mediterranean with jerk rub on the succulent pan fried salmon. 

What to make for dinner!

Hello, my name is Isabelle. I am, like many, always looking to make something tasty to eat. No one tells you it is a life long activity and that you are forever asking yourself .

                             What shall I make for dinner? 

Then it's a trip to the shops to see what's either the quickest thing to make, what's the cheapest or what do I fancy the most....I'm sure we all ask ourselves those questions without adding other things into the equation like: diet, restriction, nutrition, healthy eating and special needs for yourself or family.

The problem is at least for me, although I wouldn't call myself a foodie, I do think about variety and deliciousness and I want to sit down and really enjoy my food and that every mouthful I have delights my taste buds leaving me with a yummy feeling.

            Today's Dinner: Potatoes and Chorizo

This is a simple one pot dish.
1. Fry a chopped onion and a clove of chopped garlic in a tablespoon of oil until translucent.

2. Add an odd tomato you have in the fridge and the little Spanish frying chorizo ( you can find these in supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Tesco in there cold meat counter. I got mine from a European butchers that stock a larger frying chorizo and sells it loose, so you can just buy whatever amount you need). 

3. Add chopped parsley and potatoes.

4. Add cold water,(salt if you like. I didn't as these chorizos have lots of seasoning).  Boil for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

5. The last two minute I laid a roughly chopped roasted red pepper on top of the potatoes to warm it up.

6. Drain or remove the potatoes and chorizo with a slotted spoon to your dish and I topped it with some watercress but you can add more parsley.

Just delicious!