I would never describe myself as a cook or even a foodie, but I do love my grub (and something to wash it down with of course) and over recent weeks I have had several conversations with people about food where I have noticed a pattern. Often these are just the normal office chats about what to cook for tea that night, but when we start comparing notes, I find that people are surprised by the variety of what we eat and also the fact that I plan all my meals out. Mr Owl has also reported several similar conversations in his office recently, mainly revolving around 'what else can I cook with chicken' and 'how can I spend less on my food bill'.
At the same time as this we have been trying to make more effort to expand our diet to include more vegetables and to push ourselves to try more recipes (this is largely due to me spending far too much time reading amazing food blogs like the beautiful Manger at http://mimithorisson.com. I am soo jealous of everything on there). The trip to River Cottage a few weeks ago just helped to encourage this.
My mum was a great cook and always cooked us a wide variety of meals, so I guess I get a lot of it from her. I remember in the months before I first went to university she would get me in the kitchen every time she cooked something that she thought a student could do, and made me cook it. When I actually went, I had a little notebook with lots of basic recipes all written down. Thanks to her I found I was spending lots less on food than everyone else while eating what I thought were nicer meals (Stag Chilli anyone?) This habit carried on when I left uni and over time I like to think I have got better and more adventurous with what I cook. Mr Owl also enjoys his cooking and now it is one of the most relaxing parts of our evening when we get home from work and can cook a meal together - ideally while playing a few tunes. (that sounds a bit twee when I write it down but it is true)
The meal planning is due to the fact that there isn't a supermarket that near to us and I don't want to waste lots of my time driving back and forth to one. Additionally if I plan the meals out then we find that we spend less, waste less and eat more healthily. For example we ate 2 Southeast Asian meals last week because I knew I would have more beansprouts, and coriander than I could use in the one we had thought of, so rather than waste them we did a second meal- less cost, less waste.
So I am hoping to positively use the pressure that comes from sharing online to try and encourage us in this even further, and to possibly show any readers that it is feasible to cook a variety of dishes in the week. Hence 'This week I have mostly been eating..' every time I write that I start craving taramasalata!!
Here is the basic idea- once a week I will be listing the meals that we had the previous week- in theory this will be on a Monday but no promises. I am not going to detail recipes but I will endeavour to state or link the sources for them where they exist. If anyone does read this and wants more details then please just comment. If you are lucky you might get a photo or two as well.
Assumptions: I have not made the basics e.g. pasta, rice, noodles, chips bread unless stated. Everything else is made from scratch unless marked as bought (b)
At the same time as this we have been trying to make more effort to expand our diet to include more vegetables and to push ourselves to try more recipes (this is largely due to me spending far too much time reading amazing food blogs like the beautiful Manger at http://mimithorisson.com. I am soo jealous of everything on there). The trip to River Cottage a few weeks ago just helped to encourage this.
My mum was a great cook and always cooked us a wide variety of meals, so I guess I get a lot of it from her. I remember in the months before I first went to university she would get me in the kitchen every time she cooked something that she thought a student could do, and made me cook it. When I actually went, I had a little notebook with lots of basic recipes all written down. Thanks to her I found I was spending lots less on food than everyone else while eating what I thought were nicer meals (Stag Chilli anyone?) This habit carried on when I left uni and over time I like to think I have got better and more adventurous with what I cook. Mr Owl also enjoys his cooking and now it is one of the most relaxing parts of our evening when we get home from work and can cook a meal together - ideally while playing a few tunes. (that sounds a bit twee when I write it down but it is true)
The meal planning is due to the fact that there isn't a supermarket that near to us and I don't want to waste lots of my time driving back and forth to one. Additionally if I plan the meals out then we find that we spend less, waste less and eat more healthily. For example we ate 2 Southeast Asian meals last week because I knew I would have more beansprouts, and coriander than I could use in the one we had thought of, so rather than waste them we did a second meal- less cost, less waste.
So I am hoping to positively use the pressure that comes from sharing online to try and encourage us in this even further, and to possibly show any readers that it is feasible to cook a variety of dishes in the week. Hence 'This week I have mostly been eating..' every time I write that I start craving taramasalata!!
Here is the basic idea- once a week I will be listing the meals that we had the previous week- in theory this will be on a Monday but no promises. I am not going to detail recipes but I will endeavour to state or link the sources for them where they exist. If anyone does read this and wants more details then please just comment. If you are lucky you might get a photo or two as well.
Assumptions: I have not made the basics e.g. pasta, rice, noodles, chips bread unless stated. Everything else is made from scratch unless marked as bought (b)
Monday: Minestrone Soup (b)
Covent Garden Soup
Tuesday: Cod with Laksa Noodles
Rick Stein - Seafood Odyssey (photo below)
Wednesday: Carbonara
Jamie's version with cream and cheese rather than the purer egg only version. We used mushrooms rather than courgettes
Thursday: Thai Salad
My own recipe
Friday: Troncon of Turbot with an Olive Vierge sauce
Rick Stein - Seafood Odyssey (photo below)
Rick Stein - Seafood Odyssey (photo below)
Saturday: Ate Out (Artisan Manchester)
Sunday: Lasagne
My own recipe
Little Owl
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