What’s the Point of a Fishless Fish Finger?

This is an old blog post saved as a draft I've just published. I no longer eat quorn as it contains egg.


This week I bought a box of Quorn fishless fish fingers. I also have a packet of Quorn ham in the fridge, veggie sausage mix in the cupboard and soya mince, fake frankfurters, veggie bacon and veggie sausages in the freezer. I know what you’re thinking, “just what sort of vegetarian is this woman”. If you are a vegetarian yourself, you might be disgusted that I am eating these processed foods which are designed to resemble meat and if you eat meat you might be wondering why, if I am prepared to eat something parading itself as meat, don’t I just eat meat itself.

So here’s my answer. I am under no illusion that my veggie sausages are anything like real sausages (having said that a fellow mum didn’t realise the sausage rolls at N’s birthday party were actually vegetarian) and I don’t care. I haven’t eaten ‘real’ meat for 25 years. I know I used to like the taste of meat (I became a vegetarian for ethical and financial reasons not for culinary ones), but I can’t actually remember what meat tastes like. I do know I don’t like the smell of meat now, so I am personally quite glad that ‘fake’ meat isn’t too close to the real thing. Fake meat does however, lend protein and variety to my diet and is sometimes a welcome short cut.

I do like lentils, nuts, rice and beans and curiously, if cooking for non-vegetarians these are the sort of ingredients I’ll stick to. I only very rarely and with extreme caution give them ‘fake’ meat because although I do know some meat eaters who eat vegetarian sausages and mince through choice (it tending to be lower in fat than its meat counterparts), why compete in a losing race – I can choose meatless cuisines from all over the world that were designed to be that way rather than trying to trick people who'll look unfavourably on the imposter.

I am also quite wary of other people offering me 'meaty' alternatives. A few years ago, in Peru, I was served up 'Quorn' while in the jungle by someone who confessed they didn't agree with vegetarianism and had tried to feed me soup with the chicken fished out. I never asked where he managed to purchase such an ingedient in the Amazon. Instead I chose to disbelieve him and discretely passed the 'fake' Quorn to my companion under the table before taking the drastic action of knocking my front teeth out - ok so the last bit wasn't part of the 'not eating his food' plan but it was very effective at getting me out of tricky meal situations.

Anyway, back to the point: S really likes fake meat. He was a confirmed vegetarian long before we met, but he came to it at an older age than me and he’s not keen on cooking; he’d happily eat veggie burger and chips every day if I let him. I don’t, but cooking for a family’s is about compromise, so this week fishless fish fingers are on the menu.

Speaking of which here is the menu this week:

Saturday – Chiara’s mozzarella pasta and tomato, red onion and cucumber salad (with enough for the freezer)

Sunday -Steamed suet pudding (or stuffed marrow if there are any when I go to the allotment) with roast veg (parsnips, potatoes, carrots and beetroot)

Monday – Mixed pepper fajitas and guacamole

Tuesday – Fishless fish fingers, chips and peas

Wednesday – Veggie sausages, mash, veg and onion gravy

Thursday – Baked potatoes with cheese and baked beans

Friday – Pasta with (veggie) herb and meatballs

Crikey, there’s a lot of comfort food in there. I suppose that’s a feature of the nights drawing in!

Hearty Harvest

Photos still on my camera I'm afraid, which is a shame, because N and I made a cracking crumble. N loves blackerries, so off we went blackberrying on Friday (trying to teach a one year old about picking blackberries above the dog pee line challenged mny reasoning powers). I had some cooking pears S bought home from a garden he works in (with the blessing of the owner I should add), so we added these to the blackberries, had great fun mixing them and making a very rough crumble mix. It tasted great and I was dead chuffed to have cooked with my toddler. Anyway, there are photos and I will post when I download them.

The bounty that is provided by the early Autumn is probably one of the reasons my shopping bill was only just over £28 this week. I've got potatoes, onions, beetroot, (a few) carrots, leeks and strawberries (I know I can hardly believe it) from the allotment. S has a friendly client with a surplus of runner beans and the most beautiful pears I've ever eaten and another client with apples and peppers. Added to that we've got tomatoes, watercress and salad leaves in the garden and blackberries galore from the hedgerows. It's a very good time of year for reduced shopping bills.

Our dinners this week have been and will be:

Saturday - Butternut squash risotto (I bought the butternut squash)
Sunday - Leek and potato soup (our own leeks and potatoes) followed by blackberry and apple Eve's pudding
Monday - Vegetarian stroganoff (a firm family favourite and very quick to make)
Tuesday - Curry with rice and naan bread (using curry from the freezer)
Wednesday - Lasagne (from the freezer) and garlic bread
Thursday - Pizza (I bought the bases this time as I am working away from the home all week, but we'll add the toppings)
Friday - Stew and dumplings (made with the remaining butternut sqaush and swede)

The soup and risotto has taken care of our lunches for the early part of the week and I am looking forward to my cream cheese, tomato and watercress sandwiches tomorrow.

The recipe of the week is the blackberry and apple Eve's pudding.

1 cup of blackberries
2 medium cooking apples
2 eggs
4 oz butter/marg
4 oz sugar
4 oz self-raising flour

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5
2. Wash the blackberries.
3. Peel, core and roughly chop or slice the apples.
4. Mix the fruit together in an oven proof dish.
5. Cream the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.
6. Beat the eggs into the butter and sugar mix.
7. Fold in the flour.
8. Pour the sponge mix over the top of the fruit and bake for about 40 minutes or until risen and done.
9. Serve warm on it's own, eith cream or ice cream or (like us) with custard.

Crikey, it's been a while!

Well well well, after a frenetic but shortlived start to this foray into the world of blogs it all went ominously silent. Ah, well there are a million excuses: I wanted to do some 'proper' design work so it looked good, I had lots of other things to do, I was too damn busy making meals from scratch and boiling vats of jam to actually blog.

These excuses are all true and valid, but if I let them stall me then my whole idea of 'Trudie's Food' unravels. So I am back. My blog might not look the way I'd like it to, my posts may not be as sharp as I'd like them to be, but as long as I get up some meal ideas and recipes then I'll be able to cross off 'blog' from my to do list.

And what's more, I can reveal a new insight into budget food shopping:

Write your list and send someone else!

I sent S to do the shopping this evening. He spent just under £25 – wow, hats off even from me. Now it’s true that this is the best time of year to have an allotment and have lots of fruit growing friends. There’s very little in the way of fruit and veg we need to buy at the moment, but still, a jolly good shop.

So what will be eating based on this bargain shopping list:

Saturday: Vegetarian lasagne, tomato, red onion and cucumber salad and garlic bread - We’ve an abundance of toms at the moment and the garlic bread is left from yesterday (and so last weeks budget)

Sunday: Shepherds pie - I made this today using allotment potatoes and served with donated runner beans

Monday: Crunchy pie, veg and mash - A freezer special from a few weeks ago

Tuesday: Stuffed peppers and courgette fritters - I saw someone making courgette fritters on Come Dine With Me last week and thought I’d copy as I’ve got plenty of courgettes right now.

Wednesday: Chilli and rice - From the freezer

Thursday: Stroganoff - Ah, a firm favourite.

Friday: Spanish omelette - I will need to buy some more eggs, but there’s plenty of slack in the budget.


I will just share my recipe for tomato, red onion and cucumber salad. There are no real revelations in there, but S (a self-confessed salad denier) loves it.

Tomato, Red Onion and Cucumber Salad

Equal amounts red onion, cucumber and tomatoes.
Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
Calamata olives (optional)

Cut the tomatoes and cucumber into chunky cubes.
Slice the onion (I cut it in half first to make slicing easier)
Toss together, dress with slurps of vinegar and oil.
Season.

I'm back with a record breaking shopping list

Sorry folks. I have been faithfully photographing my dinner, but haven't got round to posting anything. I guess that's the trouble with cooking from scratch and veg growing - it takes a lot of time and doesn't leave much left over for blogging.

Anyway, I'm back and with a record breakingly mimimal shopping list. I sent Steve to do the shopping this week and so I had to write out a complete list, which he stuck to (almost) faithfully. This resulted in a grand total spend of £28.76. He only bought a small block of cheese so I will need to buy some more of that, but nevertheless I think he did a great job.

Here's the list in full:

1. Crisps 0.71
2. Bananas 1.42
3. Full fat milk 0.89
4. Crinkle cut oven chips 1.50
5. Soya milk x 2 1.18
6. Tinned tomatoes 0.33
7. Vitamins for N 3.57
8. Cauliflower 1.26
9. Spring onions 0.64
10. Semi-skimmed milk 0.89
11. Cornflakes 1.42
12. Wafer biscuits x 2 0.80
13. Lemon squash 0.29
14. Red kidney beans 0.17
15. Peanut butter 0.67
16. Veggie beans and saus 0.70
17.Baked beans 0.29
18. Orange squash 0.28
19. Orange juice 0.65
20. Wholemeal bread 0.60
21. Net of satsumas x2 2.00
22. Bag of pears 0.71
23. Cream cheese 0.61
24. Cheese 2.00
25. Bag of apples x 2 1.42
26. Curly Lettuce 0.67
27. Baby plum tomatoes 1.00
28. Mixed peppers 1.00
29. Cucumber 0.80

He didn’t buy the all fruit snack bars we give N, so instead I’ll make her some flapjacks with honey and raisins. There were o luxuries in this shop and chips were the only item that will go over one week, so I expect the shop will cost a wee bit more next week.

And now for the bit you’ve been waiting for – our dinners next week and recipe one.
Saturday – Spaghetti Sorentina (Trudie style)
Sunday – Cauliflower cheese, new potatoes and veg
Monday – Chips with homemade veggie sausage rolls (I made these a couple of weeks ago)
Tuesday – Spaghetti with lemon and peas
Wednesday - Orange cobbler (frozen) with veg. I made this a couple of weeks ago using butternut squash, swede and carrots.

Thursday – Turkish Stew (frozen)

Friday – Chilli and rice

Spaghetti Sorentina
This is one of my favourite meals. It’s quick, easy, surprisingly filling and suitable for vegans. It was the first thing I cooked Steve and he was slightly perturbed at how greasy it is, but loves it now. In the real Italian version you would use sundried tomatoes and garlic, but the first person to make this dish for me used spring onions instead and so that’s what I stick to. I don’t usually add pine nuts but I had some in the cupboard and fancied them.
1. Spaghetti
2. Olive oil
3. Sundried tomatoes (I used 12 for me, Steve and N)
4. A bunch of spring onions
5. Pine nuts (optional)
• Boil a kettle a put enough spaghetti for all of those eating in a pan.
• Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan. Put to one side.
• Meanwhile chop the sundried tomatoes into bite sized pieces and the spring onions into short lengths.
• Pour the boiling water on the spaghetti and simmer.
• Put lots of olive oil in a frying pan and heat. Add the tomatoes and spring onions and fry until a little charred.
• When the pasta has cooked, drain and add to the frying pan with the tomatoes etc.
• Add the pine nuts and toss together. Add more oil if necessary. Think of the oil as a dressing. You will need to keep mixing the dish on your plate to ensure the spaghetti is well coated in oil.

Last week and this week

My task for yesterday evening was to post up last week's recipes, but as I went to bed at half past six before the baby I missed that task. I did make a very nice chocolate fudge pudding on Friday, but I'll save last week's recipes for another time.

Here's the dinner menu for this week.

Saturday - Veggie bacon chowder
Sunday - Vegetable hot pot and brocolli
Monday - Red lentil tart with boiled potatoes and peas (a pre-cooked frozen tart)
Tuesday - Pasta with broccoli and walnuts
Wednesday - Lasagne and garlic bread (pre-cooked and frozen)
Thursday - Crunchy pasties (my Mum's secret recipe she'll kill me if I give the recipe away) with veg and new potatoes (pre-cooked frozen pasties).
Friday - chick pea broth and parsley dumplings.

Veggie Bacon Chowder
Oil for frying (I used olive oil)
Some bacon
Some sweetcorn
1 medium onion
1 large potato
Half a pint of vegetable stock
Half a pint of milk (I used soya milk)
2 tbsp of cornflour.

1. Chop the onion and bacon and saute in the oil.
2. Chop the potato into bit sized pieces and add to the pan.
3. After tossing the potato around for a bit add the stock and sweet corn, simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile make the cornflour into a paste with a wee bit of milk.
5. Add the cornflour mix and the rest of the milk and simmer until the potato is cooked.
YUM. N loved this.

Vegetable hot pot.
Whatever veg you fancy
Oil for frying
Handful of red lentils
Handful of pearl barley
Handful of veggie mince
Squidge of tomato paste
Spoonful of marmite
Water
1 large potato cut into thin slices
Butter, milk or cheese for the top

1. I used onions, carrots and celery in my hotpot. I fried the veg off then added the pulses (pearl barley is amazing, if you haven't tried it buy some NOW).
2. Then I added some water (just enough to cover everything), the tomato paste, the marmite (yes, yes, love it or hate it that's right - well I love it and it gives veggie food a savoury taste) and the veggie mince. Personally, I'd prefer it with more lentils and pearl barley and no mince, but Steve likes mince.
3. I bought the whole lot to the boil and simmered for a while until it thickened and the pearl barley was nearly cooked. I checked on it every now and again to make sure it hadn't dried out and burned.
4. Transfer to an oven proof dish and cover with slices of potato.
5. Ideally you would paint the potato topping with melted butter so it goes golden and crispy. I couldn't be bothered to do this, so I poured a bit of milk on top and cooked it at gas mark 6. I decided the potato was going a bit black at the edges and not golden in the middle half way through cooking (after about 20 minutes) so I grated a bit of cheese on top instead.

These are the two recipes I've cooked this week so far and it's getting late, so I'll call it quits here. More recipes and photos later in the week.

I blew the budget

Okay, well it was bound to happen, I just wish I'd been a few more weeks in this blog adventure before I showed myself up as a fraud. Yes that's right I blew our shopping budget this week - I spent a whopping 20% over budget (and that's not including mid week top ups). The thing is I went to a really cheap supermaket, so I think I need to add a new rule:

"Do not throw melons into the shopping basket because you're in a discount store".

Yes, that's right. I'm blaming my overspend on the honeydew melon I splurged on. Well, the melon and the mega pack of crisps, all the extra yummy looking fruit, the bucket of yoghurt (Lidl Greek yoghurt is lovely and plentiful), the luxury muesli (it's the only brand they stock), the extra custard creams (because Steve loves them and what's the point of shopping in Lidl if you're not going to have a treat), the creme fraiche, the proper marmite and the thirst pocket kitchen towels. On examining my receipt I realised that things like tinned tomatoes are no cheaper in Lidl than the cheap ones in Asda and because they have fewer own brands, I bought brand names I wouldn't normally. For example, although marmite in Lidl is cheaper than in the big supermarkets, I wouldn't normally buy marmite, I'd buy yeast extract.

After discussing this with a wise and equally frugal friend I realised that Lidl and Aldi (both small continental supermarkets focusing on smaller ranges and generally cheaper products than the big guys for those of you who haven't come across them) can be great for particular items (e.g. Greek yoghurt), but you need to pick and choose.

I don't regret my trip to Lidl though. Steve prefers going to a smaller supermarket and I like to look at the other stuff they sell. We nearly bought a rotavator while we were there! And as my boss said, shopping in Lidl is a continental shopping experience.

Photos

The aubergine layer of aubergine parmazano.

The tomatoey layer

Oops I thought I could rotate this in the blog. Anyway, this is parmazano

Here's the finished thing.

Leek and sausage toad in the hole

Steve's pizza - he likes things plain.

My pizza, I like lots of toppings. N had a bit of mine and a bit of Steve's and I had some salad with capers too - yum.

This is the strudel - you can see I'm hiding it and the insipid roasties with gravy.

Sticky cashew stir fry.

On the plate.

Here's a pictorial record of my meals so far.