Frugal Fiorelli

I love reading food blogs. They inspire, encourage, inform and entertain. I've got a whole list of them plugged into my Google Reader.

I keep thinking of posting *my* culinary escapes on my blog and then I think, hmm, would anyone be interested?! I never write down what I've done, rarely can remember, and I never think of taking a photograph until *after* we've eaten something and thought "yum!".

Regular readers will possibly remember photos of half eaten food...

Also, is the food I create really replicable? Most of it is using up odds and ends, last minute reactions to kids breezing in and asking "what's for dinner?" and my thinking "good question..."

Recently however I've been inspired by a number of blogs I'm reading where it dawned on me that this was exactly what they were doing! The difference was having in mind the fact that they were going to write it up/post about it later. (Planning, I think it's called, lol)

And, of course, the fact that most of them are far superior bloggers and writers than I am!!

Anyway, here goes with an experiment.

This was our dinner tonight - Frugal Fiorelli.

First off - what is Fiorelli? Well it's pasta, and I believe it gets its name from the fact that it looks like the flower buds that grow into squash blossoms. Anyway, we got it as part of M&S's £3 Italian deal (1 500g bag of pasta, 1 pasta sauce and a ciabatta). Not in itself frugal, but the frugality came from having half a bag left from having had our £3 meal deal!

As for the rest, well I'm not sure how replicable this is, but we were using up the remains of our braai yesterday. There was one pork sausage and one 100% beef quarter pounder left (the kids had had these as we thought the South African food we'd prepared might have been too spicy). We also had some tomato salad left over. That had be prepared a la Jamie Oliver (thin slices, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic, sprinkled with sea salt, minced garlic and a little chopped shallot, and thyme). Finally, I had some cream left over from the pudding that our guests had brought and some red wine in the freezer.

I think if we'd had some pancetta, this would have been even better.

I sauteed off one small onion, added half a chopped green pepper, and one very small carrot finely diced. Once these had softened I added three garlic cloves, chopped.

I quickly deseeded the tomato slices, chopped them and added them together with all the lovely olive oil/salt/balsamic/tomato juices in the bottom of the bowl.

I diced up the sausage and the burger very finely and added them to the saucepan. In the freezer I have a container of red wine. I scrapped out two heaped tablespoons of this red wine "ice" and added to the mix. Once this had cooked off I added cream to taste - probably around 200ml or so.

A handful of fresh basil, torn, and then sea salt and black pepper and it was ready. I'd cooked some Fiorelli and I added this to the sauce (having learnt recently that you add pasta to the sauce, not the other way around like I had previously always done!). Mix well, dish up, and top with freshly grated Parmesan.

We served this is a garlic bread baguette - which earned the title of frugal because it was from Sainsburys' Basics range, AND had been reduced down, AND it was one left over that we'd frozen down!

I (just!) remembered to take a photo before tucking in.

*sigh* it was really nice! The red wine was definitely what was needed to bring out the flavours and it turned out to be just the right sort of sauce to go with the fiorelli.

So, tell me, does anyone want more food blogging? I've got a new blog that I could put it on... and/or I could leave it here?

Feedback gratefully received!

Wednesday afternoon a friend took me out for lunch, to lift my spirits, and also ended up talking me into letting them dye my hair! Actually the afternoon of having my hair coloured, washed, dried and styled was really nice. Surrounded by males, I'm not used to any sort of "pampering" so having a young girl friend offer to give me a "girly" afternoon was quite a novelty :-)

Thursday was spent in the garden, finishing the work Roarke had started on clearing the shed and setting up the replacement play equipment.

(hang on, just going to take a photo to upload...)

Ok, I took more than one!

This is the 9ft by 15ft space we've gained at the end of the garden, behind the trampoline.

We've put in the new climbing frame and slide that we got given by Argos. Roarke's triathlon bike is going to be fixed onto the fence behind, out of the way.

Mum gave us a tool tidy which I've put all my garden tools into. We're going to use the old wooden garden table to cut to make a roof to go over it as we found a green garden table behind the shed when we took it down, and it is in better condition than our poor old table!



In the other corner you can see the old table, which we are going to use :-)

There is also an old builder's wheelbarrow left over by the workmen who did the house.

Mum gave us her old tool shed, which I've put all my hand tools, pots, and bags of seed compost in to.

We intend to turn around the trampoline net so that the opening is on the side where this play area now is, as it is higher than the middle part of the garden and therefore they will be able to step onto the trampoline instead of having to climb up each time. It should make it safer for Jonathan to get on and off himself.
I realised when I went out to take these photos that I could now take one from the end of the garden looking towards the house.

The green handrail of the slide is just in shot, giving you an idea of where I was standing. Looking through the trampoline you can't see the middle part of the garden, with all my vegetables growing, but you can see how the back of the house is in full sun all day.

I keep thinking I need to grow a grapevine up that wall...

The window on the bottom left of the house is the kitchen (you can just make out the second window), and the door.

Above that, is Josh's room. To the right you can just see the window for William's room, looking out over the flat roof of the kitchen extension.

The window at the top, where the grey tiling is, is Samuel's room - he's in the loft conversion.

This is the lovely little playhouse that Jonathan now has.

During the day he takes his cooker out there, together with all his toy food.

We had another home ed family over yesterday, with three young children, and the older two of them enjoyed playing "McDonalds" (of course!) with Jonathan and William, with Samuel as "delivery man".

I love how home ed allows kids to play whatever they want - regardless of age. Let's be honest, as adults, we often envy the kids playing with their toys!

I've sown some more seeds, so that hopefully the seedlings will be ready to plan out by the time I've got some space in the veg patch once I have thinned things out.

I'm also really concerned that the cabbages will end up with one of the very many diseases or pest infestations that they are prone to... I've always avoided growing them before now for that reason.

I've grown other brassicas before, and so I'm hopeful...

Anyway, if the pigeons, or catapillars, or anything else gets them, then I'll just pull them up and put something else in its place!

Do you notice how, as the cover for this is torn, I've added bubble wrap (saved from various deliveries we've had) to add insulation?! Very frugal I thought :-)

On the bottom I've got some seedlings for another home educator in our gardening group, and the tomato plants I received in exchange for my cabbage seedlings via freecycle.

Above that there is a tray of beetroot, and a tray half with salad leaves and half with lambs lettuce (my favourite!). On the top is a tray half full of french beans with the other half sown with basil seeds. The other tray is Josh's salad leaves. The middle two little pots have peppers in them - which have finally come through! That took about 4 weeks. I grew them once before, when we lived in Chatham, rather unsuccesfully so I'm hoping this sunny patio will make a difference this time.

Of course there has still been baking :-)

Today I made some oatmeal and raisen gf cookies, and yesterday there was another delicious gluten free briocheWhat have the boys been up to, I hear you ask? Well Josh started another sailing course yesterday. It is aimed at those in the group who have completed up to Level 3 sailing and it should end with them gaining their level 4, and getting a go at competetive sailing.

It helped fill a void left by drama - his teacher unable to get back from Australia due to the volcano.

Samuel has mainly been on his computer. We need to find a way to get him outdoors more as he's looking quite sallow :-( He's had a massive growth spurt and is now taller than Josh by some 2cm, and is only a few centimetres behind me now!

William still has a mark left from where he skidded and fell against the side of the car 2 weeks ago when we were at a friend's farm. We're concerned that he actually did some real damage so I think a trip to the GP will be in order this week. It is SO hard with ASD kids as his sensory processing issues means, as I've mentioned before, that major injuries don't seem to bother him yet he'll scream and moan over a scratch... It is hard to believe he could have broken his cheek bone or somesuch and not have said more about being in pain but... I just hope the GP is understanding.

Jonathan is still super cute. He's sitting with his arm slipped through mine as I type this, playing with my peg bag and watching Winnie the Pooh :-)

Life Stages

We're really packing it into the days this week!

On Friday Samuel and Josh went to a friend's house from 11am till 8pm. Whilst they were out, we took William and Jonathan over to meet with Vicki and the boys, and we went for a walk/pond dip and general hanging out in the sunshine.

Saturday, Samuel went out for the whole day with his friend Alex, for Alex's birthday. They went to the Comedy Club for Kids in London, then for a meal, then back to Alex's until after Dr Who in the evening. By all accounts Samuel had a great day.

Sunday was church, with Roarke taking part in the second drama of a series that they are running during April. It sees him in his soldier's uniform, playing the part of "Brad", an actor... as you can imagine he is getting a lot of laughs :-)

On Monday we had a family day out with our friends and their children. We went to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory, and then had a picnic in the park - despite the somewhat artic winds blowing across the hill! We then went back to their house (to warm up!) and relax. A really really lovely day.

The rest of this week so far has been a mixture of business, charity work, family stuff, and generally rushing around.

April is of course a really bad month for me, and as always I am mentally and emotionally spending most of my time thinking about this time back in 2006. This weekend will be my 40th birthday, and that added "life stage" kind of atmosphere is, I guess, making my grief sharper this year.

We had hoped to have a party at a hall, but for various reasons this has been downgraded to having friends over on Saturday for a buffet lunch. Just as the kids always get to chose their "party food" for their parties, I've decided what we're eating on Saturday - and it is all my favourites! This means everything is either meat or cheese based (savoury) or meringue, fudge or toffee based (if sweet).

I'm hoping peope are going to be able to bring food, but I'm doing the bulk of the catering myself. I'm making it all gluten free as not only is my coeliac brother coming, but also obviously two of my boys are gluten free, and two other guests are gluten free.

It also kind of feels fitting to me, in Dad's memory :-(

At the last count I had 14 adults and 22 children coming...

I've just started the preparation. A beef joint is marinading for 24hrs now in red wine, thyme and rosemary from the garden, garlic and shallots. I'll slow cook that tomorrow, then slice it for the table. I've also made my first batch of gf dough, making some olive oil bread.

This is the view from one of my kitchen windows:
I love this photo as it manages to encapsulate most of who I am and where I'm at right now.

Two measuring scales (a necessity with all this baking), a batch of gf dough provingin the sunlight, potatoes chitting, windowsill chilli seedlings, two pot plants each a gift from friends visiting for dinner.. then looking out into the garden the left hand walled flower bed has crocosmia bulbs coming up at the back, then strawberry plants, then a few primulas at the front for colour. The black seat is off Freecycle (of course!), and the table is 8 years old and on its last legs (literally!). Behind that is my new vegetable patch with garlic, cabbages, brocolli, carrots, beetroot and leeks all in the little patch that you can see, and edged with spring bulbs inherited with this house. And of course the trampoline :-)

Community, Kitchen Tables, and Fund Raising

Sunday saw our Community Day at church. We had a visiting preacher, excellent worship from Ariki, and a Hog Roast. Roarke went early to help set up and to run the barbeque for the children. Samuel went early (having of course lost an hour's sleep due to the clocks changing) as he was helping in ROCK for both services. I had the opportunity to serve with the others on the catering team in serving people their food.

All in all it was a great day, and the weather held!

Jonathan spent the morning with his Nan, which meant that we could all serve without anyone having to watch out for him and meant his Nan got to see him.

Josh and Samuel got to go bowling in Orpington with some dozen or more other teenagers in our group this week, and it sounds like they all had fun. They also had a really good evening with some of the young people in their life group last night.

Trying to find things for William to do whilst the others are out is often hard. When they went bowling we went to buy him a game for his computer, but then when we got home we found the graphics card on his laptop isn't up to it, so he still can't play it. Poor William :-(

Two more Freecyle triumphs this week have been an ikea chair - in exactly the right blue to match the other living room furnishings - which Jonathan has claimed as his own, and today a lovely play kitchen that we collected from a house in the next road along from us! Jonathan said "thank you Mummy and Daddy - this is the best thing ever!" His little face was a real picture :-)

I made schnitzel for the first time this week and everyone love them, so that is now going on the regular family meal list.

Thinking of that, these are our regular meals that I select from every week (depending on what is on offer at Sainsburys!). Perhaps you could share your list?

• lasagne
• pasta bake
• cheesy chicken pasta
• chilli
• bolognaise
• shepherds pie
• chicken pies
• pork schnitzel :-)
• pork tenderloin
• toad in the hole
• sausages and onion gravy
• roast chicken
• chicken in a wine sauce (sometimes a jar, sometimes home made)
• mustard pork
• roast beef (rarely)
• paella
• nasi goreng
• fish pie
• risotto - might be prawn & pea, mushroom, chicken
• fish and chips
• fish with hollandaise sauce
• chicken curry

Of course sometimes there are days when the boys have chicken burgers, chicken kievs or chicken nuggest (Josh has normal, the others have gluten free), but honestly that is probably only once a fortnight.

On Tuesday I was out most of the day on a seminar about social enterprises, which I attended on behalf of our church. I came home very fired up!

The potatoes that our gardening group planted from the Potato Council are through, as are the cabbage, leek, lettuce, coriander, chilli and garlic. The cold snap seems to have slowed things down though this week :-(

Having lived here since May - surrounded by woodland and the like - we have been amazed to have not seen a single squirrel (a huge problem at my Mum's house). This week, within hours of putting up a bag of peanuts for the birds, they were in our garden! The pigeons have also arrived to pick over the dropped sunflower seeds.... I love birds and I want more in our garden but I don't want the pigeons!

Things I've baked this week, other than more of the fabulous bread, included iced chelsea buns
Talking of cooking, if you love food, loving cooking, baking, and talking about food/swapping recipes, please join my new Facebook group, the Kitchen Table!

Talking of links, the most importan one on this page is THIS LINK to sign up to sponsor Roarke in the London Triathlon, to raise much needed funds to continue feeding, clothing and helping those in desperate need in the Borough of Bromley.

Saturday morning bake off

Been cooking again today :-)

First, a gluten free olive oil boule from the recipe from Healthy Aritsan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. If you know anything about gluten free bread, you'll know from looking at this picture that the recipe is AWESOME! Not only does it look like real bread, slice like real bread, taste like real bread, it SMELLS like real bread!

Next I used some of the dough to make "burger buns" to take for our church community date tomorrow, so that Samuel and William and others in the church who are gluten free can have buns with their Hog Roast or (for the kids) barbeque.



Then by popular demand (and I mean demand!) I made some more gluten free chocolate eclairs.

First, put 75g of diced butter, a pinch of salt and 200ml water into a saucepan and warm gently until it all melts.

Then bring to the boil. As soon as it boils take it off the heat and immediately add 100g plain gluten free flour (I use the AiA mix of 4 parts rice flour to 1 part tapioca starch and 1 part potato starch). If you've never made choux before don't panic - it will immediately go lumpy. Beat like mad with a wooden spoon for just a few seconds and you will see it comes together. When it comes away cleanly from the sides, then this stage is done.Allow the mixture to cool for a few moments before adding three beaten eggs a little at a time and beating well after each addition. You want a smooth, glossy, thick mixture (a little looser than normal gluten choux). You might reach that stage before using up all the egg if you are using large eggs. Should look like this:I am fortunate enough to have an eclair tin - much easier than piping it because you have a looser mixture if you are making gluten free due to the need to have a little more liquid as gluten free flours absorb more liquid than gluten flours. I use the eclair tin actually a lot to make gluten free finger rolls so it is worth investing in one. Bake in the oven, at 200C/180C fan for 30 minutes until puffed up and lightly golden. Take them out of the oven and out of the tin immediately. Make a slit along the side of each one to let the steam out otherwise you end up with soft insides.
Get 1/4 pint of double cream, add 1 tbs milk, and beat until stiff enough to spoon in to the inside of the eclair. Put 100g sugar and 100ml of water into a saucepan. Warm through until the sugar is all dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for 3 minutes. Allow it to cool slightly and when it is still very warm (but not hot) add 50g dark chocolate and 25g diced butter. Stir it until it has melted in then wait for the sauce to cool enough to be thick enough to top your eclairs. Or, if you are like us, grab a bowl and just pour the sauce over :-)
Now I'm off to make some giblet gravy for tonights roast duck (thanks to the 1/2 price deal at Sainsburys)...

Telephone Lines and Ready Steady Cook

The week has seen the usual regular activities sprinkled with a few extras: church on Sunday (Roarke was serving in creche), he had drama practice on Tuesday (he had a 24hr bug thing on Monday so missed rehearsals as he went to bed at 7.30pm and slept till 9am!), on Wednesday he took Samuel and William on a home education trip to the Royal Observatory.

The boys both really enjoyed it, including the presentation and the workshop that had been organised. It is interesting to see just how different William in when he is interested in something - paying attention, Roarke said that he asked lots of questions, knew lots of answers, and generally got fully stuck in. He's also continuing his own, slow progress in recognising letters and words.

Samuel is definately well into his teen stage, including being eyed up by some school girls on the bus on the way home from the trip apparently!

Josh is pining for SAVVY as they have broken up for the Easter term. He's learnt all his lines for his part already and can often be heard practicing them.

Last Monday the local exchange had problems and we ended up losing our phone line and our internet too. I got very stressed!

So, as a result, my kitchen is sparkling, my bakeware drawers have been tidied, the top of the fridge has been cleared cleaned and sorted, and I baked. Lots.

Gluten free bread (Olive oil bread from the Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
book, but I ran out of olive oil so used mainly canola oil - still smelt and tasted divine!)

Samuel helped make gluten free donuts (of which only these two and half were left by the time I got the camera!)
and of course some chocolate easter crispy cakes

I also made some great dinners, but I always forget to take photos of them!

We got a phone line and internet back after 48 hours but after not having any phone calls in two hours (unheard of) we realised there was still an issue. Sure enough, the engineer had made some wrong connections and we have someone else's phone line/number! It is actually quite upsetting as I know that not only are media calls going unanswered, but local home educators enquiries are also not getting through. Seeing as I take several a day usually, this is really concerning. BT have said that we are a priority - because of those helpline calls - but we are now a week around and apparently someone is coming out tomorrow to "the property". Why they need to come here I have no idea when it is a mistake at the exchange. I've got a horrible feeling we're going to have our phone number changed.... surely I can ask for compensation if so?

Thursday I was really busy. My mum came over to focus on Jonathan so that I could focus on our business. Where2EatinKent has now become a limited company and we've got some major projects on the go. It was good to be "working" for a change (lol) and actually the thing I was working on was very rewarding and I soon got into the swing of things and got lots of work done.

Today we had a local home educating family come over, who we've met once before some time ago. The children were William's age and younger and it was good for him to have friends around that weren't older than him for a change. The kids all had fun, and us mums had a good chat.

Josh and Samuel have gone out to get to church for 5pm to serve in setting up Baseline, ready for when it started at 6pm.

I'd been rumaging in the reduced down section at Sainsburys and had bought some garlic ciabatta and some taste the difference cannelloni. Now, I know I should have read the packet, but still I think it is badly done that the cannelloni need sauce to be able to cook them but it doesn't highlight that in anyway. So there I was, ready to put them in the oven, suddenly seeing I needed a jar of tomato sauce and a jar of cheese sauce to cook it.

It shows how far I've come as a cook I guess, and how confident I am now, that instead of throwing a wobbly, I just thought "oh well, I'll have to make some".

I sauted off two shallots, melted in an anchovy fillet, put in a glass and a half of red wine (frozen down in portions you see, from the left overs of a bottle of wine a dinner guest brought a few weeks ago), added a tin of tomatoes and "seasoned to taste". I then half blended it then left it to reduce down to thicken. Meanwhile I made a roux to make up an extra thick cheese sauce. Some fresh thyme from the garden went into the tomato sauce along with one ball of frozen chopped spinach. Once that had defrosted out into the sauce I then pour it into a dish, added the cannelloni, topped with the cheese sauce and some torn basil leaves (from the pot on the window sill) - and into the oven. Served with the ciabatta and a totally-out-of-place glass of gluten free beer, it was LOVELY!

So glad I had the confidence to make that up myself :-)