Coping

 It’s a little alarming about the fuel rises. I hate the thought of people having to choose between food or fuel. So not right. Sadly, we live in an age where there are at least two generations who don’t really know how to cook, and although all these cooking shows that come on, on the telly are fun, I think they can put someone off of cooking. Does it really matter if a pie you make has a soggy bottom?? Maybe for a competition, but for putting food in yours and your families bellies, then NO!! and, I can’t help feeling that these shows, where perfection is required, puts your normal, everyday person off. Who cares if a sponge doesn’t rise as much as it should? If it tastes ok, then it’s a success. We need more shows like Delia Smith used to do, and in the early days, Mary Berry, where they showed us viewers how to cook every day normal stuff. Now, it’s all fancy, out there stuff, with ingredients that cost the earth, that a normal family would never cook for a dinner. Now, more than anytime, we need these celebrity chefs to come on and encourage people to cook real cheap, wholesome food. Maybe a program where a chef is given a budget of a normal working class family, who has at least four children to cater for. Families who can’t afford fancy foods and don’t have the time to spend hours prepping in their kitchens, because they are having to work their socks off, just to survive. I know there’s the Greg Wallace one, and other shows similar, but they fall short on a lot of points, and are somehow unrealistic. However, something is better than nothing I suppose.

Supermarkets bug me. I have a real love/hate relationship with them. Food they put on offer is normally rubbish stuff. The good healthy stuff is priced up, so that an average working family, can't afford to buy it, so will opt for something cheaper like pizza, chips, crisps and stuff that can be cooked quickly and easily and is cheap. I feel, most of the time, supermarkets 'dictate' to the customers, and encourage a 'hirearchy' way of shopping. There's food for the rich, and food for the poor.

Where I live, we have a centre that is now providing for families who cannot afford to eat. In this place, they have somewhere to go where they and their children, can get at least one decent cooked meal a day. They are also given food that has been donated to take home with them. I find this incredible, that in the 21st century, we are basically still having to provide what was, in times gone by, a 'soup kitchen.' Thankfully, the town where I live are wonderful, and are happy to donate to this cause, and also to the local food banks, but it's so sad that this is happening, and it's worsened, and will get even more worse as the fuel bills rise, and food prices rise. It makes me want to grab hold of some of these politians and fat cat cororate bosses etc, stick them in an inadequate sized house/flat that has to home two adults and more than two children. Give them the wage that is brought into that home and say. "Go on, you show everyone how you can keep warm and fed with this income." Now, that would make a good realltiy program. That one I would watch. Oh! They would also have to do the days work of that family as well. Let them do this for a month, maybe two or three. Challenge them to do six months. Ha!! after a couple of days they would want out, that's for sure. Living in the real world would not suit thier pampered selves!!!!!

It is possible to cook quick, nutrious, economical meals. Or if you don't feel like cooking when you get home from work, with a little time spent on prep the night before, if you have one, use your slow cooker. I'm hoping to share in this section some encouragement, and hopefully some tips that will help anyone who reads this.

one tip is get hold of some Jack Munroe books if you can, or get onto her website/blog. You will find her very useful.

I am an average cook, who, when at school, in the days there were cookery classes, was told by my cookery teacher that she pitied tha man I ever married, if I should be so lucky as to get a husband :-) Well, I did, and ten children followed. I learned to cook, and cook economically, very quickly. My pies did, and do get, and have soggy bottoms. Sometimes my sponges didn't rise. Sometimes the dinners looked horrendous, but, everything, generally tasted good, and that is the main thing. If it tastes good, and fills you up, and doesn't cost a bomb to make, then you've done a stella job.

Most of what I share will be plant based. You can always add meat to meals though if meat is your thing. Plant based eating is mainly cheaper though, so maybe a weeks menu can revolve around more plant based meals, and maybe lesser meat based ones.

Tonight, I am making a butternut squash curry. As I already had the ingrediants in, and I can't remeber what it cost, I can't do an exact break down cost of this meal. At a guess, all the stuff going into the meal wouldn't have cost more than £4.00. This meal will serve three of us tonight. Hubby will take some into work tomorrow, and I will have some for my lunch tommorw as well, unless there is qute a lot left, I will then turn it into a pasta dinner for Friday night.

Going into this meal is butternut squash (obviously) two peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms, lemon juice, (half a lemon) and the peel (grated) peas, chickpeas (I usually used tinned ones), vegetable stock pot or cube and cocconut milk. The seasoning you can go to town on. Use what you have. I go a bit wild, although I don't like over spicy. I generally put in some tumeric, garam massala, celery salt, ground corriander, ground cummin, ground ginger, curry powder and salt and pepper. I roast my butternut squash which has been peeled and diced. I don't do even sized dicing, so don't feel you have to spend ages getting it all the same size. I roast ths for about 20-30 mins in the oven, I use gas, so the reg. is 6. I want them slightly undercooked as they have to join the rest of the stuff in the wok for a while. I fry the onions, peppers, garlic and mushrooms in the wok, onions on their own for a couple of minutes, or you can cook them on a low heat for longer if you want, then I add the other veg and garlic. I use the one cal oil sprays to fry with, if it looks too dry I put in a splash of boiled water. I then add my stock pot and seasonings and about a quarter of a pint of boiled water. Then the lemon juice and lemon peel, and cocconut milk. Let that heat up on a medium heat in the wok for about five minutes, then add the butternut squash and chick peas. Let it all simmer for another ten mins or so, then add some cooked frozen peas. Tonight I will serve this with some rice. But, it can be served with wedges, chips, or all three :-) You're the boss. You can serve it how you want :-) You can also use sweet potatoes for the curry if you like, or do a mix of squash and sweet pots. I do that sometimes, just to change things up a bit.

I will try and rememeber to take some photos and post them on here.