Budget eating for one

Hello. It's a bit of a mixed bag tonight I'm afraid. There comes a time when I have all sorts going through my head, so I just pick out a few random bits and pieces. People say things, I read things, and I think, oh must write something about that. So, in no particular order.......

Jayne asked for a recipe for garlic mushrooms. My easy way of making them. Mushrooms cut up if big, but small ones can be left whole. Cooked in a small pan in a splash of oil or a blob of butter/marg or both. If a bit dry add a splash of lemon juice, I have a bottle in my fridge. Or you can add a drop of water, or any old juice you happen to have around. I like them quite garlicky so I add a flat teaspoon of garlic powder, or you can use garlic paste. If you don't like a strong garlic taste you can reduce the amount or leave it out. Stir it in while the pan is still on the heat. Then I add some garlic flavour soft cheese spread. two teaspoons should do it. This costs about 45p -55p depending where you buy it. I always have some of this in the fridge because I like it on cream crackers.

Take it off the heat, stir it in, if there isn't enough sauce add a spoonful of plain yogurt. If you want it rich and creamy add a bit of grated cheese. Easypeasy.

Helen asked how many meals do I have a day, and what are they composed of. Thank you Helen for that question. I have three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast is either porridge or bran flakes. Sometimes with a banana and/or sultanas. I aim to have lunch any time between 12am and 2pm, depending what I am doing, and depending when my stomach is telling me to eat. Early lunch if I am feeling hungry, or a mid morning snack of a banana or yogurt if I am busy and not eating till 1pm. I like to have eggs three or four times a week for lunch, either scrambled, omelette, or boiled.  Sometimes on toast, or with mushrooms, or with beans or spaghetti. I will have a salad if I have any in. Lunch could also be noodles, pasta, or cous cous.

Dinner is mainly steamed fresh veg. If I run out I will substitute frozen veg, I have stopped buying tinned veg, frozen is more cost effective. I make soups, stews, and curries with whatever I have in. I like cheese grated on some of my meals. I don't have puddings because my meals fill me up. If I fancy something sweet, which could be at anytime not necessarily after a meal, I will have half a tin of rice pudding, or some tinned peaches with yogurt. I also put ground almonds into my yogurt to eat with fruit or on it's own. I don't eat much bread, but if I do it's wholemeal or seeded. I might have a cheese sandwich for lunch, or a piece of bread with lemon curd on it. I eat brown rice and wholemeal pasta.

When I go shopping for food I never take a list, I know in my head the main things I need. I always have in onions, bananas, cheese, yogurt, eggs, soya milk, bran flakes and porridge. I choose my fruit and veg by whatever I can get on a yellow sticker, if not much is available I try and buy in season, and look for the best prices. If swede is cheaper than potatoes then I have swede. If carrots are cheap I get some. I like to get broccoli, cauliflower, and sprouts, but if they are too expensive I will pass them by. If you go to the food gallery link at the top of the page, there are lots of pictures of my meals there.

I made some more peanut butter today, but instead of using the food processor I used the stick blender, to cut down on the washing up. I used a packet of ordinary salted peanuts and shook them around in a tea towel to get rid of some of the salt. The blender struggled a bit at first until they broke down a bit. Nothing added, just peanuts. I will keep this in the fridge and dip into it when I want some, won't bother transferring it to a smaller container, saves on washing up. I've been looking for cheap peanuts, but the human kind are more expensive than those you buy for the birds. I read the label on a packet of those, it says not for human consumption. Don't know why, they look like any other peanut. Must be different varieties.

I picket up this packet of maize cous cous when I was last in Tesco, reduced from £2 to 40p. A bargain I thought. Not had it before, don't know what it's like, worth a try.

 And here's the dinner I made tonight. The cous cous is buried in the middle of iceberg lettuce, grated carrot, chopped celery, and cooked beetroot out of a sealed packet, (not jar). The cous cous wasn't that nice, not like the regular stuff, no taste and gritty. I didn't eat it all, got fed up with all the chewing, so I will put it back in the pan tomorrow and cook it up some more with a little oil and garlic, maybe some cheese.

I've just realized, it's all food tonight, how boring, ha ha. There was something else to write about but I've run out of time, so I'll hold that over till tomorrow. I want to catch up with Last Tango now, so I'll say, Toodle pip.

PS. A bag is in the post for Aussie Cheryl, thanks for sending your address. One left for Primroses Attic. I'll hang on a bit longer, but if you don't respond soon, I'll draw another name out.