2 weeks into our store cupboard challenge and it’s turning into quite
a profitable start to the year. I’m reaping the rewards of no supermarket
shopping and an imaginative cook.
While I’m no statistician, based on our fortnightly supermarket
shops (average £130 per visit), we’ve been spending an extra £40 per week each on 'top up' ingredients. What’s clear is that if you put a stop to the 'top up shop', you
can cut your food bills by a half. It’s just a question of planning. *
For the cook in our house, it’s tested much more than his patience.
Neil’s had to think ahead and plan every meal carefully. So that when he comes home
from work tired, and sees our pleading, hungry eyes, he’s able to magic
something tasty out of limited ingredients in record time.
The real test came on Saturday night. While I was out munching
delicious yakitori mackerel skewers with friends, Neil had drawn the short
straw and had nothing but a near empty fridge for inspiration. I’d even given
him the takeaway option, secretly hoping he wouldn’t, but feeling too guilty to
say otherwise.
And what do I get, but a text halfway through our banquet saying
he’d delved into the freezer and created: “one of the tastiest things ever”. I
got to sample it the next day and crowned it the best dish yet this far: crack
pho beef, you get the idea. Check it out here in all its glory: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAnUg6SBIG2/?taken-by=typographic
So next time you say there’s nothing in the fridge, perhaps ask yourself; what’s in the freezer… Next week we’ll be finding out what other treats can be made from the freezer.
Meal highlights this week:
Crack beef with udon noodles
Risotto with roasted butternut squash, cavolo nero and garlic croutons
Buttermilk fried
chicken with a side of kimchi
Buta No Kakuni
(Japanese braised pork belly) with helga beans, wakame and wild rice
Aubergine curry with tarka daal and carrot, sweetcorn and onion
hajis
*I’m under no illusion that when we finish this challenge, we’ll
have a massive shopping bill when we restock, but for now, we’re saving money
in this our toughest month financially.
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