The slow cooker chef: Organic steak and kidney pie for carnivores on a budget
We are eating far less meat these days. Eating superb meals most evenings. But sometimes we long for a real alpha carnivore meal, especially as we have ditched the Cottage Smallholder Friday night steak treat – just too expensive at the moment. This recipe is so easy, delicious and cheap. If you used non organic ingredients you could probably cut the price by at least 30% (just 62p per portion. A steal for a rich meat heavy dish.) I decided to turn some of our shin of beef (£8.00 for 2 kilos from the organic butcher) into a slow cooked...
read moreSuperb food from great blogs: Chef at Large – Sid’s Meat and Oatmeal Stew
I found some Tesco Finest British 28 day matured beef rump steak at the weekend. It was half price in the condemned food counter. I was shopping with Seraphina and she goggled when I filled my basket with loads of root vegetables to pad it out and make a stew. However this didn’t really appeal when I returned home. The good thing about root vegetables is if they are stored at a low temperature they keep very well. Our lean to barn is perfect. So I hung the bags of vegetables in the barn as I’d decided to cook something completely...
read moreBest great budget recipes for 50% or less: Che’s suggestion for great char grilled sirloin steaks recipe
This is the end of the first month of our 2009 challenge – Best great budget recipes for 50% or less. Danny has become an addict of the condemned food counter at Tesco. He drops by most evenings when he does the final post run in Newmarket. The clientele that are attracted to this mini mecca have gradually changed over the past few months. “There were a very smart couple picking through the shelves this evening. There wasn’t much left. The man turned to me and announced, ‘The wolves have already been.’ He clearly didn’t ...
read moreBest great budget recipes for 50% or less: Continental style warming winter pie recipe
I woke this morning with one eye puffy, bloodshot and streaming. It was agony. What had happened during the night? Danny was alarmed. “You can’t decorate with just one eye. Your painting will be asynchronous.” “What on earth does that mean?” “It’s an IT term. Meaning intermittent amongst other things.” He explained. Past caring I crawled under the duvet as he shot down to Newmarket to ask the pharmacist’s opinion. He returned with a small bottle marked Red Eye Drops. I applied the potion and snoozed in...
read moreBiltong
When we visited The Carter Street butchers in Fordham last weekend there were long slim peppered beef sausages hanging in the window. Beyond these was a rack where some dark dried meat was hanging. “There are fifty Southern Africans living in the village. Eventually I had to try my hand at making Biltong,” the butcher confided as he cut us a bit of peppered beef sausage to sample. The beef sausage was very good and we bought one. “Shall we buy some Biltong too?” “Not today.” Danny was firm. By the time I returned to collect a pork...
read moreThe slow cooker chef: comforting low fat cottage pie recipe
During a cold snap a few weeks ago I had a longing for a really good Cottage Pie. So I made a version of this dish in the slow cooker (crock pot). Adding vegetables from our garden – the cottage kitchen smelt wonderful for hours. The slow cooker is a great way of cutting the fat content of a dish as the meat doesn’t have to be browned in oil, or the onions fried. When the filling was cooked, I strained off the juices and put the bowl in the refrigerator. The fat was easily removed a couple of hours later. The dish was delicious but the...
read moreThe slow cooker chef: Tasty steak and kidney pie recipe for alpha carnivores
As the mention of steak and kidney led me to buy our slow cooker, there had to be a ceremonial christening of the beast with meat. Last Saturday I motored into Newmarket to buy the essential ingredients for this mission. I had two alternatives on my list – oxtail or steak and kidney. “Well I’ve got both, so which would you prefer?” Smiled our excellent butcher, Fred Fitzpatrick. I dilly dallied as both were equally tempting. I finally plumped for steak and kidney. Having chomped through several vegetarian days, just...
read moreSunday Roast: Traditional rare roast beef lunch for my mum’s 88th birthday with experimental Yorkshire puddings
Turning her car in the road my mother’s foot slipped from the brake to the accelerator and hit a row of parked cars. Just days before her 88th birthday she climbed out of her car for the last time. Although her car is slightly older than Jalopy, my mum had cherished it for 15 years. Recently she had begun to think about giving up the car. But this would have such a drastic impact on her independence and freedom she had kept on putting off the decision. “The insurance company has written it off.” Her voice trembled on the...
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