When I’m in the mood I do enjoy cooking and I enjoy creating multiple dishes at the same time. That way I can freeze some of it and know that there will be meals available for another occasion. Today has been very much about food.
This morning before I set off for market I decided to write a month’s menu. When my children were younger and at times when we were on a very tight budget I did this all the time. Monthly menus may sound challenging however in order to buy cheaply and effectively often you need to buy more than you need. And whilst I often hear people say, ‘oh I could eat …. everyday’, the reality is that we usually like a little variety. Therefore planning and seeing how something can be used over several weeks has always seemed the best option to me.
I enjoy going to market. And I have found that the stalls that I use regularly ensure that I have the best produce. One stallholder often gives me extra bits for free. This morning the other one swapped the watercress that I’d picked up for a better bunch.
I don’t enjoy the supermarket so much. The one that I usually use appears to be in the middle of a refurbishment and so shopping there is chaos at the moment. This necessitated using two supermarkets today. I should though only need to go in for fresh produce for the next four weeks, so that’s quite good.
As part of my menu writing I spent time looking on line for inspiration. I often think that I can’t think of anything when of course I actually have numerous recipes in my head. One of the inspirations that I came across was for a smoked haddock and watercress tart. I decided that it should definitely be going on the menu. I then decided that it needed to be tonight’s dinner. The smoked haddock was a little expensive at just over 7€ however I have made two tarts, so that’s eight portions which makes it seem much more reasonable.
In the winter, ok we are in the spring now, we cook using our wood burning cooker. The advantage is that we are not using any electricity. The disadvantage is that it is completely uncontrollable. So whilst I was cooking my tarts it was up at over 300°C, which is a little high for pastry! It does mean that the pastry on one side of one of the tarts is a little burnt. I hope we won’t notice.
Being organised with meals means that there will be more time for creative activities. Last night I finished my crochet cardigan. I am very pleased with it. The only downside is that we live where there are things sticking out all over the place and it catches easily. I just need to think about how I move about. I am about a third of the way up the sleeves on the jumper, so once we’ve eaten I will be back on that.
Until tomorrow…
Tales from the Sheshed France 
Lovely cardigan and wonderful warm colours. I know what you mean about things sticking out in the house. We also have a spikey house.
I just cooked a tajine and couscous in our woodburner and was constantly adjusting the firebox. I’ve cooked on wood for the past 20 years and all of my childhood we only had a wood Rayburn so I learnt a lot of tricks like opening the front door on the still day to increase the draft and get the fire up ! Hahaha. It’s a symbiosis to cook on a wood stove. Your tarts will tast delicious, they were made with thought, and love. What better secret ingredients!?
Have a lovely snuggly evening, it’s getting chilly out there. Xxxx
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We used to have a solid fuel Rayburn which I was able to control a little more. This one , a Deville appears to have no controlability whatsoever! What we had this evening was delicious! The tagine sounds wonderful. Not so much the couscous because it’s wheat!
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Love the colours on your cardi! The minute I typed cardi I thought it sounded like an insult for such a treasure!
We ought to find a better description for such wonderful garments – I’ll start:
Huggies (because our favourite cardis wrap us like a hug)!
Fish is SO expensive now! I love hake and buy it fresh at the local fishmongers and it’s about £7 for enough for one meal! Mind you it is lovely in a lemon butter sauce! When I had to be much more careful I used to chop in boiled eggs with the fish and sauce without any loss of flavour – I don’t suppose you eat eggs though! You make me grateful I cook on an electric hob and in an electric oven!
Love the detailed ‘back of an envelope’ menu 🤗😘🤗
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Back of an envelope! It’s part of my recycling effort. I could turn on the electric cooker. However given that we’re burning the wood, it seems criminal to use more power. I do eat eggs. And yes I think hard boiled eggs go really well with smoked fish.
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