went to sainsbury's today

• diet coke, 6pack X2 £2.85, bogof
• basic yogurt .45
• choc cookies X2 £1 bogof
• loaf of bread .72

total spent £5.02
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not the most exciting cooking day. husband is  having leftover meat manicotti. i have veg soup and the kid will most likely have a combination of leek soup with turkey.
i did do an apple and plum sauce: peel and chop 1 apple. peel 1 plum and chop. leave skin on 1 plum and chop. put in a sauce pot with a little water and simmer until soft. blend together with a stick blender. you can peel both plums or leave the skin on all the fruit, whatever makes you happy. i like to peel because the skin can be a little tough and i hate when a bit gets stuck in your teeth.

i also did another batch of the granola bars. they have been a huge hit.

granola bars- experimental version 2, golden syrup and more cinnamon

• 2 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup of butter- melted
• 1/4 cup of golden syrup
• 1/4 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots chopped up
• 1 small apple
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

i peeled and cut up the apple. put it in a sauce pot with a little water and let it simmer until it was soft. i then used my potato masher to squash it up. i put in the vanilla, golden syrup and butter then stirred it all together. since the apple sauce was still warm the butter quickly melted

in a large bowl i mixed together the other ingredients. i just used a fork to stir everything around. i then added the apple and melted butter mixture to the large bowl. i mixed everything together- still with a fork. i dumped it out into a 9x13inch tray which i had lined with baking paper. with a spatula i firmly pressed the mix out until it was very thinly spread across the tray, it didn't quite cover the whole area but pretty close. i put the thing in the oven at 325 degrees for about 20min. i wasn't really paying attention to how long it cooked. i did the dishes. when the top was starting to get brown i turned the oven off. i took the tray out and cut the bars. i then let the bars completely cool in the tray. i gave one to my son to try and he declared them- delicious.

hi everyone stopping by for the first time today.
all the veg soup is cooking. i also decided to do a quick leek and potato soup for my son.

leek and potato soup

• 1 medium sized leek or 2 small ones chopped up and rinsed well
• 3 small potatoes or 1 big one, whatever you have around, chopped
• chopped garlic

i put the chopped garlic, leeks and potato in a medium sized pot with a little olive oil. i stirred them around and let them sauté for a few minutes.

i added some onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley and veg bouillon powder to the pot. i stirred everything around and added enough water to cover the veggies.

i turned the heat down to low and let the pot simmer until the potatoes were tender. i turned off the burner. after the soup had cooled a bit i pureed it with my stick blender. super quick and easy

it would seem my toddler is going through a growth spurt or something. the past few days he's been constantly begging for food. normally he just has breakfast, lunch and dinner. i used to set snacks out for him so he could have something if he wanted them but i ended up throwing them away after they got dumped on the carpet and stomped on. lately he's been begging for cheese sticks and crackers or sandwiches. i thought i would track down a granola bar recipe and make something like that for him. i found a recipe on allrecipes.com that had a load of good reviews. i wrote down the basic ingredients and then set about editing it to better suit my needs. below is my experimental granola bar recipe

granola bars

• 2 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup of butter- melted
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots chopped up
• 1 small apple
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

i peeled and cut up the apple. put it in a sauce pot with a little water and let it simmer until it was soft. i then used my potato masher to squash it up. i put in the vanilla, honey and butter then stirred it all together. since the apple sauce was still warm the butter quickly melted

in a large bowl i mixed together the other ingredients. i just used a fork to stir everything around. i then added the apple and melted butter mixture to the large bowl. i mixed everything together- still with a fork. i dumped it out into a 9x13inch tray which i had lined with baking paper. with a spatula i firmly pressed the mix out until it was very thinly spread across the tray, it didn't quite cover the whole area but pretty close. i put the thing in the oven at 325 degrees for about 20min. i wasn't really paying attention to how long it cooked. i did the dishes. when the top was starting to get brown i turned the oven off. i took the tray out and cut the bars. i then let the bars completely cool in the tray. i gave one to my son to try and he declared them- delicious.

note the americans: since americans are used to way more sugar in their food these will seems rather bland and tasteless. try adding 1/3 cup of brown sugar and a little salt. i made these for my son and stuff for him i try to cut out all added refined sugar and salt.

rattailstewie

well it's not really rattailstewie, it's ratatouile, or my version of it at least.

1/2 a yellow pepper diced
1/2 a green pepper diced
1 small zucchini diced
1/2 a small eggplant diced
white button mushroom chopped up- usually in quarters is fine
1 carton of chopped tomatoes
not pictured is my onion, 1 small onion chopped
seasonings- i don't really measure these, i just add what looks right so to help you out i'll say 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon oregano. tiny bit of chili powder, 1 bay leaf. i also do a squirt of garlic paste from the tube and a huge squirt of tomato paste

once you get the veggie chopped up i toss them in my sauce pot with a splash of olive oil and the garlic paste on medium high. i stir them around until the mushrooms and onions are looking soft. i add the dried seasonings, except the bay leaf. i give everything a stir. when things are starting to stick to the bottom of the pan i add my chopped tomatoes. i then add about a can of water. i turn down the heat to low. i add the bay leaf and tomato paste. i let everything simmer for at least an hour. it may seem at first that you didn't add enough water but the zucchini and rest of the veg release a lot when it cooks. it's done when everything is tender. i don't add salt or ground pepper to my dishes normally when i cook them because a lot of this stuff i feed my toddler. i add that when it's on my plate.

now for the sausages you cook them how you like separately and add to the veggie when the dish is complete, or if you're not vegetarian like me you can add them to the pot and cook them before adding the veggie. also good with chicken or fish. i blend some of the veggie up in a bowl and add cooked meat for my son. serve over rice or pasta. since i was feeling lazy last night i ate mine over a small plate of french fries with some grated cheese- totally delicious. i usually just eat it with a hunk of garlic bread- dipping the bread in as a spoon

today is wedding anniversary day. 8  years ago i walked down the aisle of a church and said- i do and then burst out laughing. god didn't strike me down with lightning and the church didn't catch on fire. i would still say i do again. jon rules. so i know the husband likes carrot cake. i decided to surprise him with carrot cake. now i have never in my life made a carrot cake. i've eaten a few but never actually cooked one. good god. i spent about 2 days tracking down a recipes that sounded do able. i didn't follow the recipe exactly, this is what i ended up doing

carrot cake with cream cheese glaze
2 1/2 cups flour
12 oz carrot
1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
6oz plain yogurt
6oz veg oil

how in the hell do you get 6oz of a liquid- look on the side of your Pyrex measuring jug- should be cups and oz, unless you have a uk made one- then you're screwed. 6oz equals 3/4 cup.

i mixed the flour, baking powder and baking soda with the all spice and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. in my largest bowl i grated up '12oz' of carrots, basically i took 6 medium sized carrots and just grated those. to the carrot bowl i added my flour combination. i stired everything with a wooden spoon.
in yet another bowl i creamed- with my little electric handmixer, the white and brown sugar with the eggs. then i added the yogurt, and gave it another quick mix. now the tricky part- you want to slowly add the oil while the mixer is running. when you do this it forms an emulsion and the oil is less likely to separate out.
now add the sugar/egg/oil/yogurt mix to the carrot/flour mix. i added about half the wet mix at a time. you want to use a wooden spoon to stir the two together. once everything is in the same bowl all mixed up nicely i bumped it out into a 9x13" sheetpan that i lined with greaseproof/ parchement paper whatever you want to call it. i put it in the oven at 350degrees to cook. it was in there about 40min. not sure how long yours will take to cook, i have an electric convection oven= cooks quicker. at 40min it was browning nicely. i turned it down to 325degrees and cooked another 10min. i let the cake cool 10min in the pan and then i turned it out onto my cake rack to cool completely.

cream cheese glaze
1 package of cheap cream cheese at room temp
3oz of whatever butter type product you use, i use store brand marg
1 1/2 cups icing sugar- also known as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

with the electric handmixer i beat the butter and creamcheese together then i added the vanilla. a 1/4 cup at a time i added the icing sugar and mixed well between addings. let sit in the fridge while the cake cools. what you get is a thinish paste which you then slater on the cake. i cut my cake in half so it had two layers. oh and you will have a ton of icing left over, i'm using the extra on some homemade cinnamon buns.

if you want a more traditional thick frosting use 2oz of butter and 2 cups of icing sugar. i think that will give you a thicker frosting. if you don't want left over frosting use half a pack of cream cheese and 1/2 the amount of the ingredients i did.

fruit sauce. i had an apple that was getting funky- in a not good way, a random pear and a plum left over from last week. i cut them all up, stuck them in a pot with a little water and cooked them until they were soft. when it had cooled a little i pureed them with a stick blender. now little kid has fruit sauce for his yogurt.

so the husband decided to save the fajitas for tonight's dinner. that means the beef has been marinating for close to 24hrs by the time i cook it. he made up the marinade yesterday and wouldn't let me see what he was doing. i know dried red pepper flakes went in there instead of jalapeños. tonight i'm going to cook the meat up with some sliced onions, pepper and mushrooms. i'm doing ranch sour cream to go with them.
ranch sour cream- dump some sour cream into a bowl and add some dried ranch powder. you know, the salad dressing powder you can get to mix your own at home. let it sit in the fridge for awhile so the flavor can develop.
for lunch today i had something different from my normal routine. i did a bake potato with sour cream, broc and cheddar cheese. we've got a load of potatoes that need using and still broc. sour cream never lasts more than a week so that needs to be used.   it was ok, something different like i said. i'm going to do a load of potato salad later which i will probably have for my dinner.

 potato salad. one of my most favorite things to eat. my mom makes some seriously delicious potato salad, i use her recipe but it never turns out as tasty. i think it's the salad dressing i use. i know it's more of a summery thing but i've got a huge bag of potatoes that need using up. i dug out 6 of the smallest ones that wouldn't be good for things like wedges.

potato salad
6 small potatoes- i use the misfit ones that i can't do much else with
2 hard boiled eggs
2 celery sticks diced
1 small onion diced fine
bottle of italian salad dressing- the oil and vinegar based kind with floaty bits in it
some apple cider vinegar
stone ground mustard
salt and ground black pepper
parsley flakes
mayo

ok, so i like to peel my potatoes before i boil them. do what you like but the potatoes need to boil until cooked but still on the firm side. over cook them and you're going to get mashed pots with weird stuff in it. when the potatoes are cooked but still firm, strain them and run them under cold water to get them cooled down quicker. this stops them cooking more while they cool. get them out of the cold water and strained off again. dump them into a large bowl. pour in a couple of good sized splashes of the italian salad dressing and about a cap full of cider vinegar. mix everything around so the potatoes are nice and coated, put in the fridge to chill for a few hours- you don't have to do that i just like to let the pots marinade and get totally cold before mixing with mayo
boil eggs. how do you boil an egg? i put the eggs in my sauce pot with some cold water. i turn the burner on and heat the water to boiling. i let the eggs boil for 5min, turn off the heat and cover the pot. i then let the eggs sit there for like 20min, usually longer because i tend to forget i was boiling eggs in the first place, oh well. when it's time i cool the eggs under cold water and then peel them. if i'm not going to use them right away i put them in a container with some water and put them in the fridge.
getting everything together. chop the veggies up and dump them in the potato bowl. i cut up the eggs- i ditch the yokes because i don't like egg yokes. you do what you like. dump the eggs in with the potatoes. sprinkle in your seasonings. if you're clever you'll mix the mustard and mayo in a little bowl before you add it to the potatoes. that way it's evenly distributed around your salad. usually i forget and end up with big mouthfuls of mustard. how much mayo and mustard? i used about 1tablespoon of mustard and 1/2cup of mayo. i like just enough to get everything stuck together but not swamped. mix into the potatoes, put into a container, cover and let chill in the fridge as long as possible. the longer it stays in the fridge the better it tastes.kind of like lasagna

note on the italian salad dressing thing: the americans will be all like- duh, laura of course the one with oil and vinegar with floaty bits, it's the only freaken kind on the shelf. well in england most italian salad dressing is this thick white shit with black specks in. it looks like paste with black pepper. the only 'proper' italian dressing i can find is kraft low fat italian, it's probably the reason my potato salad never tastes right.
oh and yes, i did eat that whole container of potato salad myself. i had it for dinner and then lunch the next day. shit is good, i'm not sharing.

i've had a very long and somewhat frustrating day dealing with my toddler. gah. turns out the two heads of broccoli i bought for super cheap from the crazy vegstand lady really need using up. 50p for two super nice bunches, total bargain. in the grocery store that would have set me back at least £2. so i cleaned the broc up and got rid of the nasty bits. one head i decided to add to a batch of baked mac and cheese. the other head i set aside for husband's dinner.
so homemade mac and cheese, i don't really have a written recipe for this. i just add stuff to the pan and hope for the best.

2 tablespoons butter or marg
2 tablespoons flour
milk
whole wheat pasta of some kind- penne, fusilli
steamed broc
grated cheddar cheese
bread crumbs
oven proof dish/bowl

ok, now here's what i do. i get a pot to cook the pasta in. i put water in the pot and set it on a burner to heat up. over the pot i put a colander(strainer) holding my  broc. i put a lid over the broc so it's covered. while the water is heating up and later cooking my pasta, the broc is getting steamed. you kill two birds with one stone. i just give the broc a light steam, you don't want to cook it too much since it's going in the oven later. when it's done i set it aside. i let the pasta cook until almost done, again doesn't have to be totally cooked because- oven. i strain the pasta and set that next to the broc. now in the pot i cooked the pasta in, i put that back on the stove. i add the marg in and let it melt. when it's melted i add the flour. mix it up and you have a thick paste. i stir it around the pot a bit and let it cook for a few minutes. i add in about 1/4cup of milk and stir things around with a whisk. the marg/flour paste blends into the milk and you get really thick milk. then i slowly add more milk and whisk some more. i add milk about a 1/4 cup at a time and let it cook a bit until i get a nice white sauce that's not too think and not too thin. when the mix looks to be the right consistency i turn off the heat and add the grated cheese. how much cheese? i don't know i've never really measured. try 1 1/2cups and see how you like it. the cheese melts really quickly. give it a good whisk and add the broc and pasta. dump everything in your oven proof dish, top with some breadcrumbs and bang it into an oven for like 30 to 45min at 350.

main ingredients for all the veggies in the house soup
1/4 head of white cabbage thinly chopped
1/2 bell pepper
small sweet potato
1 onion finely diced
1 carrot chopped
1 small zuchini
2 celery stalks diced up
1 medium to large potato
couple slices of swede cubed
1 can of roman beans
1 can of chopped tomatoes
some chopped garlic
assorted seasoning- onion powder, garlic powder (1 teaspoon of each),chili powder (1/4 teaspoon), oregano, basil ( 1 tablespoon of each), veg buillon (2 tablespoons.) or 1 stock cube.
good squirt of tomato puree

i toss all the veg into a 4qrt pot, i think it's a 4 qrt pot. it's the biggest one i have. i saute everything in a little olive oil.

when things start softening up i add the seasoning. i let it cook a few minutes more. add the chopped tomato and beans. add enough water to cover the veg, usually a can and a half.

bring everything to a boil. cover and turn down to low. cook 1hr. uncover and let simmer about 1/2hr. veg should be tender when done. makes about 5 servings. great with shredded cheddar cheese on top and garlic bread.

today was a busy cooking day. i made a vegetable lasagna, mango sauce and a banana bread.
mango sauce is super easy. they've been on sale at aldi recently for like 39p or something stupid. buy them in a regular grocery store and they will set you back like £1.75. my son and husband love mango sauce mixed into plain yogurt. it's also way better for you and much cheaper than buying massed produced mango flavored yogurt.

so mango sauce- i just use a regular veg peeler to get the skin off. i carefully slice the flesh off the pit. i chop up the flesh and just toss the chunks in a pot to simmer with a little water. when the mango is cooked a bit i puree it with a stick blender.

vegetable lasagna
i chop up half an eggplant, a small onion, half a bell pepper, some white mushrooms and a small zucchini. all that gets tossed in a pot and sauted  with some dried basil, oregano, garlic powder and onion powder. cook until the veg is soft. i let the veg mix cool for a bit.
i use jar sauce. i usually make lasagna once a week and i really don't have the time and energy to make a pot of homemade sauce for that. so jar of sauce and some ricotta cheese, pasta sheets- uncooked, fresh mozzarella- sliced thinly.
dump the ricotta into a bowl and mix with about a 1/2cup of sauce. should be a nice pink color and easy to spread.
get your oven proof casserole dish, put a layer of sauce in the bottom. this helps keep the lasagna from sticking, making it easier to get out of the pan. so layer of sauce and then first layer of pasta sheets- straight out of the box. even if it doesn't say- no need to precook, i still don't bother cooking them. my casserole dish takes two sheets side by side. on top of the sheets i spread down a layer of the ricotta and sauce mix. on top of that i dump some of the cooked veggies. i spread the veggies out. on top of the veggies i put a couple tablespoons of sauce. after the sauce i put a few slices of mozzarella spaced around the sheets. then you just repeat the process. i make sure to alternate the direction of the layers. one layer -, next layer | so the layers are +. i usually get about 4 layers before i run out of veggies. on the last layer i do pasta, ricotta, dump the rest of the jar of sauce out, spread around. i put on whatever mozzarella is left and sprinkle some parmigiana cheese. now if you have time, it's really great to let the whole thing sit in the fridge for an hour or so. since i'm a slacker i usually don't have time for the thing to sit, so i just cover the dish with foil and bang it in the oven at 350 for an hour. there is enough moisture in the sauce, ricotta and steam from cooking covered that the pasta gets cooked nicely and is not soggy or over done.if you have time to let the lasagna sit for awhile before cooking there is not much need to cook it covered since the moisture leaks out when it rests. also if you cook it covered you might want to save the mozzarella and parm to about 15min before the end of cooking time before putting it on, the cheese has a tendency to stick to the foil.

banana bread
family recipe, super easy. instead of greasing and flouring the loaf tin i use those paper inserts, they rule.

recipe
1 1/2cups flour
1 teaspoon each of baking soda/salt
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas- mashed
3/4cup brown sugar packed
1/3cup each veg oil/milk
1/2cup chopped nuts

1] heat oven to 350
stir together floor, baking soda and salt in small bowl, set aside
2] stir together eggs, banana, brown sugar, oil, and milk in medium bowl until well blended.
add dry ingredients and nuts to banana mixture. stir to combine
3] pour into greased and floured loaf pan. bake until wooden pick comes out clean- about 1hr
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use wooden spoon to mix things