I've been feeling under the weather the past few days, so unfortunately I don't have much to report in terms of new stuff I've done. This weekend promises to be exciting however with a trip to Lock Lomond and my first football game in the works, so Saturday and Monday's updates should be fantastic (no promises though).
This time I'll be detailing how I've managed to go from someone who can barely make something in the microwave, to a fairly self-sufficient human being.
First, I had to get over the whole 'needing food to be perfect' thing. At home I like to shop organic, natural, or whatever, and I won't eat anything that's marked past the "best by" date. Here it's a free-for-all. Provided it doesn't have mold, it's a go. Even if it doesn't go with anything else I'm eating, into the pot.
Which brings me to survival point number two: everything goes with olive oil. At the start of my journey, I used to try and make tomato sauce better by sauteing some stuff in oil and then adding it to the mix. Now I don't even bother with the tomato base: it tastes just as good without it. Basically, I just put some veggies and spices in a pan and throw them on some pasta and cheese. Some of the greatest hits are:
Other than that "recipe," I've made great use of Tesco and BBC, both of which have tons of recipes themselves. The former even lets you plan out your meals (though their recipes tend to leave out ingredients in the ingredient lists). Best thing is that they both have all their measurements in "British," which isn't always just a standard metric conversion. A lot of things (like say, butter, and milk), will go by weight instead of volume or vice versa. The only drawback is that both sites try to make their food too good, and as I'm poor I have to simplify them a lot. But pretty consistently my flat-mates walk in while I'm cooking with praise of "that smells good!" or some such. Which is a big change from the normal response of, "What's burning?"
Which brings me to survival point number two: everything goes with olive oil. At the start of my journey, I used to try and make tomato sauce better by sauteing some stuff in oil and then adding it to the mix. Now I don't even bother with the tomato base: it tastes just as good without it. Basically, I just put some veggies and spices in a pan and throw them on some pasta and cheese. Some of the greatest hits are:
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| Houseplants! |
- Cherry tomatoes - I don't even like tomatoes, but put these in olive oil with some salt & pepper and they're fantastic.
- Garlic - Accidentally bought six heads of garlic my first week. Haven't gone through it, but I've managed to add it to pretty much everything I make.
- Fresh Basil - One of my better purchases. Found a live plant for a pound at Morrison's (a mid-range grocer), and have somehow managed to keep it alive.
- Onions - Especially sweet onions.
Other than that "recipe," I've made great use of Tesco and BBC, both of which have tons of recipes themselves. The former even lets you plan out your meals (though their recipes tend to leave out ingredients in the ingredient lists). Best thing is that they both have all their measurements in "British," which isn't always just a standard metric conversion. A lot of things (like say, butter, and milk), will go by weight instead of volume or vice versa. The only drawback is that both sites try to make their food too good, and as I'm poor I have to simplify them a lot. But pretty consistently my flat-mates walk in while I'm cooking with praise of "that smells good!" or some such. Which is a big change from the normal response of, "What's burning?"
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