After
the excesses of the holidays
you may be feeling that you can’t face any more
‘big meals’ and rich puddings, yet in the cold weather
we all still want warm, comforting foods.
It may be a good idea to simplify your eating for
a while, swap the meat and two veg for a bowl of
chunky soup served with grated cheese on top and
a chunk of granary bread – very nourishing and satisfying
on a cold day. Or you could try ‘things-on-toast’
as my family calls it.
When we don’t want a large meal we each have two
or three of our favourite ingredients served on
a thick slice of toast – my favourite is sliced
ham,
with a layer of butter fried mushrooms and garlic
cheese on top, melted for a moment under the grill.
It really does feel like a full meal but without
the ‘stuffed’ feeling afterwards.
Bread and butter pudding can be lovely and light
using Flora spread and skimmed milk. Macaroni
cheese is another favourite with us and usually
a winner with children too, as is tomato soup
with a handful of cooked pasta added with chunks
of cheese and apple for pud.
A bowl of porridge with crushed almonds on top
is a great substitute meal and if you’re a fish
lover, a smoked mackerel served as a sandwich
is delicious. Most of these light meals take only
minutes to prepare and that’s probably a bonus
if you’ve done plenty of ‘kitchen duties’ over
the festive period.
Potato
& Leek Soup
Ingredients
2 oz/50 g Butter
1lb/ ½kg Leeks, sliced
2 Large Potatoes, cubed
1½ pints Chicken Stock
8oz/225g peas
Pinch of Herbs
2 fl oz/50 ml Single Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
• Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the
leeks and potatoes. Fry gently for 5 mins.
• Pour in the stock then bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 mins.
• Add the peas, herbs and salt and pepper to
taste and simmer for a further 30 mins.
• At this stage you may wish to put soup through
a blender should you prefer?
• Return to pan, stir in the cream and reheat
gently.
For a complete meal serve with toasted ham sandwiches.
In
times when we’re all trying to economize
for various reasons, it’s really important not to
waste food.
Food economists are telling us that we waste up to
a third of all food purchased – which is a scary thought!
Left over food really can make a tasty meal for a
lunch or after work snack.
If you have left over boiled potatoes it’s easy to
turn them into a delicious meal...
• Drain the potatoes then slice in half or into
chunks and fry gently for about 5 mins.
• Add a rasher or two of bacon chopped up and
continue cooking until brown.
•
Add some chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 2 mins.
• Crack an egg into the middle of the mixture and
cook for a further minute.
• Pop into a 190ºC oven until eggs are fully
cooked and serve hot from the oven with toast or chunks
of French bread.
