...A Bit of Ramdom Advice on Grocery Shopping - Shop Online

For those who have gone the online grocery shopping route, you know it saves time, money, and the few shreds of sanity parenting has left behind. Your groceries will generally come from a local store, are personally shopped for by someone, and delivered (up your 6 flights of stairs in the apartment you are in that has no lift) right into your kitchen. Fantastic for those fifteen five litre water bottles.

For those who haven’t tried it, keep an open mind and I will outline to you the reasons why I love online grocery shopping.

The retailers I have used both in the UK and Portugal (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Opodo and Continente) have eliminated the need to keep a shopping list. Past orders are saved in their system, making it easy to add items to the cart from the order history page. I usually just log on when I think of something, add it to my virtual cart and go off and have another cup of tea.

It is easier and more accurate with identifying and comparing cost per unit online. I can comparison shop and get a sensible purchase in the comfort of my own home (and nobody sees that you are only in your trackie with morning hair).

Items on sale are highlighted and categorized. I can browse the sales category and the “buy one, get one free” offers before I do anything else. I regularly save money with my food order and am generally able to avoid buying anything that I would not normally buy.

Order totals are calculated as I go, helping me stick to my budget and avoid the embarrassment of asking the checkout operator to put items back in store (yes, I’ve actually had to do that). Also, you can just log on to the site when you think of something that you need and easily add it to your vitrual cart, building a sensible thought out shopping list in the process.

We've all heard the money saving tip “don’t shop while hungry.” Online, there are no tempting aromas wafting from the bakery or strategically placed savouries begging to be taken home. It is just simply a matter of typing in the product you want and selecting how much of it you want.

Children seem to have uncontrollable impulses and many of us parents will do anything to avoid making a scene, including buying toys and goodies they don’t need. Shopping online takes care of this problem and you can even have them happily bouncing on your knee while checking out the wine specials.

Some online grocery shopping virgins I have talked to say that they are nervous that they will get two week old vegetables and the scraps from the butcher. I can honestly say that I have mostly had good experiences with this. Generally, the grocery store want your business and have a policy of choosing the freshest product available. Also, when the goods are delivered, you can easily refuse any items that are not up to your standard and they will deduct this from your bill. It has only ever happened once or twice with me. If your chosen product is not available at the time, the store provide an option where you can chose your preferred substitute.

Everyone knows that “time is money” but energy is also a hot commodity. I can get my shopping done from bed, while blogging, or in front of the television and relax while doing so. That is almost better than saving money!

Budget "Take Away" Pizza

How about making your own pizza from scratch, rather than spending £20! Here's how to do it with using basic ingredients which are cupboard staples, plus whatever you have floating around as toppings! This could include chopped ham, onion, red and green peppers, salami, mushroom, pineapple, olives, anchovies, prawns...really, there are no rules.

Ingredients
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoon dried yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons oil
5-6 cups flour
Method

1. Combine water and yeast in a large bowl and stand for 5 minutes.
   
2. Stir in the sugar, salt, and oil, then add half of the flour and mix.
   
3. Add remaining flour and knead until smooth (about 5 minutes).
   
4. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place to rise for about half an hour.
5. Punch the dough down and split into 2-3 pieces, depending on how big you want your pizzas and how thick you like your crusts. Press onto a greased baking sheet or pizza pan until the dough is about 1 cm thick.
6. Thinly spread your favorite tomato based sauce, sprinkle on mozzarella or grated cheddar cheese, add toppings, and bake at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Budget Leftover Chicken and Vegetable soup with Perl Barley

This soup is really more like a brothy stew, which is beefed up by the chicken and pearl barley. For this recipe we will use what was our basic ingredients already "bought" for the previous three recipes, but you can incorporate parsnip, turnip, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, beans and leaks if you prefer a more heartier dish!

Ingredients

1 litre home made chicken stock
1 cup of remaining chicken meat, cubed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 remaining onion, diced
1/2 cup pearl barley
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Bring stock to the boil and add the remaining ingredients.
2. Turn heat down and simmer very gently for two hours.
3. Ladel into warmed soup bowls and sprinkle with parsley
4. Serve with a rustic heavy bread.

Main Ingredients - based on Tesco's prices at date of posting:
(Not including cupboard staples and already purchased ingredients etc)

Tesco Pearl Barley 500g - £0.38
Fresh Curled Parsley 35g - £0.68

Total cost: £1.06

TOTAL COMBINED COST OF FOUR FAMILY MEALS: £7.79

Budget Leftover Roast Chicken Stock

Ingredients

1 chicken carcass, meat removed and reserved for soup
1/2 onion, un-chopped
1 carrot
1 rib celery
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, add all remaining chicken bones etc.
   
2. Add the sprig of thyme, rosemary and half an onion, whole carrot, and whole rib of celery.
3. Fill pot with water to cover chicken and add salt and pepper.
   
4. Bring to the boil then lower to a gentle simmer.
   
5. Simmer uncovered for 1.5 hours, skimming off any impurities which settle on the surface. Be careful not to boil, as this will make the stock cloudy.
6. Remove bones, herbs and vegetables and strain through a sieve.

Cost of ingredients from Tesco at date of posting:

Loose Brown Onions Class 2 £0.16

Budget Leftover Chicken Pot Pie

First, make some REAL chicken stock for tomorrow's soup. This will need to settle and be refrigerated over night. Remove the chicken meat off the left over chicken from the previous nights roast and use for the pie recipe. In a large pot, put all remaining chicken bones etc. Add a sprig of thyme, half an onion and a carrot and fill with water to cover chicken. Bring to the boil then lower to a gentle simmer. Simmer uncovered for 1.5 hours, skimming off any impurities which settle on the surface. Be careful not to boil, as this will make the stock cloudy.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
  
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup white wine or cooking sherry
• 1 desertspoon chopped fresh rosemary
  
• 1 desertspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 ½ cup to 2 cups diced leftover chicken
• 2 large carrots, roughly diced
  
• 2 ribs celery, sliced into 2 cm chunks
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 sheet of flakey pastry (approx 35cm x 20cm long - depending on the dish you choose to bake with). These often come in a packet of 2, freeze the second sheet of pastry for another time.
  

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210 Celcius.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
3. When butter begins to bubble, sprinkle in the flour and whisk to combine.
4. Slowly pour in the chicken broth. Whisk until smooth and beginning to thicken.
5. Add the milk, wine or sherry, rosemary, and thyme.
6. Combine the chicken, carrots and celery in a bowl.
7. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and meat and stir to combine
8. Pour the chicken, vegetable and sauce mixture into the baking dish.
   
9. Top with the pastry sheet and pinch around the edges to seal, or use a fork to do the same.
   
10. Bake at 210 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 180 degrees and bake for thirty minutes more.

Main Ingredients - based on Tesco's prices at date of posting:
(Not including cupboard staples and already purchased ingredients etc)

Jus Rol 2 Puff Pastry Sheets 425g - £1.60
7 loose Carrots Class 1 - £0.49 (use only two for this dish, the remainder for tomorrow's meal)
Tesco Celery Each - £0.78

Total approximate cost £1.27

Not too shabby!

Budget/Student Cullinary Survival!

Over the next few postings, I am going to run a short series of ideas that won't require a second mortgage to produce, particularly catering to the student sector. I can remember making my student allowance, way back in 1986 of errr (I think), $60NZD per week somehow get me through, plus I had money over to go night clubbing!

Each recipe will follow with an article I've either written, or linked to, about student loans and the various financial advantages (and pitfalls) the market is providing during the current economic downturn that we are experiencing.

We all know times are a bit tough at the moment, and drawing on some resources to make things go just that little bit further is often a welcome relief to a lot of us. I've put together a few recipes that I often do when waiting for the coveted "pay day" to roll around. Have a go and see what you think.

Perfect Roast Chicken

Here, I am going to show how you can turn one chicken into three delicious meals, for two adults. Have this meal using half the chicken, the further two meals will follow this one!

The first is a Mediterranean method of roasting chicken. The success of the amazing succulence is to briefly cook in water before roasting.

Ingredients

1.5kg whole chicken
1 large lemon, quartered
2 large chillies
6 cloves of garlic, crushed once with a large knife
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
1 large sprig fresh thyme
Crystal salt and ground pepper
Water
Olive oil

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 175 Celsius.
   
2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil (large enough to be able to immerse your chicken).
3. Season the chicken inside with salt and black pepper
   
4. Place garlic, herbs, lemon, and chillies inside the cavity of the chicken and seal up by using a wooden skewer or cocktail stick.
   
5. Plunge the chicken into the boiling water, for five minutes, turning it over and over.
6. Remove and let it dry some kitchen paper for 30 minutes.
7. Massage olive oil into the entire surface of the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
   
8. Place it in the pre-heated oven on a large roasting tin at 350ºf/175ºc for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, testing that the juices run clear on the thigh, adding a little water to the roasting tin if necessary.
9. Remove from the oven, cover with tin foil and rest for 15 minutes.
   
10. In the meantime make a light jus/gravy by de-glazing the roasting tin with a cup of water and thickening with a desert spoon of cornflour mixed with two tablespoons of water. Season jus to your liking.
11. Serve with steamed bok choi, cumin honey carrots and crispy roast potatoes.

Main Ingredients -Based on Tesco's prices at date of posting:

T Market Value Whole Chicken 1.00-1.80kg (£1.99)
Large Lemon Loose (0.35)
Mixed Chillies 56g (0.49)
Tesco Garlic Each (0.25)
Fresh Rosemary 30g (0.79)
Fresh Lemon Thyme 25g (0.68)

Total approximate cost of main ingredients: £5.30

Nicki's Chick Pea, Aubergine, and Mushroom Tagine

This is a recipe given to me by my friend Nicki, who I met in Portugal.

Serves 4
540 cals per serving
Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes

105 ml (7tbsp) sunflower oil
1 large onion, peeling and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10 ml (2 tsp) ground coriander
10 ml (2 tsp) paprika
5 ml (1 tsp) each ground cumin, cinnamon, and turmeric
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) cayenne pepper
400g (14 oz) can chick peas
400g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
300 ml (1/2 pint) vegetable stock
1 large aubergine, about 350g (12 oz), diced
225 g (8 oz) button mushrooms, halved
75g (3 oz) read-to-eat dried apricots
salt and pepper

To serve
225g (8 oz) quick cook couscous
25 g (1 oz) flaked almonds, toasted
15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat 30 ml (2 tbsp) of the oil in a frying pan, add the onion, garlic and spices and fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes until golden. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a saucepan, with the chick peas and their liquid, tomatoes and stock.
2. Heat another 45 ml (3 tbsp) oil in the frying pan, add the aubergine and fry, stirring, over a high heat for 5 minutes until evenly browned.
3. Add the aubergine to the chick pea mixture. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
4. Heat for remaining oil in the frying pan and stir-fry the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes until browned, then add to the stew with the roughly chopped apricots and cook for a further 10 minutes. Check the seasoning.
5. In the meantime, steam the couscous in a muslin-lined steamer for 10 minutes, or according to the packet instructions. Fork through to separate the grains.
6. Pile the couscous onto warmed serving plates and top with the tagine. Scatter over the toasted almonds and chopped parsley and serve at once.

Moroccan Chickpea and Tomato Salad

Ingredients

400 gram tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained or 1 cup of dried chickpeas which have been soaked overnight and boiled for 1 hour and 30 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 small Spanish (red) onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
Pinch of chillie powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Rocket garnish

Method

• Toss all ingredients together and sit at room temperature for at least two hours before serving.
• Garnish with fresh rocket.
  

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - Couscous

Couscous is made with moistened semolina wheat and is rolled in to spherical granules and coated in fine ground wheat flour. The name comes from the Maghrebi Arabic word "kuskus/ksaksu" and means "well rolled, well formed, rounded. It features extensively in the cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

One of the earliest written references to couscous is found in a 13th century Hispano-Muslim cookery book called Kitāb al-tabǐkh fǐ al-Maghrib wa'l-Andalus. Couscous also appeared in the cuisine of the Nasrid royalty, who were resident in Granada from 1212-1492. In the 13th century, a Syrian historical from Aleppo makes reference to couscous 4 times. With these various references, it indicates that it spread fairly quickly throughout the Arab and Iberian geography, but features more heavily in the cuisine of the west and embedded itself intrinsically in the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian and Western Libyian staple diets. Couscous was taken from Syria to Turkey in the 16th century and is eaten in most of the southern provinces.

The Berber dominance of early medieval Sicily featured couscous as a staple and in Rome in Bartolomeo Scappi's culinary guide of 1570 a Moorish dish is described, succussu; in Tuscany the Sephardic Jews arrived in Livorno in the 16th century, bringing couscous with them and was often thought of being of Jewish origin, even being referred to later as "Jewish couscous" in Pellegrino Artusi's La Scienza in suicina (Milan, 1897).

In Northern Europe the earliest reference to couscous is in Provence, where a traveller called Jean Jacques Bouchard wrote of eating it in Toulon in 1630 and a further reference was made in Brittany, in a letter dated January 1699.

Today, the dish is a traditional staple throughout the Maghred and is popular throughout West African Sahel, France, Spain, Madeira, western Sicily, Greece, Cyprus and all through the Middle East. It is particularly popular among Jews of North African descent, such as the Algerian Jews, Tunisian Jews and Moroccan Jews and is now enjoyed in many other parts of the world as well.

Chicken Kdra (Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas, Saffron and Almonds)

A 'Kdra' is a moroccan tagine/stew, which is cooked with olive oil (or smen - traditionally), onions, saffron, cinnamon and sometimes ginger.

Ingredients

1/2 cup blanched almonds, whole
1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
4 large part-boned chicken breast portions, skinned
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
2 Spanish (red) onions, finely sliced
1 litre chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
4 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Lemon juice, to taste (approx 1 lemon)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Place almonds and chickpeas in a large flameproof casserole and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 1-1/2 hours until chickpeas are soft.
• Drain in a sieve and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in the casserole dish and brown the chicken pieces.
  
• Add saffron, salt and pepper and onions, stirring until onions are opaque.
• Add stock and bring to the boil.
• Add almonds, chickpeas and cinnemon.
• Cover and gently cook for 50-60 minutes.
• Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving plate and keep warm.
  
• Bring the stock to the boil and cooker over a high heat and reduce for 5 minutes, stiring frequently.
• Add parsley and remaining saffron and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Sharpen the sauce with lemon juice.
• Pour sauce over the chicken and serve with steamed couscous, garnishing with extra parsley.
  

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - The Difference Between a Bisque and a Chowder

A bisque is a type of rich, thick, creamy soup which has been pureed so that it has an even texture and is considered to be a technique of the "higher end". Traditionally, bisque includes seafood, wine or cognac, and cream, along with a mixture of spices. Bisque is related to consomme, which is another rich soup produced through a long cooking process that concentrates flavours for intensity. As the name suggests, bisque has its origins in France, although the dish is prepared all over the world with a wide variety of ingredients.

The origins of the word bisque in relation to soup are debated. Some food historians believe that the word refers to the fact that the soup is cooked twice, while others suspect that it is related to the Bay of Biscay. Cuisine from Biscay often includes spicy ingredients similar to those used in bisque, and another type of soup, called Biscay, involves the use of heavily spiced game birds in a recipe very similar to that used for bisque.

Chowder is a type of rich rustic soup, usually made with seafood, vegetables, and cream. Traditionally, chowder includes a base of bacon and is thickened with broken up crackers, although variations of the dish with slightly different ingredients are made in many seafaring communities. Often likened to a stew, chowder is thick with chunks of ingredients, and has a very hearty, warming flavor. In the United States, chowder is frequently made with clams, and two varieties are very popular: New England style clam chowder, which uses cream, and Manhattan style, which uses a base of pureed tomatoes.

The word “chowder” first appeared in English within a recipe header in 1751, although there is evidence that the dish was popular well before then. This chowder recipe included onions, bacon, fish, an assortment of spices, biscuits, claret, and water. In the 1800s, American cooks began to make the transition to clams, because of the abundance of shellfish in the new colony. Cooks also began to add cream to chowder, and to differentiate unique types depending on the ingredients.