box 2

small joint of pork (800g)
beef mince (400g)
diced lamb (400g)

courgettes
swiss chard
ramiro pepper
celery
vine tomatoes

blood oranges
seedless grapes
complimentary lemon

Leftovers: potatoes, 1/4 onion, bananas, 2 cloves garlic
Additional purchases: fresh ginger, onions, garlic, pomegranate, bacon

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Spaghetti Bolognaise (sort of)

1/2 the beef mince, 1 courgette, 2 sticks celery, 1/4 onion, 3 large tomatoes
Worcestershire sauce, mixed herbs, oxo cube, tomato puree

served with spaghetti and parmesan cheese

-I like to put a lot of veg in my spag bol, partly because it stretches the meat out a lot farther and it's also healthier. I normally add bacon too, but don't have any today.

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Banana Bread

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Chinese Roast Pork

pork joint, garlic, fresh ginger
soy sauce, rice wine, chinese five spice, honey, brown sugar

-mixed all the seasonings, completely covered the joint and then put it the oven on a low temp for 2 hours total

served with courgette ribbons, ramiro pepper slices, 2 leaves chard.
with same seasonings as above, stir fried.

and rice.

-chard is less sweet than pak choi, but I treated it the same. It has a more earthy taste, but I don't mind that.
The pork was a wait, but very worth it because it turned out tender and moist and very tasty. I'm not a huge pork lover, but I do love it coupled with chinese flavours, and this was just perfect.

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Moroccan Lamb Tagine

diced lamb, garlic, fresh ginger, onion, courgette, ramiro pepper, fresh lemon juice
dates, apricots, honey, ground ginger, cumin, paprika, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, pomegranate juice, lemon juice

served with rice and pomegranate seeds

-I love this style of cooking - using a lot of spices and fruits. The result is very rich, but so, so tasty.

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Wastage:

2 bananas
some leftover pork - I had so much of this that I just couldn't get through it all. Next time, I'll either invite someone over to share it, or cut it in half.

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Leftovers:

Half the beef mince - in the freezer
half the chard
half the celery
2 tomatos
3 blood oranges
some garlic
some ginger
2 onions

...so basically lots, but it's all still usable. =)
 
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Favourite meal of the fortnight was the roast pork. It was so, so delicious. The tagine was a close second though.
I had to buy extra stuff for the tagine, but it's actually the first time I've used it and I really wanted to try it out properly.

Spaghetti Bolognaise (fortnight 1, day 1)

Well almost a whole year later I am back!

I was inspired by the blog NeverSeconds to start up my food blog again!

Today is box day, and I got:
large bunch of small carrots
celery
flat runner beans
swiss chard
cherry tomatoes
golden bosc pears
apricots

plus leftover mushrooms, courgette, red onions and a tiny bit of lettuce.

Today I am making Spaghetti Bolognaise!

Having said that, it's a loose resemblance, as you'll see. =)

Ingredients:

• Lean minced beef
• tin tomatoes

• red onion
• runner beans
• courgette
• carrots
• mushrooms
• celery

• garlic
• mixed herbs
• oxo cube
• Worcestershire sauce
• tomato puree
• red wine (I think it was a Shiraz)

• dried spaghetti
• Parmesan cheese freshly grated

Chop all the veg. I always end up eating a few runner beans raw as I go along because they are so tasty! I tend to chop my veg very chunky partly because I'm too lazy to do it finely and partly because I like the texture when I'm eating it.

The carrots that I got in the box were very small ones so I just gave them a good wash instead of peeling.

I tend to use a wok to fry most things because the high sides are convenient. Firstly I cooked the celery, onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Then I transferred that to the main pot.

Fried the beef, drained off the water/fat liquid, crumbled an oxo cube directly to the meat and added the Worchestershire sauce, tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs and then transferred that to the main pot too.

Stir fried the rest of the veg very quickly and then added them to the main pot as well, along with the mushrooms raw and a good amount of red wine.  I don't drink wine at all, so I just buy the small bottles for cooking with.

Put the lid on and leave to simmer for a while, meanwhile get the pasta on to cook.

Serve with spaghetti and some grated (or dried) parmesan cheese. mmmmmmm tasty.

And unfortunately the pears aren't yet ripe, so I finished the meal off with a couple of apricots instead! =)

~ Hannah

Sausage Pasta Bake

This is also really nice vegetarian with a couple more veg varieties in it.

Serves 4.

3 Sausages, already cooked and cut up.
1 courgette, cut to chunks
3 small onions, cut to chunks
4 cabbage leaves, shredded into strips
tin tomatoes
tin condensed cream of tomato soup
paprika
chili powder
pasta, cooked and drained.
cheese

cook sausages and pasta and set both aside. Fry onions for a bit, then add courgette and cabbage. Cook briefly. Stir in tomatoes, soup and spices and then add the chopped sausage. Leave to fully warm through and simmer briefly, then stir in pasta. Pour into a large dish and top with grated cheese. Bake in gas 6 for 20 mins until brown on top.

Fortnight 2, Day 6.

This fortnight I got:

5 nectarines
6 pink apples
4 large tomatoes
5 large salad onions/bunched onions
2 large courgettes
salad pack (mixed leaves)
2 small cabbages

(2 pears, a lettuce and spring greens left over)

Meals so far:

Taramasalata with pitta bread, salad and tomato (x2 days)


Chicken wings with salad and tomato (x2 days)


Steak with onion, courgettes, chips and tomato (for me +guest)

all of the tomato and salad (inc. lettuce) is gone, both pears, nearly all the apples and all the nectarines. I actually had to chuck a couple nectarines out because I blinked and they were mouldy. Next time I get them I'll make sure to eat them very quickly so this doesn't happen again!

It's been nice to have salady things this week for a change, but I'm kind of glad it's all gone now because I'd have got sick of any more!

End of the first fortnight!

Yay it's day 14.

Yesterday I ended up having the leftover sausage pasta and today I had the veg I had prepped saturday:

Lamb chops
butternut squash
courgettes
wet garlic
onion
spring greens/cabbage mix

So at the end of the fortnight I have a lettuce, a small amount of spring greens/cabbage, and 2 pears. Oh so happy about this. Tomorrow, it starts all over again. XD

Sausage and Courgette Pasta

3 pork and apple sausages *
2 strips bacon *
1/3 large onion *
1 wet garlic
1 small courgette
tin tomatoes *
pasta (c)

fry sausages, then bacon and chop all up into bite size pieces.
add onion and garlic and fry quickly
add courgette and cook briefly
stir in tomatoes and leave to simmer while pasta cooks.

2 portions, one for eating... one for fridge. Probably have leftovers on Monday.

Day Two (June 1st) - Spaghetti Bolognaise

Breakfast - cereal, semi-skim milk, coffee, banana

Lunch - tuna and mayonnaise sandwich with baby spinach on white bread

Dinner - Spaghetti Bolognaise (1 portion to eat, 1 to fridge, 1 to freeze):

Olive oil
Mince *
onion *
tin of tomatoes *
1 small courgette
3 large mushrooms
fennel
half red pepper 
wet garlic
frozen peas
bacon *
tomato puree
beef oxo cube
dry spaghetti
mixed herbs

fry onion and mince in oil, stir in stock. Add dry vegetables and bacon and cook for few minutes. Add other ingredients and simmer while pasta cooks.

Bowl of strawberries, strawberry yoghurt, tea.

Snacks - dried apricots, banana, penguin chocolate bar.
Drinks - coffee, tea, water

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Shopping tonight, so I've sketched out a few recipes ideas for the following week which will best use the veg. The problem I'm foreseeing this week is the sheer amount of green veg I have. I am not normally a big 'leaf' eater... but this weak I have spinach, chard, lettuce and spring greens (which look a little bit like pak choi... not sure what they are). So I plan to make a large amount of green leaf soup, which I can then freeze. Spinach and lettuce can go in sandwiches, but if I have soup and leftovers then I'm not likely to be eating many sandwiches this week. I also plan to get some puff pastry and do a veg tart with the courgette, pepper and whatever else I have left!

Day One (May 31st) - Vegetable Risotto

Breakfast - cereal, semi-skim milk, banana, coffee

Lunch -

Dinner -  Vegetable Risotto:

Olive Oil
Vegetable stock cube
Risotto rice
3 large Mushrooms
1 small courgette
few handfuls baby spinach 
Philadelphia cheese
grated Parmesan


fry veg very briefly in oil, stir in dry rice and add some stock. Keep adding stock gradually as the rice cooks. When cooked, reduce heat, stir in cheeses and warm through.


Strawberry Yoghurt, bowl of strawberries, cola