The Thrifty Cookbook E-Book

Ryland Peters & Small

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 103

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A collection of over 60 quick and delicious recipes to feed households on a budget. A busy family household is often short on time and money. The weekly food shop can be a stressful time when you are wondering how you can feed your family good, honest food without exceeding the weekly budget. Living on a budget, or trying to reduce your outgoings, doesn't have to mean foregoing cooking and eating good food though.  Thrifty tips will guide you through how to make the most of your ingredients and create wonderful family food for all mealtimes. Enjoy some budget breakfasts such as Baked Eggs or Corned Beef Hash before moving on to some purse-friendly soups and salads for lunch. The main meal of the day no longer needs to empty the bank, so instead delve in to some quick and easy dishes such as Thai Salmon Fish Cakes or Quick Vegetable Curry. Treats don't have to be ignored in favour of saving pennies either – whip up some quick treats such as Iced Summer Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce or Banana Fritters. The Thrifty Cookbook has all the inspiration you need to produce fantastic food, in super quick time, for the whole family even when you've had to tighten the household purse strings.

Leseprobe

the

thrifty

cookbook

the

thrifty

cookbook

More than 80 deliciously easy recipes for households on a budget

Senior Designer Paul Stradling

Senior Editor Abi Waters

Production Manager Gordana Simakovic

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Indexer Vanessa Bird

First published in 2023

by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 11th St

New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Miranda Ballard, Susannah Blake, Tamsin Burnett-Hall, Maxine Clark, Linda Collister, Ross Dobson, Silvano Franco, Tonia George, Nicola Graimes, Rachel Anne Hill, Jennifer Joyce, Jenny Linford, Caroline Marson, Theo A. Michaels, Annie Nichols, Jane Noraika, Elsa Peterson-Schepelern, Louise Pickford, Rena Salaman, Jennie Shapter, Anne Sheasby, Fiona Smith, Linda Tubby, Fran Warde, Laura Washburn, and Ryland Peters & Small 2023.

Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2023.

ISBN: 978-1-78879-525-8

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-538-8

The recipes in this book have been published previously by Ryland Peters & Small.

The authors’ moral rights have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library and the Library of Congress.

notes

• All spoon measurements are level, unless otherwise specified.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperature. Recipes in this book were tested using a regular oven. If using a fan-assisted oven, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting temperatures.

• All eggs are medium, unless otherwise specified. Recipes containing raw or partially cooked egg, or raw fish or shellfish, should not be served to the very young, very old, anyone with a compromised immune system or pregnant women.

contents

introduction

tips for thrifty cooking

budget breakfasts

lunches & light meals

everyday dinners

snacks & sides

sweet treats

index

credits

introduction

Being thrifty is often a matter of common sense and a little forward planning. Get into the habit of keeping your storecupboards stocked with useful basic standbys so that you can whip up a nourishing meal even if you haven’t been to the supermarket recently – that will remove the temptation to order in a takeaway.

Buy fresh produce when it’s in season, which makes it cheaper because it hasn’t been flown around the world; and if it’s bought from the market, you may be able to get a good deal on a bag of apples or similar at the end of the day.

Instead of reaching for those chicken fillets on your weekly shop, why not buy drumsticks, thighs, or even a whole chicken, which you can joint and make so much from. Pound for pound, it’s much more economical. Rediscover the benefits of cooking with cheaper cuts of meat, which often still have the bone(s) in or are less lean – these cuts need more time to cook but the bones and fat are precisely what makes stews, roasts and pies so tasty and mouth-wateringly tender. This is where weekends can be put to such good use, with slow-cooked dishes designed to be enjoyed both on the day and as leftovers during the week.

Leftovers: such an unappealing word for something with so much potential! If you take just one thing from this book, let it be the value of leftovers. Always think about how you can use up the food lurking in your kitchen before going out to buy more. Hopefully this book will help you make the most of surplus mashed potatoes, rice and spaghetti, and that ever-annoying bowl of egg whites left over from your last dessert recipe.

Thrifty cooking needn’t be boring. It’s about cutting down on waste (thereby helping the environment), making good use of ingredients and finding new, exciting ways to be frugal.

tips for thrifty cooking

Sometimes you’re missing just one ingredient, or have slightly the wrong flour for your recipe. Sometimes you don’t have time to cook. Sometimes a dish goes wrong. Don’t panic! Here are some tips to guide you through thrifty cooking.

ingredients

• If you have used some eggs for a recipe and are left with unused egg whites or egg yolks, check other recipes to see if they can be used up elsewhere rather than discarded.

• Home-made stock can be frozen in handy portions for future use. Pour the cooled stock into the cups of a non-stick muffin tin and freeze until solid. Remove the frozen blocks from the muffin tin, put them in a freezer bag, seal, label and freeze, Remove stock portions as you need them.

• Make a double quantity of crumble topping (see page 140) and freeze half for next time. Break into small pieces and sprinkle it over the fruit before baking straight from frozen.

• If a recipe calls for snipped fresh chives but you don’t have any, try using finely chopped spring onion/scallion.

• Chopped fresh herb stems (such as parsley stalks) are great for adding flavour to soups, sauces and casseroles.

• Keep celery and spring onions/scallions fresh for longer by standing them upright with the root ends in a glass of cold water.

• To keep a fresh loaf of bread crusty, store it in a paper or fabric bag. Wrap bread in foil or in a polythene bag if it has a soft crust.

• An excellent way of thickening soups is to stir in a little oatmeal. It adds flavour and richness too.

• If you run out of self-raising/rising flour, sift together 2 level teaspoons of baking powder with every 225 g/1¾ cups plain/all-purpose flour. This will not create such a high lift as self-raising/rising but it is a good substitute.

• Bulk out pasta or rice salad by adding a can of drained and rinsed beans, such as chickpeas/garbanzo beans, red kidney beans or black-eye beans. Alternatively, add some canned sweetcorn kernels or cooked frozen baby broad/fava beans or peas.

• Add pearl barley to soups or stews to add flavour and texture. It will also create a thickening effect.

• Most vegetables keep best in the refrigerator, but a cool, dark place is also good if you don’t have enough fridge space. Potatoes should always be stored in the dark, otherwise they will go green or sprout, making them inedible.

• To yield most juice from a citrus fruit, roll it under the palm of your hand on the work surface first. Citrus fruits at room temperature also yield more fruit.

• When you are getting to the end of packets of breakfast cereal such as cornflakes or bran flakes, crush the bits left with a rolling pin, then store them in an airtight jar and use as an alternative to breadcrumbs, for example coating chicken or fish portions.

using leftovers

• Chop leftover fresh herbs, spoon them into an ice-cube tray, top each portion with a little water and freeze. Once solid, put the cubes in a freezer bag. Seal, label and return to the freezer. Add the frozen herb cubes to soups, casseroles and sauces as needed.

• Cut leftover fresh ginger into slices and freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Defrost and use as required.

• Use the water in which ham or gammon has been boiled to cook green vegetables, giving them a lovely flavour.

• Make leftover bread into breadcrumbs and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

• Save the cooking water when boiling or steaming vegetables, and add it to soups, sauces, stocks or gravies for extra flavour.

• Cooked rice is a potential source of food poisoning. Cool leftovers quickly (ideally within an hour), then store in an airtight container in the fridge and use within 24 hours. Always reheat cooked cold rice until piping hot.

• Leftover grated hard cheese freezes well, but soft cheese such as Brie and most blue cheeses (Stilton is an exception) does not. Grated cheese can be used straight from the freezer.

• Freeze leftover wine in an ice-cube tray. Once solid, transfer the wine cubes to a freezer bag. The wine cubes can be added to casseroles, stews and gravies for extra flavour.

• Use pastry trimmings to make biscuits. Gently knead in flavourings such as desiccated coconut and Demerara sugar, finely chopped nuts, chopped herbs and grated cheese, then cut into small shapes and bake in a moderate oven until crisp and golden.

quick fixes

• If you add too much salt to a soup or casserole, add one or two peeled potatoes (cut into chunks) to soak up the salt, then continue to cook until tender. Discard the potatoes before serving.

• To ripen an avocado or fruit such as a hard nectarine or peach, put it in a brown paper bag with a banana and keep at room temperature – ethylene released from the banana will hasten the ripening process.

• If you are melting chocolate and it becomes stiff and grainy, it has been overheated. Take it off the heat and stir in 1–2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, a few drops at the time, until the chocolate is smooth. However, if the chocolate is very scorched it may be unusable.

• If marzipan or almond paste has become hard during storage, seal it in a polythene bag with a slice of fresh bread. The moisture from the bread should restore the marzipan to its pliable state.

• If clear honey (or syrup) hardens during storage, stand the jar in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes or until the honey becomes liquid, rotating the jar occasionally.

• Sometimes moist brown sugar, such as muscovado, becomes hard during storage, due to exposure to air. Add a wedge or two of fresh apple or a slice of fresh bread to the sugar container and the moisture should be restored within a couple of days.

• When baking, use the foil wrappers from blocks of butter or hard margarine to grease cake and loaf tins.

symbols used on recipes

The following symbols have been used to help you identify if a recipe is suitable for your needs:

1

budget breakfasts

bircher muesli

This is a type of summer porridge with a texture you either love or hate, but there is definitely something comforting about its soggy sweetness. It will keep for 2–3 days in the fridge, but it is best to leave the apple out so it doesn’t brown if you are not eating straight away.

125 g/1 cup rolled oats

75 g/½ cup golden sultanas/raisins

175 ml/¾ cup pure apple juice

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

100 g/¼ cup natural/plain yoghurt

1 apple, cored, peeled and grated

25 g/3 tablespoons flaked almonds

mixed summer berries, to serve

clear honey, to serve

SERVES 4–6

V

Put the oats and sultanas in a large dish. Pour over the apple and lemon juices. Cover with a tea towel and leave to soak overnight. Alternatively, place everything in an airtight container and stick in the fridge, especially if it is very hot.

The next morning when you’re ready for breakfast, stir the yoghurt, apple and almonds into the soaked muesli. Divide between 4–6 bowls, scatter some brightly coloured berries over the top and finish with a zigzag of clear honey.

rhubarb compote with yoghurt

Rosewater, like orange flower water, is sold in the baking section of supermarkets, in chemist shops, and in ethnic food stores specializing in Middle Eastern or Indian products. It can be left out if you'd prefer or can't get hold of it though. This dish also works as a refreshing dessert.

500 g/1 lb rhubarb, trimmed

50 g/¼ cup caster/superfine sugar, or to taste

125 g/½ cup natural/plain yoghurt

1 tablespoon clear honey

½ tablespoon rosewater

SERVES 4

V

Cut the rhubarb into 5-cm/2-inch slices and put into a saucepan. Add the sugar and 4 tablespoons water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the rhubarb has softened. Taste and stir in a little extra sugar if necessary. Transfer to a dish and leave to cool.