Monday 11 July 2011

Two new projects!

Apologies first of all for the lack of posts up here - it's not that I'm being slack, you understand, more that there hasn't really been anything noteworthy in the Culinary World of Jay to delight you with. As so often happens, life has taken over in the last few weeks and while I have, of course, been eating, I haven't been thinking about food in the way that I like to. So this week I've pulled my metaphorical socks up, donned a thinking cap and an apron, and gone back to the kitchen.

I have two projects this week - the first is about overcoming my reliance on cookery books. I've planned a set of dinners for which I have no recipes at all, but I'm pretty confident I can cook.
  • Mackerel with harissa pasts and herby couscous
  • pot-roast pork with apples, red cabbage and potatoes
  • Lamb kebabs with homemade flatbread
Ok, so I'm stealing a recipe for the bread as I've never been brave enough to try this before, but the rest of it will be absolutely from scratch and I'll post up the results later in the week.

The second project is some lunches. I'm still working from home at the moment but I'm trying to write some recipes that I will be able to take in to work and prepare with the limited facilities available in the office - i.e. a microwave and a kettle. These will again be made up from scratch, and I've got:
  • turkey noodle soup
  • chorizo salad (as shown in the last blog post - I'll have to fry them and make the dressing in advance, of course)
  • Salmon and potato salad
  • spring rolls and Thai salad
The idea is that I'll prepare them at home, but as I would in the office, as a "proof of concept". What I'd like to be able to do is prepare (and then share with you) 5 or 6 week-long lunch menus for two people that come in at under £2 per person per lunch. I'd also like to stay away from having too many sandwiches as, let's face it, they're no fun.

So what do you do for working lunches? Do you have the best canteen in the world, or are you reliant on a local Subway for sustenance? Do you take food in, or buy something at a supermarket branch and make it up during the day? What's the best working lunch you've ever had?
Posted by Jay at 12:24

2 comments:

  1. Suzie B12 July 2011 at 13:22

    Please share your spring roles recipe! And noodle soup - I would love to make a tofu version. I've been pretty good at making lunches of late, generally do a big cook-up on Sunday night. Lasagne, risotto, soup or cous cous with roast veg & feta normally. I haven't yet worked out how to stop myself buying a coffee and a pastry because I "saved money on lunch". There's also a freezer full of free ice cream at my new work, struggling to resist this too.

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  2. Jay12 July 2011 at 13:33

    Hi Suzie - I'll post both of those recipes up later in the week. Went for the salmon and potatoes today, which worked by cooking everything in advance and then preparing a separate pot of dressing (shallots, white wine vinegar, olive oil, parsley, chilli flakes and sugar). Whack the main ingredients in the micro when you're ready to go and pour on the dressing. Most excellent.

    I'm always a bit scared of reheating risotto - is it, or is it not, true that reheating rice is really really bad?

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