Who said #Oxford’s Covered Market’s expensive?

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Oxford covered market 15 farm eggsI had  a lovely email from a reader a few weeks ago that told me where to get some fantastic Farm Eggs in Oxford’s very own covered market. I was surprised I have to say, as I hadn’t ventured there believing that I would not find any deals. I was wrong.

Yesterday I ventured to John Lindsay’s butchers at the back of the Covered Market and found 15 Fresh Farm eggs for only £2.10! That’s 14p an egg. Amazing. I couldn’t resist. I also spoke to Stuart the butcher who said the eggs came from Crowmarsh Farm in Wallingford. The butchers also supply local meat at very reasonable prices. Needless to say, I’ll be visiting more often!

These beautiful cauliflower leaves usually end up in the bin

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Leftover cauliflower leavesUnless you own a rabbit, these beautiful cauliflower leaves usually end up in the bin. But next time you’re making a cauliflower cheese don’t trough the leaves away. Instead buy a cauliflower that hasn’t been trimmed and try out this tasty and economical soup.

Here’s the recipe:
Take the outer leaves from two medium heads of cauliflower and roughly chop them. Arrange them on a baking tray with some par-boiled parsnips, potatoes or carrots – basically whatever you have in the fridge that needs using up.

Roasting cauliflower leaves for soupPlace a couple of cloves of garlic in the baking tray and sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice. I like to use thyme and oregano sometimes, but also love a sprinkling of garam masala and a couple of chilli’s depending on my mood. Roast on a medium heat for 30 minutes until the vegetables are caramelizing nicely.

Whilst the vegetables are roasting, sauté a white onion in 25g of butter. Add 2 pints of vegetable or chicken stock, and if you’ve got any, the leftover rind from a Stilton or Parmesan cheese. I also like to through in some the rind of half a lemon – as this intensifies the flavour of the cheese and vegetables. Simmer everything together for 30 minutes.

Cauliflower leaves and cheese soupOnce the vegetables are roasted and the stock has had time to simmer, squeeze out the contents of the roasted garlic and add it and the vegetables to the stock. Remove the rind, and lemon skin (or what is left of it) and blend everything into a smooth soup. Serve with home made bread. Delicious and beautifully economical.

Ever wondered what to do with leftover broccoli stems?

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Food waste broccoli stemsEver thought what a waste it is to throw away broccoli stems? Well this recipe will change you outlook of your food waste bin for ever! It is phenomenal.

Also, for anyone that is gluten free or just wants to be healthy but misses the satisfaction of biting into a pizza this is the recipe for you. I make it frequently for the family and everyone agreed; it’s better than real pizza!

broccoli pizzaPlus broccoli (or cauliflower which works very well too) is high in vitamin C, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds such as Indole-3-carbinol, research suggests that is has cancer and heart protective properties.Furthermore, it’s actually really simple to make.

Here’s the recipe – Basically grate 2 or 3 discarded broccoli or/and cauliflower stems then boil the gratings for 5 minutes, drain and squeeze out all the water in a tea towel or muslin/cheese cloth. You want the pulp to be extremely dry so that when it cooks it crisps up.

Now mix in one egg and 100g of cream cheese. Divide and press flat onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Whilst the pizza base is cooking you could use the time to make a passata tomato sauce with a tin of tomatoes, a clove or garlic, some chopped onion, salt and pepper.

cauliflower pizza 2Once the base is cooked and crispy, add the toppings of your choice and bake for a further 10 minutes. Serve with salad.

TOP TIP: If you’re a fan of juicing, this would be an excellent way to use up all the discarded vegetable fibre from your juice machine.

Local honey cures hay fever

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Local oxfordshire honeyI love honey. It’s not been part of our budget cooking yet because it can be expensive. However, if you suffer from hayfever, local honey can be cheap way to prevent the onset of this annoying allergic condition.

Bee-keepers generally advocate that local honey is the best tool to fight hay fever because it contains the pollen from the local flowers which might have caused allergic reaction to the sufferers. You need to make sure the honey is raw, as heating damages the vital properties in the honey.

How to take honey for hay fever

If you begin by taking 1 spoonful a day 8 weeks before the hay fever season begins, this may reduce your need for expensive anti-histamines (which are usually around £4 for a pack of 12).

An even better remedy would be to make a cup of fresh but cooled cup of Nettle tea  by steeping fresh nettles in boiling water for a few minutes. Then add a tsp of honey to sweeten. This medicinal tea can be drunk up to 3 times a day.

Where to find local honey?

I’ve bought it Rectory Farm shop, Millets Farm, Pegtop Farm in Woodeaton (Islip honey) and also the The Market Garden at Eynsham. But I’m sure there are many other places too.

Homemade Nutella recipe

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homemade nutella dairy free gluten free coconut oilWhat child doesn’t like Nutella? Chocolatey  nutty goodness that apparently contains 2  hazelnuts in each serving. Healthy right? Wrong. A serving of Nutella also contains palm oil (the palm oil industry are responsible for the deforestation of the orangutan’s natural habit), and as much sugar as two chocolate biscuits! Not the ideal breakfast. So, I thought I’d have a go at making  a healthier (and more frugal) version.

Melt 50g dark chocolate with 50g of butter (coconut oil would be even better if you can stretch the budget). Blend 150g of de-skinned peanuts (or any nuts would do) for about 5-10 minutes until they turn into a paste. If you want a richer flavour you could toast the nuts first. Add the nut paste to the runny chocolate mixture and taste. If you want it sweeter you could add a teaspoon of honey, agave or maple syrup. It’s certainly a hit in our household!

150g peanuts = 75p
50g dark chocolate = 15p
50g butter = 20p

Total = £1 for 250g

(Nutella costs £135 for a 200g jar)

Beetroot soup with horseradish cream (63p per portion)

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beetroot soup with horseradish creamEveryone’s got a jar of horseradish at the back of the fridge, waiting for a roast. However, if you see it going off, here’s the perfect way to use it up. Beetroot’s earthy sweet and vibrant flavour is the best accompaniment. Beetroot are packed full of vitamins, minerals and protective antioxidants demonstrated by their beautiful colour.

This recipe is very easy to prepare and also very cheap. It’s adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s excellent River Cottage Veg Every Day book. I didn’t have a kilo of beetroot so halved the recipe and added some carrots instead that were fresh from our North Aston veggie box.

Take 250g of fresh beetroot and 250g carrots. Scrub them clean, slice into chunks, then place them in roasting tin with a few cloves of garlic, some thyme, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Pour in a glass of water to keep everything moist when baking. Cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes to an hour on gas mark 6. Once cooked through and cooled, remove the skins of the beetroot.

Now blend the vegetables with a pint of chicken or vegetable stock. I make mine from leftover roast chicken bones, but Alders butchers will sell you some bones for £1 – much better than shop bought stock. Blend everything together until smooth and then gently reheat in saucepan. You may need to add more water if the soups is too thick. Mix a tbsp of horseradish sauce with a tbsp of natural yoghurt and stir into the soup before eating. Hearty, warming and beautifully pink!

Budget?
Stock = £1
Beetroot = 90p
Carrots = 30p
Garlic & herbs = 10p
Horseradish and yog – 20p

Total = £2.50 for 4 (63p per portion)

Thong Heng oriental supermarket chillies

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Thong Heng chilliesThese dried red chillies are an absolute bargain at only £1.99 for 200g. I found them in Thong Heng, Oriental Supermarket on Windmill Parade in Headington, Oxford.

They keep for ever and are absolutely delicious. In supermarket’s you get about 25g of dried red chillies for 80p. That’s a lot more expensive! I also love the Vietnamese rice wraps you can buy here too.

Carrot & banana flapjacks (7p each)

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Carrot and banana flapjacksI’m loving this recipe for using up two items that would’ve ended up in the food waste bin today. Firstly an overripe, slightly bruised banana and secondly, some carrot peelings from our roast over the weekend. This flapjack is also remarkably healthy as it contains no refined sugars, and plenty of simple wholegrain oats. Here goes –

Take 200g of oats and mix with 50 grams of finely chopped carrot peelings (tip – give the carrots a good scrub before peeling so they are nice and clean). In a food processor blend 1 large or 2 small ripe bananas, 2 tbsp of butter (or peanut butter works well too), and 8 dates until a smooth paste. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Line a 9 x 9 inch baking tray with parchment paper. Press down the oaty mixture into the lined tray until even and compact. Bake for 20 minutes on gas mark 5 / 190C until golden brown. Allow to cool before cutting.

Budget?
Carrot peelings = from the waste bin
Oats = 17p
Banana – 20p
Dates = 40p
2 tbsp (30g) butter = 12p

Total = 89p for 12 (7p each)

Leftover porridge oatmeal biscuits

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Leftover porridge makes oatmeal biscuitsDon’t you hate it when you make something that then gets turned down by your child? This was the case this morning. Porridge was just not welcomed. I hate throwing anything away, so decided to turn this oaty mush into oatmeal biscuits, so that I could feed it back later in the day. I know, it’s sneaky but necessary when feeding a family on a budget.

Leftover porridge makes oatmeal raisin biscuitsMy recipe is not exact, but it really doesn’t need to be to create really tasty oatmeal biscuits. I had approximately 1 cup of leftover porridge, I then mixed this with 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 egg, 3 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 tbsp of butter and a generous handful of raisins. The mixture was sticky but not overly wet. You could add more or less flour if needed. I then formed the dough into 8 medium sized rounds (but I could have made 12 small ones) and placed them on a tray lined with baking paper squashing them down a little to make rustic biscuit shapes. They were baked for 20-25 minutes at gas mark 5/ 190C until golden brown. They were delicious and no-one guessed they were breakfast leftovers!

Riverford Oxford

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If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been trialling all the local veggie box schemes in Oxfordshire. They have all been fantastic and I recommend you read my reviews on each one, which can be found at the following links – Westmill Organics, North Aston Organics, Veg in Clover and The Market Garden at Eynsham.

RiverfordIt has been brought to my attention however, that some locations aren’t covered by these veggie box schemes. If you fall into this category I’d like to recommend Riverford Organics which, even though they are a National Company, use local Oxfordshire Farms as much as possible to supply this county.

Before I trialled our local veggie box schemes I was a long standing customer of Riverford. I’ve always been impressed with the quality of their fruit and vegetables, as well as recipes they supply on the website. The ordering system is extremely easy to use and you can add to or change your order each week if desired.

This picture is a typical Riverford box. It’s a large fruit and veg box less roots costing £19.65 for 3-4 people. They do offer smaller boxes with prices starting from £10.35. I purchased the sprouts additionally – although now I’m learning to sprout myself I don’t need to! Read more on how to do that here. Their salad bags are really good with delicious cherry tomatoes, lettuce leaves and avocados. You can also get eggs, meat, cheese and array of other delicious organic fare. Their website is worth a visit, even just for the recipes! – Riverford Organics – Tel. 01803 762 059.