I have already written about Dinner and how I plan it out, in my Real Food post last November https://ecogreengp.home.blog/2019/11/28/real-food/, but since then, the kids have grown and the leftovers don’t appear so often – I haven’t quite managed to up the quantities enough on the Sunday veg yet! .. So I am finding that at least once a week I am having to make it up more on the spot.
As I mentioned in my Real Food post, I believe dinner should consist of lots of vegetables, enhanced with herbs and spices, and filled out with some protein, fat and carbohydrates. … in that order. It should be real food – not processed, fresh (in the main, although I use tinned lentils and pulses mostly), ideally local and organic.
However because of the need to cook unplanned – which used to be because I’d invite people over without thinking about the food, but now is due to hungry teens eating things up – we also keep quite a good store cupboard. I have always loved herbs and spices so have a drawer of them, and will try to make sure we have a good collection of lentils, pulses, tapanade, sauerkraut, tinned tomatoes etc. This makes ‘make-it-up dinner’ easier.
So on days when the food I was planning is no longer in the fridge I will usually start by deciding what ‘regional flavour’ I want for the evening – English (think apples, ham, cheddar, beef mustard, gravy), Mediterranean (garlic, oregano, tomatoes, mozarella, feta, lamb), North European (sausages, salamis, pickles, smoked cheese), Indian area (turmeric, chilli, cumin, coriander, ginger), East Asian (ginger, soy, lemongrass), Mexican (chilli, lime), Caribean (Coconut, pineapple, fish) or African (peanut, chilli, coconut, yam).
I am aware these are large regional areas, with huge diversity of flavour and cooking style – that one cannot really compare Nigerian food to Moroccan, nor North Indian to South Indian, nor Tibetan plain to Szechuan to Japanese … but this is just my way of thinking about things when cooking ‘on the hoof’. Once I’ve decided that I will see what veg we’ve got and decide if it is quick cook or slow cook (stir-fry versus stew) and so work from there.
Common go-to’s are:
Peppers stuffed with a mixture of grated veg (courgette, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, depends on the season and what I’ve got), herbs, cream cheese and egg
Pancakes – we have plenty of eggs, and use a combination of non grain flour and ground almonds to make the batter, then stuff with cooked veg, cheese, a bit of ham etc.
Souffle omlette – really easy, and if you’ve got enough pans you can even let everyone put their own together…. separate 2-3 eggs per person and whisk up the whites. Then whisk the yolks with a small amount of melted butter (makes them thicken more easily) until a bit thicker than double cream. Add “fillings” to the yolks (my favourite is defrosted frozen spinach with a bit of nutmeg and a grating of parmesan) and stir to combine, then fold in the whites. Transfer to a skillet and cook on the hob for a couple of minutes, then put in the oven for 10 mins. Once cooked leave to cool for a bit (it will sag) and then cut into slices. Serve with salad / cooked steamed veg etc.
Sliced potato and veg bake: I slice then steam potatoes and layer them into my oiled skillet with whatever veg, a bit of bacon if we’ve got it (or mushrooms in my husband’s bit as he’s veggie), and cheese on top. Stick in the oven for half an hour or so – This can be made ‘mediterranean’, with summer veg, tinned toms, oregano, a bit of feta stirred in maybe, some parmesan on top; or ‘north european’ by using more robust veg, some cabbage and a bit of paprika, topped with anything from cheddar to Jarlsberg, and served with sauerkraut on the side.
Meat and 5 veg – I try to keep some chicken / turkey pieces and some beef mince in the freezer, so that I can if necessary get them out and create with them at short notice. I will again decide on the ‘flavour region’ and cook the meat accordingly, then cook whatever veg I’ve got (usually steamed / fried) and serve them all separately, maybe with some noodles or a jacket potato for the kids, and usually with egg as the protein instead for hubbie.
Black bean chilli (which at it’s most basic for 4 of us uses1 onion, 3 tins of black beans, 1 tin toms, a squirt of tomato puree, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tbs peanut butter) served with whatever salad and carbohydrate we’ve got – it really is very versatile – on toast, on fried cabbage, with rice, with cornbread, even just dumped onto some simple lettuce and cucumber.
Coconut vegetable soup: A recipe in the Quick and Easy Primal Blueprint cookbook is my start point for this, however it is hugely and wonderfully adaptable. Start with chopping onion, garlic and chilli, sweat in a big pan with some coconut oil, then add coconut flakes or flour, some turmeric, a few tomatoes and coconut milk (I buy the dry blocks of coconut that you add water too – better packaged for the transport, so less CO2). Bring up to a simmer whilst you chop any other veg you have – On different occasions I’ve all of these … cauliflower, courgette, cucumber, carrots, parsnips, celeriac, celery, green beans, broad beans, peas, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, kale, swede, sweet potato … Add them to the pot and cook until tender. Ladle into bowls and maybe add some roast peanuts, more chilli or even some yogurt to the top.
I feel maybe I ramble a bit talking about food. I like to be organised – yet am not – so my posts are a bit reflective of that. What I am hoping to do is to inspire you and others … that cooking nutritious, healthy sustainable food can be both affordable and fun … and doesn’t have to take all day! I hope you enjoy.
EcoGreenGP Ponders... 