The $21 challenge

We took the $21 challenge and actually spent $14.60 for the week.   We bought mushrooms, oranges, mandarins, beetroot, lettuce and a capsicum at the market and later in the week we bought milk.  For the rest, we used what we had at hand in the freezer, the pantry and the garden and we ate a lot better than you might expect. 
If you are going to try this - and you should - start with a meal plan and focus on using the things you've had tucked away for a while and haven't got around to using.  You might find some interesting things!  For Sunday lunch we ate some corn muffins from the freezer while for dinner we had mushrooms and chard with pearl barley.  This was another great find from the New York Times in the 'recipes for health' section, so it has to be good.  We bought the mushrooms from our allowance and everything else we had in the cupboard or garden.     
We certainly had most things on hand for lunches, including a lamb backstrap in the freezer. We have some lamb's lettuce in the garden & a few remnants of rocket plus sorrel & herbs so we were able to rustle up a salad every day.  When the lamb ran out we had falafels from the freezer. 
Day two was the last of the pea & ham soup from the freezer.  This was the soup we made with the end of the Christmas ham. Accompanied of course, by a slice of trusty sourdough, lightly toasted. Mmmm.
Day three was spicy bean stew from the freezer.  We had planned to make this fresh because it mostly uses beans & vegetables we already had in the fridge or pantry, but then I discovered we had some in the freezer from a previous week so used that instead.  This is a meal that always has left overs when we we make it for two and it freezes well.  This used to be a family standby and it's quick to make, so I often did it when we had to go to an event at school in the evening.  Phoebe said that this was the meal we always had when she was going to perform in a musical recital and so she associated it with butterflies in her stomach.  I hope she likes it better now.  You can make it go further by adding a chopped chorizo.  We always keep some in the freezer. The stew calls for a dollop of pesto  but we didn't have any so I used some zhoug left over from another meal at the weekend.  Note I make my zhoug from parsley because of that coriander thing. 
Day four we used one of the pumpkins from my autumn display and made a pumpkin risotto.  I roasted the  peeled, diced pumpkin at 180 for 1/2 an hour.  Just toss it in a little olive oil, salt & pepper & grate on some nutmeg.  I made a basic risotto using a leek from the garden.  At the end I folded through the roasted pumpkin, some Serrano ham (that I had bought for another meal the week before and not used) & some Parmesan.  There were a few roasted almond slivers in a small container so I sprinkled them on top.
Day five, we had a khoresht from the freezer.  I added some frozen peas and served on rice.  There was a small container of chopped pistachios & rose petals in the pantry so I sprinkled them on the top.
On Friday we usually have an omelette and we had saved the eggs left from the previous week for this.  We were really low on cheese but had just enough for the omelette & used up the last of the Serrano ham.  We also still had enough fresh veg and some buche zickli (that was for the same meal as the ham...) for a salad.
Saturday lunch we had some toast with the last few slices of cheese - sliced very thinly, and some lemon chutney. 
But I felt day seven's dinner was the master stroke.  We had had a shoulder of lamb earlier in the year when we had guests & the left overs weren't going to get used at the time, so I just shredded the meat & froze it.  Perfect for a delicious pie, perhaps?  I sauteed a leek & carrot from the garden with half an onion from the fridge & some garlic.  I added some rosemary & bay leaves & the last of the lentils I'd cooked for the lunches.  There was a jar of artichoke hearts in the pantry (naturally) so I added a couple of those, a dash of quince splash, some grated lemon rind & juice, the end of a bottle of white wine from the fridge & the lamb.  I put the mix into individual ramekins and covered with the last lonely sheet of puff pastry languishing in the freezer & brushed with milk.  I would normally have used an egg but that seemed like an extravagance.  I baked the pies at 180 for 1/2 an hour and they were truly delicious.
A friend had given is some windfall Granny Smith's for juicing and we used a couple of those to make an apple crumble which we served with the last of the feijoa ice cream from the freezer.
So, we ate really well on our budget and even had $6 left at the end of the week.  I definitely plan to do this again - possibly once a month.  It was a great idea to get things used up and we did have to think a bit more carefully about what we were eating - no coffees at work, except what's provided, for example.  The toughest thing was fruit.  Peter went without bananas because they are expensive and we didn't buy feijoas & passionfruit.  Using up freezer stock was great.  We just used what had been there the longest.  The other thing I will do next time is look more carefully in the pantry and use the things that I don't usually think of. Harriet did well too and like us found it easier than she expected.  Next time I am hoping more people will join us.

Talking Stock

We started the week with the dinner that always follows roast chicken - chicken pie which could be called "Roast Chicken Leftover Pie". Basically you soften some onion (any type of onion or leek) in butter, add flour then instead of milk add some of the stock you made with your chicken carcass. Once it's thickened a little mix in your shredded leftover chicken with your finely chopped leftover veg and gravy if you have any. I usually add 1/2 a cup of frozen peas and/or sweetcorn and some finely sliced white button mushrooms. If it is too dry add some cream or more stock or even a little boiling water. Season to taste. Tip into a casserole dish and top with pastry. Bake at 175 C for about 1/2 an hour until the pastry top is golden.

This seems a good time to talk stock. You need to have a range of good stocks in your freezer. Always make chicken stock when you roast a chicken, you can get fish bones from your fishmonger and shin bones from your butcher. The basics are the same : onion, carrot, celery, leek and the herbs, thyme & bayleaf with peppercorns and even chilli flakes if you like, then for fish add fennel & mushroom and to the others you can add dried mushroom but be careful because they have a strong flavour. For a standard chicken carcass or 1kg beef or fish bones use 2-2 1/2 litres water. Bring to the boil & simmer for 2-3 hours. Simmer your fishbones or heads first for 20 mins & strain before adding veg. Roast the beef bones in a hot oven for 45 mins with some tomato puree or a squeeze of paste & water. Once cooked strain into a large bowl and when cooled skim off any fat before storing in fridge or freezer. You usually want to use 2-3 cups so I freeze in Glad 740 ml containers with a couple of smaller 280 ml batches for miscellaneous use. If you remember get it out the night before and defrost in the fridge. This saves power because it helps to keep the fridge cool and gives it a bit of a day off.

This week we used 250 ml chicken stock (chicken pie), 750 ml chicken stock (pilaf), 750 ml vegetable stock (minestrone), 1 l beef stock (French onion soup).

Can't let the week go by without mentioning figs. Two simple things to do with figs. One a starter & one a pudding.

The starter we first had at Capitol, (turn your speakers on...) one of our favourite restaurants in Wellington. Then Martin Bosley included a recipe in his Listener column this week. Cut the figs - two per person is ample - down through the stalk close to the bottom so that they open out in 4 quarters (as Nigella says "like young birds squawking to be fed worms by their Mummy"). Stuff them with your favourite blue cheese. We discovered a lovely French version of Gorgonzola, called St Agur, at Truffle - a lovely specialty food outlet tucked away at the back of Cuba St. Wrap each fig in a slice of prosciutto and bake in a very hot (250C) preheated oven for around 5 minutes. The combination of slightly sweet fruit, salty cheese and crispy ham is indescribable.

For afters, you can't go past Nigella's Figs for 1001 Nights. You will need vanilla sugar - keep a container of sugar with a vanila pod in it - and rosewater and orange flower water - don't worry about buying a whole bottle of these as we have more recipes using them to come. Nigella uses mascarpone but we have used creme fraiche.