Family Mushroom Soup - MS Word document for downloading

In “The Complete Book of Home Freezing”, Audrey Ellis has some wonderful recipes, which I have used for years. (Yes, it is a very old book and she was writing long before the advent of “Ready Meals”!) I adopted quite a bit of her theory “My experience has always been that multiplying the basic amount to serve your family by three, produces a quantity that is practical to cook, (unless you have a very large family). This gives you a meal to serve and two to store…” Over a period of time, you can build up quite a selection in the freezer - so you can have evenings “off” where you are simply reheating previously made dishes. This is a bonus if you are very busy or tired (as at the end of term!) or ill. On a more cheerful note, it also means you can treat unexpected visitors to your home cooking.

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Crispy Fish Hotpot - MS Word document for downloading

We don’t like the bones in fish, so I’m very choosy about the fish dishes I serve. This is very tasty. Crispy Fish Hotpot can be made using any firm white fish fillets. It does have a lot of juice with it, but this is mainly taken up by the potatoes as you are eating. If you want to thicken the juices a little bit, toss the fish cubes in seasoned flour before adding to the casserole.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes, followed by 30 minutes cooking time, plus 2 minutes preparation time, followed by 35-40 minutes cooking time.

This is a very substantial “all in one” dish. It lacks colour in spite of the red skinned apples in it, so add some halved tomatoes for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Season these well, and add a knob of butter.

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Chutney In The Raw - MS Word document for downloading

This is a quick- to- make chutney and keeps really well. I found Chutney in the Raw in a Rose Elliot cookbook in a school I was working in. I couldn’t quite believe how easy it was and confess to being very sceptical about it.

Once you’ve tried this, you may not want to eat those bought chutneys that leave such a nasty acid after-taste. I think it’s good with cheeses as well as cold meats. I also like it with curries. It doesn’t last long with us, as you can eat straight away and it smells so appetising! You can vary the type of vinegar and sugar. I prefer red wine vinegar and dark soft brown sugar. A cheap malt vinegar will not give a good flavour.

Wash the storage jars and lids really well. Sterilise the jars by placing them on a kitchen towel-lined oven tray. “Bake” in a preheated oven at 160C or Gas Mark 3 for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before filling with the chutney. Store in a cool dark place. (I store mine in the fridge). Read more »

Fruit & Nut Pilaf - MS Word document for downloading

I must remember this recipe after Christmas, as a way of using up the leftover meat. It’s a meal in itself. You can vary the dried fruits you use, according to the meat. Fruit and Nut Pilaf is delicious without meat, in which case, this quantity would probably serve 4. Don’t substitute oil for the butter. The butter is essential for the flavour, unless you are going to be very generous with the seasoning and/or herbs.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes, if you need to cook the rice

This is turning out to be quite a week! No time for lunch again today and it was duty day as well, so I hadn’t managed a coffee at morning break! Both staff are back, I am delighted to say, so I thought things might be getting easier, but not just yet. A kind colleague clearly saw that I was “wilting” as I was going to my afternoon class and offered me some chocolate. Just what I needed! That and a bottle of water kept me going!

After school, another meeting, so I was late going to the supermarket and getting home. I definitely needed a quick to prepare meal this evening! I put the rice onto cook before I started to unpack the shopping. The apricots and sultanas soaked in boiling water for ten minutes, while the onion cooked. Lovely black grapes were on special offer in the supermarket again, so they made a lovely quick pudding.

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