The end of my storecupboard challenge

The supermarkets and the media recently discussed whether you could feed a family of 4 for £50. Sainsbury's launched a campaign recently saying it could be done (by shopping in one of their stores obviously) and an article in the Times a few months back had a balanced view on the matter. We had a yes no and a maybe. One contributer said that it was possible if you shopped around and another said it took all the joy out of eating.

Well my own challenge is officially at an end and my conclusion? It can be done for around £30 and you can eat a variety of lovely simple meals. The main problem is that you have to plan in advance and not veer away from your shopping list. Fancy some lamb chops? forget it and also you end up eating lots of carbohydrates as they are cheap and filling. I got all my groceries from one place in any given week. I used Sainsbury's and Asda and found the latter to be cheaper, but I preferred some of the lines in the former. You could probably do it cheaper if you used your local market.

The purpose of this challenge for me was to be more disciplined when shopping as my food budget is now pretty strict. I've come away from a supermarket over £100 pounds worse off with not much to show for it and needing to go shopping a few days later. The other reason is that I don't agree with the economic argument that people are becoming obese because they cannot afford to eat healthily. My weekly food contained oily fish, chicken, salads and vegetables and were simple to cook. Although my challenge is over for the purpose of this blog, I will continue to let it be a guiding principle and also if you have these basics in your cupboard you will always have something to eat.

I think 3 weeks of blogging on one subject is enough for now and I am going to let the blog return, for a while, to it's original purpose, as a means to give my daughter's all the recipes I've cooked them. Which is, of course, how I express my love for them.

Chicken and chorizo casserole

I made this in my slow cooker - brown the chicken off and literally chuck the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker and relax.

1 whole chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
1 onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic
200g diced chorizo sausage
 2 tins chickpeas or canellini beans, drained
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1/4 pint of water
2 tspn smoked paprika (opt)

As I said, brown the chicken pieces in a frying pan and add all the other ingredients. You can bring them to the boil (if you wish) then add it all to the slow cooker or a casserole dish / large saucepan and cook for hours.

Storecupboard Challenge Week 2 - Chorizo and Chickpea Stew

I didn't post yesterday as mealtime was a very simple affair, not really worth writing a recipe for 'Pasta alla Ali'. But that's not to say this dish ain't lovely, and necessary sometimes, to cook such a simple meal. The title is something of a family joke as my wife, Ali can't cook - she once put a pizza in the oven and forgot about it only remembering in a panic halfway through her holiday abroad, returning to charred cinders. Then again she is beautiful and intelligent. Ali is the breadwinner not the breadmaker in our house - that is my job. So pasta alla ali is spaghetti with olive oil and parmesan cheese grated over, but little does she know that it is a close relative of the Naples dish that has garlic in. This is why junk food has never really taken off in Italy as it is so simple to make. So if there's nothing else in its a storecupboard hero of a dish which costs pennies.

Now we head off to another great culinary nation for inspiration - Spain. One of my favourite food countries, Spain has a lot to offer the frugal cook. The star of this dish is chorizo sausage (not to be mistaken for the salami style), which is spicy with smoked paprika. It will last for ages in the fridge and a little goes a long way as it is so packed with flavour. Here I am using tinned chickpeas as life is too short to wait for them to soak then cook, and anyway I can't tell the difference, and the cost is roughly the same. The simplicity and flavour of this dish is incredible and I like to serve it with a slice of toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with oil.

Chorizo and Chickpea Stew

2 tins chickpeas, drained
1 large onion, chopped,
125g chorizo sausage, sliced
2 tins chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1tbsp olive oil
handful chopped flatleaf parsley (optional)

1) In a large non stick pan heat the oil then fry the onions and chorizo until cooked. Add the garlic and cook for a minute longer.
2) Add the tomatoes and chickpeas and simmer for about 2 hours (or pop in a slow cooker for the day), checking it doesn't become too dry. At the end, season and add the parsley. Simple as that!

Storecupboard Challenge - Day 2 Spanish Omlette

Having just returned from work the last thing I want to do is fuss around in the kitchen. Some days I do but not today. I am now starting to feel a bit militant about my challenge but already there are things I should have included, like broccoli and some tinned fish maybe. However, i'm not going shopping again as I have a budget to stick to. By the way if you are doing this with me then a weekly shop is not essential. In fact its my dream to live somewhere I could shop every few days - its the principle thats important - not going too much off list. Anyway nice and easy tonight - Spanish omlette. Feel free to include whatever you like, mushrooms or artichokes are lovely but i've added some diced pepper and diced courgette, which is not on my list but my neighbour gave me one from her garden. Also below is my shopping list repeated for those of you who want it.

Spanish Omlette

6 - 8 eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned
1 large or 3 small potatoes, cut into small dice
1/2 onion, finely diced
100g cooking chorizo, diced
1 small courgette, diced
1/4 red pepper, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1) In a large non stick frying pan heat some oil on a medium heat and fry the chorizo, courgette, pepper, onion and potato until crisp and cooked.
2) Add the eggs and stir gently. Now you can let it cook for a couple of minutes until it is safe to turn it over (turn it onto a plate and then back into the pan). Cook the other side for 2 minutes, serve immediately. Some dressed spinach leaves would be nice.

Staples
4 types of flour - plain, self raising, gram and bread
caster sugar
milk
salt and pepper
sunflower oil for frying
marigold vegetable stock

Storecupboard items
Pasta (500g) - £1.00
Chopped tinned tomatoes (400g) x 2 - 31p for basics, 59p for own brand and 98p for Napolina
Medium curry powder (80g) - 99p
Extra virgin olive oil (500ml) - £1.99
Rice - basics long grain 45p for 1kg or £1.46 for 500g basmati
Bread, unsliced (800g) - £1.20
Cashew nuts (90g) - £1.44
Dried porcini mushrooms (25g) - £1.78

Total: £9.47 (basics)

Fruit and veg items
Herbs - 2 for £2
Onions - 98p (kg)
Garlic - 30p (clove)
Potatoes (new) - £1.00 (kg)
Mixed peppers - £1.35 (600g)
Carrots - 75p (1.5kg)
Mixed chilli - 54p
Lemon - 30p
Tomatoes - 72p (450g)
Frozen Peas - £1.75 (900g)

Total: £9.69

Fridge items
Cheese
- Parmesan - £2.30 (250g)
- Cheddar - £1.50 (330g, basics) or £2.50 (300g own brand)
Chorizo (cooking) - £2.39 (225g)
Cream - 95p (300ml)
Natural yogurt - 54p (basics) or £1.00 (own brand)
Ham - 85p (basics, 200g) or £3.00 (breaded, own brand)
Parma ham - £2.00 (70g) or £2.69 (85g)
Eggs (dozen) - £1.40 (barn) or £2.50 (free range)
Whole chicken (medium) - £4.00 (standard), £6.00 (free range), £8.00 (organic)
Minced beef (500g) - 96p (standard mince) or £2.96 (minced steak)

Total: £16.89 (basics)

Basket Total: £36.05 (basics)