Marielle Vensora This simple, delicious mushroom casserole is perfect easy comfort for cold evenings. Serve with a heap of fluffy mashed potatoes, or atop some plain rice, for a delicious dinner. Serves 2: 1 onion 2 fat cloves of garlic 400g mushrooms 2 tablespoons oil a fistful of fresh thyme or a shake of mixed dried … Read more
I don’t normally respond to online comments to news articles, but I have been astounded over the past few days by some assumptions and ‘advice’ on the Guardian forums. Apparently having tattoos and mirrored kitchen tiles makes me akin to a crack addict. 1. Those mirrored kitchen tiles were put in by the landlord that … Read more
I have lost count of the amount of times that I have answered the ‘tinned vegetables’ question this week, regarding my use of tinned potatoes, tinned carrots and tinned tomatoes on my blog, in my cupboard, and in my recipes. There are several reasons why I use tinned vegetables – but the main one is … Read more
I’ve been meaning to write this since some commenters on the Guardian website sniffed that they didn’t want to eat bean goulash or mushroom soup. Bully for them. I do. Then yesterday, I was forwarded an article by Shirley Goode, the 80′s doyenne of budget cooking, about me, which didn’t read as all that complimentary … Read more
I discovered a bit of a trick with falafels last night – goodness knows I’ve made enough of them over the past year, and sometimes they just seem to crumble and fall apart. However tonight, I discovered that 2tbsp water and 2tbsp flour was the best falafel-rescue-remedy so far. Forget eggs or ‘excessive mashing’ – … Read more
“Hey Sprout, do you want tomato and cheese with your pasta, or peas and cheese?” “Cheese!” “Yes, but do you want tomatoes, or peas?” “Peas!” “Peas and cheese?” “PEAS AND CHEESE!” That’s how that conversation went with SB today, having spent all day painting and cleaning and coming home to a rather limited cupboard (and … Read more
An article in the Guardian recently claimed that ‘austerity has been hijacked by the moralisers’ – and judging by George Osborne’s latest announcement that ‘austerity works’, it seems they were right. As though it’s all just ‘cosy frugality’, as though we are all just living in a snapshot of a nostalgic poster of post-War Britain. … Read more
Based on my original Feisty Soup recipe, I’ve made myself a batch of this this afternoon to try to combat a very heavy cold. It normally works very well; the chilli blasts the sinuses, the lemon and ginger eases that accompanying stomach ache, the onion and garlic are packed with antioxidants and the carrots and … Read more
As featured on Great British Chefs: How to make budget friendly almost-florentines. It’s rare that I do a ‘sweets and treats’ recipe, but sometimes you just want one, you know? This little beauty came about on Saturday evening, after I’d been buried in work all day, and finally came up for air craving a florentine … Read more
After speaking on panels and at fringe events on food poverty and the bedroom tax, at the Labour Party conference, Green Party conference, and TUC congress recently, this Tuesday I will be entering unfamiliar territory in Manchester, to address the Tories on the rise of food bank use as the direct result of cuts to … Read more