Thursday’s Live Below the Line £1 challenge

This morning I made a big discovery. My entire sense of humour depends upon food. Genuinely. The lads at work were joking…and I couldn’t quite tell. What was a joke? What wasn’t? Not a clue. I couldn’t even listen.

So thank goodness for those biscuits. And that I had pennies spare for a morning coffee, to make me less of a zombie. I actually don’t feel that bad today! That’s this evening, though. This morning was a whole different kettle of fish.

Just one more day of Live Below the Line!

It really does make you recalibrate your attitude to food. I mean, I have always tried not to waste anything, but I’ll try to consider everything I buy from now on. 1.3 billion people globally have less than 33p per person to eat on. Every meal will be rice, or maize meal.

Farm Africa is trying to give people the tools to help themselves – they aren’t giving handouts, they’re equipping people to use the land they have to sustain and support themselves. I can’t think of a more deserving charity. Please, give if you can.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TheEdibleWoman

 

Breakfast: 11.6p

banana + coffee + 2 biscuits 11.6p

(biscuits 0.8p)

 

lunch: 24.17p

 

 

 

 

turmeric dal and stirfried vegetables

18p + 18.75p + 10p = 46.75p / 2 = 23.37p

daal 18p (60 per bag, 6p per 100g, 9p per portion)

spices 10p

stirfried veg 18.75p

46.75p/2

+ 1 biscuit 0.8p

lunch = 24.17p

Whiting fish pie recipe

1 fresh whiting 50p from Leeds market

potatoes 20p

butter 10p

milk 20p

spices 20p

flour etc 20p

140p / 3 = 46.6p

First poach the fish. I put the whole fish into a pan and submerged in a milk and water mix (3/4 milk). Add 1 bay leaf and 4 peppercorns. Don’t boil but cook on a low heat until poached.  Then strip the fish from the bones, keeping the poaching milk.

Make a roux sauce by taking a nob of butter and melting it in a pan. Then add flour slowly, whisking constantly, until you have a yellow thick paste. Then slowly whisk more of the poaching milk in, until you have a thickened roux sauce. Add pepper to season.

Boil your potatoes, then mash. Use some more of the poaching milk mixture to help your mash get to a nice soft consistency. Add the fish to the roux sauce, stirring it in, then layer your fish into an oven-proof bowl and cover with the mashed potato. Put it in the oven when you’re ready to cook, until the top goes crisp and slightly golden.

24.17+46.6+11.6=

82.37p

 

Yay, slightly under! But I made a gruesome cake for halloween and I may have licked the icing spoon…waste not want not, right? But yeah, I think that probably filled up at least some of my spare pennies.