It is Friday, and we went grocery shopping. I nearly chickened out of posting the pictures of it as I was embarrassed about the amount of junk it contained.... Thing is, my idea of "back to basics" and DD's are very, very different, so we had to compromise. I allocated £35 for the week's shopping, and we spent £34.58 - but this did get us loadsa junk stuff - now the next seven-day mini challenge begins - can we make it without top-ups ?
I ran some errands myself today - letters to post, prescription vitamin D to pick up for DD (still free !) and a cheque of DD's to pay in. The morning was rather a heavy one - had to wash my hair first thing, as there'd have been no time to dry it last night, and did not want to use a hairdryer. Then there were breakfasts to make - different ones for me and DD, as usual (I'd happily have the same as her, only as we can't restock on that one, need to stretch it out, but she will not have the same as me), DD's lunch to prepare so she could eat it while I was at work, runner beans I sliced and blanched last night to open freeze, and then tonight's dinner to put together so I could just stick it in the oven after coming back from our shopping trip.
It all went smoothly enough, and left me sufficient energy to start tackling the laundry tonight - the whites load is whizzing away even as I type.
As for the dinner, here it is - sauerkraut bake. To make the sauerkraut bake my way, you have to start some weeks before by making your own sauerkraut. The lacto-fermented cabbage is an excellent - and frugal - probiotic, and you can use it as you see fit, but do keep back about half a jar for this bake.
When you have your half a jar of sauerkraut ready to use, peel and boil some spuds - 250g per person should suffice. After 25 minutes, drain and mash with a smidge of butter and a splash of milk.
While the potatoes are boiling, slice a couple of onions and fry them off; pick a couple of chillies of the plant, chop finely and add to the frying pan (although the chillies are very much optional), then add your sauerkraut, a spoonful of paprika and a splash of water. Mix well and continue cooking until most of the water has evaporated. Turn the heat off, and get an oven-proof dish. Line the dish with half of the mashed potato, then, if you so wish, and are not of vegetarian persuasion, add something slightly meaty for extra flavour - bacon bits, small cubes of ham or slices of chorizo all work - I used chorizo today. Cover with sauerkraut, then layer the rest of the mash over the top. Sprinkle some cheese on top of that, if you have any. Set aside and go off to work. Or whatever.#
About 30-40 minutes before you'd like to eat, stick in the oven on 200 C. Serve with whatever you like - we shared a tin of beans between the three of us, as well as a single radish that was ready to harvest in the garden. OH and I also had a spoonful of runner bean and courgette chutney on the side.
So, here it is, in all its comfort-foody frugal glory:
If you squint, you can see the tiny slices of radish at the back of the plate.
And DD's plate looked like this when she was finished with it:
Oh well. You win some, you lose some.... And at least she did enjoy the radish.
What a great recipe, it sounds delicious. And I love that it can be made in advance. Well done on sharing out that radish! Hope you all have a good weekend Allegra.
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