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Okay, people. Being delirious with fever for a week tends to give you a fresh perspective on things and re-examine some of your assumptions. My primary conclusion coming out of last week's frankly awful fever is that eating shit like I do is going to kill me. Instapasta and a stir-in, sans vegetables of any kind, upwards of 3 nights a week, accompanied by large volumes of sweets and frequently skipped meals explains why I have been so ill and so often over the last 6-9 months. Prior to that period I was getting a weekly dose of vegetarianism from M, and it is only now that I've worked out that the transition in my health seems to go back to around then.
So! New flat, new attitude, I'm going to be cooking lots of nice and healthy things to eat, starting with a one-month blitz to get me into the habit of cooking every day.
The problem is that I don't have any time to go grocery shopping every time I want dinner -- in fact, if I manage to get down to the grocery once a fortnight, that's pretty good. So we will be getting our wonderful grocery delivery service to kick in on that one.
What's still missing is inspiration. Food is like French to me: I can read it, but I can't speak it. So if you give me a recipe I can look at it and translate it into food, but I can't just come up with an idea for food from nothing. So this is where you come in: suggest three meals that I can make myself for dinner. Not recipes: I can look them up on the Internet if need be. I just need the ideas for what to eat in the first place, so I know what to buy. Criteria are:
You can post your meals in the comments, or to your own blog, or even mail me. An example of a good suggestion I've had so far:
Leafy green salad with olives and cherry tomatoes, with a small piece of grilled fish and some pasta.
More like the above, please. And remember: you're helping me not die!
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Comments
talia
Jon
Just fry off the meat so it's cooked, then add veg. Harder stuff first, but it doesn't really matter. Chopping stuff finer will also make it cook quicker.
But really, 10 minutes chopping, 10-15 minutes frying and then throw in some cooked noodles. Easy.
Roger
prepare a really reduced, thick, tomato sauce with paprika. Flash fry some thinly-sliced chicken livers with garlic. Throw both together with some pasta. Salad optional.
French onion soup. costs nothing, takes no time or effort, and there are thousands of recipes out there.
The other fun, low-effort thing to just tip over pasta whilst not dying as a consequence is a big heap of roast vegetables. Cherry tomatoes in the mix provide moisture and sweetness. Ideally with anchovies and chilli.
Also, get a copy of Silver Spoon, a clear contender for the best ever cookbook.
ed
Anyway. I usually whip these up with some green beans (which I season with olive oil, pepper, and a little balsamic vinegar) and sweet potato fries, which you can find out how to make on the internet. You could also steam up some broccoli or boil potatoes or something. Brown rice works well with the tuna, I've found.
You'll be eating in 30 minutes or less.
ed
marc
My favourite simple, delicious recipe: a bed of rice, some spinach wilted in EVOO and garlic, and a grilled piece of mahi mahi or salmon with tons of lemon squeezed over it. You can do the two latter things in the time it takes to steam the rice, so dinner's ready in 20 minutes.
Other meal: a vegetable and beef stew, french style, started from a roux--and you could turn it into a wine reduction if you wanted to be fancy, or just add low-fat milk and/or chicken stock if you want to be extra good. Just throw in whatever vegetables in the pantry or crisper.
And a third: Cabbage soup. To die for.
Robert
grill something (fish, chicken, even sausages) to go with them and you've got a decent meal in about a quarter of an hour...
M
Salmon (baked or grilled or, if you are feeling adventurous, fried, make sure you use lost of herbs and lemon), with potatoes of some sort (oven chips, mashed, boiled new potatos) and green vegetables (brocolli, green beans, peas, even a bag of salad). Put the potaoes on to cook first, then the salmon, then the veg and it should all be done at about the same time in under 25mins.
Feel free to substitute the salmon for other types of fish or meat, but some sort of variation on that template should provide you with rounded, nutritious meals. Even fajitas come with potato wedges and a bag of salad ;-)
Bob
Lightly fry, in butter, a few chicken breasts until they've gone a bit white.
Transfer to saucepan and boil (yes) in just enough water, adding oranges (at least half an orange per breast) and a whole bunch of olives (even if you don't normally eat or like olives).
When most of the water has boiled off plate the chicken then spoon over some delicious mushy orangey olive sauce stuff that's left in the saucepan.
Serve with potatoes and whatever etc.
Weird and impressive. Honest.
R
And it just reminded me of the most fantastic thing: Stick a bunch of lamb in a pan with some oil and the juice of a couple of lemons. Put it on the hob, quite high for about 20-30. Then add 2 glasses of wine, green olives, and fresh oregano, and cook on low until mushy and tender. Serve with cous cous and roasted peppers. Lovely.