At long last a warm sunny bank holiday is in our sights. We can start looking forward to BBQs and sunbathing and alfresco prosecco.
Winter is well and truly over and the birth of the summer has been traditionally celebrated in the UK for eons. One of the best ways to celebrate is to eat! What better way to welcome the sun and earth back into awakening (other than dancing round a big phallus with pretty ribbons) than by stuffing your face? There is no better way- it’s the best way to celebrate anything… well that’s certainly our view here at BB Towers.
So for your May Day treat we have come up with a spread of wonder! Whether you’re dining with friends and family or are hoping for something more intimate, we have a meal plan- which will cost you a mere £17 and will provide seven dishes to last you through the weekend – and if you’re really thrifty and have a freezer, well into next week.
One of the best ways to be economical with food is to make as many dishes out of the same ingredients as you possibly can. That means you don’t keep going back to the supermarket and spending your hard earned cash and means less food waste- which is better for us and (you don’t need me to tell you this…) the environment.
These dishes are designed to invoke the lightness and freshness of early summer. Meat lovers beware, these are meat free dishes, not because we are meat Nazi’s but because meat can add a great deal of expense to the average meal… but if you have some needing to be used, feel free to add meat to certain dishes.
What you will need to get with your £17
(Prices based on high street supermarkets)
- 1 bag of fresh spinach – £1.30
- 1kg- plain flour – 50p
- 4 bulbs of garlic – £1.70
- 3kg potatoes – £2.00
- 1kg onions – £1.00
- 12 free range eggs – £2.50
- 1 block Greek feta cheese – £1.50
- 600g (2 punnets) baby tomatoes – £2
- 700g bag of value mixed peppers (about seven small peppers) – £1.50
- 1kg frozen sweetcorn – £1
- 1 small tub of cream – 60p
- 250g butter – £1
What we hope you will already have in your kitchen stores
- pasta
- olive oil
- chilli powder
- stock cubes (chicken or veg)
- nutmeg
- seasoning
What you will magic these into
Sweetcorn chowder
Potato soup (add chicken, ham, bacon, fish even)
Mash potato with garlic and spinach
Spinach and feta salad
Spinach quiche (add bacon for meat treat)
Spanish omlette with peppers (add Spanish ham for meat treat)
Roast tomato and pepper salad
You can either serve this as three meals for 2 – 4 to last you the weekend or as one big buffet, or even two moderate buffets.
The beauty of these is that if you are cooking for a hoard you can prepare the soups and the quiche the day before. And the Spanish omelette can be served hot or cold. If you are cooking for a small group you can mix and match the dishes to suit the mood! None of the dishes take very long to prepare… what will take the longest is the quiche but don’t be put off as the majority of the time is waiting for it to cook in the oven.
Read Dawn’s scrummy recipes here on the Boookshelf Boyfriend website.
A money-saving feast for friends
[ Dawn Frances - Nifty thrifty - Thrift Bitch blog ]
