UKC

Ups and downs.  The Tian was great, the tofoo goulash was way too spicy.

The Aloo gobi recipe recommended by a couple of people on here last week is lovely - a definite future regular; thank you!  Made a very nice quiche - still can't get round my cheese addiction (and cream I suppose).  Just made passaladieve, which was nice (and deeply deeply savoury) but uses anchovies and is really quite a lot of cooking for the end result (bake blind; bake the base; slow cook the onions; reduce the sauce; re-bake the whole).  Finally, some more stuffed mushrooms were excellent.

Was invited to a barbeque at the weekend and fell off the wagon, but only as far as chicken.

That was one of 2 car journeys, so still good on that front!

Any more "must do" recipes?

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3018685/chipotle-bean-chilli-with-baked...

This was tonight's dinner.

No veg. Just beans. 

I had it with a baked sweet potato (and there is some onion and tomato in it too!).

Of course another advantage to a bean heavy meal is that it helps to reduce your heating bills for the rest of the evening!!

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/veggie-chilli-with-c...

This is my go to veggie chilli (I have never made the tortilla salad).  I use frozen onions, peppers, chilli, coriander and garlic, and can whip is up in about 5 minutes with a toddler hanging on to my legs. 

Not sure on the ethics of frozen veg/herbs, but I figure that they are probably better for the environment on the grounds of slower transport requirements, less bulk (particularly the peppers) to transport, and less food waste, as they most likely use the misshaped veg and the over produced stuff when they have it in abundance.  It is also (mostly) cheaper, and way less effort!

After a version of  a HFW dal recipe last night, we imagined ourselves as lonely souls on a dating website - must have and tolerate dal belly! Why we wouldn't get overwhelmed with attention I  don't know, as it is lovely. Potatoes, lentils, garlic, (HFW says curry powder) my home ground ras el hanout and oodles of spinach.  I always put in more garlic than recipes say.

I'm still roughly maintaining my "no meat from a supermarket" rule, and as I haven't found a butcher near my home or work this has meant exclusively veggie suppers. Did a (surprisingly) nice grilled romaine lettuce salad thing with goat's cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. As a bonus it was probably good for me!

Did get a saucisson sec from a market but I figure you get quite a lot of bang for your buck given how flavourful it is.

Thanks for all the veggie packed lunch ideas from last week, we ended up getting a couple of nice baguettes which are tasty enough to eat without filling but also had some cheese (and some very weird doritos).

PS I'm having dhal tonight, definitely one of my staples not least because at a minimum it can be made with staples that I am sure to have in the cupboards (lentils, onion, spices). Plus you can put all sorts of things in it, and unlike most other things I make it isn't improved by adding cheese.

Ms. aln isn't so keen on that....