Caitríona Redmond: How to make the most of what's in your cupboard when low on funds
Make the most of the kitchen stores even without fresh lemons for this moreish lemon pudding.
Last week I chatted about how you should take a look in your kitchen stores to see what you had to hand before going to the shops again. The reasons are twofold.
Firstly, professional kitchens use stock rotation to make sure that their ingredients are always fresh and they only replace what they have used.
Your kitchen is a hard-working professional kitchen, churning out at least 2 meals a day 365 days a year! If you change your attitude towards the hardest working room in the home, it’ll pay off.
Secondly, what you have to hand is money you’ve already spent. If you can use what you have in your cupboards, presses, fridge, and freezer then you won’t need to go out and spend money to eat. Think of your kitchen stores as a bank: it’ll always pay off to invest.
If paid monthly or fortnightly, January can feel like the longest month of the year and some of us can go as long as 6 and a half weeks between our December payday and the first salary payment in 2024.
That’s a heck of a long gap between being paid and waiting for money to come in, especially if the holiday season has been an expensive one.
That’s not to say that you will avoid the shops entirely. The best meals are supplemented with fresh ingredients and I’ll be heading to the supermarket a few times over the next week or so.
I will be choosing clever fresh ingredients that I know will provide the nutrition my family needs on a budget. I’ll be extolling the virtues of a large tray of free-range eggs and a bag of potatoes.
Both of these are top-notch Irish ingredients that are very friendly to my dwindled cash supply in January. You’ll find other suggestions for seasonal food below which will help you meet the financial challenges this New Year season.
Having looked through my own presses I know that I am probably a worse hoarder than most, particularly when it comes to unusual ingredients. I’m designating this week as an opportunity to experiment with freekeh (giant couscous), tofu and other plant-based proteins.
The meat lovers in the family may complain but it’s temporary as my bank account goes through the holiday hangover.
I have enough butter left for toast but not for baking. I’ll play around with yoghurts and apple sauce instead. Necessity is the mother of all invention so it’ll be interesting to see what I come up with!
In the depths of winter, imported fruits and vegetables can be the most expensive to pick up in the supermarket. An important thing to note if you are short on cash, especially after the Christmas/New Year may have depleted your cash and food stores.
Eating seasonally with local Irish food can be a way around high prices for fresh food. Brassicas like cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli are still going strong.
Brussels sprouts are for as long as they are in season, not just for Christmas.
Frosty and cold weather adds sweetness to these vegetables too. Mushrooms, parsnips, leeks, and carrots should also be of Irish origin and priced in the value range at this time of the year.
Put them all to good use in soups, stews, casseroles, and in finely chopped warm salads.
If you are ever wondering what to eat at which time of the year, the Bord Bia website has an excellent “Best in Season” calendar.
Make the most of the kitchen stores even without fresh lemons for this moreish lemon pudding. Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Cuisine Ingredients 1 jar lemon curd (homemade is best but shop-bought fine) 125g unsalted butter 125g caster sugar 2 large free range eggs 250 self-raising flour 15ml lemon juice Method Preheat a fan oven to 170°C/ gas mark 3. Grease and dust a heavy bottomed ceramic baking dish. Place the dish inside of a deep baking tray. Spoon half the jar of lemon curd into the bottom of the baking dish and spread evenly so it coats the bottom. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs and beat again until you get a loose batter. Add the flour and beat until the batter is tighter. Finally, add the lemon juice and stir one last time. Boil a kettle of water. Spoon the cake batter on top of the lemon curd in the baking dish, making small wells in the surface. Spoon the last of the lemon curd from the jar into the wells in the cake batter. Cover the dish with baking parchment and secure with a piece of string. Put the baking tray containing the dish of lemon pudding into the oven and pour 400ml of hot water into the tray surrounding the ceramic dish. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, removing the baking parchment for the last 5 minutes. Do a skewer test after 40 minutes, if the skewer is clean remove the pudding from the oven and allow to cool slightly. If not clean, cook for a further 5-10 minutes before testing again. Serve while still warm, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It’s rib stickingly good!Lemon Pudding
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