Caitríona Redmond: Try my all-in-one roast chicken for dinner on a budget

Plus: the joy of missing out, my apple crumble cake and the importance of keeping time

Caitríona Redmond's all-in-one roast chicken.

A couple of weeks ago there was a large food festival that I knew was going to be outstanding. 

Many of my favourite producers would be there, it was guaranteed to be a very interesting day, and I’d also get to meet plenty of people championing Irish food. It would be like Electric Picnic but for food. Sounds amazing doesn’t it?

I didn’t go because I didn’t have enough money in the budget.

It would have used up about a quarter of a fuel tank, plus the spending money I’d have needed. Sure, I could have rocked up with one arm longer than the other, tasted the samples on offer and left empty-handed. I believe that if I’m going to go to an event then I should be able to support the producers and that requires money. Instead, I stayed at home.

Please, don’t feel like this is a ‘poor me’ piece where I lament what I missed out on.

I look at a culture where it’s fast food, fast fashion and fast videos and I wonder if it makes anybody else feel anxious? Because it makes me feel this way.

It’s okay not to have the latest piece of makeup or not to have already bought a beauty Advent calendar on pre-order. It’s perfectly alright to cook simple meals with what you’ve got and not to have the newest trending products on your shelves. The more people write/speak out about missing events or choosing not to buy items because they don’t have the money, the more it becomes normalised.

You might have heard of the acronym “FOMO” which means “fear of missing out” and its antonym “JOMO” or “joy of missing out”. Neither describes my choices because I don’t feel like I am missing out by not attending or buying something. I’m certainly not afraid of missing out at all.

Opting out gives me more power and control. Feeling in control of my finances makes me feel better about myself. I measure my success by the bills paid on time and not having to dip into the credit card (emergencies excepted).

What did I do instead of going to that food festival? I stayed at home and cooked a family dinner, the family piled onto the sofa and watched a film, and then I read a book. It was easy and gentle. In fact, I didn’t leave the house at all that day so I spent no money.

I felt bad for missing some of my favourite people all in one location. It would, I’m sure, have been a fantastic day. On the other side of the coin, I went to bed with a light heart and didn’t wake up the following day worrying about my bank balance.

I missed an event but it’s alright. There may be another opportunity in future but then again I might decide to opt out again. It’s not worth going into debt for a fast fix of joy. I’ll be continuing to opt-out in the future. Whatever it takes to get to my goal.

Pic: iStock

Home Economics – Keeping Time

It’s slow cooker season once again, and you will see plenty of these appliances on special offer in the weeks ahead. I am a big advocate of a slow cooker, which uses about the same energy as a lightbulb making it incredibly energy-efficient. At the basic entry level there is very little difference between brands as they all do the same job; heat, cook on high, and cook at medium.

If you intend to buy a slow cooker then my best advice to you is to pair it up with a simple mechanical timer plug. Imagine my delight when I found these exact timer plugs in Dealz last week for the bargain-basement price of just €3 each. Add a timer plug to your slow cooker to make sure your food is ready at the time you want it, and you no longer have to worry about an appliance being on for the whole day and your dinner ruined.

For bonus points, use the timer plug on appliances within the home that can be a stealthy drain on your energy and cost you money. Think TVs, standard lamps, and decorative outside lights. Investing €3 now will help you reap the benefits all year 'round. I bought a timer plug and we have it on the garden lights now. It gives me so much joy to see the lights coming on in the late afternoon and then extinguishing later on at night. It’s almost a pleasant surprise when I see it happening, even though I set them myself.

This week’s recipes are designed to be cooked in the oven at the same time on separate shelves. Using the whole of the oven, you will have a full main course and dessert with plenty of leftover desserts to enjoy another day!

All-in-One Roast Chicken on a Budget

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

A full house for dinner - and it's light on the bank balance!

Servings

5

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 150g chopped fresh butternut squash

• 1 brown onion, sliced into chunks

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks

• 250g cherry tomatoes, washed

• 1kg baby potatoes, washed

• 1kg fresh chicken drumsticks

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp each of paprika (sweet), salt, pepper, and dried or fresh thyme

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C.

2. Score the tops of the baby potatoes lengthways but don’t cut them the whole way through.

3. Put the squash, onion, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, and drumsticks into a large roasting tin. Pour over the oil and seasonings. Mix around all the ingredients so that everything is coated in the mixture. Turn the potatoes so that the sliced side faces upwards.

4. Put the roasting tin into the oven once it has reached temperature and roast for 1 hour.

5. Serve straight from the oven and spoon the juices from the roasting pan over the top of the food for gravy. I like to add a little bit of fresh rocket on top before eating but that’s optional.

Apple Crumble Cake

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

A cosy bake to try as the autumn evenings draw in.

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 5 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 6 Bramley apples

• 1 lemon

• 100g rolled oats

• 75g dark brown demerera sugar

• 75g butter, softened

• 200g caster sugar

• 200g butter, softened

• 2 medium eggs

• 250g plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Peel, quarter and core the apples. The pieces should be large, not small slices. Put them into a large bowl, cover with water and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the water. Stir well. This will stop them turning brown while you prepare the rest of the cake.

2. Preheat your oven to fan 180°C and line your baking tray or tin well.

3. In a large bowl, beat the dark brown sugar and 75g of softened butter together until you have a brown, nearly fudge-colour batter. Stir in the rolled oats. It will become a bit clumpy, so use a fork to separate them out a bit. SEt the crumble mix aside.

4. Finally, to make the sponge, cream the remaining butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one by one, continuously beating so that you have a light batter. Once the eggs, butter and sugar are well mixed, add the flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Beat well so that you get a stiff batter.

5. Spoon the batter into your lined baking tray/tin. Using the back of a wet spoon (this stops the batter from sticking to it) smooth out the batter evenly. Next place the pieces of apple on top of the cake batter and finally sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.

6. Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. Check the very centre of the baking tray with a cocktail stick/skewer after this time to see if any batter sticks. If you get a wet result, then bake for a further 10 minutes. If the skewer comes out dry and clean then remove the cake from the oven.

7. Allow to rest for about 30 minutes in the tray before carefully lifting and slicing.