Before I had a child I imagined (naively) that any I did have in the future would eat everything, none of this fussy nonsense in my kids thank you very much. Especially they would eat veg, because I’d just give it to them when they were too small to care and never stop so they wouldn’t think not to eat it.

I’ve had to revise my thinking a bit in the light of actual experience.

It turns out that children very quickly make their own minds up about what they’ll eat and try as you might it won’t always be what you think they should. And I ended up with one who, though cooperative and easy going in almost every other respect, thinks vegetables are akin to rat poison and to be avoided at all costs.

So of necessity I have become something of a whizz at sneaking in veg or dressing it up in a way that means at least a little goes down. My favourite ploy is tomato sauce, in which, if you simmer it for long enough, you can dissolve pretty much any grated vegetables.

These turnip chips pass muster too and are at least nibbled at whereas ordinary turnip would be spurned completely. They are also an excellent replacement for potato chips for anyone watching their carbs. Lidl often have HUGE turnips for anything from 69c to 89c, so they are very good value too.

They are very simply made, but a little care and attention is required or they can just be soggy and greasy. The secret is browning them fast in very hot oil. This amount is enough for three or four people, depending on their age and how hungry they are.

• 1/2 a large turnip
• Dessert spoon of soy flour
• generous shake of black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Grated nutmeg (I use about half a nutmeg)
• Olive oil

Cut the raw turnip into chip shaped pieces and boil in lightly salted water for about 30 minutes. The actual time varies a bit from turnip to turnip, so it can take as little as 20 mins or as long as 40. You want them cooked, but not too soft.

Drain well and return to the saucepan over the heat for a minute or do to steam off any excess water, then leave aside to cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile put the olive oil in a large metal baking tray. If you happen to have chicken, goose or turkey fat using this mixed with the oil gives a great flavour. You need enough oil to cover the base of the tray to a couple of millimeter depth. Put this into a hot oven - about 200°C.

Mix the soy flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the turnip. Put a lid on the saucepan and shake it gently, turning it upside down and sideways as you do. This will slightly roughen the outside of the turnip and make sure it’s fairly evenly coated with the flour mix.

Tip into the baking tray and toss around to coat in the hot oil (it needs to be really hot at this point). They take about 10-15 minutes to cook - toss again half way though to turn the chips over.

Drain on a little kitchen paper and serve immediately - they get a bit soggy if left hanging around.

The soy flour browns very well and gives a slight extra crispness, you can of course vary the flavouring to suit yourself.

I don’t have a deep fat fryer, but I imagine these would cook very well in one and would probably be even crisper.

Tags: Recipes, Turnip, Vegetables
Posted in Low carb, Recipes | 5 Comments »

This morning was one of those chaotic ones where it’s a surprise that breakfast even happens.

It did though and we had Cheese Omelette, made with 4 eggs and 120g or 4 oz of cheese - yes, it was very cheesy. I completely forgot to photograph it, but I think you know what a cheese omelette looks like. We also finished off the yogurt from yesterday, it was too good to resist, which means it was a relatively expensive breakfast compared to the last couple of days.

Cost: 4 eggs 54c; Cheese 76c; yogurt €1.20. Total: €2.50  - yikes!

The budget was saved somewhat by the fact that he was being taken out for lunch at work, which probably cost enough to feed us for at least half a week! Is that cheating? I don’t think so. I think if you’re on a tight budget you’re unlikely to turn up your nose at free food. And Gavin will be pleased that he at least got one decent meal this week!

I had tuna with radish and a couple of cos leaves on crisp bread, and a slice of Galia Melon.

I only ate half the tin of tuna, so will probably have the much the same tomorrow. This worked out quite a bit cheaper than I expected when I totted it up, it seems remarkable value to me for what was a pretty nice lunch.

I needed some turnip for dinner tonight and some chilis and beans for tomorrow,  so I took a trip over to Lidl in the afternoon to top up.

It was interesting. They are definitely responding to the Tesco price reductions and a good few items that I bought last time are cheaper now, if only by a few cent. Is this the start of a price war?

Also I can confirm what Alt_k9 said, organic courgettes are cheaper than ordinary ones at the moment, €1.45 as against €1.65 for about the same amount.

Anyway, this is my top up shopping basket:

All of which reduces the kitty to €6.90, with 4 days left. But I think that’s fine.

On to dinner, which was grilled gammon, sautéed cabbage with caramelised onions and turnip mash. Comfort food - simple but tasty.

Though you can just bung gammon under the grill and be ready to eat in minutes, I tend to give it a little love and attention first and it’s the better for it.

I find gammon - and not just Lidl’s - a bit overly salty, so before cooking it, I put it into a saucepan of cold water, bring it just to the boil, pour off the boiling water then rinse it in some cold water. I don’t know whether I’m commiting some heineous food safety sin by heating the gammon, without fully cooking it, like this, but I’ve been doing it for years and we’re all ok so far.

Once the gammon is drained, I brush both sides of the steaks with a mixture of seseme oil, a little soy sauce and a good pinch of ground cloves before grilling. Sometimes I’ll leave it to soak in for a while, anything from 10-30 minutes, sometime I’ll grill right away. The result isn’t some sort of odd chinese gammon, it just gives a pleasant edge to the flavour and means it browns nicely under the grill.

The cost for dinner breaks down as follows: Gammon €1.99; cabbage 33c; turnip 25c; onion 9c.

Turnip is such a good deal. I admit that occasionally when I’m in a hurry I buy Mash Direct’s mashed turnip. While it is very nice and very handy, the half turnip I used tonight made easily as much as is in a pack that costs around €2.30. Over €2 is quite a lot to pay just to avoid cutting up a turnip and throwing it into a saucepan of water.

In any case, to-day ended up the cheapest day so far, at €5.81, thanks to the free lunch!

Tags: Gammon, Prices, Tuna, Turnip, €50 Challenge
Posted in Shopping Baskets, €50 Challenge | 5 Comments »