A sprinkling of Latte Creations makes an everyday coffee break extra special
Ecover's Non-Bio Integrated Powder uses the power of nature for brilliant results
Win a delicious wine cellar and VIP weekend to Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park
Some surprising facts from the Colonel
Find out why eating whole grains is good for you
Find healthy alternatives to cows milk
What's in season: September and October
Seasonal goodies
Apart from the wide variety of English apples now coming onto the market, look out for English plums. You will find Victorias, Laxtons, Marjorie Seedlings, Czars and, of course, the delicious translucent greengages. Freshly harvested hazelnuts, or cobnuts, with their satiny shells and stiff pale green 'wings' offer a short-lived seasonal treat. Sweet and milky, they are excellent with English cheeses and new-season's apples. Blue cheeses are good in the autumn, and it is well worth trying some of the unfamiliar ones, as well as that old stand-by, Stilton. I have to say, my favourite supermarket cheese at the moment is Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Traditional Farmhouse Lancashire. It is creamy, sweet, nutty and ripe - the perfect cheese to accompany your finest red wines, in Tom's view.
Now that we are back to a month with an 'R', shellfish is back in season, especially native oysters of course. These are exquisite. And expensive. The mussel is a fraction of the price, yet adds a touch of luxury, even when cooking on a budget.
And on the subject of budgets, how to do it? How to manage on a fiver a day?
Budget cooking
Which are your favourite staples? Pasta? Rice? Potatoes? Try to buy in bulk, or when supermarkets sell products on promotion. For example, Sainsbury's were recently selling their own-label penne for 22p for 500g. That makes two meals for two people, allowing 125g a portion. If you like potatoes and you have a farmer's market nearby, or have access to one, you will almost certainly be able to negotiate to buy a sack of potatoes, which will be infinitely less expensive than buying 500g or 750g in a plastic box from the supermarket. And the stall-holder might even deliver to your door. Keep the potatoes in a cool dark place.
That just may not be practical advice if you live in a centrally heated flat. In which case think about rice. One year I had a 28kg sack of basmati rice on my landing. It looked a bit odd, but was well worth it! I cook vegetable curries at least once a week, and this provided an inexpensive source of the best rice.
1 | 2 | 3 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
