Marmite and cucumber sandwiches

Those of you who have been following the fevered debate on the virtues (or otherwise) of Marmite may require proof that I have been as good as my word and knocked up a Marmite and cucumber sandwich. So here it is!

I realised there were many possible permutations. White or brown bread (I chose white), butter or no butter, how much Marmite (a light smear), how thickly the cucumber should be sliced (thinly, IMO) and whether it should or shouldn't be peeled (it should, I think).

And the verdict? Very nice. Not quite as nice as cucumber sandwiches on their own but much better than I would have imagined. I unreservedly take back my critical comments about the combination. But I still reckon £31.50 is a silly amount to charge for afternoon tea, Marmite sandwiches or not ;-)

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2 for 1 pizza deals

I was going to title this post Pizza the action, but thought it was just too painfully bad a pun. But it slipped out anyhow . . .

Anyway, for those of you who don't subscribe to Martin Lewis's excellent moneysavingexpert.com newsletter (and if you don't, you should) Pizza Express and Zizzi are both offering 2 for 1 deals on main courses this month. In Pizza Express's case you get the most expensive pizza free which is really good.

I go back a long way with Pizza Express. I loved it when it first opened then went off it in a big way as the pizzas seemed to shrink and shrink but it's back on form currently. Zizzi I'm not mad about but a deal's a deal.

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Marmite afternoon tea

The prize for silliest idea of the year so far (admittedly we're only 7 days into 2009) has to go to the food and beverage department of the Dorchester which has dreamed up a Marmite afternoon tea. The Marmite component apparently consists of Marmite and cucumber sandwiches which sounds pretty yukky to me. And that seems to be it. Price £31.50 per person. Minus service, I presume.

I suppose if you're rich enough to go to the Dorchester for tea £31.50 is peanuts but it seems shockingly bad value to me, even by London standards.

Here's a suggestion. Go off to your local supermarket or corner shop and buy a packet of crumpets. Toast them really, really well (there's nothing worse than a soggy crumpet), slather them with butter and spread with a thin smear of Marmite. Cost per head (assuming you have butter and Marmite and eat two crumpets) about 31.5p - 100th of the price of the Dorchester tea.

BTW you know this big thing about Marmite lovers and loathers - the idea that everyone falls into one of two camps. I really don't buy it. I actually quite like Marmite - especially on crumpets - and Ryvita crispbread, now I come to think of it - but I never crave it. On the other hand I don't like Vegemite or other Marmite substitutes which is annoying as it really seems to have gone up in price, particularly with these new squeezy bottles. What about you? And have you ever found a good low cost alternative?

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Hot toddy bargain!

Just a quickie to let you know that according to mysupermarket.co.uk both Sainsbury's and Tesco have got Stone's ginger wine on offer at £3.99 at the moment. Full report - and recipes - on Credit Crunch Drinking (and no, I'm not on a retainer from Stone's ;-)

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What to do with frozen broccoli

I don't normally buy frozen broccoli but found a 1 kilo bag for a pound in Somerfield yesterday which was less than a third the £3.33 the store was charging for a kilo of fresh broccoli. In fact it was even better value, arguably, given that there weren't any huge stalks though as I've mentioned before there are things you can do with those. It's also probably more healthy given that it was frozen soon after picking and hasn't been lying around in a storeroom for weeks.

BUT - and of course there's a but - it doesn't have the taste or texture of fresh broccoli, especially broccoli that's locally grown.

The worst thing you can do IMO is to follow the pack instructions and cook it in boiling water for 5 minutes by which time any remaining taste will have disappeared and it will have been reduced to an unappetising mush. In fact I wouldn't put water anywhere near it.

I tried making a broccoli quiche with some assorted bits of leftover cheese in the fridge which was reasonably successful. I sweated off a chopped onion, added a large clove of finely chopped garlic and thawed the broccoli just enough to chop it into smaller florets (see top pic) then carried on the usual way. If I was making it again I'd use a stronger cheese such as Stilton or a mature cheddar or extra Parmesan. Looked nice though.

Last night I stir-fried a batch - again thawed for 10 minutes or so until I could slice it - adding a little crushed garlic, grated ginger and light soy sauce and that again tasted perfectly nice though admittedly more of the seasonings than the vegetable.

I reckon you could also make a decent soup whizzed up from briefly cooked frozen broccoli, frozen peas and spring onions if they were cheap enough (they're a ridiculous 85p a bunch locally at the moment) and a good bit of parsley or mint.

So - no water and strong accompanying flavours. That seems to be the answer.

Do you use frozen veg (apart from peas) and if so how do you find it's best to cook them?

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Asda becomes a pound shop

Those of you who don't read the tabloids may have missed the report in the Mirror today that Asda is trying to outdo Poundland by putting a whole load of lines on offer for £1. If you've got an Asda nearby and they're lines you buy regularly it's certainly worth taking advantage although I'd take care a) not to buy something for which there is a cheaper alternative and b) not to buy too many of the lines that aren't marked down (the new cunning wheeze from supermarkets being to bump up the price of anything that isn't on special offer)

Offers that would tempt me (assuming they're actually available*) include a £1.33 reduction on Kellogg's Fruit and Fibre cereal from £2.33 to £1 and the New Covent Garden's soups down from £1.97 to £1. But even at £1 you can find cheaper ketchups than Heinz and make a pasta sauce for less than the £1 Asda will charge you for a jar of Loyd Grossman Tomato and Basil sauce.

My daughter who lives in York tells me this is no big deal and that Poundland (to which she is devoted) has similar offers. I'll have to check out our local branch.

* I say this because one of you has reported she couldn't find any of the advertised offers in her local Asda. As you'll see from the comments below they don't actually guarantee to have them available which is more than a bit cheeky.

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Lentil and chestnut soup

Most of my new recipes these days are inspired by an ingredient that needs using up. So it was in the case of this substantial soup (more like a stew, actually) which I thought would make the best of a batch of really tasty goose stock.

Like all recipes it can be fiddled around with depending what you have available. If you haven't got bacon use chorizo or up the amount of pimenton. You don't have to use a carrot. You could use celery if you have some. You could use duck or turkey stock instead of goose - or even vegetable bouillon powder. Shredded cabbage makes a good substitute for parsley or you could, as I did, use both. (You need something green, though, otherwise it is a bit unrelievedly brown.) I also added a bit of fried up sliced chorizo as I had some lying around but you could of course make it entirely vegetarian.

Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
4 streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
75g cooked chestnuts, chopped
150g Puy or other green or brown lentils (or a drained can of lentils)
500-600ml turkey, goose or chicken stock
Handful of shredded cabbage leaves or chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a deep casserole or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the streaky rashers and cook until the fat starts to run. Add the chopped onion and carrot, cover the pan and cook over a low heat until the vegetables start to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute then stir in the paprika. Add the chopped chestnuts and lentils then add the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer the soup for about 20 minutes until the lentils are tender. Add the shredded cabbage leaves if using and continue to simmer until they are lightly cooked. (If you’re using parsley instead or as well add that 3-4 minutes before the end of the cooking time.) Add a little extra stock if you need it and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy and a Happy New Year to you all!

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