Filling space

I'm so drained from my month of work I'm not sure what to write.  All this new free time and I don't know what to do with it.  The worst part is I keep getting the feeling I should be doing work.

Berry smoothie; Dairy free

Ingredients:

Soy milk; 1 cup
Banana; 1, ripe
Strawberries; 1/2 cup, no leaves
Blueberries; 1/2 cup
Black berries; 1/2 cup.

Directions:

Stick everything in the blender and blend it up.  Simple as :)

Cooking from scratch saves you money

Food prices are constantly increasing.  More often we are being forced to shop around for cheaper prices because it save us maybe a few pennies.  This doesn't seem like much of an achievement, but we all know that over time those pennies can add up to pounds saved off the weekly food bill.  However, even more can be saved by cooking at home, because at some point we all rely on prepared food; whether it is Gluten-free bread bread or an instant meal.

Let's take bread as an example.  The average gluten-free loaf costs £2-£4. Of course, this is dependant on your local region and where they source their ingredients from.  In general, companies always boost the price so that they make a profit.  Flour, by UK standards is £3 pounds per kilo - this can be used to make 4-5 loafs.  Eggs - £1.50 per dozen (6 loaves) or Egg Replacer at £3.00 (Equivalent of 50 eggs).  A pinch of salt coast all of a penny and soy milk is £1.2 a litre (Almost 2 loaves) and yeast is £2.50 a box (20 loaves).  Adding this all up using the price for egg replacer - £0.75+£0.06+£0.01+0.60+0.13 =£1.55 per loaf. This is only a rough amount, depending on how much you use this amount would be more or less.  But £1.55 to make it at home of £2-£4 pounds to buy in store.  Which do you prefer?

The best part is this doesn't just apply to baking, it applies to cooking in general.  Pasta dishes, lasagne, sauces, pies ect.  All these are items that are cheaper to make at home.  Cooking from scratch can effectively halve your food bill.

Home-made Burger Patties; Gluten free, Egg-free

I was looking back at the recipe I posted and realised that maybe posting just muffin recipes was not a good idea.  Here's a burger on for variety. :)

Ingredients:

Beef Mince; 500g
Salt; 1 teaspoon
Corn Flour; 50g
Gluten-free Gravy Granules; 2 tablespoons
Tarragon; 1 teaspoon
Chives; 1 Teaspoon
Sage; 1/2 Teaspoon
Marjoram; 1 Teaspoon

Directions:

Stick the mince in a large bowl and just dump the other ingredients on top.  Get your hands in the bowl and mix the mince around until the ingredients are evenly distributed through the mince.  The mince will naturally form a large ball.  Break this into 2 or 4 smaller pieces and form the pieces into balls.  Just squash these balls down and you have your burger patty.  I recommend cooking these on a hot frying pan at medium heat.  Too hot -you will have a burnt crush and red insides; Too cold - and it will take forever to cook through.


Serving suggestions:

Toasted Gluten-free bun with peppered tomato, lettuce and beetroot slice.

Toasted Gluten-free Bun with spinche and roast mushroom

Toasted Gluten free bun with lettuce, peppered tomato and pineapple slice.

The Dreaded Exam

Today I have my final Exam of the academic year.  Do I feel prepared? Nooo way in hell!!  Still, when it's over the only thing I have left to do before my 4 month summer holiday (of work, cause I'm poor) is finalise my dissertation project for my honours year.  I'm very nearly free!