Tinned mackerel

This one doesn't sound particularly exciting, but its an excellent option if you're fast running outta student loan and don't know how on earth you're gonna eat for the rest of the semester, Or if you're on a budget and just wanna get some fish into your diet - this is the way to go.

You can pick up these tins really cheap (around 70p a tin) and you can make it last if you need to. I just simply took some chopped tomatoes and diced an onion. Fry the onion in a frying pan for a few minutes, along with a little garlic and chilli - use powdered if you don't have any fresh - and then add the tinned mackrel and the chopped tomatoes - you only need about half a tin, or your fish will drown in sauce (ahaha sorry, cheesy I know), leave to simmer for a few minutes and there ya have it!

Tasty, a little spicy and you can stretch it really easily by putting in the full can of tomatoes and adding other veg to bulk it out and add further nutrition. This time I used red peppers and spinach but you can literally add anything - peas, sweetcorn, carrots, courgette - for an extra punch of veg. Serve on rice, or with dumplings (fried or boiled - I went boiled to keep it healthier), or with bread (preferably hardo for me!). If you're trying to stretch it two tins can last you 4 days if you try!

PS - If you do have the money to spend on fresh fish, this recipe works even better with fresh mackerel, just make sure that you fry it for longer than the tinned! 

Quinoa Salad with Lentils and Lemon Sumac dressing

So I might be a little late to try out this trendy superfood, but better late than never!

I first tried this recipe from my mum's Persiana and the first time it tasted really good, so I decided to re-create it at uni, this time using red and white quinoa directly from the pouch. Quick and easy to make this will be a nice, portable and extremely healthy lunch for me to take into uni.

Just put 150g lentils, 250g cooked quinoa, half a red pepper, some cherry tomatoes (chopped into quarters), 4-5 spring onions, a handful of coriander and parsley, a heaped tablespoon of sumac, juice of one lemon, and some olive oil into a bowl, season, stir and put into the fridge until you're ready to eat it! 

Do make sure you put it into the fridge for at least an hour before you eat it though, as it allows the flavours to work their way into the quinoa and the lentils!

A tip for using up the ingredients after...

As a lot of these ingredients have to be bought in bigger quantities, a helpful recipe might be the Chickpea and Spinach Curry that I posted earlier. This uses up the coriander and you can throw the leftover lentils in there as well!

Also if you don't have a use for any leftover herbs, put them in the freezer, and use them straight from frozen while cooking.

One extra tip! Especially for students who have parents who like to cook - if you want to try out new recipes but don't want to buy loads of new spices which you might not like or end up using again, raid your parents' cupboard! I created my own spice box, taking little portions of spices from my mums cupboard, putting them in little plastic shot glasses and covering with clingfilm - I now have my own spice box for just a pound from Poundland.

Quote of the Day

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today ~ Benjamin Franklin

Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

Another really easy loaf cake to make, that can look really pretty once it's baked. I've only made it as a round cake before so I used Jamie Oliver's recipe for a half chocolate half vanilla cake which is in a loaf tin. It's also great because it requires minimal ingredients (If you bake, you will already have everything in your cupboard) so it's really cheap to whip up.

Once the cocoa powder has been added to the chocolate half, the mixture gets quite stiff, and this half of the cake cooks faster so in order to prevent your cake from drying out, add a splash of milk to the chocolate half before adding it to the tin! 

Happy Baking! 

Paella!

I went to Spain for the first time last year and perhaps the most notorious Spanish dish is paella so I decided to give it a try! Traditionally, paella is made with meat/ seafood/vegetables/ beans in a big wide-bottomed pan called a paellera, with the main spice being hot paprika.

As a student on a tight budget I knew that I couldn't afford to put in all the yummy delicacies of a traditional paella so I limited myself to just 3 chicken breasts (defrosted from a big pack of frozen ones), a bit of chorizo and prawns. (Bear in mind that chorizo isn't supposed to go in paella, so if you are making an authentic one, I'd leave that out!) I bulked out the meal with lots of vegetables - courgette, red and green peppers, peas, carrots, runner beans and  I used risotto rice as a substitute for paella rice ( both short grain and I couldn't find any paella rice at my local supermarket.)

And I have to say that the end result was quite nice! I didn't directly follow a recipe, just took inspiration from a few across the internet so do a little research! The short grain rice absorbs quite a lot of water so make sure that you keep an eye on it while cooking (Although I also read that a traditional paella is toasted on the bottom so don't put too much water in!) 

This is perhaps a luxury meal for students because of all of the ingredients, but is very worth it and easy to make in bulk enough for a few days! 

My take on 'Pride and Prejudice'

I recently (finally!) read Pride and Prejudice and it was so beautifully romantic that I just got all excited about it and started telling everyone (even though they clearly weren't interested!)

I have always prided myself on having read a few classics; Jane Eyre and Little Women being my all time favourites, (the books and the films) and I decided that I needed to add some Austen to my repertoire! I was enthralled right from the start with their initial distaste for each other, Mr Darcy's infallible pride sealing his judgment of all of the women and Elizabeth's prejudice against Mr Darcy set in stone within the first hour of their meeting.

I read on, fascinated by the characters. 'Eliza' Bennet, witty, intelligent and slightly sarcastic, but uncharacteristically headstrong and stubborn for a woman of her age in the 19th Century which just caused me to love the character further. The infamously aloof Mr Darcy, in his struggle between upholding the correct and proper character for a man of his prestige and his growing attraction for the young Miss Bennet. Another character whom I  found particularly amusing was Lydia Bennet, Elizabeth's younger sister who was depicted as very flirty and flighty but also incredibly naive *spoilers* eventually running off with Mr Wickham and bring shame and disgrace upon her family.

The classic tale of two people who detest each other falling in love in a society where marriage was the ultimate goal for all young women swept me along. I was quite captivated as the story deepened, with the false stories and the hits and misses along the way, and the sheer romance of Mr Darcy's:

In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. 

evoked so deep a sigh out of me that I was compelled to stop reading and just visualize the scene for a moment.

My favourite book at current, I highly recommend it to anyone who is as behind as I am on reading their classics, read the book before you watch the film (as I strongly believe everyone should!!) I'm off to read another - Sense and Sensibility!

'Pukka' Chicken Curry

I decided to upgrade my curry cooking skills and try a meat one, and I found this great looking one on Jamie Oliver's website so I decided to try it out.

I've gotta say I was quite disappointed with this curry, wasn't as big a fan as I was of my chickpea and spinach one but maybe that's because I tweaked it a little! As I am a poor student with no money and only my spice box to keep me company in the kitchen (!!) I decided that I could skip out on Jamie's wonderful fresh garlic, ginger and chillies and substitute for the powdered versions, which just don't pack as much of a punch when it comes to flavour unfortunately.

Another mistake that I think I made was that I didn't fry the curry paste for long enough, so all of the spices tasted quite raw rather than nicely blended.

That all said, it wasn't a disaster, it still tasted spicy and hot, and the sauce had a very subtle sweet undertone which was quite pleasant. Also, Jamie didn't lie about the softness of the chicken - practically falls of the bone which was a lovely texture. I also really liked the chickpeas in this curry - extra punch of protein and fibre, which bulks out the meal and means you need less chicken per serving - healthy and cheap!

The aesthetic qualities of this curry didn't quite match up to Jamie's either (I used coriander straight from the freezer so it kinda dissolved as soon as it hit the pan!) and the flash on the curry pic looks really weird but I thought I'd post the picture anyway!

PS - This actually tasted better on day 2 - gave the flavours a chance to develop!