Salad-bag Pesto, 9p [VG/V/DF/GF]
Bagged salad is one of the most wasted foods in Britain, with over half of it ending up in landfill. I have had this recipe in mind since my first cookbook, A Girl Called Jack, and although it is something I make for myself on a regular basis, absorbed into my household as a common staple, it has never been […]
Berry Bread Pudding, 11p [VG/V/DF]
This luscious, dense, simple little number was thrown together this afternoon in the midst of a craving for something hot, stodgy and comforting while I worked from home in the bitter cold. I love my beautiful (rented) house with its views of the sea, but when the temperature drops and the wind kicks up it is devastatingly cold, and I […]
Double Chocolate Guinness Birthday Brownies, 15p
Firstly, for the budget-conscious among you raising eyebrows at the use of a bottle of the authentic black stuff in a batch of brownies, fear not, for this recipe makes 24 of the little tinkers, and uses a little over half a can at that, so you could stretch to 40ish from a single can if you’ve a crowd to […]
Blushing Berry Banana Bread, 17p [VG/V/DF]
My original banana bread recipe is very very popular; barely a weekend goes by without someone posting a photo of it on social media, so I hope its enthusiastic fans enjoy this twist on a classic. Enjoy it warm to have it at its best; the tart explosions of hot, juicy berries popping in your mouth, drenching the cakey crumbs, […]
Red Lentil & Mandarin Curry, 26p [VG/V/DF/GF]
The first time I stayed at my girlfriends house, all she had in the cupboard was Diet co*ke, tinned mandarins and a sticky patch of something ominous that was possibly once soy sauce. Her hob hadn’t worked in over 2 years, and she stubbornly warned me not to try to change her. Undeterred, over the course of the last 10 […]
Soda Bread, 7p [VG/V/DF]
This is an ideal bread recipe for newcomers, no fancy equipment needed and the bare bones of a recipe. I tricked Mrs J into making this last week; she who famously doesn’t cook but hovers helpfully around the washing up, trying not to gwt roped in with my wily ways. “Can I do anything?” she asked. “Yes darling, could you […]
Peanut Butter Frozen Yoghurt, 20p [V/GF]
This simple recipe is a must for any peanut butter lovers. Its first incarnation was as peanut butter-flavoured yoghurt – made by mixing two of my staple food items together for a sweet treat – and it went from there. I don’t add sugar or syrup to sweeten this recipe when I make it as I like the slight tang […]
Creamy Beans and Aubergine, 66p [VG/V/DF/GF]
Weekday breakfasts in my household generally consist of a piece of toast in one hand as I flail about the house looking for ‘the other f*cking school shoe’ or the last of the elasticated ties, so weekend breakfasts are sacrosanct. SB and My Love loll about in bed with the magazines and newspapers I ply them with to keep them […]
Simple Tomato And Bean Soup, 20p. [VG/V/DF/GF]
This simple staple started off as a tin of baked beans, thoroughly rinsed, plus a carton of chopped tomatoes – out of which I made a hearty, filling soup suitable for lunch or a light supper. I’ve jazzed it up a bit since then! And don’t be scared of rinsing baked beans, they are normally just haricot or borlotti or […]
Pumble, 20p [VG/V/DF]
This cheeky little number is a cross between a pie and a crumble, a hot sweet pile of stewed fruits beneath a crumbly puff pastry topping. I admit to approaching my pies with borderline religious fervour; that is, in order to qualify as a pie, it must have a base and walls and a lid. This does not meet my […]
Mixed Bean Goulash, 31p – WAS 17P [VG/V/DF/GF]
Serves 4 at 31p each. The original recipe at 2012 prices was 17p a portion. 1 x 400g tin of red kidney beans, 35p (Was 17p. Price increase: 106%) 1 x 400g tin of baked beans, 25p (Was 22p. Price increase: 14%) 1 onion, 10p (90p/1.5kg onions. Previously 5p as part of a 1.25kg Basics stew pack. Price increase: 100%) […]
Carrot, Cumin & Kidney Bean Burger, 17p – WAS 9P [VG/V/DF]
This burger is where the media storm began for me and, dubbed ‘the 9p burger’ because of the low cost of the ingredients used to make it in 2012, it’s one of my most popular recipes. A can of value range red kidney beans is a cheap but excellent source of protein and I built a lot of my early […]
Carrot, Cumin & Kidney Bean Soup, 18p [VG/V/DF/GF]
. I wanted to write another recipe, but I felt sullied, trite, misappropriated, and used. So instead I am going to rewrite my recipes from 2012 - that many of you will not have seen buried beneath the beautiful new ones - and re-cost them to demonstrate the soar in prices in the Basics range over the last 6 years, and how it is always the poorest who shoulder the burden of economic inequality.
Salted Caramel Banana Cake, 16p [VG/V/DF]
This cake is a cheap but luxurious twist on my original banana bread, slightly more moist and gooey than the first iteration, with a home made sticky syrup sauce to drizzle over the top, ideally warm from a jug. I have made this as a loaf cake and also as a round, Victoria sponge type cake, split in the middle […]
Home made Pop T*rts, 10p [VG/V/DF]
As a child I loved Pop-Tarts™, those saccharine toaster pastries thick with white icing and multicoloured sprinkles that, when eaten greedily from the toaster, would scald your tongue with red-hot jam. I decided to see if I could make my own version from scratch, pastry and all, and here they are. They’re not an everyday breakfast but they’re definitely a […]
Spinach, Lentil & Lemon Soup, 34p [VG/V/DF/GF]
This easy, comforting spinach and lentil soup was inspired by a recipe in Saha, by Greg and Lucy Malouf. I made it a few times as a quick late-night supper, before I lost the notebook with the details in one of my many house moves. For a long while, as a single mum on benefits, I all but lived out […]
Courgette Chocolate Cake, 16p [VG/V/DF]
Courgettes in cake came into fashion a few years ago, but I only really bothered with them when I had a glut of the green blighters one autumn. Desperate to get rid of them, I made them into wholesome soups, pestos, pasta sauces and smuggled a few into this big chocolate cake. The courgettes are virtually indetectable – a novel […]
PBJ Granola, 8p [VG/V/DF/GF*]
Granola is one of my most favourite breakfasts to have on standby, usually slung in the bottom of an oven that already has something else going on in it, in order to utilise the hot air already swilling around in there to create something else, practically for free, from storecupboard ingredients. My Small Boy loves this with his milk warmed […]
Use-Me-For-Anything Tomato Sauce, 13p [VG/V/DF/GF]
This tomato sauce is exactly what its name says – a wonderfully versatile sauce for all occasions. I make a large batch and freeze it in small jars or ice cube trays to use as the base for pasta sauces, soups, stews, or anything that could do with a bit of pepping up. It stands alone as a pretty decent […]
Peach and chickpea curry, 22p [VG/V/DF/GF]
This is my favourite curry, my go-to, easy but perfect comfort food. I used to make it with turkey, but any protein source will do – so feel free to chuck a fistful of whatever you fancy in with the onions if you want to bulk it out or extend it. Serves 2 for dinner, with leftovers for a light […]
Bread, Bean & Fennel Stew, 17p [VG/V/DF/GF*]
The idea of putting bread in stew is one that dates back hundreds of years, to a medieval broth known as ‘caudle’. It is both a use-up for stale bread, or crusts cut off for fussy children, and adds both texture and thickness to a liquid broth. This soup is hearty, wholesome and delicious – made in a grey January […]
Dollar Pancakes, 6p (VG/V/DF)
In case you ever find yourself wanting pancakes, but not having any eggs in the house (or bananas, or chia seeds, or flax seeds, or vegan egg replacer), here’s a cheeky cheaty recipe – because some things are just too good to keep to yourself. Serves 4-6, depending on appetite, from 6p each 150g plain flour, 7p (65p/1.5kg, Sainsburys Basics) […]
Crumpets, 6p (VG/V/DF)
I very rarely advocate the use of specialist equipment in my recipes, but there is simply no way to make a crumpet without the use of an egg poaching ring. I retired mine when I went vegan, and had to properly search through my kitchen to find them again, but it was worth it. I picked mine up for £1 […]
Applesauce Pancakes, 17p (VG/V/DF)
Pancakes became something of a tradition in my household when Small Boy started school; our lazy days of laconic love-ins giving way to 6am alarm calls, nervous breakdowns in the morning about where the bloody hell the latest school jumper could possibly be, finding every left shoe in the house and not a single right one. Weekend breakfasts became a […]
Moussaka, 31p [VG/V/DF/GF*]
As the granddaughter of a Cypriot immigrant, I know my claim to have made the ‘ultimate’ moussaka is indeed a bold one. My grandfather would laugh in my face at the very notion of this vegan offering being considered anything close to the original, but, being a former chef himself (he once had a restaurant called the BellaPais in Southend, […]
Black Bean and Peanut Stew, 26p [VG/V/DF/GF]
The original version of this dish contained chicken, so I have substituted it with black beans here. It makes for a more filling meal, and a cheaper one, too, as beans and pulses are generally far cheaper than meat and pulses. Dried beans work out even cheaper, but they require a degree of organisation to remember to soak them the […]
Post-Party Panzanella (VG/V/DF)
I knocked this together from some scrappy bits left kicking about on Boxing Day – the kind of thing that is usually found at any kind of gathering, extended to feed a few more for an extra day. A bit of bread, some tomatoes, some greenery, a dash of oil and lemon and you have yourself a perfectly delicious side […]
Boxing Day Pasties, 13p [VG/V/DF]
An ideal place to smuggle leftovers – for today or for the freezer, these pasties are as versatile as the scraps of whatever you have left over from your dinner – just knock up (or buy) a quick shortcrust pastry and you’ll have lunch in a jiffy for not very much at all. Serves 6 at 13p each 250g fat […]
Caribbean style chilli, 28p [VG/V/DF/GF]
Winter is coming, the time of year where perpetual colds and snuffles are imminent, the nights draw in darker, and I start to crave a little bit of heat and spice. Usually I spend my winters making long slow curries, but, ambling around the Caribbean section of a supermarket I don’t usually manage to get to, I started to rifle […]
Peanut milk rice pudding, 16p [VG/V/DF/GF] (slow cooker)
Sometimes all you need is a little nursery-soft sloppy comfort food, and for me, rice pudding usually does the trick. Over the years I have made rice pudding in many kinds of ways, on the hob, in the oven, and scooped from a tin, but last night I decided to give the slow cooker a go. And my oh my […]
