Versatile Cooking

THREE MORE SLEEPS...
....until Christmas, ETD Readers!

Winnie and I have had such a busy 2011; all of our travelling, the numerous trains, buses, planes (and camels), the amazing people we've met along the way... delicious, interesting and honestly terrible food we've eaten on our way... It all humbles me to my core.  

Cooking on the roadside!

Living as we have done, on a lean budget is a slight overstatement... on a shoestring still doesn't cut it.  This has been a year of WinGaz living on a tiny thread!  We've pruned away our overindulgences and we've learnt what really matters to us is friendship, family and community.

As this year's Christmas period draws ever closer I have started to see the over commercialism of what the "festive season" has started to become for so many: Overeating, Greed, Overspending and money, money, money.

Last night I was watching a television show, "2011, The Year the Earth went Wild", a documentary that was highlighting the various natural disasters that have afflicted the world this year...so far.  There's been the terrible floods and cyclones in Australia, the snows, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcano eruptions, lightening storms and how can we ever forget the tsunamis, and earthquakes in New Zealand, Japan and Turkey.  Through it all what has constantly surprised me has been the spirit of humans, pulling together to find light at the end of the tunnel.  All this disaster and destruction has left me thinking.  Being back in the UK for Christmas, returning from Egypt early due to the civil unrest and lack of tourism -  not to mention a family funeral, has allowed me to direct my energies to the things that are important to me.

Cooking for family is important to me

As I mentioned earlier, Winnie and I are living on the tightest budget, watching everyone overspend has probably been more obvious to us - when you have nothing you cannot spend it, but you know how to make what you've got go a lot further.  It's this, plus my recent re-inspiration to get back in the kitchen that has inspired me to put together a festive series of posts that are aimed at wasting less and making what we've got go further - my version of "Versatile Cooking".

What is Versatile Cooking?

To me, versatile cooking is being able to use a set of core ingredients to make multiple dishes, its using leftovers to create exciting new dishes and of course it is about saving money and stretching every pound (or dollar).

So I have decided to talk about a set of core ingredients, then put together a series of recipes that I have come up with, thanks to my two favourite chefs (Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson).... 

Inspired by Jamie & Nigella, Perfected by Gaffa!

So, here's what I'll be using as my "Core Ingredients":

1. Onions
2. Carrots
3. Celery
4. Garlic

Simple, Core Ingredients

Garlic, Onion, Celery & Carrot

Next I'll rummage the aisles of my local supermarket, and take the usual ingredients we normally stack our cupboard shelves with (tinned tomatoes, stock cubes, veggies that are in season, some fresh herbs, some jars of spices and booze), then, I'll try to create multiple meals using my versatile cooking ideas.

So, Stay Tuned...

Christmas Cooking Fun!