What we ate in 2013
In 2013 in an effort to shop more locally and also save money, I went to the village butchers weekly for meat, the local greengrocers for fresh fruit and veg, and the supermarket for everything else. I had returned to work part time that year but found that I missed the children too much and so found freelance work as a writer and worked from home.
Nigel has always been very sporty and was doing a lot of gig boat rowing in 2013 alongside his usual running, surfing, and cycling to work. This has always meant that I need to create meals that provide enough calories and nutrition for him while also being conscious of our budget. In contrast, following two pregnancies in quick succession and an operation during this year, I was trying to lose weight. We seem to have been eating a little less meat and a little more fish and always a couple of vegetarian dinners each week. With two small children we very rarely went out as a couple but I remember that at this time we enjoyed having friends round for dinner and drinks once the children were in bed.
For Nigel and myself I often made quick curries with sauces from jars, I must have felt short on time or energy, or both. But a homemade butternut squash curry and also a chicken balti with mango made the list a few times. Some recipes that were regulars that year I still make a vegetarian version of today such as red pepper and chorizo risotto (now made with added roasted tomatoes, and without the chorizo), chilli con carne (now chilli sin carne) and shepherds’ pie (with lentils these days instead of mince).
Pasta surprise – Nigel’s university invention and already a family favourite at this time – became a common occurrence, and we still make it once or twice a month. You can find the recipe in the 2013 recipe links [just as soon as I’ve written it up!]. Other pasta dishes this year included puttanesca, pasta with parmesan and broccoli, and lasagne. ‘Quick pasta’ starts to show up on my lists by which I meant fresh pasta from a packet with a sauce quickly rustled up from a little crushed garlic, tinned tomatoes, perhaps some olives, and a sprinkling of grated cheese, to make a children’s tea that was ready in minutes.
In the summer I made homemade burgers and sticky salmon with soy sauce to barbecue. We ate steamed fish and vegetables; mint and pea or roasted pepper and garlic risottos; my mum’s tuna and cheese mousse with crusty bread, salad and – when in season - asparagus wrapped in bacon. I would make roasted lemon and garlic chicken served with cous cous and salads in the summer, or with vegetables in the winter. The soup flavours I favoured that year were pea and pesto in the summer and lentil in the winter. Baked eggs became a firm favourite, served with a green salad and toast soldiers to dip in them.
Puddings included chocolate mousse, apple tart, meringues (often made the same day as a carbonara to use up the egg whites), pineapple upside down cake (still a frequent addition to our dinner table), ice cream and yoghurts. I baked cakes and biscuits for afternoon snacks including banana cake which makes its first appearance this year. It is gratifyingly quick and easy (a great one to make with young children) and I’ve been baking it ever since. Oaty biscuits and fruit muffins became regular teatime treats and I experimented with a deliciously moist chocolate and beetroot cake.