The Batch Lady. Suzanne Mulholland
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Название: The Batch Lady
Автор: Suzanne Mulholland
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Кулинария
isbn: 9780008373238
isbn:
READY-ROLLED PASTRY
Ready-rolled pastry is a great time saver and, most importantly, it always works! It also freezes really well. If I’m making a chicken pie, for example, I simply freeze the pie filling alongside a roll of puff pastry, then reheat the filling in the oven, with squares of puff pastry alongside. Everyone gets a spoonful of pie filling crowned with a beautifully puffed, golden square of puff pastry. All the joy of a pie without any of the hassle!
READY-ROLLED PIZZA DOUGH
Shop-bought pizzas are expensive and often disappointing. Making your own at home is easy, fun for the kids and you have complete control over the toppings! I use packs of ready-rolled pizza dough, which are great for making pizzas and also my Calzone recipes.
STORECUPBOARD INGREDIENTS
As well as the ‘cheats’ that I always fall back on, I always keep my cupboards stocked with a few essential ingredients that are versatile, store well and are packed with flavour.
DRIED HERBS AND SPICES
Jars of dried Italian seasoning, mixed herbs or oregano are great to have on hand. I use these in a lot of my recipes, so it’s good to get the large jars if possible. I also use a lot of fajita or taco seasoning to add instant spice to any Mexican or Cajun-inspired dishes, such as the Cajun Pork Steaks here. You can buy the seasoning in individual sachets or jars and it’s a good idea to stock up on a few so that you always have a ready supply on hand.
STORECUPBOARD SUNDRIES
The other essentials that pack a lot of bang for their buck and, therefore, crop up a lot in my recipes are Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, tinned tomatoes, passata and condensed soup.
As you work through the recipes in this book, you will see that there are certain tools that are used time and again to speed up the batching process. In truth, there are only a couple of things that are really essential, but it is worth investing if you are going to be adopting this way of cooking.
MEASURING CUPS
Cups are a brilliant time-saver as they save all the time spent painstakingly weighing your ingredients. Instead, you can simply scoop the ingredients into the right-sized cup and pop it straight into your dish. I have listed cup measurements first in all of my recipes (though there are of course gram measurements, too), to try and get you into this way of thinking. It’s important to be aware that 1 cup is a standard measurement, so don’t just grab the mug that you make your morning coffee in! What you really need is a set of large measuring spoons in cup sizes. They are available from my website (details here) and other retailers. For more information on using cups, see here.
FREEZER BAGS
Freezer bags are great space savers, as you can freeze everything flat and thus get more in. They also prevent freezer burn as you can take all the excess air out of the bag before sealing. Lastly, they help food defrost quicker as they are thin and flat, so you don’t end up with a huge block to defrost as you would do using a tub. Most brands are now washable and reusable so no need to feel bad about using too much plastic!
MARKER PENS
Great for writing on your bags and won’t rub off in the freezer, so you never end up with a UFO (Unidentified Frozen Object!) Ensure you label everything as it all looks the same once frozen.
TWO LARGE COOKING POTS
‘Go big or go home’ is a saying that comes to mind. You will need some large pots and, if you’re going to invest in anything for batching, I’d say good, stainless steel pots that can go from your stove top to oven should be at the top of your list!
TWO LARGE BOWLS
Much like the pots, these are good to have, and will be used throughout most of these recipes.
GLASS DISHES WITH PLASTIC LIDS
I cannot recommend these highly enough, they transition from freezer to oven perfectly – just take the lid off and pop it straight in the oven. They also look good so you can put them in the middle of the table and serve your meals straight from the dish. I use these when I am batching fish pies, enchiladas, pasta bakes etc. I recommend Pyrex dishes as the best for freezing.
Finally, the following kitchen items are always good to have on hand: knifes, chopping boards, foil, Tupperware, scissors. If you get into batching and are using freezer bags a lot, then I would also recommend a set of ‘baggy holders’ that help hold your bags open. These are available from my website and other online retailers.
Planning what you are going to eat during the week ahead may seem laborious, but it saves time, money and waste, and often means that you eat a greater variety of food and that that food is more healthy. In fact, planning and writing down the meals that you want to make means you are much more likely to actually make those meals. Writing a meal plan can be daunting and many people struggle for inspiration the first few times, so below are some tips to help you get started.
HOW TO MEAL PLAN
There are many different ways to write your meal plan, from physical boards that hang in your kitchen to apps that you can carry with you on your phone. I like to use an old-fashioned board, however, as it helps me to have my list of meals for the week ahead hanging in my kitchen. This also means that the family knows what they will be eating ahead of time, which helps avoid mutterings of dissent if they’re surprised with a meal that’s not their favourite!
When starting to write my meal plan, I look at my diary for the week and work the plan around that. If I know that I’ll be ferrying the kids around to various afterschool activities on Tuesday, then I’ll make sure to plan something quick and easy for then. If I’m in the house all day on Thursday, but tied up with work, I’ll plan something that I can pop in the oven and forget about for a few hours. I like to start by thinking about which proteins we will be eating throughout the week to ensure they are varied. An example week might look like СКАЧАТЬ