I don’t know about you, but I like starting the week with a full fridge and ending it with an empty one, without having to throw anything away in between. But the only way I can manage to do this is to make a plan, shop for it and then eat it as planned. It sounds mildly obsessive, and perhaps it is, but it works. And it certainly doesn’t limit what we eat.
Before heading to the supermarket, we decide what we feel like eating each evening of the week, write it down like a menu, and then create a shopping list for those specific meals. Obviously some stuff gets bought every week – cucumber, cherry tomatoes, seedy bread, milk and cheddar cheese are always on the list, amongst many other things. But everything else on the list is destined for specific meals, so there’s no waste. Nothing is bought on a whim, so nothing lurks forgotten in the back of the fridge getting hairy and slimy before being thrown out while you breathe desperately through your mouth to avoid the smell.
We have a whiteboard in the hall which serves as our shopping list and record of reminders of the week’s appointments and chores. And the bottom of it is always reserved for the list of our evening meals.
It gives me a sense of comfort to know what delicous dinners are coming up – and of course that we have the ingredients in stock to make them. I contentedly observe the quantity of food in the fridge reducing as we eat our way through the week.
No question, this way of planning leaves little space for improvisation, but at the end of a long day at work (and they are all so long at the moment), it makes my life much simpler to not have to decide what to cook on the spot.
I usually make something slow cooked on Sunday for eating later in the week, but almost everything else will be something either easy (jacket potatoes) or quick (egg fried rice) or both.
Of course, it really helps that I like cooking. It’s a bit like meditation for me. The state of absorbed concentration, the creative nature of changing ingredients into food, the happy passing of time at the stove. And of course, at the end, there’s something delicous to bring to the table (or, slightly shamefacedly to the sofa) and share with my people.
A delectable pudding where a combination of cocoa powder, hot water and sugar poured over the top of a chocolate sponge batter magically sinks below the surface while it bakes to make a rich sauce underneath. Serve the hot pudding with vanilla ice cream and everyone will be your friend!
175g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
300g soft light brown sugar
3 large free-range eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g plain flour
40g cocoa powder, plus 2 tbsp
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch salt
3 tbsp milk
Pre-heat the oven to 150C fan (170C)
Grease the inside of an ovenproof dish with a butter
Cream the butter with 225g of the soft light brown sugar until pale and light, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula from time to time to make sure you catch it all
Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and then add the vanilla extract and mix again to combine
Sift the flour, 40g cocoa, bicarb and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix again until just combined
Add the milk and mix again until smooth
Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish and level with the back of a spoon
Now for the sauce! In a small bowl mix together the remaining 75g soft light brown sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 6 tbsp hot water
Spoon this chocolatey syrup over the chocolate sponge mixture and place the dish in a large, deep roasting tin.
Boil the kettle and pour boiling water into the tin, around the dish so that the water comes halfway up the sides of the dish.
Carefully slide the roasting tin into the oven on the middle shelf.
Bake for about 40 mins, or until the pudding is well-risen, the top is nicely cracked and a skewer inserted into the middle of the pudding comes out with a moist crumb.
Sticky, saucy, seriously gorgeous. Beloved by everyone who tastes them. And cheap too!
15-20 pork spare ribs
125ml sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
60ml soy sauce
1 orange, juice and zest
3 star anise
4 cm fresh ginger, sliced into chunky rounds (don’t bother peeling it)
8 cloves garlic, squashed and left whole
Mix together all the ingredients except the meat
Put the ribs into a large ziplock bag, pour over the marinade, seal the bag (excluding as much air as poss) and squish it all about to coat the ribs. Pop in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least a couple of hours, if not a full 24
Pre-heat the oven to 140C fan (160C)
Line a deep roasting tin with foil (you’ll thank me at washing-up time!) and tip the whole contents of bag into the tin. Cover with foil and cook for 2 hours, turning the ribs a couple of times in the sauce and checking it’s not drying out
Then turn the oven up to 180C fan (200C) and remove the foil cover
Cook for further 30 mins to caramelise the ribs and reduce the sauce to a sticky glaze, turning them over in it to coat
Sophie cooks 