Sources of Inspiration

Cooks can get ideas from numerous sources (and sauces - so sorry, couldn't stop myself). The cooking of one's childhood; travel; books; TV programmes - the good ones (so IMHO forget anything with Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, Too Fat Bikers and The Hairy Women survivor, and generally the artful Jamie Dodger - a bit woo, a bit wah, a bit wey, know what I mean? amen); meals in restaurants; seeing fine ingredients...

Two recent meals have been inspired, if that is the right word, by my shopping shortcomings: risotto is hard to make without risotto rice; and a potato gratin for three needs more than a spud each. So what was to have been turkey risotto turned into chunky turkey broth (hence lack of spuds next day); and the gratin to accompany lamb chops became savoury (basmati) rice.

The rice thing was of course not any sort of innovation, indeed it's a real standby (though the quantity we had would have required about six of the packet varieties). But it was satisfying to produce something that met our needs, was tasty, and actually looked lovely (a handful of corn kernels, another of peas, some fried onion, green pepper and a red chilli for colour).

Without blowing my own trumpet (I have neither the wind nor the flexibility) the near seamless change was because I know how to cook. One of the few sensible educational measures introduced in recent years has been funding to teach kids cookery. Again, not exactly an innovation. But it will, we can but hope, inspire a generation of home cooks rather than another wave of self-adoring chefs, and mean that the hypnotic power of the ready-meal is broken.

The Casserole Queen

Not me - if I were the casserole queen I'd demand to use the line let them eat casserole - but some annoying actress on a TV ad, saying (obviously from her script) she merits that title because she re-heats something bought at Morrison's or Asda (I think). I hate to think what it costs to feed a family on such cook-chill stuff, but I'm willing to bet it is rather higher than the cheapo midweek chicken stew we had two nights ago: £1 for four plump chicken drumsticks, £0.50 for a half-pack (if that) of 'recipe bacon' (as ever I found one with what amount to massive bacon-chop off-cuts, perfect to dice big or small), a giant leek from the allotment, two big carrots, a parsnip, an onion, and three spuds. A single red chilli and a shake or two of smoked paprika pepped it up, celery salt and a fat clove of garlic added depth. Thickened with cornflour (how unfashionable) it was unctuous and comforting, with a bit of bite too. The juices we dipped up with doorstep slices from a cottage loaf.

If the lot - enough for dinner for we two lumberjacks currently at home, and for me to reheat next day for my lunch - came to £2.50 I'd be surprised. The sad thing is that many of those who really need to get by on such sums will be spending more on the supermarket versions, lacking the basic cookery skills to fend properly for themselves.