Three Things To Make For Dinner When You Can't Really Be Bothered To Cook
A few of my quick go to's and cupboard essentials that will do the job when all you really want to do is lie on the sofa and watch Moblands. Plus the BEST anchovy mayo and an excellent dip base.
The sun has been shining in Yorkshire and with that, the urge to cook hot meals or anything that involves stewing or hardcore roasting has left my body. Combined with the fact that Joe, my husband, is away from home a couple of times a week, this means that I am very prone to cheddar slices and Finn Crisp at any time of the day, but particularly at dinner time when the sun hits the seating area of the back garden and I am loathe to be at the cooker for longer when I could be sitting there perusing Livingetc with a glass of cold wine and a bowl of salted almonds. Salted almonds, by the way, rank very highly in my Best Ever Foods Of All Time. I am obsessed with them, particularly the Perello ones which our local Majestic Wines position right at the till, rendering me defenceless in the face of a nut for which they charge the same as a small house in Bridlington. And don’t even start me on the smoked version. Absolute heaven.
Much as I would love to live on cheddar and Finn Crisp, this is not possible and also wouldn’t make me particularly healthy, even if I do accompany it with four satsumas at a time, so I have been trying to whip together something fairly decent despite my lack of vigour. The best dinners are the ones that you can make enough to carry some over for the next day, which is pretty much always what I do if Joe is home. I decant the remainder into my favourite ever storage type container (yes, this is a thing) that I was totally influenced into by a food blogger whose name I do not know but they are THE BEST. I spend my entire life trying to hide them from Ella when she visits so that she doesn’t whisk them back to Manchester, but they’re great for leftovers or packed lunches. I’ll link - they’re from Black & Blum and a bit of an investment but worth it as you can stick the whole lot in the dishwasher and miraculously, the lids still fit afterwards which is a whole new world.
Simple dinners are my absolute favourite subject. My regular go to when I want quick and easy is a jacket potato, for which I have a love that goes back to childhood and which I would NEVER turn down if offered. Also, always cooked in the oven. Microwave just doesn’t cut it. The best bit is the skin, crispy and salty and utter perfection. I am not alone in this. Ottolenghi’s Simple cook book has an entire chapter on the joyous spud - my favourite recipe which I have listed before is the gorgonzola and spinach stuffed of which I make multiple and then wrap in silver foil to stick in the fridge. Dreamy.
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