Ian's Harirra soup recipe

Soak one cup of chick peas overnight, chop up one or two onions and peel and mince three cloves of garlic, add a swirl or two of olive oil to a large pan, add the onions and gently fry for about 4 or 5 mins, add the minced garlic and stir for a min or two, add two chopped up celery stalks and add four or five diced carrots, twist it all up and put the lid on the pan for about 5 mins or so, then add the spice, one and a half teaspoons of turmeric, one of all spice, another or a half teaspoon of chilli flakes, one of cumin, another of ground coriander,half a teaspoon ginger, small pinch of saffron, half teaspoon of cinnamon and one of smoked paprika, if you have harissa paste a teaspoon of that, then add a litre of vegetable stock, bring to the boil while you are washing 125g of red lentils add these and the pre soaked chick peas, a tin of chopped tomatoes a glob or two of tomato paste sea salt and freshly ground pepper and simmer for one hour, add a half cup of fresh chopped coriander and a spoonful of honey, simmer for about 10 mins add water or reduce if needed the longer it simmers the better it gets, serve with a slice of lemon and garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves

WEEK TWO MENU AND SHOPPING LIST

JANUARY 27TH WEEK 2
30 years ago my brother Ian and I travelled to Morocco with £50 to last us two weeks. We hitched rides, travelled on local buses, stayed in back street hotels, met amazing people and feasted on street food that tasted sublime. It was a holiday of a lifetime. Ian's harirra soup and my couscous salad are inspired by our memories.

MONDAY
Kidney and mushroom pate sandwiches Banana bread apple lunch
Chicken curry mango salad rice
TUESDAY
Egg mayonaise sandwich flapjack fruit
Harirra soup flatbread Apple samosas
WEDNESDAY
Labnah cheese in flatbread apple samosa
Sausages couscous
THURSDAY
Cous cous salad fruit flapjack
Cauliflower cheese
FRIDAY
Hoummous in pitta flapjack
Tortilla
Lemon cheesecake Homemade alcoholic ginger beer
SATURDAY
Bacon eggs beans mushrooms
Fishfingers in pitta salad
Scillian meatballs with spaghetti
SUNDAY
Pain au chocolat
Toasted cheese sandwich
Apple and caraway Roast Knuckle Pork Mahed potatoes brocolli

SHOPPING LIST
Pork mince eggs bread butter x2 Big natural yoghurt Fruit yoghurt Syrup Sugar Weetabix Lemon Squash Coffee Milk Chickpeas Pitta Filo pastry Sunflower oil Olive oil cheese  Pickle Tomato Ketchup Cumin Peppers Courgettes Tomatoes Greens salad Tinned toms x3 couscous Olives Potatoes Peanut Butter Beigels Beans Bacon Toothpaste Garlic Digestives Lemons Carrots Ginger Fizzy table water
Estimated cost £64

Week one how it went

SATURDAY 26TH JANUARY

As the first week comes to an end we are well fed and pleased with the results. I had to spend an extra £3.45 on milk yoghurt and Lemon squash so my total spend was £55. We were very pleased with the pizza, fatayers and banana bread. Next week I will be shopping at Dulwich Farmers Market Lidl and Sainsburys plus the lovely Turkish Shop on Forest Hill Road.

Feta chorizo and pesto Pizza

Butternut Squash and yoghurt spread toasted seeds and skin crisps

Chorizo and pork paella

Vegetable stock cubes

Squash feta and pinenut Fatayers

Tomato pepper and onion salad

Getting the shopping

MONDAY 21ST JANUARY

My shop is closed on Mondays so this is my day for doing all the household chores. Get out my shopping trolley and walk to Peckham. As I was on foot I stopped off in Asda, list in had i am thrilled with the savings I make on my estimated prices. Always on the lookout for reduced goods i go offlist and get some sausages as well. We only buy decent sausages with a high meat content these have 90% so not to bad. I road test their economy baked beans so we'll see what we think on Saturday. Bill comes in at £28.05! Trundle along Rye Lane which has many great African Caribbean and Indian food stores. Not many veg stalls today but picked up a huge white cabbage and broccoli for £1 and a massive sack of onions for £1 so they will keep us going for a month! I really like the fruit and veg in Lidl and know they have good chorizo pinenuts etc. Spend £20.47 

TOTAL £51.52
But I actually got extra things beigels dried fruit sausages so could have come in under budget!
From each evening meal I wiil set aside some for my packed lunch and freeze extra soup
Am also going to make pizza bases and flat bread for the freezer

Feeding the family on £50

SUNDAY 20TH 2013
As a cash strapped family of four (now sometimes three as daughter has gone to university) we are always looking for good cheap ways to eat. I am attempting to live on £50 per week food and household goods. 
Each week I will draw up a menu and shopping list. I shop at various supermarkets and sometimes markets.
I run a shop so I am time poor as well, but always cook from scratch. We are lucky enough to have an allotment though not that successful so although self sufficient in some herbs I still have to buy fruit and vegetables.
I will also fess up when I have to buy extras. Breakfast is muesli toast cereal or porridge except weekend when we have FEB on Saturday and Muffins/Pancakes on Sunday and packed lunch for me and my husband

WEEK ONE This is what I have planned let's see if I can bring it in on budget. I will shop at Lidl this week
MONDAY
Pork chorizo spinach paella adapted from the Moro Cookbook 
I dont need to buy pork as we had Roast on Sunday Stock made from veg peelings

TUESDAY
Lentil soup and garlic bread

WEDNESDAY
Chorizo Potatos from Nigel Slater using rest of Mondays chorizo with salad

THURSDAY
Fatayars stuffed with squash feta and pinenuts from the Moro Cookbook

FRIDAY
Homemade burgers and coleslaw

SATURDAY
Bacon egg beans toms
Cheese toasties
Pasta al tonno

SUNDAY
Banana pancakes 
Roast chicken with roast potatos veg and gravy
Fruit crumble and icecream

Argh my estimate for this and lunch ingredients fruit etc comes in at £64 but I always overestimate a bit then search out bargain prices. If I had more time I would scour for better deals but not this week. I luckily don't need any household goods this week

SHOPPING LIST
Rice {paella type if poss}   Minced beef   Butter   Pasta   Tinned tomato   Red Lentils 
Chorizo   Fresh Chillies   Garlic Bread   Fruit £4   Snack £2  Bread   Sandwich fillings £2
Spinach   Popping corn  Lemon Squash   Muesli   Yoghurt fruit   Yoghurt natural
Onions   Whole Chicken   Eggs Bacon   Beans  Coffee Tea  Milk  
Peppers red and green   Stock cubes   Potatoes 3 big ones inc   Cheese £3 see what I can get
Bread flour   yeast   Butternut Squash   Pinenuts   Feta
Tomatoes   Cucumber  Carrots  Cabbage