I think Saint Hugh of RiverCottage is going to save me £120 this month!

[deaconblue]

Last week we had 4 veggie meals, 2 fish and a braising steak stew on Sunday, I made 2 soups from his veg book too. The week's shop was £94 (previous weeks had been £130 and £140, we average £130). This week I've planned 5 veggie meals, 1 fish and sausages on Sunday and another 2 soups and the week's shop comes to £93ish! I've also decided to cut out buying processed snacks so haven't bought mini cheddars or biscuits and have made home made cheese and ham muffins, and pitta with hummus for kids' snacks instead. At this rate we will be £120 better off at the end of this month.

Dh is finding he is more farty than usual though

That's nice dear.

I find that Hugh varies between saving us money and then costing us a fortune as every time DH decides to try something new it seems to necessitate about £10 of fancy new spices! We have about eighty little jars now (I'd have made do with about 15 old faithfuls).

Hard to complain when it is all so yummy though

Why sarky bibbity? If you have no interest in the thread why post on it?

I meant it in a nice way, honest. Am pleased for you.

Brilliant! DH wants to eat more veggie meals so could you post some of the recipes you have been eating.

My Hugh Veg book arrived today. I'm very excited! What have you made that's been good?

I have his Veg Everyday book, made the mushroom soup which was yummy and did me 4 lunches :) I am going to look through and see what I can make that everyone will eat and put the ingredients on my list for Sunday's weekly shop.

I kinda wuv Hugh- 'slong as I manage to disregard his life of privelige (sp), OE background etc

however my kids saw a programme recently about BREAKFASTS where he was showing a bunch of schoolkids how eeeeasy it was to make pancakes, and how they should get their parents to make them some before school at least once before the week was out

it takes my kids an hour and a half to get dressed and eat a banana and a bowl of cocofuckingpops int morning- and me two hours to chivvy them along. If we were to throw pancakes into that heady mix, I'd have to get up at 5

If I see him I will be ramming a spatula up his arse. And poss a blini pan

now he's sworn off the Brown Stuff for a bit, I might just buy his veg book

We had the mushroom risionotto, vegeree, I made baba ganoush with pitta and salad, bean chilli.
Next week tahini dressed courgette salad, barley salad with squash, stuffed peppers with new potato and feta and leftover bean chilli

Every now and then my dc persuade me to make pancakes on a school morning. I unfailingly regret it and turn into shouty, rushed mother. Really need to make a pancakes only on weekends rule and stick to it.

Those meals sound lovely shoppingbags, I might have to get that book!

I reckon it's saving us about £20 a week. This is partly because lentils are cheaper than meat and partly because I'm menuplanning quite efficiently.
I menuplan by starting with the last week's leftover vegetables and finding a couple of yummy delicious meals to use them up.
I never used to menuplan before because I never knew where to start with a massive heap of cookbooks but now I just pick 7 yummy delicious recipes from the one book. Sorted

I don't own any Hugh books... I might have to have a look.

I find him unwatchable on the telly. Stupid River Cottage banjo music and posh neighbours drinking cider in his orchard thinking they are being all back-to-nature. But basically he is a good egg, with all his campaigning, and his books are terrific.

We've been using the Veg book too and have had lots of yummy stuff and it is loads cheaper that the expensive free range organic meat that DP makes me buy. Sweetcorn fritters are yum and the potato pizza is much nicer than I thought it would be, we had the north african squash thing but substituted sweet potato instead which was good.

Simply had to post because we LOVE his book and I'm dead interested incredibly nosy in what everyone else has tried!

I want to try the vegeree.

His North African Stew is dreamy, as was the kale lasagne. Cauliflower stir fry surprised us (though second time I did sneak some chicken in, but the recipe is scrum!)

Me too Petrean!

I got the book about three weeks ago and have eaten about 8 meals a week from it since then. It is the best cook book I own by far (and I'm a meat eating, cook book fiend). I have stocked up on spices and have developed a love of cumin! I normally go through a new book with post-its, picking the receipes I want to try, but in this book there were only about 5 pages which didn't have a post-it (Fennel is the work of the devil).

We haven't had a bad meal from it but faves include; mexican bean soup, patatas bravas, squash with leeks, puy lentil and spinach soup, stuffed peppers, roast veg frittata.

I

I made the sweet potato, limey, peanut buttery dauphinoise a few weeks ago. It was lovely with sausages.

I dont have his cook books (may get one now though) but his veg patch and bread making books are brilliant, I now grow my own potatoes, chillis spring onions every year and the kids love it! and making bread is a good stress reliever

I LOVE his veg book. I'm trying to persuade everyone to buy it and keep getting lots looks.
I am saving myself £50 a month by cutting meat right down and following his recipes and I don't miss it in the slightest as his recipes are so scrumptious. I'm buying nicer fruit with some of the saved money too, so have lovely frozen raspberries with natural yoghurt for breakfast now.
So far the mushroom stoup, kale risotto (or with pearl barley, and magic bread recipe are my favourite.

What a hood book. Can recommend beetroot tarte tatin , leek stuffed squash, cauliflower roasted with lemon and paprika and veg biryani (although I would add a couple of tbsp of yoghurt to the sauce before piling the rice on or it doesn't taste like proper biryani).

Good book not hood book!

I love the leek stuffed squash too.