The Week in Recipes 

Cooking has always been a marathon to me. That hurdle run in sports class where I hit the barrier over and could honestly be doing something more productive with my time. But then I discovered Japanese cuisine in my own kitchen, and suddenly, cooking didn’t seem so painful anymore… In fact, it was fast, hilariously easy, and not just tasty but different tasty.

Now, I don’t mind cooking. But only because I share the cooking with my partner and I’m not cooking for myself, otherwise I’d just make a bowl of rice and mix in basil pesto/eat beans on toast forever.

We’re trying to plan our weekly meals, we literally make a basic menu every Tuesday now and shop for the whole week. Whilst I know this isn’t revolutionary, it’s a big leap for me. Cooking is becoming way more adult than I would have believed a couple of years ago. So, I’d like to share those recipes with you.

Welcome to cooking with a student and a poor writer, neither of whom can be arsed with recipes that have more than four steps. Maybe we can help those of you who resonate with that feel. So, here’s what we tried last week:

TUESDAY

Super Smoky Bacon & Tomato Spaghetti

I didn’t take my own picture of this one, but this is one of Aaron’s favourites. Easy, quick, cheap, and full of flavour. We also make the full quantity as suggested in the recipe – for every recipe, actually – so we can eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.

WEDNESDAY

Pearl Barley, Bacon & Leek Casserole

Buy a wok. Buy a big damn wok. It’s the best pan you’ll ever buy. Again, not only is this easy – you just gradually add everything to the same pan (a wok) – but it’s so good for you. Packed with vegetables you’ve marinated in chicken stock and all that pearl barley, this is filling, tasty, and simple. It’s even good cold the next day for lunch. We tend to simmer this in the wok for longer than the recipe instructs, however. Trust your instincts.

THURSDAY

Japanese Greens with Sticky Sesame Rice

Despite my poor presentation skills, this was gorgeous. Took minimal effort and thought to make. And we actually cooked 500g of sushi rice so we could eat it the next day. The packet instructions for the rice said DON’T LIFT THE LID FOR 25 MINUTES, whereas the recipe said OPEN THE LID AND DRIZZLE ON THAT SESAME OIL BABY. We met both instructions halfway. Waiting ten minutes before lifting the lid, then added the sesame oil and waited an extra ten. Delicious.

FRIDAY

Spicy Chicken & Avocado Wraps 

This was…okay. The chicken was juicy and flavoursome, the avocado was perfect, but overall? Needed something else to go with it. Possibly because the ingredients create a quantity for a small mouse. It wasn’t very filling. We even used two chicken breasts instead of the specified one. If we make this again, we’ll make it big. This reminded me of lush family sharing meals we used to have when I was a kid though. Nostalgic.

SATURDAY

On this night we said “sod it” and had Heinz Big Soup with bread. 🙂

SUNDAY

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake

Another Aaron special, but for this one, he does all the cooking and I don’t get involved. I could eat this all night and never stop. It’s so. Damn. Good. Possibly because of the added wholegrain mustard.

SUNDAY

Sweet Potato Hash, Eggs & Smashed Avocado

This was sooooo good. Considering I don’t have a “vegetable spiralizer” or fancy little cooking pans, this came out really well. I sliced the sweet potato into strips. Kind of tried to the same for the red onion. Cooking everything, as per, in my beloved wok, fried the egg separately, and ta-da! Topped off with sriracha, it was a flavourful experience. I even added some mild curry powder to the sweet potato and onion as they cooked. I hope we have this again soon.

OVERALL

This shop came to around £55. Between the two of us, that’s £27.50. Not bad for a week of good eating. This coming week should be a little cheaper though. I’ll report next Tuesday!