Super-saving September #8 - Recipes 8 & 9

Update here - over the weekend, Husband deviated from our meal plan by coming home with some kebabs and a lamb shoulder for the BBQ on Sunday. We ate the kebabs that night with a cous cous salad (cous cous sachet 9p from Approved Food some time ago) and are on to our second meal from the shoulder. The first, was a simple coconut curry, and tonight's dinner is equally simple - lamb, aubergine and courgette stirred through olive oil and balsamic vinegar, served on the remaining cous cous salad.
So, Coconut Curry

• BBQed lamb, diced
• 1 carrot
• 1 pepper
• 1 onion/leek
• half a stock cube
• Thai Green curry paste (again, bought on Approved Food for 1p - yes, One Penny - for a crate!)
• 3 tablespoons of Maggi powdered coconut milk. Canned is fine too,but this works out cheaper.

Mix all together, serve with rice and nom.

Lamb salad

• However much courgette you want
• However much aubergine you want
• 1-2 onions
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Cous cous salad (sachet of cous cous with salad veg and dried fruit stirred through)
• BBQed lamb

Toss your non-salad veg in the oil and vinegar then place in an ovenproof dish. Scatter the lamb on top. Bake until the lamb is piping hot again and the veg is done to your liking. Serve on cous cous.

Clever readers may have noted that I starred 'salad veg' in my last post. I'd planned a rant about how expensive salad leaves can be - and I stand by that - but an easy, healthy and cheap way to bulk out a bag of rocket leaves is to sprout some alfalfa at home. Especially as right now you can get what amounts to 8 servings for £1. That's around 13p per serving, which splits between 2 adults. Less than 7p for a salad base. Remarkable. You just need an empty, large jar, some muslin and an elastic band to sprout these and it takes only 3-4 days for a full batch. (It also makes for a great activity for young children as you can use them like cress seeds - make a face with googlie eyes on the egg cup, stuff with wet cotton wool and spinkle the seeds on top to grow into hair.) Soak these seeds over night, then cover the top of the jar with the muslin and elastic band. Shake all the water out and leave the jar to drain on its side. Rinse the seeds daily and they'll start to sprout. Serve them up when little green leaves begin to appear. Not only is it easy and cheap, but it's also good for you too. If you're wondering about the taste, it's quite a peppery one, so goes well with mild veg like cucumber and raw button mushrooms. Tomatoes also compliment it nicely, as does sweetcorn.

Also, totally off topic, but I forgot to add this picture the other day - it's the camomile cakes from my pervious post.