Blogger Stevie Couch from A Cornish Mum tells us about the inspiration and challenges she found in this month's BBC’s Good Food magazine...
When you’re a parent like me, with children and a partner with differing likes and dislikes, it can be tricky not to fall into the trap of eating the same meals each week.
In 2015, my meal planning literally looked like the same meals re-hashed over and over again; it’s no wonder I was utterly bored of cooking by the end of the year.
Having the same meals stopped the falling-out over who liked what and who was refusing to eat this, and who would rather eat their own arm than eat this – oh the joy of children who have discovered cheek and sarcasm and aren’t afraid to use it!
Luckily, just in time to save my sanity and all of our tastebuds, my subscription to the BBC’s Good Food magazine arrived, with pages full of inspiration and challenges. I say challenges because I am not a natural chef at all - I have to really work at it.
Whilst some may be able to throw a few ingredients together and be amazed at the finished result, if I throw a few ingredients together we have to order in a takeaway as a last minute emergency substitute. In 2016 though, I am revamping my meal planning using the BBC’s Good Food magazine. I am trying out new recipes and will work until I perfect them.
I cooked this cheese and potato pie from the magazine this week… Looks delicious doesn’t it? It should have been, but it wasn’t – through no fault of the magazine I might add. Merely because I rolled the pastry too thick and didn’t cook it for long enough: raw pastry and crunchy potato wasn’t really the effect I was going for!
I said I was revamping our meal plans - I didn’t say there wouldn’t still be some disasters along the way!
My plan is to keep trying new recipes from the magazine until I find several new dishes to add to our meal plans. I also won’t be giving up at the first hurdle….as let’s face it, with my cooking skills it may take a few attempts at each dish before anyone will actually like it or even want to try it.
BBC’s Good Food magazine recipes are some of the easiest I have found to follow, so surely it can help but make even me a good cook?
Wish me luck…!
