Fashionable fish

I thought I would return to the subject of food momentarily, and discuss my progress on £50.00 a week food shopping.  Unfortunately, although we succeeded easily the first week, spending in weeks 2 and 3 increased to £75.00 which is where the total seems to remain for our weekly food shop.  I think we could have just about done the £50.00 for weeks 2 & 3, but we'd really be cutting some things out and we also had friends over for meals a couple of days in the last week which always increases the food bill (my husband tells me I have a generous heart when it comes to cooking for people!).

I have come to the conclusion that food was never going to be a primary focus for the year; for me personally, this was about restraint on luxuries: the nice top I saw in the high street, the book that looked interesting or the pretty stationery or brightly-coloured utensils from our lovely garden centre and home shop.

Nevertheless, our food bill has certainly shrunk in the last few weeks simply by taking more notice of what we're buying, so that is a good thing.  But I really am enjoying the kitchen more this year - especially spending time making and baking.  I finally tasted my home-made marmalade today and it was delicious! Not the perfect consistency, but really yummy all the same.

You may wonder why 'fish' are in the title of this post when I haven't mentioned the creatures yet!  Well, fish is something we like in this house and we try to buy sustainable fish which is not under threat or farmed.  Chris has started going to a market that sets up every Monday in town near his work. The fishmonger now seems to know his likes and dislikes and understands that the fish will need to be filleted for the wife - without even having to be asked to do it!  I love fish, but I am not as skilled as a cat at eating it and spend hours sifting the fish from the bones - so a good piece of filleted fish is much appreciated!  We tried Gurnard last week - delicious and only £3.00 for a fish provided enough for two people.  Plaice is also very reasonable - £5.00 for a good portion.  Monkfish and sea bass used to be in the 'reasonable' bracket but have become trendy in the fish-market world and so the prices have soared!  It really is worth experimenting with the types of fish.  Our fishmonger is very helpful in describing what type of fish is it - in terms of taste and how to cook it simply, so that takes away some of the apprehension of trying new types.

A friendly-looking Red Gurnard

So although food is not the main focus for my money-saving experiment, it has had quite an impact on what we buy and we have made lots of little savings in various ways.  I think the main triumph for me is that I spend much more time enjoying cooking and experimenting with food.  Also consciously looking for cheap but at the same time, good quality produce, often means that you manage to do a little bit for the environment - such as buying fish that is not endangered and buying fruit and vegetables that do not have excessive packaging around them.  After some time of feeling in a rut about 'what to cook for dinner tonight...?' my enthusiasm for food has returned and all because I simply spend a little more time thinking about what to buy and cook!