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Squash and Red Lentil Soup Recipe

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Okay, I know I said we don’t have to eat lentil soup (soup not soap!) any more.  But, sometimes that is exactly what the doctor orders.  So yesterday faced with fine misty drizzle and a dip in temperatures, alongside a woefully sad looking Butternut Squash that has been sitting in the veg basket for over a week, this is what I came up with. Inspired by Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries and the food I love, I rustled up a gorgeous lentil soap recipe in just over half an hour.  How did I do it?  Well, firstly I was hungry […]

Making the Most of the Harvest – Herb Infused Oil

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Today it’s all about making the most of the herb harvest, with basil infused oil so you always have summer to hand on the kitchen shelf. Okay, so we’re not technically self sufficient in basil.  But, thankfully we know someone who is.  And, better still (for us, not them), they’re spending summer in sunny Blighty.  This means we get to carry out a weekly ‘huerto’ check.  We see that their rather splendid automated watering system is working correctly and that the local bunny population hasn’t stolen all their vegetables. On our last visit, we noticed their basil patch was looking […]

Easy Cherry Clafoutis Recipe

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Yes, it is cherry harvest time at a Self Sufficient Life.  Here’s something else we knocked up last night.  I have to admit this is not my recipe, it is from The Silver Spoon which is one of the best cookery books I have ever owned.  There is just so much in it!  For those who do not own the book – here’s the recipe for Cherry Clafoutis. Oh, and if you have never eaten a Clafoutis before, think of it as a thick baked pancakey/custardy delightful desert you will make again and again!  Also good with apriocots or gooseberries, […]

Cheap Easy Meals – Brunchtime Spiced Muffins

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One of my absolute favorite Brunch-time Cheap Easy Meals has to be Spiced Muffins.  They put me in such a lovely mood.  Cinnamon and nutmeg wafting about the kitchen.  But cunningly they only take 30 mins to make all in.  With 20 minutes of that being those muffins left alone in the oven, you only have 10 minutes of anything to do!  Well you do have to eat those magnificent muffins for your brunch-time cheap quick meals too.  Not too much of a hardship! These muffins are not too sweet as they’re a morning muffin rather than a tea-time one.  […]

Cheap Easy Meals – Chapatis

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Homemade Chapattis are the thing we use instead of bread the most.  They really make cheap easy meals in no time at all.   There are many ways to personalise chapattis but all are healthy quick recipes for frugal food.  Of course you could serve chapattis with meat but I find they really lend themselves to Vegetarian Quick Easy Meals.  So all the ideas below are Vegetarian.  And, yes we eat chapattis for supper too, but they make fantastic frugal brunch recipes too. In my search for a substitute to bought bread I do occasionally make real bread.  But I wouldn’t […]

Easy Romesco Sauce Recipe

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This is not a ‘self sufficient’ tip.  This is just a really simple way to make Romesco Sauce.  But if you’re planning to be self sufficient in the garden and are going to replant your sprouting onions you need to know how to make a great Romesco! It is a great sauce to eat with grilled scallions / calçots.  Heck its lovely with grilled meat, fish or veggies.  It is lovely warm, hot or cold.  It is a great way to use up stale bread and all those chillies and peppers good growers will have dried in the autumn.  It […]

How to Make Yogurt at Home

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Or as we would say: How to Make Yoghurt at Home.  This is a really simple Homemade Yoghurt Recipe. To make yoghurt or yogurt at home you need no fancy equipment or machines.   To make great yoghurt you certainly do not need an expensive yoghurt maker.  You can make your own healthy natural yoghurt just as it has always been made – cheaply and naturally. Making Yoghurt at Home – Simply The ‘Starter’ The starter is simply a small batch of yoghurt which will supply your milk with all the right yeasts and bacterias to get it to turn itself […]