When the butter's rock hard

Some days I want to make a cake in a hurry, but the butter dish is running low and the new pack is in the fridge, rock solid.  At times like this I use the following recipe because it doesn't use butter.  It's great because you put everything into one bowl and mix it up quickly.  It gives a really delicious and moist cake.

200g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp baking powder
125g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs
150ml vegetable oil
150ml milk


Put all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and then put into either an 8 inch cake tin or two 8 inch sandwich tins and bake at Gas 4/ 160C / 325F for 30 - 40 minutes.

I like to serve this still slightly warm, sandwiched and topped with chocolate royal icing and a big dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

Leftovers

'Best before' dates?  I tend to ignore them most of the time. 'Use by' dates command my respect a bit more and I am more cautious, but if the food is not something likely to spoil within a day or two of the printed date, I still use it.  

So much food is wasted as people don't have the basic skills or confidence to know what to do with leftovers. Having to buy more than you need for a recipe will result in something festering away in the fridge, or perhaps too many roast potatoes or meat from a joint is left over, or you've had to separate an egg and have no idea what to do with the yolks or the whites that are left.

Don't be afraid to put leftovers in your fridge for use another time. Food is expensive and it's accounting for a major part of our disposable income every week - and you don't get a lot for your money.  I grew up with a mother who threw away obscene amounts because she didn't like the thought of 'second hand food'. She's come round over the years to my way of thinking and occasionally I do spot the odd cold sausage in her fridge or a few roast potatoes. I remember one Christmas she had so much veg, roast and boiled potatoes and turkey left over, I recoiled in horror when she headed towards the bin with it and managed to convince her to put it in plastic boxes for me. I made four family meals out of it. One year she had a solitary rasher of streaky bacon left after covering the turkey, so went to throw it away.  Why it couldn't have just been put on the turkey is anyone's guess, but she wouldn't fry it for breakfast the next morning as it was the 'wrong type of bacon'. 

I have a shelf in my fridge that I put all the leftovers on, so I know they have to be used quickly and they don't get forgotten. If your budget is really tight for food, it can be a real joy to know you can make a meal out of practically nothing. You don't need to invest in cook books either. Quite often I go here, type in the ingredients I have and scour through the ideas. Some recipes I follow but others prompt me to try something different and I've had good results.

Today I had half a small jug of single cream left over in my fridge and 2 egg whites. I made some meringues, using the 2 egg whites, 60g of brown cane sugar and 60g of icing sugar. I got a dozen tablespoon sized individual meringues out of the mix. In a small saucepan I melted some butter, squirted in two blobs of golden syrup, added 2 tbsp of cocoa powder to make a rich paste and then added the cream and stirred it through.  he meringues were sandwiched together with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, then the chocolate sauce was drizzled over. 

So, a delicious pudding that served four children, which, if I'd thrown away my unused egg whites and single cream, they'd never have got to enjoy.