Warm Chicken Liver Salad, Little Welsh 'Rarebites'

Meal 118 - December 31st -  Warm Chicken Liver Salad, Little Welsh 'Rarebites'

I kind of feel like the last few days have been a bit of a microcosm of my 15 minute meal experience as a whole. There have been ups and downs, hits and misses and ultimately I feel a bit like I've been organising my life around my 15 minute meal schedule. I'm not going to miss this blogging malarkey when I'm done... I will continue to make 15 minute meals next year, and I may even continue blogging on some trivial subject or other (there is a bit of satisfaction in it) but no way will I set myself a target of doing something by the end of the year. The number of evenings, weekends and days at work* that have been consumed by blog writing, who knows what I might have achieved had I not had this obligation?

Fettucine, Smoked Trout, Asparagus and Peas

Meal 117 - December 30th - Fettucine, Smoked Trout, Asparagus and Peas
 
Ah pasta. We've had our ups and downs and there have been a few disasters in there, but on the whole I've enjoyed cooking the 15 minute pasta meals. Most of Lolz's low ratings have come not because they've tasted particularly awful (well, maybe that prawn linguine...) but because of the amount the ingredients cost (compared to an average chuck it together pasta dinner) and the amount of washing she is subjected to. From a purely taste perspective (arguably the most important of all perspectives) they've often been above average. Some of my particular favourites have been the broccoli pasta, pasta pesto, chorizo carbonara and the fantastic salsa verde tuna - it's really only been the tomato sauce based ones which have been disappointing.

Ultimate Pork Tacos, Spicy Black Beans & Avocado Green Salad

Meal 115 - December 28th - Ultimate Pork Tacos, Spicy Black Beans & Avocado Green Salad

Well I tried to convince my family to forego the traditional Christmas dinner in favour of a 15 minute meal but sadly no one seemed too keen and so turkey it was. Credit must to go to the chef (who for once was not me) for a fantastic ensemble and even mother outdid herself with four or five palatable desserts. After a few days of eating and drinking to excess with the family though it was back to normality and we resisted the temptation of the pizza delivery man to crack on with a challenge which now requires me to cook 5 meals in just 4 days if I'm going to see it through.

Arnold Bennett Fritata, Foccacia and Emmental Waldorf Salad

Meal 112 - December 22nd - Arnold Bennett Frittata, Foccacia and Emmental Waldorf Salad

With the granola proving to be such a shambles, and having plans for the afternoon, I had no option but to return almost immediately to the kitchen to cook what is effectively the second course of our brunch. With neither of us having eaten much granola though, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I have no idea who Arnold Bennett is or what he has to do with frittatas but this looked like a much more straightforward meal to cook. It didn't go quite according to plan though...

Camembert Parcels, Autumn Salad and Cranberry Dip

Meal 110 - December 21st - Camembert Parcels, Autumn Salad and Cranberry Dip

I'm beginning to get into the Christmas spirit - the tree is up, the shopping is done (just hoping Amazon and co don't let me down with their delivery times), family sleeping arrangements have been decided for next week, we're even going to see It's a Wonderful Life at the cinema tomorrow. A crucial part of Christmas for me though is eating humungous amounts of food, and with that in mind we set off for Sainsbury's (Waitrose was not big enough for today's task) to do the shopping. Half an hour or so later, we'd spent £150 (300 nectar points for me - kerching!) and bought the ingredients for 5 (five) fifteen minute meals. It's going to be a busy weekend...

Moroccan Mussels, Tapenade Toasties and Cucumber Salad

Meal 105 - December 8th - Moroccan Mussels, Tapenade Toasties and Cucumber Salad

Well the good news is, Lolz overcame her sickness in time for a festive trip to York. Foodie highlights included Fat Rascals and afternoon tea at Betty's (those who are not of a northern persuasion or have never been to York will obviously have no idea what I'm talking about). The bad news is, I am now drastically behind in my attempt to get this challenge done before big ben strikes midnight on January 1st. I've got 15 meals to do in just 24 days. Since we still had many of the ingredients left over from last weekend, Lolz bravely agreed to give the Moroccan mussels a go (with a fresh batch of mussels of course) - how unlucky would you have to be to get food poisoning twice in 8 days?!

Modern Greek Salad, Spinach, Chickpea and Feta Parcels

Meal 104 - December 3rd - Modern Greek Salad, Spinach, Chickpea and Feta Parcels

So as a result of Lolz's mussel induced bout of sickness what was supposed to be a weekend of three 15 minute meals turned into a weekend with just one 15 minute meal. Unfortunately, one of the two cancelled meals (for which I had already bought ingredients) was the Moroccan mussels which unsurprisingly Lolz wasn't too keen on. So I set about finding another meal in the book for which the ingredients were similar, which is quite a challenge when you only have 16 left to do.

Salsa Verde Tuna, Sicilian Tomato & Pasta Salad

Meal 100 - November 21st - Salsa Verde Tuna, Sicilian Tomato & Pasta Salad

So I've made it to a hundred. There have been times over the last few months where I thought I wouldn't get to this point but I've definitely got back on track. Circumstance (Sunday's half marathon) dictated that this landmark would be marked with a pasta dish and although it's a chapter where appearances have sometimes been deceptive, this one looked like it had all the individual components to make my dream come true. Fresh tuna is after all one of the most amazing ingredients on the planet and, accompanied by a zingy salsa and some fresh, colourful Mediterranean inspired salad, I couldn't really see what could go wrong. Famous last words?

Butterflied Sardines, Tuscan Bread Salad

Meal 97 - November 15th - Butterflied Sardines, Tuscan Bread Salad

It's Friday today. Most people will be looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend, but not me. I have a cold, I have to get up at 5:45 tomorrow morning to go to work, and I need to fit in a decent run. This doesn't really have any bearing on tonight's 15 minute meal, I just felt the need to vent a little bit. But anyway, in spite of everything I have to look forward to tomorrow (or perhaps because of - I sure as hell won't want to do any cooking then) I decided to make it a 15 minute meal Friday, and we had butterflied sardines and Tuscan bread salad on the menu.

Lamb Kofte, Pitta & Greek Salad

Meal 92 - October 31st - Lamb Kofte, Pitta & Greek Salad

I can't claim to have the biggest collection of JO recipe books (currently just the four) but I do like to have a bit of a flick through from time to time, and when I'm in a bookshop I'll often pick up another one and see what I'm missing. As a result you do see certain dishes which run through the back catalogue. There's sausage pasta, a version of which seems to appear in every Jamie book. There's braised peas and lettuce, the 15 minute version of which I'm yet to actually do. Today I'm doing Greek salad, perhaps not really a Jamie signature dish, but it's one of my fave recipes in the "Jamie does..." book and so inevitably, I'm going to compare them.

Classic Cheese & Mushroom - Viva La Toastie

Meal 90 - October 27th - Classic Cheese & Mushroom - Viva La Toastie

I think the mark of a true chef (other than Michelin stars - and I'm probably still a few years off that level) is an ability to change a recipe depending on circumstances. To be able to freestyle a little depending on what is in your fridge, or what mood you are in. Today's breakfast (our fourth and final toastie) was supposed to be a classic cheese and mushroom but instead turned out to be a classic cheese. Lolz didn't want to buy a whole box of mushrooms when the recipe only called for three and I was only too happy to agree.

Chorizo Carbonara, Catalan Market Salad

Meal 88 - October 24th - Chorizo Carbonara, Catalan Market Salad

I've not had much luck when it's come to cooking these 15 minute meals in, well, 15 minutes. My unofficial record is probably somewhere just over 15 minutes, but my average is probably hovering around the 25 minute mark (with a couple of anomalies clocking in at an embarrassing 45-ish minutes - curse those sage dumplings). Today I would be stepping things up by attempting to cook this chorizo carbonara during the half time break of a football match I was watching. The stakes were high - I don't like missing the start of the second half. And it would be an important test of the much maligned pasta dishes - could I prove to Lolz finally that they can be cooked as quickly and easily as any other midweek pasta meal?

Prawn Cocktail, King Prawns & Sun-Dried Pan Bread

Meal 87 - October 20th - Prawn Cocktail, King Prawns & Sun-Dried Pan Bread

Ah prawn cocktail. Conjures up images of Fanny Cradock and 80s dinner parties, where it would be followed by duck a l'orange and blackforest gateau. Back in those days, it would probably be served in a stemmed cocktail glass, with a few prawns on a bed of iceberg lettuce, smothered in a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise (masquerading of course as the much posher sounding Marie Rose sauce), with a wedge of lemon.

Chorizo & Squid, Greek Style Couscous Salad

Meal 86 - October 17th - Chorizo & Squid, Greek Style Couscous Salad

You could argue that squid deserves it's own chapter in 15 minute meals. Not just because it isn't a fish, but because it has three meals to it's name - not bad for a rather marginalised member of the seafood community. I had never actually cooked squid before starting this challenge - now I can say I have griddled it, made it into "squidballs" and today I would be completing the trilogy by frying it with chorizo and peppers. And this looked like it would be the best of the three...

White Fish Tagine, Carrot, Mint and Clementine Salad

Meal 83 - October 8th - White Fish Tagine, Carrot, Mint and Clementine Salad

I've recently started a new job which brings with it many perks. One is that I earn more money. Another is that I get home in time to watch Pointless. I can also now make it to the fishmongers before they close on a weekday. So why not kick off a new era of 15 minute meals with a good old fish dish?

Mushroom Farfalle, Blue Cheese, Hazelnut & Apple Salad

Meal 82 - October 3rd - Mushroom Farfalle, Blue Cheese, Hazelnut & Apple Salad

My last meal was a success not just because it was surprisingly tasty, but because it was really quick and easy - the end result didn't match the work that went into it. The same can often be said of the pasta dishes, although in a very different way - the end result has often been disappointing compared to the amount of effort involved. And so it was with some despair that I looked my spreadsheet and was told that I should be cooking a pasta dish today. In the end I decided to grab the bull by the horns and use it as an opportunity to strike off my list the one 15 minute meal I've really been dreading cooking - the mushroom farfalle.

Blackened Chicken, San Fran Quinoa Salad

Meal 80 - September 28th - Blackened Chicken, San Fran Quinoa Salad

In a moment of potentially disastrous judgement, several months ago Lolz and I signed up to the Ealing Half Marathon, either forgetting or ignoring the fact that it would be happening just days after my sister's wedding. In a typical week prior to a half marathon, I would ensure I was well hydrated by drinking lots of water, I'd ease off the alcohol, go for a couple of short, easy runs, and do a bit of carb loading in the few days prior to the race. Unfortunately this tried an tested regime was abandoned in favour of lots of meat, booze, dancing and general unhealthiness. Lolz had conveniently sustained an injury forcing her to pull out of the race by this point but, I, being much more hard core, would be seeing it through. After getting home from the pub on Saturday afternoon, I decided it was time for a healthy pre-race meal. I opted for this salad, full of quinoa, spinach, lean chicken and other energy-boosting goodness.

Chicken Tikka, Lentil, Spinach and Naan Salad

Meal 77 - September 14th - Chicken Tikka, Lentil, Spinach and Naan Salad

To be honest I'm not sure whether my cooking has really improved over the course of this year but I have certainly learned a few things. One is to cook the "Jamie Oliver way": multitasking, battling the clock, showing a little flamboyance but complete disregard for whoever will be doing the washing up. I have also become very well acquainted with my local supermarket - things like tikka paste, lentils, cashew nuts - I can find them with my eyes closed. If only Supermarket Sweep hadn't ended back in 2007 - I'd have been nailed on for the jackpot. Although that would have meant interacting with Dale Winton.

Winter Squash Penne, Mint & Avocado Chopped Salad

Meal 76 - September 10th - Winter Squash Penne, Mint & Avocado Chopped Salad

It's not quite winter admittedly but I've taken to donning a jacket when I go to work and I make the rules so decided to have a bash at this wintery pasta recipe. We'd also received what was apparently a "pattipan squash" in our veg box and I thought I could substitute that in for the butternut squash. Upon further investigation, the pattipan variety is actually quite different to the butternut equivalent and is in fact more like a courgette, but I'm beyond worrying about such details so decided to press on regardless. To be fair this was another of the notorious "book exclusives" so god only knows how it might turn out.

Jerk Pork, Grilled Corn and Crunch Tortilla Salad

Meal 75 - September 5th - Jerk Pork, Grilled Corn and Crunch Tortilla Salad

Other than dousing my chips in reggae reggae sauce, I couldn't really say that my cooking up to now has ventured much into the realm of the Caribbean. It's not that I don't like it - Jamie's Jerk Chicken recipe was one of my favourites in the 30 minute meals book - it just doesn't really get a lot of coverage over here. So I was quite excited to try out this 15 minute meal version and see whether it would really cut the mustard - or cut the scotch bonnet if you like.