The £10 Challenge

My husband’s job got relocated to London. Great. It’s one of the most expensive cities in the world. Thank god I’m coming from New York City so I’m pretty use to the ridiculous prices. Since recently joining him in London, I find myself with no job, no friends and far away from my family. Being a stay at home wife is not a glamorous life if your husband isn’t a member of the "rich or famous". Life can get pretty boring really quickly. So, I've decided to challenge myself. The goal is to spend £10 or less a day on groceries and create unique, gourmet meals for two.

Day 1 – May 10, 2010

On the Menu for Today is Roasted Portabella Mushroom Salad and Whole Wheat Baguette

Ingredients: Grocery List – Spent only £8.50

1 Packet of Rocket Salad – £1.50
3 Large Portabella Mushrooms – £1.69
1 Small Red Onion - £0.16
3 cloves of garlic – £0.25
1 packet of Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano – £2.23 (snagged it on sale!)
1 can of Chick Peas in water– £0.61
1 Yellow Pepper – £0.87
Whole Wheat Granary Baguette – £1.19
Balsamic Vinegar – Already had
Olive Oil – Already Had
Soy Sauce – Already Had
Lemon – Already Have

Recipe

Place the Portabella Mushrooms in a deep baking dish covered with foil. Marinate the Portabella Mushroom with Balsamic Vinegar, Soy Sauce and very fine minced Garlic. I don't really measure. Sorry folks! So I poured roughly about a ½ tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar first on to the underside of each Mushroom (remember to take out the steams). Then I flipped them over and poured about 1 tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar on the tops. After that, I splashed 1 teaspoon of Soy Sauce with a teaspoon of minced garlic to each Mushroom, as well. Place a teaspoon of olive oil on the top of each mushroom for good measure. Add a dash of fresh grounded pepper and sea salt to give it a bit of flavor. While the Mushies marinate, I preheated the over at 200 C. While the oven was preheating I washed the packet of rocket salad. Then finely chopped the small red onion and French cut the yellow pepper. Once the oven was finished preheating, all I had to do was place the mushrooms in the oven for 25 minutes. Then flipped it over for 10 more minutes. My little kitchen was starting to smell fantastic! While the mushrooms were still in the oven, I boiled the chickpeas for 4 minutes, drained them and cooled it down while the portabella perfected themselves. Now it was time to put all the ingredients together. Sliced the Mushrooms and placed them on top. Put a generous amount of shaved parmigiano reggiano throughout the salad. The dressing consisted of – 4 tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar, a dulop of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, and spoonful of jam (plum)... My husband's touch of creativity. Serve it with bread and butter and there you go!

After finishing my daily challenge, i was left with a very healthy, delicious salad. It’s definitely a recipe that I will have to make for another evening.