The art of planning ....

So it's the end of the week (thank God!!). Opening my fridge there is a random mix of food ... So I need to get creative and think of economic ways to use everything in my fridge and cupboards before I have to go shopping again. This is especially the case when you are cooking for one and the fresh food goes off extremely quickly. Additionally, being a uni student means I am always broke so I'm putting off going shopping for as long as possible!

At the moment on my shelf in the fridge there are; peppers, hummus, spinach, carrots, milk, bananas, eggs, kiwis and yoghurt. There is also jars of green pesto and Moroccan tagine paste (a lifesaver for transforming a bland meal). My cupboard has the basics such as tinned tomatoes, red lentils, pasta and rice. So using these ingredients I have to create as many meals as possible! By planning meals now it means that I use the ingredients - saving money, eat healthily and don't have the added stress of thinking about what I am going to eat.

The dinner menu for the next couple of days is:

• Pesto pasta with roasted peppers
• Carrot Risotto with hummus
• A pepper filled with carrot risotto
• Spinach filled omelette
• Red lentil soup

That's me sorted until Tuesday ...

Student Life

So I've been at university for what feels like an eternity but alas it's only been a week! Its been a roller coaster ride so far; with many ups and a some downs. 

Freshers week has this amazing reputation as being the best week of your life; it's not. You meet loads of lovely people, get an introduction to your course, attend events like Bunfight or Freshers Fair, the nightlife is amazing and by the end of it you are feeling extremely overwhelmed (as well as hungover, embarrassed from drunken nights, lacking in a lot of sleep and if you're really lucky you will have 'freshers flu' like me!). The only thing stable over that week was cooking. It's was my rock.  My detox time as well as my preparation time (whether it be for a lecture or night out!). The simple task of making something for breakfast which helped with the hangover, prepared you for that days activities provided routine and familiarity which the past week lacked. I certainty didn't realise how much university throws you in the deep end and cooking provided me with comfort. 

I have not had the time to cook intricate or expensive dishes or even go shopping so I have really been scraping together dishes from very odd ingredients! At the beginning of the week I made a really simple tomato sauce and used this as a base for other dishes for the rest of the week. 

Simple Tomato Sauce: 

Makes 4 portions. 

Ingredients: 

2 table spoons olive oil 

1 large onion, finely chopped

A pinch of salt and pepper

A large dollop of butter 

2 cans tinned tomatoes 

1 teaspoon red pesto (adds flavour) 

Method:

1) Put the onion and olive oil into a pan. Fry on a low heat until the onion is soft and caramelised. 

2) Add the butter and stir in until melted. 

3) Add the cans of tomatoes and pesto. Simmer for 15-20 mins. 

I then used this sauce to make: 

- Spaghetti with a tomato sauce 

- Spicy Sausage Bake (fry sausages in a pan until cooked, take off the heat and cut into chunks. In a large dish add cooked pasta, sausage, chilli flakes and tomato sauce. Mix together and then top with grated cheese. Cook for about 20 mins until heated through). 

- Ratatouille with chicken ( Cut 1 pepper, 1 courgette and 1 aubergine into 1 inch cubes. Fry the vegetables separately until brown and cooked through, add to a oven proof dish with the tomato sauce. Bake in the oven for 20 mins until heated through. Whilst it's cooking fry a piece of chicken. Serve the ratatouille on top of the chicken. ) 

- Moroccan Chickpeas with Rice ( add a tin of chickpeas to half of the tomato sauce and a tablespoon of tagine paste)

Demani

Tomorrow is a big day. 

I feel like a little kid again on Christmas Eve. How will I be able to sleep? 

'Nuala's Kitchen' (with Nuala of course) is moving to university. 

Nuala's University Kitchen 

New kitchen. New place. New recipes.  New Nuala (not really!). It's only fitting to have a new name. Nualalalala is the new name.  It is pronounced NU - LA - LA - LA. 

Tonight I have an utterly delicious meal with the family; cooked by none other then my wonderful Grandmother. (Previously mentioned here). With me going off to university in mind she made a 'university type meal' - Vegetable Tagine. You will probably be wondering what she meant by this. In her words : "an easy to make, healthy, affordable, adaptable and most importantly tasty dish". 

A Tagine is a morrocan style dish. It is basically roasted vegetables in a tomato based sauce with herbs and spices served with couscous. Root vegetables are especially cheap at this time of year (as they are in season) and extremely easy to roast. I would suggest to roast extra and then you can use them to make a range of other dishes such as soups, salads, stews or as a side with meat or fish. Also if you prefer some vegetables then you can add extra, if you don't like some vegetables you can omit them.  The main spices used was Harissa paste which is easy to find in many supermarkets. 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

1 courgette 

1 sweet potato

1 aubergine

1 squash 

1 carrot 

1 peppers

1 red onion 

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 onion, finely sliced

1 teaspoon Harissa paste 

1 tin of chopped tomatoes 

1 tin of chickpeas 

100g of couscous 

Optional to serve: yoghurt, flakes almonds, coriander 

Method: 

1) To make the roasted vegetables: Cut all the vegetables up into large chunks of the same size (about 1inch square); including the onions into large pieces. Put into a roasting tin and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in a preheated oven at C200 for about 30minutes until caramelised. 

2) To make the sauce: Gently fry an sliced onion with olive oil until caramelised in a large saucepan. Pour the tin of tomato and chickpeas into the saucepan. Add the Harissa paste and simmer for 10mins. Turn off and leave in pan until vegetables are cooked. 

3) Once vegetables are cooked remove from the oven and add to the saucepan with the sauce. Gently heat the sauce. Whilst the sauce is warming up cook couscous to packet instruction.  Serve the sauce on top of the couscous. 

Variations: 

- You can add cooked chicken chunks to the sauce when you add the roasted vegetables. 

- To make it gluten free replace the couscous with quinoa. 

Y and Z is for ....

Always the most difficult letters of the alphabet for these sought of things! I can't think of anything ... 

So my A to Z is going to have to end without a real end. Take it as a metaphor: my month in Rome will always stay with so It can't just 'end' and  I know that I'll be back there in the not too distant future ! 

Ciao Roma ! 

X is for 'X marks the spot'

When visiting Rome a map is a necessity. Although the city isn't that big there are so many small streets so you can easily get lost or miss what you are looking for! I used the lonely planet map from the guide book. 

TIP: When planning a trip to Rome take a map and circle all the things you really want to see. I did this when I first visited Rome as it meant that I look where I was on the map and then see what thing were nearby that I wanted to visit. It also means you don't go to one area and then realise hours later that there was something you really wanted to see one street away! 

W is for Water Fountains

During the summer the abundance of water fountains dotted around a Rome is a god sent. It means fresh cold water is readily available. And the water is actually really tasty! 

V is for Villa Borghese

This is a lovely park located in the north of the city. To access it: walk up the Soanish Step, turn left at the too and it is a couple of minutes walk along the road up on the right. From the gardens there is lovely views over Rome and especially Piazza Popolo. The park extends for miles so you can walk for hours around it (it's the third biggest park in Rome). 

There are often buskers playing which really adds to the atmosphere. The last time I was here there was a young girl playing a piano, who was amazing for such a young age. It was a beautiful day so wandering around the park with a piano playing in the background was just idilic.  

U is for Ufficio Postale

Ahhh the post office. A truly Italian experience of queuing for hours on end in the midst of chaos. My advice - go to a taboo store to buy your stamps. 

S is for Square Colosseum

About 20 mins outside the centre of Rome is a district called EUR. It was built in the early 1940's by Mussolini (who was a fascist leader of Italy from 1925 - 1943) and therefore the whole area has the same eery building style, with it's trademark white marble. All the buildings are extremely large and therefore overpowering and intimidating. 

One building is particular is knick-named the Square Colosseum as it is made from 6 rows of 9 arches and thought to be inspired by the Colosseum.  This is thought to represent the letters in Benito Mussolini's name as a constant reminder of himself and his policies. 

For all Mussolini's faults, he did build this area with a vision for the future. The roads are all very wide allowing ample space for cars and on street parking even though cars weren't as common at the time. The main buildings were built far apart to allow housing to be built inbetween so businesses and housing were close together; unlike the historical city plan of having the businesses all concentrated in the middle and then the housing sprawling outside the area. 

T is for Trastevere

This is one of my favourite areas of Rome, especially at night when it comes alive. The restaurants spill out on to the streets, the waiters flurry around, the odd man plays the harmonica and the smells of equsit Italian cooking pour out of the restaurants. The area has become touristy but it's charm can still be seen. I would defiantly recommend going out for a meal here and after finding a bar. One restaurant that I frequented was called Carlo Menta pizzas here were £3 for a margaretia and pretty decent. For someone on a budget (like me!) this is a great restaurant. I like how the tables are all in rows and close together to you can talk to the people around you; locals and tourists alike. However, from experience I wouldn't order the bruschetta or lasagna but the other dishes are really good!