What's In My Fridge #2

The second edition of What's In My Fridge is brought to you by Paula!

I love food. I'm pretty obsessed with it, in fact. More often than not, I'm thinking of my next meal while I'm eating my current meal. So when Dawn put out feelers on Twitter to see who would be interested in taking part in her What's in My Fridge series, I was immediately up for joining in. And also immediately hungry...

 

Fridge Staples?

• Nut milk. There is usually some form of this in my fridge: Almond milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk. For smoothies. For making Shredded Wheat Bitesize taste good (and I bet you thought it couldn't be done.) And sometimes just for drinking.
• Diet fizzy drink. I'm addicted. I know it's bad for me, but I can't cope with the caffeine withdrawal headache. Honestly. It's worse than a hangover.
• Flavoured water. To try and wean myself off the aforementioned fizzy drink. I'm still trying...
• Cheese. I don't think there has ever been a time when my fridge has been cheese-free. I am utterly obsessed with it. I was probably a block of cheese in a previous life. Or a mouse.
• Little cartons of fruit juice. These belong to my boyfriend. He also is responsible for the little bags of cut-up apples/pears etc which I THINK are meant to be for children. (Big wean.)
• Cold meat. Easy to add to veg for a salad, or sometimes I just eat it directly out of the packet if I need a snack.
• Wine. There is often wine in my fridge. Rarely in there for long though...
• Veg. Usually avocados, red onions and tomatoes, often courgettes. With the exception of the avocado and onions, I tend to forget the veg is there after approximately 18 hours of the newest health kick.
• Cauliflower. I love making cauliflower mash, cauli rice, and cold "faux potato" salad which substitutes - you guessed it! - the potato for cauliflower, so there's usually a cauliflower in the fridge somewhere.
• Eggs. Always handy to have these. I like to make individual crustless quiches in advance for snacks during the week. And the boyfriend makes a mean omelette!

What's your signature dish?

Cooking makes me nervous, and if I check out a recipe and it has more than about six ingredients I immediately lose interest. However, the one thing I feel like I have mastered is Chilli Con Carne - that being said, if you're a massive spice fiend and come over to mine for dinner, you might want to bring some extra chilli flakes to add to your plate when my back is turned. (I'm a bit wimpy when it comes to spice.) It's okay, I won't be offended. Promise. I like to keep it low-carb and usually serve it with some grated cheese and natural yogurt, or cauli rice. Delicious.

What do you cook when you really can't be bothered?

I was quite surprised Dawn said risotto in answer to this question because the last time I attempted to make risotto I ended up with stirring-related R.S.I. and nearly had a nervous breakdown over the pan. Considering I am not the best of cooks at the best of times, when I can't be bothered my "cooking" is limited to either cheese beanos or I'll boil up macaroni, sprinkle with grated cheese and microwave it until it melts. Either that or I fire up the omelette-making machine/boyfriend . . .

Food heaven & food hell?

Food heaven for me = Chocolate. Cheese. (Incidentally, If someone told me I could only have either chocolate or cheese for the rest of my life, I don't think my brain could cope with the decision.) Freshly baked bread. Philadelphia (I know this falls under the cheese category but I can actually eat the stuff out of the tub with a spoon, like it's ice cream.) Mexican food. Italian food. Traditional Scottish food. Maybe one of Dawn's roast dinners, even? (Hint, hint...)

As for food hell: I'm actually not that fussy. I avoid prawns - don't like the texture. I've never been a fan of bananas either. And celery and cucumbers... how can they barely taste of anything and yet STILL taste offensive? It's a mystery.

Favourite supermarket?

Not technically a supermarket but I'm all about the M&S food department. There's an M&S Simply Food around the corner for me and I could practically live in it. I try not to buy ALL of my food shop there but it's difficult.

Favourite food treat?

Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. Or Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream. If there's no peanut butter cup related paraphernalia in the vicinity, I'll settle for a Fondant Fancy (pink or yellow only) or a couple of meringue nests covered in squeezy cream. Basically anything sweet.

Or cheese... DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!!

And now I'm hungry again . . . great!

You can read more about Paula on her blog Insert My Blog Name Here or you call follow her on Twitter right here.