Hello and welcome back to Book Break.
My name is Lauren and I've got a BookTube channel Lauren and the Books.
And Book Break recently got in touch with me to ask me if I would be keen to make a
video on the amazing cookbook Cooking on a Bootstrap by Jack Monroe.
Good morning!
Today I'm cooking on a bootstrap, and for breakfast I'm going to have microwave kale
and chilli eggs.
This is a recipe that Jack herself came up with when she was living in a bedsit, with
no oven, just a microwave and a kettle for cooking.
She says it's become one of her favourite simple recipes of all time.
I've got the ingredients here, and I'm going to cook it, and it's going to be delicious.
And now back to bed for my favourite place to eat breakfast, and to start a new read
from my lovely pals at Book Break.
Mmm!
Breakfast was delicious, as was my little session of reading in bed which was nice.
It's now lunchtime, and it is a cold rainy day in August.
One of the only cold rainy days we've had in August.
I've actually got socks on.
And off the back of it being cold and rainy, I think I'm going to make myself a nice delicious
soup for lunch.
My boyfriend hates soup and he's not here, it's just me having lunch, so I thought I
would make myself a nice yummy soup.
The soup I'm going to make is spiced potato with chilli and yoghurt.
And one thing I love about this book is that there's a whole section at the beginning which
talks about alternatives.
Now, I don't own a blender, however I do own a stick blender which cost me about five quid
from a supermarket.
And Jack talks in here about all the alternatives you can use in terms of ingredients, equipment...
She's even got smoothies in here that don't need blitzing.
It's just such an accessible book for all.
Anyway, I'm going to get on with making this spiced potato soup now, because I am hungry
and looking forward to being warm.
Crying onion eyes!
So I'm using my favourite big pot that I basically cook everything in.
And we're starting by putting the onions that I've just chopped and cried over into this
with the herbs.
We're all cooked and it looks and smells delicious.
So I'm going to blitz up with the blender, snuggle myself on the sofa, and enjoy this.
And we're back in the kitchen for the third and last time.
And I wanted to cook something quick and delicious for my sister and her husband coming over
for dinner tonight.
We're going to play board games, and I don't want to be in the kitchen the whole night.
I looked through the book, Cooking on a Bootstrap, and found a recipe for a "sausagne", which
is a lasagne, but with sausages instead of meat.
And it's super fun to say.
Sausagne.
I loved the idea behind this, because Jack talks about how she's been in the middle of
making a lasagne, and there's been three pans on the hob, things in the oven, and she's
just thought "why?
Why am I doing this?"
So she has pared this down to a simple recipe of sausages in a lasagne, and that is what
I'm making tonight.
And I'm actually going to get myself prepped a bit now so I can get changed and get ready
for when my guests come over.
And that's me having chopped all the sausages, put in the cans of tomatoes, the herbs, the
salt and pepper, and then that is the innards of the lasagne.
Which has taken me probably about forty seconds.
Going into the fridge.
I'm going to go and get me gladrags on.
And then I'll be ready for when my guests arrive.
Bit like Nigella!
So I've changed and I'm ready for my guests, and I'm feeling like Nigella, and all I've
got to do is layer up my sausagey mixture with lasagne sheets.
And then top with mozzarella.
And these breadcrumbs that I made out of two slices of bread that I was otherwise going
to throw away.
I'm going to get on with that now, and my guests are expected in ten minutes.
I should be ready for entertaining when they arrive.
Sausagne going in!
And that takes half an hour.
And I cannot wait.
And what a day I had.
All the food I made was delicious, easy to make, and completely within my budget.
I've actually made sausagne twice since I made that video.
I really enjoyed my day of cooking on a bootstrap, and I cannot recommend this book enough.
And I just wanted to end with something that Jack writes in her intro.
She says "Dear reader, I'm incredibly fussy about what I put in my mouth.
It has to bring me joy.
It has to satisfy.
It has to ignite, to delight, to sing to me."
And I can vouch for all of those things.
Thanks for writing such a great cookbook, Jack, and thanks for having me, Book Break.
Bye!