MEDITERRANEAN STYLE TORTILLA WRAPS

Good Morning to you,

I have to tell you, my savings plan, for the chair I have my eye on, is going very well. Admittedly it is the first week, but I can honestly say, the only item I have bought this week, is a litre of milk. Everything else has come from either my store cupboard or freezer.  I had enough fruit and vegetables to keep us going this week and not a single thing was wasted. Even the broccoli, which is notorious for turning yellow, pretty quickly, was used.

I admit, I have had to think about and plan what we are eating, because our meals are restricted to using the ingredients I already have, so I have not had the luxury of deciding to make something on the spur of the moment.

Also, I want to keep our meals interesting as George really loves his food. It's not that he is demanding, nothing could be further from the truth, but he does enjoy his food and I think it would be unfair of me to change the quality of our meals, just because I want to save money to buy a chair.... that hardly seems fair.  After all, I don't need a chair. Could I live without it, of course I could. What I feel about saving is, it will give me time to think if I really want the chair.  I have to say, I do, right at this moment, but will that change when I have saved the money mmm... we shall see.

It was interesting to discover, that Saturday evenings would be the hardest to cater for, because we tend to relax and enjoy one or two treats, while watching the television, during the evening.  Its a little like going to the cinema and enjoying popcorn whilst watching a film.... to be honest, treats on a Saturday evening have become a bit of a habit with us. This tends to happen for a few weekends, and then, we decide to reign ourselves in and be a little stricter with ourselves.... but last weekend was no such weekend, so I needed to think of a few things which would please George's taste buds, so that he would not miss his usual treats.

So I gave it some thought.  

I decided to make houmous which is full of flavour and can be eaten with either pita bread or crisps. Not the bought crisps, but the crisps which I make.

I then whizzed some black olives in a food processor and made a black olive tapenade.... which I know George loves... it's not sweet but I knew it would pack enough flavour that he would not miss his sweet treats.

I then went on to make some crudites, so the snacks were taken care of and although they were not sweet treats, they were flavourful.

On Sunday, I made a roast dinner. Now I have to tell you, this is a rarity, because I don't make a Sunday roast very often. The reason is, I find the flavours are rather bland, but George does enjoy a Sunday roast every now and again. How times have changed, because Ivy and Phyllis, on the other hand, would cook a Sunday roast, come rain or shine.  Ivy was such a wonderful cook that she would have the Sunday lunch perfectly timed. When she returned from church, the meal was almost ready. Perhaps this is why my father loved a Sunday roast so much, as it was part of his upbringing. I remember, one unusually hot, English summer's day, Phyllis suggested that she would make a chicken salad for Sunday lunch. This was met with absolute horror.  Sunday was not Sunday for my father, unless it included a Sunday roast. Come to think of it, Bob, George's father, was exactly the same, they both came from a generation when a Sunday roast was an integral part of a Sunday. As George said, it was tradition.

Monday, was easy, because we only used half of the chicken on Sunday, and as we were not very hungry, I made chicken salad sandwiches and we had soup from the freezer.

Tuesday, I made a Tuscan Bean stew, which I really love and we enjoyed the stew with some baked crusty rolls. Actually, I feel sure I have never made a Tuscan Bean stew with you, mmm, I will add it to my list of things to make.

.... and yesterday,

I ventured into unknown territory.  For lunch I made, with the help of George, these Mediterranean wraps. In actual fact they were made with ingredients I wanted to use up.

So it's on with the pinnie and the album I am listening to is,

the 1977 album 'In Your Mind' by Bryan Ferry. The song I have chosen is one I absolutely love, This is Tomorrow.

So I really don't have much to do, as although I am listing the ingredients, they were really odds and ends which I wanted to use up, but the end result was very pleasing.

So I will tell you roughly the amount of ingredients I used, but really, you can use a little more if you like. I would say, don't overload the tortilla as they will not roll up very nicely if you do.  

HOW TO MAKE

MEDITERRANEAN

TORTILLA WRAPS

Serves 2

2 large tortilla wraps

1 roasted red pepper

1 cooked chicken breast

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 tablespoon of pesto

sliced lettuce 

3" piece of cucumber

sea salt

black pepper

Parchment paper 40cm x 25cm

HOW TO MAKE

MEDITERRANEAN

TORTILLA WRAPS

Mix the

mayonnaise and the pesto

and set aside.

Slice the roasted pepper

and 

set aside.

Slice the cooked chicken breast

into strips

and

set aside.

Slice the lettuce into strips

and

set aside.

Slice the cucumber

into strips

and set aside.

Place the tortilla

in a hot dry pan

and cook each side for 15 seconds.

Spread half of the pesto/mayonnaise mix

onto the first tortilla.

Place half the chicken and

half the red pepper

two thirds from  the top of the tortilla.

Add half the sliced cucumber

and

half the lettuce

to the chicken and roasted pepper.

Season with sea salt

and

black pepper.

Now this is the fun bit and one, I have
to admit, I am not very good at,
but today I have my assistant, George,
who very kindly agreed to do the rolling for me.

Place the tortilla

on the baking parchment

and 

begin rolling away from you.

Until the wrap is completely rolled.

Bring the tortilla to the bottom of the

parchment paper

and

roll quite tightly.

Twist the ends.

Then cut the tortilla wrap, diagonally in half.

Remove the top layer of parchment paper

but keep the lower half intact,

as this will make the tortilla easier
to eat and it will also stop the filling from

coming out of the end of the wrap.

Repeat with the second tortilla.

Enjoy one,

or two

but

enjoy them,

you certainly will.

Today, my sous chef was George, he was brilliant actually..... but I was only allowed to take a photo of his hands.... he was camera shy.

I mentioned earlier that making tortillas was new territory to me. This is because I am not a finger food person. Give me a knife and fork and I'm much happier.  So when Natasha gave me my first tortilla wrap, I have to say, it was not a great experience. I loved the filling, but I did not like the mess I made, when eating the tortilla.  So the next time, Natasha wrapped the tortilla in parchment paper.... and I was thrilled, because for me, it made eating the tortilla so much more pleasureable. So it's thanks to Natasha that I am able to bring to you these wraps.

Actually, it's George who loves making these wraps. It's interesting, because George does not cook, but he does make a marvellous bacon sandwich, which, when the family return home, they insist George makes. You'll never guess what they call him.... they call him 'The Baconator'.  He also makes an amazing panini. So on a Saturday, I make George his hamburgers and he makes me my panini.

Oh, just before I go, I was in such a rush last week because I had written to you in the evening that I forgot to show you a picture of my chair..... listen to me, it sounds like I already own it.

.... and here it is,

now I'm sorry it's a little skew whiff, but I had to take the photo without all the adverts around it.  I have had my eye on this chair for a long time.... I wonder if within a few months it will be enhancing my living room.... if I'm being totally honest, once I've saved the money, I don't think I will change my mind.... yes I think it will be a beautiful addition to my living room.... I'm so excited.

Take care and I will catch up with you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Elaine from Sunny Simple Life for Simple Saturday Link Party

Laurie from My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies for Snickerdoodle Sunday

As Always,