River Cottage Veg Everyday: Twice Baked Potatoes

I was home alone on Thursday evening as Mr VST was out bowling drinking with work colleagues. 

 I don't usually bother to make anything special when I'm on my own but this recipe was really just fancy jacket potatoes.

You bake potatoes and then scoop out the middle and mash it up with butter, spring onions and cheese which the 'skins are back in the oven for ten minutes. 

 Then you put the mashed mixture back into the shells and pop them back into the oven.

These were great, really tasty and worth the extra bit of effort compared to just topping jackets with cheese and beans. 

Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese

Mr VST is training for the Exmoor Beast and went out for a training ride on Monday evening after work. I thought that he'd appreciate something tasty and filling for dinner and so I went for this slightly Wintery baked potato with cauliflower and broccoli cheese. It was good!

Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese and Baked Potatoes

After our long walk today (12 miles) I thought I'd better finally eat the cauliflower and broccoli in the fridge. I send Mr VST to the shop to get some potatoes and popped them in the oven to cook while I made the cheese sauce and boiled the veggies. Can't go wrong with anything covered in cheese sauce really!

Spinach and Sweetcorn Pancakes with Cheese Sauce

My cheese sauce for the Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese on Monday was made with Oat milk. Mr VST made a disparaging comment about the appearance of the sauce although nothing bad about the taste. Anyway this was enough for me to pick up some goat's milk on the way home to make the cheese sauce for the pancakes. I also used it for the pancakes although I think I'll be using good old cow's milk for pancake day next week. I served my lovely pancakes covered in cheese sauce with jacket potatoes.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese

So easy and so tasty, heaven.

Cheese Pie, Jacket Potato and Carrots

Friday night saw us travelling down to the in-laws. Mr VST had requested a speciality of his mother's, her cheese pie. This consists of pie crust, bottom and top, with cheese sauce inside it. It is nursery food at it's best. There are sometimes Quorn chicken-style pieces in the pie but then it changes it's name to Quorn pie! On Friday I detected some onion in there. It was good pie and I ate FAR too much of it. This was served with some boiled carrots and a jacket potato and then followed by a proper crumble. It was an apple and rhubarb crumble with a thick (2cms) crumble on top which was the perfect texture mmmmmm.

Spinach and sweetcorn pancakes with cheese sauce

We are home this weekend so I have had the luxury of spending as much time as I like in the kitchen. Having embarked on a mission to remind myself how to be healthy I did some Wii yoga this morning followed by a 30 minute run which meant that I had enough calories left to enjoy this classic 80s recipe. It's one my Mum used to make us as kids so that we would eat something green!

It's not very complicated but takes a bit of time as you have to make cheese sauce, pancakes and the filling almost all at once.

You make the pancakes and cheese sauce and wilt the spinach with garlic cloves and sweetcorn and then fill each of the pancakes with some of the spinach mixture, roll them all up and cover them with the cheese sauce. I serve mine with a baked potato. It makes great, filling, Winter comfort food.

Weekend Posts - Friday, Saturday, Sunday

This vegetarian ate a lot over the weekend! There was a big family gathering in Wales to celebrate a big birthday for my Mum as well as three other December birthdays and my Uncle coming over from New Zealand with his wife. Lots of celebrating and eating was done.

So Friday night we ate at The Angel in Llandeilo. Mr VST and I shared some delicious nachos with salsa and cheese and then I had a spicy mushroom and bean tagine (with chips) and Mr VST had some stuffed mushrooms both of which were delicious and for pudding we shared an a chocolate fudge cake with ice cream. There was such a lovely warm, friendly, Christmassy atmosphere in there, it was a great way to start the weekend.

Saturday all the family and a few friends came over to the cottage we were staying in. Everyone brought some food with them and WOW! Although there were 26 of us altogether there was still too much food! We baked some potatoes and I made a vegetable chilli but there was also meaty chilli, cheese and biscuits, chocolate muffins, birthday cake, cherry lattice, apple crumble pie. This meal was then repeated for lunch on Sunday!


Nothing better than lots of good food and good company. A lovely time was had by all.

Jacket, beans and veggie sausage

I always find it difficult to decide what to eat when I'm on my own. It doesn't seem worth cooking and leaving loads of leftovers just for me. Mr VST always goes for something 'naughty' when he's feeding himself, usually pizza. I usually delve into the freezer. This evening I went for a jacket potato, baked beans and a Linda McCartney sausage.

I didn't always eat like this when alone. When I was a student I would make big batches of lasagne or shepherd's pie and freeze portions. What do you eat when you're cooking for one?

Vegetable Chilli

This evening's meal was a vegetable chilli with jacket potato for me and rice for Mr VST.










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Cauliflower and broccoli cheese and jacket potato

As good a day as any to start this blog. I'm planning on blogging what I eat every day for a year. Some posts will be briefer than others. I will put recipes up when I get the chance but if you want one specifically then please ask and I will try and oblige.

A classic dish for an Autumnal day but with a slight twist. The cheese sauce was made with oat milk. I try and limit the amount of dairy I have as it causes me sinus problems. It was made with extra mature cheddar which gives a stronger flavour but you don't need to use as much. Also added a bit of broccoli to jazz it up!

Taste: delicious! That extra mature cheddar is something special mmm

Cooking difficulty: easy once you've mastered the cheese sauce

Calories: about 650




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