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Sooz
19th April 2014, 04:43
Hi All,

Some suggested I open up a new cookery thread as the other one seems to have vanished into a black hole.

Here is my curry recipe:

Each time I make it, I change it slightly, so it's kind of an ever evolving recipe. This makes enough for dinner and the rest I freeze.

Serve with either basmati rice or jasmine rice, pappadums, sliced banana with coconut, diced cumber in yoghurt with mint.

1kg of cubed lamb
3 tbsp brown sugar (I use Xylitol)
2 big diced onions
As much garlic as you like (I use heaps)
1 tbs fish sauce
As much ginger as you like
Chopped spinach
Handful of small grape tomatoes
Small tub of greek yoghurt
2 tsp of garam marsala
Olive Oil
Coconut oil
Can of tomato puree
2 or 3 cups of good chicken stock or chicken consommé
Fresh Mint
Fresh Coriander with roots

Spice Mix
Pink Himalayan salt
Cracked black pepper
Bruised cardamom pods (about 10)
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground coriander
1tsp fennel seed
1tsp ground fenugreek
Finely sliced small red chillis or Kashmiri ground chilli to your taste
1 tsp ground galangal
3 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp black seed (black cumin)
Good shake of red cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Finely sliced bunch of fresh coriander stalks including roots (separate the leaves for garnish)
Pinch of saffron threads

Marinate lamb in the yoghurt with garam marsala overnight

Slow oven around 175 C

In a big earthenware/clay pot heat coconut oil and continually stir the onions, ginger, garlic, add the sugar and chicken stock....keep stirring till really mushy. Put aside.

In a heavy frypan, heat the olive oil and quickly sear the marinated lamb on high heat, so it changes colour but not cooked. You may need to do in batches.

Add the seared lamb to the onion mix, stir well.

Add the spice mix, tomato puree, coriander stems and roots, fish sauce, chopped spinach

Cook for 2 hours in the oven, lid on, stirring once or twice. (You can also prep as above, then cook in a slow-cooker/crock pot for 5 hours, lid on)

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Side dishes to accompany at the top.

Enjoy!

Sooz
19th April 2014, 05:01
And here is another staple of mine. Make a big batch and freeze portions.
I'm just cooking this now.

Poached Lemon, Honey Chicken

Use organic where you can.

1kg of cubed chicken breast
2 Lemons juiced and skin grated
1tsp cumin
1tsp red cayenne Pepper (l like it hot, adjust to your taste)
Slurp of rice wine Vinegar
Honey or maple Syrup to taste
2 large onions roughly chopped
Can of sliced water chestnuts
Heaps of minced garlic
Heaped tspn ground turmeric
Heaped tsp minced ginger
1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock
Himalayan pink salt to taste (you may not need this as the stock should be quite savoury, adjust to your taste)
Olive oil

Heat up the stock in a large heavy, earthenware pot that will keep the heat in when the heat is turned off. Must have lid
Saute onions, garlic, ginger, lemon rind and juice plus sliced water chestnuts in separate pan with olive oil
Add onion mix to the stock, bring to boil and add cumin, pepper, rice wine, honey, turmeric
When that complete stock is on high boil, add the cubed chicken, stir well and wait for it to bubble again, cover and cook on high for 5 minutes,
then turn OFF the heat and leave the lid on to continue poaching for another 15-20 minutes
Chicken should be cooked through and quite tender, check for any seasonings to add - pepper, salt, honey etc

Sooz:victorious:

Edit: I found a lonely, big chunk of cabbage lurking in the crisper, so cut off the brown bits, shredded it and added that to the broth as well.
Keep the leftover liquid broth for a soup. Makes about 6 or 7 portions as well as soup.

Another Edit: You can obviously adapt this recipe for veg only, but I would dice the hard vegetables like potato and carrots and boil for about 5 minutes on high, then add the softer veg like broccoli etc before you turn off the heat, so the softer veg doesn't go to mush.

777
19th April 2014, 10:26
:tiphat:

Well played Sooz, this was long overdue a reboot.

I posted this on the last thread but here goes again.

Vegetarian Gravy

Rosemary (preferably fresh)
Thyme (as above)
Black pepper
Salt ( I personally don't but.....)
Water
Plain flour
Spoon of pesto
Glass of red wine
Three bay leaves
One onion
One pepper
Any other fridge loiters hanging about looking for a vocation.
Olive oil
One garlic clove.
One chilli (optional lol.....I like my gravy to have the capability of stripping the flesh off my mouth)

Put a small amount of olive oil in a saucepan and bring to heat. Chuck in roughly chopped onion and pepper, plus any other veg you wish to dispose of in a tasty manner. Lightly brown. Using the water from other things you're cooking or have cooked like veg or spuds, pour over the cooked onion and pepper. Now chuck everything else in! All the herbs, the wine, the spices, the pesto.

Allow to simmer for the duration of whatever you're cooking, adding the juices from the other dishes. When the time comes, grab a siv and a spoon and mash it all through leaving you with flavoursome water. Slowly add flour and stir until the required thickness is achieved.

Personally I pour over roast pots and Yorkshire pudding, eat and arrogantly smile to myself every Sunday!

Sooz
19th April 2014, 10:50
Oh my mouth is salivating.....and going into overdrive.

I have my leg of lamb defrosting as I speak, plenty of fat on top for crispy fat flavour! I will definitely use your sauce as a base for mine.

For a good leg of lamb, be sure to insert lots of thin slivers of garlic and rosemary. Stab the meat with a thick knife and insert the garlic slivers and rosemary.

And massage the whole leg with olive oil and salt and pepper on top to make it real crispy.

Cook on really high for the fat to crisp for 20 minutes, then turn down to 175 Celsius for 2 hours and remember to baste with the juices.

Thanks for the tips mirror.

monk
19th April 2014, 13:47
Soy Chicken!

I am a very uncultured cook as a standard and am so woefully hopeless at complicated recipes for me this meal is a winner!

Ingredients: One chicken.
One Large bottle soy sauce, sourced from independent Chinese supermarket owing to price and quality, duh.
One or two stars of anise depending on preference.
Rice of any preference.

Method: Bring wok to hi-heat with small amount of seasoning/soy sauce, sear chicken briefly in wok add full bottle (1 litre) soy sauce and anise stars then cover with lid and leave on low heat for a few hours, I dont know...call it 3. Cook rice and serve with the dark and rich chicken now thoroughly infused with juicy soy sauce and a hint of aniseed.

Sometimes I don't put the aniseed in as it makes me yearn for/immediately buy Pernod but it still tastes goood!

mmmm Pernod Ouzo Raki :nails:

Sooz
19th April 2014, 14:17
Monk, try something else to impress us. Or maybe just go away is my guess.

Good try.

Just kidding Monk!

ronin
19th April 2014, 16:00
actually Monks recipe is not far off what we had for tea yesterday.
3 cup chicken,with rice and noodles.:tiphat:

Seikou-Kishi
22nd April 2014, 02:37
Hi Sooz, I posted recently about a delicious recipe I have and I thought I'd share it for anybody who might like to give it a try. Because the process involves more than just cooking, I could understand if you don't think it's a good match to include the recipe, in which case I am sure the mods will move it if you ask them to do so.

This is my recipe for spiced pumpkin melomel. I offer this recipe and share it with you all. Take it, use it, change it and improve it. Fit it to meet your taste preferences. It's absolutely delicious and I consider it the drink à propos par excellence for Halloween. The melomel1 can take quite a long time to reach maturity because the pumpkin used is in a pulp form and as such it takes a long time for the fine particles to precipitate out of the melomel and join the lees2. Consequently, it is not likely that this recipe will provide melomel for the Halloween of this year, and at least a year's maturation is desirable. I tend to allow a batch to sit for at least three years before considering it ready to drink, but this will depend upon how quickly the melomel clarifies (which can be facilitated) and how long you want the flavours to combine and mature even once perfect clarity is achieved.

For this recipe, we will assume a desired quantity of 1 (imperial) gallon, which will make about four 70cl bottles of the finished product. The quantity of honey to use will vary according to whether you prefer your drinks sweet, medium or dry. For a dry melomel, use about 2 pounds of honey, for a sweet use just under 4 pounds. About 3 pounds makes an ideal medium melomel. We will assume a medium melomel in the recipe below for the sake of consistency.

Finally, it is important to maintain good sanitation when brewing any alcoholic beverage, as bacteria will create secondary fermentations and biproducts that will hamper or even ruin the flavour.

Ingredients:
3 pounds honey (I use orange blossom honey, you could use any honey and the juice of a medium orange)
1/4 – 1/3 of a gallon of pumpkin flesh, diced
1/4 teaspoon citric acid (you could use the juice of a medium orange)
1/4 teaspoon tannic acid (you could use a cup of tea made extra-strong with two teabags
1/2 teaspoon "pumpkin spice"
1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme/pectolase or papaya-derived meat tenderiser (both very easily sourced)
1 sachet yeast (I use champagne yeast for melomels, though a lot of people prefer ale yeast. Don't use bread-maker's yeast; the cells are smaller and so resist falling out of the must when dead and they can't tolerate high alcohol concentrations and so die before it's useful)
Enough water to make up to a gallon
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient (which you probably won't need, because this will ferment very readily)
Optional: 1 – 2 cup(s) blueberries

To make the pumpkin spice, use 3 parts each ground cloves and allspice, 4 parts each ground nutmeg and ginger, and 6 parts ground cinnamon. Mix these together well, and use only 1/2 a teaspoon in your recipe (you can add more or less to taste)

First:
Mix the honey with half of the water in a large stewpan and bring to a gentle boil. Allow the mixture to foam, carefully removing the scum that will form. This is a technique I use to help the melomel clear, as the particles that form the scum as the honey boils are those same particles that are hardest to shift. Once the honey is no longer foaming, take it off the boil.

Second:
Roast your diced pumpkin at about 350 degrees in the oven until it has attained a desirable colour. Then take it from the oven and add enough water to cover. If you're adding blueberries to yours, add them to the diced and roasted pumpkin flesh. Bring to the boil and simmer gently to allow the pumpkin (and blueberries) to break down. Once they have attained a mushy consistency, pass the pulp through a sieve to remove large particles and any blueberry seeds. Save what passes through the sieve.

Third:
Combine both the watered and simmered honey and the pumpkin juice to the fermentation vessel (carboy/demijohn). Once it has cooled, add the pumpkin spice mix and the pectic enzyme or powdered papaya. This will break down the pectin in the cell walls of the fruit, releasing their flavour and nutrients and it'll assist the yeast in reaching their sugars. To this add your citric acid (or the juice of one orange, or two if you're not using orange blossom honey and still want the light, orange notes in the final melomel) and your tannic acid (or the strong tea). The citric acid counterbalances some of the sweetness in the finished product allowing for a more complex bouquet. The tannic acid will do likewise and will break down into other things which contribute vanilla-like, woody notes that add body. It will also combine with some of the alcohol to form esters which compound the taste. Wines that have been aged in oak barrels develop their complexity over time because oak is naturally high in tannic acid (like tea) and contributes its own flavour to the wine, and so including a little tannic acid is like leaving your product to sit in an oak barrel.

Fourth:
Make up the remainder of the gallon with water, if necessary. Now is the time to add the sachet of yeast and the yeast nutrient if you're using it (I don't usually for this recipe). If you prefer your drinks to have a bit of kick, you can put this directly into the main fermentation vessel. If you'd rather it was less potent, leave it in a fermentation bucket over night. All that is necessary for a fermentation bucket is that the container is wide necked, not closed like a bottle. This lets fresh air to the ferment. It is important if doing this to cover the rim of the bucket with muslin to prevent debris falling in while allowing air to pass through. If you use this method, allow it to sit overnight and add it to the primary fermentation vessel the following day. The primary fermenter will be much more bottle shaped, with a larger, bulbous vessel closing up to a narrow neck. In this neck, you'll bung an airlock. These allow gas to escape the fermenter while stopping gas passing the other way. They're S-shaped tubes partially filled with liquid. For this liquid, I usually use vodka or water with sodium metabisulphite dissolved in it. This stops bacteria passing into the fermenter from outside by killing them on contact with the liquid which forms the air seal.

Fifth:
As the fermentation progresses, the airlock will bubble furiously as the yeast combine sugar and water to create carbon dioxide. If you allow the must to ferment in the bucket overnight, the exposure to air will cause a different reaction: the yeast will create carbon dioxide and water rather than alcohol, which takes some of the potency out of the finished drink (the desirability of which is up to personal preference, of course).

Sixth:
Leave the fermentation to progress for three months. You will notice that the fermentation slows after the intial period and becomes much more of a trickle. This is because the alcohol that is accruing is killing off most of the yeast, and also because the diminishing sugar supply can't support as many yeast. After three months, rack the melomel. To rack it, have a second fermenter sanitised and standing by with an air-lock prepped. Place the full fermenter on a high table and the empty one on the floor or on a stool. Then, use a sanitised tube to draw the must out of the full vessel into the empty one. You do this by putting one end of the tube into the must (about half-way deep) and causing suction to pull the must up. Then, place the other end into the second vessel and gravity and pressure will ensure that the tube keeps syphoning off the must. You will see a line on the bottom of the vessel which is thick and sludgy (don't disturb this sediment). You should hold the end of the tube just above this line so that the suction stops before it begins sucking up the sediment.

Once the clearer must has passed into the second vessel and transfer is complete, you can top the melomel back up to a gallon with boiled (and cooled) water.

A tip: leave the full vessel on the top of the table you'll use for racking. This means that you won't disturb the sediment by picking the carboy up and moving it around.

Seventh:
Keep racking the melomel at regular intervals and it will clear. You can promote this precipitation by the use of "finings". These are a whole range of things from the white of an egg to isinglass, a substance made from the swim bladders of fish. They're not necessary, though, and overuse will remove much of the character from your product. Anyway, keep racking and your melomel will become progressively clearer. When it has reached the clarity you desire, rack it off into sanitised bottles. You can leave this to mature for as long as you like (if you do, lay them on their side, as horizontal wines (etc.) mature better this way or you can drink it as soon as it's bottled. Swing-top bottles can be purchased very cheaply online and make useful, reusable bottles for homemade drinks. You can also buy much larger bottles and these are excellent for leaving the melomel to mature (they also mature better in bigger batches) or take larger bottles round to parties and so on.

The colour of the melomel will depend greatly on your ingredients. Pumpkin alone will produce a clear, golden melomel like a dark white wine. With added orange juice, this progresses naturally towards orange. Blueberries will add redness to the drink. This drink, with its warming spices, delicious orange overtones, subtle blueberry notes and sturdy pumpkin base also makes a great Christmas drink too.

Eighth:
Many people like to ensure fermentation has stopped by adding a preservative like sodium or potassium metabisulphite, but I do not use these at all in my own wines, etc., and only use them in my airlock (which doesn't come into contact with the must). You will see cheap wines labelled "contains sulphites" and this is what is referred to. You can ensure fermentation has stopped by carefully observing the airlock. Fermentation will slow to an absolute snail's pace towards the end, so do not take no activity to mean all the yeast has died if you only watch it for five minutes. Another way, and the way I prefer, is to expose the wine to freezing temperatures. In any case, if you rack very well (all it takes is practice) you will rack out the yeast anyway. The best way, though, is not to be impatient with your melomel. If you rack frequently and let it sit and mature, eventually the yeast will die off anyway and there will be no need to kill them. The only need to kill them is if you're rushing to get the melomel ready.


http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2636/u928.png

If anybody considers making this, consider stalling your first batch for a few years, so that you make a batch each year but do not begin to consume it for three or four years. That way, you will have a continually aging reserve, your melomel will be crystal clear and given the time to develop its fullest complexity. This is an absolutely delicious melomel, with flavours any American is bound to enjoy for the strong connection to Thanksgiving day, but which people from around the world can enjoy for its own sake. The spices work well with the pumpkin (and the orange and blueberries if you're including one or both) and all the fruit flavours work well with each other.

Well, I hope you all enjoy. Perhaps if you like this, I should let you all in the secret of my chocolate mead :D


http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2636/u928.png

1 A melomel is a mead made with fruit in addition to the honey, and as such is something of a cross between a true mead and a fruit wine.

2 When anything if fermented to produce an alcoholic beverage, the yeast that convert the sugars into alcohol eventually die off and drop to the bottom of the fermentation vessel. In the same way, relatively larger particulates of fruit, that contribute to the cloudiness of the initial must, also drop to the bottom contributing to the clarity of the finished product.

Sooz
22nd April 2014, 10:20
Gee SK...is there anything you are not a master of?

I got to the end of this recipe and needed a stiff drink of said melomel!

I wish I had the time and patience to undertake such a thing...let alone wait 3 years to take a sip of this nectar, lol....

Like many have said before me, 'who are you'?:confused:

Love to you....
Sooz
x

Tribe
7th May 2014, 23:26
Hey sooz is seikous recipie above the one that you thought had shrunk ? I'm wondering if you had the two of them confused , I like to solve mysteries ;) lol xx

Tribe
7th May 2014, 23:36
Anyway here is a recipe for Sarah's sweet vegetarian curry , I made it one day inspired by my new love for vegetables .

One large pan


One large onion diced

Three cloves of garlic chopped

One large red sweet pointy pepper chopped

One quarter of a cauliflower separated


One large sweet potatoe diced

A big handful of small new potatoes halved

One carrot diced

One small handful of red lentil

One vegetable stock cube

One tin of chopped tomatoes

3 teaspoons of Balti curry paste , or my favourite and it makes this recipie wonderful is malagatawny curry paste

One small box of mushrooms chestnut is best


With a little olive oil soften the onion and garlic

Add the lentils and curry paste and stir , then add all the other veg , stock cube and tin tomatoes fill the pan with hot water and cook for a 45 mins on medium heat


Soo delicious nutritious and you will want to have thirds lol

ronin
7th May 2014, 23:43
this can happen often when cooking and i bet most of you if not all have experienced this.
you cook a a hearty and delicious meal that takes you most of the day if not a few hours.
you enjoy prepping the meal and cooking it.
you make a large pot of whatever.
you put love,experience and care into what you are cooking.

now this has happened to me a few times where people just turn up.
you offer them to share your meal and they accept.
then there is non left for yourself.
but you do not mind,as long as they enjoy it.

or you just don,t feel hungry after all that cooking.

but you enjoy the that the people you have served have enjoyed your creation.

also have you ever noticed when you make a meal that you do not have your heart in,or quickly prepare for convenience sake,
it can taste pretty bland.your eating for the sake of eating!

Sooz
8th May 2014, 08:55
Hey sooz is seikous recipie above the one that you thought had shrunk ? I'm wondering if you had the two of them confused , I like to solve mysteries ;) lol xx

Yep, mystery solved your Tribalness.

Well spotted!

Sooz

Tribe
8th May 2014, 09:00
Yep, mystery solved your Tribalness.

Well spotted!

Sooz
I knew I should have been a detective , I have always said my skills are wasted :) lol xx

777
8th May 2014, 09:01
this can happen often when cooking and i bet most of you if not all have experienced this.
you cook a a hearty and delicious meal that takes you most of the day if not a few hours.
you enjoy prepping the meal and cooking it.
you make a large pot of whatever.
you put love,experience and care into what you are cooking.

now this has happened to me a few times where people just turn up.
you offer them to share your meal and they accept.
then there is non left for yourself.
but you do not mind,as long as they enjoy it.

or you just don,t feel hungry after all that cooking.

but you enjoy the that the people you have served have enjoyed your creation.

also have you ever noticed when you make a meal that you do not have your heart in,or quickly prepare for convenience sake,
it can taste pretty bland.your eating for the sake of eating!

Absolutely!! There is a contradiction in cookery in that it is one of the most loving, charitable activities one can do for oneself and another. Pouring energy into it will eradicate blandness and fire up the nutrients in it. On the other hand it is a very private, personal ritual that's extremely self indulgent! So in other words :congratulations: Sooz for this wonderful thread, I'm loving it! Can't wait to try that curry Mrs Tribalness. Wow!

Highland1
8th May 2014, 11:09
As food is also natures medicine, I hope you all do not mind me placing this here:

5000 Year Old Buddhist Recipe

583

This ancient recipe of a pharmacist was found in 1972 in a Buddhist monastery in the mountains of Tibet. It was dated to be 5,000 years old.

PREPARATION:

Add 350 grams of crushed garlic in a glass jar. Pour over it 220-250 grams of 95-96° alcohol, rum or other spirits.


WARNING:

The alcohol may not contain other substances, like benzalkonium chloride or methanol. - See more at:

Close the jar hermetically and place in the refrigerator for 10 days.

In the 11th day filter it all with a very fine strainer or gauze.
The resulting liquid is poured into the same pot and placed another 2 days in the refrigerator.


TREATMENT:

After this period, the remedy is ready for treatment (the drops may be taken with some milk or water before starting to eat), as follows:

584

Continue with 25 drops/ 3 times a day, until you finish the entire quantity.


**THIS THERAPY MAY BE REPEATED ONLY ONCE EVERY 5 YEARS!
CURES:

The sick myocardial diaphragm;

Arteriosclerosis;

Sinusitis;

Hypertension;

Lung disease;

Arthritis and rheumatism;

Various vision and hearing disorders;

Impotence;

Lack of appetite;

Gastritis, stomach ulcers and hemorrhoids;

Clears the body of fats and stones (kidney, gall);

Improves the metabolism and thus all blood vessels (re)become elastic;

Melts the blood clots;

Regulates the body weight;

And possibly the most important one:

It absorbs any internal and external tumors!

Read more at http://www.realfarmacy.com/5000-year-old-buddhist-health-recipe/#1LJrR3DJd6iIzArQ.99

Russ

Sooz
8th May 2014, 11:46
Mother's Day Irish Bread Recipe

Irish Soda Bread

I have not made this yet, will tomorrow, but my brother says it is the best bread he's ever baked:

4 cups of plain flour - organic
2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt
60 grams of organic butter, cubed
2 to 2 and a quarter cups of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 190 Celsius, line a tray with baking paper. Sift the flour, bicarb and salt into a large bowl.

Rub in the cubed butter with clean hands with the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Mix in the buttermilk to form a dough. Bring together on a floured surface to form a ball. Give it a good kneading and knock it around a bit.

Shape dough into a 20cm round. Place on tray.

Cut a cross in the top (I Love crosses).

Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Serve with butter and maple syrup or manuka honey.

Best and cheapest Mother's day present ever!

With a cup of tea of course. In bed.

But let Mum have a good, long sleep-in!

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Edit: Of course you can always slice it and freeze as well.

Sooz
18th May 2014, 09:39
Here is a recipe I just made up - I use my intuition mostly. I was looking online for a good horseradish paste and decided to make my own.

With winter time coming up here in Oz, I want to protect my body against all those nasty flu and cold viruses. (Haven't had a cold or flu for over 3 years).

I have not made this yet, but wanted to share it:

Horseradish Paste
Use organic where you can.

Half cup of grated horseradish
Pinch of turmeric powder
Pinch of cinnamon powder
Pinch of cardamom powder
Tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
Melted butter - about a teaspoon
Apple cider vinegar, a little slurp
Teaspoon of grated ginger
Teaspoon of grated garlic
Teaspoon of grated lemon rind
Slurp of hemp oil
Pinch of red cayenne pepper for extra bite
Pinch of cumin powder

Mix all dry ingredients, add the hemp oil and apple vinegar enough to form a paste.

Keep in airtight container in fridge. Great on all types of meat and veggies. Or mix a few spoons into soup. Heck, even a bit on toast!

:piggy:

Maybe even a little molasses to sweeten it up. About half a teaspoon.;)

ronin
19th May 2014, 17:45
googled chinese hot mustard and this is what came up in images;)

http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/ag233/ronin123451/IsMOD_zps50528d9f.jpg

777
20th May 2014, 13:38
Yeah there's quite a few of Spiral kicking about online, it's just embarrassing really.....

Anyway ahem...

:back to topic:

As some of you know I LOVE all things Italian, harking back to very vivid memories of a past life and also just a general love of the country, people and culture.....not to mention the food mmmm nom nom.

On the old TOT site I put up a recipe for Jamie Olivers' Wonky Pasta. To save myself the repetition I have a twist on it that I saw last night, haven't tried it yet but can't wait to!

Serves 2

Bucatini pasta (This is slightly fatter spaghetti with a hole through the middle which holds the sauce within it)
Olive Oil (extra virgin if poss)
Three egg yolks
Half a lemon
Small squeeze of lime
Half a small orange
Lardons (I personally hate lardons, so would opt for a cured ham such as parma or speck, maybe even bacon but it's preference of the individual of course....)
Chopped parsley OR chopped basil (one or the other because they have a none complimentary relationship in my view)
Parmesan or hard cured cheese of choice
Black pepper

Method

Put sufficient pasta for two in salted, boiling water and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, grab a frying pan and pour a couple of table spoons worth of oil into it while still cold. Leave off the heat and put in the egg yolks, the juice from the lime, lemon and orange. Add cooked ham (in whatever form....ie if lardons, pre-cook in separate pan), grate in the cheese and bring to heat. Once warmed through spoon the pasta into the pan too allowing some of the water you cooked it in to fall in too. As the egg cooks into the boiling water and mixes with the juices and cheese it forms the sauce. Allow to fry lightly for one minute and serve into a pasta bowl. Generously pile the herbage on top and grate further parmesan and black pepper for the top to taste.



http://thepostgradcookbook.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/bucatini-carbonara.jpeg

shamanseeker
22nd May 2014, 16:10
Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese

Pizzoccheri (pronounced peetsockery) comes from the Valtellina, a valley running eastwards from the top of Lake Como, only a little way from Switzerland and St Moritz. The Valtellina was part of Switzerland until Napoleon started 'playing' with European boundaries. It is quite famous for its cuisine and wines. Pizzoccheri are short pieces of 'tagliatelle' but made from buck wheat flour with a little white flour and so are low in gluten. This is a perfect winter dish and really delicious; I love it :) . If you can't find pizzoccheri where you live, I think the best alternative would be short, brown pasta.

http://www.millericette.it/img_ricette/669.jpg

Ingredients (for 4)

For the pasta (if you know how to make pasta):

400 grams of buck wheat flour
100 grams of white flour
salt

For the condiment:

200 grams of casera D.O.P. cheese (In the Valtellina they use a little bitto cheese. It's very tasty and very expensive even here in Italy so not everyone uses it and you can't use only bitto because of it being so tasty. What most Italians do is use some Casera cheese which is also delicious but not as strong or as expensive as Bitto but it's still quite expensive. Most people only use the less expensive but still very good Fontina cheese which is like a Swiss cheese which when it melts and you pick it up with a fork you get that 'stringy' affect.)
100 grams of butter
100 grams of grated parmesan
1 small winter cabbage (different people use different vegetables - my favourite is the traditional winter cabbage because the dark green leaves are delicious with the buck wheat, potatoes and cheese; some people prefer spring cabbage but I find that a bit bland; what is called 'coste' in Italian but 'Swiss chard' in English is really good with pizzoccheri in my opinion because the leafy part is a very dark green; spinach is very good with pizzocheri too)
3 potatoes
a few sage leaves
salt
black pepper
a clove of garlic

Cut the potatoes into rough shaped cubes (not too small and not too big. Cut the vegetables into strips. Cook the potatoes and veg in abundant salted water for 10 minutes. Add the pizzocheri to the potatoes and veg and cook for a further 15 minutes. Meanwhile simmer the butter and garlic in a pan and add the sage (being careful not to let it go brown).

Remove the pizzocheri, veg and potatoes from the water and put them into an oven dish alternating them with the chopped-up cheese. Then grate some black pepper and parmesan over the top and pour the butter over the dish. You can put it in a hot oven for a few minutes and it's even more delicious i.m.o!

Buon appetito :)

Altaira
31st May 2014, 23:20
At this time of the year the elderflowers are blooming so it is a good idea to make use of this wonderful herb. I just made my elderflower cordial today, it already smells heavenly but what is more important it is so good for the immune system. Elderflower has antiviral and immune- boosting properties and can be made into an infusion for treating colds, flu and feverish symptoms.

Elderflower is thought to strengthen the mucus membranes of the respiratory tract, increasing resistance to allergens so I am intending to give it to my son and my hubby to keep the hayfewver at bay.

I used this recipe and I need to point out that it is without citric acid. I intend to freeze what I can't consume so I don't need preservative.

Elderflower Cordial


20 elderflower heads (I forgot to keep counting and used half of the basketful I’d gathered)
4 lemons
2 oranges
1.8 kg granulated sugar
1.2l water

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/10258539_799451486733673_1372378865139473531_o.jpg this is what I made. It is dark because I used raw cane sugar. I couldn't think of substitute for the sugar here so I made it as the recipe suggested.

Place the sugar in the water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. While the water is heating, place the elderflowers in a large bowl and cut the zest off the oranges and lemons and add to elderflowers. Cut the ends off the citrus fruit and discard, then slice and add to contents of bowl. Pour the boiling sugar syrup over the elderflowers and citrus fruits. Cover the bowl and place in a cool place for 24 hours. I put a plate on the top of the bowl to keep the citrus fruit submerged in the syrup. After 24 hours strain (eat the orange slices – they are amazing!). Strain twice more using either muslin or kitchen paper. Makes 4 pints of cordial. Pour into sterilized glass jars and freeze. Keep in the fridge and dilute to taste. It tastes good with fizzy water. Serve in glass jugs with slices of lemon and a sprig of mint.

ronin
29th June 2014, 16:09
leftovers,do you throw them away?
made a chili con carne yesterday and there was plenty left.
so with the leftovers made some chili pasties.
hopefully they will turn out alright.

next time i make a curry my intention with any leftovers will to make curry pudding,s.
as in steak and kidney pudding that you buy from the chippy.
chip,s and a curry pudding sounds delish.
not sure how to make suet though,but will suss it out.:thup:

Spiral
29th June 2014, 17:00
leftovers,do you throw them away?
made a chili con carne yesterday and there was plenty left.
so with the leftovers made some chili pasties.
hopefully they will turn out alright.

next time i make a curry my intention with any leftovers will to make curry pudding,s.
as in steak and kidney pudding that you buy from the chippy.
chip,s and a curry pudding sounds delish.
not sure how to make suet though,but will suss it out.:thup:

Eh lad, you buy suet, you don't make it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suet

Cearna
30th June 2014, 02:21
Eh lad, you buy suet, you don't make it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suet

Suet is the outer fat from kidneys, we used to teach the making of suet for dumplings and pastry, so if you want to buy some the best place would be a good old fashioned butcher, they may keep some aside, but with the modernisation of butchery by supermarkets, most suet would be chucked out as not being saleable, very few people use suet these days. I'm older and was taught to do this sort of thing, because we grew up making all the good old English traditional food, and you can't get much more old fashioned than suet puddings and pie. I remember several hours being shown at the really old style cooking school how to make pigeon pie and three hours each Thursday being shown how to make the old lollies and cake decorating when I was in training to come out to be a Cookery Teacher.

ronin
4th July 2014, 16:05
today i am trying curry puddings.
make a curry that you enjoy.
i made the suet using a brand name. here are the results.
one curry
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/ag233/ronin123451/DSCF5179_zps0233d6d0.jpg (http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/ronin123451/media/DSCF5179_zps0233d6d0.jpg.html)

suet prepared and ready for filling.
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/ag233/ronin123451/DSCF5180_zpsb96b900f.jpg (http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/ronin123451/media/DSCF5180_zpsb96b900f.jpg.html)

filled puddings.
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/ag233/ronin123451/DSCF5181_zpsf5f3f26a.jpg (http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/ronin123451/media/DSCF5181_zpsf5f3f26a.jpg.html)

awaiting to be steamed.
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/ag233/ronin123451/DSCF5182_zps864989a0.jpg (http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/ronin123451/media/DSCF5182_zps864989a0.jpg.html)

because the pudding cases where only small i saved some of the curry i prepared as extra sauce.

half chips and rice maybe;)

Cearna
5th July 2014, 02:19
Looks wonderful to me, enjoy such a satisfying creation Ronin !!!!!

Seikou-Kishi
5th July 2014, 03:13
Ronin, you might like to try Karē-pan. It's a Japanese food made by "wrapping" some curry in bread dough. The dough is usually then fried, but baking is also done. It's normally made using solid parts of the curry rather than the sauce, but I often make it with just sauce by freezing curry sauce, wrapping chunks of it in bread dough and then leaving it a while before baking it in the oven. Smaller "loaves" made in like buns/cupcakes are ridiculously addictive :D

ronin
5th July 2014, 11:30
they look good Seikou-Kishi ,i you tubed them.
my favorites are chinese dim sum.
sui mai,steamed buns ect.
there,s loads on you tube on how to make them.

ronin
12th July 2014, 10:47
watched Hugh fearnley-whittingstall river cottage veg every day last night,this series is about just eating vegatables and such no meat.
i only caught this one so far but he made a veg stew/soup that looks very appetizing.
next time i get paid i,m gonna try this one,here,s the recipe.

Pumpkin, sweetcorn and bean soup

The last of summer's corn and green beans meet the first of the autumn squashes – inspired by the Chilean dish porotos granados. Serves six.

2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp sweet, smoked paprika
2 tbsp chopped oregano (or marjoram)
100g small dried beans (pinto, navy or cannellini), soaked overnight, or 400g tin of beans, drained and rinsed
1 litre vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
750g squash (butternut, crown prince or onion), peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
Kernels cut from 2 corn cobs
Sea salt and ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the paprika and a tablespoon of the oregano. Cook for a minute more.

Dried beans version
Drain the beans and add to the pan with the stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the beans are completely tender (cooking times for dried beans vary; this may take over an hour). Add the squash, stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the squash is just tender, add the green beans and corn kernels, and simmer for five minutes more.

Tinned beans version
Add the drained, rinsed beans, stock and bay leaf at the same time as the squash, and simmer until the squash is just tender, around 10-15 minutes. Add the green beans and corn, and simmer for a few minutes more.

To finish both versions, season generously, stir in the remaining oregano, leave to settle for a couple of minutes and serve.

Frances
28th July 2015, 14:16
http://youtu.be/lATo3qN6pg4

Nice little 3 minute video, showing how to make low sugar Strawberry & Rhubarb Jam.

http://www.pickyourown.org/pectin.htm

Notes About Pectin for Making Homemade Jam.

Pectin is a naturally occurring substance (a polyscaccaride) found in berries, apples and other fruit. When heated together with sugar, it causes a thickening that is characteristic of jams and jellies.
Your grandmother probably didn't use pectin. Instead she stood over a hot, boiling pot, stirring and getting splattered by hot jam until she cooked the vitamins out of it and it finally cooked down to a thicker consistency. You can also make your own pectin. Just see this page for directions. And if you are just looking for the best prices and all the options for pectin, click here!
You can do that if you wish.. but I'll use the prepared pectin - it is completely natural and safe. It is an extract from apples (with a tiny amount of citric acid and dextrose as binders) and doesn't change the flavor a bit. It just helps thicken, allows you to use less sugar and less cooking! So unless you have a severe corn or apple allergy, there shouldn't be anything unsafe nor unnatural about it!
Most pectin you buy at the supermarket is produced in Europe and imported to the U.S.. It has a limited shelf life; usually you don't want to keep it from year to year, as it's ability to gel will decrease.
After the jam has been heated and starts to cool, a gel starts to form.

Gelling problems.

Too stiff or lumpy jam.

If gel formation is too strong, due to way too much pectin, the jam becomes stiff, lumpy or granular in texture.
Cooking too long, but not at a high temperature, can boil off water, without breaking the pectin down. This results in jam that is too stiff.
This also occurs if the temperature is too high, for too long, or the jam is not stirred frequently.
Using underripe fruit, which has more pectin than ripe fruit, with the same amount of pecton as the recipe requires for ripe fruit, also makes stiff jellies and jams. FYI, commercial pectin is intended for use with fully ripe (but not overripe) fruit.

Runny Jam.

Undercooking (it must hit a full rolling boil for ONE minute) or too little pectin or sugar leads to runny jam.
Overheating - that is too high temperatures or uneven heat distribution builds excess heat which causes the pectin to break down. This is why you shouldn't double batches - due to inherently uneven heating of home cookware - commercial canning equipment is design to heat more uniformly.
Frances.

solarimplosion
29th July 2015, 09:29
boys in order to develop a healthy ultraviolet light as a result of eating packed in the lower back and then redistributed as the correct sequence of electrical charge into the body should be avoided meat, cooked foods eaten alone, and all the convolutions of chemical materials packaged .

Maggie
5th January 2016, 21:41
I like cooking and eating and in another thread I saw a picture of some new kind of pie I had not seen with mushy peas.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaahVibx-Vw/Ui9dw537qFI/AAAAAAAAHYU/3Jx_Z_Yyzfw/s1600/Pi+Chorlton+4.jpg

What kind of pie is a"scoffing pie"? Is it a brand name like coke is for sodas?
OR Is it a pie that goes well with derision?


skôf,skäf/
verb
gerund or present participle: scoffing
speak to someone or about something in a scornfully derisive or mocking way.
"department officials scoffed at the allegations"
synonyms: mock, deride, ridicule, sneer at, jeer at, jibe at, taunt, make fun of, poke fun at, laugh at, scorn, laugh to scorn, dismiss, make light of, belittle; informalpooh-pooh
"they scoffed at her article".


Here is a ridiculous, mocking, dismissive, jiberous but tasty fancy ass (http://www.fancyassfood.com/2014/09/sorta-stroganoff-pie.html)stroganoff like pie.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QVR2sltL9ts/VAT9ylO71zI/AAAAAAAAAZg/EY6UDQgsWBg/s1600/IMG_9369.JPG


Ingredients for a Scoffing Pie

For the Pastry:
250g plain flour
125g butter
pinch of salt

For the Filling:
500g cheap beef (like chuck or brisket)
2 onions
5 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
a few sprigs of rosemary
half a bottle of red wine
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
100ml crème fraîche
salt
pepper
2 tbsp plain flour

This one is a true pie, in that the filling is fully enclosed in pastry. For a cheaper, heartier twist, replace the wine and crème fraîche with a can of Guinness. Any stout will do, but I’m Irish, so I’m contractually obligated to suggest Guinness.

To start this off, we’ll prepare the filling. Begin by cutting your meat into equal sized chunks. 1.5cm cubes is probably a good idea, but don’t break out a ruler or anything. Size isn’t that important. It’s what you do with it that counts. Like dredging it in seasoned flour. Put the flour into a plastic bag or just a bowl, along with plenty of salt and pepper. At this point you can also add any other spice that you might like, such as paprika, or cayenne for a kick. I kept it simple for this recipe, but feel free to mix it up.

Toss the meat in the flour, getting it completely coated. There are a couple of reasons to dredge meat like this before frying it. One is that it creates a flavoured, crusted surface, without having to toughen the actual meat, but that’s more useful when cooking fish, or thin steaks. In sauces such as this, it’s mostly a way of introducing flour to the pot, which thickens the eventual gravy. But it also flavours the meat, just like seasoning it without the flour would. It’s basically killing two delicious birds with one floury stone.

Once the beef is floured, throw it into a large pot with some oil heated in it. Fry until the meat is browned all over, then take it out and leave it aside. Browning and removing meat is a way of getting the richer flavour that develops when meat burns slightly (think char-grilled), without risking over-cooking it. If you added it with the other ingredients, it would steam rather than fry, because of all the moisture in the overcrowded pot. If you left it in while you fried the rest, it would dry up like my writing skills.

Wow. Three paragraphs to say what could be summed up in two sentences. That’s a personal best. Alright, class dismissed. Let’s just focus on the cooking.

Chop up the onion and garlic nice and small while the meat is frying. You want them to melt into the gravy by the end, so the smaller the better. Tip them into the pot after you’ve removed the beef and fry, stirring, until soft. Meanwhile, strip the leaves off of your rosemary and chop them finely. Peel the carrot and cut into small chunks. Add both of these to the onion and garlic and continue frying for a minute or two.

Pour half a glass of the wine along with the Worcestershire sauce into the pot and use the liquid to help you scrape up the tasty bits of fried stuff stuck to the base. Add the meat back in, along with the rest of the wine, and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat down low, put a lid on the pot and leave it to stew for two hours.

After an hour and a half, make the pastry. Aside from the quantities, it’s the exact same as for the Smoked Salmon and Leek Pie, and I’ll be damned if I’m finding another way to write all that out again. Leave it in the fridge for half an hour.

Turn the oven on to 170ºC. Pour the crème fraîche into the stewing beef and give it a good stir, then leave it to thicken with the lid off. Take the pastry out of the fridge and tear off one third of it. Roll out both parts, making sure they don’t stick to the counter by using plenty of flour and flipping or moving them around regularly. About half a centimetre is a good thickness to aim for, but really the important part is that they fit your pie dish. The smaller sheet needs to be slightly larger than the circumference of the top of the dish. Grease the pie dish with some butter and drape the larger piece of pastry into it, lining the whole way up the sides and a little over the edge.

Fill it up with the beef stew, then beat an egg and brush the edges of the pastry with it. Lay the final sheet of pastry on top, forming the lid. Pinch all around the edge with your fingers to seal it shut. Get extra kudos for making it look all ridged and fancy. Wipe the whole thing with egg (so that it glazes the pastry when it cooks), then pierce the surface in a few places with a fork (so that it doesn’t glaze the oven when it cooks). If you have any leftover pastry trimmings, get artsy and decorate the top with little pastry shapes. As I’m extremely artistic, you’ll notice that I went for triangles, nature’s most creative shape. I defy you to do better.

Now all you have to do is put that magnum opus in the oven. After about 30-40 minutes, it’ll have turned a beautiful golden brown and be crispy around the edges. While it cools, remind yourself that all art is fleeting. Then slice it up and scoff it down.

and how ever did I miss mushy peas? They look very good

http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2012/07/201207-216410-british-bites-mushy-peas.jpg


Mushy peas (http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/08/british-bites-mushy-peas.html) are cooked simply with butter, then mashed and seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper. The result is a simple bright side dish that comes together in no time at all, and adds vivid color and light flavors to any plate.

Traditionally, mushy peas are made with marrowfat peas, which are mature peas left to dry outside in the field. These days, it's simpler to find a bag of frozen peas to make this classic dish. Mushy peas are a usually found as a side for fish and chips, and if you're heading that way, there's nothing quite like a chunk of battered fish dipped in warm mushy peas. But in the spirit of British ingenuity, this simple side can be adapted into a heap of other dishes.

modwiz
5th January 2016, 22:07
Lord Sidious used the word ''scoffing'' that I know as ''scarfing'', which is a slang term for eating something. I like eating too but, not enough to write about it and present pictures of it. Some people really do like food so much that it occupies some, or much, of their thoughts. Certain body types usually demonstrate this preoccupation with food. Perhaps one of the reasons few people use pictures of themselves with their avatars.

Food production is without a doubt, one of the most important of human endeavors and those who produce it responsibly are to be commended. Those who eat to the point of diabetes, or other over-consumption illnesses, are not.

Dreamtimer
5th January 2016, 22:29
I thought he meant scarfing. The pies look delicious. Fresh. I love that a pie is/could be called a scoffing pie.

How many cooking channels are there? I was there when the Food Network started. It's still around.

Of course it all goes back to the Matriarch of Mealtime, Julia Childs.

In Tunisia, food was a required social offering. It would be the height of rudeness to fail to offer ailments. :chrs::garden:: Sherlock:

Maggie
5th January 2016, 23:37
Lord Sidious used the word ''scoffing'' that I know as ''scarfing'', which is a slang term for eating something. I like eating too but, not enough to write about it and present pictures of it. Some people really do like food so much that it occupies some, or much, of their thoughts. Certain body types usually demonstrate this preoccupation with food......

....Food production is without a doubt, one of the most important of human endeavors and those who produce it responsibly are to be commended.

Thanks for clarifying the word. There is a brand "Scoffing Pies?"

I read here on TOT the possible origin of the skinny meme They came up with hiring skinny models. They dumped the bigger 'normal' gals everyone was familiar that was the preferred and hired skinny models. The need for fabric was so much less that the bid changed significantly enough to get the manufacturers to sign. They did and skinny models were used from then on to save money on cost of advertising.

The real cost however, was that the generation of boys that grew up seeing the skinny models while their father's looked on wondering why all the skinny girls were now on TV but it never quite hit anyone that it was conflicting things. This man says the hand and the eyes were now on different pages. (http://jandeane81.com/threads/8336-Imagine-the-mind-screw-of-men?p=841942178&viewfull=1#post841942178)

Thin as equated with beauty and health and virtue is not universal.

http://bonytobombshell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ironized-yeast-ad-why-some-girls-are-naturally-skinny-and-how-to-gain-weight-build-muscle.jpg

Actually, I prefer to be with people who love to look at recipes lovingly, people who love producing and coking wonderful food. They are less likely to be really angry (?? can't prove that??)....

I do not believe anymore the simplistic ideas I used to have about "hunger" and starvation. What I used to take for granted was that people were just deprived. It is not ONLY drought and lack of knowledge. People with-hold food from themselves and one another. Hunger is an inner kind of starvation of more than the stomach. I do not understand the whole picture but I THINK it is huge and a human dilemma of depth....

People could grow the vegies, raise the meat and eat in season....even from a backyard. I know that many people do not cook. Even fewer have even a patio "garden."...seen as too hard, too time consuming...LOTS of issues.

Given the level of derision people feel around food choices...scoffing pies will not be inappropriate hehe.