BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Max Johnson
Date: 27 Apr 13 - 02:25 PM

CS - It was Elizabeth David's of course; I don't know what happened to poor old Eli. You're supposed to use wild mushrooms, but a) it's the wrong time of year and b)I wouldn't know where to get them anyway.
And you obviously don't have to use 3 eggs! I agree about sharp leaves. I grow my own rocket and last night made a lemon and mustard dressing. The joy of the ommo (apart from the flavour) is it's creamy creaminess!

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 28 Apr 13 - 11:08 AM

Simple late lunch / early dinner of macaroni cheese with steamed spinach and whole tinned plum tomatoes (because I'm out of fresh - though I did want to do stuffed toms till I realised the salad drawer was bare) to go with.

I use wholewheat macaroni which has a nice chunky texture and the strongest cheddar for the sauce.

The secret to a good cheese sauce IMO: salt the bechamel well and add a teaspoon or two of mustard for bite *before* adding the grated cheese, then use the most flavour packed strong cheddar (I use vintage these days) - you shouldn't need quite so much cheese if the sauce has been well seasoned first and you use a pungent cheddar.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Apr 13 - 11:23 AM

That omelet sounds delicious!

I find that on the days that I do eat I need to get a well-balanced mix. If I didn't eat as much on the dining day, or if I didn't get as many veggies versus more carbs, I feel kind of tired on the fasting day.

This time of year I am able to start harvesting in the garden, and though it was put in late, I still have some stuff that wintered over well. I'm eating Swiss chard now, and it versatile. It has a flavor and consistency like spinach if it is cut up and steamed, but it is sturdy enough that I can cut it into strip and add it to vegetable soups near the end of cooking, or use the stems in stir fry. For tomorrow I'm planning to make a batch of rice (in the steamer) and then use chard and the usual vegetables, plus some cut up pork or chicken, to make a batch of stir fry rice. It reheats well for lunch or can have other things spooned over (beef and broccoli, etc.).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 30 Apr 13 - 01:37 PM

Swiss Chard is a fabulous veggie SRS, and a great alternative to spinach like you say. Allotments are the place to get it if you happen to know anyone who grows it, or of course grow it oneself. Rainbow chard, being (unsurprisingly) a more colourful alternative to the silver stemmed Swiss is worth it for the bright stems in orange, yellow, white and red, as well as for use in the kitchen.

Today I cooked up a pan of Pepperonata (simple Italian vegetable stew of ..peppers - surprise -and a few tomatoes), using up a bunch of sweet peppers which were on the way to going soft. I didn't have any olive oil in though, and it really lacked that rich satisfying thing that vegetables slowly cooked in olive oil inevitably have. Still, OK on some pasta for tea, plus a sprinkling of olives and a hearty grating of hard cheese.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 30 Apr 13 - 02:41 PM

Yesterday I made Lamb casserole, Tarka Dal, and Dry vegetable curry. Another batch of meals for the freezer.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 01 May 13 - 08:13 AM

Good idea to have the dahl with a drier vegetable curry. We had a vegetarian takeout from a curry house the other night, as there wasn't much of interest in the mains, it was composed of multiple side dishes.

We ended up with a couple of tablespoons of each thing, including sag aloo (spinach and potato), stuffed paratha (like a naan but filled with spiced greens), a dry chickpea dahl, a dish of mixed veg in a sweet and spicy coconut sauce, and a vegetable pilau rice.

Next time I'm going to bypass the curry house and cook and freeze Indian dishes ahead to serve like that when we fancy a curry. A portion of vegetable curry and a portion of dahl both from the freezer then some fresh made pilau rice or bought naan - plus a couple of jars of pickle to serve - would make a fabulous feast. Quick too.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 01 May 13 - 10:26 AM

I just invented this. It is great for snacks and sandwiches.

One piece beef arm roast or chuck roast.

If it's arm roast, pierce it in many places (about a one-inch grid) with a potato-baking nail to tenderize it.

Put a slow cooker liner in a slow cooker. (The liner reduces clean-up time.) Add the meat, pressing it against the crock.

Place about 1/2 cup raspberries on top of the meat.

Cook on low all day. Remove, slice the beef when cool enough to handle, put it in a bowl, pour juice over, refrigerate. Next day, discard the fat.

Delicious

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 01 May 13 - 10:36 AM

Hi, CS. I have read that there are two reasons for a hangover. One is the 'congeners,' the rich-tasting ingredients that give liquor its special taste. Sometimes the congeners cause headaches, etc.

The other reason is that you're dehydrated. As soon as you can stand it, start trying to drink water. Better yet, drink water the night before.

Surprisingly, alcohol itself doesn't cause the hangover.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 13 - 06:08 PM

CS, your link was great, and I realize just now that I conflated two different programs that played on the same night on my PBS station. The one with the fasting that I mentioned was actually Eat, Fast, and Live Longer with Michael Mosley http://video.kera.org/video/2363127955

It isn't streaming from my PBS station any more, but it may well be other places. Here are results from a YouTube search on Michael Mosley: http://bit.ly/10CkNaG and here is a search on the program name: http://bit.ly/13RGoPM

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Green Man
Date: 13 May 13 - 09:11 AM

Guernsey Gache'

A kind of bread made with butter (lots) dired fruit and peel and allspice.

Great for Breaksafst with salted butter and some nice french blend coffee.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Max Johnson
Date: 13 May 13 - 12:07 PM

Chicken Tikka.
Make a marinade with Yoghurt, Chilli powder, Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, a green birds-eye chilli, fennel seed, lemon juice, salt and a spoonful of oil. Add chicken. I use filleted thighs, each cut into 4 peces and put it all into a freezer bag. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Grill (same thing as broil). Serve with salad, raw onion and (important) lime wedges. Use some of the marinade from the grill as a dressing for the salad,. but don't put too much marinade under the grill with the chicken or else it will steam instead of grilling, which is not what we want.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Max Johnson
Date: 13 May 13 - 12:10 PM

Sorry, for got to include chopped fresh corriander (cilantro) in the marinade.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: gnu
Date: 13 May 13 - 01:19 PM

Macaroni, lean ground beef and diced Roma tomatoes*. My back is killin me so slaving over a stove is not an option.

* Sounds fancier than macaroni, hamburger and canned maters.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Joe_F
Date: 13 May 13 - 08:30 PM

Lamb chop, salad, turnip, wine, candied grapefruit peel.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Bobert
Date: 13 May 13 - 09:02 PM

I ain't allowed to cook so...

...I am the sauce man... I make cocktail sauce, buffalo chicken sauce, tartar sauce, cole slaw sauce...

That's my job...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: gnu
Date: 14 May 13 - 05:01 AM

Sooo... yer on the sauce again eh?

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 03 Jun 13 - 02:28 PM

Tonight I made a pasta bake. It was YUM!

1/2lb wholemeal penne - boiled 10 mins. After 5 mins add 1 cup frozen sweetcorn and return to fast simmer. drain.

2 large leeks, trimmed washed and sliced.
1oz marge melted in saute pan, add leeks and cook 10 mins / till tender

2oz marge melted in large saucepan. Mix in 2oz white flour to form a roux.
Mix in 1&1/2 pints skimmed milk. Bring to boil, stirring all the time.
Turn off heat and mix in 6oz grated mature cheddar, 2tsp mustard, 1/2 ground black pepper, 1-2 tsp salt.

Mix pasta with cheese sauce and leeks. Tip into gratin dish.

In a processor, blitz the crust of a wholemeal loaf into crumbs. Mix with 2oz grated mature cheddar. Sprinkle over the pasta and sauce in gratin dish.

Bake at 200C for 25 minutes / till browned and bubbling. Serve with tomato salad and buttered bread.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Jun 13 - 06:56 AM

It's asparagus time in Ontario, and I can eat the stuff until I piss green.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: LilyFestre
Date: 04 Jun 13 - 02:57 PM

Today I made 2 pans of meatloaf and a pineapple angel food cake (strawberries are all cleaned and cut to go on top).

:) Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 04 Jun 13 - 03:29 PM

Had the leftovers of my Cheesy Pasta Leek and Sweetcorn bake earlier, was hardly any of it left though, so in a few minutes we'll be having a simple baked potato plus small side salad for our supper!

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 05 Jun 13 - 12:24 PM

But you should ease up on the sparrow-grass occasionally, Charmion, or you'll miss out on the strawberries.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 06 Jun 13 - 09:09 AM

I've rather been having food adventures lately.

For the past 30+ years, Tom has been doing all the cooking and he's an incredible cook. (That's why I weigh what I do! When I met him, his favorite style was French.) But since he broke his ankle last year and can't stand for any length of time and his vision has deteriorated to where it's not safe for him to use the stove or chop thing (and can't read recipes, etcet etcet) I've been doing all the meal prep (as well as all the shopping).

Didn't take me long to get back into cookery as opposed to just eatery, but for the past year I've mostly prepared meals that I used to cook 30+ years ago (Moroccan chicken stew, my mother's chili soup with my improvements, meatloaf, Bavarian beef soup...) or found new recipes. Lately Tom and I have been collaborating and I've been learning to prepare his specialties -- chicken vindaloo, kedgeree and creamed finnan haddie, ground beef with smoked oysters (served in/on lettuce), oriental ground pork with green beans & red peppers, steak and mushroom pie, putanesca and more. I've got to schedule learning chicken marsala, risotto milanese...plus get the grill scrubbed up so he can teach me grilling (and I can teach him the joy of grilled vegetables).

Tonight's supper will be fish chowder made with cod so I'll get an early start on it. Best, of course, after it's heated up again.

Tried something new last night (well, sampled it raw the day before). Some friends gave us a CSA share in Meadow's Mirth Farm and Tuesday I picked up some eggs and greens and a bag of pea tendrils, which I'd never sampled before. Last night I sauteed a mess up in olive oil with some garlic and they were really good -- like spinach with some fresh pea flavor. I think I prefer them raw, though, in a salad. The tendrils are crisp and crunchy and have the most fresh pea flavor. The leaves are like a cross between spinach and peas and really nice mixed with other greens in a salad.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 06 Jun 13 - 11:42 AM

"eggs and greens and a bag of pea tendrils, which I'd never sampled before. Last night I sauteed a mess up in olive oil with some garlic and they were really good -- like spinach with some fresh pea flavor. I think I prefer them raw, though, in a salad. The tendrils are crisp and crunchy and have the most fresh pea flavor. The leaves are like a cross between spinach and peas and really nice mixed with other greens in a salad.
Linn"


Pea tendrils! I've seen them on peas, but never anywhere else! Lovely idea for a salad ingredient. Be good in a stir fry too. I wonder if bean tendrils would be similar? We're only growing beans this year.

This evening a very simple root vegetable ragu with pasta.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jun 13 - 11:44 AM

Nothing...after the oral surgery on Tuesday and because of the pain meds since I'm not allowed to handle anythng sharp, hot, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: What've You Been Cooking Lately?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 07 Jun 13 - 09:32 AM

The ragu I made yesterday was rich and savoury despite the fact it only had no meat and only the simplest vegetables in it - onion, carrot, celery and of course tomatoes. A healthy glug of olive oil and some balsamic made it nice and flavourful. As well as one hour of gentle simmering and reduction, a bunch of fresh homegrown oregano, and a handful of sliced green olives thrown in at the end. The only thing I miss about meat, is fish! As fish apparently cannot feel pain - at least so the scientist say - I may go pescetarian at the weekend or when out.

Today we're having mock meat. I'm not so fussed about it but Mr still enjoys his junk food experience, only now it's mushed up wheat and soya (non GM!) in the patties instead of critters. They don't really taste much of meat of course, more just savoury / umami maybe - with a bit of bite for that mouth feel thing, but then I alway thought junk food was about the dollops of sauce and mustard, greasy onions, processed cheese and other goop anyway!