BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 09:22 AM

Well the ham stock was ideal for making soup, not too salty, so all that soaking I did paid off. The ham is delicious too, so that's a double win. Before Christmas I bought a pack of big flat mushrooms, going cheap for 50p. I didn't want to waste them so about an hour ago I made them into soup, as follows:

In my cast iron casserole I fried some shallots and some chopped celery in olive oil. After about 15 minutes I crumbled up those mushrooms and threw them in. Once they'd reduced down a bit, I added about two pints of the ham stock and let it all simmer for five minutes. I carried the pot to the sink and whizzed it all to a rubbly broth with my stick blender. I put it back on the heat and added a pack of Merchant Gourmet pre-cooked Puy lentils (which are an excellent ingredient). After a few more minutes I decided to whizz the soup again. The texture was great for drinking out of a mug, thick and hearty but not too thick, and the seasoning just needed a quick tweak. It's delicious, and a big mug of that was all I needed for my lunch. There plenty for both of us tomorrow too. I've seen other mushroomy soup recipes that call for Worcestershire sauce (weird...) or cream, but I honestly thought that further embellishments were unnecessary. During the season of eating tons of rich stuff, something low-fat and nutritious like this is just what's called for, I reckon.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 09:33 AM

When it comes to cleaning leeks, this is what I do. I don't want too much dark green top but I do want some of the fresher, brighter green stuff, so that's where I cut the leek. I then slice off the rooty bottom, only removing the minimum sliver required. Then there's the judgement of how many outer layers need to be discarded. One? Two? I have the same issue with shallots and onions... You can always chuck the outer, non-papery bits into the stock pot. To get any grit out of the top of the leek, I cut a deep cross down into it, then hold it, cut top up, under a stream of cold water, spreading out the cut segments. That does the trick.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 10:31 AM

I like the dark leafy tops. I used to clean leeks your way, Steve Shaw, but I find if I'm going to chop'm anyway, that they are a lot easier to clean if already chopped.

The goose liver, some white wine, and all the garlic that was inside my goose made a marvy spread.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 11:17 AM

Thanks, Charmion. I'll make some cockaleekie soup.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 06:08 PM

Well I prefer to wash any vegetables, including spuds, while they are still only minimally trimmed, as I have no desire to wash away nutrients and flavour, which is what you'd be doing if you washed them after all the chopping up. Less waterlogging my way, too.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 09:22 PM

The other day I bought 5 little $0.98 sandwiches in the freezer section of my local grocery that I was going to add to the "community fridge," a place where people in the neighborhood 4 miles north of me can go to find food when nothing else is available for purchase nearby - a "food desert." Then I realized that these sandwiches couldn't be added. The county health department insists that meat be shelf stable, not just cooked and frozen, because there are no guarantees on the fridge temperature. So I tried one of them tonight. The list of ingredients is intimidatingly long, I won't buy more, but I won't waste these. And to tonight's sandwich, a buffalo chicken breast meat patty and bun, I added mayonnaise, a few drops of my favorite hot sauce, and a couple of my homemade garlic dill spears. Not bad.

Next week I'll find some canned tuna and other shelf stable protein to add to the shelves next to the fridge at that location. I donate to the county food bank, but I also try to add food ingredients or quick to fix meals (soup cups that need just boiling water; cans that have pull-tab tops for homeless to be able to eat, etc.)

We have suddenly reached a critical state for millions on the US. While Trump fiddles millions starve. Literally. Benefits for several important food and unemployment programs ended today and tomorrow unless the bill is signed or congress acts quickly (if the bill is vetoed). If the bill isn't vetoed it will run out the clock and then it is too late for this congress to act. Trump is a cretin and I wish the COVID had done him in.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 09:38 PM

I can't think that you'd have got anyone better.

I'm one of those people who bought a large turkey before I knew that hardly anyone could come. It was a lovely turkey as it happens, moist and flavoursome, a free-range bronze job, and I cooked it well (never easy...). It's a challenge, but I've already got a hot turkey bap with stuffing and onions, a turkey and ham risotto and a sort of turkey cottage pie lined up. There may be sandwiches too...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 09:07 AM

Any nutrients that can wash off the surface of a raw veg, I am not gonna worry about.

But I also like onion and garlic powder to thicken a soup. Heretic, I am.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 12:24 PM

After picking off all the meat I could, I crammed the goose wreckage into the Instant Pot along with the customary carrot, onion and celery. The result is about four and a half litres of dark stock with a wonderful aroma, and it's chilling in the fridge while I decide what should go into the first batch of goose soup.

Wild rice, I think, after the mirepoix, and chopped leg meat.

Any suggestions out there?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 12:29 PM

Yep. Include some bacon in your mirepoix.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 12:34 PM

If you're going to freeze some of your soup, don't add rice to the portion going in the freezer. Same with pasta. Not good once it comes back out and is reheated. Add some afresh once the soup's thawed.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 01:26 PM

Still mostly pottages but also purchased the big 3 Christmas desserts on my last outing to the supermarket - cake, pudding, and mince pies...plus a bottle of sherry.

On TV, soups/stews are usually thickened with flour but for my pottages, rather, I like to add oats - the same oats that, for breakfast, I make porridge with, adding sugar and/or peanut butter, jam, sultanas, tofu...

(When visiting SE Asian countries, I enjoy rice porridge/congee for breakfast.)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 02:01 PM

Stop with the bad poetry, WAV. Confine it to your own thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 03:32 PM

Ah, yes, bacon. None in the house. Damn.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Dec 20 - 08:17 PM

Then get thee to a bacon emporium posthaste. A house sans bacon is a mere house, not a home....

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 10:41 AM

...can't a vegan bring home the bacon in terms of making his or her castle, Steve?!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 10:48 AM

Nah. They have to bring home the bakin', and even then only if it's made without lard or butter.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 10:57 AM

On a more serious note, I heard that the only vitamin vegans struggle to obtain is B12, but I also noticed at my local supermarket that Violife add that to their vegan cheese slices, so I make a point of having one slice a day.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 11:31 AM

Cheese slices !!! Ugh !!!!

Probably processed from Devils spawn.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 11:41 AM

...quite tasty - especially grilled on toast or a cream cracker

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 11:48 AM

last night I made Argentine scallops wrapped in bacon.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 12:28 PM

Look out for B12 added to things such as soya/oat (etc.) "milks." Alternatively, don't be a vegan... Millions of acres of land on this planet can support animal husbandry but not arable farming, in highlands, on steep or rocky slopes or in areas with seasonal droughts or poor or unirrigated soils. Millions of children in developing countries can't afford fancy supplements to compensate for what they wouldn't get from a vegan diet, and without milk, for example, they would be in dire straits. Subsistence farmers in those countries can't afford expensive chemical fertilisers and rely on animal manure to keep their land in good heart and to feed their crops. Veganism must be a personal choice to be kept quiet about, free from evangelism. I know you weren't doing that. I'm just sayin'.

An interesting thought is that not a single human being has ever started life as a vegan.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 12:41 PM

...but, then, we are the only mammals that keep drinking milk after infancy.

It's true, though, that a lot of the sad slash-and-burn farming in South America is to grow soya.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 12:54 PM

Even meat eaters need extra B-12. I've been on an OTC formula for several years, along with a very low dose of iron, after the PMR diagnosis. They ran every blood test under the sun and while these deficiencies weren't the cause of the illness, they were recognized along the way.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 01:10 PM

Good for you, Walkie. Our bodies need B vitamins.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 01:33 PM

Thanks, Leeneia - of course, last century many had an eye for spinach!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 03:16 PM

Misc leftovers, and anything in the fridge with expired "use by" dates,
gets through in the pot to be boiled safe enough to eat..

Stir in Tesco Madras sauce, then chuck in healthy frozen veg for the last 5 - 10 mins..

Every meal is unique, no 'recipe' is ever accurately repeatable...

The pot gets emptied and washed every week or two,
after the last remains become boiled up into "home made soup"...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 03:18 PM

errrm.. "gets thrown in the pot"...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 04:09 PM

From watching NHK, seems not so different from sumo stew/chankonabe, PFR, or my "One-Pot Cooking".

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 04:49 PM

yep.. survival cooking skills I had to learn for myself when I left home,
and said goodbye to mother's finest cooking from packets and tins..


Now I see 'one pot cooking' seems to be a trendy thing...

Btw.. sumo one pot meals look very appetising.

A British celebrity chef confirmed this,
when he took on a TV challenge to cook a sumo training school's lunch,
at least as good as their own traditional recipe...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 05:06 PM

Vegans had better worry about their B12. The rest of us, on western diets, need worry about very little except for Vitamin D in winter (or if you insist on never exposing yourself to sunshine in summer). As for B vitamins, unless you're one of those very fussy people who refuse to eat your greens, you'll get all you need from your diet. Those non-greens eaters should maybe worry slightly about folic acid (folate, or Vitamin B9), especially if they're thinking of getting pregnant. The supplements industry never ceases to incense me. The vast majority of people never need supplements of vitamins and minerals. A varied diet which includes good-quality veg is all we need in that regard. Never join the ranks of the worried well...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 05:23 PM

Anyway, we're still ploughing through a mass of turkey that was originally destined for far more people than just the locked-down two of us. Tonight, Mrs Steve and I had hot turkey baps...

Two big baps per person. Slit and butter them.

Wrap a healthy stash of leftover turkey and stuffing in foil. Put that into the oven at 180 degrees C. You also need to cook a few slices of streaky bacon. I do this in the oven too. In the meantime, slice up a big handful of banana shallots and get them frying in butter.

Warm up two big plates and put on the buttered baps. When the bacon is near-crispy, the onions are soft and starting to brown and the turkey is hot, put some onion on the bap bases. Add turkey and stuffing. Add bacon pieces. Add more onions. Really heap everything on. Mrs Steve: add cranberry sauce. Not for me, thanks. Put tops back on baps. Put on warmed plates. Devour using hands only. You'll get into a terrible mess but you won't half sleep well.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 11:40 PM

I ended up with a lot of bok choi in my goose soup, Charmion. It was yum.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 06:00 AM

Bok choi is also one of my favourite greens.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 06:20 AM

WAV, while I don't care for your poetry I enjoyed viewing the pictures of your vegan dishes. You've managed some very nice presentations there.
I eat a mostly plant based diet with some seafood and dairy and I take a B12 supplement that keeps my feet from tingling in the middle of the night.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 06:34 AM

So if my feet start a tingling through the night, Gillymor, I may goto 2 slices of Violife cheese per day...

This morning I had one of my favourites from the "My Diet" photos linked above - simply pan fry a few scoops of tofu with vegetable oil for a while, before adding soya sauce, until the snow white tofu turns a light brown; then scoop it onto toast or (this morning) crackers. I also added tomato sauce onto half them for a bit of variety, and other times I will sprinkle some herbs...

Some say tofu is bland but not this way, I feel, and the crunch of the crackers makes a nice contrast in texture to the slippery tofu.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 06:44 AM

It's a bit more complicated than that, WAV, you'd be well-advised to seek out more info on essential nutrition from a source that you trust.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 06:52 AM

I was being light-hearted but, frankly, I have never looked that thoroughly into vitamins, etc., and as with Steve, have never taken tablet supplements. Experts say we need so much of this thing called protein and that, if we avoid meats, we have to make up for it with legumes so (almost blindly) I do so - and the same applies to hearing about vitamin B12, as above, where a slice a day of that cheese seems to be enough...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 06:59 AM

The supplement works for me though I also get B12 through my diet and if the cheese works for you then good on ya.
Since I started using tofu as an occasional source of protein about 25 years ago the stuff that's become available has improved leaps and bounds. I mostly avoid the slimy stuff and go for the textured variety depending on the dish.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 07:11 AM

In my local Tesco I think they only have the J-Basket variety of tofu, but I shall look out for other textured varieties.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 07:06 PM

I really do not like tofu.

Giant swordfish steak sautéed in snail butter. Ate about half, planning a soup for tomorrow.

Kinda sorry I already made soup with what was left of my goose bone broth. Maybe I'll use some of the extra cream I have and make chowdah...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Dec 20 - 07:50 PM

Somebody round here must be working for a tofu company. I've posted twice to say that I don't know what tofu is, and both posts have vanished. There appears to be some very weird modding going on here...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 03:53 AM

Tofu is a kind of bean curd made of soy beans. I tried it once. I heard somewhere, probably Radio 4, that to make it palatable you have to soak or simmer it (can't remember which - maybe both) in stock, before you do anything else with it.
I haven't tried that yet, there are plenty of other nice things to eat, but it is probably very good for you and useful if you are a vegan (in which case, use vegetable stock).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 04:51 AM

I agree with Jos - but, as above, frying it in vegetable oil with soy sauce added until it goes a light brown, makes for a very tasty topping for toast or crackers. (It is bland without suchlike.)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 05:30 AM

Here's an article on prepping tofu for stir fry. though my wife slices it a little bit thinner-

How To Stir-Fry Tofu

We added it to this dish the day after Xmas, adding sliced baby bella mushrooms. It came out great.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 06:00 AM

gillymor's link for tofu preparation tells you to press the tofu between sheets of kitchen paper to remove liquid, but doesn't mention any use of stock before cooking - and it includes the instruction to "arrange the tofu in a single layer in the hot, oiled wok and let it sear for a minute to sear", which deserves a place in the "Language pet peeves" thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 06:43 AM

Talking about daft instructions in recipes, I've just scaled a recipe down from one that says "serves six to eight" as there are only two of us. The instruction, one that's oft seen, was "season to taste." Whose taste, especially were I cooking it for six to eight!

As it happens, it was really good. I got it from Jocelyn Dimbleby in an article about how to use up leftover turkey. I changed it quite a lot, (a) because I had spare stuffing and bacon (can be left out, though I'd always add the bacon meself), (b) because I will not be lacing my cooking with nutmeg or ground cinnamon any time soon, both flavours that I can live without.

For two or three people, you need about 12oz leftover turkey meat (with a bit of stuffing if you have any left). No skin or bone, and chop it up quite finely, but not minced.

Get a heavy pot and make a soffritto with chopped bacon (or not), onion, celery and carrot, fried gently in olive oil for half an hour. When it's all nice and soft, turn the heat off and throw in most of a tin of unsalted plum tomatoes without the juice. Or use fresh ones that you've skinned. Throw in the meat, a goodly dose of dried oregano and a good pinch of salt. Mix everything up and put into the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish. No more liquid!

Now the topping. You need an equal mixture of peeled potatoes and peeled sweet potatoes. Judge the amount according to how hungry you think you may be. Cut them up and boil or steam them until they are soft. Add two big tablespoons of creme fraiche and about 2oz of strong cheddar cheese, grated. "Season to taste" (heheh). Mash it all up and use it to top the turkey mix. Grate a bit more cheese on top and dot it all over with little nibs of butter.

I did this hours in advance and it didn't suffer, a very handy thing to be able to do. It goes into an oven at 180C fan, (350F, sez Siri) and it needs about 35 or 40 minutes-ish. We had it with green beans, but any simple veg, or a salad, would be good. It was delicious, comfort food par excellence, and a really good extra string to the bow for using leftovers. I reckon we'll be doing it with chicken as the year rolls on.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 06:57 AM

Re seasoning - keep on the shelf a lot of spices and herbs individually or buy the tried-and-tested combinations of different regions (Mixed Spice, Mixed Herbs, Curry, Garum Masala, Chinese 5 Spice, Japanese 7 Spice, Piri Piri, Ras el Hanout, Chimichurri..? At the moment, I have some of both but - living in a small studio-flat - am running out of space.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 11:27 AM

...another alternative, if pressed for seasoning space, is, as you may know, allspice, which is the one spice - a dried berry - bearing the flavour of a combination of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg (thereby, perhaps, avoiding some of the culinary gobbledygook).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 11:40 AM

Three or four - or even a dozen or so - spices don't take up a lot of space.