BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 02 Oct 19 - 02:04 PM

Mrrzy - how about a nice cup of herbal tea? I'm not so keen but notice a lot in the office are.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 19 - 05:15 PM

Martha Stewart's Facebook page pushed out this recipe today; it was originally published in the magazine last year. I can't do anything about the video, and these days they bounce all over the screen if you try to scroll past it. You can click to turn it off. And if you get the same ad I did, I will say here and now that I don't eat Spam. We had too much of it when we were kids.

Turmeric ginger chicken soup sounds wonderful and is quite beautiful. I'm going to try this soon; I have some chicken broth in the freezer but don't have any chicken in the fridge at the moment. I'll have to cook some, or pick up a rotisserie chicken next time I'm at Costco. (I like the seasoning on Sam's Club's chickens better, it's saltier and more complex, but the Costco chicken is better for putting in other things because of the light seasoning.)

https://www.marthastewart.com/1524910/turmeric-ginger-chicken-soup

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 19 - 05:21 PM

I pulled it out of the web page and formatted for print:

Turmeric-Ginger Chicken Soup

1 thinly sliced garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups Basic Chicken Stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
3 ounces angel-hair pasta, broken in half
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Microgreens and thinly sliced scallions, for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, saute garlic, turmeric, and ginger in oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add stock; bring to a simmer. Add pasta; cook 1 minute less than per package instructions. Add chicken; heat through, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with microgreens and scallions.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Oct 19 - 06:48 PM

Well you and I agree on most things culinary, Maggie (bar dried basil and minced garlic). I must say, though, that I'm at a loss as to why anyone would wish to pollute lovely, hearty, homely chicken broth with ginger and turmeric. Yikes. If you have a good stock and you start with a soffritto (for soup, not TOO finely chopped), you can hardly go wrong. As for the chicken, leave some nice big chunks in there. The angel hair is a nice idea, though I've used ordinary noodles to good advantage. I've also used basmati rice instead. I've found that a few drops of Tabasco lifts any soup. I would only ever make chicken soup with stock made from the carcass from which the meat was taken, and I don't skim the stock. If I think it's a bit fatty I'll reduce the amount of oil used for the soffritto.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 19 - 11:42 PM

Two-fold - they do sound interesting (an Asian flavor) and turmeric and ginger are particularly healthy for you and are good with chicken. It sounds like a wonderful departure from the usual chicken soup.

Tonight I thawed a package of organic boneless skinless chicken breasts (I shop at a place that has all meat frozen, it came from the grocery distributors near it's sell-by date, so was frozen). A lovely small batch of Teriyaki chicken with the last of some white rice left from a Puerto Rican dish (that calls for white rice, not my usual Basmati rice).

This is a simple recipe I learned from The Frugal Gourmet, a wonderful cooking show that had a long run until it had it's own version of #MeToo leveled at the host. Disappointing (but I kept the cookbooks, and I have a branded tall brass pepper mill that was probably part of a PBS package during a fundraiser).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Oct 19 - 05:54 AM

'Tonight I thawed a package of organic boneless skinless chicken breasts (I shop at a place that has all meat frozen, it came from the grocery distributors near its sell-by date, so was frozen)."

Oddly, just twenty minutes ago I did the exact opposite with two packs of organic boneless skinless chicken breasts that Sainsbury's were selling off cheap on the chicken's use-by date. I snipped 'em into bite-size, portioned them into "feeds two" and whacked them in the freezer. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 03 Oct 19 - 03:24 PM

My poem on "Spearmint Tea"

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Oct 19 - 06:07 PM

I tried green tea for a while. I found it to be bitterly unenjoyable. Fruit teas, so-called, consist of viciously-powdered dried fruits that retain nothing of the vitamins and fruity charms of their original ingredients. I don't know about herby teas because I haven't tried them. Wild chamomile grows round here and I like to crush a flower and sniff it. Lovely. I love the heady vanilla perfume of winter heliotrope and I can cup and sniff the blossoms of meadowsweet until the cows come home. The Rosa rugosa in my garden is exquisitely scented. Gorgeous. I rub the leaves of scented pelargoniums and sniff my fingers. Orgasmic. And what's better than a rubbed handful of basil leaves raised to the nose? But that's how I want these things left. Not boiled in water to be drunk. Whoever came up with that, I ask myself. Enjoy nature's fragrances as they are meant to be enjoyed. But give over boiling them in water. Grab yourself a builder tea bag and enjoy life!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 19 - 07:07 PM

There are lots of great green teas. My daughter was in Japan last year and brought back a gift of samples of several types; the largest bag was the least expensive, the smaller ones are quite pricey.

I stopped by a restaurant supply business near my house this afternoon to look at their frozen sausages. They carry a variety, and I can get some of the really good Czech varieties there. I wasn't disappointed today. I use them in dishes as flavoring, I don't usually eat just the whole sausage, though on occasion a plate of sausage and sauerkraut is nice.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stanron
Date: 03 Oct 19 - 07:09 PM

If you make green tea the in same way as you make black tea it will be way too bitter. Black tea is made with boiling water. Green tea should be made with boiled water which has been left to cool a little bit. You can find the precise details on-line. I usually wait until the kettle has stopped singing and that works for me.

Incidentally, If you drink tea without milk you should really drink it from a glass cup. It won't enhance the taste but it does look good. There are plenty of heat proof glass cups available these days. You can use a normal glass with green tea if you put a spoon in the glass before pouring or put some lemonade in first.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 19 - 07:29 PM

Yes, I let the water stop boiling and give it a little while to still before I pour it over the cup. I use a different strainer for green tea (so I don't get residual from the black tea; I soak them in a water and bleach mix only periodically.) And making this in a white cup is helpful; if it's a dark cup you can't see that the tea has brewed, and it's usually a very light color (though it has a rich flavor).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 11:55 AM

Walkaboutsverse, the French call herbal tea granny pee, which I find hysterical.

I like vervain/verbana, and that cherry thing from the red zinger people, but neither take milk well. Open to suggestion here. I actually like a cup of chicken broth [better than bouillon] polluted with hot sauce and lemon (from a horrible bottlel) but want a real coffee or tea substitute. Apparently Postum still exists but eewww.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stanron
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 12:16 PM

Mrrzy wrote: Open to suggestion here

Try rooibos tea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos

like normal tea but no caffeine and low tannin content and can be taken with milk.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 02:53 PM

Re packet noodles, I usually put the sachet of flavouring into a mug, stir, then add it to the noodles in a pan; I often add tofu as well as soya sauce for a bit of protein but today, for the first time, I had noodles with baked beans - not bad.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 04:34 PM

Yes, I don't know why I am afraid of roobios. I should get me some, thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 04:46 PM

I have drinking chocolate in the cupboard as a change from tea and coffee, but each with soya rather than milk.

Never tried nor heard of rooibos until now.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 04 Oct 19 - 05:01 PM

In Fiji, I joined some locals with a nice cup of kava/yaqona...and soon went a bit numb in the mouth.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 09:38 AM

The Norwegian expression for weak tea is “danserinatiss” — ballerina’s pee. This never fails to make me snicker.

I drink smoked tea, Lap-sang sou chong. I’m told that Chinese people make it for foreigners who had their tastebuds shot off in the war and never really liked tea anyway, but I just love the stuff. It is the flavour of my father’s tea, selected when I was about 10 and my family moved from the country, where we had our own well, to the city, where the water came from the river and stank of chlorine. On the one hand, no fear of typhoid, but on the other, your Earl Grey was a little too much like swimming pool.

I put milk in it, and sweetener. I drink it out of a large beer mug. So sue me.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 10:20 AM

...rather than a tankard, Charmion?!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 02:10 PM

A stein of tea. I like the idea.

I find it entertaining that I miss tea more than I miss coffee when awake, but what I dream about is coffee.

Gonna get me some rooibos (always read that as roobios) later today. We shall see.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 04:41 PM

It is the aroma of coffee that yanks me from the arms of Morpheus most mornings, but when Himself is away and I’m on my own I would rather have tea. For me, coffee requires company, but tea goes well with solitude. Besides, when Himself is at home, he brings me cup after cup of coffee, as my lap is usually full of cats and he is far too normative to allow the large beer mug for coffee-drinking. The beer mug is necessary for tea because, again, my frequently cat-besat situation prevents refills. Besides, a small cup goes cold too quickly.

When is a beer mug a tankard, Walkies? My tea mug is earthenware, and I have always believed that a tankard was made of metal — traditionally pewter or silver. Am I wrong?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 05:18 PM

I was drinking way too much tea, probably a quart every morning in my very large (16 ounce) mug. I'm now using a 10 ounce cup and limit myself to two of them. They're small enough they don't have time to get cold before they're finished.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 05:58 PM

I think a beer mug would be better for your tea than the folkie cliche of drinking from a pewter tankard, Charmion...although I have seen someone turn up at a bar with a tankard hooked to his trousers/belt.

I myself have more than just keys hooked to my trousers - when the strap of an otherwise good watch wore out, I tried adding it to my key ring and have stuck with that method ever since.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 06:10 PM

My decaf coffee consumption has gone down a bit lately. Partly as I was drinking too much anyway and partly as I’m advised not to have one (or tea…) within a certain time of the iron tablets I’m taking 3 times a day Apparently some things can interfere with the iron absorption.

We still have cups of tea/coffee but plain water in “sports” water bottles is “in” here at the moment. Thinking it might be handy in the future, I got one from Amazon when I was asked to drink a quantity of water over the 45 minutes before an appointment. I liked it and thought one might be better for dad than having a glass of water at his table. We’ve each got one now. Mum’s travels with her depending on whether she is in the study, living room or trying to do something outside.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 07:03 PM

I go about with a water bottle, too, Jon Freeman. I keep one in the car, and I have one in my shopping basket. For older folks whose hands shake or have lost strength, a bottle may be easier to manage than a glass.

Besides, I’m a tightwad who resents paying good money for water that I have for my taxes at home.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 07:19 PM

Sure, Charmion. That applies more to dad but mum’s hands and arms aren’t what they were either. Both find these 500ml containers with a press button flip top nice to handle.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 08:00 PM

Anyway, to try to get back more to food. Just a reheat with more rice today. I did a root veg curry thing on Thursday night for Friday tea and nearly always make enough for two meals. Everyone is happy with this 2 days in a row.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 08:56 PM

Weak tea is called gnat's piss round here, Charmion. I regard caffeine-free tea and coffee as not tea and not coffee. I can't understand this need to lug water around all the time that afflicts some people. The only time I'll do that is on my holidays in the Med on hot summer days, and then it's just a 500ml bottle that I can refill at drinking fountains, which is occasionally only. Some people think that drinking a ton of water is good for you, that it somehow flushes you out. It doesn't. Your body just chucks it back out almost straight away so that your blood doesn't get diluted (we call it homeostasis), down the lavvy or in a hedge somewhere, and any toxins that are inside you end up still there, awaiting your body's natural systems to delete them at their leisure. I'll admit that drinking when you're thirsty should never be ignored. The main sign that you're not drinking enough is constipation. I rarely tote water around and I never suffer from the aforementioned issue.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Oct 19 - 10:56 PM

Over the years there were staff events at my university where they gave away a number of BPA-free insulated tumblers (they're translucent and have air between the layers) with a lid and acrylic straw. I also bought a batch of acrylic straws (and a couple of extra brushes for cleaning them). These do for me around the house and in the car and they're sturdier and more durable than the soft plastic water bottles. Ice in the fridge is filtered and I usually fill it up from the tap. For some reason water coming through the fridge filter tastes more like chlorine than the tap water does. I use the filtered water for the glass kettle but I fill it the night before so it sits on the counter and any chlorine dissipates.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 02:25 AM

Carrying a bottle of water around all the time in the UK is just fashion.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stanron
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 04:57 AM

Dave Hanson wrote: Carrying a bottle of water around all the time in the UK is just fashion.

As with many things this all depends on context. When I worked as a volunteer steward for folk festivals (you know, the real folk police) I always took a small bottle of water or cold tea with lemonade on my duties.

If I'm sitting around the house all day or nipping to the shops there is no need. Intensity of hangover can increase the likelihood but I'm having a sober month right now so no bottled drinks.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 05:38 AM

You see people round here, taking a stroll on the sea cliffs or around the Bude Canal (it never gets that hot round here), lugging two-litre plastic water bottles with 'em! I suppose I shouldn't judge...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 07:28 AM

By the way, nice place Bude, in my opinion - my late auntie and uncle from Manchester retired there; hence my poem, from WalkaboutsVerse, "Birdwatchers' Bude"

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 07:49 AM

When I was still college professing, I did not allow my students to [rudely, to my training] eat nor drink during class. In the latter years I would hear that they literally could not go one hour without water.
Bullshit. Spoiled brats. You just don't need to have constant water intake. Well, maybe some medical conditions, but just regular folks? Nonsense.
I miss my job!
Meanwhile I have purchased but not tried rooibos. It still scares me.
Made some kickass bison and mushroom spaghetti, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 08:51 AM

Wouldn't mind joining you, Mrrzy - with you having some extra bison!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 10:51 AM

It was yum, though I do say so myself.

Meanwhile I had a nice hot cup of rooibos this morning. Not sure I like the actual flavor but a hot cuppa was soooo nice. Will keep trying, though. Again open to suggestions for herbal comfort... Soothing. Don't like the taste of chamomile unfortunately.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 11:33 AM

You could blend chamomile withe something else, ginger would probably be good. I drink a strong cup of it before bedtime if I'm a bit wound up from the day. I do like the flavor and I buy it in bulk and spoon enough into the tea sieve that it's a fairly strong flavor.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 01:23 PM

Last night I was watching the local PBS "Create" channel and there was a program about all of the great homemade pies that are sold at roadside stands, particularly in New England. I watched those pies being made and knew I had to do something soon. I called my daughter and we have a date this week to have dinner and she'll bring a pie pan over and we'll make two pies, one for each of us.

Lemon meringue, I think.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 01:46 PM

Don't know a lot about pies but in Adelaide, South Australia, they plonk a pie on a bed of peas and call it a pie floater.

In Wigan, England, I think a lobby is a potato pie without a crust.

At school in Sydney, after eating one from the corner shop, we'd often say "live by the pie, die by the pie"!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 02:35 PM

I guess terms vary Wav but mum used to do her own lemon merengue pie, a bigger one to be divided rather than individual and it was delicious. It’s not something I remember having in a long while though.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 03:02 PM

The homity pie can be a thing of beauty, as can the steak and kidney topped with a vast crust. But, as a northerner living in north Cornwall, there can for me be only one of two numero uno pie-like objects: the Greenhalgh's meat and potato pie (or preferably two), purchased on Bury Market or from Dominic's in Radcliffe, or the Chough bakery's large steak pasty from their tatty harbour-front shop in Padstow. Either must be eaten slightly too hot, in the street, absolutely never taken home to reheat.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 03:03 PM

Long time ago, but I've also enjoyed Lemon meringue pie, JF - very moreish...

And, further to the above, if in England someone is seemingly carrying a few extra pounds, the question may be raised "Who's eaten all the pies?!"

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 03:10 PM

Diverging slightly, I wrote this poem about the Cornish pasty "Tin-Miners' Lunch"

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Oct 19 - 09:16 PM

My aunt makes the best Cornish pasty in Creation. She's Canadian, of mostly Irish descent, and lives in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

So there.

Himself came home with an unfamiliar sort of pasta the other day, in a plastic bag with a label in Hungarian. Boiled up, it's a bit like spaetzel, a staple of the southern German diet, but somewhat smaller. Tonight we had lamb stew ladled over heaps of it. With beer. Sunday supper at its best.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 09:51 AM

Nokedli! Wonderful Hungarian spatzlish stuff. Also csipetke, irregular-shaped pinched-off kinda egg noodly stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 09:54 AM

There are rules.

From the Cornish Pasty Association website:

ON THE INSIDE

Just good, wholesome ingredients, put together with love and care

Roughly diced or minced beef
Sliced or diced potato
Swede (turnip)
Onion
Seasoning to taste (mainly salt & pepper)
No meat other than beef, and no vegetables apart from those listed can be used in the filling. There must be at least 12.5% beef and 25% vegetables in the whole pasty. All the ingredients must be uncooked when the pasty is assembled and then slowly baked to develop all that famous Cornish pasty taste and succulence.

ON THE OUTSIDE

The pastry can be shortcrust, rough puff or puff, but it has to be savoury and able to withstand baking and handling without breaking. Pasties went down the mines, across the fields and out to sea, so they had to be up to the job. It can be glazed with egg, or milk, or both, to give the finished pasty its wonderful golden colour.

THE CRIMP

Here’s where the pasty comes into its own. Once it’s assembled, the edges are sealed by crimping them to one side, creating the characteristic Cornish pasty shape. If it’s not crimped, it’s not Cornish.

WHERE WAS IT BORN?

Any product sold using the Cornish pasty name must be produced west of the Tamar, in the wonderful county of Cornwall.

WHAT DOES
PGI STATUS MEAN?

SINCE 1993, THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) HAS PROVIDED A FRAMEWORK THAT GIVES LEGAL PROTECTION FOR NAMED REGIONAL FOOD PRODUCTS AGAINST IMITATION ACROSS THE EU.

So, even if your aunt is sticking strictly to the rules, in Quebec she can only make a "Cornish" pasty, never a Cornish pasty. I know she's not in the EU, but I sincerely hope you won't be condoning a similar thing to what the yanks do when they call their fizzy wine "champagne." ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 11:34 AM

The US winemakers have to call the fizzy wine "Sparkling Wine."

This morning I have chicken tenders thawing for something for dinner and a piece of Copper River salmon thawing for lunch.

For the salmon we don't gild the lily around here, it's a simple matter of sauteing in butter with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Perfect!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 12:28 PM

You tell 'em Steve...picturing you with a Cornish pasty in hand, it brought to mind that song from school/boy scouts about "tomatoes are soft and they won't hurt your skin"!!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 01:40 PM

My aunt is considerably older than the EU and sometimes I think she will outlive it. If I tried to tell her she makes mere “Cornish” pasties, I’d get a snort for my trouble.

When leaving her house, facing a drive of four to five hours on the autoroute, she always me a packed lunch, often a pasty. No eating in motorway cafes for her kin-group!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 02:12 PM

From the Vinepair website (google):

The 100-Year-Old Loophole That Makes California Champagne Legal

I had a furious row online once with a yank who vigorously defended this deception. It wasn't on Mudcat!