BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 08:06 PM

I don't even know what ceviche is.

If you have decent bread for toasting, and you are in a hurry and can't be arsed to make anything that takes more than seven minutes, make this:

Drain two cans of mackerel in oil. Chuck the oil away.
Put mackerel in blender. I care not a jot, any blender will do.
Add a dash of Tabasco, a teaspoon of hot mustard, a tablespoon of creme fraiche, a grinding of pepper (salt not needed) and the juice of three-quarters of an average lemon. Blitz in your blender. Stir it around and put it in an ungodly little pot
. Ideally, I'd say leave it until tomorrow. But an hour or three is transformative.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 04:05 PM

Bbbbbbut HOW do you make ceviche??!?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 03:34 PM

I make ceviche with my own caught trout, it's excellent.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 11:39 AM

I much prefer farm raised tilapia and catfish to the ones I've caught myself but opt for wild on all other species, especially salmon.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 11:18 AM

I won't buy farmed fish at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 10:47 AM

A Mexican friend of ours makes it with farm raised tilapia and it is excellent.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 10:33 AM

I have recently (last couple of years) developed an appreciation for ceviche. So many things can go into it. The Mexican grocery nearby makes it, and it's very good, but I researched the main fish and it is one that is commercially farmed in China, so I've backed off of that and look for some with locally sourced wild-caught fish, or farmed in the US (fewer heavy metals in the flesh).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 10:32 AM

Leftovers, known to sensible people as "cooked food ready to eat".

Our Sunday night dinner party had but one flaw: the only leftovers were one serving of soup and some rather fine cranberry-flavoured gravy that would probably go well with pork. Must dig pork chops out of freezer ...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 09:07 AM

Details, Donuel, details!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Mar 20 - 06:29 AM

Yep. Never cook for one night if you can bulk up for two...or three...or four... those cheesy toasties will restore your strength, Maggie.

We had jacket spuds last night. I always do too many. For breakfast this morning I microwaved a couple of smaller ones for two minutes, cut them in half, scraped some cheddar on top and microwaved again for 30 seconds, just to melt the cheese. A little knob of butter and Bob's yer uncle. That'll keep me going until teatime (unless I can find a crumpet or two in between...)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 11:27 PM

I haven't had the energy to do much cooking, but I've created leftovers whenever I do cook, so they can be recombined later. And thank goodness for the overstuffed upright freezer. I've drawn down most of the store-bought frozen lunches, I have a few jars of my homemade Puerto Rican beans (a recipe I've modified a lot since I learned it from my mother-in-law), and with frozen bread and good cheese in the fridge, things like grilled cheese sandwiches are tiding me over nicely.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 07:36 PM

Were you quoting from Hamomelette, Don?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 07:14 PM

I meant to say, use your finger to force half the bacon...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 07:12 PM

I cooked a piece of rolled brisket a la Marcella Hazan yesterday. You need a lump of meat weighting about 2lb and about 6oz of unsmoked streaky bacon without rind (or pancetta), three or four onions and (according to her) five cloves (not garlic, clove cloves). Last time I tried it the cloves permeated everything, including the cold meat next day, so I left them out this time. No need to brown the meat. Get your heaviest lidded pot that will fit the meat snugly. Slice the onions thinly and lay them in a thick bed at the bottom of the pot. Cut the bacon into one-inch pieces and use half of them into gaps in the roll of meat (or use one of those larding needles wot I have not got. Scatter the other half of the bacon on top of the onions. Put the meat on top and season well. It does need to be securely covered. That's it. It goes into a fairly low oven, about 150c, for around four hours. You need to turn the meat occasionally.

The meat ends up beautifully sweet and the onions turn into a delicious mush. We have this with roast potatoes (mash would be good too) and some greens. Some of the onion mush passes for "gravy." I must admit that the onions produce a very full-on flavour, which I like, but I won't be abandoning my other brisket method, which browns the meat in butter, adds carrots and an onion and beef stock half-way up the meat.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 07:03 PM

Mrrzy how did you know I have spent 20 years refining ceviche'?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 06:52 PM

HAHAHAHA I can't really get naked, slings and supports of outrageous fortune oppose me and takes arms against a seam of troubles, And by opposing, ends most appetite. To fry: to broil; No more; and by endless chopping exhausts.

But every day is better and I intend to try these!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 04:57 PM

Bottled spag sauce always has sugar, blecch. Classico didn't used to but it does now.

Doctors don't warn about grapefruit nor about antibiotics interfering with the pill, nor about diaphragms [contraceptive ones] only working reliably in the missionary position. But they should. Doctors should warn, I mean.

Meanwhile, speak, well, write to me of ceviche. Internet recipes seem to be contradictory.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 04:39 PM

I forgot to add that it should be served and eaten in the nude.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 04:20 PM

Don't dribble any of that soup on your shirt - it'll leave stains!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 03:14 PM

Maybe start out with one teaspoon of tumeric and go from there.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 03:11 PM

Donuel, here is a meat-free soup from the Moosewood cookbook. I've posted it here several times I'm sure. It's my favorite winter soup.

Gypsy Soup

3 – 4 tablespoons of olive oil\
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves crushed garlic
About 1 inch of minced ginger root to taste
2 cups chopped, peeled sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (I use canned most of the time because good tomatoes are rarely in season down here)
1 cup chopped sweet peppers
3 or 4 cans of chickpeas as you like but I crack them all with a potato masher for a better texture.
3-4 cups vegetable stock or water with a Knorrs vegetable bullion cube
1 Tsb. paprika
2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoon basil
Splash of sea salt just to brighten up the vegetables
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of cayenne
1 or 2 bay leaf depending how strong they are
1 tablespoon soy sauce

In a soup kettle or large saucepan sauté onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes in olive oil for
about 5 minutes. Add seasonings, except soy sauce, and the stock or water. Simmer, covered, fifteen
minutes. Add remaining vegetables (except for bell peppers) and chickpeas. Simmer another 10 minutes for so (then add bell peppers and adjust spices) until all the vegetables as you like them.
I sometimes sub carrots for sweet potatoes and sometimes use both.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 02:21 PM

Rough cut fibrous peasant vegetable soup worked for me. It was the first time I have felt normal since surgury.

The secret ingredient was 1 large apple.

It is pleasant and practically meaty now.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Mar 20 - 10:09 AM

Himself and I had the neighbours in to dinner last night. I made a very fine carrot and ginger soup.

About a pound and a half of carrots, peeled and sliced thin
Half a litre (two American cups) of chopped onion
About a thumb's worth of fresh ginger root, peeled and finely minced
Butter
A litre (or American quart) or so of chicken stock
Three or four strips of zest taken off an orange with a veg peeler and enclosed in a large infuser or tea ball
Salt and pepper

Put a piece of butter the size of a hen's egg in the bottom of a soup pot. When it foams, add the onions and ginger and stir them around until the onions are beginning to brown. Don't let the onions get browner, but add the carrots and stir them around, too. Sprinkle the veg with enough salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken stock. Toss in the infuser with the orange zest.

Put the lid on and simmer for long enough to make the carrots very soft. Then remove the infuser and puree the soup very thoroughly. Serve sprinkled with your favourite green herb -- parsely, chives, dill, etc are all good.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Mar 20 - 10:08 PM

It wouldn't work. Good soups are simply made with very few ingredients which need to be of the highest quality.

I've been a bit unadventurous lately but, when I have a minute, I'll be back with an idea or two...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Mar 20 - 09:25 PM

That'll send the cartoon steam blowing out of your ears!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Mar 20 - 03:48 PM

mmm whats on hand peasant soup

1 lg. can tomato soup
1 tomato
1 cabbage
4 potatoes
1 cauliflower
1/2 green pepper
1 can black beans
1/2 onion
1 full bottle salsa
4 glugs Tampico hot sauce
1 glug green salsa sauce
2 glugs of sesame oil
3+ pinchs salt
pepper to taste
Water to cover ingredients
boil like hell in large kettle with lid then turn down low for a couple hours

Makes 8 to 15 servings

It peaks by the third reboiling

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 04:02 PM

I'm eating sweet potato pie with cinnamon

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 03:58 PM

I have never tried Marmite and didn't much fancy Vegemite when I tried it as a kid in Aus...but maybe it's time to for another try - with or without celery, which I sometimes add to a stew, as in the poem above.

Had, as often, a very simple quick breakfast this morning -

chopped up half of a large flat mushroom, plonked them into a mug and added boiled water for a couple of minutes, before draining and placing in a sandwich with just vegan spread and salt.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stanron
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 12:41 PM

This is probably culinary heresy but I love celery with a smear of yeast extract (Marmite or Vegemite) down it's length and a more substantial covering of peanut butter on top. I can almost guarantee that you won't find this in Italy or France but it goes down a treat in this bit of east Manchester.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 11:54 AM

I have the ingredients and found a good-sounding recipe to make a batch of pasta e fagioli this evening. The idea came along when my gourmet discount grocery had some cans of cannellini beans and I knew I had just about everything else in the pantry or freezer. I did have to go purchase some celery, of which one or two stalks will be used and the rest will rot until it is thrown out. I don't particularly care for it on it's own but it's okay in other stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 09:58 AM

It's February, the dead heart of the Canadian winter, and I have not the faintest idea of what to make for supper.

The only thing to do is open the freezer, close my eyes, reach in, and grab. Culinary roulette.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 07:52 AM

Re Gary Rhodes, RIP, on ITV just now, such a shame that one of the very few English chefs who championed our own good culture & cuisine left for, & died in, the greedy UAE.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 31 Jan 20 - 04:20 PM

Just added 5 new pics from my "One-Pot Cooking" today.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 31 Jan 20 - 07:30 AM

Veggie Reuben, A local Grocery/Cafe/Bookstore "Food and Thought" introduced me to these, in fact I lived off of them in the aftermath of the last hurricane for about a week when F and T was about the only restaurant that stayed open during the power outages. I substitute roasted zucchini for the corned beef, F and T sometimes uses grilled eggplant. Rye bread is essential here.



    Russian Dressing
    Roasted Zucchini, 1/4" slices
    1 1/2 cups sauerkraut
    8 slices rye bread
    Swiss cheese, sliced
    Butter

Squeeze the liquid from 1 1/2 cups sauerkraut.
Spread butter on one side of each of the 4 bread pieces. Heat a griddle pan to medium high heat. Place 4 pieces of bread on the griddle, buttered side down. On each piece, spread some Zucchini, cheese, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, more cheese, and then another piece of bread. When the bottom bread is browned, flip the sandwich and cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 09:35 PM

The house smells wonderful after making a pot of lentil soup (an Egyptian recipe) that is very simple - water instead of stock, red lentils, a shredded onion, and when finished cooking a pinch of cumin, a healthy grind of black pepper, a little salt and lemon juice. Served with an extra squeeze of lemon. The restaurant where I order it serves some crispy baked strips of pita bread, but I'm fine with it plain.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 08:55 AM

Hyacynths have been poking their leaves up for the last couple weeks.
The only veg is chives in the yard.

Steve did you ever realize that what you eat or offer stays with you or others in essence for about seven years until it is all replaced?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 20 - 12:40 PM

I have a batch of red kidney beans simmering, and after they're soft I'll add the rest of the ingredients, most pulled from the freezer. A large ham hock, a 1lb chub of Jimmy Dean sausage (I prefer Italian sausage, but this works out also), bags of chopped onions and green and hot peppers. So far the only fresh item is a bay leaf from my tree in the yard and I have a large garlic from last spring's harvest. There are also some home-canned tomatoes that are on the elderly side but still okay for a dish like this. I put the finished beans into 12oz jar portions that go into the freezer. The seasoning that goes in with the sauteed onions and peppers will be salt, ground black pepper (from my large brass Turkish pepper mill), a large dollop of ground cumin, oregano (fresh from the yard), chili pepper, and at the end I'll crush in a handful of the frozen cilantro (grown here in the yard, sealed in a bag with the air pressed out and frozen) and a healthy dollop of capers. You put those in when cooking is finished and turn the heat off a couple of minutes later.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Jan 20 - 06:29 PM

I made a risotto tonight using a ton of accidentally-bought excess veg. It was a triumph. I'm watching the FA Cup on Match Of The Day at the moment, but I'll post my method later...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 20 - 10:52 AM

I don't have a salad shooter but I did buy one of those salad spinners at a thrift store a while back. It works well and means I'm liable to do a better job of rinsing the lettuce ahead of time. I used to rinse it of then pile the leaves in a dishtowel (tea towel) and step on the porch and give it a quick swing around the remove water. The spinner, as low-tech as it is, is much more efficient.

Time to transplant the asparagus from the bed where it doesn't get enough light to one on the other side of the house. I used to get a pretty good crop but it has been unhappy lately. It's such a luxury to pick the vegetable and carry it in the house in time for the meal.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 05:36 AM

You won't find any self-respecting Italian chef using dried basil. Check out Marcella's book, for example, and Gino d'Acampo is even more scathing. It just gives all the wrong flavour notes, way too acrid and assertive. In summer I have basil in my garden. The rest of the time I have a pot on the window sill. Other than in pesto, I think the best way to use basil is torn into the sauce at the last minute, or baby leaves sprinkled on top of the finished pasta dish or pizza* or salad, always with a sprinkling of your finest olive oil.
I might have mentioned this before, but in 2016 we spent a week in Puglia (in lovely Lecce) and we ate out every night. The food was always first-rate. Herbs were hardly used at all. Even the tomato and olive oil bruschetta (glorious bread) didn't have any at our favourite eatery. The lovely young woman who waited on us and befriended us never did make it to Cornwall...   :-(

*Depending on the pizza, I might prefer dried oregano cooked on top...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 02:46 AM

Get Madhur Jaffreys book ' Indian Cookery ' you will never buy curry powder again when you have made the real thing.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 24 Jan 20 - 12:20 AM

The salad shooter fad was all over when I finally bought one. I love putting carrots in them and shooting the thin circles of carrot into the pot. Carrots sliced thin taste better.

A couple weeks ago I finally used the blade that shreds. I produced shredded carrots for carrot bread. It was good too.

About dried basil, Steve. There used to be a spice store near me, next door to the natural foods store, with its sagging floors and dingy walls. The spice store seemed to acquire a degree of sincereness via osmosis.

One day I was there searching an elusive curry powder with flowery accents. I made the mistake of smelling the big jar that held the powder. Ewuuu! I don't think they had washed it for years. I tried smelling others jars, and it was the same story. The new product was probably all right, but the stuff stuck at the bottom...moldy-smelling and caked on.   

Maybe you hate dried basil, Steve, because you once got some of that stuff from the bottom of the jar. I use dried basil often, and it's fine, but I buy it in little jars from the supermarket.

After a while there was a fire in that building, and the grocery store and spice store never came back. And finally I found the wonderful curry powder. It is S&B Oriental Curry Powder, and it is made in Tokyo. Comes in a red metal can. A Chinese friend helped me find it.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jan 20 - 06:01 PM

Actually, I do have a bit of an issue with bay leaves. I do have a bay tree I can raid for fresh leaves, but I do wonder what the leaves actually contribute to any dish. I know that I've overdone bay at times and have had to trash the dish. So if I use less, I can't detect their influence. Hmm. I tend to leave them out these days. Other spicy additions I'm suspicious of are cinnamon and fennel seeds. Tiny amounts only of the former and none of the latter. Overdone rosemary can be a bit of a hooligan too. Someone gave me some pistachio biscotti they'd made the other day. I had to spit out the first mouthful as it was overwhelmed by cinnamon. Mrs Steve is eating them so mebbe it's just me!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jan 20 - 05:51 PM

I'd use about eight peeled garlic cloves, squashed with my fist and slightly busted up, and leave them out of your holy trinity. It sounds great but I'd have to use whatever chillies I could find. I do live in remote Cornwall, y'know!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 20 - 04:47 PM

Here's one a friend shared on Facebook recently. The text at the beginning describes the author's experience with the dish. From Texas Monthly magazine: Carne Guisada, a spicy meat stew that goes down well in a tortilla.

Sylvia Casares’s Frontera Carne Guisada
Serves 8

• 3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  
• 3 guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed
  
• 1 chile de árbol, stem removed
  
• 1 cup chopped white onion
  
• 1 cup chopped tomato
  
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
  
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  
• 2 teaspoons Holy Trinity*
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  
• 2–3 bay leaves
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  

*In a spice grinder, combine 3 peeled garlic cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, and 1 1/4 teaspoons peppercorns, along with 1 tablespoon water. Process into a smooth paste.

In a large saucepan, combine the meat with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Skim the froth, then cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the chiles with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool.

In a blender, process the chiles and their liquid until you have a smooth sauce, about 1 minute. Pass the sauce through a strainer, and reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid.

To the meat in the saucepan, add the onion, tomato, and bell pepper. Stir in the 1/2 cup chile
liquid, tomato sauce, Holy Trinity, oregano, bay leaves, and salt.

Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and stir until golden in color. Remove from heat and add a small amount of liquid from the stew pot and stir to remove any lumps.

When the meat is tender, whisk in the flour mixture. Stir occasionally while simmering for about an hour, or until the stew is thickened. Serve immediately.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Jan 20 - 07:16 AM

Separation by hours of the two should be enough

There are many interactions that are worse or unknown.

Life: you pay your money and you take your chances with medicine.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jan 20 - 06:52 AM

Grapefruit contains a chemical that inhibits a gut enzyme that breaks down certain medicines. Doses are calculated taking into account the fact that some of the drug will be broken down by this enzyme before it can act. So, if you've eaten grapefruit you may get an overdose of the drug because your gut isn't breaking any of it down. I understand that the grapefruit chemical is also present in Seville oranges. It is absent from other citrus fruits. You can find lists of medicines that are affected online. Most medicines aren't affected, but better safe than sorry, eh!

I can live without grapefruit but not without Seville orange marmalade...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: BobL
Date: 23 Jan 20 - 03:37 AM

If you're taking grapefruit-incompatible medication (as my partner is), you should have been advised accordingly. If in doubt, ask a pharmacist.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Jan 20 - 08:02 AM

Don't drink grapefruit juice if you're taking any of these medications,

Some statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs): lovastatin (Mevacor), atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor, Vytorin). ...
Antihistamines: fexofenadine (Allegra)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Jan 20 - 07:51 AM

The action of grapefruit on medicine is partly in the stomach lining changes and not the time release mechanism alone.