Cooking

[Christmas Tree 4003]

Not cooking but currently eating a delicious salad.

 

Take one large mixing bowl and chuck in.....

 

Sliced beetroot, cherry toms, cucumber, baby leafs, cubed mature cheese, a few slices of ham, cubed chicken breast, sliced mushrooms, sliced yellow pepper.

 

Add geet big squirt of Hellmans mayo and a few swooshed of extra virgin olive oil.

 

Mix furiously, serve and enjoy.

[Guest alex]

[Monkeys Fist 39161]

Not cooking but currently eating a delicious salad.

 

Take one large mixing bowl and chuck in.....

 

Sliced beetroot, cherry toms, cucumber, baby leafs, cubed mature cheese, a few slices of ham, cubed chicken breast, sliced mushrooms, sliced yellow pepper.

 

Add geet big squirt of Hellmans mayo and a few swooshed of extra virgin olive oil.

 

Mix furiously, serve and vomit.

[Meenzer 14136]

Tonight was a chick pea, mushroom and spinach curry adapted from that Madhur Jaffrey book I mentioned a while back, wrapped up in flatbreads. Might sound daft, but even a little thing like the fact that her recipes use cayenne pepper rather than "regular" chilli powder really makes a difference to how they turn out - there's definitely more of a zip and a zing to them.

[Tooj 17]

Sounds quite nice that like Marteeeeeen.

[Christmas Tree 4003]

Just a quich mention for the fine men and women at Dr Oetker.

 

They make a fabulous range of Pizzas that at a £1 a go are fantastic value for money when you cant be arsed to make one yourself.

 

Nicely proportioned for a late night snack or (as now) a late lunch.

 

 

[Guest alex]

How's the diet going btw?

[trophyshy 6443]

iirc they are around 8 or 900 calories per pizza.

[Guest alex]

That's quite a range.

[trophyshy 6443]

Experimented a little with a veggie spag bowl.

 

Grated courgettes to use instead of carrots, finely minced green & black olives to replace quorn mince (because quorn is shite) and added healthy splashes of red wine and balsamic vinegar. Bit of soft brown sugar to balance it all out and it was superb.

 

This is interesting, what's your beef with Quorn, so to speak? Did the green olives not overpower the dish, aren't they a bloody expensive alternative? Might have a crack at this though.

 

My cafe is going to be veggie and so I could do with harvesting your wisdom, hot tips etc...

[trophyshy 6443]

That's quite a range.

[Meenzer 14136]

An 870-calorie late-night snack? I hope you're sharing.

 

(EDIT: Curses, beaten to it in the quest for accuracy!)

 

Jonny, I'll stick the recipe up when I've got a mo - whether you're after it or not, it's a nice straightforward spice mix as a base for any kind of vegetable curry really.

Edited June 23, 2011 by Meenzer

[Monkeys Fist 39161]

Experimented a little with a veggie spag bowl.

 

Grated courgettes to use instead of carrots, finely minced green & black olives to replace quorn mince (because quorn is shite) and added healthy splashes of red wine and balsamic vinegar. Bit of soft brown sugar to balance it all out and it was superb.

 

This is interesting, what's your beef with Quorn, so to speak? Did the green olives not overpower the dish, aren't they a bloody expensive alternative? Might have a crack at this though.

 

My cafe is going to be veggie and so I could do with harvesting your wisdom, hot tips etc...

Hot tip - be a man, eat meat.

[trophyshy 6443]

Experimented a little with a veggie spag bowl.

 

Grated courgettes to use instead of carrots, finely minced green & black olives to replace quorn mince (because quorn is shite) and added healthy splashes of red wine and balsamic vinegar. Bit of soft brown sugar to balance it all out and it was superb.

 

This is interesting, what's your beef with Quorn, so to speak? Did the green olives not overpower the dish, aren't they a bloody expensive alternative? Might have a crack at this though.

 

My cafe is going to be veggie and so I could do with harvesting your wisdom, hot tips etc...

Hot tip - be a man, eat meat.

 

You'll never make it Monkey, but keep trying anyway.

 

[Guest alex]

Would've thought finely chopped assorted mushrooms would be a better alternative to Quorn than olives (if you don't like Quorn that is). I reckon Quorn mince is spot on in stuff like that though so long as it's cooked a while. Although I think I prefer my veggie chilli with a variety of beans as opposed to Quorn. It's like Blazzin' Saddles round mine after one of them. I've started putting a chipotle in as well as the juice from rehydrating it which gives a lush smoky taste.

[Meenzer 14136]

Have to admit I've never fully understood why people who don't eat meat would want to eat something that's textured like meat.

[trophyshy 6443]

I'm working the chilli festival in Brighton, so now's the time to hoy your chilli recipes up. Except CT.

[Guest alex]

Have to admit I've never fully understood why people who don't eat meat would want to eat something that's textured like meat.

I've never understood why people ask that tbh. I didn't give it up because I disliked the taste etc. Some people do it for that reason though, obviously.

[Guest alex]

I'm working the chilli festival in Brighton, so now's the time to hoy your chilli recipes up. Except CT.

Mine's in my head like but I like to hoy in fresh chillies, dried chilli flakes (not powder), hot smoked paprika and a chipotle. I also put the coriander stalks in and cook them off before adding the leaves right near the end. For dried herbs/spices I used oregano, ground coriander and cumin. I also put cocoa powder in.

[Meenzer 14136]

Have to admit I've never fully understood why people who don't eat meat would want to eat something that's textured like meat.

I've never understood why people ask that tbh. I didn't give it up because I disliked the taste etc. Some people do it for that reason though, obviously.

Aye, I just assume that something meat-like will remind you of meat and hence the reasons you don't eat it, regardless of whether they're to do with taste/flavour, ethics, health or whatever. Bit like a reformed alcoholic drinking alcohol-free beer. But if not then fair play, obviously.

[Christmas Tree 4003]

How's the diet going btw?

 

[Guest alex]

Have to admit I've never fully understood why people who don't eat meat would want to eat something that's textured like meat.

I've never understood why people ask that tbh. I didn't give it up because I disliked the taste etc. Some people do it for that reason though, obviously.

Aye, I just assume that something meat-like will remind you of meat and hence the reasons you don't eat it, regardless of whether they're to do with taste/flavour, ethics, health or whatever. Bit like a reformed alcoholic drinking alcohol-free beer. But if not then fair play, obviously.

It's not quite the same. I couldn't give up drink

[trophyshy 6443]

Have to admit I've never fully understood why people who don't eat meat would want to eat something that's textured like meat.

I've never understood why people ask that tbh. I didn't give it up because I disliked the taste etc. Some people do it for that reason though, obviously.

Aye, I just assume that something meat-like will remind you of meat and hence the reasons you don't eat it, regardless of whether they're to do with taste/flavour, ethics, health or whatever. Bit like a reformed alcoholic drinking alcohol-free beer. But if not then fair play, obviously.

 

My standard response when faced with this question is twofold; firstly variety of texture - which we all crave just like variety of flavour, and secondly it is a very convenient, cheap and healthy source of protein (with minimal environmental impact).

[Gemmill 35460]

Dr Oetker pizzas are quality. Best selling frozen pizza in Italy too, which tells its own story.

[Meenzer 14136]

I'm working the chilli festival in Brighton, so now's the time to hoy your chilli recipes up. Except CT.

This is mine, nothing festival-worthy but pretty easy and turns out nice enough:

 

Fry 500g beef mince (or cubed beef steak), one onion and several crushed/chopped cloves of garlic until browned/softened (no oil, just dry).

 

Pour in a glass of decent red wine and cook for 2-3 mins.

 

Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, 2tbsp tomato purée, 1 finely chopped red chilli (or more to taste), two chopped small peppers (ideally one red/one green), ½tsp cumin, ½tsp coriander, ½tsp cayenne pepper, a stick of cinnamon, some beef stock or half a stock cube, and a decent shake of Worcestershire sauce.

 

Bring back to the boil, cover and simmer for as long as possible - a couple of hours is good, makes the flavours come out without it just being spicy and nothing else.

 

Add a tin of kidney beans and cook for a good half hour more (taste and season as required).

 

Et voilà.