WHAT DID WE HAVE FOR TEA?

[Stanley]

Doc and I had fish, chips and peas and a cup of tea in Windermere yesterday...£14! Two poached eggs on a piece of toast for tea when I got back. Been so busy today I wasn't hungry so just a banana for dinner....

[Stanley]

Cheese and tomato relish for dinner and then I popped a pork chop in a pan on a bed of onions, added a chicken Oxo cube, salt pepper and garlic powder and topped it all off with a tin of chopped tomatoes and another of baked beans. By teatime it had all argued its way down nicely so I fished the chop out, de-boned it and chapped the meat and then did some rice. Half the casserole and half the rice made a good tea and the rest is sat in a bowl in the fridge to warm up for tea today. Wonderful what can be done with one small pork chop.....

[Bruff]

I had a mutton and cauliflower curry last night. Blimey it was good, if I say so myself. I'd made it Tuesday, as a lot of curry improves for keeping a day or two I reckon. Not often I say this, but I could have kept eating it 'till I popped. I can make my own pastes, but I more often use those Patak ones. A quality convenience product in my opinion. Good range at Choudrey's in Barlick - more and cheaper than the S'markets near me and I stock up when I'm in Barlick.

Richard Broughton

[Moh]

Had plaice & new potatoes last night, tonight it is butter chicken curry with rice & naan bread.

[Stanley]

Richard, I've never tried Patak but will have a crack since you recommend them. Chowdrey's are good on prices anf Ghulam is always open to an offer if you're getting something out of the ordinary. He comes from the Punjab and understands both barter and cold weather!
Finished the pork chop casserole and rice last night for tea. Like Richard's cauliflower and mutton curry it had improved overnight. I got the end of a piece of boiled ham from Kath yesterday so I've put a loaf in and today's grub will be two very good boiled ham butties, one at dinnertime and one for tea.

[Tripps]

I'm still working my way through 12 jars I got from Amazon ages ago. I don't think the sell by matters at all.

Approved Foods have currently a large selection of Pataks - starting at 60p per jar for the mild, which is about a third of the RRP.

Take care though Knoblauch means garlic, and a 2.2 kilo jar is enormous.

Here's a link http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/search?te ... ks&quick=1

[Marilyn]

Am making King Prawn Curry with Jasmine Rice and Coconut Cream for tonight ( using a Tikka base).
Son coming for dinner and I promised him summat yummy...

[Stanley]

David, thanks for posting that link again, I always forget it! Bookmarked....
I had the ham butty at dinnertime and it must have been good! At teatime I wasn't hungry so just had some fruit and cheese and biscuits. Good weight-loss aid!

[Stanley]

Ham butty at dinnertime. Braised some bacon ribs on a bed of onions for tea. I used the gravy with veg and potatoes to make a veggie soup so today's cooking is done!

[Moh]

Had paprika pork tenderloin with roasties on Saturday, yesterday was roast brisket, new & roast potatoes, carrots, ratatouille (spelling??) and yorkshire pudding.

[Stanley]

The veggie stew from the ribs for dinner and tea. One helping left....

[Marilyn]

Made a pot of Chicken and Leek Soup today. Very nice.

[rossylass]

Store cupboard standby spaghetti puttanesca with blueberries & yogurt for pudding.

[Moh]

Made a pot of Chicken and Leek Soup today. Very nice.

Wasn't it a bit warm for soup Maz?
Cold beef sliced and cooked with onions & gravy & cauli. & mash tonight.

[Marilyn]

You are correct, Moh - it was too warm for soup, but my husband loves soup any weather. Plus I was getting a bit sick of Salad.
But we are back to Salad tonight with some Red Salmon Fritatta which I dug out of the freezer this morning.
38 degrees today, 42 tomorrow...

[Stanley]

Cold rib stew on a butty for dinner. Popped a frozen ham and pea soup in with what was left and and had that for tea. Good thick stew makes good butty filler.....

[Moh]

When hubby was driving cold steak & onions butty was his favourite so I always made extra when we had it for tea.
I have got some thick end of neck and vegetables in the slow cooker so we will be having that tonight with dumplings & mash - real winter warmer.

[Marilyn]

Almost 44 degrees here...who can eat anything much in weather like this?
I decided some Red Salmon Cakes would be the go, though I was short on what to have with it and needed inspiration from the items I had. I wasn't going to the shop in this heat!
Some rummaging about I found Red Capsicum, Red Onion, Chinese Cabbage, Baby Peas, herbs and spices...so have worked up a fragrant Biriyani using those ingredients and some Jasmine Rice.
Tastes 'wicked' as my son would say.

[Stanley]

Maz, we're on cold weather cooking here!
Moh, I got a piece of roiled lamb shoulder on Wednesday and that is going to be the basis of a hot pot like yours. Haven't had lamb for a while, it will be a nice change. Yesterday I had a Haslet butty for dinner and for tea another butty made with Cranberry Wensleydale with a smear of Bonne Maman apricot conserve on the dry bread. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it! Meat pie and peas will figure large today.

[Stanley]

The stove is ideal for slow cooking stews. Here's the lamb stew quietly arguing with itself in the front room. Just below a simmer because the stove wasn't running hot and on there all day. Lovely stuff and I have frozen five bowls full. Must stop making soup! Time I ate my way through what's in the freezer. Had Pie and peas for dinner and a bowl of the stew for tea. Lovely warming stuff!

[Tripps]

I'm told that this is the national dish of the Philippines, and have been persuaded to try it.

PORK ADOBO

Pork - I used leg steak, but really any cut will do - shoulder, belly or fillet? Cut into pieces or strips
Vegetables . Onion, red pepper, mushrooms.

Make a marinade from equal quantities of soya sauce and vinegar, (about 4 tablespoons of each), with the addition of a few cloves of crushed garlic and some grated root ginger, a few bay leaves and a good shake of black pepper. Add the pork, and marinade for a few hours.
Remove the pork from the marinade, and fry off in some oil, in a hot wok for a few minutes, then remove, and set aside.
Add the veg to to wok and fry off for a few minutes.
Put the pork back into the wok, and add the marinade, and some water.
Simmer for about twenty minutes or so, until the sauce has reduced, and thickened.
Serve with plain Basmati rice.

Notes -
Morrisons sell a fairly large bottle of Blue Dragon Soya Sauce for reasonable money. (about £1.50) Sounds Eastern and exotic, but they are from Leigh Lancashire.
You'll be using more vinegar than you may think wise, but trust me it's delicious. I used a cheap balsamic, but really any will do.
Don't peel root ginger, just grate it finely, you'll never guess afterwards, and there is no waste.
You could also use chicken or beef as the meat.

There are many variations on this recipe, and I have not given precise quantities. - see Youtube for many other variations.
The above is fairly simple and has worked twice. Bon appetit.

[Moh]

What is a used leg steak? Sounds delicious must try it. We had chill & jacket potato last night, tonight is meat pie, chips, mushy peas & gravy. We shopped yesterday in case it was snowing this morning and got extra meat for the freezer - be prepared!!

[Tripps]

" What is a used leg steak? "
It's one that the pig has finished with..... I guess an unused one would work just as well.

[Marilyn]

A used leg steak, could be one the dog sniffed and didn't want.

I was inspired by a quick glimpse of a cooking show I saw ( gosh...aren't there just too many of them? They drive you mad. Everyone wants to take cooking to another level. For heaven's sake...women have been cooking since time began...and it does actually become boring after forty odd years of dishing out meals. There is nothing mystical or magical about it.)
But anyway...saw someone making Gozleme ( filled Turkish Bread) and I put it in the memory bank to try one day.
Today was the day...we both really enjoyed it. Traditional fillings are Feta Cheese, Spinach and Salami etc, but we don't eat Salami so I did it with Tuna, Feta, Spinach and red onion. Yum.

Now I shall return to my former habit of avoiding cooking shows...

[Stanley]

Couldn't agree more Moh, but now I have to start eating some of it! Lamb stew X 2 yesterday. No problem, great grub for a cold day.