OneGuyFromBarlick

Cooler today (though still warm enough for shorts and T-shirts), so I am thinking Pasta with Alaskan Red Salmon for evening meal.
I've used up just about all my veg, but I still have some fresh Cauliflower that will go well with it...and Baby Peas (reputed to be good for the Prostate).

Slow cooking rules in this house! Both dinner and tea were a small ham butty and a small bowl of the veggie soup.... I've just realised that's a lie.... I used the last of the ham at dinnertime so the butty at teatime was Stilton and HP sauce. I know, it's sacrilege but the combination tastes so good!

PanBiker wrote:We use ours all the time Bruff, chuck it in and get on with something else, who said good cooking is hard! The left over steak and onions ran to three pies with a few spuds. I'll have one with a few mushy peas red cabbage and gravy for tea. Just the job after our walk this afternoon, just about to get togged up.

Sadly your photo made me tear up. Mum used to make meat & tatie pies and the extended family loved it. My niece asked me, over Christmas, if anyone knew how to make one. You may take it for granted but it was specific compared to all the pies they make here.The pastry was fantastic and the gravy made along the way and not thickened. Luckily I got Mum to write it down years ago and I still carry it in my wallet (sadly). If the weather ever cools down I might make another one this year.

Liz...would we have to send a hit squad over to yours to get your Mums Recipe out of your purse and shared on here?
Funny the things you carry in your purse isn't it? My son once gave me his favourite order that he likes from Subway....I carry it to this day and I often get it for him and drop it in if he is home and I am calling past. ( all ingredients I don't eat and I wonder where my offspring got his taste buds).
I could do with a good recipe for ( savoury) pie pastry too. Hubby always thinks my pie pastry needs adjusting.
I think Moh uses a suet one ?
Anyone who wants to share a great pastry...I am sat here with pen poised...( and will be very grateful)

I will dig it out tomorrow for you Maz.

These pies had bottoms in so I used ordinary short crust pastry. 2 to 1 plain flour and fat, I used half lard and half baking margarine, the type that comes in a block rather than a tub based spread. Cold water to bind. If I am just putting a top crust on something I tend to make suet crust pastry. If you want it a bit fluffy use self raising flour, Depending on the dish I sometimes add a little curry or chillie powder for a bit of extra flavour.

I make the short crust in the wizzer, the less handling the better and to keep it as cool as possible.

Q: Do you have Be-ro books in Oz? if so get one, everything you need to know about pastries and cakes. You can use it as a starting point for experiment as well.

Don't know about the Be-ro books ( they will need looking up)
But Panny...( dearest) I don't own a "wizzer". I am strictly a " wooden spoon" cook. Everything I do is the truly done "the old way" ( though I do own a bread maker and a slow cooker). I have never had a husband who thought it prudent to invest in modern kitchen devices! I don't even have electric egg beater!

I don't have an electric egg beater either Maz a fork works perfectly well for that. We have the processor as Sally makes a lot of soups and stuff like that for the freezer. It has a processor attachment and a liquidiser jug so one motor base does the lot. I like it for pastry as it helps to keep it cool not having to rub the fat in by hand, of course you can always shove it in the fridge once it's mixed.

You should be able to get a Be-ro book online. The contents have not changed since it was written donkeys years ago. I remember my mum having one and apart form the cover it was just the same as the one I have now. Everything you need to know about flour based cooking. Originals and older copies change hands on Ebay but you can get the latest here:

Be-Ro

I only use suet crust for large meat & potato pies - for all the others I use short crust pastry.
Sticky BBQ spare ribs tonight (done in oven not BBQ!!) with salad & oven chips.

Mums pastry was slightly different to Ian's. She did use SR flour. The ratio is 3 flour, 1 margarine, 1 water. When I made it the first time I read it as cup measurements. There was a lot of pastry!!

She always cooked the meat slowly on the stove with onions. Cooled it overnight, took off the fat the next day, took out the meat and cooked the potatoes in the liquid. All the dry ingredients went into the pie dish, no bottom pastry. The left over liquid was heated up and served as a thin gravy with it.

Mum was no cook but this was actually something we all enjoyed.

I have my Granny's Be-ro book. I'll have a look in it today.

Liz, your mother was a better cook than you think! Sounds like mine and I have always sworn by slow cooking. Now I have the stove everything is slow cooked in winter!
Yesterday I had a bowl of the veggie soup for dinner and what was left for tea. There was only a half bowl and I supplemented it with a small Stilton butty. (And yes, I ruined it with tomatoes and brown sauce!)

Winter food today - thick end of neck of lamb with plenty of veggies served with mashed potatoes & dumplings.

We are on the same wavelength Moh. I slow cooked shin beef and ox liver yesterday and then let it go cold and rest in the kitchen. Gravy you could use to fuel a rocket! I shall add the veggies today, carrots, broccoli and cabbage.
Two small pressed beef butties for dinner and then steak pudding and peas for tea.

Bangers on the barbie with a crunchy noodle salad. (Cabbage, radishes, chives, crunchy noodles with a thai style dressing)

Homemade Pizza...we were watching a movie and it was getting later than usual for dinner...so it was appreciated more because we were getting a bit hungry. ( we had also been out wandering through a huge art exhibition for a couple of hours prior to that so earned the extra calories)

Chicken Balti curry tonight with pilau rice & naan breads.

It will be a roast pork dinner for us tonight with the trimmings, our lad is attending for his tea. We are doing a nice walk with some hills in the way this afternoon to earn it.

Small pressed beef butty and half a bowl of the beef and veggie for dinner. Beef and veggie for tea.....

Later.... we got adventurous.



I saw this at Kath's on Friday and thought I'd have a treat. It's Peasant wrapped in bacon..... When I put in the CI pot for even cooking it looked a bit lonely so I put a black pudding in with it. I don't know what the pheasant will be like but the gravy will be wonderful! The soup can wait until I'm ready for it!

Thai spatchcock chicken with rice and asparagus tonight.

I had the Pheasant in three small butties for dinner. OK I suppose but not a lot of flavour to it.... I was going to keep the black pudding gravy for butty spread when it had set in the fridge but decided to put it in the soup to turbocharge it! Ill report on it tomorrow, it's on the stove now coming up to a simmer.....

Can't say it was visually appealing, Stanley. ( I've never tried Black Pudding though)

Fish and Salad for us tonight (the fish is Whiting). I've also made Potato Salad and hard boiled a couple of eggs.

I've made a mental note to self that I have a bunch of Baby Spinach needs using tomorrow...

I had the fortified soup for tea. Good call putting the black pudding and onion gravy in. Raised it to another level...

Give black pudding a try Maz. It's the thought of it that's off putting. We had it for dinner last night too.

We've got home made chicken parma tonight with roast veg and home grown broccoli.

Liz I can't help thinking about the things they find tucked away in body cavities on Border Security when I see that Black Pudding!
We had chances to try it, but didn't.

Blood pudding is fine stuff. Best eaten on its own boiled with English Mustard. Trouble is when you put it in a stew it looks like brown sludge....
Had the stew X 2 (small helpings) for dinner and tea. Augments tea with two fried egg butties on what was left of the small loaf Kath gave me on Friday.