Topic: A Cooking Thread? (Read 468977 times)

KharBevNor · « **Reply #700 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 00:40 »

Ok I could do with some suggestions for the upcoming term actually, because I really shouldn't eat out or get takeaways pretty much at all if I want to preserve my moneys.

Here's my situation: I live in a single room bedsit in a cheap seedy boarding house. My cooking equipment consists of a two-hob electric hotplate, a pop-up toaster, a kettle, a saucepan, a frying pan, some mugs, a wooden spoon and basic cutlery. That is it. I have no freezer or refridgerator, but I have been leaving like eggs and milk out in a plastic box on a little balcony I have whilst the weather is cold. So basically things which I can buy and use over the course of a couple of days tops are ideal. At the moment what I am mostly cooking myself is things such as irish stew (tinned steak chunks, stock cube in a mug of boiling water, chopped potatoes/onions/carrots/mushrooms/whatever I got, bit of guinness, then I drink the rest of the guinness whilst I am waiting for it to cook), boiled or egg fried rice with various things (for example tinned curry or some stir fry vegetables), omelettes, beans on toast, scrambled eggs on toast, tinned soup, boiled veg, fried potatoes...you get the picture. Anyone got any ideas for some interesting things I could try and cook with the following caveats: I don't like pasta or indeed most italian food except like pizza, can't stand whole tomatoes (really can't stand tinned tomatoes, so gross), anything where you can taste vinegar, mayonnaise, salad dressing, coleslaw, any pickled things and a bunch of other stuff I am probably forgetting. I am British though so I am fairly ok with like eating offal or fried blood or whatever.

Help a brother out. This could run to like suggestions of new utensils I should get as long as it's something cheap and small.

pwhodges · « **Reply #701 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 00:46 »

You haven't mentioned fish. You could vary the stew by using a chopped up haddock fillet (smoked if you fancy, or not), swapping the stock cube for a veggie one.

(Edit) As fish cooks faster than meat, chuck it in a few minutes before the end rather than cooking it the whole time, like meat.

The Seldom Killer · « **Reply #702 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 01:13 »

It could be worth getting a small fridge, second hand if you're expecting to be there for a while. Given that you're cooking on an electric hob as well as likely to suffer some food wastage, a fridge is likely to be economical in the long run. It also means that you can have a few more food options such as making pies and the like.

Make stews with ales and stouts instead of Guiness. A lot of people, myself included, mitigate this with some honey or sugar. You still get the excellent beery flavour. When I was in similar cooking circumstances, two books served me really well - Grub on a Grant and Peckish But Poor, both by Cas Clarke. I still refer to them from time to time, even though I'm no longer a student or of limited finances. The good news is that without a fridge, you can drastically reduce marinading times for meat.

The Seldom Killer · « **Reply #703 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 01:15 »

If you're using veggie stock cubes for fish stews, it can improve the flavour if you add a little thai fish sauce.

And to add my own culinary endeavours, tonight's dinner is horse dick.

Alright, actually it's pork tenderloin, but going on looks it does bear a passing resemblance to equine genitalia. Last night I chucked it in a tub with a bay leaf, some salt, dried parsley, chives and rosemary, a bit of pepper and teaspoon of whole grain mustard and then covered it with a bottle of cider. Gave it a quick shake and a turn this morning and now trying to decide between pan-frying and braising when I get home.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #704 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 01:17 »

Eggs don't need to be refridgerated, and you should be able to buy packs of tiny single-serve UHT milks at the supermarket (or steal them from McDonalds).

I basically survive on pasta so I won't be much help with recipes, I'm afraid.

The Seldom Killer · « **Reply #705 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 01:32 »

UHT milk is pretty grim and, from experience, terrible for cooking with.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #706 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 01:56 »

Eh, I've survived on UHT, if only for putting in your tea and baking with.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #707 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 04:28 »

I don't generally have any problems with milk, I buy it by the litre normally and keep it outside, and it works fine. I have debated the worth of a small fridge myself, but I'm only probably going to be here till march/april, and I want to be able to move out in the space of a couple of big backpacks. Stuff like the toaster and kettle only cost £5 and I'll give them to a charity shop probably.

I've never had fish stew. I'll give it a go, I'm quite keen on white fish. I'll keep on the look out for some inexpensive stuff.

You don't have to refridgerate eggs? Really? That's nuts! I always get really paranoid about eggs because when I did cooking in school I got a rotten egg and cracked it in to the cake I was making and the whole thing was turned into a foul ruin. It upset me greatly! To this day I always crack eggs individually into a mug before cooking them, just on the off-chance.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #708 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 14:17 »

If you get them in a carton they should have a use-by date on top, sometimes it's even printed on the individual egg. As long as you stay in that you should be fine, but the cracking it into a mug first is still a good idea.
I just googled and I can't find a good indicator for how long you can keep eggs out of the fridge (most are from the US where there is a big salmonella thing in eggs and people are going nuts), but we used to keep chickens and left the eggs out for weeks at a time. If you just buy a pack of 6 and have one a day you should be fine, seriously.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #709 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 14:57 »

I suppose it's just that my family always kept eggs in the fridge.

I never trust use by dates. I use my nose. If I ain't gagging, shits getting ate. I have a pretty strong immune system anyway from growing up in the country and picking my nose constantly and eating the snot and generally living in states of filth and squalor. I find stuff spoils a way before its supposed use by date just as often as stuff completely outlasts it, actually. I have all but given up trying to buy cheese on a budget because of how much I have seen turn into inedible plastic.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #710 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 15:22 »

I have seen people at my uni hanging carrier bags containing yoghurts out of their window in cold weather, which seemed quite a good idea. Sadly won't work in summer but certainly would be fine now.

We have our eggs for weeks at a time, but they come straight out of the chicken and into the house so I guess that is not the same as shop-bought ones. If you store them upside down, with the pointy end down and the big bit up, they are meant to last longer - I think it is something to do with the air bubble in the bottom of each egg? I don't know if that is true though.

Cheese just doesn't last very well. We bought Sainsburys cheddar several times only to find that it was mouldy when we opened the packet, which is just appalling.

SonofZ3 · « **Reply #711 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 16:54 »

Cut the mold off and eat the cheese anyway. Really. Doesn't hurt anything.

Edith · « **Reply #712 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 17:05 »

Alli, come visit me and make me a pie!!!

Inlander · « **Reply #713 on:** 06 Jan 2011, 17:10 »

Quote from: SonofZ3 on 06 Jan 2011, 16:54

Cut the mold off and eat the cheese anyway. Really. Doesn't hurt anything.

Also, a lot of the time you'll see a fine white crust on cheese and you may think it's mould, but it's actually just the salt rising to the surface of the cheese. Not a thing wrong with the cheese at all.

pwhodges · « **Reply #714 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 00:28 »

And when the mould is blue, you buy it specially.

The market near me sells a particularly good mouldy cheddar, which they call "Yer 'Tiz".

Spluff · « **Reply #715 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 00:45 »

Quote from: KharBevNor on 06 Jan 2011, 04:28

You don't have to refridgerate eggs? Really? That's nuts! I always get really paranoid about eggs because when I did cooking in school I got a rotten egg and cracked it in to the cake I was making and the whole thing was turned into a foul ruin. It upset me greatly! To this day I always crack eggs individually into a mug before cooking them, just on the off-chance.

You can check whether an egg is off or not by putting it in a glass (or mug or pan or jug or whatever) of water. If it sinks it's fine, if it floats it's gone off.

KvP · « **Reply #716 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 00:48 »

You can also spin it on its side, like a top. If it wobbles and you feel push when you stop it, it's fine. If it just stops, it's probably gone.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #717 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 00:51 »

That totally sounds like a recipe for ending up with egg everywhere.

Spluff · « **Reply #718 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 00:52 »

Isn't that to check if it's hard boiled? I don't know how that would determine whether it's off.

The Seldom Killer · « **Reply #719 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 01:36 »

It will do both, although presumably you would know if you had boiled it.

What happens is that the air bubble moves to the top until centralfugal force of spinning pushes it out to the ends. If the egg is off then the albumen will have congealed more and hold the air bubble at the top.

blanktom · « **Reply #720 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 16:30 »

Oh man, oh man.

I used to HATE HATE HATE mushrooms. Now, I am getting into them in a big way.

So I just got home a tad drunk and, whilst listening to some Bon Iver, did a thing. I had some chestnut mushrooms. I also had bacon. Heat olive oil in a pan and BAM add them mushrooms and bacon, mushrooms slices relatively thin, bacon chopped into cute little 1cm by 1cm squares. Add GARLIC FUCK I LOVE GARLIC. Let it all coooook. Then add some herbs, I threw in fresh rosemary and parsley (my next door neighbour has a massive rosemary bush in his front garden than I constantly steal from, and I had some parsley knocking about because I made risotto the other day). Once it is pretty much cooked, throw in a knob of butter and season with salt and pepper. The whole thing took me less than 10 minutes whilst I drank a glass of wine and danced around the kitchen, and was TASTY.

Johnny C · « **Reply #721 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 18:02 »

so... you made fried mushrooms and bacon

tania · « **Reply #722 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 20:13 »

this is the only cooking thread we got and there are grown men in the world who don't even know how to use their own microwaves, let the dude have his pride

Slick · « **Reply #723 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 20:30 »

I know a grown man who does not know how to do laundry. It is a choice. At home, his mom did it for him, and now, his girlfriend does it for him. Maybe they are married now, I don't know. At any rate, dude was an asshole.
Not that people who don't know how to cook are assholes but guys who make the conscious decision to never learn how to do laundry because there will always be a woman there to do it for him, they are assholes.

Johnny C · « **Reply #724 on:** 07 Jan 2011, 23:40 »

im just sad because he was so close to a balls-out amazing omelette but like quit halfway

KharBevNor · « **Reply #725 on:** 08 Jan 2011, 01:21 »

Quote from: Johnny C on 07 Jan 2011, 23:40

I am dissapoint

blanktom · « **Reply #726 on:** 08 Jan 2011, 02:47 »

man i was drunk and i fuckin hate omelettes. why you gotta piss on me?

David_Dovey · « **Reply #727 on:** 08 Jan 2011, 12:32 »

Yeah Johnny, go to the hell. It might be simple but jesus shits are fried mushrooms with garlic and olive oil and like such as some green herbs just about one of the most splendid pleasures available to man. The fact that it's easy is just bonus.

blanktom · « **Reply #728 on:** 08 Jan 2011, 16:22 »

Don't worry though. I still love you, Johnny C.

Slick · « **Reply #729 on:** 08 Jan 2011, 20:40 »

Man speaking of pretty basic things to fry up, do up some fresh tomatoes, zucchini, onions, garlic, and mushrooms to fry up with or without a bit of bacon and maybe some herbs and that shit is solid. That is my 'it is beginning to be fall and we are harvesting shit oh yeah' food.

blanktom · « **Reply #730 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 07:52 »

All of that sounds amazing except the zuchinni...that's courgette right? I can't stand those things. I bet if you added some paprika and some chillis to that it'd make a shit hot little salsa/jumbolaya thing to throw in fajitas, on a salad with a dollop of sour cream...oh man, simple stuff like that is just so good for so many things.

Demonic Angel · « **Reply #731 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 08:13 »

Quote from: Johnny C on 07 Jan 2011, 23:40

im just sad because he was so close to a balls-out amazing omelette but like quit halfway

I'm not patient enough for an amazing omelet, I always decide it should be ready to flip to soon, and then just go ahead and make scrambled eggs out of it. I guess that means I quit three-quarters in.

Johnny C · « **Reply #732 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 10:03 »

Quote from: David_Dovey on 08 Jan 2011, 12:32

Yeah Johnny, go to the hell. It might be simple but jesus shits are fried mushrooms with garlic and olive oil and like such as some green herbs just about one of the most splendid pleasures available to man. The fact that it's easy is just bonus.

it's tasty! but sauteed mushrooms in bacon are just... i dunno. they're something you put on top of or inside of something, to me. but when you are drunk, you make the food that you desire.

bainidhe_dub · « **Reply #733 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 11:25 »

I made my birthday cake on Friday - chocolate cake with raspberry whipped cream icing. It was delicious!

The Seldom Killer · « **Reply #734 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 12:17 »

Got in a random mood this evening so jointed a chicken, stuck the legs and thighs in a casserole dish along with some mushrooms, squash, cauliflower, basil, chives, some fennel seeds, a couple of bay leaves, a couple of cloves, a large glass of white wine and some stock. Covered and gas five for a couple of hours and pretty tasty. a bit too much clove so next time maybe three instead of five.

Nat that there will be a next time as cooking the same thing twice is a pretty rare occurence for me.

pwhodges · « **Reply #735 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 12:35 »

Recipe requested from the Emergency Food thread. First, pictures, as by coincidence I made it today:

Start with 500g/1lb of sweet potatoes. Peel and cut into 25mm/1" slices. Lay these in a large pan (so they form a single layer), and add 4 tablespoons of honey and barely enough water to cover them (Ottolenghi adds 50g/2oz butter, but I'm not supposed to!). Cook for 40-odd minutes.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, take a finely chopped onion and fry with a teaspoon of cumin seeds and a teaspoon of coriander seeds until browned (Ottolenghi uses olive oil - I dry-fry it, boo), about 8mins. Add a generous tablespoon of tomato purée, fry for another minute (you need to keep stirring here), then add a tin of skinned or chopped tomatoes (400g/140z), a teaspoon of sugar, and 1.5 teaspoons of ground cumin. Cook for about five minutes, and season (I don't bother). Stir in 100g/4oz baby spinach leaves (or similar), add a tin of chickpeas (400g/14oz - but Ottolenghi expects you to cook them yourself, starting with 200g dried chickpeas), and cook for a further five minutes.

During the last cooking, take 100g Greek yoghurt (but I use fat-free - boo again), and stir in juice of a lemon and a crushed clove of garlic. Ottolenghi adds the zest of the lemon, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of dried mint, and whisks it up - but I don't bother (no fat, see?).

Place the chickpea and sauce mixture in a dish, take the sweet potatoes (which should be soft by now) and lay them on top. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with the flavoured yoghurt/mayonnaise.

Serves 4 (Ottolenghi says 6, but that's a bit mean for a main course).
We had two portions for supper, and I've put two in boxes for my lunch tomorrow and my wife's dinner (she'll be staying away somewhere with a microwave).

The Seldom Killer · « **Reply #736 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 12:44 »

Looks good. Far too shy to take pictures of my food.

KvP · « **Reply #737 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 16:22 »

Anybody know where I can get coriander root? Anybody?

Inlander · « **Reply #738 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 17:49 »

If you're buying coriander in bunches from a greengrocer (as opposed to a supermarket) ask if they have any with the roots still on. Often they just chop the roots off before they put it on display and they'll have some in the storeroom with the roots intact.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #739 on:** 09 Jan 2011, 21:36 »

I just wrote a kickass recipe for my meatballs!

Here it is.

Oh and there's also my gingerbread men recipe a little ways down.

vegkitkat · « **Reply #740 on:** 10 Jan 2011, 14:04 »

I just made and consumed a delicious dinner. Periogies (feta and spinach flavor-store bought, because I'm lazy) with onions, mushrooms, spinach and red peppers. No pictures because it is in my belly.

Later, I'm going to cook some black bean soup to have over the coming weeks. Also amazingly delicious.

Elizzybeth · « **Reply #741 on:** 14 Jan 2011, 15:25 »

I made bagels today from this recipe.

So good.

SonofZ3 · « **Reply #742 on:** 14 Jan 2011, 16:47 »

Went lazy today. Did venison fajitas. Cooked a couple packages of venison steaks in a simple marinade in the crock pot for 9 hours or so, until they just fell apart. The rest is pretty obvious, I'm sure people know what fajitas are.
I also found that I like to mix some honey with my corn when I'm heating it up. I think its really an improvement.

Beren · « **Reply #743 on:** 14 Jan 2011, 22:48 »

Quote from: Elizzybeth on 14 Jan 2011, 15:25

-snip bagels-

This is wonderful. I can't stand the taste and feel of Lenders and such bagels from the store. This could be the trick.

Slick · « **Reply #744 on:** 16 Jan 2011, 15:28 »

So OK so I had sweet potato & turkey pizza just now, was totally tops!
Years ago in Toronto I had this awesome potatos & cream pizza with heaps of rosemary and it was delicious delicious delicious and went exceptionally well with the local pilsner on tap. I have looked for recipes but never found anything that looked that great, until a week and a half ago, when, while trawling for interesting bread recipes, I came across an excellent looking recipe in an excellent looking book and said Hey I Will Do That.
I didn't do that then but yesterday I started some sourdough and then today decided that it would be pizza dough and then sliced my sweet potato paper thin, tossed it with salt to get it to give up some water, pressed em dry, tossed them with sliced onions, olive oil, lots of rosemary (dried unfortunately but hey it's winter), and some fried ground turkey. Threw that on two pizza crusts, one got covered in cheese (this one was better, potatoes steamed beautifully under their cheesey blanky) and one went without for Scientific Method.
All around awesome. So good. So pleased. So happy with dinner.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #745 on:** 17 Jan 2011, 08:38 »

I made a ton of lasagne last night while watching the football. It was awesome, and now I have dinner for the next few days. I think I'm going to make this some sort of tradition. It's a shame there's only like two game weekends left.

Lasagne was pretty basic - vegetarian mince, chopped peppers, onions all lightly fried. Then a sauce of cream, worcester sauce, and ketchup (odd right, but it really works), and cheese added to each layer. It was really good, a bit dry, but I reckon that's because I didn't take into consideration that the vegetarian mince had no fat on it, so I think next time I'm just going to use a bit more olive oil, or a bit more cream.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #746 on:** 17 Jan 2011, 11:06 »

What does vegetarian mince consist of?

redglasscurls · « **Reply #747 on:** 17 Jan 2011, 11:29 »

probably textured vegetable protein.

this shit is awesome

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #748 on:** 17 Jan 2011, 11:36 »

Probably pretty much the same thing, but the British version:

It's based off of some fungus that they grow in giant vats and then mince up. It's ridiculously delicious.

redglasscurls · « **Reply #749 on:** 17 Jan 2011, 11:37 »

They sell quorn here too, but I prefer the TVP kind. I can taste the fungus amongus when I try to eat quorn:/

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Author Topic: A Cooking Thread? (Read 468977 times)