What's everyone cooking this week?

[Renee Profile]

Thanks for the tip Amy and thank you also jeral for the white sauce recipe with the additions! it will be very useful for the future.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

I cooked some veggie mince for my vegan friends (the new sort with beetroot colouring)

Where did you get those new sort friends from then Jeral…..? Beetroot colouring must create a stir when out & about...……..

stir fried prawns with spicy udon noodles here on Sat. - also made a pork (shoulder) curry for Sunday - 'twas lovely, but as happens, went off piste & can't remember exactly what went in !!

[Sakkarin Profile]

Today's "just one portion" meal was my favourite Chicken Gumbo, although it took four times as long as all the other meals.

Popped into Homesense earlier to check out their books, and coincidentally they had one called "Solo - The Joy of Cooking for One"!

I went to check it out on Amazon when I got home, to post a pic, and there's a couple of other "Solo" books too. One is by a lady called Linda Tubby. I wonder if that's the best name for a food writer!?! And this one.

[Renee Profile]

I was impressed by the Solo book and it's on its way Sakkarin. I bought a used one, excellent condition, free postage £7.49. It is recommended by Diana Henry.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solo-Joy-Cooki ... 1509860592

[Sakkarin Profile]

Read the intro for that book on Amazon's "see inside" version Rénee, and it says she wrote "How to Hygge" too, which was also in Homesense. Didn't bother looking at it, as it looked like a new term for Feng Shui, which is of course as pointless as astrology...

And now Amazon has alerted me to the fact that there's loads of other "for one" books out there! Well I should have realised, given that there were hundreds of Thai cookbooks out there when I stopped collecting them, and probably hundreds more now!

www.sakkarin.co.uk/foodforumpix/cook-for-one.jpg

[Pampy Profile]

Not quite Feng Shui, but just as meaningless https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygge

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Sounds like another example of hygge today, gone tomorrow.

[Renee Profile]

Good one KK!!!

I was in HomeSense recently, but I'm glad that I didn't discover the books! I might have found one that I really couldn't do without ... yet again ... yet again!

[Sakkarin Profile]

Homesense don't stock many books, about half an aisleful, but they are clearly carefully selected and are cheap, basically at Amazon's cheapest prices, but without te postage - that Solo book was £5.99.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I was in HomeSense yesterday, and got my first Christmas pressie for Tony. Socks.
And saw the books too.
As I'm power-selling my current unused stock, I couldn't buy anything else. I'm using https://www.webuybooks.co.uk/past-offers/
One book sold for 22p!
But another just gathering dust was £6. Better than a poke in the eye .................

Hygge.
Reminds me of a "rhymes with" Piggy story.
My painting colleague was teaching art to a group of rather lovely posh laydees, with equally posh accents. The birthday girl was Piggy (cute nickname) for a woman who had a little turned up nose with visible nostrils.

Piggy was enjoying the class tremendously.

My teacher friend at the end of the day asked Piggy to talk about her art work to the rest of the class.
Who couldn't stand it any more, and told her that her name was "Peggy".
Whoops!

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Tortilla omelette last night, as Tony just fancied a sandwich.
I can eat eggs any time of the day.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Was Piggy Sarth Ifrican?

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Could have been.
But no, just dridfully will spoken, all of them.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Speaking of South Africa, I watched a programme on CNN the other day (Inside Africa) which the entire programme featured a revered national dish called "Bunny Chow", which is basically a raw, hollowed-out zero-nutrition factory-style square tin white loaf filled with whatever curry you fancy (I say raw inasmuch as it is not toasted, buttered or anything like that).

I think that alongside Bobotie, another SA national dish, it would sit quite happily alongside anything my mum cooked (i.e. world's worst cookbook). I know some swear by Bobotie, so I'd better hide till the danger's passed! I dug out the pic of the Bobotie I made when I posted on the Beeb board, and surprised to see it was over 10 years ago. It is still fresh in my mind.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/internat ... y-chow.cnn

Yesterday, I did two "cook for one" fried rice dishes, both from Vatch's Taste of Thailand, garlicky Prawn Fried Rice* and Chicken Curry Fried Rice. Part of the exercise was to test a bag of Tesco 45p a kilo bargain basement rice, which with 200g of rice to make these two dishes means that the rice element cost 9p altogether.

I made three batches of rice for the test, with differing amounts of water, it seems impossible to make rice which works on its own, as it is rather starchy and gooey, however for fried rice it seems to work very well. Had half a portion of the leftover chicken curry rice for breakfast, and using just 75g of chicken it is going on my list of tasty frugal meals.

*P.S. I used those budget micro-prawns so I'm afraid it doesn't look very prawny...

[Renee Profile]

They both look good Sakkarin. I need to cut back on what I spend on food which is far too much. What cut of chicken do you use? I have been using thighs recently.

I made Bobotie once, but only once. I wasn't too keen on it.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Oooo they both look really good.
Dinky prawns do it for me too.

Frugal here too as it happens. Although the chorizo piece cost £4.50, but it makes enough for leftovers - you can make the dish without the sausage.

Caldo Verde (Renee, I got the recipe from veggie Caroline years ago).
Cabbage, potato, chilli, cannellini beans, water not stock as it would be overkill.
Chorizo pieces optional, and parmesan gratings.
One of my favourite soups.

[Renee Profile]

Now that's what I should be eating right now Gill! Do you soften the vegetables in oil/butter first?

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Renee
Sautee an onion till soft, add a chopped up raw potato & a chopped chilli (and chorizo) and stir for a minute.
Add about a pint of water, and simmer on low for 15mins to soften the chorizo.
Add your cabbage and beans, and simmer for another 5mins till piping hot.

Serve with parmesan sprinkles.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

In defence of South African cooking I think describing Bunny Chow as a national dish is a bit like describing a late night parmo as a British national dish - most foodie South Africans may have eaten it once for the experience but probably no more.

Bobotie, being similar in some ways to cottage pie, like that dish can be really dull or really good. I’ve had some very nice examples in Bloemfontein and I think mine is pretty good!

I’ve stocked up on fresh galangal and coriander root in Chinatown, so I may finally get to making stuff from my newish Thai cookbook soon

[Sakkarin Profile]

Whatever takes your fancy Renée! I used breast because I have a chicken which I'm working my way through, but sometimes I'll have a pack of thighs, which are better value, in which case I'd use that.

I had another bash at that cheap rice for lunch, I made an economy version of the fab Carluccio risotto I had last week. I gave myself 20 minutes as per the Masterchef Professionals skills test earlier. Most of the cost is in the dried ceps, so I substituted some fried garlic/onion/mushroom, sliced very fine (using the mushroom stalks) and fried till deep brown like a garnish, to run through it to run through the dish to give it a deeper taste. That cheapo rice worked really well, and though it didn't quite have that risotto bite, it was very close, far more so than would be achieved with say basmati. Costing for the final meal 51p, as opposed to £1.42 using the best ingredients (£1.20 last week using cheddar instead of parmesan).

I had to Google "Parmo", and it is a new one on me, but by coincidence in Tuesday's Professional Masterchef they had to make a Croque Monsieur in 15 minutes as one of the skills tests. Not a million miles from your Parmo!

It's a long time since I've seen coriander root, it used to come attached to bunches of coriander, and I always had some in the freezer. Now everyone seems to trim the bunches.