-
Have shreddies and cheerios gotten sweeter since the 70s?
I had a craving for food from my childhood--namely nuts and bolts. I bought whole grain shreddies and multigrain cheerio but was disappointed by the result because the cereals are much sweeter than I remember them. Is anyone aware if the formulation of shreddies and cheerios have gotten sweater in the last 30 or 40 years?…
-
What to cook Christmas day, given we are committed to roast goose on Boxing Day?
We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends. Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit…
-
Which compact stair stepper?
I am missing the gym during lockdown and think I want to buy a compact stair stepper. Any recommended models? I've got a corner that is 60cm x 60cm where I could store it.
-
Western diet and brain function
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/19/researchers-find-a-western-style-diet-can-impair-brain-function
-
Using salt cod or bacalao?
I hosted a dinner party last night and got an unexpected hostess gift from a friend who lives in Spain during the winter months. A rather large quantity of bacalao or salt cod. I have split it up into smaller portions and parked it in the freezer but am unfamiliar with cooking this ingredient. Any suggestions?
-
batch cooking ideas?
My typical gift to new parents is an afternoon of batch cooking freezer meals. We have one befriended couple where the hubby enjoys cooking who have asked me to come back at 2 month intervals to do some batch cooking together. I am started to run out of recipes in my repertoire that freeze well. My standards are coq au…
-
artificial sweetners for baking?
Has anyone had success using artificial sweetners for baking? If so, what type of baked goods and which brand/type of sweetner? Most of my baking involves using using up leftover egg whites so almond or coconut macaroons. I would be particularly interested if anyone has made sugar free meringues or macaroons with success.…
-
Shelled edamame recipes?
I am trying to clear out the freezer. We have a bag of shelled edamame that has been around forever. I think I originally intended to use it as a replacement for double shelled broad beans in that Spanish tapas classic of broad beans stir fried with finely minced bacon and shallots. Still think that would be a rather nice…
-
What condiments to take back to UK during visit to Canada?
I live in London, UK and am visiting my mother in Canada. I like to cook and notice that some ingredients featuring in North American recipes are hard to find in the UK. I like to spend my last afternoon of a vacation in the supermarket to bring stuff home. When I vacation in the Southern Europe the obvious thing to bring…
-
crunchy carby low fat salty treat
I knew that you can microwave papadums for a low fat crispy treat. Buy the ones you are meant to deep fry at home and nuke for a minute on high. Out of curiosity I just tried Vietnamese rice papers, the ones meant for making summer rolls after softening in water. Worked too. The rice papers need to go for a minute and a…
-
Leftover bagna cauda?
It's not exactly diet food but we have leftover bagna cauda from a weekend dinner party. I've seen some recipes that make a steak sauce with leftovers with a squeeze of lemon. I am also inclined to use a little for sauteeing spinach or other leafy greens. Any other ideas for leftover bagna cauda?
-
using lomos de bonito
So last night a dinner guest brought a large piece of lomos de bonito from her second home in Spain as a hostess gift. It is a lightly cured piece of tuna. Last she brought it we used it in dutch herring salads as it was quite similar to dutch salted herring in flavour and texture. Any other ideas how to use this…
-
What to do with chicken skin crackling?
I needed boneless skinless chicken thighs for a recipe but my local supermarket only had thighs with skin and bones. The bones went into the stock pot and the skins were turned into crackling in the air fryer. So how should I use the chicken skin crackling? I understand this is not really low calorie food. I imagine I…
-
Accidentally bought lean stewing beef
I accidentally bought lean stewing beef. I never get good results stewing this because it stays tough and gnarly. Any ideas on how to use this ingredient? I was maybe thinking of dutch split pea soup instead of the pork the recipe calls for because it cooks long and slow.…
-
Using up blue cheese?
We opened up the package of a rather large piece of blue cheese to make blue cheese sauce to go on a batch of frozen homemade potato gnocchi. The leftovers will now have to be used up pretty quickly as it doesn't keep long once opened. My usual repertoire is -blue cheese blitzed with low fat yoghurt for dipping veggie…
-
Batch cooking for the freezer
What are your favourite recipes for batch cooking? Starting to get bored of my standbys of Dak dori tang Coq au Vin Bolognese sauce Dutch split pea soup The hubby's repertoire in this category is Braised lamb shanks Beef rendang Any new things to try? When we cook a recipe that freezes well we make quadruple batches for…
-
Roast goose?
My New Year Eve ritual is cooking Christmas dinner with a girlfriend. She doesn't get a proper Christmas dinner when they visit her Vietnamese family and I don't normally do a classic Christmas roast either. This year we will be roasting goose for the first time. Does anyone have any favourite recipes? Any tips from people…
-
Using Mojama?
I was brought a hostess gift of quite a large chunk of mojama (salt cured tuna). My Spanish ex neighbor once prepared it as a tapas, sliced very thin, drizzled with olive oil and scattered with toasted almonds. I was thinking of grating it over a simple spaghetti aglio olio. Any other ideas?
-
Alternative uses for the microwave?
I do a couple of non typical things in the microwave. I use it for blanching vegetables such as green beans in the pricked packet they are sold in and then rinse with hot water afterwards. I use the microwave to make creme caramel because life is too short for cooking anything au bain marie. I zap 10 minutes on half power,…
-
fruit pairing for chocolate sorbet?
I was asked to bring chocolate sorbet to a dinner party next weekend. This is freezing now. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-sorbet-238249 In the summer I would serve this with fresh raspberries or strawberries. What fruit pairing would use at this time of year? Thinking pears but would you just…
-
Left over lamb shoulder?
There is a lamb shoulder lurking in the freezer which I will slow roast tonight with rosemary and garlic. There will be lots of leftovers. Any ideas on how to use up leftover shoulder of lamb?
-
lumpfish roe ideas?
My hubby was making a Christmas packet to send to his sister and a few items in glass jars had to be removed because they sent the postage cost through the roof. One of them was a glass jar of lumpfish roe. We have some light cream cheese which we could have on crackers topped with the roe. Any other ideas on what to do…
-
laksa accompaniments?
Do you serve laksa as a single dish or do you add some veggie sides? I have committed to making chicken laksa for dinner on Sunday but wondering what to serve as sides. All I can think of is cucumber salad with an asian dressing. Or do you think it makes more sense just to throw in extra veg into the laksa itself for a one…
-
What to have with Peking duck?
I am making Peking duck tonight. Duck breasts with the pancakes and hoisin and cucumer and green onions. That's not quite a full meal though. Any ideas on what to have as a second course? Maybe rice and sauteed spinach? Or start with a soup of greens and frozen wontons?
-
Leftover roast beef or rack of lamb?
It's a long weekend in the UK and thinking of doing roast beef or rack of lamb for dinner Sunday. We are a household of two which means leftovers on Monday. Any ideas for using leftover roast beef or rack of lamb for a second meal besides just slicing thin and serving cold or in sandwiches?
-
Favourite kitchen gadget?
I recently bought a cherry pitter, which I mostly use on olives for pasta sauces like puttaneca. Works great and is much easier to operate than expected. Also swear by the instant read meat thermometer I bought last year which takes all the guess work out of roasts and BBQs. Do you have a gadget to recommend?
-
air fryer tips
I love the air fryer I got for my biirthday. Discovered a tip today. Food such as deep freeze spring rolls and french fries would stick to the basket if not well oiled. I had a bit of leftover silicon mesh from lining my dehydrator trays. I cut out a square to line my air fryer basket and absolutely nothing sticks anymore.…
-
using up croutons?
Any ideas for using up croutons, besides green salad? I've made English summer pudding two weekends in a row (one dinner party at my place, another dinner party where I volunteered to bring dessert) and a by product of summer pudding is croutons (from the cut off bread crusts).
-
Using up feta?
We've got an open pack of feta after making broad bean, tomato and feta salad in the fridge. Any other ideas for using it up as the stuff doesn't keep long? The only things in my repertoire are greek salad and watermelon, mint and feta salad.
-
Using sun dried tomatoes
The last time we were on holiday in Sicily, I bought several bags of sun dried tomatoes as a souvenir. How would you use these up? We have one wet jar with chopped tomatoes in olive oil and several dry bags. Initial thoughts are tossing some into the bread machine or guzzying up spaghetti aglio olio or similar very basic…
