What Is For Tea?

[sleepyowl]

spaghetti carbonara

[Green Aura]

No, Tony, you're first on that one.

It's the very big one where (had I been born before the late 50's) the government would have given me some dosh every week. Now I have to wait another 6 or 7 years! Although the NHS might still cough up so there may still be some hope.

[Brewtrog]

Paneer tikka masala from scratch (paneer is a type of cheese, more on that when I'm neither tired or tipsy), very enjoyable and not a scrap of meat to be seen (rather unusual for me)

[bonniethomas06]

Ooh yes more on Paneer please! Sounds delish.

I have just been super organised and planned a whole month's worth of meals and made a enormous shopping list. I hate shopping so the plan is to just do a quick farm shop trip every week for veg and fruit, the rest will be bought in one big food shop.

Fish pie for us tonight with cabbage.

[Thomzo]

It was the remains of yesterday's bean casserole for me. Made in the slow cooker, as are most meals these days. Put on the timer there's no chance of my forgetting it and letting it burn.

[Odsox]

It's the start of winter today, so we had the first pick of sprouts and the first parsnip roasted and yorkshire pudding, with confit of duck. All washed down with a bottle of Apassimento.
I like winter already

[Weedo]

Long day so a quick scrounge around amongst the stuff in the "fridge - onion, capsicum, mushroom, garlic; some silver beet from the last of the winter greens stir fried with chorizo, soy and mustard seed. Just getting into stir fry / salad season here. With the lengthening days, from now on we will be usually having a largish, protein rich lunch and then something light and quick for tea quite late; with a little browsing between.

[Green Aura]

Broth day today. That means a boiled egg for breakfast, a mug of chicken broth for lunch (often combined as brunch) and a big bowl of chicken soup for dinner - tex mex tonight as we've got a portion of last night's vegan chilli to chuck in. Supper is a small fruit salad with kefir.

This 5:2 diet is slow but very manageable, both in terms of cost and we quite enjoy it. We get an organic chicken stock pack with our veg box each week. It's just the carcasses from a couple of chickens minus breast, legs and wings and provides sufficient chicken broth (done in the slow cooker) and meat for both fast days. We call them our broth days - they don't feel quite so punitive.

Not bad - two days meals for two, totally organic, for about a fiver (including eggs, veg, fruit and kefir). The cats have been known to get a bit of the meat too.

[bonniethomas06]

Blimey Maggie you will start clucking soon! But what a good idea to have a 'broth' pack, no waste. I always try and make stock out of chicken carcasses but we don't buy a whole one very often.

It is chick pea, butternut and cauliflower curry for us tonight, with basmati rice and lime pickle. A veggie day after a beef roast yesterday.

[Green Aura]

I've spent years following every known chef's recipe to make the perfect burger. They've always come out dry and crumbly, even when they tasted OK. (Even worse, when you add egg to bind them they come out dry, crumbly and oozy ). Oh and they always shrink, so they don't fit the bun!

I think I've finally cracked homemade burgers that taste like they look on the TV - I "made" four yesterday with the intention of freezing two. We had one each last night with sweet potato fries. They were so good we're having the same again tonight. They held together perfectly, were juicy (not oozy), didn't shrink and were very tasty.

The word made is in " " because all I did was shape the mince - no seasonings, fillers (breadcrumbs etc), binders (eggs etc) or veg (onions, carrot etc). The burger was lightly seasoned on one side immediately before placing it, seasoned side down on a griddle brushed with a little butter. The other side was lightly seasoned immediately before flipping it. Five minutes each side - burger heaven. I used organic beef but I imagine it would be just as tasty with any good quality meat as long as it has a little fat.

Don't tell me, I bet you all knew that didn't you!

[Odsox]

Don't tell me, I bet you all knew that didn't you!

For goodness sake, haven't you seen the McWhatsit's burger advert on TV, 100% pure Irish beef and just a pinch of salt?
I think you are (only) just discovering the difference between burgers and rissoles.

[Brewtrog]

haven't you seen the McWhatsit's burger advert on TV, 100% pure Irish beef and just a pinch of salt?

Is this supposed to win folk over?

[Green Aura]

I think you are (only) just discovering the difference between burgers and rissoles.

Tell all the chefs who devise the recipes I've tried.

[Weedo]

The secret of a great burger is the same as a great sausage - fat. No fat = dry burger. The old cuts that were used now go into the rubbish and the modern fad for lean meats is resulting in less fat through the muscle in the animals and more removal of fat in processing. IF you can get it, ask your butcher for a boned forequarter beef shank and mince your own

[bonniethomas06]

oooh oooh oooh! Tried a new recipe today and it was amazing!

roasted pumpkin and roasted cauliflower added to a couple of cups of cooked green lentils, with the following dressing:

thumb of ginger, minced; 1tbsp rice vinegar; 2tbsp peanut butter; 2 tbsp soy sauce, 4tbsp hot water.

Covered in chopped parsley (basil also nice apparently).

Delicious!! Will definitely be making again.