50p a day til Christmas - healthily?! Weezl's next challenge...

sandy2_2 · 6 July 2008 at 8:05AM

weezl74 wrote: »

what an intriguing idea about the snails! Errrrrm, so I harvest them, put them in a tub with holes in the lid, sling in some grated carrot and wait for orange poo.... Right ho! I'll chat it through with Mr W. in a bit. It's amazing what you can eat when you put your mind to it! Some people on those 'wild food' programmes seem to just cook snails straight from nature, what are the dangers with that?

here in Spain snails (caracoles) are eaten regularly and you can buy live ones by the sack full in the vegetable markets. When i say sack I mean orange net bag, sometimes the sellers have trays of them for sale (like tomato trays) and they sell them by the mug full, bit like fishmongers sold shell fish in the old days . During the day the snails are sprayed with water to keep them fresh. Snails are washed thoroughly then cooked and served in a mild curry sauce with chunks of new bread to mop up the juices
Personally I prefer them french style with lashings of runny garlicky butter.

weezl74 · 6 July 2008 at 8:15AM

sandy2, Hello! I'm kinda tempted! Just found this on an amusing website, I think the author's English is superb, but she is obviously translating from French in her head:

"Initial Preparations

Traditional Method : After the escargot have passed a fasting period for 5 or 6 days in wooden boxes (never in plastic unless they have a bottom well ventilated, the objectives of which is to make them dry) they should be washed in running water or with a garden spout. Next they are put in a big container a layer of escargot with a hand full of rock salt. Follow this with another layer of escargot and another hand full of rock salt, etc. The escargot will issue a lot of foam in what is called disgorging themselves. We braise them for a while and then wash them again very carefully before scalding them. It is difficult and in my opinion, useless.

Personally : I never proceed as described above, even for the escargot gathered in the wild. I put them in a box of white wood (wood without tannic acid) with a bottom grating and raised 15 cm (5 in) above the ground so they can never touch the ground (to prevent them from eating the dirt or anything else). The first evening I wash them thoroughly with a garden spout. That activates them so they empty their intestines. The same step I do on the second and sometimes third evenings.(Note : you can give them dill (anethum) these first two or three days to give them a good flavour). If they are very dirty, it may be necessary to wash them one by one. During next three days, I leave them to dry.

After these three days or the salt treatment above, the escargots are put into boiling water where they are left for three minutes after water is boiling again. Then they are removed from their shells. The hepatho-pancreas ("tortillon" in french) can be cut off or not depending on preference. Lovers of the Petit Gris prefer the entire escargot whereas it is preferable to remove the hepatho-pancreas of the Gros Gris or other big species. The raw flesh is then put into cold water saturated with salt for one-quarter hour. They are rinsed thoroughly with fresh water after which they are ready for cooking or freezing.

If you want to use the escargot shells, first wash them in soda powder, rinse several times and boil them to sterilise them."
:rotfl:sounds like quite a palaver eh?

Also wanted to post my saag aloo recipe:

Saag Aloo

Makes 12 servings

1 kg potatoes, - 29p, chop into ½ inch dice
1 large 575g tin spinach- 77p, drained, keep the liquid
500g chopped onions- 40p
Dessertspoon Cumin,
3 cloves garlic, 6p, chopped, crushed or grated
½ teaspoon chilli,
fresh coriander, 5p, I used a tenth of a 50p bunch
salt
100ml veg oil - 9p

Start with a large pan, you’re going to make 12 portions of curry! Fry cumin and garlic and chilli in oil for a minute, then add the onions til coated and translucent, a few mins. Stir the cubes of potato in until coated, then add the spinach. Reduce heat, and simmer until the potato has cooked through, testing with a knife every 5 mins ish. When the curry gets too dry, add some of the reserved spinach liquid.

14p per serving, with 60g of rice and a HM naan bread, that’s your whole evening meal for 20p! JeniD, each portion contains 2 portions of your 5 a day.

BOB and ISOM if you used olive oil as a ‘healthy extra’, that’d be fine on a green day I think? It’s 8g of oil per serving, which is just under 2 tspns, so not loads! With rice rather than naan and rice I mean...:D

Love Weezl x

cw18 · 6 July 2008 at 8:29AM

** shudders at the thought of eating snails **

there are only a few things I wouldn't even contemplate trying, and top of that list are snails, squid, octopus, and sheeps eyes !!

I'd rather eat baked beans as a 'side veg', and even eating something with them cooked into it is a major accomplishment as I've had a physcological block about them since I was about 7 !!! I know it's only physcological (and I know the cause), but it took me 20 years to even manage to heat the things for my own kids and eat things they're stirred into (so pretty much disguised)

Shame really, 'cos baked beans are so cheap, easy to cook and nutricious..........

weezl74 wrote: »

cw18, what about a reduction of the beef stock with a splash of cream and some dried porcini mushrooms, stirred through home-made tagliatelle? That could be a pretty special meal? OOOh drooling on the keyboard again!

sounds yummy - but you've not seen my attempts at home-made pasta :rotfl:really must finish unpacking the boxes from when we moved in (it's only been 6 years now!) as I have a pasta machine in one of them somewhere :rolleyes:

there's also a slow cooker in one of them I think -- I know I had one many, many years ago (bought in 1987), but I could have junked it as it and I never got along! Tried numerous times to make meals in it, following the instructions exactly even down to precise measurements of ingredients using the recipe book that came with it -- and never once did I end up with a meal where everything was cooked

actually thinking of ignoring the fact I have one (I'm sure I can off-load onto someone if I find it) and buying a more modern one, but don't have a clue what I'm looking for or which are the better value ones. I need to cook for 3 people on a regular basis for now (with that dropping in the next couple of years -- though my youngest insists he's moving back in after Uni, but as he's still got a couple of years to go at college first I'm not holding him to that threat

), but will also want to cook for at least 1 extra when elder son is home on leave -- and possibly 4 extra if my daughter comes over with her girls as well ! So I guess I'm looking for something that cooks enough for at least 6 people, and if I'm cooking for fewer I take it I can generally freeze what's left?

weezl74 · 6 July 2008 at 8:30AM

Breakfast: Weezl: Large cafetiere of coffee 8p, poached egg on 2 slices of toast, 10p,

Mr Weezl, muesli 6p, 2 toasts with HM marmalade, 3p

total = 27p

Lunch: chicken liver pate sandwiches 4p each, 2 x coconut fudge for Mr Weezl,

total = 12p

Dinner: Saag Aloo and rice, 20p Jam sponge pudding, 4p

total = 44p

Numerous cups of tea: 4p all day.

Day's total: 87p :money:

Well you did ask (ceridwen!;))

BigMummaF · 6 July 2008 at 8:37AM

Would those 'love-in-a-mist' seeds work in muffins, like poppy seeds? Just a thought for you Weezl....

And if you can't think of anything else to use the beef stock for, you can always make a stew for the woofers CW:D

ceridwen · 6 July 2008 at 8:48AM

weezl74 wrote: »

:hello: cocalls, Hi and welcome, and what an intriguing idea about the snails! Errrrrm, so I harvest them, put them in a tub with holes in the lid, sling in some grated carrot and wait for orange poo.... Right ho! I'll chat it through with Mr W. in a bit.:eek: It's amazing what you can eat when you put your mind to it! Some people on those 'wild food' programmes seem to just cook snails straight from nature, what are the dangers with that?

Love Weezl x

I've just won another little bet with myself - the one which goes "every time I see snails I wonder how long it will be before our Weezl starts heading for them with a saucepan:D ". I have an idea that the detoxing of snails bit is optional - according to where you live (or - to be more accurate - according to where the snails live). I think I read somewheres that if they live in the wild then the detoxing isnt necessary - but if they are urban snails (as in your case) then detoxing might be a good idea - as they might have ingested something toxic (eg someone else's garden chemicals). I think its basically the same argument as its okay to collect edible wild food on the one hand - but not if its by a busy roadside (read somewhere that the definition of a busy roadside is 50 vehicles a day passing - in other words the depths of the countryside or wait till about 2012 - when not a lotta roads will be busy anymore, as the number of cars on them will have dropped so much before one does harvesting from roadsides).

So - my guess is that you would need to detox your snails and then cook them in some French type recipe with lotsa garlic <<note to snails: I dont fancy your chances lads....emigrate now>>:D

cw18 · 6 July 2008 at 8:52AM

BigMummaF wrote: »

And if you can't think of anything else to use the beef stock for, you can always make a stew for the woofers CW:D

not sure how I'd be fixed with that actually

I'm sure the larger one would enjoy it, but he has a low protein diet (as well as all his allergies!) due to his breed being prone to kidney stones otherwise! makes it expensive to feed him (£25/month just for his dried food - plus the "cost" of vegetable off-cuts/veggie "Whoopsies" to give him as treats instead of using them for cooking !! The little one isn't as bad, and only costs about a fiver a month for all food and treats :rolleyes:

definitely planning to try a home-made scotch broth at the moment - only ever done thick veg (which only I eat), a mushroom consomme, and oxtail (pre "mad cow" days) before now.

Softstuff · 6 July 2008 at 8:53AM

ceridwen wrote: »

I have an idea that the detoxing of snails bit is optional - according to where you live (or - to be more accurate - according to where the snails live). I think I read somewheres that if they live in the wild then the detoxing isnt necessary - but if they are urban snails (as in your case) then detoxing might be a good idea - as they might have ingested something toxic (eg someone else's garden chemicals).

According to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escargot
You do need to detox wherever they come from, since they eat carrion and certain leaves which may be toxic to humans. Also, apparently, not all are edible.
I only went there curious if it mentioned how they tasted :rotfl:

Nutritionally, a Weezl special! High in protein and low in fat.

ZoeGirl_3 · 6 July 2008 at 8:55AM

Thanks for welcome everyone :P Would love to have a board like this overhere but only equivalent is a board you have to pay for ... which I think defeats the point, and probably isn't even as extreme anyway, as Weezl here, and I love extreme lol

Busy cooking to use up milk ... sigh ... making banana bran pancakes, trying to use up multiple things haha hope they turn out, :O).

Trying to think of any recipes I have and will have to post when I think of something!! Have a good day everyone...

redsquirrel80 · 6 July 2008 at 8:57AM

Morning all.. Weezl, a friend of mine was telling me recently that they tried cooking snails from their garden, they didn't tell me the whole procedure but did say that it was a 'lot of faffing about' - can see why now!! They reckoned they were a bit like oysters.

I went out to spend some vouchers yesterday and got the following food/ cooking-wise (along with some trousers and a couple of other bits and pieces)...

A cafetiere
A grater
A ladle
An ice lolly maker
A packet of chorizo
Some parmesan
Some feta cheese
Some ginger
Some garlic
Yoghurts to make frozen yog in lolly maker
Two packs of M&S organic fairtrade coffee for cafetiere
Two packs of currants reduced to 49p each in M&S

Had a craving for proper coffee for a while so nice to get it for free! It makes all that clicking on surveys etc worthwhile!! Made yoghurt lollies last night - Sainsburys 'value' yoghurt diluted with a little bit of milk, 3 tubs of yog made 4 lollies, price roughly 5.5p each.. should be a good replacement for Del Monte raspberry smoothie ones which I love but are at least £1.

Going to make some more cereal bar type things for the week ahead today, also spinach pesto, and attempt spinach & ricotta pastries.. going to attempt hand making pastry - I can do shortcrust but never tried puff pastry, so could be interesting!

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

50p a day til Christmas - healthily?! Weezl's next challenge...

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