OS 'cookbook' for xmas pressie... what to include?

Alfietinker

As I can't stretch to Delia's How to Cook or similar I want to make my own recipe book as a present.

My brother lives on his own and eats absolute rubbish. He's said he'd like to know how to cook things but doesn't have a clue where to start (what do I do with a courgette/how to make scrambled egg type things). However, he can follow a recipe and makes quite nice bread when he can be bothered. But will then eat a plate of plain pasta because he can't think what to do.

I think what he needs is the kind of knowledge on how to make something out of what you've already got, rather than following specific recipes.

He's also skint most of the time, so needs to be cheap. He hasn't got a freezer.

So, I'm looking for suggestions on what to put in.

So far: Jacket potatoes with various fillings; soups; omlettes & scrambled egg (including your very helpful how to age an egg ); Tuna pasta bake; Fish cakes; stir frys; spag bol - turning into shepheards pie next day. I was also going to copy some of Delia's cooking school pages online, like how to boil eggs etc.

Any other suggestions greatly appreciated

squeaky

You could use some of the very simple cake and tart recipes from the Be-ro book/site (if he can make bread he can bake a cake ) and there are a couple of threads for beginners right at the start of the Cooking section of the MEGA index sticky at the top of the forum.

One pot cooking is a must and and most of the recipes in the Slow Cooker Index will do perfectly well in a casserole and indeed, quite a lot of the recipes in the Old Style Recipe Collection are straightforward enough and with good instructions... not to mention the fact that if you point him to Old Style he can post in and ask if he gets stuck.

Then, should he feel adventurous on any given day, he could use one of the web sites we have collected (at the bottom of MEGA>>Cooking) and enter in an ingredient or two to have some recipes offered that he could choose the easiest from.

scuzz

What about simple pasties?
Simple tomato sauce to go with pasta

Alfietinker

Thanks! I've been looking through the mega index but seem to have missed the Old style collection :rolleyes: He'll be moving home soon and I'm not sure if he'll have an oven, so I may think about getting him a slow cooker. Argos are doing one for £11, which is more than my £10 budget, but perhaps worth it. I'm off to look at the recipe collection!

P.S. No good directing him to here - no access to internet and no transport to library.

squeaky

All our recipes are collected in the Indexed Collection posts...

..you can find them in my signature any time you see it or...

..you can use the Indexed Collections link in the Blue Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-

Alfietinker

Oops, not too observant am I

squeaky

Not a problem, honest

zar

Spagetti alla carbonara
Spanish omelette (I used to cook this properly only frying the potatoes, but I now find it easier to parboil the potatoes first so its ready more quickly. Flip or use a grill to do the top. - grill is easier!)
Basic curries of the cook chicken and veg in ready-made spice paste and then add coconut milk variety
sweet and sour chicken (stir fry, make sauce with pineapple juice, wine vinegar, soy sauce and cornflour - if you need more details I'll look it up when I get home)
vinaigrette for salad
pizza
stew and dumplings
my favourite tomato sauce for pasta is saute an onion, add chopped garlic, 1 tin tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp sugar, salt, pepper, lots of dried basil and a little bit of oregano, some sliced mushrooms and a tin of sweetcorn. cook until thickened. - its best if you saute the onions for a good ten minutes and let the sauce simmer for up to half an hour til really reduced well and taste a lot to see if it needs more seasoning.
tomato and mozzerella salad
fried eggy cheese sandwich
roasting/boiling/steaming times for various vegetables - help him get to 5 a day! Maybe a few tips for livening them up, such as toasting some pinenuts, cashews or flaked almonds and adding to cabbage with a splash of wine/balsamic vinegar
frying/grilling times for chops/steaks from various animals and suggestions for accompaniments and perhaps hints for making a sauce in the pan after frying
quick stroganoff (my recipe for this is to fry a mixture of frying steak cut into strips and mushrooms and then add 1tbsp tomato puree, some lemon juice, pepper and sour cream/creme fraiche - again I can check at home if I've left anything out if needs be).


I have a huge recipe book collection that I've mostly picked up from charity shops. Might be worth keeping an eye out for a v. cheap book there - some of the student ones might be useful as they are for cooking for one on a budget and assume no prior knowledge. But I think its nice to make him one full of recipes you know will work.

Alfietinker

Thanks! That's a great idea on different cooking times as well. This'll be a lesson for me aswell because although I try to cook from scratch I run out of ideas and eat the same things.

SnowyOwl_2

Hi there

Your brother might like a conversion chart for oven temperature, weights and volume...really spell out what things mean, eg a tablespoon = 15 mls etc etc

Also perhaps a glossary of what culinary terms mean, eg what does "cream butter and sugar together" mean, or "saute", or a "heaped" teaspoonful etc etc. I suspect some non-cooks are put off by recipes when the terms are a mystery to them. You could "borrow" descriptions/meanings from Delia or whoever on line.

There are a few easy peasy recipes I can think of, but as I am on a flying visit to MSE on my lunchbreak will have to return at another tiime to post the links.

Perhaps you could put in a few sample weekly meal plans and a shopping list to go with them (OK that might be just too much work!) but if it helps him think about how to organise himself then perhaps the effort might pay off.

BTW I think your cookbook present is a fabulous idea - very thoughtful and meaningful for him! Of course If he gets a bit stuck with a recipe then it'll be really easy for him to find out how to get "unstuck" ie just send you back here!

Hermia

Put recipes for stuff that can be easily made in bulk and frozen like chilli or bolognese.