Time and hassle - tips for retaining sanity

Seakay

The economy gastronomy recipes are all oline here -http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m1c34

Look on the right hand side and it's the bottom link

ALIBOBSY

Seakay wrote: »

The economy gastronomy recipes are all oline here -http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m1c34

Look on the right hand side and it's the bottom link

Good link, but the trouble is it doesn't tell you which recipes link together and how they link.

Definately worth a look at the book in the library or picking up cheap. I love my book and use it loads. It not just the recipes I like the whole philosophy in the book. Although it is pretty much a chefs version of old style with meal planning etc.

Some "sets" of recipes involve making a main dish then using that as a base for further dishes, such as roasting a chicken one day then rolling the meat over to further meals, or the beef "daub" (really beef stew) becoming paperdelli (sp?) and pasties. Others use a base mix you can freeze to add to other recipes ie basic tomato sauce, braised mince. The last lot use one ingredient split up like the set for a pumpkin.

ali x

janb5

xrjtg wrote: »

You can blitz fresh bread to make breadcrumbs without too much trouble. Doing it when your bread has gone stale is mostly a tactic to avoid it being wasted (and if you were doing it by hand with a grater then using stale bread would be essential).

Freezing breadcrumbs is a great help too as it is ready to use- freeflow.

rozmister

I loved Economy Gastronomy. Such a good show!

You can grate and freeze cheese. I do this because otherwise I eat a bit, forget, it lurks at the back of the fridge and goes mouldy. I just grate the whole block into a freezer bag then freeze it. It also means you can use as little or as much as you need so less wastage

I also sometimes cook 3 meals on a Sunday that are freezable say chilli con carne, shepherds pie or fish cakes and then I freeze them all. Through the week I alternate between the 3 so I have a HM meal every night.

O/T a bit but does anyone know how to make breadcrumbs without a food processor. I meant to post this the other day because I have some crusts just lurking needing to be made into crumbs.

exlibris

I buy a big block of cheese and grate all of it in the food processor. I then put it into a large plastic food bag and freeze flattened. Instant grated cheese! (I started to do this because I am left handed and the small cheese grater is for righties only and OH is not always there when I need him!)

BitterAndTwisted

rozmister wrote: »

O/T a bit but does anyone know how to make breadcrumbs without a food processor. I meant to post this the other day because I have some crusts just lurking needing to be made into crumbs.

I either let it dry out completely or bung it in the bottom of the oven when I'm baking/roasting something else. Then I grate it. Any largish chunks I pop in a freezer-bag and give it a good wallop with my rolling-pin.

Iona_Penny

rosie383 wrote: »

Peel and whizz up onions in the FP and freeze so I can just take a handful out when I need them.

Genius! Will begin this immediately.

Iona_Penny

p00 wrote: »

A tip I read on here somewhere sometime and do all the time now - put mince, mushrooms, peppers, onion etc in one bag portion size in freezer ready for spag bol or shepherds pies to save getting each ingredient out. Works with anything you make using different ingredients and makes it so easy to just lift out one bag for complete meal.

xxp00

Another I will take on board. This will be especially useful for DD; she only eats meat form things with fins or wings :doh:I will be able to do individual bags like this for the freezer both at home and uni.

Thank you to you all; it shows we can all learn form each other all the time.

Dippypud

For those of you that don't "waste" bread or use enough to have some to spare.

Go to your local bakery, Gr£ggs or similar, ask and they will give you their crumbs etc. from their slicing machine.

They only have to throw them away otherwise. :money:

Penelope_Penguin

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the existing thread to keep ideas together.