Weezl's phase 1- recipe testing and frugalisation- come one, come all!

ceridwen

Was hoping to make this tonight - but bit stymied at the moment. In SainsbUrys today picking up ingredients and no wholemeal self-raising flour (which is what I will be using myself).

Got back and investigated re the bicarbonate of soda - of which I have LOADS (for the purposes of O.S. style cleaning) - but decided to check out my baking powder I have in. You can tell how often I do baking by the fact that its got a best before date of August 2008 on it...

Just had a quick google round t'internet thinking "well - which is it going to be anyway? - baking powder or bicarbonate of soda. I thought it was baking powder one uses myself....".

I found:

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

Ah-ha moment - as to why people are mentioning aftertaste of bicarbonate of soda (and I've noticed it myself before now). According to that article - bicarbonate of soda "will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, eg buttermilk". Baking powder, however, has an "overall neutral effect in terms of taste".

Oh well - looks like baking powder it is then...

So - my queries are:

1. Would it be feasible to add a bit extra "baking powder" to 350 grams of plain wholemeal flour (as well as the 1.5 teaspoons I was planning on anyway) - instead of heading for another shop trying to find my wholemeal self-raising flour?

2. Will baking powder that "old" have lost its oomph anyway - or still be perfectly okay for rising purposes?

3. Do shops actually still stock baking powder? (I say this because I couldnt actually find it on either Sainsburys or Tescos website...). I tried putting in "baking powder" - NOWT. I tried putting in "Supercook Baking Powder" - NOWT.

SunnyGirl

Weezl I'm just explaining to my DS3 about the challenge and he's very willing to help me make everything. He's even agreed to try carrot cake which he wasn't keen on the sound of before :rotfl: Please can you add his name next to mine on the front list it's Andrew He'll be thrilled.

Off to catch up on the thread now and to write my final shopping list out ready for testing. Do you have the chutney recipe too please? Thank you

ifonlyitwaseasier

Ceridwen , yes you could, possibly, yes

tho i used white SR and found i didn't need any bicarb/baking powder at all

princess_loki

ceridwen wrote: »

1. Would it be feasible to add a bit extra "baking powder" to 350 grams of plain wholemeal flour (as well as the 1.5 teaspoons I was planning on anyway) - instead of heading for another shop trying to find my wholemeal self-raising flour?

2. Will baking powder that "old" have lost its oomph anyway - or still be perfectly okay for rising purposes?

hi ceridwen,

normally it will say on the tub of baking powder how much to add to plain flour - if not then try and google it.

not sure about it being old - but i am sure that my mum would use it!

think i saw it in my big tesco's a few weeks ago - when you 'ask' for stuff online i think they only go by what your local store stocks.

hth
loki x

JayJay14

Right, OH and I have had the onion tart this evening, served with jacket potatoes.

We really quite liked it, though I would prefer more cheese for my taste (used 60g)

Used a metal pie plate and made plenty for 4 people, but also had some pastry left over so lined a small dish with it. When I was filling the pastry case there was too much so it went in the small dish. So not only do we have enough for 4 but have some for my pack up tomorrow.

I didn't put the cheese in the pastry but if I made it again I would use more in the filling. The onion was very sweet so probably needed more mustard - I was using dry powder but a bit shy with it as I don't like it myself as an accompaniment and was not very generous.

OH declared it very nice and he would be fine having it again.

For pud we had the carrot cake with ice cream - not that it isn't nice on it's own:D

ETA - ceridwen, I just put supercook ino the mysupermarket search and it came up in Asda - 67p.

weezl74

SunnyGirl wrote: »

Weezl I'm just explaining to my DS3 about the challenge and he's very willing to help me make everything. He's even agreed to try carrot cake which he wasn't keen on the sound of before :rotfl: Please can you add his name next to mine on the front list it's Andrew He'll be thrilled.

Off to catch up on the thread now and to write my final shopping list out ready for testing. Do you have the chutney recipe too please? Thank you

Andrew, you are duly added and I am glad you're here we need male testers or this will be a very girlie meal planner, and that would be bad Thanks for being up for letting us know your thoughts :T:T:T:T

Chutney-wise SG, I've not come up with anything yet but if you'd be willing to that would be grand, I need it to not involve any ingredient not already on the asda list, so I was thinking the sweet vinegar from the pickled cabbage jar, no more than half of same cabbage (rest for Borscht) apple, onion, raisins, sugar, tinned toms garam masala.... I've seen most of those things combined in chutney before, so I think it could work! If that seems too vague or risky I'll have a tinker here first and then put it out there for more testing

princess_loki wrote: »

i am doing roast lamb and all the trimmings tonight - got distracted on phone call and potatos had over boiled . so made mash to put in fridge for lamb and leek stew later in week:rotfl:.

am i odd... the one thing i really hate about cooking is potato's - it is the whole peeling, boiling, mashing or roasting - takes ages (or seems to!) think it may be something to do with being in girl guides on holidays away when if you ended up on potato's you had to peel a whole sack of them!!

back to the thread - made banana bread with over-ripe bananas and used up some tesco olive oil spread that we didn't like (which said ok for baking) - cakes look different to normal but am hoping they will taste ok!

when i am off work (temping at the moment) i batch cook and make double of everything to take over to my mum and dad so they are in for treats this week! tomorrow i will be taking them 2 portions onion tart, half carrot cake, banana bread and root vegetable soup!

Hello and thanks for the fab PM Will your M and D be giving opinions too?

vandanfc wrote: »

Weezl's list (well as close as I can get it) from Tesco

All prices and special offers are correct as of 8 February 2010
shopping list

45 items. £110.32

5 a day = (618 portions in your trolley)

Fruit & Vegetables Guide price in £

6 x Tesco Disney Kids Fun Size Apples Class 1 (10) 6.00 any 2 FOR £2.00 - valid until: 14/02/10
Instead of kiwi fruit - sub'd these:
4 x Tesco Kids Fun Size Pears Class 1 (10) 4.00 any 2 FOR £2.00 - valid until: 14/02/10

3 x Tesco Cooking Onions Class 1 (10) 2.94
4 x Tesco Market Value Carrots (15) 3.20
4 x Tesco Market Value White Potatoes (2.5kg) 3.96
2 x Tesco Red Onions (10) 1.98
1 x Tesco Value Roasted Salted Peanuts (200g) 0.27
5 x Tesco Value Sultanas (500g) 3.25
4 x Tesco Cooked Beetroot in Natural Juices (250g) 2.28
1 x Great Scot Marrow Fat Peas (500g) 0.60

Dairy

4 x Tesco Whole Milk 4 Pints (2.27L) 6.00 any 2 FOR £3.00 - valid until: 01/03/10
2 x Tesco Value Mixed Eggs (15) 2.98
2 x Tesco Butter Me Up Spread (500g) 1.50 any 2 FOR £1.50 - valid until: 23/02/10
2 x Pilgrims Choice Mature Cheddar (400g) 3.99 2 FOR 1 - valid until: 23/02/10
Meat, Fish & Poultry

No sausage meat to be found, so sub'd these, but no where near enough to compensate -
2 x Tesco Value Meatballs (8 per pack - 224g) 2.00

1 x Tesco Value Pork Belly Slices (1Kg) 3.98
1 x Tesco Fresh Turkey Mince (562g) 2.00
2 x Tesco Value Turkey Drumstick (900g) 4.20
1 x Tesco Value Unsmoked Gammon Steaks (250g) 1.39
Frozen

2 x Tesco Fresh Frozen Very Fine Whole Green Beans (1Kg) 2.00
2 x Tesco Sliced Carrots (1Kg) 2.18
4 x Tesco Value Mixed Carrots, Cauliflower & Broccoli (907g) 2.80
4 x Tesco Value Peas (900g) 3.48
4 x Tesco Value Sweetcorn (907g) 3.44
Tins, Jars & Cooking

1 x Tesco Pure Vegetable Oil (1L) 0.93
1 x Colman's Mustard Powder (57g) 0.94
1 x Gia Garlic Puree in Vegetable Oil (90g) 0.59
1 x TRS Garam Masala Aromatic Spices (400g) 1.78
15 x Oak Lane Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (420g) 4.35
14 x Tesco Value Plum Tomatoes in Tomato Juice (400g) 4.34
1 x Oak Lane Red Cabbage (710g) 0.79
1 x Tesco Spanish Green Olives Stuffed with Pimiento (935g) 1.60
1 x Sacla Italia Classic Green Basil Pesto (290g) 2.97
1 x Kucharek Chicken Cube (120g) 0.69 was 89p - valid until: 09/02/10
Packets & Cereals

2 x Tesco Value Wheat Biscuits (36x15g) 1.50
3 x Tesco Value Porridge Oats (1Kg) 1.74
10 x Tesco Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg) 6.10
1 x Tesco Value Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg) 0.43
1 x Pride Lemon Juice (250ml) 0.48
1 x Silver Spoon Granulated Sugar (1Kg) 0.98
3 x Tesco Tricolore Fusilli (500g) 1.74
2 x Tesco Value Pasta Quills (500g) 0.86

5 x Tesco Value Long Grain Rice (1Kg) 3.65
4 x Tesco Whole Foods Chick Peas (500g) 3.16
Drinks

1 x Tesco Value Tea Bags (80 per pack - 250g) 0.28

brilliant thanks:A, I think the planners from Tesco and sainsburies will require a bit of adaptation to go under budget but I think we can get there, we've got a lot of brain power betwixt us!

still catching up...

ifonlyitwaseasier

ok as an aside for those of us watching our weight ;-) the cake as per the way i've made it comes out at 3 points (WW) per serving if cut into 32 pieces! so the same as half a standard dairy milk choc bar

princess_loki

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

ok as an aside for those of us watching our weight ;-) the cake as per the way i've made it comes out at 3 points (WW) per serving if cut into 32 pieces! so the same as half a standard dairy milk choc bar

i have pm'd weezl about my low fat cake - so hang on - will see what her verdict is! didn't want to hijack her thread with random recipes!

ifonlyitwaseasier

ty loki, i have some low fat ones but i tend to try and amend the ones i have

SunnyGirl

Weezl Andrew says thank you very much :T He's just out of the bath chattering about what we're going to make first. Carrot cake, borscht (sp?) then chutney we think. He's the mosty interested in cooking out of all of them so I encourage it as much as possible

For chutneys how about this Apple Chutney? It looks nice & easy and seems to have some ingredients that could be frugalised quite easily - white wine vinegar for normal malt or white, fresh ginger for powdered, ground cardamom for garam masala possibly? I'd be willing to make it as we love chutney here and eat it with all sorts given the chance