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

weezl74

lorietta wrote: »

What’s byriani? Not that necessary, just curious.
What does softened onion look like?
No method on Spanish omelette.
Ditto pizza dough- could probably go with a bread dough recipe?
Chilli Mince- What does the oats being “cooked out” mean?
Bacon and onion pudding-How do you steam something? Also “pleating the foil”? This one almost makes sense and I could have a go but extra instructions would make me feel more confident trying this dish.
How big will veggie burgers be? How big should the Patties be? Will they expand when cooked? How long do I fry them for?
Pasta Alfredo- Roux is something that definitely needs explaining, lol, sounds much more complicated than it is!
Also some explanation of how to make the stock for this recipe would be good.
Baked bean curry- What does reduced mean? I can sort of guess from the context but want to make sure I am right.
Lunchtime Pate- What is dry frying and what's catching? Is there a reason I shouldn’t handle raw liver (other than if I get squeamish about it)?
Chutney- Really I would like a lot more detailed instructions before I tried this. How does vinegar mellow? How do you know?
Apple Curd- The link slightly confused me, am I using oil or butter? How will I know when the apples are stewed?

In addition to all of this, an explanation of how to do the roast and how to bake bread would be great =] If this exists somewhere then I didn’t see it, only done this quickly. It would also be great if the recipes all said (eventually) how many portions you should get from them. In general, I find recipes where the method is detailed but broken down into doable steps easiest to follow. Details give me confidence everything is going as it should be!
On a side note, I like the inclusion of pate, because I love pate, but people always view it as an "expensive food". Not sure how my flatemates would feel about me chopping up pigs liver in a shared kitchen though!

brilliant questions Lorietta :T:T:T that makes it very clear what will seen mystifying to new cook shirley Thanks ever such a lot

Over to you Howlin!

but I'll chip in a couple of thoughts:

an onion is softened when it is not yet brown, but has gone from bright white to slightly more see-through white, and if you taste a little at this point it won't 'crunch' in your mouth, it will be soft to eat and have a sweeter taste without the vibrant tanginess of raw onion. In a saucepan on a medium heat, with oil, being gently stirred it usually takes 3-4 mins.

A sauce is reduced when enough steam has boiled away to mean there is less sauce, but it is thicker, stronger tasting and glossier. Try to think about the end consistency you want to achieve here, if you are making a curry, think if it seems a bit too wet and might just drown the plate and be more like a soup. If it is, carry on bubbling away! You will need to stir it every few minutes to stop it burning.

no reasons not to handle raw liver, but wash your hands after handling it.

Liver is best avoided by anyone in the first trimester of a pregnancy, but problems have only been known in mums who consume approx 10 times the amount found in a pate sandwich, so I'm not too worried- even if Bob and shrl have been getting frisky


xxx

weezl74

lorietta wrote: »

YPoor Single Shirely having to get this all from the shops though!

If she lives on her own she could buy everything, and it would just last extra months, which is good, if she has a big freezer, but if she lives in a shared house I don't know where she will put it. Maybe she can get her housemates on board? I think some explanation of how things should be stored might be good "e.g. Will need to be frozen, will need to be kept in the fridge," might help or even a list of ingredients that could safely be stored under her bed!

I am so impressed with this project, as so many people have so little to live on and it will really help me over the next few years when I am working in entry level jobs and studying and trying to find enough money to survive on whilst not living entirely off pasta!

I like the ideas above here very much, please do incorporate them for single shirley. As someone who lives in a 1904 house, I also recommend that the under the bed storage (oats/flour/sugar/tea bags) be put in a plastic box with a lid, lest it be nibbled by little guests!. Ikea samla is 79p and would hold the months worth of those staples

weezl74

DH loves the bean curry and would like me to make it again, he found it very filling

He also said, 'you've shot yourself in the foot here weezl giving me a curry with baked beans and garlic, when you always moan at me for trumping like an old dog!'

Dear reader, I assure you, I am a classy lady and would never make such comments, goodness only knows where he gets these things from :eek:;)

PS Lesley did you get anywhere with a formula which discounts pulses from the 5 a day above 1 portion per person per day (ie above 124)?

SusanC_2

weezl74 wrote: »

Examples of the type of thing might be, how does the balsamic vinegar listed in the USDA food database compare with this stuff

that we're thinking of using for the vegan planner. Is that making any sense? I'm off to bed now in a tired stupor so possibly not :rotfl:

Trattoria Verdi Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

Modena is one of the places that the original traditional condiment was made. Balsamic vinegar of Modena is not exactly the same as the traditional condiment but is a cheaper imitation. It is made of wine vineagr with things added to make it more like the original product (e.g. caramel, colourings, thickeners).
Ingredients for some of the Balsamic Vinegars of Modena listed on mysupermarket (this one doesn't have them listed) are as follows:
Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Grape Must, Cooked Grape Must.
Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Grape Must, Colour (Sulphite Ammonia Caramel), Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide).
Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Grape Must, Cooked Must, Colouring Agent (E150d), Antioxident (Potassium Metabisulphite).Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Grape Must, Cooked Grape Must.
Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Grape Must.

They range from 95 to 132 Calories per 100ml.

Perusal of the most "standard" balsamic vinegars I could find produced fairly similar ingredient lists (although Potassium Metabisulphite featured more frequently) and a Calorie range of 104 to 160.

Apparently balsamic vinegar is "all the rage in America" so I should think that what is in the USDA database should be fairly comparable although obviously as with any product there is going to be variation.

"Trattoria Verdi" is probably just the particular wine used for that vinegar.

Lesley_Gaye

weezl74 wrote: »

actually that may have been a bit rash, Lesley, we have willing volunteers:A but am I giving out the most appropriate and timely tasks?:o

all the stuff needs doing and I don't think anyone can speed up the parts you are doing much as you are the decision maker on the dishes that will go in.

once the info for the tasks has been gathered, it needs to be stored somewhere until it is decided how to present it - stored in the workspace? These things are likely to be tweaked a lot much like the menu planner, and I am concerned that things will be hard to find or lost if kept in posts especially in such a dynamic thread

Ceridwens equipment list needs gathering together and finalising from the thread that was set up for it

lorietta's questions are interesting. When we finalise the recipes, step by step, like Delia's is a good idea, that is just the type of detail that needs to go in (more tweaking!)

artybear

weezl74 wrote: »

DH loves the bean curry and would like me to make it again, he found it very filling

He also said, 'you've shot yourself in the foot here weezl giving me a curry with baked beans and garlic, when you always moan at me for trumping like an old dog!'

Dear reader, I assure you, I am a classy lady and would never make such comments, goodness only knows where he gets these things from :eek:;)

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


lol just quoting this because it made me laugh.

Nothing useful to add to the thread though

weezl74

artybear wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


lol just quoting this because it made me laugh.

Nothing useful to add to the thread though

glad to amuse

Arty when are you back from your easter break

weezl74

susan thanks loads for the balsamic information. :A

Did you spot I was also interested in the research you've done on Lard? We are probably going to have to use it in planner 1, but it is widely seen as a risky fat, due to it's saturated content, so I just wondered if you had any more linkies for us? Morag found a good one, and the more the merrier. xxx

Lesley_Gaye

weezl74 wrote: »

DH loves the bean curry and would like me to make it again, he found it very filling

He also said, 'you've shot yourself in the foot here weezl giving me a curry with baked beans and garlic, when you always moan at me for trumping like an old dog!'

Dear reader, I assure you, I am a classy lady and would never make such comments, goodness only knows where he gets these things from :eek:;)

PS Lesley did you get anywhere with a formula which discounts pulses from the 5 a day above 1 portion per person per day (ie above 124)?

no, sorry. Didn't realise you actually wanted it, I'll have a wee lookie

hornetgirl

I can't do the full month's test (cheese issues), but would like to cook along with other testers at least on some days. My April menu planner starts getting put together at the beginning of next week, so will try to plan in some B&S meals where I can.
We had the risi e bisi the other night and both quite enjoyed it. Next time I wouldn't cook the peas first and then again in the actual dish as they disintegrated a bit too much, but the taste was good. I got round the cheese issue on this one by just putting grated on DH's portion once it was on his plate.