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

HowlinWolf

Weezl you absolutely do not sound like I imagined at all. And how on earth do you have time to paint your nails, you must move around like greased lightning - lovely colour nail polish though.
In response to your question the wedding is mid may and is abroad in a (totally failed) effort to save money. As soon as I get back I am off on a residential course for work hence the whole of May being a complete write off for me boooo! I'll never be able to catch up with the thread I think someone should be tasked with sending me an email of potted highlights.

Anyway back on topic. I did the chicken pie survey this morning and I am about to make one of the pasta dishes for tea and possibly the oaty bread. I really wish shirley could afford suet cos then she could plump out some of her dishes with dumplings. Mind you if she saves all her breadcrumbs for a few months she could make dumplings with those!

ceridwen

aless02 wrote: »

savoury flapjacks a big failure. Taste is fine, but are far too crumbly and completely fall apart. I'm thinking I used too much fat...the original recipe has 50g of butter & 2 eggs but I omitted the eggs and use lard/oil. Hmmmmmmm, maybe someone who knows more about baking chemistry can suggest?

However, all is not lost as I was planning on making chickpea crumble tonight and can use some of the batch as my topping!

The cheese flapjacks recipe that an MSE poster put in (which turned out to be Cranks' cheesejacks) is:

5 oz/150gr porridge oats
6 oz/175gr cheddar cheese
1 egg
2 oz/50gr melted butter
0.5 tsp crushed rosemary + salt + pepper

Does that help in working out ratios of ingredients?

It held together fine - will be doing it again.:D

weezl74

Oat biscuits with a hint of tomato

Ingredients:
150g oaty cereal/milled oats
200g of SR flour
dessertspoon water
250g lard
Level teaspoon salt
55g tom puree
teaspoon garam masala

Method:

Sieve the flour, salt into a bowl, add the oatmeal/cereal and mix. Cut the fat into small portions and rub into the mixture with your fingers. Add the spice and tomato and mix well. Add water if needed and mix with your hands until you have a stiff but workable dough.

Shake some flour on a worktop, turn the dough onto it and shake a little flour on the top. Roll out thinly (about half a cm thick) Cut into rounds with a scone/cookie cutter and place on an oiled baking tray. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15/20 minutes at 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4. Use a palette knife to lift the biscuits onto a wire coming rack. Store in an airtight tin.

makes 40 biscuits

ceridwen

SusanC wrote: »

:rotfl:


We wouldn't be very good Amish since we're here. Actually the baked porridge apparently originally came from an Amish cookery book. (Except obviously it was called "Baked Oatmeal".)

yep...had duly traced it to an Amish recipe and then given up at that point because it used instant oat type cereal in every Amish type recipe I found........

Have duly noted down yours though...and given due thanks that my usual (excuse swear word) superm****t has started stocking buttermilk at long last...so will be giving it a go. HOW long have I been waiting for British supermarkets to start stocking buttermilk? Literally decades ...still better (very) late than never...

ceridwen

Right at this moment - I'm revisiting Mala Young cookbooks - I bought several of hers at the time - as she was a favourite of mine. So - one from her "Main Dishes" book:

SAVOURY OAT CRUMBLE WITH CHEESE SAUCE
little oil for frying
large onion (finely sliced)
2lb assorted diced vegetables of choice
0.5 tsp each salt and pepper
0.5 cup water
2 tsp tamari (Japanese soya sauce - think thats still okay to use in 2010? soya?)

FOR THE CRUMBLE:
0.5 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed herbs of choice
6oz oat flakes
3oz oil
1 dessertsp either sesame seeds (ceridwen note - ground!) or chopped mixed nuts
1 pint of cheese sauce (make from 1 tablespoon each of good cooking oil and wholewheat flour and 1 pint of milk, 2 oz cheese)

- Heat oil and saute onions and other veg. till lightly cooked. Put in oiled oven dish. Season. Mix water and tamari in cup and pour this over vegetables.
- Stir salt and mxed herbs thoroughy into oats. Use fingers to gradually work oil into oats to form crumble mix. Sprinkle over veg. Place in pre-heated oven - 200C. Bake 15 minutes.
- Take out. Sprinkle ove the sesame seeds or chopped nuts.
- Return to oven 15 mins.
- While crumble is cooking - prepare 1 pint of cheese sauce.
- When crumble is at table - pour the cheese sauce over it.

ceridwen

Amazon is fatal for my finances again moment:o

- just nipped back and grabbed the only one of Mala Young's cookbooks I didnt yet have - ie the "Using herbs and spices" one.....errr...well..'tis only a 1p (plus postage):D

Oooh....fatal. 'tis..looking for books from my past...as so many of them are only 1p...:D:cool::mad::D

aless02

I think mine just had too much fat, as that's prolly what made it disintegrate? I was all frugal and everything and used the rind from the grana padano as my cheese element!! :rotfl:

that cheese crumble sounds really delicious, cerid. If I hadn't made Lesley's chickpea crumble tonight, I would be doing it this week...I think DH might be a bit stroppy if we have 2 savoury crumbles in one week

ceridwen

In that case - I'll give another recipe by her:

NEPALESE KEDGEREE
8oz brown rice
8 oz whole green lentils
1 onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
a little oil or butter
salt/pepper as required
1 chopped green chilli
1 inch root ginger (chopped)
1 tsp coriander
1tsp tumeric

_ Place washed rice in a pot with plenty of water and bring to boil. Simmer 15 minutes - then put in the washed lentils and continue cooking.
- Fry onion and garlic in butter till tender, adding the salt and spices as you go.
- When the rice and lentils have been cooking for 15 minutes, add the fried mixture.
- Cook on low heat till all water absorbed, leaving a thick stew.

(Serve with 2 or 3 light side vegetables - either salads or cooked vegetables)

(Personally - I serve it with spicy tomato sauce and a bit of grated cheese AND the side vegetables.)

HowlinWolf

Well we had the pasta amatriciana and it was really nice. I will definitely make it again.

Oaty bread is in the oven, one looks to be rising nicely, the other looks like it might be a brick. They are in the same volume but different shape loaf tins and I am wondering whether this might be the issue that people are having if their loaf tins aren't the same shape as Weezl's

ceridwen

MEATLESS SPAGHETTI
1 large onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
a little oil
1.5 lb finely chopped mixed vegetables - carrots/celery/mushrooms/peas, potatoes
1lb canned tomatoes
1 tbsp washed split red lentils
2 tsp mixed herbs
black pepper
1 pt vegetable stock
1 desserstp honey (or molasses)
1 dsp tamari or yeast extract
salt
12 oz whole wheat spaghetti
2 oz parmesan or grated Cheddar cheese

- fry onion and garlic in little oil till transparent.
- Add mixed vegetables/lentils/herbs/pepper. Saute 10 minutes.
- Cover with 1pint of stock and raise heat till liquid almost boiling.
- Stir in honey and tamari or yeast extract.
- Lower heat to simmer and add little salt.
- Simmer gently till vegetables tender and lentils mushy (25-30 minutes)
- Cook the spaghetti and drain and serve at once smothered with the sauce and sprinkled with cheese.

**************************

I've done this numerous times and served it with garlic bread and green salad (with French dressing). You'd be surprised at the range of people I've served this one to - and they've all liked it:D (whether they've normally been used to very "standard/conventional" food on the one hand or haute cuisine on the other hand:D).