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

Lesley_Gaye

have just done a half qty of the non-sweet chutney, will wait until it is cool before giving a verdict.

Have also ground some chickpeas to make flour. Found this site on Googling. All I did was put 100g raw, dried, chick peas in a grinder and whizz it for about a minute in total (pulsed it) VERY noisy, had to put bits of kitchen paper in my ears. It looks pretty good, a little lumpier than gram flour. I'll try the bhajis later and let you know how it cooked

I would never have thought it was possible to make gram flour ourselves. If it works, it means I won't have to buy or store 2 different products. And you never know, it might just be like fresh ground coffee tasting much nicer than pre-ground that has lost part of its aroma - we'll see later. Not today tho as cooking a nice Valentines meal this eve

gallygirl

crystals2632 wrote: »

hi does any one rememberf the website that matches recipes to whats in your cupboard?
thanks.

Funnily enough I've just asked this elsewhere. The 2 which were suggested were http://www.supercook.com/ and cookingbynumbers.com - both ok but tbh better off just typing ingredients into google.

vandanfc

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes

This one might help, check out bottom right hand corner.

ceridwen

Reet...the "Wheat for the Day" thought (for those who like reading a bit of academic research) is:

www.schooltrust.org.uk/UploadDocs/News?documents/Tale%20of%20Two%20ObesCities%20Report.pdf

which is a clearly-written 48 page report entitled "A Tale of Two ObesCities" and is a comparative study of city-level government moves on the healthy-eating front by two city governments (ie LOndon and New York).

Its clearly written - ie not in the lesser-known language of Academia.

EDIT: darn it - first attempt to get a working link in didnt work. Will have another go and see if I can make it...

phizzimum

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

For the 2 of us, I tend to use a med to small onion, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric and any other spices I fancy at the time, usually a little ground coriander and cumin. I do Indian type food a lot and have lots of spices. Then enough gram flour, when the whole is mixed with water, to cover the onions in a thick batter.

thanks lesley - i've never made bhajis before so I will use your recipe and the one in the link as inspiration

ceridwen

ceridwen wrote: »

Reet...the "Wheat for the Day" thought (for those who like reading a bit of academic research) is:

www.schooltrust.org.uk/UploadDocs/News?documents/Tale%20of%20Two%20ObesCities%20Report.pdf

which is a clearly-written 48 page report entitled "A Tale of Two ObesCities" and is a comparative study of city-level government moves on the healthy-eating front by two city governments (ie LOndon and New York).

Its clearly written - ie not in the lesser-known language of Academia.

EDIT: darn it - first attempt to get a working link in didnt work. Will have another go and see if I can make it...

Right - I've just googled to see what comes up when I put in "A Tale of Two ObesCities" and try this:

http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/news_item.asp?NewsId=219

and scroll down to the "download document" link and click that.

EDIT: yep - that works..

System

weezl74 wrote: »

Beetroot question: ... I wonder if anyone can think of another way to include them? 2 packs shrink wrapped beetroot

Somewhere back in the mists of time, earlier in this thread, Weezl asked for more recipes for beetroot. I don't often do actual dishes with beetroot because I like it plain as a vegetable (with butter if hot, or with mayonnaise if cold), but I do have a marvellous vegetable cookery book called "The Boxing Clever Cookbook", by Jacqui Jones and Joan Wilmot, which contains no fewer than 24 beetroot recipes! This cookery book is designed to make the most of vegetable box schemes, and some of the ideas in it are truly imaginative -- I highly recommend buying it if you are into vegetable cookery. It has a slightly more wholefood-ish remit than our mythical family's current shopping list allows, but there are some recipes that can be frugalised in line with what we have available.

I am assuming that:

• the Asda Smartprice beetroot is the pre-cooked sort -- if not, shout and I'll rejig the frugalisations
• salt and pepper are available, although they aren't in any shopping list (it makes sense to assume that people already have them)
• any ingredient which has appeared on one of the three versions of the shopping list is a possible option (except for kiwi fruit)

Anyway, here are some frugalisations, with apologies to the original authors for the wanton massacre and desecration of their creations! I haven't tried any of these dishes, either in their original form or frugalised, so I can't vouch for either their viability or their flavour. But if you are still looking for beetroot recipes, perhaps one of these might be worth tweaking and testing?

Beetroot and Carrot Curry

2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp garam masala
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 tsp mustard
500g beetroot, pre-cooked and diced
500g carrots, peeled and diced
300 ml water
salt, to taste

Heat the oil, and turn the garam masala and pepper in it for 30 seconds. Add the mustard and the carrot, and stir for two minutes. Add the water and salt, cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes until the carrots are cooked. Stir in the beetroot, heat through, then serve with rice.


Beetroot Pesto (for use as pesto sauce, a spread, a dip or a dressing)

200g beetroot, pre-cooked
100g salted peanuts (nopot2pin suggests rinsing off the salt first)
a squeeze of garlic pur!e
3 tbsp of lemon juice
200 ml sunflower oil
150g grated mature cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Whizz everything up in a blender or food processor. Store in a jar in the fridge, for up to three days.

Beetroot Pie

500g beetroot, pre-cooked
125g onion
1 egg
50g flour
1 tbsp mustard
8 tbsp milk (or a bit less, as it is a swap for cream)
salt and pepper to taste

Whizz the beetroot and onion in a food processor until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and whizz again, until smooth. Pour the mixture into an oiled baking dish, and place the dish in a roasting tin filled with water to a depth of about 2.5cm. Bake at 220ºC for about 30 minutes, then serve with potatoes.

Beetroot and Peanut Houmous

2 cooked beetroot
1 onion, chopped
250g cooked chickpeas (equivalent to 125g dry weight)
a squeeze of garlic pur!e
100g salted peanuts (nopot2pin suggests rinsing off the salt first)
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Whizz everything (except for the salt and pepper) in a food processor until the mixture has the consistency you like. Slacken with a little water if necessary, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Beetroot and Tomato Masala (formerly Rogan Josh)

2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onions, sliced
a squeeze of garlic pur!e
2 tbsp garam masala
0.5 tsp mustard
250g beetroot, pre-cooked, diced
1 tin of tomatoes
125g frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan, then soften the onion for about five minutes. Add the garam masala and mustard, and fry for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir in the beetroot and the frozen peas, then simmer for another 20 minutes. Season to taste, and serve with rice.

Beetroot and Carrot Soup

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, peeled and diced
500g beetroot, pre-cooked, diced
500g carrots, sliced
1 litre water
1 stock cube
0.5 tsp garam masala
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a pan, and soften the onion and potato for about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and cover the pan, cooking for a further 20 minutes. Add the water, beetroot, stock cube and garam masala, then bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then blend and season to taste.

nopot2pin

got-it-spend-it wrote: »

Potty- I don't really have a recipe for the lentil lasagne! It's a standard cheese sauce (with a dash of mustard in) and the traditional meat ragu is substituted for a lentil bolognese. Personally I make mine with an onion, garlic, half a cup of red lentils, veggie bouillion, a couple of grated carrots, and a chopped red pepper. Once this is cooked, I like to stir in some chunks of roasted butternut squash as it adds a delcious sweetness (and our local veggie stall has them at a really good price). Then I just layer it all up with SP lasagne sheets, then bung a bit of grated cheese on top.

Oh, ok.
When I make my veggie ragu, I never follow a recipe, I just taste it, to make sure its ok:o. Next time I make it, I will chuck in some lentils, and see what happens

I think I have completed the onion tart survey. :think:
There is more scope for personal input in this one, as there are more questions that need to be answered. I will post the link in a bit, once I have had a final tweak.

Lesley_Gaye

Well the chutney has cooled now. It is quite nice, but tastes mainly of onion. I think it might be a bit too much onion with onion bhajis, but could work well with the sweetcorn fritters, and have the sweet chutney with the bhajis

If I was not doing the frugal version, I would add a lot more spices, achari for instance (ground green mango) adds a nice sweet and sour taste, a bit like tamarind

I will keep it as it is and have it with the sweetcorn fritters tomorrow and see if it goes

phizzimum

avocet, those beetroot recipes look amazing - thanks for digging them out for us. I especially like the sound of the pesto and the hummous - no matter what they taste like they're sure to look v pretty!