I've already made a boo boo

HappyShopper3

By the way can anyone tell me what lentils taste like as I've seen a lot of people mention them for recipes. Thanks.

nickyhutch

Try a recipe with some in - only you can decide whether you like them.

Queenie

HappyShopper3 wrote:

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Just a quick question, my stew is finally cooking and I'm gonna leave it on all night. :eek: Providing I have a kitchen to come down to in the morning, once the food is cooked what is the best way to let it cool down quickly?
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Will it be ok to put the stew in the fridge that I'm gonna eat tomorrow and just reheat it?

To cool a stew quickly I would a) or b) or both:-

a) put it on the windowsil next to an open window (unless you have cats around the neighbourhood - I lost half a cooked chicken that way once )

b) Decant your stew into two clean containers, one for the freezer and one for the fridge. Then, stand the containers in a bowl of cold water and leave the lids off.

Yes if you put the (covered) portion of stew into the fridge, it will be fine to reheat tomorrow. Stews and casseroles actually improve in flavour when eaten the next day. When you reheat it, the rule is to reheat it slooooooowly to ensure that it's heated through thoroughly.
stuart264 - :rotfl: :T Smoke alarm as a timer :rotfl:*wipes coffee splatts off monitor*
As for learning from an X-army chef, that's brilliant! :T Especially when it also helped in getting a job. Excellent!

scrimperjan - ouchie!!! That made my toes curl this morning. Hope you didn't lose any fingers! :eek:

What is it with food processors?
Last year for my 12yo's first "Food Tech" project, he wanted to make hummus - easy peasy lemon squeezy We did it at home together first, then he did it on his own straight after - great! Next morning, in FT ... he's concentrating on getting the ingredients/measures correct, whizzes up his hummus (bless, he was feeling soooooo proud of himself, and so he should!) turns it out ... discovers lumpy bits in his hummus. Checks with teacher ... the numpty turnip had only forgotten to take the transparent blade covers off and it had been blitzed along with the chickpeas :rotfl::o :rotfl: (Mine doesn't have blade covers so he wasn't expecting that :laugh: )

Oh and his previous faux pas with a food processor was when he offered to help do the dishes and shouted through, "Do I clean the base?"
"Oh yes, that's why it's next to the sink"
So he submerged the base in the washing up bowl.
The electric base!!!!! :wall: Cue new food processor! :whistle:


As for how lentils taste, there are several different varieties and I've only tried a few but overall the best description I can give is :think: they have an earthy, nutty taste. : I absolutely love Dhal (made with red lentils - basically curried lentils) and I often add lentils to casseroles to eek out the meat and boost the protein value.

Gingham_Ribbon

HappyShopper3 wrote:

By the way can anyone tell me what lentils taste like as I've seen a lot of people mention them for recipes. Thanks.

Earthy, nutty taste is right. It depends on what texture they're going to have too.

Red lentils are great in soups and make lovely dhal, as queenie said. They are quick to cook and 'mush up' thickly which is why they're great for soups.

All the other kinds are slightly different, but hold their shape better. I tend to use them in curries or bolognaise, or just as a replacement for mince.

They're some of the few pulses that can be cooked from dried with a stock cube added because they are too small for salt to toughen them when cooking. I love the cooking liquid in stews and soups too.