Weezl and friends Phase 3 - sitting pretty with Kitty

VenusFlytrap_2

queen_of_string wrote: »

Tonight we had something they call pulled pork here. Basically the pork from the xmas menu, roasted or done in the slow cooker then shredded with two forks. You end up with a huge big mound of pork, even when you start with a small one!

I'm really excited the xmas menu is approaching completion. Xmas is so stressful for so many, especially when money is tight, feels good to be involved in offering a bit of a get out of jail free card.

QOS - even tho am not a roast pork fan, "pulled pork" sounds yummy, like how the Chinese shred their meat for duck pancakes or chicken and sweetcorn soup etc. Might add that to my list of things to try - hadn't eaten pork in years til had tea at a friend's recently and she made gyros, got halfway through the meal and realised what it was! She'd used cubed pork loin steak, was beautiful - I thought it was lamb, only time I'd had gyros before were lamb ones from a street vendor in NYC, one of the best things I've ever eaten!!

Shame your car is gonna be so expensive, but at least as you say, you have CFR to fall back on when it comes to the food budget, it will def help you through hard times... though a lottery win would be even better!

VenusFlytrap_2

queen_of_string wrote: »

I'm really excited the xmas menu is approaching completion. Xmas is so stressful for so many, especially when money is tight, feels good to be involved in offering a bit of a get out of jail free card.

Forgot to say - agree the Xmas menu is looking fab too - and it's going to be so funny comparing what the big supermarkets promote as their "best value" Xmas dinner and general festive fare and what you can have on the CFR Xmas plan for a whole week for a fraction of the cost!

Oooh just had another thought... might be too late for this year, and I know nothing about homebrewing, but if there's a CFR Xmas 2011 menu, perhaps some HM wine/beer/spirits could be included? Realise there might be a problem in that it would have to be promoted on the site way in advance because of the time they take to make, and also not sure if you'd want to promote drinking (even responsibly!) on CFR because of the healthy ethos, but I'm sure Shirl and Bob will be having a drink at Xmas and perhaps other times too :rotfl: and we could maybe help them do it cheaper. What do you think? Feel free to say if you think it's a bad idea/too complicated etc, won't be offended, just a thought.

Right, am FINALLY off to the kitchen! xxx

VenusFlytrap_2

So sorry to be a thread-hogger, but have just made my first ever CFR recipe - raisin scones and am very, very happy with the result! Not made scones since school, am well chuffed!

They are gorgeous, taste lovely and even B (who hates raisins, grrr!) said they looked nice! I did a full batch and as don't have a cookie cutter used a small cup to cut them out and made 8 decent sized scones and one giant scone with the leftover dough - coz that's how they fitted best on my baking tray! :rotfl:

Baked for 14 mins instead of 12 as per method, and gave the giant scone another 5 min on its own. Did tweak recipe slightly, used 2oz extra flour instant of oat cereal as didn't have any, used Clover instead of lard for same reason and added a pinch of cinnamon coz I love it with raisins oh, and as my dough was still a teeny bit dry when it came to kneading, added a drop of milk (about 20ml)that needed using up.

Found the method really clear and easy to follow, 10/10 from me on this one - it will become a regular at Chez Venus and think my Dad and Nan especially will love them, will be doing another batch for them to try - this one will be gone before I see them next! :rotfl:

shanks77

hi does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do with chillis? Ex and i grew them this year and while we love hot things these are beyond our tolerance level. We added 3 tiny slivers to a dish we were cooking and it just about took our heads off. We seem to have a large quantity of them growing so any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA xx

Allegra

Yeah, I know of a good use for them. Send them to me

Dry and flake them ? That way you can only use the teeniest tiniest amounts instead of chilli powder and counteract the heat with plenty of creaminess and sweetness; or make chilli oil/vinegar, that way the resulting condiment should have just a fraction of the heat of the fresh chilli.

Which variety chillies were they btw ?

VenusFlytrap_2

Allegra wrote: »

Yeah, I know of a good use for them. Send them to me

LOL Allegra, I was thinking that too! Love my chilli con carne hot hot hot, made with Scotch Bonnets, seeds and all is the best! Apparently it's so enjoyable to eat for some (but clearly not for others!) because the bit in your brain that gets stimulated when you feel pain, like from eating fiery chillis, is right next to the bit of your brain that registers pleasure, so that gets stimulated too, thus even though it hurts, you want more! Same thing applies for other, ahem, activities involving pleasure and pain, but we won't discuss those here!

Ooops sorry OT again, the reason for my post was actually:

To ask Weezl - or any of the other nutrition experts - are the vitamin/nutritional requirements that the planner meets sufficient for 2 adults and 2 teens? I know the planner is nutrionally sound over the course of the month but not sure of the exact standard it was worked to - just wondering so can be accurate in advice re portion sizes for single living/non standard article, particularly advice for larger families who need to stretch the planner for kids of varying ages.

Or am I just getting too pernickity about this, and just need to stick to general points - e.g. the one you suggested the other day Weezl that a the correct size of a portion of F&V for an individual is relative to the size of their fist, so a toddler doesn't need 5 adult portions a day to be healthy?

Also Hayley have a suggestion that might work in your Alternatives article, courtesy of my stepmum - she loves savoury scones and am going to send her some of the CFR ones when I make them this week, but her fave way to eat them is in stew, like dumplings - not sure if there's a stew-type recipe in either planner this would be suited too, but might be a way for Shirl to use up the scones if they aren't a hit as a snack on their own.

Sian_the_Green

Hey all,
Just got back from my parents house, wedding was lovely, lots of fun was had. I helped Adam with goodie bags for the kids and putting some things in the favour boxes and tying the ribbons, hardly revolutionary but I was rewarded with a Pandora bracelet, eep, I felt rather undeserving but my Mum has one and so does my new sister in law so I guess I know what my Christmas presents will be!

So I am planning to make the roast tomorrow without all of the elements probably, I am testing the stuffing but I want to do an experiment with the meat juices and the onion for the stuffing. Can someone explain to me where the onion and sausage thingy comes in, they are in the method but not the list of ingredients. Are they to be made or have they been taken out? Thanks

nopot2pin

shanks77 wrote: »

hi does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do with chillis? Ex and i grew them this year and while we love hot things these are beyond our tolerance level. We added 3 tiny slivers to a dish we were cooking and it just about took our heads off. We seem to have a large quantity of them growing so any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA xx

How about chilli jam ?
I made the Nigella recipe ... very nice

weezl74

Sian_the_Green wrote: »

Hey all,
Just got back from my parents house, wedding was lovely, lots of fun was had. I helped Adam with goodie bags for the kids and putting some things in the favour boxes and tying the ribbons, hardly revolutionary but I was rewarded with a Pandora bracelet, eep, I felt rather undeserving but my Mum has one and so does my new sister in law so I guess I know what my Christmas presents will be!

So I am planning to make the roast tomorrow without all of the elements probably, I am testing the stuffing but I want to do an experiment with the meat juices and the onion for the stuffing. Can someone explain to me where the onion and sausage thingy comes in, they are in the method but not the list of ingredients. Are they to be made or have they been taken out? Thanks

Hi sian, please do make the cochons, I'm sorry they aren't in the ingreds will adjust!

weezl74

VenusFlytrap wrote: »

To ask Weezl - or any of the other nutrition experts - are the vitamin/nutritional requirements that the planner meets sufficient for 2 adults and 2 teens? I know the planner is nutrionally sound over the course of the month but not sure of the exact standard it was worked to - just wondering so can be accurate in advice re portion sizes for single living/non standard article, particularly advice for larger families who need to stretch the planner for kids of varying ages.

yes, it should be spot on, so you just need to serve up in proportion to gender and height, men and tall people with bigger portions and more snacks IYSWIM?

Which is probably what most families do intuitively, I guess!

On some days shirl doesn't need any snacks at all, other days she might need one iyswim. We are imagining she will eat to appetite.