Weezl and friends Phase 3 - sitting pretty with Kitty

Allegra

Okay, so pea risotto - first of all, it was really only me who had it, as there's just no way !!!!!! would have coped with the tomato, and whilst I'd happily eat just the risi and the bisi (the rice and the peas, that is), he'd have probably felt rather deprived, so instead of the sundried tomatoes, he got chorizo and grana padano, which he was quite happy with.

I liked what I had though It's a humongously massive portion though - I halved the pea and rice quantities for two of us, but the end result was really three very generous portions. If there was a sweet snack or a pudding to follow, the halved recipe would comfortably feed four.

weezl74

Allegra wrote: »

Yes, you are And with that in mind, yeah, I guess it's fine to leave it as it is.

I guess I'm forgetting just what we're up against in terms of misinformation and the like - and salt content is something I am keen to have folk informed about as both my parents have high blood pressure so salt, rather than calorie counting has always been a biggie in my upbringing

BTW, we've tried the ginger loaf now - truly, truly nommy Perhaps a bit too heavy on ginger for me - I am someone who likes certain ingredients, such as ginger and coconut, far better in a savoury setting, so I might halve the amount of ginger for us next time. But other than that, 'tis really very good.

It did make me recall the frugalising process with that one - it was initially to feature oranges and golden syrup, then shed them all one by one until it was frugalised to the max, yet you'd never guess - it feels decadent enough as it is now :T

We had the pea risotto tonight, but more on that later, once I've sorted out the photo.

ooooh llegs that's good it can spare some ginger- I think the saag aloo might like a little more and I'm ever so glad you liked it even frugalised :rotfl:

thanks so much for being willing to test these meals :T:T:T

weezl74

oh allegra re the portion sizes being huge, am a bit worried about kitty's lot losing weight. the risotto is 775 cals, but if she makes 3 out of 2 portions will she be getting skinny cos her dinner is then just 516?

wonder why its different to shirl's planner...
the only thing i can think of is that my vegan friend did say she has to eat 6/7 times a day...

ie is vegan food filling but you need lots of it?

Allegra

I dunno Weezlie - 'tis a bit weird. I know other folk have been saying all along that CFR dinner portions are huge, but I always found them just about hitting the spot - and now suddenly they seem mahoosive. Of course, what you eat during the rest of the day also counts for a lot, which is why I am eating Kitty food during the day too - and struggling there as well ! Not to mention that I am not fitting in a fraction of the snacks either.

Don't change portion sizes on my say-so, cos it could just be me being off my feed And !!!!!! eats different food during the day so it's not like for like comparison in that respect.

hornetgirl

Pea risotto for dinner tonight here. It was quick and very straightforward to make. It is also very filling. I am in total agreement with Allegra, the portions were huge. Usually I cut down to our normal amount of carbs but thought for once I'd do the amount the recipe suggested. We really struggled with the quantity and didn't quite manage to finish it.
I didn't have quite enough peas in the freezer, so I added a bit of chopped up courgette from the garden.
Our overall verdict was that it was an okay meal, but probably not something we'd have too often.

shanks77

Hi still following you all with interest even though im not doing the recipes. I had the beetroot as wedges last night and they were delicious still got some left so will find another recipe. Been a bit lazy and not done anything with the gooseberries but will prob try pottys jam. Am on hols for a few days so hopefully pull me finger out and get things done xx

artybear

Hi all, not so planned this week as have lots of chicken to use up-however tonight I have had a dinner party with shirls pizzas. I did add some toppings but everyone absolutely loved it and it was satisfying to see happy, amazed ( and yes, drunken people) admiring my pizzas.

So thank you to weezl, allegra, lesley, shanks et alxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

queen_of_string

Hi everyone, not been joining in too much with the testing recently, due to being very busy playing in our new house. It's also 30 deg most days so shepherdless pie doesnt seem that appealing. (gloat).

Tonight I made a half portion of the panzanella for me and OH and sweetcorn fritters for the kids. I had been a bit hesitant about the panzanella, but reading everyone's positive comments encouraged me enough to try.

It was a big hit with OH and I, it's a bit too carby for him so we had it with some other low carb salads, but he was fighting the kids away from the bowl, so that's a go here. Eldest DS also enjoyed it, which was a surprise. My HM bread is very soft, a bit like shop bought, and I think a more robust loaf ( which I guess the no knead is) would stand up to the recipe better. Next time I might make a batch of the artisan in 5 mins bread a day or so before I want to have the panzanella. It would definitely be good with that slightly stale half a baguette that always seems to be left over.

We have had the sweetcorn fritters before and once again they were a hit with 4 out of 5, I forgot DS2 can detect the onions in them, maybe pre frying next time?

TBH I think we would find this planner easier than the first one, there is such variety in the extras and snacks that the big problem we would have with reduced variety could be overcome, OH would eat everyone's fruit allowance too!

I'm continuing to enjoy everyone's posts even though I'm not posting much.

sistercas

have to agree with the pea rissoto- the portions are huge , we had it for dinner ( 2 adults 2 teens) and there was enough left over for us all to have it for lunch the following day

weezl74

weezl reporting back on the frugalised sussex pond pudding (white sugar and flour and vegan pastry)

ok so I made this this morning, largely using avocet/william black's method, but I added 3 tbspns water to the filling to make all the sugar fit in my 5.5 inch pudding basin.

This turns out to have been quite an inspired frugalisation as the pudding therefore oozes a vast amount of lemony sweet buttery sauce when cut, and we felt is therefore a self-saucing pudding .

I steamed it on the hob for 2 hrs on a gentle simmer. Sadly this wasn't long enough for the lemon to go completely mushy, so I think in future I would cut the lemon up before making the pudding for any kitty/shirls without a slo cooker.

Verdict from my mum dad and DH who were all dubious, mostly to do with the veganised pastry, a delightful 9 out of 10.

After my hols I shall write it up with photos for the site as one of our standalone recipes