Join us on the 'Cook through a whole cookbook' challenge!

emg

It's good to hear the Hairy Dieters book getting some good reviews as thats the one I am choosing. There are a few things in there I wouldnt normally cook or eat (ashamed to say I have never cooked a prawn in my life, same for whole fish and other shellfish). I'm also not very keen on tomatoes but my challenge is going to be to cook everything, even the ones I dont think I will like as I think it might help me broaden my palate and be a bit more adventurous. I'm going to cook them in the same order they are in the book to stop me putting off the ones I dont like. If Julie Powell (from the Julie and Julia blog/film) can deal with lobsters, pigs trotters and calves brains then I can conquer some mussells and a bit of sea bass!

septemberblues

Please count me in the challenge, I'm very interested in doing this, I have a recipe book by Marguerite Patton called "We'll eat again" and the recipes are from the war years (World War 2). It's during rationing and has substitutes for loads of things.................there's only me to cook for and I'm a bit fat (:p) and broke, so will make a big effort to eat recipes out of this book. The portions are for 4 or 6 people so will have to downscale a bit! If only I could just eat exactly what they did, the weight would drop off me..............:D

My first recipe is "Oatmeal Sausages" (ingredients are for 4 peeps)

2 tbsp chopped onions
cooking fat
4oz oatmeal (which I presume is porrige oats)
half a pint water
2 teaspoons salt (:( probs a pinch instead)
quarter tsp pepper
2 oz chopped meat or sausage or bacon (iv've got bacon in fridge)
browned breadcrumbs (I can't eat wheat but have gf bread in freezer)

Don't want to bore you so shout if you want the recipe! I'm making this tomorrow.

Gigervamp

Oatmeal is different from porridge oats. The texture and size is more like couscous. You can get it in supermarkets, I bought some to make oatcakes,

septemberblues

Gigervamp wrote: »

Oatmeal is different from porridge oats. The texture and size is more like couscous. You can get it in supermarkets, I bought some to make oatcakes,

I suppose I could grind the oatmeal in my blender, am broke so am gonna try this!

Gigervamp

Makes sense if you already have porridge oats. It looks like the oatmeal is used as a bulking agent, so porridge oats will do the same job and blending it will make it finer so you don't get flakes.

medsdemon

Ooh I'm subscribing to this. I will join the thread but not sure which book to choose. I got a JO book as a pressie for Christmas last year and have used it more than any of my other cookbooks. I think I may use Hugh FW Veg Book as I've never used it once:o and we eat tons of veggie food. I will have a browse and come back.

cheerfulness4

septemberblues wrote: »

I'm a bit fat (:p) and broke,

:rotfl::rotfl: I can so relate to that myself.


I've been pondering my book choice and its between Nigel Slater's Diaries 2 and an old Reader Digest book called 'Amazing Meals for less than £2.50 per person.' :eek: (obviously they haven't heard about YS bargains).

After assessing my finances AMAZING MEALS has won so now to plan my menus over the next few weeks.

AlwaysHappy

Ooh what a great idea - now just have to decide which of my (too many?????) cookbooks to settle for. Possibly one of Nigel Slaters I think.

sonastin

I fell at the first hurdle... meal planning over breakfast so I could do my "big shop" on the way home from work this evening. Went to the bookcase/cupboard that contains the recipe books to claim one to start the challenge on Saturday... to find OH has propped an old radiator against the door so I can't open it to retrieve a usable book. I'm left with Mrs Beeton (no way am I working through that one) or the takeaway secrets. They aren't in the cupboard because I already use them a lot for lots of things and I don't really want to work through the others.

When OH gets home I'll get him to shift the radiator and then I'll hopefully be able to join the challenge. If I'm lucky, I'll already have the ingredients in for whatever is the first meal so I can start this week

lilian1977

I've decided on my "book" - going to make the recipes from A Girl Called Jack's site.

Lunch today was the Mexican Bean, chocolate and chilli soup.- Yummy hut a little bitter so I added a heaped spoon of brown sugar. Might have been because the chocolate I used was 85% cocoa. Also made the Easy Peasy soda bread which was good with the soup as quite bland.

Kidney bean and carrot falafel for tea tonight!