Cooking for one (Mark Two)

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

My sibling swears by him - but I disagree .... I think it depends on the type of food you would typically buy/have/cook. Certainly, for me, most of his ingredients are "far too fancy" and things I never have.

He's another one if you watch him carefully that talks of CFO, but then uses up "leftovers" that only a large family would have leftover ... and makes a HUGE amount of something, then spoons a tiny bit into a bowl and says "great ... CFO". His fridge is larger than many kitchens (and I bet he's got 2-3 of them).

I've not really watched him on TV but his books/articles in the Guardian are very good for 1-2 folk. Most of what he uses I have or I have a good substitute. I seldom cook "as is" from a recipe but take the idea and adapt to suit what I have/ can get. The pea dish is a great example I use macaroni or pasta shells for it rather than the one i it which I don't have and I'm replacing pancetta with streaky bacon PS- his kitchen on TV is actually a film set......http://www.theinteriordiyer.com/2013/07/behind-scenes-nigel-slaters-kitchen.html

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've almost decided. Not had anything yet ... but later I'll have a chicken roast dinner. CFO style.

It'll be: roast chicken (bought small pack ready made), Yorkies (clear the freezer of 3 small ones), stuffing (packet), carrots I bought the other day, instant mash as I've no real spuds, instant gravy. Might open a tin of peas if I've got one, else I've a tin of green beans... and I might add a spoonful of sweetcorn, just because it exists.

I've also decided that this week I will adapt one of my most favourite meals that mum used to cook, but leaving out one of the main ingredients and cook it in the slow cooker. This is because I have a hankering for it - and it's best done in the slow cooker due to the vast quantities it makes. It'll also use up a tin of soup I've had lurking for about 3 years intending to make this dish.

Oh chicken dinner lovely - just the weather for it here.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Caron - no expert on cat behaviour. But could it be he's spied a vacancy at your house/taken note of the cooking smells coming out from it sometimes and thought "I'll have a bit of that" (ie as what you cook sometimes sounds quite tasty to me).

Maybe he's waiting hoping to get a message over to you to stick a bowl of your cooking outside for him to eat, then move it in a bit nearer the door, then inside the door, etc, etc and bit by bit he tries out the fare at your house and, if he likes it, then he moves in:)

Who says cats are daft?:rotfl: He's probably working on a plan to move in with you:rotfl:

I suspect you may be right :rotfl::rotfl:

poppystar

Well, weather really grotty again - it is August isn't it? I'm wearing the same clothes I was in March!

Last night I fried up the left over veg curry and rice from Sunday's disaster and it much improved it. Threw in a hardboiled egg and it was effectively a form of kedgeree;) Same again tonight:)

The fridge will then be bare so after three days free of food shopping and deliberations I will have to start thinking again. Preferably something where I can make the leftovers different each day or change the accompaniment. Much prefer leftovers to having to decide afresh each day! How's that for CBA:(

Then once the next few weeks and their sodders are over (pleeeease!) then I shall start planning! Well, that's the theory:D

Farway

Thanks Money, re the Charlotte idea, seems sort of like crumble with bread, I think I may experiment later

I made the kipper pate, now chilling in the fridge. I had some LO cream cheese with chives, so mixed in & used that up at same time. Unfortunately the pate would not quite fit in the empty cheese tub or I would have won a gold MSE CFO medal for today's using it up efforts

Dinner still not decided, but a nice stew & dumplings cooked by someone else would suit today's weather. Looking more & more like heated up LO pie

PasturesNew

I've made/eaten my chicken dinner
Got the quantities a bit wrong .... and ended up over-stuffed.

I was trying to use up the carrots, so used half of them (250 grams) .. and added the last of the frozen peas in the freezer.

When it came to the stuffing and potato I did that "and a bit more" shake at the end....

Yorkshires, there were 3 small ones in the bag - well, I couldn't use just two and leave one could I, so had all three.

And the cumulative plateload was food overload. But I got to the end

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

PS- his kitchen on TV is actually a film set......http://www.theinteriordiyer.com/2013/07/behind-scenes-nigel-slaters-kitchen.html

I didn't know that! I used to tell my sibling "of course, when he pops into his garden to get a cutting of some fresh herb, he's actually had his staff/gardener bring it over and plant it that morning, then take it back" .... seems I wasn't wrong!

His kitchen is the size of most houses!

So all his food in the fridges, all the stuff in the jars, is literally put there just for the show, then probably binned after filming.

caronc

Farway wrote: »

I made the kipper pate, now chilling in the fridge. I had some LO cream cheese with chives, so mixed in & used that up at same time. Unfortunately the pate would not quite fit in the empty cheese tub or I would have won a gold MSE CFO medal for today's using it up efforts

:rotfl::rotfl:

PasturesNew wrote: »

I didn't know that! I used to tell my sibling "of course, when he pops into his garden to get a cutting of some fresh herb, he's actually had his staff/gardener bring it over and plant it that morning, then take it back.... seems I wasn't wrong!

His kitchen is the size of most houses!

So all his food in the fridges, all the stuff in the jars, is literally put there just for the show, then probably binned after filming.

Most of the kitchens you see on cookery programmes are sets, so they can get the acoustic/lighting right. The contents are loaned so not wasted. Delia Smith had a special bricks & mortar "filming" kitchen built in the grounds of her house. In Nigel's case the set does have a proper garden and in real life he is a keen gardener and has I believe a pretty impressive kitchen garden of his own.

moneyistooshorttomention

yep...leftovers helps on the CBA front. But I'd still rather not have them personally....

....and the leftovers front for today re lunch was last of yesterday's roast vegetables (ready-prepared:o - but didnt put the oil with them T*sco said). So I chucked some yogurt and a sprinkle of sumac and nutritional yeast on it to give a bit of flavour (pretty successful) and had with some tomatoes and roasted portobello mushrooms (no oil again).

Sighs...will be glad when I've lost all the excess weight...but needs must...

It is working - that 2010's size 12 label dress has an Empire line "waistline" and its moved down from above bust to halfway on bust to underneath bust (where its supposed to be). Still a bit tight and I'd have to wear "big knickers" to hide the roll of fat that falls over the top of my normal bikini size knickers and a jacket or something to hide the "looks a bit pregnant sideways" look at the moment. Just as well I never let myself swop from "bikinis" to "big knickers" and decided to keep on seeing the rolls of fat until they were gone.:rotfl:

But I'm halfway there:D

Farway

Dinner done & dusted

Had bit of a proper 3 course sit down at table jobby

2 x Kipper pate - it was very tasty, plenty left, and bursting with healthy things, does lemon juice count as 1 of 10 a day?

1 x LO pie - just heated pie on it's own with a splurge of brown sauce. Pie has now all gone, never to return

1 x bowl of today's stewed apples & blobs of Greek yoghurt. Planty left should I fancy trying to encase the apples in "something" but TBH they were lovely just stewed

caronc

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

yep...leftovers helps on the CBA front. But I'd still rather not have them personally....

....and the leftovers front for today re lunch was last of yesterday's roast vegetables (ready-prepared:o - but didnt put the oil with them T*sco said). So I chucked some yogurt and a sprinkle of sumac and nutritional yeast on it to give a bit of flavour (pretty successful) and had with some tomatoes and roasted portobello mushrooms (no oil again).

Sighs...will be glad when I've lost all the excess weight...but needs must...

It is working - that 2010's size 12 label dress has an Empire line "waistline" and its moved down from above bust to halfway on bust to underneath bust (where its supposed to be). Still a bit tight and I'd have to wear "big knickers" to hide the roll of fat that falls over the top of my normal bikini size knickers and a jacket or something to hide the "looks a bit pregnant sideways" look at the moment. Just as well I never let myself swop from "bikinis" to "big knickers" and decided to keep on seeing the rolls of fat until they were gone.:rotfl:

But I'm halfway there:D

Sounds like a fair bit more than halfway there and don't diss big knickers I'm a big fan and always have been (well post kids anyway) I like everything well covered;)

Farway wrote: »

Dinner done & dusted

Had bit of a proper 3 course sit down at table jobby

2 x Kipper pate - it was very tasty, plenty left, and bursting with healthy things, does lemon juice count as 1 of 10 a day?

1 x LO pie - just heated pie on it's own with a splurge of brown sauce. Pie has now all gone, never to return

1 x bowl of today's stewed apples & blobs of Greek yoghurt. Planty left should I fancy trying to encase the apples in "something" but TBH they were lovely just stewed

Glad the pate was tasty - my smoked mackeral one is in the fridge so lunches sorted for a couple of days:D

SquirrelSmall

Gammon joint in the slow cooker with apple juice, carrots, onions, pearl barley and some herbs since midday. To be served with mashed spuds, steamed kale and some parsley sauce out of a packet I found lurking.

Once again, I shall be feeding the pontoon neighbour.

Lunch was a miserable quorn burger thing from the freezer with cold new potatoes. Joy.

Perhaps it is obvious that I'm really not loving the rain today. Nor are the furry crew.

I suspect I may need some oily fish so it may be that smoked mackerel pate should be on the menu for lunch.