Cooking for one (Mark Three)

Brambling

Hope you don't have too long to wait tomorrow Farway, last time I had a hospital appointment I sat listening to the doctor and nurse discussing two lists but only one doctor working :cool: just as well I had taken a good book although once they had put drops in my eyes I couldn't read

I like you're gift idea Caronc

I think winter has arrived here today, not too cold first thing but there was a really cold wind when walking lunchtime I was glad of my soup when I got back to the office and then a wet afternoon and evening.

Dinner was a kind of bubble and squeak made with LO root vegetable mash and cabbage from Saturdays roast dinner with cold chicken and pickled red cabbage/radishes. I'm thinking risotto or savoury rice with the chicken tomorrow

PasturesNew

I'm back to: I DON'T BL00DY KNOW!!!

I'll be cooking up some of that huge haul of spuds today .... try to kill 2Kg or so by turning it into mash that can then either be eaten, or frozen.

I keep spotting the three apples I bought about a week ago (pack of 6) - keep thinking crumble.... not sure if that'll happen or not though. Could go stewed apple/custard.... might have some sultanas in the cupboard, or might not...

Who knows... have to see how the day goes.

flubberyzing

I'll be on a ready meal for tea tonight... I'm going to the cinema this evening for one of those National Theatre Live screenings - The Madness of King George.
So I'll need to leave mine at 6, so even though it starts at 7, I've got time to park, pick up my ticket and get a milkshake or hot choc if I fancy it.

Knowing I'll likely be having a big drink at the cinema, a small-ish ready meal seemed like a sensible option. I've got two for this week, either fish pie, or spag bol... I think they've both got the same date, so see how I feel about 5pm!

Now the sun is up and out, I need to pop down the road to Waitrose for a pint of milk for my coffee. Used up the last of what I had last night, for a bowl of cereal post blood donation! I need to post a letter as well, and as Waitrose have a letter box inside, seems like the right move!

PasturesNew

Spuds are on.

My God I'm super slow in the kitchen....

This is a big bag of smallish spuds, 4Kg, minus a handful I'd taken out and cooked the other day. So, I probably have 3.5Kg in the bag ... and wasn't entirely sure how many would actually fit IN the SC... so I started scrubbing and snipping off the bad bits.... then sliced, rinsed and into the SC (weighing them so I know how many that size holds)..... 30 minutes. And this is the "easy way"! I've prepared about 1.5Kg (from memory).

They're now on, four hours that'll take. I've got a second half batch (~500g) leftover in a bowl of water as I first scrubbed/cut/sliced them, THEN saw how many'd fit (by eye it looked like 2Kg would fit when I started, but it didn't turn out that way) ... so I'll need to scrub/snip another bunch ... and then do this again - and, looking at the bag .... repeat a 3rd time.

Oh well, it's "hands off" after that bit.

The bag had already started to have a couple that had soft/smelly bits in them, so it's a good job I've got my *rse into gear and started this. The alternative was nuking them, but that creates a lot of heat/moisture in the nuker, so only one batch is ideal as the nuker needs to be wiped down and given time to cool off between batches - so I'd be looking at one small batch every 45 minutes if I'd done it that way. More than 2 portions and the SC's the best way to get a lot cooked easily.

4Kg of spuds is the size of a cheap bed pillow folded in half... but I did get them for 75p, so the effort's worth it.... won't be rushing to buy such a big bag again though....

caronc

Good morning everyone,
Sounds like a productive morning so far PN, mash in the freezer is such a handy thing to have:). I cba cooking mash in single portions so always make a panful when I do. I've just used some of the batch I made on Sunday for bubble & squeak. I'll freeze the rest later.
I got up to heavy frost this morning and :eek::eek: there was a brief, gentle snow shower about an hour ago. I think it's safe to say winter is here. It's quite sunny now though so doesn't feel as cold as yesterday.
I'm expecting my Dad soon, he has some online stuff he wants me to do for him and then we'll have lunch. (B&S, bacon, egg and tinned toms:))I've been on my feet a fair bit this morning so it will be feet up with my book for a couple of hours this afternoon. Later on I want to sort out the gammon joint I got yesterday into a joint & some steaks so I'll be wielding a big sharp knife:rotfl:. I might make some turkey stock as well to stash for Christmas gravy. I've bought a turkey thigh for this, I'll take most of the meat off and freeze in CFO portions and use the bone, skin and scraps for stock. For me it's a hard call between deciding if the gravy or the pigs in blankets are my favourite part of Christmas dinner.:rotfl:

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

I cba cooking mash in single portions so always make a panful when I do.

For a small batch, 1-2 portions, I'll just steam them usually. I view the SC as "a handy big saucepan" that just cooks things you'd put into a saucepan ... but in a longer time and without steam.

caronc wrote: »

For me it's a hard call between deciding if the gravy or the pigs in blankets are my favourite part of Christmas dinner.

We were never big on "pig products" when I was growing up; I certainly don't remember ANY bacon being cooked for anybody at all. It was in mum's final couple of years that she suddenly blurted out one day "I hate pork; we kept a pig in WW2 and I had to go and feed it when mum was at work" .... so that might explain it. But I've no idea why dad didn't want/eat it - maybe he didn't like it, or maybe it was just easier to "get what you're given".

Pigs in blankets were therefore never a "thing" in our family - and were an entirely new concept to me when I first heard of them about 20-25 years ago or so... I'm not keen on bacon, as a rule, I find it fatty and salty... so I've never bothered with it.

For me Xmas Dinner's mostly about roast parsnip, brussels, Yorkshire puddings and stuffing

flubberyzing

Sounds like that'll keep you busy PN!

I actually do cheapo tinned pots when I fancy mash. One can does me 2 good sized portions. I fork them out of the can and heat them in tap water, rather than the liquid they come in. I give them about 10 mins on a low boil (although the label does say "don't let them boil" - I can't see the harm if you want them a little softer for mashing).

I mash them with a good dollop of butter and a sprinkle of garlic powder, and honestly, you wouldn't know the difference from mash made fresh. A much easier, quicker process than mashed spuds from scratch, and cheaper than the pre-made stuff.

I'll be heading off in about 50 minutes to look after a Year 1 class for the afternoon. Never been to this school before, so we'll see!

PasturesNew

flubberyzing wrote: »

I actually do cheapo tinned pots when I fancy mash.

I've always loved spuds... and mash ... I could live off the stuff
I always have 2-3 large cans (about 29p each or so) in the cupboard, but I tend to use them just for spud salad in the summer, or to toss into a SC stew in winter as "something else in the pot to add to the mix of things I'll be eating when it's served". For "quick mash" I've got a box of instant in the cupboard. The package says it's 99% potato and if you get it right ... it's just like mash.

Growing up, we had a large garden and access to an endless variety of spuds, so mum/dad grew many varieties and I'd go out with a fork to dig up spuds for each day's meal.

I am "peculiar" in that I like mash that's quite "dry" and even has some lumps in it (school dinners were heaven!).... so I don't add much as a rule.... usually just a small knob of marg .... and every now and then little black pepper, just for "something different".

In the main, I am happy with mash "plain and as it comes". I mash real spuds with a simple fork. I've a friend who bought one of those expensive electric potato mashers.... and she adds butter and cream and then creams them with the electric thing endlessly (about 5 minutes!), I call this type of mash (like supermarket mash) "wallpaper paste".

Wednesday2000

I've only had a bottle of water and a cough sweet so far. I'm about to have two wholemeal rolls with a hot drink for brunch. I'm not sure what to put in the rolls as I've forgotten what I have!:D

PasturesNew

Looks like 4-5 portions.... trouble is, what to put it in... 5 containers needed that are "the right size" .... so that'll be bags

Trouble is, when you don't know what it'll be used for, you're not entirely sure how much is a portion.... a portion on the side of a roast dinner is a different sized portion to making a fish pie that serves 2....

Oh well. I'll bag it up in 250g portions in freezer bags. That'll do....

EDIT: 5 bags of 250g it made, all in the fridge now cooling.

1.25Kg, from a supermarket, would cost more than I've spent... that's probably cost me 25p for spuds, so call it 30-35p all in. 5p/portion.... versus a shop's ready made at about £1+ for 2 portions.