It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

DiamondLil

Nelliegrace said:

Scrag end of neck of lamb, it should be mutton, for Irish stew, potatoes, onion, carrot, possibly celery, and pearl barley thyme, parsley and black pepper and water. Mum taught me to shop for it and cook it. 20 minutes in the pressure cooker, and five minutes letting it come down to room pressure.

Why can’t the supermarkets sell the cheap cuts? Bone stock is good for the gut. 

It was my favourite dinner in the fifties and early sixties. Usually on a Wednesday. I loved coming home to "meat on bones" as my mum called it. We'd eat the meat and suck the bones dry and then dip chunks of bread (buttered) into the thick stew. I still cook it today; a local butcher sells the lamb, exactly the same as my mum used in the fifties.

Auntycaz

If anyone uses Tesco clubcard perks they are reducing their value from 3 x the value to 2 x the value.  This is courtesy of  @Perksy5. They have a thread giving the details. So time to spend them before they lose their value.  When I lived near to a tesco It saved me loads when buying railcards for myself and family.

Longwalker

Auti said:

Longwalker said:

Nelliegrace said:

We have a bit of a glut of potatoes, some more came with the To Good To Go. 
I refuse to waste them so as a last resort I shall bury some. They will increase in number and come back to haunt me later in the year, no doubt!

Potato bread, cheap , easy and freezes really well and is delicious for breakfast, lunch or tea with an egg or a bit of bacon or just a good slathering of butter 

How do you make potato bread please and if it uses flour would it work with Gluten free flour? Thank you

This is a pretty basic and good recipe . - teaches you the basics

potato-farls-irish-potato-cakes

Its one of those recipes where we cant measure, we have cold mash, we add the flour and if needed the butter, and make potato cakes. Enough flour and butter to make the potatoes into a pliable dough - not too soft. You get the feel of it. Follow that recipe and you will find the feel, from then on, cold mash - throw in a handful of flour and away you go


Edited cos I forgot the link lol

Longwalker

Pollycat said:

I always have several portions of home-made mash in the freezer.

A chef on This Morning earlier this week made what she called Irish Stew with potato dumplings.
It had beef and shallots in and stout or red wine.
And dark chocloate. 
Really?
I always thought Irish Stew was made with lamb and had carrots in.
I'm sure Longwalker can put us straight. 
I used to cook Irish stew in my slow cooker when first married and used to buy neck of lamb (with bones in).

The potato dumplings sounded really nice though.
Clodagh McKenna's cosy Irish beef stew | This Morning (itv.com)

Im a Londoner living here, with Irish Parents

Irish stew is one of those dishes like Scouse, where no one is right

One thing I have learned is country folk dont eat lamb and whats sold for stew is steak pieces . Some places use steak mince, which I prefer although Mr L would turn his nose

This is how I got taught and Ive not had anyone refuse it

Theres no total amounts, its size of pot, and how much meat you cant afford

So steak pieces ( I prefer braising or stewing beef ). Big pan, fry off in a wee bit of oil till browned. Add twice as much roughly chopped onion and carrots. Add the water - enough to cover and throw in a stock cube or 2 or a stock pot and oxo, or whatever, put on lid and simmer for around an hour. Then you add the spuds. These go in batches, the first lot you want to break down and soak into the juices, then you add more, let then cook till as soft as can be before breaking up, then add the last, let them keep their shape, but be soft

So the way Ive been shown, by older women then me , is you use the meat to flavour, the carrots and onion for a bit of texture, but the spuds for comfort, bite and fullness

Its the same as Broth. It all depends on the size of the saucepan  and the length of time to cook. 

Irish stew on the hob - 3 hours 

Irish stew is about the spuds, you should see a bit of carrot and onion, but it has always been hunt the meat . Tastes that good though , you dont notice theres very little 

Nelliegrace

I expect there was a lot of rabbit in stews and pies as it was readily available all year.

-taff

I find it quite heartening in one way to find a recipe that is essentially the same in Ireland and in Italy. Potato, flour, egg maybe to make cakes in Ireland and gnocchi in Italy. Same with lamb stew, cawl in Wales, it isn't the good stuff unless there's fat globules floating on the top I do like the connections bewteen humans that come from the same foods around the world, flatbreads in nearly every country with miled flour, soups, stews, dumplings of whatever sort. We all have more in common that politicians or the media would have us believe, especially since food is one of the necessitites.

JIL

Nelliegrace said:

I expect there was a lot of rabbit in stews and pies as it was readily available all year round. 

My  Irish inlaws have never eaten rabbits or mushrooms apparently. 😁

JIL

-taff said:

I find it quite heartening in one way to find a recipe that is essentially the same in Ireland and in Italy. Potato, flour, egg maybe to make cakes in Ireland and gnocchi in Italy. Same with lamb stew, cawl in Wales, it isn't the good stuff unless there's fat globules floating on the top I do like the connections bewteen humans that come from the same foods around the world, flatbreads in nearly every country with miled flour, soups, stews, dumplings of whatever sort. We all have more in common that politicians or the media would have us believe, especially since food is one of the necessitites.

Most food is the same really. I agree with you.
Empanadas/pasties.
Fish and potatoes 
Meat in stews or pies.
Noodles, pasta, tinned spaghetti.
Soups.
Cheeses
Rice dishes.

Nelliegrace

Tortilla, omelette, frittata, or bubble and squeak. 
DH gave two eggs, because she had run out and couldn’t get any, to the bossy person who had demanded all asked for a regular supply of our surplus eggs. We don’t want that sort of pressure, and to be apologising if they don’t lay, or going without to supply her. We sell a few, putting a box out at WI or other meetings, and put the money towards their feed. We don’t want a sign at the door advertising, “chickens to be stolen here.” We swap a few eggs, (Maureen does a wonderful lemon meringue pie,) but it is nice to have some really fresh eggs to give away to say thank you. 

Auntycaz

That's disgusting @Nelliegrace, I should tell her she should not rely on them as you only sell your surplus eggs and you and your family come first.