Old Style vs the USDA head-to-head challenge...

ceridwen

The oil is another possibility of course - which I hadnt thought of. But I'm inclined to think its the stirring stuff - ie the stirring when adding liquid to couscous and/or the forking through to fluff up still that is doing the trick. So - I dont think we have to think "problem if we are using couscous in a sweet recipe - ie no oil in there to stop clidginess".

My standard way of cooking couscous has been to throw couscous in saucepan and just pour in twice the volume of boiling water - but I havent stirred it at the time. When plating-up I have just transferred the couscous to a sieve in case there is any water still to drain off and then spooned it out onto a plate (makes for a very awkward sieve to clean!). But am now planning henceforth on doing that one quick stir and doing the fork-through bit at the end of cooking (and forget the sieve). Reckon that will do the trick. If couscous is fine cold cooked the way we have in your recipe - then I am guessing it will freeze okay. Obviously cant tell without trying - and I have never frozen couscous.

In_Search_Of_Me

I have a lovely chutnet recipe if anyone is interested...not THAT cheap but delicious & makes masses...let me know if you'd like it!

weezl74

purpleivy wrote: »

Clidgy?? I use the word 'clacky' but clidgy is good as well!

:rotfl:me and Mr Weezl talk about things forming 'clumples'

'oh it's all clumpled together'

'We'll have to mash it to get rid of the clumples'

ceridwen

Some thoughts I have been pondering today - which people might like to investigate. I went off via a circuitous route - thinking "I could have kefir instead of fromage frais with my baked potato today - if it wasnt languishing in the freezer". Hmmm....kefir. Cooee....weezl - have you come across kefir?

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

Thats THE kefir website - and there is a long kefir thread on this Board about it.

Other thoughts - we must all be overlooking a lot of foodstuff - because we havent really been thinking of it in that way. Hence - yesterday I used the broccoli stalk (peeled and fine chopped), as well as the florets. Previously - I took up an idea from another O.S.er to use the outer leaves of cauliflower as part of stirfry ingredients (about half of them were good enough for this purpose).

I have bought myself a nasturtium - amongst other food plants - and I guess a lot of people wouldnt think of a nasturtium, for instance, as being edible. I've added the flowers to salad before now - and I gather the leaves are also edible. Then again - people might have sunflowers in their garden and not thought of gathering their seeds to eat. I gather the method to prepare them is:

- grind the seeds in a seed mill and then place in cold water. The shells will float to the top and can be skimmed off with a slotted spoon.

- A less efficient alternative is to put a small amount of seeds into the bowl of an electric mixer, pulsing the mixture on and off a few times for a few seconds each time, till the shells separate, but not too many seeds are crushed. Then plunge the seeds into cold water, as described above to separate them from the shells.

At least some melon seeds are edible too I gather - though I havent tried them yet. Watermelon seeds for instance. I read that one sundries the seeds (or could use a dehydrator I guess). Then bake them and salt them. One doesnt eat the seed itself - but breaks it open with your teeth and eats the inside (the same method of eating as with unprepared sunflower seeds then:D ). Apparently pumpkin seeds are also edible - though I dont know how they would be prepared.

A useful site is:

http://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=162041

weezl74

Thanks! I shall look into Kefir.

I really agree about beginning to use stuff which I used to throw away. I took two satsumas at a work buffet, saved the peel and made candied peel for me an Mr W to eat (it's really nice!) I may have composted it in the past, but wouldn't try to eat it!;)

I'm also looking into your idea of beansprouts. Found mung beans, 99p for 500g, wondering if you knew how many grammes you'd hydrate and sprout to get a salad/stir-fry's worth of them?

ceridwen

Hi Weezl

I certainly think kefir is worth further thinking around. I've seen a recipe for a sort of soft cheese from it for instance (your cheese you are missing having maybe?). I didnt work out exact figures - but I guesstimated out that homemade kefir works out at roughly one-third of the price of buying readymade yogurt (the plain live type I get in a large size anyway).
I would offer to send you some kefir culture - but, as I said, its languishing in the freezer in abeyance at present and I'm not actually sure if its still "alive".

(Coo-ee - anyone out there who can send Weezl some kefir culture please? Ta)

Hmmm....candied peel...thinks...now wondering if you put a recipe for that further back in this thread...thinks..how would I do it? Could I use lemon peel for this instead? (Hmmmm...maybe a bit of candied lemon peel and few soaked sultanas and sprinkle of cinnamon on my morning porridge perhaps?)

ceridwen

Beansprouts - nearly forgot....

Cant say I do exact quantities of them....tend to sprinkle say 2 dessertspoons of the seeds/beans on a tray of my beansprouter and then I guess it would be about a generous helping worth. So - for you and Mr Weezl - maybe try with a tray of mung beans and a tray of summat else. In the event of using the jar method (which is unfamiliar to me) - then I guess a couple of dessertspoons worth of beans/seeds per jar maybe? and you would certainly have enough from this for a decent contribution towards a stirfry for you both.

Again - I believe there is a lengthy thread on sprouting on this Board.

EDIT:
Found:

http://www.sproutpeople.com/cookery.html

Might be of interest.

In_Search_Of_Me

Would out of date greek (plain) yog be any good weezl!! Wondered about experimenting but havent researched yet! Back from shops and am now done. Will also start spending diary back up the week after next as I loose track so quickly! Just got two new recipe books (from the library!!). Anything you want to use up pepys? Happy to have a look!

purpleivy

ceridwen wrote: »

Hi Weezl

I certainly think kefir is worth further thinking around. I've seen a recipe for a sort of soft cheese from it for instance (your cheese you are missing having maybe?). I didnt work out exact figures - but I guesstimated out that homemade kefir works out at roughly one-third of the price of buying readymade yogurt (the plain live type I get in a large size anyway).
I would offer to send you some kefir culture - but, as I said, its languishing in the freezer in abeyance at present and I'm not actually sure if its still "alive".

(Coo-ee - anyone out there who can send Weezl some kefir culture please? Ta)

Hmmm....candied peel...thinks...now wondering if you put a recipe for that further back in this thread...thinks..how would I do it? Could I use lemon peel for this instead? (Hmmmm...maybe a bit of candied lemon peel and few soaked sultanas and sprinkle of cinnamon on my morning porridge perhaps?)

Mine is ready to pass some on. I had some from Angelina, it's grown and divided! It's also an acquired taste. Have you thought of making yogurt cheese?

weezl74

Great thoughts all! Thanks, Yes please ISOM to the chutney recipe, you post it and I'll cost it. (and perhaps a little nutritional info!)

Now, candied peel, don't think I posted this yet, I adapted one from the waitrose site:

here

but I did it in the microwave, cos it seemed like a hugely long time to have the oven on for:eek:

ceridwen, I think it'd be lovely on your porridge. We're snacking on it like wine gums!

Must do JeniD's healthy carbohydrate research...

Back soon;)