The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

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  • I borrow your recipes and cook them. Having a photo tells me if I have done ok !

    Cumbria lass - that is a very kind thing to say, thank you :D But the photos are provided to show how not to do it, and to do it tons better when you do it :D:D I just show how to take some perfectly nice ingredients and turn them into a dog's breakfast :rotfl:

    I'll never get on TV, me. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

    Greying :rotfl: X
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  • I'm sorry the sleep is still not grand. Hope that sorts out soon.

    I'm always confused about tofu - is there a good 'read' online you'd recommend, I think I don't 'mind it' but the way you describe pressing and frying makes it sound totally different to anything I've had.

    I've only had it in miso tho.......or hot and sour soup.

    Love sesame in tomato salsa - mind on I love sesame oil totally have it as a wee drizzle in mayo sometimes - just a touch mind, we don't want to slip off the plate!

    Enjoy the pizza.

    XOXXO
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  • I'm sorry the sleep is still not grand. Hope that sorts out soon.

    I'm always confused about tofu - is there a good 'read' online you'd recommend, I think I don't 'mind it' but the way you describe pressing and frying makes it sound totally different to anything I've had.

    I've only had it in miso tho.......or hot and sour soup.

    Ay up sweetie,

    I think I've caught the lurgy from BG so I'm flagging a bit now.... :o

    I can't think of anything online that I've read and thought, Yes! THAT is the secret to tofu....... But when I say pressing, I am not doing owt technical. All I do is get the block out of the packet, put it on a plate with an absorbent cloth underneath it, put absorbent cloth on top and then I put my mortar & pestle on top. It squeezes out SO much water (although I'm led to believe if you get authentic tofu from good sources, the water is far less). I turn it several times to make a even 'pressing' (pour the water away) then I cut it into whatever size pieces I require. If you put it in marinade it just sucks it up like a sponge, adding flavour to the tofu. I cannot deny, 'raw' tofu has no taste to it. You do have to do something to it (cooking it in highly flavoured broth is certainly a good way to do that). I add the cornmeal coating for 'crunch' - another texture if you will. I'll have a look back in my diary though, there was a curry using tofu that was the bee knees of flavour town - it was orange marinated I think..... I wouldn't cook tofu now without pressing it first, it needs to be pressed to get rid of the excess water to be able to 'take up' flavour IYSWIM.

    Is that sort of the answer you were looking for? I wonder if I cooked it for you whether you would still think it bland? I do go into eating it with the mindset that you have to work with it - it's not naturally flavoured like a well hung piece of meat, or a freshly picked, HG vegetable.

    Greying X
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  • Good Morning :hello:

    Well, I take my hat off to BG if only being a 'little' bit more teary is how they handle this cold virus, they are amazing. I'm sitting here like death warmed up :rotfl:In summer :eek:

    Anyhoo, there is much good in the world so onwards and upwards to greet the morn :D

    Tea last night was cheese & tommie pizza and I bought some of Mr Bartlett's rockin' redd rooster wedges from h3ron. Mmmmm. I think the fact that they were wedges helped to avoid the 'samey' problem, we encounter if we have fish and oven chips on a Sunday. But I missed the memo. I missed where it was said that all potato wedges must be, at all times, spicy. I purposely didn't buy another brand, as they were quite clearly marked 'mexican spiced' wedges. I think I shall look forward to the day that the local tatties in 25kg sacks are ready to purchase........ Picture here (not v exciting);

    36002301873_058bf00721_z.jpg

    Tea tonight will be a curry of some description - most likely featuring courgette as I have one to utilise.

    We watched the first part of that new series by L3vinson W00d last night, where he is walking from Russian to Iran. Beautiful scenery. Pity the production company is making it the same format, as all his other 'walks', and we've already had the dark-glasses wearing men, who 'invite' him and his walking companion to get into their 4x4's and be driven off, at high speed. More walking please, less car travel. It's a walk, not a car ride to Iran.

    Right, I'm away to find some tissues. And greet the day. We've sunshine, so I best make hay :D

    Ta for popping by. Appreciated.

    Greying X
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  • Oh hugs to pesky cold viruses and hope you're feeling better as the sunshine keeps a shining.
    Yes that was the answer I've wanted - I have a highly amazing wholefood shop here with a range of tofu from hard to soft (?) smoked to non (I get that bit) and am often tempted but confuzzled. I tried to make an analogy with another veg or food stuff. Tried tatties but they're good with flavour added or not. In fact I like all veggies plain or otherwise

    I guess its a bit like cous cous or rice - per se OK to eat plain, but with added flavour - epic. (?)

    Hope you get some courgette inspiration - we've the start of them here but not the glut expected to arrive soon - been a funny growing year.

    Have a good one lady and thank you.

    Well done to BG for getting through that nasty cold, sorry they've shared so freely.

    XOXO
    Total debt 26/4/18 <£1925 we were getting there. :beer:
    Total debt as of 28/4/19 £7867.38:eek:
    minus 112.06 = £7755.32:money:
    :money:Sleeves up folks.:money:
  • Yes that was the answer I've wanted - I have a highly amazing wholefood shop here with a range of tofu from hard to soft (?) smoked to non (I get that bit) and am often tempted but confuzzled. I tried to make an analogy with another veg or food stuff. Tried tatties but they're good with flavour added or not. In fact I like all veggies plain or otherwise

    I guess its a bit like cous cous or rice - per se OK to eat plain, but with added flavour - epic. (?)


    Well done to BG for getting through that nasty cold, sorry they've shared so freely.

    XOXO

    'Soft' or silken tofu is more likely to be used in sweet things/desserts. I know that I have used it, before now to fry etc, because it is generally cheaper than the firm tofu, but it obviously is difficult (impossible?) to press, so the water spits everywhere. I think you could make eg a vegan 'cheesecake' using the silken tofu. What I don't know - but I bet Cheery can tell us - is whether you wouldn't press smoked tofu, and whether you would be more likely to use smoked tofu in stir-fries - or maybe just 'raw'?

    I didn't used to like avocado - every one I was ever fed was waaay underripe and tasted horrible. I now know that a ripe avocado is a delish thing. I think it is the same with tofu. If it's prepared wrongly, you think it yukky and up there with tapioca and semolina as crimes against the palate. But prepared properly, it is just another foodstuff to enjoy, and which has certain properties that may or may not help health.

    It's my own fault for catching the lurgy from BG - we waited soooo long to have them in our lives - there is no way I'm missing out on baby kisses and hugs and snuggles, so I put myself in the line of fire :doh:

    Right, I'm breakfasted, best go do the washing up, whilst BG has a restorative snooze - they were better through the night last night, but still need to top up their little battery.

    Greying X
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  • Cheery_Daff
    Cheery_Daff Posts: 15,608
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    I never press any tofu :o :rotfl: don't actually eat it that much :rotfl: When I do buy it, its usually the more expensive very firm smoked stuff that you can just slice and put straight on a sandwich.

    Not sure how helpful that is, sorry! :o :rotfl:
  • When I do buy it, its usually the more expensive very firm smoked stuff that you can just slice and put straight on a sandwich.

    No, no - that is entirely what I thought you could do with smoked tofu - but as I've not got round to trying it I didn't know. I had a vague recollection, at the back of my brain-cell that I have seen a smoked tofu salad on t'internet and I assumed that was uncooked - so you have validated my thought :D

    I caved in and took some paracetamol - i ache all over :( Found my vitamin c tablets that were on the hospital list for labour/birth. They're only 6+ months out of date (unopened), so I had one of those too :D Didn't have time to eat the dang things in labour - too blessed busy! :rotfl:

    Greying X
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  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 89,817
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    Hope that you are both on the mend soon.
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  • Good Morning :hello:

    From a slightly more human-feeling Greying :wave:

    Urgh!

    How on earth can an itty bitty little cold virus - I've not even got flu - floor you? I was saying to DH yesterday, I can't remember the last time I was ill (lucky me), and didn't even feel this crook throught out my entire pregnancy. Is this revenge of the bugs? Or the impact of stress?

    I was in bed before the end of the L1za TArbuck show last night. So much for Saturday night's down. the. roller. dis-co....... :rotfl:

    I suprised myself and managed to concentrate enough to make Sri Lankan Cucumber Curry with the remaining gifted courgette. I found some l/o mushy pea curry in the freezer, along with a big portion of rice. I was wanting something to eat, but wasn't ravenous, so all this made a smallish portion of curry plate for me and a reasonable plate for DH. I like the cucumber curry - I have made it with both; HG (not by me) 'monster' cucumbers that you'd never stick in a sanger, and courgettes. i would draw the line at marrow, but then i have never been a fan of marrow, and don't let them enter over the threshold.......

    BG only woke once in the night - and they settled back down pretty quickly, so hopefully this means they are getting better. I sincerely hope so. I'm considerably less dribbly (soz for sharing....), but I'm coughing a bit more. Not too sure what we'll do today. We were going to have a trip out somewhere, but now I'm not so sure. I'll see what DH thinks. As ever, there are significant chores that can be done around the homestead. And in that vein, i'm not too sure what will be for tea tonight. Ordinarily, I would say boxed fish, oven chips and mushy peas. However, I'm pondering whether they would come in handy if we popped out tomorrow instead. Will have natter to DH and try to come up with a plan. I know what I don't want to do, what we can't do, just not to sure what to do.... if that makes sense :think:

    Right, I am almost at the end of my coffee. And I can't think of owt else :money: to share, so i had best push orf.

    Ta for popping in and being my cheer-leaders. Mucho appreciated. As always.

    Greying X
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