F**d, Glorious F**d!

[Jim_Campbell]

Just a random thought that occurred to me (which, as you may have noticed, happens with tedious regularity) ...

One of the key social interactions between humans seems to centre around food, the preparation, the eating ... I'm no psychologist, and I'm not interested in going down that route, but it struck me as odd that we talk about so many off-topic things, but almost never talk about food.

I've been talking to some people I haven't known particularly well up until recently (and, in fact, a couple of people that I already did know well) and I was startled at their apparently wilful ignorance of all things culinary. I mean - I don't want to spend half the day in the kitchen, but why wouldn't I want to be able to prepare at least a handful of decent meals? Why should it be surprising that -- if left in a kitchen with an assortment of herbs and spices and a selection of vegetables -- I can knock up an acceptable meal from scratch in 30-45 minutes?

I will admit to having become slightly poncey through continual exposure to all these TV cooks, but I am eternally grateful to my parents for taking the time to show me how to cook a few basic meals, since this has served me well in later years. I've even become particularly adept at cooking tasty food in a low fat stylee.

So, any cooking hints my esteemed fellow boarders would like to share?

Here's a couple of mine:

Chilli con Carne is just as nice with turkey mince, and better for you. If you don't add cumin, then do. If you already add cumin, then try a tablespoon of HP Brown Sauce.

For every two people that you're cooking for, add two squares of really good dark chocolate near the end of the cooking process. I know this sounds insane, but try it.

Extra healthy tip: don't put any oil in the pan. Stick a can of tinned tomatoes in first, add your chopped/crushed garlic and your chillis (or chilli powder) and bring to a vigourous boil. Use this to brown your mince, and then add the onions and the rest of the ingredients on top of that.

Anyone else want to offer anything?

Cheers!

Jim

[Eric Plumrose]

Grated carrot. If making a vegetarian dish, it helps beef up the consistency, for want of a better term.

[JOE SOAP]

or just add meat.

[Eric Plumrose]

More than mine's worth.

[dweezil2]

Or veggie mince for a low fat alternative to meat. I've served up some veggie spagboll to friends before and they couldn't tell the difference. Well until the "Bronx Cheers" anyway.

[Funt Solo]

Whamlum Casserole

This version of the casserole includes broccoli, cauliflower and carrot, but those might easily be exchanged for more bell peppers, or sweetcorn, or whatever's in the cupboard and needs eaten.  Really, the bell pepper's optional as well, but it's always been in there.  Oh, and the tuna can either be there or not, depending on mood.  

Essentials:
   1 * Onion
   1 * courgette (aka zucchini)
   4 * cloves garlic
   1 * bell pepper
   1 * tin tuna flakes
   1 * tin chopped tomatoes
   1 * squirt of tomato puree
   1 * 150g of cheese
   vegetable oil

Random bits:
   1 * big bit of broccoli
   1 * big bit of cauliflower
   1 * carrot

Herbs:
   rosemary
   chives
   parsley
   mixed herbs
   hot chilli seasoning
   
Instructions:

Finely chop the onion and fry it in vegetable oil (in a big saucepan, wok or hybrid).  Add rosemary and chives to taste (less is more).  
All the vegetables (except the courgette) get chopped (whichever way suits) and added, in the order of longest to cook first.
Add the garlic (minced through a garlic mincer-thing) and hot chilli seasoning to taste.
Add the tuna flakes.
When it's all hot, add the chopped tomatoes and a squirt of tomato puree to taste.
Leave to simmer for now.

Finely slice the courgette (a cheese slice is useful) and fry the slices up in a separate pan, with oil and mixed herbs.

When the courgette is cooked, place the big stir fry into a casserole dish.  Layer the courgette slices over the top carefully.  Place the dish in the oven at pizza-heat (approx. 200 celsius).

Grate the cheese.

After about 20-30 minutes (the dish should be bubbling hot), take the dish out, sprinkle the cheese on evenly and then sprinkle parsley over the top sparingly.

Back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Out and serve.  Yum.

[Hoagy]

I can't really offer any tips, except; Always enjoy cooking and have a passion in your food. This will always reward. Throw in herbs into gravies, sauces and soups at every opportunity. Add to pastas too. Thyme is full of iron. Parsley is a dark horse.
Mint is a surpriser and the basil has so much to give alongside all the others.

I recently did an Italian with fennel for the first time instead of onion out of curiosity. pleasantly surprised as raw, it is renowned for being very aniseedy. Fried before adding mince( And I use oil. I love oil properties) it is lot mellower. Though I will probably have a stab at Jim's style in the near future too.

[Jim_Campbell]

"Or veggie mince for a low fat alternative to meat."

Indeed. The brown sauce and chocolate thing works particularly well with Quorn mince in a chilli instead of meat.

Cheers!

Jim

[mogzilla]

the hp sauce! great minds think alike!!!
my chili always gets rave reviews because of the secret ingredient...try a bit of soy sauce as well just after the mince has browned....yum!


my gran's scrambled eggs.
plenty of butter or good marge
just batter the buggers til set DO NOT LEAVE RUNNYISH! right at the end add a couple of tablespoons of milk(full fat) and allow to quickl warm through and use as the "gravy" (or 'liquor' i think the posh term is)
 and use well done toast wi' plenty of butter.

[Gavin_Leahy_Block]

well said Krombasher. mixed herds also work fantastically well when add to potatoes as they are boiling.

And when making gravy add some soy sauce.

[Peter Wolf]

 
 If you  are making a Bolognase sauce or any kind of dish that uses a tomato

 based sauce as well as the salt and pepper add a generous teaspoon full of honey.

 It does something to the sauce and massivly improves the taste and has some sort of alchemical reaction with the rest of the ingredients.do the same when making a Chilli.

 Do not prick those sausages before frying as the juices from inside the sausage will leak out if you do.

 Glad i worded that one right.


 If you are making a white /bechamel sauce or custard use a whisk when you add the milk and add the milk cold.Guaranteed no lumps.

 
 If you are making French bread Pizza 0or cheesy garlic bread lightly toast the topside before covering it with sauce ,cheese etc or else if you dont you will end up with a soggy horrible mess under the topping which is horrible.


 Raisins or sultanas on a Pizza.Not too many either.You wouldnt think it works but it does.

 Aberdeen Angus Beef.Its the tastiest.

 

[Eric Plumrose]

>> Or veggie mince for a low fat alternative to meat.

As an omnivore who lives with a vegetarian, just about every meat substitute available tastes bugger all like what it's supposed to. Vegetarian mince is probably the only alternative that passes the professed flesh test simply because, more than any other substitute, it's easier to hide the taste with a sauce.

I'd rather knock up a dish that doesn't need to pretend it has meat in it.

[scutfink]

Brown sauce ? in Chilli? Heresy....

Try marinating the meat (or meat alternative) in a mix of 1 shot of Tequila and 1 teaspoon of chilli powder per pound for at least a day prior to cooking...

Fresh tomatos, fresh kidney beans half an onion 2 fresh chilli's and a spoonful of Tabasco (again per pound)...

Now that's the chilli I want to be made into when I die...

Although I'm with you on the 2 squares of dark chocolate...

[scutfink]

Oh and BTW Cubed meat works Waaaaaay better than mince (unless you're putting it in Chimichangas or Burrito's or whatnot...)

[Slippery PD]

I do all the cooking in my house and its rather therapeutic.  Given my recent history of depression, it gives you fantastic focus and a real sense of achieving something in a relatively short period of time.  I spent about 5 years as a veggie, but now rather enjoy meat of good quality, unlike most meat eaters Id rather eat vegetables than poor quality meat.  

Hints and tips are all about saving time.  A Sunday morning is when I normally cook, I get up even at the weekends at 7-8am so spend sunday morning cooking a number of meals for the week.  Prepare vegetables and such like.  

So I spend time making soups casseroles and other dishes such as cottage pies.  It means you have an instant ready meal (without the E-numbers and the crap like that).  Other thins that are good additions to meals are pulses, a handful of lentils and beans to casseroles or mince dishes adds a load of fibre. Vegtables are great roasted or mashed, I tend to mash together swede carrots potatoes and squashes to go with sunday roasts.  Onion and garlic is great roasted and the garlic loses its bitterness turning sweet.  If you do it in the same tray as the meat, you get all the flavour in the juices of the meat making a lovely gravy.

If your a meat eater, any bird tastes great if you stuff butter and herbs between the flesh and the skin.  I also tend to marinade meat a lot.  Adding in vinegars and oils.  The one thing I find difficult with my families diet is fibre, adding in extra into sauces and soups really helps.  

Thats about it for now.... more later as I think of it...