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DaveRF
07-06-2011, 22:52
What do you class as cooking? Heating beans in a pan and putting bread in the toaster? Opening a few tins and packets and heating them? Using ingredients to create tasty meals? or much more?

We're watching Jamie's food revolution (I don't particularly like him as a TV personality but agree with his views) which is IMHO a real eye opener of a programme as to how some people eat. I was a bit shocked at how many people seem to eat processed crap. Paul works in a supermarket and he says that he sees so many people every day who have no fresh fruit and veg in their trolleys. There are lots who have nothing in there but crisps biscuits fizzy drinks and packet snacks and some microwaveable stuff. In his opinion more and more people are just buying the processed stuff.

I have to admit that some days we eat crap. Some of it tastes good :). Most days of the week though the food we eat is home made healthy and varied and includes loads of veg. We're lucky as my Dad gives us fresh veg almost daily but if he didn't we'd buy it.

Do people honestly not see the link between the trend in diets and people getting bigger and bigger or are they ignoring it? Do people honestly not know how to make basic meals from basic ingredients or are they just being lazy? /rant :hungry:

Ecky Thump
07-06-2011, 23:01
I can understand older folk buying ready made meals and banging them in the microwave, other wise some of them would not bother having a hot meal, but I prefer to use as much fresh produce that I can and cook it my self.

with cheese
07-06-2011, 23:06
Why would people want to buy meat or fresh fruit from a supermarket, its crap.
The fruit and veg is old and chilled so goes off quick.
The meat is all from fast farming so is not of quality.
Local Markets and Butchers.
I grow a lot of our herbs and some small veg, Pak Choi, Shallots etc.

Even make our own Chilli Burgers from scratch.

Ask your Butcher to mince you a lump of good beef, to your favourite cut. Finely chop red onion and shallots. Finely chop chillies of your liking, crush Garlic and mix/ bind using egg yolk. Dip the formed pattie in seasoned flour of your choice and cook. I cook mine on a griddle greased with chilli infused olive oil. Fab

cainaries
07-06-2011, 23:06
How funny you should ask this tonight! I am a hopeless cook and have just tried to make some ginger biscuits which have come out as charcoal biscuits with OH criticising all along the way. Some of us are born to cook and, frankly, some of just aren't. And we still aren't speaking in this house. It's so easy to say, oh people should cook fresh food and make the effort but some of us just aren't any good at it.

slodgedad
07-06-2011, 23:19
I can understand older folk buying ready made meals and banging them in the microwave, other wise some of them would not bother having a hot meal, but I prefer to use as much fresh produce that I can and cook it my self.

I agree with your comments. I only cook from basic ingredients.

Ingredients: 2 Slices Bread. 1 Tin beans. Parmesan cheese. Shake or 2 of pepper, salt to taste.

Method: Place 2 slices of bread in toaster at the same time as you put the beans (covered cos they spit) in the microwave for 3 minutes

Serving:

1. Take toast from toaster and place on plate.

2. a bit of butter on

3. Carefully place beans on top, withholding the excess juice

4. Sprinkle as much black pepper and parmesan, that your ulcer can cope with, on top.

5. Eat, slicing thru toast making sure that beans cheese and pepper are on top.

6. Lick plate.

Haute cuisine or what?

Sylla
07-06-2011, 23:24
WE cook almost every day ...well I'm so lucky as hubby does most of the cooking now we are retired , but I always cooked for the children when they were with us and small ....he makes most of our bread , but when we run out buy some , but it is so awful , he soon gets on pounding/kneading some more ready for the oven ...

A roast is so easy ....a steak ....fish , baked or fried , even cheese on toast , topped with a tomatoe under the grill , if you you want something quick ( one of my favourites) BUT then why I am so lucky ! we get all the Greek food he makes , and a tray of mousaka or pasticcio you can cut into squares and freeze for another day in the future ....

The super market counters for ready made food are getting bigger and bigger , so it must sell .... the only ready made I have enjoyed is an Indian , I'm usually dissapointed with any thing else ...:hungry:

with cheese
07-06-2011, 23:26
How funny you should ask this tonight! I am a hopeless cook and have just tried to make some ginger biscuits which have come out as charcoal biscuits with OH criticising all along the way. Some of us are born to cook and, frankly, some of just aren't. And we still aren't speaking in this house. It's so easy to say, oh people should cook fresh food and make the effort but some of us just aren't any good at it.

Take them out why they are still soggy and very soft, biscuits carry on cooking and harden.

cainaries
07-06-2011, 23:33
Take them out why they are still soggy and very soft, biscuits carry on cooking and harden.
Yes, thank you SO much .. another know-all. God it's depressing. Open oven, take out tray, open rubbish bin, tip contents of baking tray into bin. I was never cut out to be a domestic goddess, was never one of my aims but I get bored .... I'd like a real job but there aren't any.

Sylla
07-06-2011, 23:35
How funny you should ask this tonight! I am a hopeless cook and have just tried to make some ginger biscuits which have come out as charcoal biscuits with OH criticising all along the way. Some of us are born to cook and, frankly, some of just aren't. And we still aren't speaking in this house. It's so easy to say, oh people should cook fresh food and make the effort but some of us just aren't any good at it.

Cainaries ,,,,that's a shame ...I feel for you ! we have all burnt something in the past ...and you really feel awful that you wasted your time .....solution for you ...get a hubby that can cook LOL !:idea:

with cheese
07-06-2011, 23:41
Art of cooking keep it simple

Tom & Sharon
07-06-2011, 23:42
I (Sharon) love to cook. I cook all the time.

Only thing is - CIM keeps coming round and eating it all. Even asks for a doggy bag.................

tizzywizzy
08-06-2011, 09:58
I wish we still had Fruit and veg shops near us. Supermarket pre-packed stuff is not very good unless you are lucky to buy it as soon as it is on the shelves. I have no choice in the meat,No butchers near me. Supermarket again pre-packed which you can not see very well due to the big labels they put on.

Brian
08-06-2011, 10:05
I quite enjoy the cooking, it's the washing up I am not so keen on, so one pot meals are very popular, needless to say the wok gets used a lot.

cjd01
08-06-2011, 10:26
I love cooking - not so keen on cooking dinner after a days work but love to cook a full 3 course dinner party - I also make homemade soup for hubby's pack up in the winter!

cainaries
08-06-2011, 15:55
Cainaries ,,,,that's a shame ...I feel for you ! we have all burnt something in the past ...and you really feel awful that you wasted your time .....solution for you ...get a hubby that can cook LOL !:idea:

Aw, thanks for the sympathy. The second batch was okay, fortunately.

Huge apology to @with cheese for being snappy.

My husband is a wonderful cook, sorry, woops, the word is 'perfect'. Everything he tries turns out just perfect every time. But he's not interested in baking or desserts so I have a go sometimes and then spend so long cutting out the second tray of biscuits that I forget to check the first tray and burn them. The unburnt ones are quite nice.

Tinkabel
08-06-2011, 16:43
I love to cook and enjoy trying new recipes, it's something we always did as kids, Must admit though in the UK i was self employed working extremely long hours and the hubby worked nights, this meant i often collected our daughter from various family members after a long day and would open a tin or just get something out of the freezer to make things simple as we all ate at different times. Since coming to Tenerife i've had much more time to spend in the kitchen and as a result we all eat the same meal together, it's made a huge difference to my daughers eating habits which have become much improved, on the rare occasion when we eat crap food, she always says "Mum your's is so much nicer" Its great to hear. Recently i've began working a little more so to ensure we're still able to eat "homemade" food i just batch cook everything, that way if we're pressed for time i can just lift things from the freezer and we still get to eat healthily.

bonitatime
08-06-2011, 17:25
Not sure I love to cook any more. That said we eat fresh food on a rotating basis. We have a plan at the beginning of the week which we wrtie a shopping list for and my other half then shops. In three supermarkets the fruit and verg shop locally and if we can the local market.
In my cupboard in the way of processed food threre is dried pasta, tomato puree, stock cubes (would rather not use them but need must) and the odd packet of biscuits. Sometimes we just eat sandwiches or bread salad and cheese which are throw together meals not cooking.

Sylla
08-06-2011, 17:35
QUOTE=cainaries;9956]Aw, thanks for the sympathy. The second batch was okay, fortunately.

Huge apology to @with cheese for being snappy.

My husband is a wonderful cook, sorry, woops, the word is 'perfect'. Everything he tries turns out just perfect every time. But he's not interested in baking or desserts so I have a go sometimes and then spend so long cutting out the second tray of biscuits that I forget to check the first tray and burn them. The unburnt ones are quite nice.[/QUOTE]

Well done with your second batch Cainaries ..... You kept hubby a secret ....another one with a great cook hubby .....so you won't go hungry:hungry: mine doesn't much like making deserts/sweets ....so that is mostly left to me ...but he does make a real nice creme caramel ....:eyebrows:

with cheese
08-06-2011, 17:35
Aw, thanks for the sympathy. The second batch was okay, fortunately.

Huge apology to @with cheese for being snappy.

My husband is a wonderful cook, sorry, woops, the word is 'perfect'. Everything he tries turns out just perfect every time. But he's not interested in baking or desserts so I have a go sometimes and then spend so long cutting out the second tray of biscuits that I forget to check the first tray and burn them. The unburnt ones are quite nice.
You know you don't need to apologise to me.

cainaries
09-06-2011, 00:05
You know you don't need to apologise to me.

Thank you! I felt guilty about it all day. I would send you a biscuit to sample but I ate them all.

Ecky Thump
30-03-2016, 16:49
Yesterday I got about 5 kilo of fresh mussels off a local fishing boat and was told to keep them in sea water for about 24hours and add a handful or two of porridge oats in with them, I was told that the mussels will eat the oats and then they will expell any sand/grit etc. and give them extra flavour.....report will follow when scoffed later tonight!!:hungry::hungry:

macdonald5
30-03-2016, 17:44
Right Ecky !! It's not 1st April till Friday x

kingbaker
30-03-2016, 18:41
Yesterday I got about 5 kilo of fresh mussels off a local fishing boat and was told to keep them in sea water for about 24hours and add a handful or two of porridge oats in with them, I was told that the mussels will eat the oats and then they will expell any sand/grit etc. and give them extra flavour.....report will follow when scoffed later tonight!!:hungry::hungry:

Or ye could cover them in fresh water for about two days....'toughens them up' so you can stick three on a 4/0 hook (without thread) on a drift (in a boat) over rocky weedy ground. Might catch some big local Cod.

That's if you can fish!!:lol::D

tfs1
30-03-2016, 19:06
Or ye could cover them in fresh water for about two days....'toughens them up' so you can stick three on a 4/0 hook (without thread) on a drift (in a boat) over rocky weedy ground. Might catch some big local Cod.

That's if you can fish!!:lol::D

here in Tenerife we have spent the later part of the afternoon doing the preparation and soon we will be having 'pastel de pastores'

Ecky Thump
30-03-2016, 19:07
Yesterday I got about 5 kilo of fresh mussels off a local fishing boat and was told to keep them in sea water for about 24hours and add a handful or two of porridge oats in with them, I was told that the mussels will eat the oats and then they will expell any sand/grit etc. and give them extra flavour.....report will follow when scoffed later tonight!!:hungry::hungry:


Right Ecky !! It's not 1st April till Friday x

No, it was no wind up, they tasted fantastic, no gritty bits and the oats gave them a lovely extra flavour, but the white wine sauce definitely went down very well with fresh crusty bread. ;)

melm
30-03-2016, 19:12
No, it was no wind up, they tasted fantastic, no gritty bits and the oats gave them a lovely extra flavour, but the white wine sauce definitely went down very well with fresh crusty bread. ;)


So mussels like their oats:lol: Sound delicious :yum:

kingbaker
31-03-2016, 12:47
Wild oats perhaps!!

Ecky Thump
31-03-2016, 14:25
So mussels like their oats:lol: Sound delicious :yum:

Not only did they like their oats, but they were Scottish Mussels, so they were very rampant in nature! :D

The Clangers
04-07-2016, 20:14
The Art of the "Bedfordshire Clanger", food for the working class.
PASTRY
4 oz. plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz. beef suet
water to mix

FILLING
5 oz. streaky bacon (or pork) cut into small pieces
small amount chopped onion
seasoning to taste
Stock/gravy/water
approx. 2 dessert spoonfuls jam
(plum or apricot are good: choose a firm variety)

Make pastry & shape into oblong.
Reserve small portion of pastry and make a bridge along.
Spread meat and onion on larger portion; season to taste and moisten with a little gravy or stock.
Spread jam on remaining third. Roll up with care; seal edges with water.
Lightly flour the clanger; wrap in buttered or greaseproof paper & a pudding cloth & secure (tie up with string, not too tight).
Place in boiling water and simmer for approx. 2 hours. Serves 1 - 2.


If there is any left over, try it fried the next day (with fried eggs, plum tomatoes and fried potatoes).

RedButterfly
12-07-2016, 04:04
In my own words, cooking is merely preparing a meal either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The preparation can be done by frying, boiling, grilling , steaming and any method that one prefers to do so.

LindaD
12-07-2016, 23:35
In my own words, cooking is merely preparing a meal either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The preparation can be done by frying, boiling, grilling , steaming and any method that one prefers to do so.

Eh?:dontknow:

melm
13-07-2016, 00:14
Eh?:dontknow:
... I'll repeat that LindaD