Hi there, I personally wouldn't use a sauce, I am assuming you are talking about the sauce on the chicken en croute, I would however have a salad dressing and that should be enough.
Regards

Hi redonion, you can buy cook's candles for the kitchen that help to take away the smell

The book is fab, well worth the money, it's a good read as well - does anybody know if the new series they are plugging is really a new one - I recorded it last night but we haven't got round to watching it yet.

I do a nice pasta salad - mix the cooked and cooled pasta with finely chopped cherry tomatoes, finely diced red onion, sweetcorn, finely diced cucumber (with the watery bit removed first) - chopped chives or basil and dress with finely a mixture of finely chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar - you can add tuna, prawns or chicken also if you wish to make it more of a main dish but it is great with barbecues in the summer as a side dish.

Hi Mrs W W I bought one and it is great - I found it on ebay - perfect thanks for the recommendation

you are welcome Carol, it may make it a little creamier than you had expected but I am sure it will taste just fine! Let me know how it turns out

I am sure it will be fine carol, just don't add as much other liquid or stock, or whatever it states in the recipe

Hi Mrs WW that's good enough for me I thought it looked good on the F word when the guy from Cold Feet (whose name I can never remember) was using one, I am off to ebay now to bid on one!! - have a great bank holiday

did anybody buy one of these and do they work - I have been thinking of one but wondering if it was another one of those things that would end up at the back of the cupboard never to be used again???

Hadn't thought of that one Livewire, is it a good one? Have you used it before?

Hi there guys, any help would be apprecited. My nephew has recently moved into a shared house anway from home, he really does like to cook but I am worried he won't get much variation, I have emailed him lots of recipes such as chillis, curries etc., that he can make up and freeze ahead and am buying him the Beyond Baked Beans recipe book, but does anybody have any other good ideas for recipe books that would help him in his cooking for one, or making ahead and freezing.
thanks guys

Ooh - I have loads, JCN of course, James Martin, Jamie Oliver, Simon Rimmer. Ross Burden, Farnk Bordoni, Lotte Duncan, Brian Turnr - all for different reasons!! - I think that's all but will check back if I think of any more

I found one - here is a link to it
[link]

Was that the one the guy used on the F Word, (I think his name was John thompson - the guy from Cold Feet anyway) I thought that looked great and wondered where he got it from - sorry I can't help but I am just bumping this up again so that I will get an email reminder if anybody does find out where they come from!

Morning all, well, the recipe was a success, the lentils were perfect without soaking, the tomatoes cooked up a storm and I think they looked the way they should and it all came together very nicely, I made enough for 4 luckily and the OH had four helpings, there was just a little bit left for me to bring to work for lunch today!!
thanks all for your help

Actually Rosti, I'm not too sure what the tomatoes should look like, do you remember, they have been in my fan oven on about 120 for two and a quarter hours but I have had to turn the oven up now to put the chicken in (he is not keen on sardines) and I am having veggie sausages - any help would be appreciated

Looking OK thanks Rosti, the lentils are boiling now, the OH should be home in about half an hour so hopefully it should all come together!!

right - the tomatoes are in the oven, the onions are chopped and I have a glass of vino in front of me - I'll let you know how it goes!!

A very good show, I am a veggie so turned away for most of that bit, however I think it is a good thing to show, as people need to know where the pork comes from and doesn't just appear on the supermarket shelves in a little wrapping of cling film.

HI all, apologies if this question comes up twice, but I thought I had posted it and the lost it - I am planning to do this recipe this evening but am a bit confused, the recipe calls for soaking the puy lentils prior to cooking, but on my packet of puy lentils it says there is no need to soak - does anybody know if there are different types - should I soak or not - also - not sure what to do with my tomatoes now!!!
thanks in advance

here is a link to lamb tikka, that you could easily adapt to chicken, I use it a lot with panneer, the OH has used it on both lamb and chicken and it is very tasty
[link]

Methinks you are being a little sensitive Rosti - I wasn't having a go in any way at all, merely reinforcing your point

"Also I would check on WHY he doesn't eat meat (ie ethnic, religious or simply not liking meat) before offering meat substitutes."

Precisely Rosti - which is why I said (if he eats quorn) as not all vegetarians do!

you can adapt a lot of chicken recipes using quorn fillets if he eats quorn. I often make coq au vin with quorn and veggie bacon. Indian food is a great idea, most Indian recipe books have a lot of vegetable curry recipes. You could make an Indian feast, you could buy ready made onion bhajis for starter if you didn't feel confident to make them and serve them with a wedge of lemon and a bit of salad on the side, then a nice veggie curry or panneer curry (that is an Indian cheese) and is lovely in curry. Also I use Ken Hom Travels with a hot wok recipe book as that has some good chinese veggie recipes, lots of tofu and again you can substitute the chicken in some of the recipes for quorn.

Good luck

Oh my god, I'd forgotten all about advocaat, we were allowed a little glass when I was young topped up with lemondad and then one of those awful glace cherries on a stick in it - we thought it was heavenly then!!

sounds like a great idea ansypansy- seem to remember the wine of the time was blue nun or black tower liebfraumlich - if you could actually bear to drink it - starter of prawn cocktail sounds good or maybe avocado and prawns, also pate with triangles of toast had just started around then - coq au vin is a great idea or steak and chips was the other great favourite - pudding just has to be black forest gateaux as suggested by cranie - oh cranie I remember babycham (we also used to mix brandy in it - one of them and I was anybodys), cherry b and pony - the little drink with the bick kick!! and as Rosti says, cheese and pineapple stuck in the foil covered grapefruit

I do a nice dressing, mix 2 parts white wine vinegar to 4 parts good extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and salt and pepper - try different mixes until you get it to taste, you may want to add a bit more vinegar or oil.
It goes very nicely on a pasta salad, which I make with cooked pasta, red onion, sweetcorn, tomato and basil.

thanks for that cheese obsessive, I thought it was, I serached high and low on here but couldn't find it anywhere and I thought it looked really nice - cheers

Can anybody remember the ingredients used in the summer tease cocktail that was made on this weeks Sunday Lunch Live - I know there was apple juice and white wine but I think the third was elderflower, can anybody remember if it was a cordial or something else, I have tried looking for the recipes on here but couldn't find them - please help I want to get some for the weekend when I go shopping tomorrow.
Thanks

The Queen Inn
Down St, Dummer, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG25 2AD
Tel: 01256 397367
A lovely pub with great service and really nice food, I would recommend it highly!

Thanks Mrs W W - sorry should have mentioned I am a veggie, but I am sure the OH will be sampling some of the fish and chips!!

Can anybody recommend anywhere nice to eat around the Aldeburgh area, I am planning a visit there later on in the summer?
Thanks all

I cook rice in a microwave vegetable steamer, it is very effective and a fraction of the costm the rice comes out very light and fluffy, you just cover it with boiling water to about half an inch over the top of the rice and cook for about 8 minutes.

I think they are doing these every three weeks, so we should get one this week or next, I can't quite remember when the last one was!

Are you sure you don't mean passata Moogie boogie, it is kind of like tinned tomatoes but more concentrated, I think that is probably what you are looking for if it is in an Indian recipe, you can buy it in most supermarkets, it usually comes in a carton, if you can't find that you could use tinned tomatoes and tomato puree.

Oh claire what a sad story, I have a very easy peanut sauce recipe that goes in the microwave, how about this to start you off -

6 tabs crunchy peanut butter
3 oz creamed coconut from the block - chopped up
4 teas lemon juice
1 tab soft brown sugar
1 tsp chilli pwder
1 tab tomato puree
1 garlic clove (or a generous squeeze of garlic puree works well)
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
about half pint water (or add more if necessary)

put everything into a microwaveable bowl and micro for about 5 minutes until it bubbles

then micro on a low setting for about 5 minutes - adjust according to thickness of sauce - add more water if required - it is so easy and my family and friends love it with anything - bbqs chinese thai etc.

You could make a lovely soup with them malvickery, peel and chop them all to roughly the same size, fry off some onions, add the veggies and cook for a little while, add some stock and any herbs you fancy and boil up and then simmer for some time, blitz if you like and there you have some nice soup. You can also freeze it if you have too much for one go. Another nice idea with just the carrots is carrot and coriander soup, mix coriander spice at the beginning and add fresh coriander at the end, very tasty.

you can also get is from The Spice Shop online [link]

The best thing to use is Alpro non dairy cream, they sell it in Tescos and I am sure in the other big supermarkets, it is usually on the shelf with the long life milk, it is great in cooking as it doesn't split and tastes as good to me!

I have registered but somebody is already using my porridge nickname so I can't use it

I may log on and have a look

Mine is pretty similar too but fry off onions, add chopped up corned beef and baked beans, cook for a few minutes, (add a generous splash of red wine if you like, a teaspoon of marmite and some fresh thyme) put in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes, top with grated cheese if you like and again cook in the oven as a shepherds style dish, it doesn't need cooking for long as it is already cooked, but you could prepare in advance and cook as needed from cold until it is piping hot in the middle.

Hi Stuart, I thought you did really well and you looked the best main course wise to me, I can't believe that girl got through with what looked like a dogs dinner, but they had some nice things to say about you which must be nice for you to have heard. I thought you seemed a lovely guy and should try again next year. Tell me, what did you do to your finger?

Hi Carol, how are you doing, looking forward to seeing Stuart tonight?

Hi Stuart, I will be watching you, do I remember from a previous posting that was deleted that you were the one who did kidneys?

Hi Stuart, go to Food Chat, I am leaving you a message on there to avoid all the people who don't like us discussing a BBC programme on this subject

It isn't UKTV Food that is wasting money moving channels, it is Sky moving around the EPG!

you are so welcome Sonia, glad to help, that really is a great website, I use it a lot and they deliver really quickly!

Hi Sonia, try www.thespiceshop.co.uk I don't know if they do the particular ones that you are looking for but they do stock a lot of unusualy things and I know they do chillies

Some friends of mine just spent a couple of nights at the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton, just outside Oxford and said it was really lovely

That certainly is true, I saw them doing it on Food Uncut, the chef, can't remember his name now, also said never EVER put it in the dishwasher!

Hi there, if you type pancake into the recipe section here you will find a few recipes, I would also recommend Delia's crepes suzettes, I make them a lot and they are delicious!

you could also try ebay - I am sure I posted this before but it doesn't seem to be here now - perhaps I left work before I hit send

Hi Gosberton, this question has been asked in the past but I can't remember the outcome, if you have a trawl through the subjects in message boards I am sure you will find your answer
Regards and good luck
Porridge

Hi again Carol, after watching the last two evening's editions, what a shame you weren't on one of those, you would have definitely got through then, as I don't think any of them particularly shone!

I think it will be fine Mary, although it is better for Indian cooking, so would not be really authentic, I always use thai jasmine rice when I make chinese food.

Ooh well done Caroleena, how long do you have to wait to see if you win your bid? I love ebay, I have bought lots of things on it, can be a bit addictive though!! Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Hi Becky, staying in and cooking will be much nicer than going to an overpriced restaurant, that's what we are doing, not sure what yet, probably something Indian or Chinese. Delicious magazine is really good, I subscribe and have it delivered, I would really recommend it

I'm going to make a Frank Bordoni eggs en cocotte in mine on Sunday as we have friends over for lunch, we will be following this with a Spanish chicken stew which we practised on Saturday from a Delicious magazine recipe - it certainly was delicious - actually I did two, a chicken one for the OH and a quorn one for me as I am a veggie! Your toadies sound yummy - what are you planning for Valentine's Day?

Carol, you were fab, I really thought you had got the edge in the last round, but you did look really nervous initially. I guessed who you were when I first saw everybody coming in - don't know why but you looked just like I thought you would. Don't worry at all about how you came across, you were lovely and at least they didn't slate you like they can do sometimes - your fruit jelly looked lovely and your ravioli looked so professional - it just goes to show what we have been saying all along - you just never know why they vote for who they do!!

Well done girl

I quite fancy doing these in my new le creuset heart shaped ramekins, anybody any idea how long they should need to cook once put into the oven or under the grill?
Thanks

HI Becky, how did your little toadies go down, they sounded yummy - I am planning to make some kind of souffles at the weekend in mine - fingers crossed they turn out OK!

Hi Caroleena, you can buy one on Amazon, but they are a bit expensive, give ebay a try, you never know.

Never mind Frank, I cooked it last night (I wrote it down as I had sky plussed it) it was absolutely fantastic, I just finished it off for lunch today - even my OH loved it and he is not vegetarian!! I would like to have your version of it though if you don't mind!

Hey, I got mine yesterday - hurray, just need to decide what to cook to put in them now - they are really cute, we gave two of the floras to the next door neighbour and froze the rest, so they won't go to waste, our Sainsburys had a few left but luckily they aren't making a huge display about them so I guess people hadn't realised they were there!!

Oh no I can't go until tomorrow as we live near Twickenham and there is rugby on today so the traffic is always a nightmare - I hope they have some left tomorrow

I think we need to stop talking about it so there will be some left when I get there! There is a flurry of activity on ebay, people are obviously buying them up and then selling them on ebay as valentine's presents - not a very romantic present!!

I'm deffo off to Sainsburys tomorrow to buy a set before they all sell out - what a great offer. Does anybody know how long Flora can be left in the freezer?

I think it must be because it wasn't his recipe, he was testing it from one of the recipe books they were discussing on the show that day.

Hi all and welcome to Captain Cook - you should have fun posting on here and sharing and gathering knowledge - Becky I hope you finally make your risotto, I love them - tonight I am making Jamie Oliver's best pasta salad which we are having with sausages, OH is having pork and leek and I am having veggie sausages - what is everybody else having tonight? Tomorrow we are trying a Spanish chicken stew which we found in this month's Delicious magazine!

I had sky plussed yesterday's show so I kept rewinding and jotted it down but I have googled and found one that looks similar - here is the link tedi
[link]

Much as I love JC, that was embarassing, poor thing - I guess that is live TV!! Wonder if it had anything to do with is knife

Hi Oda, I watched her do this and it was raw when she peeled and grated it - really looked nice I thought

Well done you for having a go, I'm afraid I can't help with the boiling the milk question as I have never attempted it myself but I am sure one of the experts on here will let you know!

Hi Helen, I used this one on Sunday, although I didn't add any wine I just used vegetable stock and I thickened it with a knob of butter and some flour - it was fab, I have to say!
[link]

Hi mercedes, you can substitute with chilli powder or paprika, but if you want the real thing you can get them online at www.thespiceshop.co.uk

they will be getting viewing figures from both programmes and comparing them with what went before, so perhaps there may be a change if the viewing figures are lower - but if they figures aren't lower then I guess things will stay the same!

Hi Mrs. Whosh, this isn't the Keith Floyd one but it does show you how to make it [link]
I eat paneer a lot but am a bit lazy and just buy it from the supermarket!

Hi Pocket Battleship, It's not showing on the EPG opn Sky either, I just checked, on there we have Delia and the 2 fat ladies - again!!

Sunday lunch live was listed for Sunday last week so I Sky plussed it but when we came to watch it we had the two fat ladies - what's going on????

Hi suzette, you can get a substitute cream made by alpro - it is called soya dream, it makes great creamy sauces and never splits and is lower in fat! You can find it in Tescos with the long life milk.

Hi there, if you like Indian food you must visit Chutney Mary in the Kings Road, here is the link [link]
They have other restaurants in the chain which are also nice but Chutney Mary is the best - when are you coming over and which area are you staying?

You must tell me what you are planning to cook with it - we got the pomegranate seeds from there which we use for a potato and pomegranate salad which is fab, we also found the chaat masala to spice it with on there - I am so pleased I found it, we have an excellent Asian grocers near us but the don't do these things!

Sorry - posted twice there!

Hi Jeany, did your order turn up yet, I have found them to be very quick and great products, they also do the cutest little yellow spice tins which I bought a huge stock of as I was keeping all my spices in glass jars until I heard you were not supposed to do that!

Hi Jeany, did your order turn up yet, I have found them to be very quick and great products, they also do the cutest little yellow spice tins which I bought a huge stock of as I was keeping all my spices in glass jars until I heard you were not supposed to do that!

We stayed and cooked dinner for a couple of friends, we used to go out for dinner every New Year but it gets so expensive, and when you are in your own home, you can get an extra bottle of wine whenever you need one instead of waiting for a very busy waiter, you can eat when you want and what you want - we had music on all night but put Sky News on at midnight and watched the fireworks in London with a bottle of bubbly - they were beautiful. I much prefer to stay in now, I wouldn't thank you for a busy pub! Although I used to when I was younger

Hi claire, how about a veggie curry or casserole, you could always add lentils which are very cheap and would bulk it out a bit, lots of fresh in season vetables, you could make a huge one and it could last a couple of days, or like tina says freeze some, although with 7 of you there wouldn't be much left to freeze. Pasta sauces as Jennie suggested above are always tasty and go a long way, you don't always have to have meat, just add onions and veggies with tomatoes - delicious! Good luck

Hi there, I agree with ishka, oil the food first, we have a couple of le creuset pans, they are great and should last you for ever - here is a link for care and use that should help you
[link]

HI there Jonesy, on New Year's eve the OH and I did this Italian sausage recipe from Aldo Zilli [link]
He did it with meaty sausages and I did the same recipe with veggie sausages, it really went down well and was so easy to do - we didn't do the polenta but did roast potatoes, but it would go down just as well with the polenta or some mash, we cooked it all up and then just reheated it, the apple made it really tasty and thickened the sauce up - I would highly recommend this recipe, we fully intend to do it time and again!

we used ours yesterday to make a tikka marinade, it really crushed the cumin and coriander seeds a treat, we are very impressed with it! So pleased I found one now

Hi HappyChap, it really means just fry it gently in a pan in a little oil usually, until it is slightly brown, not cooked through, as generally it is a method used in a casserole when you will be adding other ingredients and cooking further.
Good luck with the cooking!

hi rex, just type casserole in the recipe search on here it will bring up loads of stick in the oven dishes, there is a good one by Sophie Grigson or a sausage casserole from Aldo Zilli, hope you have a lovely Christmas and your wife is better soon.

I think I would like to have a little villa in the south of France, I'd still want to cook the same stuff though but it would be nice to have a view over the sea!

I finally gone one which I ordered on ebay and it arrived this morning, for the OH's little present under the tree - I know it is a bit gimmicky but I wanted one!!

if you can't find a grocer that sells it go online to www.thespiceshop.co.uk they deliver reqlly quickly too

I can't find one anywhere, they are all out of stock

Hi Gem, you can order it online from www.thespiceshop.co.uk - they have lots of unusual things on there and delivery is very quick.

she was on Saturday Kitchen this week as well and didn't stop talking, having said that I do quite like her, but she hasn't had as much practice as jenni and will probably calm down in a year or two.

Hi everybody, thanks for all your help, I did my maris pipers at the weekend with the couscous and they were delicious, I also tried yesterday the half a roast potato with olive oil as per Gary Rhodes in the christmas lunch live, they were very nice too. I can't use goose or duck fat as I am a veggie but will definitely try the white flora next time I go shopping.

HI cookiecutter, how about a soup, there are plenty of nice recipes on here, a really nice one I have done lots of times is a pumpkin and coriander, although I substitute the pumpkin for butternut squash, it is really delicious and can be made the day before and reheated - here is the link [link]
Although that may be a bit too filling for christmas day, so how about tomato and mozarella with basil and olive oil, also delicious.

thanks for this ofgs, how are you today? Forgive my ignorance but what is white flora? I have also seen one of the tv chefs rolling them in couscous or semolina, has anybody else tried this?

I have tried a few different potatoes for roasting but am finding lately they are a bit floury in the middle - can anybody recommend the best potato to try?

thanks

Just to let you know we tried this place out on Sunday for lunch, the Queen Inn in Dummer, just off junction 7 on the M3, it was fabulous, the Sunday roasts were huge with plentiful helping of vegetables in separate serving dishes, and very reasonable, I had a fantastic mushroom stroganoff with garlic bread and it was very reasonable, the staff were very friendly and helpful, we had a fantastic window seat by the huge roaring fire, I would recommend this place highly, thanks Sarn for first bringing it to my attention. Very reasonably priced - I would suggest you get there early if anybody plans to go as it got very busy!

how about some stir fry noodles with chinese veggies

I've never tried making naan bread myself, well done you! If it isn't too personal how old are you as you sound quite young and I am very impressed to see young people cooking and enjoying it and asking for advice?

Thanks George but Hove is a little too far, we are trying to find a good place somewhere in between Bournemouth and London, we have been going to the same Chinese in Winchester for a couple of years but the last visit was a bit disappointing, I think it changed hands, we have actually now considered a pub/restaurant that was recommended on here not long ago in Dummer called the Queen Inn - unless we got any better ideas in the meantime.

Good luck, let us know how you get on

No you should brown it first funny magnet, not fully cooked but just to seal it.

I would definitely cook it in the sauce so that you get all the flavours of the spices etc., into the meat, as ofgs says if you cook it on a low heat you will find it is tender.

Can anybody recommend a good place for Sunday lunch in the Portsmouth area, it is the father-in-laws birthday and they are not far from there, we will be travelling up from London so don't really know anywhere, Chinese or Indian would be a good choice - help please as it is for this weekend. I had planned to book somewhere that had been recommended but they do not open on Sundays

Chutney Mary is a great Indian restaurant on Kings Road, also Veerswamy is part of the same group, they are in Regent Street - little bit pricey but very good - you can find them both on this same link [link]

I'll go along with the others here, we have a fan assisted oven which we inherited with our house 4 years ago, you definitely need to turn the temperature down by about 20 degrees and just keep checking, you turn around one minute and it can burn, I have just about got used to mine after 4 years!! Good luck

I use soda crystals on most things and they are amazing, just mixed with some water - but again check the label to make sure, I can't check mine at the moment as I am at work.

There is also this website [link]

I have been to the Potting Shed in Marylebone, not for dinner for for leaving drinks and canapes and the canapes were to die for so I should imagine the restaurant food would be up to a similar standard.

Oh dear - how about [link]

HI Chris try logging on to www.toptable.co.uk you get diners reviews on there too, hope this helps

It is good isn't it - apparently Liz Jones is going to be one of the women who can't cook on the show soon, I read it in her column, she said she felt unfaithful to her husband after cooking with gordon Ramsey - think she quite fancied him! I really cannot believe when people say they just can't cook -surely anybody can cook something!

Might have to give the branston ones a go now - I have heard all the adverts on the radio and wondered if they taste of branston pickle - I too always put them in a veggie chilli - they give it a lovely flavour - that pie sounds nice too, I could do that with veggie sausages - I used to do similar with corned beef before I turned veggie - beans are an excellent source of protein!

We went to a fab place on the Champs Elysee - just pasta and pizza but if you sit upstairs and are lucky enought to get a window seat you can look out at the world going by and by Champs Elysee standards it was pretty cheap - it is called Pizzapino - the waiters are lovely and although it is very big and busy the service is fab - great for lunch but try to get there early as they are very busy. We were amazed at the speed the waiters cleared and layed a table - with about 10 glasses in each hand!

Is there a particular area in London you will be, that may help us to come up with something - also maybe your budget?

you are welcome glynis, it's a fantastic online shop and delivery is really quick

Hi glynis you can get it on www.thespiceshop.co.uk they also stock a load of wonderful spices and hard to get stuff, I found them when I was looking for spice tins, they sell the most amazing little yellow spice tins and their delivery is very fast.

ooh - what a sexy man, a man who can cook and can dance like that - what more could a girl ask for!!!

is he really on - I will look forward to that immensly!!

well done Mary but what a strange sounding ice cream - I don't think I would fancy that either

is it one of Heston Blumenthal's weird ice cream concoctions?

I entered this yesterday but it was removed for some reason - so here it is again?????

I can help with this one too
1. - same answer as rday, something that is ready to eat the moment you open it
2. - tarte citrone
3. - chocolate
4. - about once a month
5. - Tesco

can you use non alocholic wine Jini?

I'm a bit stumped essex girl, are there any more ingredients - go on give us a clue

or prawn cocktail recipe without the prawns?

thousand island dressing ?

Hurrah - Essex Girl got it though so she should go next

I like this game, it must be a cheese souffle, when is tina going to put us out of our misery?

they will certainly be cross if she has actaully won, when they watch the program today, there will be an uprising. Although, it must be allowed or else the program makers would not have let her do it while they filmed surely. As she said herself, it is called come dine with me. I do get your point though sharpcat, it is not fair to pretend you have cooked it while giving that restaurant free publicity.

Ii think they would have all had more respect for her and still marked her quite highly if she had told the truth, because the meal was perfect, I cannot believe she went to all the trouble of actually going to the restaurant and learning how to do it all, so she could lie. In particular the fish main course wasn't that complicated to cook so she could have done it herself.

She got very high marks though didn't she, I do think it was cheating and I can't believe anybody thought she had really cooked it all herself!

I thought his food looked very nice and he should have got marked a bit higher by the lady who only gave him 5!

Simon Rimmer for me - is he new?

Thanks goldie1, I bought the Tefal one in the end and I must say it is very good, I got it fairly reasonably priced on Amazon, sorry I didn't reply sooner, just back from a lovely holiday in the south of France!

hi MammaChef, nice to see you again, glad to hear things are going well for you!

Oh no - why would you put me in a rice cooker - eek!! Sorry suzanne, just my little joke, I have no idea what went wrong but it does expand I know so perhaps you put too much in!

The Naked Chef for me too baboush and Keith Floyd, he is so funny!

Just found this website for you that may help, some of them are very pricey but Butlers Wharf Chop House is very good, although it is not very near to Kensington.
[link]

Hi jac, a good website to check out is www.toptable.co.uk I am sure you can find a restaurant for less than £250 each, that is a ridiculous quote. My personal favourite restaurant in that area is Chutney Marys restaurant in Chelsea, but that is Indian food, which you may not want. Good luck

Hi jac, how many of you is the two hundred pounds to feed? let me know that and I will try to come up with some restaurants for you?

I am planning to buy a steamer and would be interested in recommendations from any of you guys that have one already. I have done a bit of research and the Tefal vitamin plus apparently holds 50 percent more vitamins in than the others - can anbody let me know if they have one?
Thanks

Hi Molly, try soda crystals, they are very cheap and clean almost everything, don't get the liquid stuff, get the real old fashioned crystals in a bag.

how about a veggie curry, you could maybe make a meat curry for your other guests with some side dishes etc., and then everybody will have a similar meal, also curry is the best thing for cooking beforehand as it always tastes better the next day.

I found the same problem in Spain so used creme fraiche for cooking but it was very expensive!

Hi Beverley, Jersey is lovely we stayed there a few years ago in a beautiful apartment which was attached to a hotel that had a fantastic restaurant looking out over the harbour, it was the Beau Couperon hotel in Rozel bay - people came from all over the island to eat there and the service was wonderful - check out this website
[link]

Hi Helen, I know Twickenham very well and if you are thinking of eating around 10pm in the evening, may I suggest an excellent Indian restaurant in York Street, called The Taste of Mogul, we go there a lot, the food is excellent and the service is too and they are probably your best bet for eating late. You can find them on yell.com along with a little map of how to find them!

hi frh - do they do vegetarian food?

Rick Stein used it the other night in his Food Heroes, he grated it with carrot and made a salad, I believe he used cumin and lemon juice but I can't quite remember and then served it with lamb koftas and a yogurt dressing

Hi jess, I have trawled the net but only found plain naan recipes, I love peshwaris too and usually buy them either from an Aisan shop or the takeaway - here is a plain naan recipe - forgive me if you don't want it as I am sure you can probably make plain naans, perhaps you could incorporate the coconut and sultanas into it somehow and see what it tastes like -
[link]

What about pasta salads with sweetcorn, boiled egg, avocado and that sort of thing, if the school doesn't have anywhere to keep them chilled you could send her in with a little cool bag and an ice pack. Sandwiches every day do get a bit boring don't they?

I used the blocks a lot Eves and find them great - the trouble with the tinned is if you don't need a whole tin it is a waste if you don't need to use the rest of it in anything else quickly.

Eves, I have a flask that I bought in Tescos, it has a very wide opening and is plastic inside so you can eat the hot food straight from the flask, it seems a lot safer for a child, I often take home made soups or casseroles to work with me, especially in the winter it is nice to have something warm, if I make a big batch at the weekend I freeze them in batches just the right size for the flask and then whack it in the microwave in the morning and pour it in.

Vic, you are indeed a bright and shining star, I will now return to these boards and look forward to posting again, thanks so much.

What may make a lot of people come back and start posting again would be if the trivia and games could be on a separate part, ie, not on the most recent posts so that people could spot the real foodie items that they really wanted to see, that way the people that want the games and off the menu subjects would be happy as well!

hi tomonastick, the batter mix is probably cornflour and egg white, that is used a lot in chinese cooking

Also Marcella, a lot of people don't think with vegetarians, try not to cook the veggie stuff close to the meat or wrap it in tin foil so the meat juices don't contaminate it - sorry if you had thought of this already but a lot of non-veggies don't think about it. At home we have two bbqs, one for the meat and one for the veggies.

Hi Marcella, I'm a veggie and generally have veggie sausages on the barbie, or vegetable kebabs, or make tofu and pineapple skewers, they always go down well, marinade the skewers in a little sesame oil and soy sauce beforehand, or whatever chinese/thai type spices you have. a good dip I make which always goes down well and I have posted it on here before is satay sauce, it is really easy to cook - here you go
It all goes in the microwave
6 tabs crunchy peanut butter
3 oz creamed coconut from the block - chopped up
4 teas lemon juice
1 tab soft brown sugar
1 tsp chilli pwder
1 tab tomato puree
1 garlic clove
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
about half pint water
put everything into a microwaveable bowl and micro for about 5 minutes until it bubbles
then micro on a low setting for about 5 minutes - adjust according to thickness of sauce - add more water if required - it is so easy and my family and friends love it with anything - bbqs chinese thai etc.
Good luck

WEll done everybody, I will be doing it at Richmond, Surrey again this year, this will be my 7th year in a row, I know what you mean frenchtart about the messages, I always run round with tears in my eyes reading some of them!

half a squash is too much for one foodieloon, we eat half a one between two and it is plenty, just chop it into even sized chunks and roast with olive oil, lemon and thyme, mayeb some garlic, it is really delicious. I've never used it to serve something in but I am sure that would be nice.

I saw her make them, they looked delicious!!

Yes well done smelloise, it is never too early to learn to cook, don't worry if nobody responds to your posts straight away on here, they usually do eventually!

they don't sell them in mine either, you can get them from Asian supermarkets if you have any near you but you can miss them out of most recipes without losing too much flavour if you can't find them. Also as Christine says you can get them online - try www.thespiceshop.co.uk they are really good, I recently ordered some of their little yellow spice tins which are great and they were delivered with three days of ordering!

I am really liking Mark, we are rooting for him to win, not keen on Thomasine or Christopher, he was too cocky, but Caroline and Mark are really sweet. The Corrs were funny, I heard one of the girls asking why she had custard on her fish!!

we used to sell it behind the bar in a hotel I worked in when I was younger, it always made me laugh if somebody ordered it!! Abby is right it is like a vermouth, not sure if you could substitute a dry martini in a recipe if you can't find it, but I am sure one of our experts on here will tell us.

Couldn't pick out of three - Jamie Oliver, James Martin or to look at the very sexy Jean Christophe-Novelli - I love a man who can cook but a man who can cook and has a French accent - wow!! He could put his buns in my oven any day!!

how about a tofu stir fry, you get the protein from the tofu, put in some veggies that your husband likes and for your friend you can do rice noodles - put your chinese spices in there - make sure you buy wheat free soy sauce if you are using that!

We have all the Jamie Oliver books, they are all fab, OH has made one of his scallop dishes, he often makes his lamb with pancetta, rosemary thyme etc., that always goes down well. But I will reiterate his best curry sauce is fab - easy to do and you can add what you want to it!

The OH made Tony & Gorgios' slow roasted belly pork on Saturday for a dinner party, I did the tried and tested James Martin's coq au vin but made with quorn for me, our guests loved it, they ate both, we did it with sweet potato and potato mixed mash, roast butternut squash with rosemary, thyme and olive oil and lots of veggies - for pudding I made Delia's crepe suzettes - yummy - we drank too much wine and had a wonderful evening!

Julsie, was it this one [link]

Thanks again kassey they do look nice, however I have just had delivery of 20 little yellow tins from www.thespiceshop.co.uk and they are fabulous, only 65p each!

Talking of the lovely James, another tried and tested dish in our house is James' cheat's coq au vin, very easy and very very tasty!

I've been to vinopolis too DeepFried, what a fantastic day out that was - OH bought the tickets as a christmas present a couple of years ago on lastminute - we had a bombay sapphire tasting in the cocktail bar there too. We had to stop halfway and pop in to the cafe for some chips to keep us going!!

Thanks everybody for all of your suggestions, I will try some of them at the weekend.

thanks Livewire, I have looked at those things but they seem to take up so much room on the worktops, I really am looking for some little metal containers to put on the shelf, as I said we have about 30 different spices so there really is no room in the cupboard to store them!

After reading a while back that my spices should not be kept in glass jars on my shelf in the kitchen I have been trying to find some metal spice containers to keep them in - does anybody have any ideas? Bearing in mind I will need about 30 so not too expensive!
thanks guys

Jamie Oliver's best curry recipe is great, it is a basic curry sauce which you can prepare in advance and then at the last minute just add whatever you want, fish, meat, vegetables etc.

I like him!

that's it!

I;ve used them before for lots of things, got great deals on tickets for Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, the London Dungeon, all great days out and cheaper than buying on the day. Also been to Chutney Mary for their lunchtime special at discount prices - highly recommended.

HI kavi, I've searched some sites but I think you may have to get the book as this one isn't on there - I am assuming you mean the Jamie Oliver recipe, my OH has made it lots of times - basically you score slashes into the lamb and stuff it with pancetta, sage and rosemary, rub it with oil and garlic and stick it in the oven for a couple of hours or so, depending on the size of the lamb. It always goes down well with our guests.

I do mine in the microwave too but with a little butter, you have to be careful in the microwave biscuit, keep whisking every 20 secs or so as Nick says and cook on low, but they come out perfectly

Herbs would have to be coriander and parsley
spices would be coriander, chilli and some kind of Chinese five spice. And of course I couldn't live without salt and fresh ginger (not sure where that one falls)!!

Re. onion bhajis, as you can buy them ready made, I don't know if they can be cooked from scratch and then reheated but I am sure one of our experts will be able to tell you!

I think the lentil dhal would keep a couple of days but it does freeze quite well - good luck, sounds yummy!

Hi Nimisha, I would do onion bhajis and samosas etc for starters, for mains I would go for a huge pot of some kind of meat curry plus a vegetarian curry (maybe incorporating some paneer) and then a lentil dhal, serve with naan breads and you are sorted. If you don't want to incorporate the paneer in the veggie curry then make some little paneer tikkas - they are delicious, especially if you have some veggies attending. Ice cream or sorbet would be perfect for dessert - sorry for the delay in responding, I hadn't seen your original post until Love Grub brought it up.

I know, I;ve mentioned it before but the local takeaway pizza that we use cuts the veggie pizzas with the same cutter as the meat ones, I saw him do it one night, if I have one now I ask for it not to be cut. Our local Tescos serve the bacon and the hash browns etc with the same tongs in the breakfast counter, I've seen them dripping bacon fat all over the veggie stuf too and they advertise a veggie breakfast. They still do it now even after I complained so I never have breakfast there anymore!

Hi goldie, glad you enjoyed it, I use the quorn fillets a lot, cook them and then take them to work with salad, the quorn pieces are good in salad, I wouldn't exactly say they taste like chicken, but they are low in fat like the mince and I like the taste. The quorn bangers are good too!

The Two fat ladies cook with all their rings on too - gets the jewellery clean though I guess!!

goldie, I use quorn mince a lot as I am a veggie and it is very good for you with no fat, I use it for chilli mainly - it does need flavouring or it doesn't really taste of anything much, but it does generally behave the same way as minced meat - I'll be interested to know what you thought!

there is something worse than that Sue, how many times do you see them just dippin their hands in salt that is in a bowl - me being a vegetarian I wouldn't like that salt used on anything I was going to eat!

I can't believe people eat that, even if I wasn't a veggie I could never eat that sort of thing - yuck, I feel a bit queasy!

I didn't mean to say you were being preachy Nick - I was merely reiterating what you said - sorry if I offended or are you getting too sensitive now in your old age

Helen I gave up caffeine when I got IBS a couple of years ago and I went on to peppermint tea, it took a while getting used to but I love it now. goldie, I also have been on slimming world a couple of weeks and have lost 9lbs, it really works, it is not so much a diet but an eating lifestyle, and as Nick says, the real way is to eat less and do some exercise. I too am addicted to cheese, you can keep your chocolate for me. goldie, we too cook a lot of chinese food at home and you can make it much healthier, I have lots of tofu and stir fries.

mandy if you search on the home page under recipes and then by chef and look under Ching, you will find most of her recipes on there - we have made the beef teriyaki and the bang bang chicken salad, they were both delicious!

I have been on slimming world and have lost 9lbs already, I have mostly green days, it is a great diet for vegetarians!

We have really enjoyed this program, at the weekend my OH and I had a lovely chinese lunch and cooked the bang bang chicken salad followed by the beef teriyaki, I made jasmine rice for the first time and it was absolutely delicious! Oh is going to do the duck recipe next time! Well done Ching, keep up the good work!

We have really enjoyed this program, at the weekend my OH and I had a lovely chinese lunch and cooked the bang bang chicken salad followed by the beef teriyaki, I made jasmine rice for the first time and it was absolutely delicious! Oh is going to do the duck recipe next time! Welld one Ching, keep up the good work!

Fredericks in Camden Passage used to be a fab restaurant, I haven't been for a while but would be interested to know your opinion if you do go there!

Hi rustie, how are you my old friend - I love pineapple rustie, often have it on a pizza too - you must give us your chocolate sauce pasta recipe, for a special treat when my diet has finished. On another chocolate note, I saw Ching make some yummy looking chocolate balls the other day on her show, wasn't paying too much attention but I am sure she used what would normally be a savoury ingredient but she stuffed a chunk of chocolate in the middle and then had chocolate sauce on them -did you see it , they looked delicious!

Hi Adrian, I am a veggie so may try that without the gammon, sauce sounds nice - herbs I use generally would be oregano, basil, parsley - I do agree with you that nutmeg is good in pasta especially with spinach and gorgonzola in a creamy suace (Oh I do wish I wasn't on a diet!)
try this website Adran for lots of Italian herbs and ideas
[link]

tomatoes are good but for me it has to be a creamy cheesey sauce with some italian herbs and lots of black pepper! Shame I'm on a diet!

Lee-anne, if it is the one like Ching uses it is a Ken Hom Sensai wok, it is around £50! Do a google and you will find them, we have one and they really are fab!

I started Slimming World just 10 days ago and have lost 9 pounds already - I know weight falls off quickly initially but i am really pleased and it is giving me the incentive to go on, slimming world is really good for me as I am a veggie and can eat loads of veg, pasta etc., also you can sin a couple of times a day so I get to have a couple of glasses of wine a day also!

Hi Tobey, it is a Ken Hom Sensai wok, my OH bought one from a back copy of Delicious magazine, he is really pleased with it! It was £40 though

hi KC, my OH make a beef bourguignon on NY eve and it went down really well, just serve with mash and veggies - here is a link to the recipe he copied from AWT's Saturday Kitchen [link]

Oh - forgot to say if Rocky marked her high it was because she really enjoyed herself and Sarah made a real effort with the veggie food for her! Really looking forward to the next two progs - I do hope they do this again but this time it should go out on prime time tv, perhaps one night a week around 8 or 9pm.

Sarah's food looked fab and the evening was much more relaxed than David's - I think the low marks she got were a little unfair!

I think after Pippa, anything is going to be a bit tame!

I joined last night - will keep you all posted on my progress!

jennifer Rocky isn't veggie, she only eats kosher meat so she said she would only have meat in her own house.
I thought last night's lady was a perfect hostess and was marked pretty low by some of them

Hi tiggerlet, that is the bit that appealed to me the most!!!

I've been thinking of doing this online, as I remember my sister losing loads of weight on this diet. Does anybody know if you can have tofu or quorn on the green days as free food as if you can I think I would be able to do this diet quite easily.
Thanks guys

Another good idea is sausage and mash with vegetables, get some interesting sausages for the meat eaters and some nice veggie sausages for the mother-in law - make mustard mash - cider and onion gravy is yummy, you could do roast butternut squash - roast in olive oil, lemon and thyme. Or find out if she likes quorn, you could do a chicken coq au vin for the meaties and do the same recipe but with quorn for her - again serve with an interesting mash and vegetables.

How about Chinese - you could do a meat dish with some stir fried vegetables and tofu, everybody could eat the rice

Curry is a great meal for veggies, I am a veggie and often eat curry - the meat eaters would also eat the veggie curries as side dishes too. You could do a lentil dhal and get some naan breads in to serve with them, there are some great recipes on this site, I will try to find a few and post them for you if you are interested.

Hi tiggerlet I make sweetcorn fritters using one heaped tablespoon of cornflour to one egg (obviously can be doubled to make more) blitz with small tin of sweetcorn, saving some whole sweetcorn to add at the end, I also add seasoning and some coriander and seczhuan (I'm sure I spelt that wrong) pepper then shallow fry in little fritters - I am sure that would work with mushy peas.

I just remembered something really funny - Pippa thought she looked like Nigella Lawson!! ha ha ha

She didn't care at all did she - selfish woman!

She didn't make an effort at all to cater for him and it could so easily have been done, poor Craig - she was hysterical, I wouldn't have marked her that high, can't wait to see the look on her face when she realises she didn't get anywhere near close to Craig's score. Good idea for the coeliacs program Nick, as you say a lot of people don't understand, Pippa last night said something to the lady on the cheese counter, about couldn't be bothered to cater to different people's needs and she said - well it is a medical condition!

I shan't get to watch it tonight, I have recorded it but am going out tonight, can't wait to see the last two tomorrow night! Pippa really did seem like a dreadful woman on the first ones this week!

I can't believe she has many friends!

I can't believe Craig made Stu sit on the fold up chair, you never do that to your guests!

I can't wait to see Pippa, I haven't watched today's yet as I will be watching with the OH after the football - I hope you had a poke round Pippa's stuff Stu. Interesting to hear about the filming, I guess it wouldn't be entertaining if everything went well and everywhere was clean and tidy!

Stu - I thought you were great, but very ill-prepared, you need to clear up the kitchen as you go along, makes things much easier. I am a veggie so wouldn't have eaten any of your food but my OH fancied the pinwheel you made for starters. I can't believe they were so rude about your house, how dare they go wandering around poking their noses round your house and making snidey comments.

I sky plussed it yesterday after reading your comments on here - what a fab show - I can't believe that guy's menu, how funny - and the state of his kitchen, he really had no idea of preparation and tidying up as you go along - what a great program - can't wait to watch today's tonight!

Hi lambshanks, it's camembert

Ok we will all be sharing that then!!!

Thanks Flaky, I didn't hear AWT pull her up at the end, I was probably still too busy ranting and raving about the anchovies! The confusion lies with people who eat fish and call themselves vegetarians! I don't want to get into the old argument again about what they should be called as people are probably fed up of me ranting on about it now

Sounds lovely Sarah - how do we sign up for a ticket?

It's a tomato sauce, you can find it in most supermarkets

AWT showed an old clip of hers on Saturday Kitchen which he advertised as Delia cooking vegetarian dishes - she put anchovies in one of her dishes - yet again people thinking vegetarians eat fish - I wouldn't have expected that of Delia! I don't want to start the old argument again that we have had some many times before on here - but surely Delia should know that vegetarians don't eat fish

you could make a chick pea dhal or just add veggies and make a curry

grugog, there was a book for that series, we bought it, there were some very nice recipes in it.

we get ours from the local Asian supermarket, it is very good for batters and I make lovely sweetcorn crepes with it as well - delicious

sounds yummy snoozy!

Hi Snowy, you could always make some breadcrumbs and freeze them for future use!

what a great idea, I would love to do that, but I couldn't fit 15 friends round my dining table unfortunately

Hi prawnfiller, I have visions of you giving squash a good stuffing now!! How is sir getting on with his wine opener?

We saw James do this on Saturday kitchen last week and it looked so nice I made it on Sunday - it was really delicious, just though I would let you all know - however I left out the cream, in an effort to not put on too much wait, just put in a little extra olive oil and it was fantastic, we didd't do the lamb OH plans to do that one day - here is the link in case anybody fancies a go
[link]

Oh bless!!!

I would say yes you can as it has been cooked but if I am wrong I am sure one our experts will correct me!

Bombay sapphire is a nice gin, we went to Vinopolis a while ago and they had a bombay sapphire room where we had a cosmopolitan made with it - OH makes them at home now - very nice!

perhaps I'll give them a go then!!

Her Christmas program still amuses me, she gets up at the crack of dawn and everything seems such a lot of work, I think she gives herself about half an hour mid morning to open presents and have a glass of champagne - sorry but I could never be that much of a slave to a meal!!

I think the white onions are a lot more expensive

I would say that works Trudi, or in the microwave if you have one - nothing like a big bowl of soup with some crusty bread in the winter!! My freezer is always stocked with home made soup!

Shelly, I was diagnosed a couple of years ago by a specialist and he gave me a few tips and also recommended immodium, which is a great help, I almost have it under control now and can eat certain things in moderation but I bought a book initially and followed it to the letter for six months. The book is on Amazon and is called IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome): The First Year - An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (Patient-expert Guides) written by Heather Van Vorous - web link is [link]

It is American but is fairly easy to convert, I also started making sauces for pastas and curries etc using Alpro non dairy cream, excellent stuff, I still use it regularly as it is also lower in fat than cream. Good luck!

Found it - here you go - you can leave out the curry leaves if you can't find them

[link]

Veggies are good - I agree Mary especially in curries - vegegirl why don't you get yourself some Indian recipe books - or maybe a ken Hom book - Chinese and Indian food are very good for veggies - I make a lovely curry with paneer. Also jamie Oliver has a very good curry recipe in on one of his books - I will try to find it online and post for you. the list is endless for veggies, casseroles, risottos etc. You can always use recipes for chicken and substitute quorn. good luck

I really enjoy tofu but it has to be marinated in something so it takes on the flavour, it is great in chinese recipes and stir fries, just marinate it for a while in the chinese spices and soy sauce, sesame oil etc., that you like and stir fry with veg and noodles etc.

Sorry I am getting my decades mixed up - now I can't remember what I ate in the 80's - I believe Indian food was just taking off, lots of Indian restaurants were opening in the early 80's.

How about prawn and acovado cocktail - black forest gateau for pudding - for main course, coq au vin - we have started making this again - very retro and very tasty, I make it with quorn though for a veggie recipe but OH does it with chicken, there is a very easy cheat's coq au vin by James Martin that we use!

Hi Carol, follow this link for a nice James Martin recipe.
[link]

Alternatively soup can be quite easy to make, just chop leeks, saute in a little oil, add cubed potatoes and herbs, season well, add stock to cover, just before serving add a lttle cream.

I hope you enjoy me Sugarpuff - i find I am sweet enough generally!!!

Thanks blondie, I may have to sky plus it as we are out tonight to OH's firm's Xmas do, already feeling a bit fragile from my firm's Xmas do last night - it was very good though! Lemar was there singing on stage, he was fab and I imbibed a few too many glasses of wine for my own good!

When is it on blondie?

Not sure, I never have as it doesn't take too long to make, I have usually made it on Xmas Eve and then cooked it on the day. I am sure one of our experts on here could tell us.

oops - what a spelling mistake, I meant to say the driest - not the direst!!!

Hi Sue, torrential rain in spain - oh my gosh, it's been the direst November for ages here!! I'd still rather be where you are though - roll on May!!

you certainly could Mary, I may try it with chestnuts next time I make it, you could also substitute the parsnips for another root veg if you wanted, but I do love the parsnip taste. Or leave out the yeast extract, which I do usually and I have substituted the herbs for whatever I have handy.

Here you go -
1 finely diced onion
3 crushed cloves of garlic
8oz cashew nuts (ground)
1 egg
tsp chopped chives
tsp chopped thyme
3 parsnips
100ml veg stock
1 tsp yeast extract
8 oz mushrooms (finely sliced)
saute onions and garlic
place nuts and egg and herbs in a bowl and mix with sauteed onions
peel and chop parsnips, boil and mash well - add to mixture akong with mushrooms
dissolve yeast extract into stock - add to mixture
grease and line a large loaf tin
place mixture in tin, cover with foil and bake for 1 to 1 and a half hours
I usually bake at about 150 - 190 but I have a fan oven so depending on your oven you might need to adjust this
Serve immediately
It really is tasty and quite easy to make - enjoy!

Hi Kromusdomus I am making the Pine Nut and Carrot Roast with Mushroom Sauce that is on the vegetarian Christmas recipes, I also have a great recipe for cashew nut and mushroom loaf if you would like it, just let me know and I will post it for you.

Hi frexy nice to have you back, how was your trip?

well done Livewire - guess a tart is also a kind of a flan then??!!

But what about a jam tart - that isn't covered? Is a tart sweet and a flan savoury - I'm not sure either. Surely somebody out there knows!

I like the old Masterchefs especially when you see the famous chefs judging and they look so young, I particularly liked the one where our very own kiwichef was a contestant. I enjoyed the AWT series but I see they are showing it again but maybe a bit too soon as I watched them all last time. I liked the ones where he went to Spain and I saw places near to where I have been on holiday - the market he went to was fantastic and when I go again in May I intend to stock up on all the spices they sell there.

Haven't eaten in that one Sarah, but friends have eaten in the Kew Grill and it comes highly recommended, I plan to try it one day as it is local to me but not sure if he does veggie food, can you let me know after you have been what veggie choices are on his menu as I imagine they will be similar.
Cheers Porridge

jamie Oliver does some nice ones
here is a good one [link]

you can leave out the parmesan - Lucy's sounds fab too!

Oh poor James, I used to watch it with the sound turned down just to look at his lovely face!

It really was the worst program ever been on UK food

hi liffey, welcome from me too, I tried a couple of Ken Hom's recipes after he showed them on the Chinese New Year show, the stir fried vegetables and the cold noodles, the veggies were great and I make them a lot still but the cold noodles didnt' go down too well.

if you log on to this website below you can download some rather nice veggie Christmas recipes
[link]

it's probably a myth put out by the pickle manufacturers so that everybody will talk about it and rush out and buy lots of it - great advertising!

so spooky I said it twice!!

spooky!!!

spooky!!!

That was horrible - although very funny - no good sending Gino on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!!

cep, they all sound lovely, how about some Jamie Oliver salads, there are a couple in his book with peaches, I seem to remember he put pancetta in as well but you can leave them out and shaved parmesan on top. If you look on the BBc website there is a good recipe for nut and mushroom roast on there which I always make at Christmas and it is very nice cold on boxing day with bubble and squeak. You could also do vege quiches and rice salad or pasta salad. You could marinate some tofu in chinese spices and chop that up and put in the rice salad, that is very nice. Or paneer tikka is nice cold, just marinate slices of paneer like a meat tikka and cook. You are very brave doing a buffet for that many people at Christmas - good luck.

You are welcome Black Mariah - a bit of coriander goes nice with carrots as well if you have any.

Hi Rustie - how are you this morning?

I'm sure carrots will be fine, just call it a vegetable soup if necessary! Have a good bonfire party and take care, read Feathers' posting!

Tesco own brand vegetable suet has hydrogenated palm oil in it - not sure if that is any better for you??

Scrambled eggs are excellent in the microwave - I never cook them in a pan - plus the bowl is easier to wash up than a pan

why is it they only sell unwaxed lemons in a pack - if you don't need four you have three wasted lemons!! I've noticed that in Tescos too.

Bit like spinach - that always sticks in your teeth when you are trying to impress!!

some recipes use red wine and some use white wine, the best wine to use is a good one - as Keith Floyd once said "if it's not good enough to drink it's not good enough to cook with"

Depending on what you want there is a very nice Pizza Express opposite the station, if you want something a bit more elaborate, I am not too sure, but if you search toptable.co.uk you should find something.

Hi Helen, have you tried the low sodium salt for adding flavourings etc. It's called Lo Salt and most of the supermarket chains stock it.

just leave them out Pam if you can't get them, they are often optional in a lot of recipes.

Thanks Sarn, we will definitely give it a go when next in that area?

Carrie - I'd be interested to know how you grew chilli plants?

Kerry if you are looking for something simple why don't you make a couple of curries, maybe one vegetable and one meat - serve with pilau rice (you can always cheat and buy it form the supermarket) and some naan bread - it can all be prepared in advance and heated up just before serving.

He does have a certain something I must admit!!

Jim, that Richmond Cook Shop is a great place, we live near there and often pop in, you could spend hours browsing in there and pounds shopping in there!!

Goergie, does this mean we can have a date with James Martin and watch him cook - I'd be game for that!!

Thanks Rustie, I've found that on yell.com - perhaps Sarn got the name wrong - how are you this morning my friend? Any more trouble with old ladies?

Sarn, I have been looking for this pub on yell.com and can only find one in Hook or Farnborough, would one of these be the one?

Sounds delicious - must go out and get some mushrooms

Nice to see we are not the only ones who suffer from "double posts" - even the experts are it it!!!

Try broccoli mash - simply mash together your potatoes and broccoli florets - season and add milk or cream or whatever you usually add to normal mash. Delicious.
Also, I know you mentioned you do stir fries but broccoli and other veggies with tofu and noodles all stir fried together with ginger and chinese spices is a great and quick and easy meal.

Do they do vegetarian nosh Sarn?

Thnis has been mentioned lots of times on here - use Alpro non dairy cream alternative.

Ha ha - Brie will be after you if you diss her Gino!!

Cute man who made some delicious cocktails - if I wans't so hungover today I could quite fancy one!

i thought cocktail man was strangely attractive - not sure why
But didn't Gino look cute in his little yellow jumper!

I had to give up dairy for a year or so to try to combat IBS, I am ok now if I eat dairy in small amounts but I discovered Alpro non diary cream (I have mentioned it before on here) it is a great substitute for cream in cooking and I still use it as it is much lower in calories. I must also say - what a top bloke Paul is for answering everybody's questins on here - well done Paul!!

He had a lovely set of pins - I only saw a bit though before the tv went all pear shaped!

what do you think of Gino in a kilt????

Oh please can we just put this one to bed now!!!

I do see what you all mean, perhaps they could have less dishes and more time to prepare them all or maybe miss out the chat with the guest - that said Ken Hom was fantastic today and finished everything perfectly - he really inspired me to start cooking Chinese food!

I'm a bit scared of them I must admit - I would rather use a microwave!!

I think he is great on Coconut Coast and Delhi Belly - just because he has an unusual style doesn't matter, he obviously knows what he is talking about - so as Snoozy says if you don't like him don't watch!

we never penalise meat eaters when we have dinner parties am a veggie and OH is not - you could do a meat curry and a veg curry and then the meat eaters could eat both and the veggies would be happy!

Oh well done brie for bringing this one back up again - come on Andy, have you done the deed yet, what did you cook, what did she say?????

We need to know

Sophie's two boys are on GFL at the moment - oh if only I was 10 years younger!!! - oh alright then 20
They did really well even though Jenny was hurrying them along.

How about a curry - one meat or fish and one vegetable, you can make them beforehand and just heat them through again - then all you need to worry about is the rice and breads etc!!

It's also close to my time share where we go every year and I too have been in that market - it is really fabulous, the spices are fantastic and we always bring some back - so cheap!

Hi - how about hummous and pita bread with some salad - also the fruit as suggested by goldie1 as above.

I love Jamie Oliver and James Martin - Jamie Oliver is just so natural and down to earth and his recipes are very easy to follow, James the same - plus he is very easy on the eye!!

My favourite is broccoli - I have it most days and I usually just steam it (very boring) however I like it in stir frys and curries etc - very versatile and very very good for you - there are not many things out there that can claim to be good for you and taste delicious!!

I quite like Julie Peasgood, ok she is not as good as Jen, but she is very pleasant.

Sorry, I didn't mean a new series of the two lovely fat ladies obviously, but I can watch their repeats forever - have to agree about AWT and food and drink - great prog - I love his Sat morning show too and Oz doing the wine features

I always enjoy the two fat ladies, I do like the celebrity ready steady cook but we have seen them all now. A new Jamie Oliver would be good and Keith Floyd and Nancy Lam who is bonkers but so watchable!

Thansk for the help but I was really looking for a recommendation for a Chinese or Indian, (as I am a veggie I find that the best place to eat for everybody) we ended up in Cellar Peking again which is in Jewry Street, an area we do know quite well. If anybody in the future knows an Indian or chinese restaurant in the Winchester area that serves good food and is open on sunday lunchtime, I would be interested to know for the next time we go.

morning all, I know from past topics that one or two of you know Winchester quite well, we often pop over there for a Sunday lunch and usually eat in Cellar Peking, where the food is fab, but I am wondering if anybody can recommend a different place for Sunday lunch, preferably chinese or Indian as if the weather is nice it would be nicer to be able to see it through the window rather than sitting in a cellar.
thanks in advance

red rose - try soda crystals - they clean anything

Hi everybody, my curry night went perfectly, lentil dhal was a great success, I also did paneer tikka, pilau rice and naan bread, OH made a chicken curry and he also did some great vegetable pakoras for starters - we all drank far too much wine and I have a headache this morning - once again thanks too all for help with the lentil dhal.

I dunno Mark - my part of West London in the recent storms the water company pumped loads of raw sewage into the thames and killed all the fish!!

Obviously not as bad as cornwall but really horrific!

you are welcome Gaye - I have that book too, it is good isn't it? - by the way Ken Hom does an excellent vegetable stir fry also - that can be found on this site!

Ditto everybody - that was terrible to watch on the news and the thought of all those homes and livelihoods ruined was almost too much to bear.

I have also posted this recipe for satay sauce as well before but if you try this it is delicious - I defy your wife not to like it, goes down really well in our house -
6 tabs crunchy peanut butter
3 oz creamed coconut from the block - chopped up
4 teas lemon juice
1 tab soft brown sugar
1 tsp chilli pwder
1 tab tomato puree
1 garlic clove
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
about half pint water

put everything into a microwaveable bowl and micro for about 5 minutes until it bubbles then micro on a low setting for about 5 minutes - adjust according to thickness of sauce - add more water if required - it is so easy.

If you put kung po in the search bar above and search on message boards you will find a request from me for a recipe for kung po - check out the link rustie gave me and try that one - we make it with chicken for my boyfriend and tofu for me, have made it lots of times now for lots of different people and it is excellent and just like the one in a chinese restaurant

I do hope Andy's girlfriend doesn't read this website

I guess you link was deleted Brie - I don't understand what would be wrong with giving a link like that

My boss goes there a lot as he lives round the corner - he always raves about it - I think it won an award for one of the best gastro pubs in the Evening Standard

incidentally - I didn't use Devils dung in my lental dhal!

I have just made the lentil dhal as I thought I could leave in in the fridge overnight and heat through again tomorrow which will give me more time to make the other stuff - i popped the mustard seeds at the beginning, then added all the other stuff - I have just tasted it and it tastes like the real thing - I'll let you know what my guests think - thanks for the help again guys!!

Have some nice romantic music playing too Andy - if you have one of those hi-fis that play more than one after the other, get them all set up ready so you can concentrate on your fiancee to be!! Make sure you have all plates, dishes etc., out ready too in advance so the evening will go without a hitch!

Oh how exciting Andy, do let us know what she says - I can hardly wait, I would do a fairly light and easy starter if I were you - you don't want to go down on one knee with a full stomach - and you will have to go down on one knee as well as spelling it out or else it won't be right. Brie's suggestion of tomato and mozarella is a good one, you could also add avocado and basil to it. Or baby spinach and gorgonzola is a good one too. You could prepare both of this beforehand so not have too much cooking to do - don't drizzle the oil on until you serve though.
When are you going to do it?
Other tips, make sure you have the lights down low and the candles on and the champagne is chilled ready for when she says yes!!!!!

Thanks for all your help Terry, much appreciated, I will let you know on Friday how it tasted!

It wasn't tinned tomateos in the recipe - it is whole tomatoes incidentally.

Should the lentils be soaked first Terry - it doesn't say so in the recipe - I have bought split red lentils? thanks for all your help - you are a star!

hi Readie, I think it would depend on what time of the day, ie. will it be instead of lunch - in which case people may be quite hungry, I would allow one homemade cake per person and then most people would probably have one filled roll each, one sausage roll, a couple of cocktail sausages and a mini quiche - of course there will be some people who will have more but some will have less - take into account if you have any vegetarians coming the will not be eating the meaty stuff. Good luck, hope all goes ok.

hi Terry the recipe says, heat ghee until it simmers, add garlic, chilli and ginger, all the spices and herbs, mustard, tomato, onion and celery, fry for about 10 minutes until well blended. What do you think - whole mustard seeds?

I thought of that, maybe I'll try them and grind them down in my pestle and mortar first - thanks Ginos fan

i am making an Indian feast on Thursday evening and have a recipe for lentil dhal - it says 2 tsp mustard - does anybody know the best mustard to use for this recipe?
Thanks for your help in advance

Thanks glynis but I have just ordered a Time Out guide and Eating Out En Francais from Amazon, they should be here in a day or two so that should help me!

I have that one too DeLeeder but thanks anyway - I love Indian food, cooking it and eating out! That and chinese food is probably the best cuisine for veggies

I really enjoyed his programmes from India - even inspired me to buy the book which as some lovely vegetarian recipes in it.

why don't you try the Kew Grill where AWT is often found - I know it's not in London exactly but Kew is a very nice part of the world?

I always use rice flour for making little sweetcorn crepes and they are lovely - very light!

Thanks for your help with this Kathy, the market sounds lovely, I think we will swoop on there, buy some local produce and cook up a veggie storm back at the apartment - am alsolooking forward to the cocktails!!

Hi Sue, how are you? What a great website that is - I have been perusing the tapas recipes and fancy doing a Spanish night for friends one night.
Thanks for that

Favourite food from childhood is sausages casseroled in the oven in onion gravy served with mashed potatoes and peas - I still make it myself, only now with veggie sausages and I tart up the mash with mustard - but it is still a comfort food!

I used to have some delivered every Friday but stopped them as the quality wasn't always that good and they just left a mixture and it wasn't always what I wanted, so I just buy organic from the supermarket now when it is available.

Try this link little eddie - it's the one AWT did on Saturday

[link]

We are going to Antibes at the end of this month - does anybody know any good restaurants to eat in - bearing in mind I am a veggie - I know France is not the best place to get veggie food.
thanks guys

they really feed off each other well don't they - I know Tony is a kind of wide boy and not the type I would usually go for but there is something of a loveable rogue thing going on there!!

Oh I like Tony too - he's yummy and I love his house and his kitchen, I could so live there! is this a new series Georgie or the old one again?

Don't forget the vegetarians - cream cheese and celery is really nice. egg mayo with finely chopped spring onions - yummy.

Eddie some of yours sound really nice - let me know when you are next making sarnies and I'll be over!!

Me too - I think he is fab - sexy in an ugly man type of way - if you know what I mean!!

I do agree with you Nick, the daytime adverts as a whole are shocking - not just on UK Food but all around - I have tv on all day at work (just in the background ) the cancer ones annoy me but also the amount of ads for loans and personal injuries - they are saturated with them and the likes of Carol Vordeman advertising them - that is outrageous!

That's my problem too Abby, my oil is always hot enough when I stir fry so it is not that that makes them clump together - I may try the oil advice also - I always stir fry with groundnut oil and use seame at the end for flavour.

I have the same problem with rice noodles, I do rinse them in cold water and do everything you are supposed to do.

The only ones that don't stick together are the straight to wok noodles that don't need any boiling or soaking first - but they don't taste as nice!!

Ice cream is a great dessert - or fruit salad - something you can have made ready in advance so you don't have to be slaving in the kitchen.

No probs Lil'Abby - here it is - it is so yummy and easy I use it for satay sauce with chinese food or with a bbq in the garden - always goes down well and it all goes in the mocrowave

6 tabs crunchy peanut butter
3 oz creamed coconut from the block - chopped up
4 teas lemon juice
1 tab soft brown sugar
1 tsp chilli pwder
1 tab tomato puree
1 garlic clove
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
about half pint water

put everything into a microwaveable bowl and mocr ofr about 5 minutes until it bubbles

then micro on a low setting for about 5 minutes - adjust according to thickness of sauce - add more water if required - it is so easy and my family and friends love it with anything.

Hi there - if you type satay in the recipe search above you will get several satay marinades - number 4 on the list by Nancy Lam is quite a good one. You don't need to do her peanut sauce etc., just try the marinade. if you would like a very quick and easy recipe for peanut/satay sauce for dipping just let me know and I will post that for you.

I am a regular in this restaurant, I'm going again on Wednesday actually - it is fabulous food and fabulous service in a lovely setting - I totally agree with you SMED - I recommend it highly!!

I've made that one loads of times, it is really good!

I saw him make that yesterday - didn't it look delicious - sorry but I don't know where you can buy them from but I would love a slice when you make it!!

It is the best thing and so cheap - cleans cookers, stoves, bath - unblocks sinks and baths better than Mr. Muscle and for a fraction of the price

soak it in some hot water with soda crystals dissolved in it - they shift anything. don't get the liquid stuff though, the actual crystals are the best thing!

Did you notice if they do any vegeterian food?

Why not try an Indian feast or Chinese - plenty of nice recipes on here.

Liquorice is evil nasty stuff - I have never been able to eat it!!

I too love baby sweetcorn and sprouts especially with chestnuts at xmas - can't see the point in bean sprouts

Tofu cooks really well on a barbecue, cut into cubes and marinade it in the tikka recipe and mix on the kebab skewers with pineapple - delicious.

Also paneer is very good on a barbecue. Again it is very nice with a tikka marinade.

Haloumi is also good served with basil and tomates and drizzled with olive oil.

Finally, Tescos sell some very nice sun dried tomato and olive sausages - they are delicious.

I found a recipe for you - it''s quite elaborate but obviously done properly and it has the eggshell and liquer that Frexy talked abou

t[link]

they are very good for you, I wish I had a fridge full

as Frexy says blueberry pancakes or crepes are delicious but you can just mix them with yogurt and mueseli for a healthy breakfast.

you definitely should put it all on the website, I use a lot of coconut block. I may be being a bit thick but I don't really understand the pricing?

just checked out the website, what bargains, I will definitely be putting in an order when I am running out of the more expensive stuff I have in already!!

do you do anything other than spices?

Didn't your new "toy" come with a recipe book? i thought they usually did.

thanks guys, some good ideas there

Has anybody got any new ideas for halloumi, we usually griddle it on the bbq and serve it with basil, tomatoes and olive oil, some new and interesting ideas would be welcome

I have a friend who buys fish and chips from the chip shop and gets a diet coke to go with them -she says it makes her feel better!!!

If I am being taken out for dinner I don't bother with a diet, plenty of time for that at home!!

Seriously though, you could ask for food to be grilled and have side salad with no dressings instead of chips etc.

My local Indian will cook with vegetable oil instead of ghee if you ask them.

why don't you do a huge pot of chilli or something like that so you can keep it warm on the stove and everybody can dig in as and when they arrive. You can also have french bread to serve with it and maybe some cheeses to serve with the french bread for later arrivals!

you can get some really good Belgian beers - I think they eat mussels quite a lot too and waffles - how about a sweet waffle pudding?

Not sure about Malta, I did go many years ago and seem to remember a big Italian influence

Try mangoes Glynis - bellinis are delicious with mangoes too!

Have you lot been drinking already?????

Can't argue with that comment!!

How scrummy does Simon Rimmer's chocolate pudding look??????

It really is much lighter Martino, I started using it as I was trying to avoid too much wheat - those little crepes are so light they melt in your mouth!

I use it for sweetcorn crepes - use one tab of rice flour to one egg - blend with sweetcorn (leaving some to add at the end) and spring onions, coriander, ginger, a teas sugar, salt and five spice pepper - fry in little crepes - they are delicious - I've also tried this recipe with peas which was also nice but the sweetcorn crepes are the best!!

You have convinced me now - ugh Blondie what a horible thought!!

thanks again you lovely experts

hi Nick, I've done that, looking forward to getting the recipe but I probably won't be able to make it for a while as we are off to spain for ten days on Tuesday (can't wait by the way).

Niee website you have!!

Martino - what was the problem you discovered about reusing water bottles?

the ones I was talking about are the lazy brand and the ginger looks like chopped pieces of ginger in a liquid - haven't seen the garlic paste and ginger paste - are they any good?

Can you post it again Nick, I would like to try it

Ikea have some very good white bowls and so cheap - just bought a load last time we were there!

I have tried the garlic puree to stop the smelly hand thing - that is quite good, obviously not as good as the real thing but a good fridge ingredient for a substitute if you have no fresh - thanks again for all the advice

Thanks Blondie, we may do that one, we are also definitely doing the kung po recipe you all helped me with a while ago, tried it yesterday and it was fantastic!!

Blondie that recipe sounds yummy - I would add pineapple as well Rustie, I may make that on Thursday, we are doing Chinese food for a friend's birthday.

Thanks Rustie, I am actually going to make Kung Po tofu but we did shoot out to Tescos in between showers and got some cornflour - so I will follow the recipe!
Have a good bank Holiday

i love this programme and I love Resa - just watched this morning's edition - I want to ride Nellie the elephant!!

Can we find Resa's recipes from this show on this website?

Hi everybody - a little help again, I am making a recipe today which requires cornflour - I dont have any in - can I use rice flour or will I have to brave the rain and go out and get some?
thanks guys

thanks for the advice guys - I'll start freezing my ginger from now on.

Has anybody tried the jars of lazy ginger and lazy garlic - if so are they any good and worth buying?

got to be bubble and squeak as long as you have some leftover veggies as well!

Hi veggie burger - you could also try www.epicurious.com and type turkish into the search under recipes - they have a lot of interesting recipes in there too - it is a great website - somebody on here recommended it some time ago and I refer to it a lot now.

good luck

Hi Relishmama - there is a top curry recipe in one of Jamie Oliver's books or you can find it on bbc.co.uk/food looking under Jamie's recipes. I have made the veggie version many times and other half has adapted it with chicken. Works really well, even if you can't find the curry leaves.

Good luck - what time shall I be round?

Or just drink the Baileys - yummy!!

there are a few on Lakeland - I too have been looking for the stainless steel ones - but the ones on Lakeland are glass so if anybody can find a stainless steel one I would be grateful for th info
Cheers

Hi there, soup is really easy to make, all you need to start with is onion, vegetable or chicken stock, (whichever you prefer) perhaps potato to thicken, you can then pretty much add anything you want and then blend it all up after cooking. It's a great way of using up leftovers.

Alternatively type soup at the top of the page and search recipes and you will get lots of recipes.

Hi Sparkly, I would recommend that you do an easy starter and pudding that can be prepared in advance, you don't want to spend all night in the kitchen on your special day. make sure you have pelnty of wine in the fridge in preparation - that way if something goes awry they may not notice!

Good luck and happy birthday

I still maintain that Sky Plus is the best invention in the world - but I do agree that watching sport down the pub is fab!!

I have Sky which is the best invention in the whole world - you can pause live tv and tape two things at once - you can also watch something else you have taped while you are taping two things at once- it is fantastic - I also love the sports channels for the football etc.

Obviously it is also worth it for Good Food Live and all the old food programmes on UK Food.

I couldn't recommend it highly enough!!

Thanks Blondie, that one sounds good - also thank to everybody else who took the time to post replies.
I'll try to make it at the weekend and let you know how it turns out.

Thanks a million Rustie, that one looks as though it could be the right ingredients, I might try that at the weekend.
Cheers

Thanks Rustie, not sure if that one is that close as mine tasted quite hot - i'm sure it had chillis in it.

Sorry Kung Ho - Kung po - I can't remember which now but I am sure one of you experts out there will be able to help me!!

I had some Kung Ho beancurd in a Chinese restaurant on Sunday and it was lovely, it had cashew nuts in it, they also served the same dish with pork. I have trawled the net for a recipe and can't find one. Can anyone help?
Thanks guys

Hi Blondie, that recipe sounds quite easy - does it have to be caster sugar, would the soft brown sugar work also?

that epicurious website is fantastic Livewire - thanks for that tip

All very complicated - think I'll just make my leftovers into soup and freeze!

would that make them less soggy, I have trouble with carrots and leeks when I freeze them, I have been blanching first, would you suggest I freeeze without?

So pleased to see Can't Cook won't Cook on this morning with the children trying to cook - how funny was the little girl with the infectious giggle and Kevin Woodford is great on that show!

Thanks everybody who posted their tips, I made the paneer tikka yesterday using vegetable oil instead of the yogurt and it was delicious!!

I quite like Star Suppers, not for the food or the guest but just to get a look at Paris!!

favourite cookery programmes are Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef, I really used to like Can't Cook Won't Cook especially when things went wrong and keith Floyd - especially the series where he travelled round India.

I make sweetcorn fritters using one tablespoon of rice flour to one egg, blend with sweetcorn and spring onions - you can add any herbs or spices you desire and then fry in little fritters. One of the small tins of sweetcorn is enough for one egg but if you use two eggs and two tbs of rice flour one of the larger tins of sweetcorn is about right. you should belnd most of the sweetcorn and then save some to mix in beofre frying.

Jackster why don't you try this site www.goodnessdirect.co.uk - they sell organic honey and a lot more healthy stuff!

Thanks Reshma, that makes sense and thanks everybody else for your help.

Regards

I've never tried soya yogurt Frexy, have you? Btw what's the website address for the vegan website?

No Kiwichef you are not missing anything, I am not supposed to have too much dairy so while I cannot have paneer too often I treat myself now and again but didn't want to add to the overload using yoghurt as well!

Thanks for that advice, I am going to try that this weekend.

I think I'll stick to the storebought paneer as I don't have any kids!

Cheers

Good thinking Trudi, I can't believe I didn't think of using alpro as it was me that was recommending it to everybody else before!!

I recently had paneer tikka in an Indian restaurant and loved it, I have looked up various recipes on how to cook it but they all seem to use yoghurt - does anybody have any ideas on how to create this dish without yoghurt. Incidentally I'm not talking about the bright red tikka marsala sauce, this was just chunks of paneer which had been marinated and then grilled or griddled.
Thanks guys

I have one of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever been to local to me - it is called The Osterley Cottage and is in Osterley. Anybody fancy a trip out of town one day it is very close to Osterley tube station on the Picadilly line heading for Heathrow airport. I recommend it highly especially as I am a vegetarian and they have a huge choice for me!!

Tescos sell little puddings made by Alpro in different flavours made with soya, they are dairy free and gluten free too I believe and are very tasty, you could probably incorporate them into something else with fruit etc!

I think it just changed yesterday - I only noticed while surfing!! Methinks there should have been some kind of announcement!!

Alternatively, stirfrys are very quick and easy to do with veg, noodles etc.

Why don't you make up some chillis, bolognese, curries etc., when you have time and freeze them in individual portions, then you will just need to defrost and microwave.

it would be perfect for that Trudi, I often put it in curries as I love the creamy sauce curries like korma - I put the coconut block stuff in as well though.

the channels on Sky Digital seem to have moved up numbers, I don't know if that has anything to do with it - UK food is now on channel 144.

Sorry Trudi, forgot to say it does have a long shelf life!

It is in my local Tescos by the longlife milks etc - it's sold in a little carton sort of ribena carton size.

I have tried it last Xmas over my Xmas pudding and it is not as good as double cream or brandy butter etc., but perfectly adequate.

Mmm Frexy - plums in port sound nice - how do you do them?

why not try a chicken risotto or a paella using the prawns and the chicken - you won't need ot buy many extras for that!

I love this site too Frexy, it's great to swap ideas and get help from other people.

I buy my alpro from Tescos but it only comes in small packs as far as I have ever found - glad you enjoyed the cauliflower - I am just cooking up a quorn and veg curry which I will add some of the "cream" at the last moment - makes you feel like you are having something fattening when you really aren't!!

Glad you managed to find it Frexy. It works well with lots of different things, try it with cooked pasta, broccolli and cauliflower and a little grated cheese - it never splits like ordinary single cream and tastes just the same to me. I discovered it when I contracted IBS and had to give up dairy food - it's a godsend as I love creamy sauces!!

I adore Bombay Brasserie also, but my favourite Indian restaurant is Chutney Mary on Kings Road, they do a very reasonably priced Sunday lunch set meal and have a little jazz combo going on usually - the restaurant is fab and the service is outstanding - I believe they won a restaurant award for the best room in a restaurant (or they were certainly nominated) I also believe the got best Indian restaurant one year too - couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Try buying his books we have them all and there are some great recipes in there, I believe all of the recipes from his Naked Chef series are in them.

I discovered Alpro soya - it's a cream substitute and is dairy free and lower in fat, it's great in cooking - I use it all the time in curries and pasta sauces - maybe you could try that instead of cream.

sorry - forgot to say, he browns it skin side down first and then slow cooks it in the oven - comes out very tender

My other half does a recipe from this site, just type duck into recipes and I think it is on page 4 - Ginger Grilled Duck with Sticky Aubergine Stir fry. He doesn't do the aubergine stir fry with it he serves it with noodles and stir fry broccoli, carrots, courgettes etc with ginger and garlic tossed in seseame oil and rice wine. He thinks it is delicious - I'm a veggie so I have the veggies with tofu! Good luck

why don't you do something easy that could be prepared in advance to eliminate spending too much time in the kitchen. For example pate or hummous served with toast or pitta bread. or a tasty home made soup that you just need to heat up.

Thanks for your help guys but in the end I made a celeriac, potato and apple rosti - it was delicious!

I couldn't live without my microwave steamer, it cooks the vegetables perfectly - so much better than a pressure cooker!

Does anybody have an interesting way of using celeriac as a side dish, to serve with steak. It's my boyfriend's birthday tomorrow and he fancies celeriac and has bought some, he is having a steak tomorrow night and I need an interesting way of cooking the celeriac (not using cream).
Thanks

When I make a curry I always make too much and then freeze the rest, I make my curries with a tomato based stock and then add cream at the end to make a nice sauce - to freeze you just put separate portions in bags or containers without the cream and then when you defrost just add the cream and fresh coriander at the end after defrosting.

I entered a very good recipe for peanut sauce but the moderator deleted it (see above). I don't understand why some recipes are allowed but mine wasn't!!

I gave up eating meat, fish and animal products over 20 years ago as I can't bear the thought of eating animals but a coule of years ago I had to also give up dairy after contracting IBS, I can now eat dairy in small doses, so you shouldn't be too hard on vegans - it is not always by choice!!

"[Note from moderator: The recipe posted here has been deleted due to possible breach of copyright. We apologise for the inconvenience.]"

Sorry, I obviously didn't have my reading glasses on today - or maybe too many wine glasses!!

Hi Annie, if you like Indian food you can't do any better than Chutney Mary's on the King's Road - not that close to Knighsbridge but worth a cab journey - it was recently nominated for best Indian restaurant and best room in a restaurant in the restaurant awards - website is [link]

how about a quorn curry with tomato sauce and vegetables, I usually make one and add Tesco's non dairy cream made by Alpro - it's very good for cooking, doesn't split or curdle and make sthe curry taste fantastic.

We recently discovered a fantastic new Indian Restaurant in Brentford called Pappadums - I am a vegetarian and they have an extensive vegetarian choice. The cuisine is Northern Indian. The service is wonderful and the place shines like a beacon in Brentford which is sadly lacking in anywhere nice to go. The address is Pappadums Restaurant, Soap House Lane, Ferry Quays, Ferry Lane, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 0BT.