hi bazjay! i'm glad you managed to find some brillat savarin, and it sounds like you had a wonderfull day in the process!

the puddings were for the rehersal dinner, in england people tend to just have a wedding rehersal at the church, in the US this would often be followed by a dinner to mark the occaision.

so in the states you might get a wedding shower and/or a hen party, a rehersal dinner and then the wedding itself.

sounds good to me!!

sorry, the first paragraph of my post should read 'some people that describe themselves as vegetarians dont worry about avoiding these things' (animal rennet and isingglass)

the general definition of a vegetarian is someone that eats no slaughter products or byproducts, whether it be meat or fish, this means also avoiding things like cheese made with animal rennet, and alcohols that use isingglass (sp) although some vegetarians dont worry about avoiding these things.

so whilst a few vegetarians may choose not to eat yeast, it all depends on whether you perceive it as being an animal or not.

personally, i do eat yeast, i dont see it as an animal, as it is a microorganism, in the same way that i dont worry about all the millions of bacteria that exist on the surface of our food, although, this might be an incredibly misguided view scientifically speaking!

i agree that vegetarian cooking may seem like a minefield, but the best thing you can do is to ask your guest what they do and dont eat, i'm sure most would appreciate the effort that you have gone to to take thier dietry needs into consideration.

if you dont want to ask your guests, and are not sure what they will and wont eat, IMHO its best to stick to the definition at the top of this post, that way you cant go too far wrong

hugh fernly whittingstall does a ten bird roast! turkey stuffed with a goose, duck, mallard, guinea fowl, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon and woodcock : [link]

probably a little ott though (just a little), i'd stick with the 3 bird roast if i were you!

i tend to eat a lot of salads and antipasto type things in the spring and summer, its a lovely time to be a veggie when the spring and summer produce is coming into season!
in the autumn/winter, i eat a lot of one pot dishes, things like:
soup: spicy tomato chickpea and lentil; leek and potato; brocoli and blue cheese

stew: puy lentil stew with sundried tomatoes and leeks, spicy bean stew,

curry: chickpea curry, green lentil curry, chickpea and butternut squash curry, mixed veg curry

bakes: baked squash with onions, new potatoes, peppers, garlic and herbs etc
pasta bake, stuffed baked potatoes.

and frittata with whatever veg needs using up!


oddly enough, most of my cook book are not vegetarian, but i adapt the dishes to be done without meat, i'm going to buy jamies new book, as from the tv show i think that it will have lots of things that i can adapt.

here's a website that has lots of recipe ideas for kohlrabi, it also has lots of info about how to choose, store and prep kohlrabi: [link]
enjoy!

i enjoyed hells kitchen much more this year too, it was much funnier than the previous years IMHO. i loved the look of barrys mash too, i wish i could make mash like that!

personally i always have double mitts for some reason, but, i guesssingle mitts are probably more practical. i cant use 2 tea towels personally, i always find the thin bit and burn my fingers!

obviously, it depends on the recipe, but maybe you could try finely chopped aubergine instead, i imagine this would work quite well in pasta sauce etc

personally, for me i am not fussed about using organic produce anyway, i seldom buy it, i do try to buy local, but not organic. i either peel or sometimes i use a natural veggie wash product, which gets (most of) the nasties off the surface of the fruit/veg.

i agree though, that for a strict vegetarian, this type of fertilizer may not be acceptable. i guess it all comes down to limits, and how far each individual chooses to carry thier vegetarian lifestyle.

if you were a very strict veggie, growing your own as much as possible would be a good way of avoiding this problem. even if you dont have much space in your garden, you can still grow some produce in pots, or as jamie o showed last week, you can grow new potatoes in just a bag of soil!

hmm, i think its fine to use the cheaper stuff for cooking, i keep a small bottle of the good stuff for dressing salads, finishing a dish etc.

IMHO it is a waste to use the best extra virgin OO for frying etc, as i think it spoils the flavour of a good oil.

i believe i've tried a different parmesan alternative to the twineham grange, but i cant remember the name. i may be mistaken though.

hi donna, welcome to the board.
what else does the white pudding have in it?

at a guess, if they've just had the wrap party for filming, it shouldnt be too long? i think its going to be aired on bbc2

pattipan- here's a link about a type of parmesan style cheese approved by the vegsoc: [link]

its made by the traditional method, but uses vegetarian rennet instead of animal.

what else do you have to use up? it would be easier to recommend if i knew what else you have available

with reference to food poker, jeni says on her blog that food poker is going ahead, and that she's doing the commentary for it [link]

wensleydale cheese has a very mild but sharp, fresh milky taste to it, not too salty, and has a very dry, crumbly texture, and doesn't really melt when you heat it.

it resembles a young caerphilly cheese, but i dont expect you can get that over there either. the only thing i can suggest is that sometimes really cheap feta cheese has a slightly wensleydale-ish taste about it.

i seem to remember seeing that burger king do a veggie burger approved by the vegetarian society.

sad that vegetarians are better off in a fast food joint than in a lot of top restaurants!

yes, i could have done without the behind the scenes bit, but the kitchen bit was very entertaining.
the time when anneka rice was stood in the middle of the kitchen holding the fish was priceless!

we've just had hells kitchen with marco pierre white, absolutely hilarious, i much prefered it to the one with GR, and the winner this year was very deserving IMHO.

i think simon rimmer is an absolute star when it comes to vegetarian food, i heard he even wont allow his chefs to bring any bacon sarnies or anything into work out of respect for the vegetarian clients. now theres a chef that really knows how to cook vegetarian food with care and respect for the people that he is feeding!!!

surely a chicken couldnt hatch out of an egg from chickens in someones garden unless there were boy chickens in the vicinity?

i had them just with milk and half a teaspoon of sugar (adventurous, eh?), they were very good! nice and chewy. i might have a crack at making my own musli with them now.

i like a light salad dressing, so i make one with water to lighten the dressing, as i dont like a very oily salad dressing:

2 parts olive oil
1.5 parts white wine vinagar
2 parts water
salt and pepper
pinch of dried oregano

although some may find this too sharp, so you can add less vinagar if you like.
this dressing works well with a light garden salad with lots of fresh veggies, rocket, little gem, radish, fennel, carrot etc, also, as the dressing is sharp, only add just enough to add a fine film of dressing to the leaves, as it is too strong otherwise

heres a list of definitions of types of vegetarians: [link]

there is also something called a pescetarian (sp?) i believe, who is someone that eats fish, but not meat.

all the messages from the previous day disappear overnight, after the board closes at 10pm, they reappear at 9am the next morning

as for the cheese and eggs issue, vegetarians can eat both eggs and cheese, so long as the cheese is made from non-animal rennet, as animal rennet is an animal product.

eggs are fine, although lots of vegetarians do try to eat free-range eggs.

i agree, parmesan is one of the prime examples of these substitutes, you can get a product that is very similar to parmesan, but is made with vegetarian rennet, its very good!

i've bought some jumbo oats, i'm assuming that it is ok just to eat these raw with milk, like regular cereal, is that correct? or do i have to by another type if i want to eat them raw?

fruit sugar is a good alternative to artificial sweetener too, although it is not as low calorie as sweetener, it is a third sweeter than sugar, so you can use a third less!

thanks for the info guys. i ask because its a componant of the spray oil that i use, but i think from what dougy boy says, i may switch to making my own, as it is something that i use on a very frequent basis.

has anyone ever tried making thier own spray olive oil? do you have to mix the oil with water or not? do i have to buy an atomiser from a cook shop or can i just use one of the fillable ones that you can buy from superdrug etc?

glad i could help

you could try braising them with a little white wine, garlic and butter, a little veg stock if needed, and when cooked sprinkle with parsley and the frondy fennel tops. i've not tried doing this myself, but it might be good, i think jamie did something similar with just fennel.

or you could make a salad by just slicing the celery and fennel, then adding some griddled courgette slices, dress the salad with a little lemon juice or white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and olive oil.
incidentally this could be made into a main course salad by adding a bag of rocket and some parmesan shavings or some crumbled feta cheese.

just as a side note, i know you're looking for side dish ideas, but with those three veg you could make a fab risotto, just chop the celery and fennel, reserving the frondy fennel tops. sweat the celery and fennel with some chopped onion in a little oil. then add the rice and white wine and procede as with a normal risotto, adding the stock bit by bit. add the chopped courgette about 5 mins before the rice is totally cooked (or longer if you like the courgette more soft). finish with lemon juice and a little zest, pepper, parmesan, butter and some chopped basil or parsley, sprinkle the dish with the reserved fennel tops.

delia has some tips about keeping hollandaise: [link]

could anyone tell me what lecithin is? is it a natural or an artificial product?

did you see paul rankin drop the bakewell tart yesterday! very funny! its lucky the contestant was good natured!

theres been quite a few people asking where you can get her recipes, not surprising, they do look fab! food network still has the rights for all her recipes: [link]

you could try making up your own, accordidng to wikipedia, the spice mix contains celery salt, bay leaf, mustard seed, black and red peppercorns, cinnamon and ginger. although i dont know if these are the only ingredients, or what the proportions are, you could just have a play around untill you achieve the result that you like.

heres a recipe for old bay seasoning, it differs quite a bit from the wikipedia version though: [link]

heres one thats a bit of a blend of the two recipes:[link]

i couldnt say which is the most authentic, so i would just pick the one you like the sound of the most

hope this helps!

i believe uktvfood dont own the rights to put the mario batalli recipes on this website, that right still belongs to the food network: [link]
all his recipes are on this website

hi carol, if you head over to the food network:[link] , all her recipes are on there

i like the recipes on peoples cookbook, but i wish it was the contestants themselves that we saw cooking the recipes. after all, they've been cooking them for years. i think that it would be a better format for the contestants to cook, with AWT and paul rankin acting as sous chef.

i like Ina Garten too, her food is always so simple, her tips on entertaining, table laying etc are good too.
it sounds silly, but i think its good that she measures everything out herself, rather than having it pre-measured and put into little glass bowls by the home economist before filming

lol, i'm sure gary would have lots of helpful suggestions for the chefs

there are supposed to be some wine substitutes out there that a reasonably good, although they can be expensive and hard to come by: heres a website link discussing the pros and cons of verjus, a wine substitute, as well as other methods of replacing the wine: [link]
the key with using verjus is that it is tart. i think normal white grape juice is much too sweet to be used as a substitute.

personally if its just making up the liquid content i would just add a little stock or water, depending on the recipe obviously.

if its a lack of taste your worried about, again, depending on the recipe, i would just add a little dash of lemon or lime juice to the dish, to give a little tartness, or increase the amout of herbs/spices etc in your recipe to make up for the loss of flavour.

Dougy Boy, how about cooking for a panel of the worlds top rated chefs like Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal, the Roux Brothers etc.
i should think that would be a pretty hard task!

i second davinas suggestion of the veg soc :[link]
they have loads of great recipes for all occaisions and loads of brilliant info about becoming a vegetarian.
this page: [link] is particularly helpfull
also this one: about basic nutrition: [link]

also the bbc food forum has a vegetarian chatboard.

i love the new show, very kitsch and fabulously OTT
loved the recipes too, they really are simple. i'm definately going to try the wasabi and sugarsnap salad.

glad i could help

lol, sorry, forgot to add the link
here you go:[link]

i'm considering making this recipe from mario batali: [link]
but i've only made egg pasta before. has anyone ever tried making eggless pasta? i'm worried that it will be difficult to work, or that the resulting pasta will be very tough and overly chewy? is it worth trying?

her recipes are on this website, as are Giada De Laurentiis' from Everyday Itailan and Mario Batalis' from Ciao America

thanks for the link grissini, interesting to see her trying a slightly different presenting style. i like the new kitchen too, very industrial looking though.

heres the info for the new nigella book, nigella express, theres an accompanying series too: [link]

i'm definately addicted to buying cookbooks too. i'd rather buy a new cookbook than a new novel, cookbooks you'll use again and again. i know i'm not going to be able to stop myself buying the new nigella!

hi janny, that sounds good, by the sound of it i could adapt it to be done in the oven in stages, maybe a couple of minutes in the oven to get the rice coated with butter/oil, then add stock powder and water from the kettle?

thanks livewire for the links, i think they could be adapted to fit my dietry requirements quite easily.

does anyone have a recipe for a 'risotto' style dish that can be done completely in the oven without any stove top prep? also it cant contain fish, meat or mushrooms.
thanks

i have lots of favourite books that i use for different purposes. nigella, bill granger and nigel slater for easy quick supper meals that dont require a shopping list as long as your arm, jamie o for dinner party food, river cafe vegetable dishes book for veggie side dishes and buffet food, and of course, delia as a reference.

i dont know whether its too late to add to the pate, but what you could do is serve it with a salty crostini/melba toast, to make up for the lack of salt in the pate.

blackberry vodka is delish, have made it before by the method lesley suggests, i think once it has reached its optimum fruitiness though, it does have a reasonably short shelf life when the flavour of the fruit is at its best. (imo)
the boozy fruit at the bottom is yummy too, would prob be good on top of sorbet.

a lot of vegetarian "substitutes" are actually delicious products in their own right, for example, veggie haggis is yummy, ok, so maybe it shouldnt be described as haggis, but its still a delicious, quality product.

in her 'feast' book nigella has a recipe for gorgeous little muffin fruit cakes in the style of collins street fruit cakes. they would make a nice gift, and would probably keep very well as you would obviously eat them individually and not cut into them

nigella is has made a new series for bbc2 which will be airing in the not to distant future i believe. i would say though that nigellas style does lean very strongly towards mediteranean, american and north african cooking though, i havent seen her do very many traditional british recipes at all.

risi e bisi is a part way between a thick rice soup and a risotto. you could try using orzo, but you wouldnt get the same result, i think you would get more like a ministrone, with bits of pasta and veg in a thin broth, rather than a creamy thick soup. it would probably be tasty still, just not the same, i would stick to a risotto rice for this particular recipe.

i think it would taste delicious without bacon, if you want to make up for a slight loss in flavour, simply add a glass of white wine at the beginning, as you would with risotto.
personally i wouldnt bother with the sausies, if you want a topping as garnish, simply shave a few more bits of parmesan over the top, yum yum

if you want to provide a non-meat option, something like vegetable skewers, or marinated barbequed halloumi is good.

nigella does a nice summery drink- mix up a jug of sweet sparkling wine (asti or something similar) with the juice of 4 limes to every one bottle of wine. its delish!

or you could try making a pitcher of mojito: [link]

although uktvfood bought the rights to show everyday italian on the channel, the food network retained the rights to use the recipes on its website: heres the link to the recipes: [link]

i think that when nigella married charles satchi, they moved house, but retained the old one in shepards bush for filming and as a sort of holiday home, so the one in nigellas christmas might be her new house? or just one that they borrowed for filming. (thats only what i've heard though so it might be complete rubbish!)

i thought it was a little bit cheeky too, its like what they say about painting, you have to learn the rules before you can be picasso. i think gary rhodes should have learnt to cook the dish the way the guy said, and then, if he wanted to, play around with it in his own way (IMHO).
i think the guy took it all in good fun though.
i did enjoy seeing india though, theres also a very good programme running on bbc2 at the moment hosted by sanjeev bhaskar, that shows more of the cultural side of india.

i also, am not a cake baker, but i wonder if you spread the ganache while it was still slightly softer, rather than when it had cooled and set, if it would be easier to spread, and might pull less on the sponge base?

hi mervyn, its just the way the message board works, after 10pm all the messages from that day dissapear while the board is closed over night, and will reappear at 9am the next day. strange i know!

what did everyone think of rhodes on india then?
i caught the last half hour, i wasn't too impressed, for me it was exactly as rosti said it might be, gary rhodes trying to put his little signature here and there, rather than just doing what the guy was saying. i kept wanting to shout "just shut up and listen" at the telly! was the first half of the programme like this aswell?

i think the programme on indian cooking, coconut coast with reza mahammad was a better format, with him going round kerala, actually watching curries being cooked, and also making them himself, with the instruction from the chef.

oysterman- an easy way of getting a mezzaluna to work for you is to buy a board that has a dip hollowed out in it especially for mezzaluna-ing: [link]
it stops things from escaping so much, meaning you dont have to be chasing errant bits of garlic etc.

i agree with gastrosurf, spring loaded is definately the way to go

another idea is to make up batches of sauces and freeze them, the best thing is to make a sauce that can be used for lots of meals, for example, you could make up a basic bolognaise sauce and freeze it in portion sizes, then just defrost and it can be used for all sorts, lasagne, spaghetti, it can be spiced up with cumin and chilli and served tex mex style with tortilla chips or wraps, dolloped onto baked spuds with a sprinkling of cheddar, served with potato wedges, etc etc, you could make so many meals from just that one frozen mix.
basic tomato sauce is another one, or roasted mediteranean veg, as these can be used to make veg lasagne etc.

nigellas new book, nigella express, due out in a month, looks ideal: [link]

i agree rosti. also, shop bought doesn't neccesarily have to mean soggy tv dinners loaded with e numbers and sugar these days, some of these new ranges where most of the meal is prepared for you and you just have to finish off cooking it look good. also sainsburys supernaturals range is good (although a little pricy)

[link]
is this the one? it certainly looks stunning! the only trouble is you have to buy the chocolate twists, and they may not be readily available, you might have to experiment with some thing else (perhaps practice with a cheap shop bought sponge?) or making your own stick shapes

uktvfood actually comissions a fair amount of programming itself, for example:

rhodes across india
food uncut
GFL (and all variants of, eg good food bites etc)
market kitchen
tamasins great british classics
rosmary schrager kitchen showdown (i think)
the peoples cookbook
gary rhodes local food heroes
catering challenge

these are just a few examples

i've just looked up the nigella book online, it looks fab, just my cup of tea. its a thick book too, i'm impressed she's got a book out so soon after feast, especially as feast was such a lengthy tome!

brilliant about nigella, do you know how long the series is going to be/what it wil be about?

hi bazjay, i'm afraid i've never seen brillat-savarin in shops, you might be best off trying to get hold of some from an online retailer: [link]
here's one that sells it, i expect there are plenty others online that do aswell.

this website also recomends a wine that pairs well with each cheese.

i have to say i've not tried the wenslydale yet, it does sound very good though, what does it go well with? (i should add that i dont like cheese with crackers)

hi, it looks like the thread has been removed by the mods, i dont know why, very strange!

i love samphire, its absolutely delicious, i like it with butter and lemon, i think it would be wonderfull with a beurre blanc sauce

thats ok, i hope the moulds work out for you.
i love barbequed halloumi, its my favourite thing to have on the bbq, as i'm vegetarian its much nicer than fake sausages or burgers!
have a lovely anniversary!

heres a link to an online store that sells fish moulds: [link]
it seems incredibly cheap for a largish mould (mold? i dont know!).

they also sell a rather nice looking scallop shell shaped mould, [link]

they also do a copper shaped fish mould, which is a bit (a lot) more pricy than the first [link]

i have to say, i haven't used this company myself, so i dont know whether they are reliable or not.

yes, i love that salad of nigellas, though, i prefer to use those 'dry' black olives that you get in a jar, you dont need many, and they have to be stoned and thinly sliced, but they pack so much more of a punch (i think they're probably quite an aquired taste though. )
when i saw her making it on tv it looked like she used those ones you get in already stoned in a tin in brine.
i often bulk it out wih a bit of cucumer too, especially in summer when its really hot

[link]
here you go, it looks very easy

[link]
heres the link to a website where you can buy veggie black pudding , i think its the very same company that simon rimmer bought his from

here you go, this sounds like it:
[link]

oh, i would add the herbs at the end of cooking so they dont burn

how about boiling some new potatoes, waiting till they have cooled, slice them into rings and then sauteing them (in a single layer) in butter, a little oil, and whatever herb you want, this is also a good way of using up leftover new potatoes.

i like some of the repeats, it is nice when you havent seen things for a while, but i dont really like when they show the same ones over and over during the week, and then you get the whole lot again at the weekend.
i think though that uktvfood has commisioned a few programmes itself, eg: the peoples cookbook, catering challenge, tamasins great british classics (i think), gfl, food uncut, market kitchen.

i love my greek kitchen too, its nice to see real authentic greek/cypriot cookery. i was facinated by that pastry she made with orange fizzy drink!

the current round of the peoples cookbook is from last year, i've got a feeling that theyre making another one, but i'm not absolutely sure.

yeah, i think that was the one jsm1 was talking about

i'd noticed that too. in one episode of rachels favourite food, she cooked what she described, if i remember correctly, as an 'italian frittata with chorizo and feta'. it does seem a little strange that if she had specified the fact that it was an italian frittata, why she wouldn't then use an italian spiced sausage and cheese, there are plenty to choose from!

kimi, what a terrible thing to happen to you!

it sounds like you're staying fairly positive though, which is good! rehab and physio can do a lot these days, take michael caines as an example!

i hope you have a good rest, it sounds like you deserve it!!

hi, if its the one that was on nigel slaters programme, its called a muffaletta sandwich. i cant find the specific recipe anywhere on this website, or any other website but its a new orleans classic, so theres plenty of other good recipes to work from:
traditionally, its made using a large round flat loaf of bread (you could use a large round focaccia bread). it is made with italian deli type fillings, so you can use all sorts of things, here are some suggestions:

-beetroot
-marinated artichoke
-finely chopped green olives
-roasted or griddled mediteranean veg
-sundried tomatoes
-fresh tomatoes
-thinly sliced deli meat
-capers
-cheese (mozzarella, provolone)
-roasted chillis or bell peppers (if roasting the chillis yourself make sure you prick them before you roast them because they can explode and go everywhere)
-thinly sliced spring or red onion
-pickled vegetables like carrots, cauliflower etc, you sometimes get nice jars of pickled veg from italian delis
and the essential-good olive oil

basically, choose what you what ingredients you want, some people say that the finely chopped layer of green olives is essential, but i guess you could substitute red pesto or something instead if you dont like olives, so:
slice loaf in half, so you have two large rounds, spread the base with the olive paste, or whatever you are using a substitute, then just start layering with your chosen ingredients. when you've layered up, just drizzle with a bit of olive oli, and stick the top of the sandwhich on.
some people like to then wrap it in cling film, weigh it down and leave it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, but you can just press the lid on firmly, cut it into quarters and eat it straight away if you want.

enjoy!

pirate pete, you might be best trying to contact uktvfood directly with regards to the tape

i agree irnbrew, i think tinned chickpeas are fine too, especially as you say, if its for one small portion, you can even buy jarred ones now from delis etc (i think i've even seen them in the specialist section at sainsburys.
obviously using dried has its advantages aswell, price being one of them, but its not always practical.

how about making mackerel pate, you could use that for sandwhiches, or serve it as a light supper dish with brown toast and salad, most recipes use smoked mackerel for pate, but you could probably experiment with pan frying the fresh mackerel and then flaking it to make the pate.

they were definately mostly family type recipes, but there were a lot of ideas for up market things too, like canapes, things like pecan nut halves, sandwiched together with cream cheese.

one of the more memorable recipes was for cheesey eggy bread men with eyes and a smile made from chips of maraschino cherries, theres also some kind of sweet pudding type thing that was made with sultanas and other fruit, and chedder cheese! there are a lot of things like that, that would probably be considered quite twee nowadays, but probably seemed very adventurous at the time.

i still use the christmas pudding recipe, which is from one of the older books, i have to admit i add a lot more brandy than it calls for though!

i have to say, seeing as i dont actually cook from them much at all, i've never noticed the amounts that they call for, i think they probably differ quite a lot depending on the type of meal (canapes, roast, puddings etc)
i know the chistmas pud recipe makes 2 large puddings.

sorry, i repeated myself a bit there, lol!

what about that thing that richard corrgan cooked for the great british menu, the smoked salmon starter that richard corrigan cooked for great british menu: [link]

the presentation was great too, clean, and cheffy, but without looking like its been tarted around with too much. the recipe would be greatly simplified by serving either bought in blini's or irish soda bread, one of the comments from the judges was that it didn't need both. i would imagine you could substitute just some peppery salad leaves instead of the woodland sorrel and wild cress.

or theres this from good food magazine:[link]

jannymac, i love a caesar salad too, i missed it for years after i went veggie, but then i found newmans own caesar dressing, which is made with tamarind instead of anchovies i believe, its very good, quite convincing!

posset, are you having the pea salad?

i'm having thai hot and sour broth tonight

i have some very old ones that were my great grandmothers, all of the old ones i have have been handed down the family, i agree its a shame that you cant ever seem to find the old one in book shops anymore, i guess people think they are too stained to donate them, i think its charming though, to be able to see whats been cooked the most.

lol, oh dear, sorry!

i dont even have a recipe for crackers!

nigella uses crushed up ritz cracker crumbs to coat chicken strips that have marinated in butter milk, then she frys them, you could probably try baking them if you are concerned about frying in oil though. ritz crackers are quite salty though, i woulder if you could use another kind of cracker?

i'm not sure if it could be described as a gadget, but my favourite piece of kitchen equipment is my mezzaluna, its only a single blade one, but its excellent for chopping, and is especially good if you dont want to touch whatever your chopping, like chilli or garlic. its easy to clean the board and blade, and doesn't take up a lot of storage space.

my least used gadget is my sandwhich toaster. its such a faff to clean, so it just sits at the back of the cupboard, collecting spiders and silverfish!

its so much easier to make toasted sandwiches the old-fashioned way- butter both side of a piece of bread sparingly, sling it in a pan, stick some cheese on top, then top with another buttered slice of bread, and flip over to toast the other side. simple!

what is every one making with all the lovely fresh summer produce coming in at the moment?

my personal favourite is raw pea, feta, spinach and mint salad, delish!

i love modern cookery books for recipes and inspiration, but for reading i much prefer very old cookery books, its like reading a little slice of history, its interesting to see how much the way we cook and what ingredients we use has changed over the years

i think flagolet beans are very good in salads, and also canelini beans, i always use tinned, i can never be bothered with dried.
i dont have a recipe for 3 bean salad, but i do have a lovely recipe using canelini beans.

basically, just tip a rinsed tin of canelini (or flagolet beans) into a bowl, add some thinly sliced red or spring onion, lots of chopped parley, black pepper, olive oil and lemon juice, and stir.

you could top it with tinned tuna if you like, but i think a tangy goat or sheep cheese would be delicious instead.

you can also add some thinly sliced fennel in with the bean mixture if you so desire, or you could serve it on a bed of rocket, its a very adapable recipe, enjoy!

i agree, i think it might also be a good idea to teach kids how to make healthier versions of the food they might normally eat as ready meals - pizzas, curries, stir frys, chicken goujons etc, to show them how tasty and easy the alternatives can be to make

i would think that this recipe would also work well with conchigliette pasta also, which is a smaller version of conchiglie, and is very good for pasta salads, i have used it in the past to make a pasta salad with chickpeas, parmesan and herbs, and it is lovely

you can get it from sainsburys, and i should imagine most of the other big supermarkets, or obviously, italian delis.
the name oracchiette means 'little ears' and they are a little round pasta shapes, which is good because they echo the shape of the broad beans slightly, they are also very good for warm pasta salads.

i think that a lot of children will enjoy the cookery lessons, as long as they are challenging enough. hopefully a lot of the kids will realise how much fun cooking can be, and will want to continue with it.

i agree rosti, i have tons of recipe books, but i rarely follow a recipe from start to finish, even if i have all the ingredients that the recipe calls for, i cant help myself from adding something extra, like a chilli or a squeeze of lemon, or swapping the herb that it calls for.
i dont bake a lot either, and i find watching puddings being cooked on tv really unenjoyable

i agree, i think unless they are the tiniest new season broad beans then they are much improved by skinning them. i love broad beans tossed with orecchiette pasta, lemon, cream, parmesan, parsley and black pepper, and sometimes a little spring onion, delicious!

sorry, thats supposed to say without

i know both sainsburys and marks and spencer carry a pea shoot salad, both are mixed with other leaves to bulk them out though. pea shoots are delicious, they have all the sweetness of fresh raw peas, but withough the starchiness.

i've heard (and i stress that i'm not a health proffesional so i dont know whether this is true or not) that women who are apple shaped tend to be candidates for more serious problems because they put weight on around vital organs like the liver etc.
i'm not sure about the tops though, i think considering her shape, she probably would have looked rather strange in a high necked top, or so trinny and susannah would have us believe, lol

heres a link: [link]
its actually a recipe in itself, which i would imagine you have to make yourself, not buy
the third message on that website seems to explain quite well what it is. i've never made it myself, never even heard of it till you posted, sounds a bit of a faff to me lol!

well, i didnt try to make contact with them personally, one of the staff came onto the market kitchen boards a few days ago and posted the message about deleted posts: heres the link to the posts that nora from uktvfood made, i hope it helps: [link]

bethsmum, just to add to what jan said, in addition to posts that have been posted at night not appearing after 9am the next day, all of the posts that were posted that day, even before 10 pm when the board closes, disappear overnight, only to reappear the next day. so you may post at say 3pm, then after 10pm the messages will start diasapearing, then after 9am they will reappear again (a very odd way to run a message board if you ask me!).
i would imagine this is the cause of them reappearing, as one of the staff at uktvfood have stated that due to the way the mods work posts that have been removed because they are considered by the mods to infringe "house rules" cannot be reinstated

the thing about obesity is that you dont have to be as big as people sometimes imagine to be overweight or even clinically obese.
yes, jeni barnett was overweight, but she's recently been on a health kick and has lost about two stone according to her blog, good on her i say! i think theres nothing wrong with men or women having a fuller figure, just as long as its not damaging thier health.

re 1- that sounds right, according to mr oliver the dough should feel smooth and silky if its been worked properly, both before and after rolling

homemade pasta can be a tricky business, i've had many a mishap myself. once i made the dough perfectly, put it through the machine to make lovely long tagliatelle, hung it over a precariously balanced long wooden spoon and left it to hang before cooking it. well i guess i must have left it too long because upon returning to the kitchen i found lots of little strands of tagliatelle on the floor where the weight of the pasta had been to much and they'd all broken!

if you cant get the pasta machine to do tagliatelle i think gastrosurfs idea of using the machine to roll the dough out to adequete thinness and then cut it by hand is a good one.

if you have jamie olivers book : "cook with jamie" he has some decent sounding info about making pasta in there.

lol, thats ok terrydox, i should have realised the measurements wouldnt be correct what with it being uktvfood

here you go: [link]

tahini is sesame seed paste and is available from health food shops, ethnic shops and some larger supermarkets, it has a lovely rich nutty taste, and a texture like thick smooth peanut butter

mk isnt live, its prerecorded

i think its just the ginger, i have the same problem, i use a handheld grater now, like this one: [link]
the ginger comes out nice and fine, and the good thing is because it comes out as a paste, if you want whatever you are cooking to have a smooth consistancy, you can just squeeze the ginger pulp so all the juice comes out and just add the juice and discard the pulp, so you have alll of the ginger flavour, but without the graininess of the pulp.

who is alain bourdain? do you mean anthony bourdain? i think he genuinely enjoys trying new things and being intrepid, and you dont know what you'll like untill you've tried it. also as a product of his shows he's probably done a heck of a lot more travelling than most. i think its good to see someone on tv who is not squemish, and shows respect for other cultures

try health food shops, they are your best bet for this kind of thing

bendy, i didn't see the recipe cooked on tv, but i imagine that a chicken or veg stock would be perfectly adequete

as a vegetarian, i actually think it is good that they show these kind of things on tv. a lot of people who eat meat have no idea where it comes from or what the 'manufacturing' processes are, i think it helps to educate people about where thier food has come from.

what i do object to is a celebrity chef who is untrained/unpractised, dispatching of the animal themselves as there is the possibility of the chef causing the animal undue pain because of lack of experience

well reg, i think you could guess what i'd spend it all on- a really nice cheese board and bottle of good wine to go with

as a canape, what about little cherry tomatoes cut in half, scooped out and filled with some cayene egg mayonaise, top with an extra pinch of cayenne or paprika or a tiny sprig of curly parsley.

i dont have a bread machine but i would say cook them first too, that way the lovely caremelised flavour of the onions will get into the bread

stuffed butternut squash is always a joy, something with a lovely creamy stuffing.

stuffed onions are nice also, and a lot milder than you would think if cooked correctly, and would sit well with the rest of the roast, just google stuffed onions and you should be inundated with recipes!

rosti do you make your own veggie gravy/sauce or do you buy a powder, have you found a decent brand? i've tried a powder but it was a bit of a scary consistancy, it somehow managed to be both glutinous and powdery!?

i think its great, its such positive sounding music, i agree it is slightly over played during the course of the episode, but as a song i think its fantastic.

i dont suppose you know what its called then baboush?

does anyone know what the 'theme tune' to bills food is please? i'm not bothered about the rest of the soundtrack, just the song that plays at the begining.
thanks

hi, i've never tried making it myself, but this website seems to have some good recipes/suggestions for making it [link]

i love everyday italian, the food looks so good (i'm going to try making the little pizzette) and the presenter has a sparkling personality

have you tried lakeland limited, they are often good for gadgety things like that.

this one looks quite good, : [link]

polenta can be vegetarian or not depending what you put into it, the polenta flour itself is vegetarian. obviously if you are putting something like parmesan into it it will not be vegetarian unless you are using the vegetarian version of parmesan, that is made using artificial rennet rather than animal rennet.

polenta can be made in two ways, it can be made as wet polenta, which is hot and has a appearance that i would liken to smooth mashed potatoes, or it can be left to cool and set in a tray, and can be sliced into wedges and griddled/fried, or topped with cheese such as parmesan and grilled.

some good flavourings for wet polenta are herbs, cheese, butter, and pepper
you can put blue cheese into it also.

dustyfrg, that thing with the collapsable veg steamer was hilarious!

i agree grissini, the cold plate test is a reliable method of testing.
its been a while since i made jam (i usually make plum, so good!) but i seem to remember having to boil it for somewhere in the region of 40 mins (i wouldn't trust my memory though, lol!)
i do find that when i make jam at home, it is a much softer set than shop bought, which i like, i think its a much nicer texture, sometimes shop bought can be more like jelly!

well, according to yesterdays daily express it would seem your right. they had a big 2 page article about it. apparently she has been rehashing her book how to cheat at cooking, and the show will be based on that. it will be shown on the bbc next spring, and will be showing people shortcuts for easy, family style meals. classic delia stuff

i have to say, my favourite memory of GFL is probably this recipe by martin blunos: [link]
i wouldn't eat it (not very suitable for vegetarians), but the drama of it was incredible.
if i had to choose from all the recipes i actually cook from GFL i dont think i could, there are so many that have become staples, and they are all fantastic.

i loved the sense of fun that GFL had, and i liked the mix of posh, dramatic restraunt food, and good hearty, home cooking that they had on the show.

well, if you want to go the whole hog, and throw fat and sugar content to the wind, something like baklava is delicious, its made with filo pastry, butter, nuts, sugar syrup and sometimes cinnamon i believe. its not for the faint hearted though, its incredibaly sweet!

i think a lot (most?) of people though know that salt is bad for you, and would adjust recipes to cater to that ethos. for example, i never use salt in water for boiling pasta or veg, even though chefs tell us to, in fact i rarely add salt at all during the cooking process, leaving people to seaon as they wish when its on the plate.

no, you are right, is a common misconception that sweetbreads are testicles. here is some more information about them: [link]

antonio carluccio's books on italian cooking are fabulous. they are very simple, and authentic, and written in a lovely way. he has a real passion for italian cookery, and the recipes are not mucked around with. well worth a read!

i'm a veggie, and i'm not that fussed about meat substitutes. i really dont miss eating meat, one of the reasons being that i found the texture very strange, and was not all that keen on the taste. i have tried some of the meat alternatives, and i think the fake chicken is quite good, and for me, as i'm on a calorie restricted diet, its a good way to get low fat protien. the breaded escalops are particularly good. i also like the fake beef mince, for the same reasons.

however, i dont see the point of the things like fake ham or bacon, or fake beef or lambs style chunks, i think the flavour of the real meat versions is so strong and could not be replicated well, so i ont eat these.

i do, in all honesty, prefer nut burgers/bean burgers to any meat substitutes though.

freddyg, this is just the way the message board works, after 10 when the message board is out of hours, the posts from that day dissapear, and then reappear from 9 the next morning, i dont know why, it seems a silly way to run a message board!

i think they are producers of the show, as jeni said it was a lunch that she was taken to to be thanked for five years of gfl

[link]
heres a link for making your own wholewheat pitas, it seems a very simple recipe, its from an american site though, so you'l need to use a measurements converter and a cooking temp converter (plenty online though)
there are lots of reviews by people that have made the recipe before, with helpfull tips about adjustments to the recipe, just click on see all in the reviews secion at the bottom

i started a window box lat year in late june early july time and it did really well all summer, i used basil, parsley and chives. i used plants from a garden shop that were already growing rather than seeds, so i dont know if you should plant any earlier if using seeds. i should warn i'm not a keen gardener, so i dont know when the official consensus says that herbs should be planted, this is just what worked for me.

i agreee with grissini, i think eating organic produce is more of a health or environment choice, rather being an issue of taste

just a heads up for all those still missing gfl, if you read jeni's blog (www.jenibarnett.com) she hints that the producers are working to get it put back on air!

i should point out i've only tried this with plastic containers, not glass, but it works with the clear type plastic labels on plastic containers, i cant see why it wouldnt work for glass containers

i found something a while ago that was good for removing the sticky stuff, i'm not sure, but i think it might have been sticky tape, just press the tape on to the sticky patch and rub firmly, then tear off. it might take a few goes, but i seem to remember it works really well. the only thing is i think it probably has to be clear sticky tape like sellotape, rather than a cloudy tape like scotch tape, i dont think scotch type tape would be strong enough

i definately agree with you, the cooking talent of the producers is irrelevant to how skilled they are at making thier product. thier cooking skill is not any indicator of how good they are at smoking a fish/raising an animal/ making cheese/ growing vegetables etc. sure, they should be able to recomend in what way to use thier product, and have a good knowledges of thier product (cooking times etc) but that doesn't mean they should have to produce a masterpiece with them.

just a little tip for making the prep of shallots easier, supposedly if you blanch them for a few seconds, then let them cool and peel them, the skins come off really easily (never actually tried this myself though)

how about jenis blogsite: www.jenibarnett.com

its very funny!

theres something so nostalgic about those little glass bottles with the foil tops aswell isnt there?

i'm pleased you had success grissini, i wish more stallholders would realise that you catch more bees with honey than you do with vinagar.

i know what you mean grissini, as much as i love ina, and i think her cooking is fabulous, when i think of the cost of some of the recipes that she cooks it does make me baulk a bit! i think part of the problem is that she uses a teaspoon of this and a teaspoon of that, so you have to buy lots of bottles of things just for one teaspoon of it!

definately, i think with all the new season vegetables that are coming in, i like to leave things simple and clean, so the flavour of the veg really comes through

i know, shes a fascinating lady.
i liked reading the archives, and seeing what used to go on behind the scenes of GFL!

how about just a simple selection of very lightly steamed young spring greens, asparagus, broad beans etc, tossed in butter, with just a small squeeze of lemon, and if you want, some finely chopped spring onions and fresh mint. i think possets suggestion of minted jersy royals would also be nice to go with the spring greens

i'm curious, what exactly are beef olives, are they literally that, olives with beef?

decartesmum, americans do not all have the same accent, not all pronounce water as "wadder", that would be like saying everyone in britain has the same accent, and pronounces words in the same way. america is a very large country, with many different accents.

my favourites for everyday food are:
nigella lawson, nigel slater, bill granger and tom norrington davies.
they are my favourites because they all cook simple home food that you could whip up of an evening with little fuss, and few ingredients. nigel slaters books are particularly good for helping to turn a handull of storecupboard items into a really tasty meal.

hi, i think the best olive oil to buy for salad dressings is the extra virgin one, as it has a nice delicate peppery taste, that gets destroyed when it is cooked.

the best olive oil to use for cooking is just regular olive oil, not virgin.

pasta bakes are always good hearty student food.
for any tomato based sauce use passata instead, its blended seived tomatoes, and comes in jars or in handy tetra packs

[link]
here you go, this explains everything

i do like shopping at markets, and i'm fortunate enough to have found a good one, but some of them can be a bit lacklustre, its fine if produce is not as attractive as supermrket produce, but as you say, if its rotten, thats just no good.

if you buy fresh magazine it has an extensive list of markets running around the country, so although your local one might not be great, there might be a better one nearby.

adrian makes a good point about growing your own, it is a very good way of overcoming this problem if you can't source a decent local producer. tomatoes are a good option, as you can grow all sorts of heritige varieties that aren't readily available elsewhere. i think strawberries can also be grown in big terracotta pots.

i too was just giving an opinion, i'm not quite sure why i'm being critisised so harshly for giving my viewpoints, i thought that was the idea of a message board, i even said i partially agreed with your original comments.

try marks and spencer, they often have quite exotic fruits and veg, last year they had some very unusual "donut" peaches, which i think were like a normal white or blush peach, but they had a squashed shape

well thank you for the recomendation, i'll definately give it a go the next time i see it then

hi, i dont know whether you can freeze it or not, but as someone who seems to be on a perenial diet, i'd be interested to know what its like. is it better than the low fat philidelphia style cream cheeses? i always find them really dire

hmm, i kind of agree with you, if the programme were set in a kitchen or professional environment her hair should be tied back, but most of the time she is just cooking for her family/friends, i dont think many people would tie their hair back every single time they cooked for thier family or friends.

i think a lot of delias recipes still hold relevance today. the thing is, you could learn to cook from delias books, because she starts right at the basics (although admitedly sometimes too basic-the toast incident!) and works up. her how to cook books would make a brilliant present for someone who is off to university, or setting up a home for the first time if they are not the most confident cook.
i think nigellas books are better for someone who already has a fairly decent knowledge about cookery, as she (quite fairly) asumes that the people reading her books will have at least basic cooking skills (boiling an egg, chopping an onion etc).
i love both delias and nigellas books, and i think they both deserve a place on the cookery book shelf.

not sure why the mods cut my link out, but here you go again:
a link to an article about foie gras farming:

[link]

i consider it to be cruel, i didnt see the feature on market kitchen as i do not wish to watch MK, so i dont know what it covered in the feature
to me it doesnt make sense why some chefs will only cook free range meat, but are happy to use fois gras, maybe they think its ok to use cruel products if they are considered posh?

belle maman, because of the way the message board works after about 10 pm all or most of the messages from that day disappear, they start reappearing from about 9am the next day. however, the mods do delete some of the posts.

if you google freeze dried fruit there are loads of uk websites that you can order it from

sainsburys stock little bags of dried strawberries mixed with other dried berrys, dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries i believe. they also stock loads of other dried fruit like mango, pinapple etc. i think these are the chewy type of dried berries though, rather than the "crispy" freeze dried ones that are useually in cereal

to my mind, i dont think a cookery programme should be an effort to watch

as you say that anne, discovery travel and living (sky 283) is running a lovely programme at the moment with tom norrington-davis, with him travelling around the country, watching how products are made/grown, and then cooking with the produce. its quite similar to rick steins food heros a very simple, funny, non-lifestyley programme, and not overly scripted

i have to say, i like the repeats of rick stein, it just annoys me when they are on all day. a couple of shows here and there are ok, but i cant watch the same programmes over and over

well personally i think she is fabulous, she is a hilarious presenter, and a complete contast to the bland, auto-cue addicted presenters that currently grace the bbc and itv, its nice to see someone being individual, and i hope jenni's not off our screens for long!

americans make what are called pop-overs, which are the same mixture as yorkshire pudding i believe, but i think they are usually cooked in a butter lined tin, souffle style

they are available from urbanbar.co.uk

keep an eye out at farmers markets and also in larger branches of sainsburys for heritige tomato varieties, or, grow your own in a grow bag or a pot. very cheap, and surprisingly easy, and you'll have lovely tomatoes all summer

i dont really know much about diabetes, but arent both brown and red sauce loaded with sugar? maybe you can get special diabetic versions of either?

sainsburys stock a very reasonably priced tarragon infused white wine vinagar that is delicious, if you cant get hold of that i should imagine white wine vinagar would do.

swiss marigold stock powder is also very nice, and they do reduced sodium and organic versions aswell. very tasty.

i would imagine that your best bets would be:
the gourmet section of sainsburys
delis
posh chocolate shops
specialist cooking shops

this website has a search engine like that, but its not very good and it lists things alphabetically rather than by order of relevance. a much better one is www.epicurious.com
be aware though that it is an american website so you may have to convert weights/ temperatures
also names of products might be different, for example garbanzo beans are actually chickpeas

egg yolks are coloured by what the bird eats. so the colour of the yolk can be adapted according to what the chickens eat. rosti, that might expain why your organic eggs aren't as deep yellow, because the chickens are allowed more freedom to choose what they want to eat, rather than having a colour enhancing diet impressed upon them.
this site tells you more: [link]

yep, those are they! and lovely they are too, they're available from sainsburys and a few other supermarkets

lol, oops! extremely topical though that may be, it was actually meant to take you to a page about the old cotswold eggbar eggs!

i believe she sometimes uses imported italian eggs, which i guess you might be able to find in italian delis, however, i imagine there would be a freshness issue there.
these eggs are very nice, high quality eggs: [link]
and they are from the uk

GFL is finishing and being replaced by a programe hosted by tana ramsey and tom parker bowles, filmed in londons borough market.

never, its being replaced by a new programme, hosted by tana ramsey and tom parker bowels

personally i think alex is a fantastic cook, and gives as good as he gets, i think him and jeni have a good rapport, and seem like real buddies.

i have to say, i've never been either, i would just go for something simple, but elegant, that way you wont feel out of place either way

heres a few ideas:
-smoked salmon sandwiches
-cheese and herb mini-scones (delia has a nice recipe on her website)
-some lovely fresh fruit, something like figs or melon, cut into elegant slices
-roasted lemon and herb chicken portions
-instead of taking salad, some fine green beans with a citrus and olive oil dressing would be lovely.
-then maybe just some nibbly bits, things like marinaded olives etc
-potato salad (a nice one is new potatoes simply dressed with mayonaise, wholegrain mustard and sliced spring onions)
-and of course, a bottle of bubbly

anything oily should go in a tightly sealed tub, preferably then tied in a sandwhich bag, also choose your menu depending on how far you have to travel, so that no-one gets stomach upset if somethings been unrefridgerated for too long!

enjoy!

personally, i prefer to cook it from fresh, but what i do to cut down on time is get all the prep done way ahead of time (chopping the onions, celery etc, blanching ony veg i'm using, grating parmesan and all that jazz) and laying out all my other ingredients to hand (wine, butter, etc).
another alternative is to cook it while you are doing the starter (if the starter is something simple), and then turn the heat off and put a lid on it, it will then keep warm for 20-30 mins whilst you are eating your starter. when you want to serve, simply add the butter and parmesan and stir through

i agree, i think shes fantastic! its nice to see a presenter that isn't a slave to the autocue, and actually improvises once in a while!

i wonder if you would be able to find a suplier online that wwould deliver to you?

i didn't bash supermarkets at all, i simply pointed out that there are alternatives. i apologise if i offended anyone, that wasn't my intention. of course the things i've suggested aren't suitable for everyone, i didn't suggest that they are. the main reason i dont like supermarket fruit and veg is that they overpackage things, whereas greengrocers and farmers markets rarely package things.

i really dont understand why its taking so long! it must be so frustrating for the author of the recipe

i like giocondas programmes aswell, but she always seems so nervous!

i don't have proffessional knowledge, but i know a little bit about why they are cheaper.
costs are saved in the production of the product, ie, money is saved on the labels of the basics range, by not using expensive graphics or photos on the label they save a lot of money. also, the containers are oftenmade of cheaper materials, for example, savers cornflakes just come in a big plastic bag, rather than the usual plastic bag and box. as for the actual product, it is obviously at least a slightly lower quality product that is used, for example, i believe some of sainsburys 'basics' cheese is less aged than higher quality cheeses.
i would imagine that as far as veggies go, they use the veggies that dont make the grade for the normal range, veggies that are a slightly funny or small shape (but thats just a guess)

i think some basics are better than others, basic cornflakes, for example, are revolting, but basics baked beans aren't too bad.

also, i would assume that you shouldn't use them if the plant has been treated with chemicals (weedkiller etc)

i agree with the ethos behind the programme, i think its good to educate people about where their food comes from, but from the description, it sounds a bit sensationalist. it possibly would have been better if they had formatted it as a documentry, with a film camera simply following the journey of the meat.
are they covering ethical farming or non-ethical farming? it would have possibally had an even bigger impact if they had covered both and compared them, to show just how different they are.

i want to freeze some lime slices, is it ok to wrap them in cling film to freeze them, i always worry about the acid reacting with the cling film?

do you mean how to access a link or how to create one?

does anyone know whether jerusalem artichokes can be eaten raw or not? i've been researching it on the internet, and one site said eating them raw should be avoided, and another said they were nice raw in salads. i dont know what to believe!!!

good food magazine prints whether their recipes are freezable, and a lot of them are, thier website also does this, they have lots of hearty, but healthy things, that would be easy for your kids to reheat. heres the link for thier website :[link]

i love jaggery, i think it has the most wonderfull taste, i bet it would be nice in a mojito!

hmm, thats slightly more tricky, prehaps you could try rubbing a slice of white bread (no crusts) between the palms of you hands, untill it starts to break up into little pieces, or if you have the patience of a saint, you could try tearing white bread into little pieces, that might work!?!

[link] theres some more infor on them

are you wanting to make soft fresh breadcrumbs, or hard, crisp, fine breadcrumbs (like you might use for making chicken gougons)

surely a cook is not always someone who cooks for someone else (professionally) i believe nigella lawson has never done professional catering of any kind, but she would still be described as a cook.

it is a bit of a dilema, however, if you want to buy local food, but still support fair traid you can always buy things like fairtrade clothes, coffee and chocolate, that might be very difficult/impossible to obtain from a source that grows and produces them in britain. i believe marks and spencer now carries a small range of fair trade clothes now

i have no problem leaving a tip for the staff if the service has been good, and i have enjoyed my meal, however, service charge is usually used to make up the waiter/waitresses wages.
the way i understand it, service charge is not illegal, however, i believe you are not legally obliged to pay for it, so you can ask for it to be taken off your bill, and leave a tip instead that (should) go to the waiter or waitress as a bonus, rather than being used to make up thier wages.
i think thats the way it works, i'm not absoloutely sure though.

i saw a short segment once, where they compared ten items of fruit and veg bought from a supermarket, and the equivilent ten items bought from a greengrocers, and i believe the greengrocers actually worked out cheaper. supermarkets can often be more expensive because they try to tack on "added value" as often as they can, for example, by packing fruit and veg in multipacks, or by prepreparing things, such as trimmed fine beans, or cubed swede. by doing this they can charge more for the product.

generally speaking, i believe a chef refers to someone who works in a professional kichen, but does not neccesarily have to have had pro training.
a cook is someone who does not work in a pro kitchen, but may also work in other areas of food, so, for example, a chef would be someone like gordon ramsey, whereas a cook would refer to someone like nigella lawson

does anyone have a good recipe for a sliced root vegetable bake, preferably one that has no oil or butter, or could be adapted to contain no oil or butter

oh, yeah, i imagine that would just mean a slice then.

i'm confused as to whether it means one slice of bread, or an actual disc of bread? what is the context in which it is used?

i believe nigella strains hers through kitchen towel in a seive or collinder (cant remember which), what did you use to strain yours?

Rozanna, a really good website for what you want is www.epicurious.com
underneath the recipes they post comments (positive and negative) and suggestions from people that have tried the recipes, and also, what percentage of people would cook the recipe again. the only thing is its an american site, so you may have to convert temperatures and measurements, but you can do this easily with an online converter

i think what knocker meant was that there were hardly any traditional dishes, i dont think they meant they were adverse to cultural diversity, just that they would like to keep traditional english food aswell!

eurgh, that dried t v p stuff gives me the creeps, i much prefer the fresh or frozen quorn mince, the rest of the recipe sounds yummy though

you have to make sure the coffee has been sugared, it does need quite a lot of suger to make the cream float, probably about 1-2 spoons. my favourite combo is really good coffee (from grounds!), sugar, amaretto and slightly whipped cream.

i think that all aspects of british cooking should be represented, but i think that should also include traditional british cooking. i think its good that britains food is so culturally diverse, but i do not think we should loose traditional cooking all together

how do you mean, did it give you food poisening or did you just not like it?

i agree, i'm not a big fan of either greg wallace or john torrode, i feel they say overly hurtfull things just for the camera's, and they pick on little things, like the contestants not calling recipes by the right name, who cares as long as it tastes good? product knowledge is easy to teach, but genuine cooking skill is a rare find!

is this the kind of thing you mean?: [link]
sounds a bit of a faff!
or theres this, which sounds much more simple!:[link]
its an american website, so you might have to use an online measurements converter, also, the second recipe refers to using a kettle, which threw me for a second, but i believe it means just a large non-reactive pan, this website is great because they post the comments and suggestions of people who have cooked the recipe under the recipe itself, and also what percentage would make the recipe again. also, if you use the healthy recipe search, they often put nutritional info next to the recipes.

it says in the post above-they are from urbanbar.co.uk
i dont know if they're back in stock yet though.

[link]
there you go, that should answer all your questions

you quote rick stein in you post leslyanna, try to emulate his presentation style, very simple, no frills or bows, just showing off the ingredients. and with his style of presentation, the food wont get cold because its being faffed about with.

i think the pressre test is designed so that the judges can see if the contestants could handle themselves in a proffesional kitchen if they won, after all, they dont want to pick someone who cant handle being in a pro-kitchen.

i agree! maris pipers are definately the best for a smooth mash!

i find the way that gary rhodes puts things "through" the oven more irritating

they should have had proffesional chefs as the judges!

i agree, but i also think there is sometimes room for improvement, i often add a bit of extra garlic, chilli or fresh herbs to old family recipes

'fraid it is true sandra: [link]

yes, tom parker bowles, camillas son

i like the peoples cookbook, but i would have rather seen the people whose recipes they are actucally cooking them themselves, and have a panel of chefs judging. i think the set up at the moment, with the chefs cooking the 'ametuers' recipes is patronising as i think it implies that the people whose recipes they are are not competent enough to cook it themselves, even though its thier own recipe, that they've probably made hundreds of times!

the time slot that GFL and food uncut occupied is going to be filled by a programme set in a market i believe, hosted by tana ramsey, gordons wife.

definately agree about the lemon and sugar, there has to be loads of both though, i love the way the sugar is all crunchy and grainy

lol, and a bit of olive oil and rosemary for moisturising after?

i think one word sums that product up....

WHY?????

just make sure its not garlic mayonaise you use to condition your hair!

the vinigar trick does NOT work, i tried it once years ago, and all that happened was i stank of vinigar and kept getting funny looks!

how about adding the whole garlic cloves a little later in the cooking process?

i think cookery schools are a brilliant idea, buying a cookery book is fine, but it doesn't compare to having a real person in front of you, giving instructions and telling you where you are going wrong

i use a pinch of sugar too, i think it really does work
i've heard that the seeds in whole canned plum tomatoes can make it bitter, maybe try using chopped deseeded canned tomatoes, or passata, which is sieved tomatoes and comes in bottles or tetra packs

[link]
theres all sorts of blue cheese recipes from delia on the link above

also, try health food shops, they quite often stock more unusual products like this

i agree that fresh truffles are very steep, but the price is manageable for a restraunt because they can hike the price of a meal up a heck of a lot (disproportionately) if it has a few slivers of truffle shaved on top.
for those of us that dont have chefs budgets, there are a number of products that give some of the taste of truffles, with out the expense, such as truffle oil which can be added to soups, risottos, pasta etc to finsh them, and i believe you can aquire some kind of black truffle paste from sainsburys

isn't nandos a mexican fast food place? i'm not sure, i haven't been there myself

farmers markets are on in most cities at least once a week, if you drive (or get the bus) to the nearest city at the weekend, with the family, it makes a nice outing and you can stock up on fruit and veg. greengrocers, open at lunchtime, when people can nip out of the office quickly. and if you do find a local greengrocers (i've never had a problem finding one!) you can ask them when they get new deliveries of fruit and veg, and go in on that day and get some.

that doesn't just leave supermarkets, there are plenty of greengrocers that are more likely to sell british produce. and theres always farmers markets, which are becoming more and more prevailent.

sorry, thats an american site so you'll have to convert the cooking temp to english, not sure how though...?

for an aubergine pate you could try making baba ganoush:
[link]
personally i would omit the oil and just add a little more natural yoghurt

i dont mind seeing more of rick stein, i would just prefer to see different shows, it would be nice to see his french oddesey series again, as i missed a lot of that when it was shown on bbc

totally agree la isla, they seem to be terrible food snobs, and dont actually seem to have a solid view of what they like and dont like

blend tinned beans (whatever your favorite are, chick peas or kidney beans work well) with low fat natural yoghurt, ras el hanout, dried chilli and cumin, fresh herbs (corriander or mint) and a tiny bit of raw garlic. its lovely as is, or you can blend some low fat feta with it aswell, or some lemon or lime juice (add the citrus juice at the last minute as it can sometimes make the yoghurt split if you add it ahead of time)
its especially good served with whole meal pittas cut into tringles and baked in the oven (no oil needed) you can make the pate as thick or as thin as you like by adding more or less yoghurt/citrus juice

yeah, could they not take smaller bites, its like watching a snake trying to eat an egg whole, sometimes i think john torode is going to unhinge his jaw!

oh, and animals dont have to be organic to be treated well, free range doesnt neccesarily have to mean organic

chocie, just to answer your first point about how people know that local produce is being farmed well, a lot of people get thier produce from farm shops, attatched to the farm, where you can very easily see whats going on/how big the farm is etc, a lot of farms let visitors on aswell to look around. i dont really care if local produce is something that marketing has latched onto, local is what i focus on, i think organic food has been made out to be this wonder product, just because something is organic, it does not mean its going to be fresher! personally, i would rather support small local business, that i know are doing a good job.

i have a large, heavy bottomed teflon saute pan from woolworths that i use for most things, it has stainless steel exterior, and a good heavy handle, and it cost me under a tenner, and came with a glass lid aswell! its done me proud.

it was lesley walters (sp) i believe, on GFL

you could stack cooked peeled large prawns, or langoustine tails if you can find them, up inside the ring, then remove the ring carefully and drizzle the prawns with a light lemon and herb aioli.

if you go for the pear and blue cheese thing, you may want to serve the salad by making into a loose balls by gently cupping it in your hands, and serve on top of the terrine, visually it might look better, as the terrine could look a bit pallid

box scemes are a good idea, but i dont think they are very practical for the way i cook personally. i prefer to go to the greengrocers or market, see what looks good and what i fancy.

for a starter
how about layering cold sliced poached pear with a mixture of roquforte (sp?) and chopped walnuts, serve with a salad of rocket and watercress, with a simple dressing (probably not balsamic, there are enough other flavours going on) and a big wedge of warm crusty brown bread. the terrine could be prepared ahead of time.
you may want to loosen the roqforte and walnut mixture with a little double cream or port, to get it to spreading consistancy.

i know, what is the point in shrink wrapping red peppers, they only sweat in the wrappping. i dont often buy veg from there (i use a proper greengrocers) but i notice that the multipacks of fruit and veg are invariably made up from both rock hard underripe produce, and produce thats so overripe it would be better off consigned to the compost heap, i often notice "fluffy" fruit and veg instore!

the limoncello granita is particularly good in summer, lovely served in a martini glass

enjoy! i've heard semi-freddo is also good made with honey instead of suger, as the honey stops the ice cream from making such large ice crystals, has anyone else heard of this? a small slug of booze (spirits) will also give a softer set

[link]
theres a recipe for semi-freddo it can also be made with things like rasperies, pine nuts etc.

i thought that jeni and co's reaction to the death of chalky was absolutely deplorable, a complete lack of respect, usually im a jeni fan, but shes gone way too far this time!

theres so many things you can do with fennel:
braised with white wine, butter, garlic and herbs
added to risottos
creamy fennel soup
thinly sliced and added to salads with avocado, hallomi and herbs

well, it obviously gets good ratings otherwise they wouldnt play it over and over again

what i would say is, i bought a very heavy handled big knife, it has a sort of elongated almond shape handle supposedly making it easier to hold, but i find that because of the way i hold a knife it really makes my wrist ache. terrydox is right, have a look in a shop first, and see what suits you

i make those peas all the ime, they're so versatile, i use them on baked potatoes, or stired through pasta

i saw her doing hers on the tv this saturday morning, and it did look slightly split, even on camera, i would agree with rosti, a little cornflour helps to stabalise it and it all emulsifies better.

how did you make it? did you do the whole thing with wine, kirch, flour, emmental etc?

hope you enjoy it!
its one of my favourites, and its not too heavy before a big meal

they are great for doing starters for a dinner party, make a tricolore salad by layering slices of buffalo mozzerella, avocado, decent tomatoes and basil leaves in the presentation rings. remove the ring carefully, and dress with a white wine vinagar and good olive oil dressing, and black pepper and salt, serve with toasted ciabatta bread slices.
its a very simple salad, but the presentation makes it more impressive for a dinner party.

sage works well, and also bay leaves

appaerntly though, bay leaves are toxic if you have them too often!

i always add a good amount of lemon juice when i'm making houmous without tahini, about 1 and a half lemons worth of juice. i also add parsley, lots of black pepper, and i use lots of roasted garlic, plus one clove of raw garlic.

and another one:[link]

yes, they can be frozen, heres a very informative link:
[link]

how about lemon sorbet, you can even put a slug of limoncello in, not too much though, other wise it wont freeze

i've been enjoying watching some of the old jamie olivers though.

i think all of the recipes were from feast

good point braces (be carefull when taking the lid off though , the staples can really burn!) and also, put a baking tray on the shelf underneath, the cheese can leek out, and is like glue when it hits the bottom of the oven. i just make little cuts in the top of the cheese, and sprinkle a little white wine over, i find the garlic too over powering, you can add herbs if you like, but i think the flavour of the cheese is good enough to stand alone. keep an eye on it aswell, the box has a tendancy to burn

her watermelon, feta and olive salad, its lovely in the summer, when the watermelon has been in the fridge, and is really cold and refreshing, i add chunks of cucumber aswell, and sometimes do it with slices of barbequed halloumi laid on top instead of feta

goodness yes! the smoked paprika that i bought was really hot, and i love spicy food! i would add about a third of that, taste, and add more if needed, the other reason you need to be carefull is because it has a really ovepowering BBQ flavour

i love the idea of the stuffed courgettes and the soups.

i'm dangerous around pasta though, i have absolutely no portion control as far as carbs are concerned!

a vegetarian diet is like any other, it can be healthy, or not, depending on what you eat, my problem is that i dont like mushrooms, tofu, or eggs, and obviously, i dont eat fish, so i have to get most of my protein from cheese, nuts and seeds, none of which are low in fat. i have recently started eating quorn, which i can only barely tolerate, but that is it.

very true mrs woof woof, also, if enough people support thier local suppliers, with time they should be able to expand their businesses to incorporate organic farming/production.

not necesarily so, i think people are too keen to say that just because something is organic, it is some kind of wonder product, just because something is organic, it doesnt mean it is going to be the freshest food, i would rather concentrate on using local food, than organic

pasta!

rosti, to say a vegetarian diet is one of the lowest in fat is just not correct, if it was then i wouldnt have to go on a diet. i never ever eat ready meals, not even oven chips, i dont eat out a lot, i dont use a lot of butter and oil. i dont like cakes and biscuits, and rarely eat chocolate, yet the wieght still refuses to come off so obviously veggie diet is not low in calories!
there are all sorts of things that are vegetarian that are calorific.

thanks for the recipes guys, they sound lovely

i saw hugh FW making a ten bird roast on tv the other day! it was a monster!

new years day...oh yes, its diet time!
anyone got any really low fat vegetarian recipes?
i'm trying to cut oil and butter pretty much completely out of my diet, and use a lot less cheese and potatoes i like really light, fresh, jamie oliver style food

nooo! i couldnt do without my homemade christmas pud! i make it every year, from a really old recipe that i have adapted over the years (more booze fruit and nuts) and its delicious.
i think snowlights tip about mince pies is good, smaller is better, because they look less intimidating! if you're faced by this monster mince pie, with piles of sugar and thick buttery pastry, it can put you off

i'm glad they are showing the seafood odessey series now, rather than the food heroes, i haven't seen seafood odessey very much.
anna, i know what you mean, i love rick stein even though i dont eat fish, or even meat! in fact most of my cookbooks arent vegetarian!

in future it may also be worth investing in a meat thermometer, apparently they are not that pricy

i noticed when i was in a bookshop the other day there are loads of cooking books for diabetics, it might be worth investing!

ramsey, gordon ramseys wife (the words jumping and bandwagon spring to mind!)

my first piece of advice would be: have you checked if it will fit in the oven yet!?!

parboil parsnips, the coat them in a light covering of flour and grated parmesan and roast, or toss them in maple syrup and roast them.
red cabbage with port
glazed carrots with garlic and cumin
sprouts with chestnuts and bacon

i agree, i'm not fanatical about nut roast, and i hate mushrooms and tofu!
a few weeks ago i made a puff pastry tart, with stilton, walnuts and rocket:
-buy pre-rolled puff pastry, cut it into a rectangle, score a line all the way round the edge, about 2 cm in.
-cook it as per instructions on the pack, then when it is browned and risen, gently push the centre down with the back of a spoon, effectively making a little pastry 'tray'
-crumble in some stilton (or any vegetarian blue cheese that you can find), and chopped toasted walnuts, and sprinkle rocket on top. leave the rocket untill the last min so it doesn't wilt.

it will go really nicely with all the christmas food, and would probably be lovely with a dollop of cranberry sauce on the side. and you're likely to have some blue cheese and walnuts kicking around at christmas time anyway, and you can use the spare puff pastry to make canapes.

being veggie myself, i have a load of veggie recipes, what kind of things do you like?

i would advise to see your doctor, you probably just have high metabolism, but your doctor should be able to rule out any possible underlying causes, and help you work out a diet that is right for you. i would especially advise you to see your doctor if you are actually underweight

try a health food shop,you should find what you are looking for there. i think white flour is believed to be not as good for you as wholemeal flour, therefore technically wholemeal pasta should be healthier for you, i don't know how thier calorific values compare though!

oh my gosh! i left off one of the most important ingredients: it needs a good dollop of grainy mustard
sorry!

steak with gorganzola melted on top after cooking, with chips and buttery spinich
or steak and chips with salald and bearnaise sauce

try the vegetarian societys website: www.vegsoc.org
it has a load of vegan recipes on there too

i meant to say you can eat it cold, and its delicious, but i like it best warm! if i was making it to eat cold, i would dress it after the potatoes had cooled down. i hope you like it, its a tried and tested family favourite!

new potatoes, tossed in mayonaise with chopped spring onions and black pepper

after about 9pm most of the messages from that day disappear, they then reapper after about 9am the next day.

and as always, make sure they are put into steralised jars

oooh, i love crystalised rose and violet petels, you can get them from larger sainsburys.

minnyme, glad to hear you managed to get hold of some glace fruit!

i think you'll have to experiment a little, you could try just halving/quatering some tomatoes, and slowroasting them at a low temperature.

or you could try placing the halved/quatered tomatoes on a rack over a roasting tin so the moisture could run off, sprinkling a little salt over to draw out the juices, and to give that saltyness that sunblush tomatoes have, and slow roasting them at a low temperature.
i have to say though, i haven't actually tried these recipes myself, does anyone else think that either of these methods could work? also, would people drizzle them with oil before cooking, or leave them bare, to dry out?

i think you can buy pre-prepared cranberry and port jelly, but if you wanted a wetter sauce i'm sure it woud be easy enough to find a recipe.

if someone wants a low cholesterol recipe on these message boards they should state that is what they are looking for, and i am sure that most people would be very able to give them a recipe, but it is their own responsibility to state that they have a dietry requirement. for example, i am vegetarian, and so obviously i would state that i was looking for a vegetarian recipe.
personally i would rather eat a little olive oil, or a little butter than eating margerine, i don't like the taste.

aww, it makes me sad, i'll miss watching jenni and the team

the trouble with trying to produce your own olive oil would be that you would need a large yeild to make a relitively small amount

try a health food store like holland and barrett, also try italian and french delis

how about tossing the squid rings in a little flour before you dip them in the batter, so the batter has something to adhere to???

i wonder if port and cranberry sauce might go well with it

for a christmassy touch, how about spiced butternut squash and orange soup?

my mother always cooks the christmas lunch, and i'm pretty sure she parboils the potatoes, then puts them in a roasting tin that with the olive oil she is using for cooking, shakes them about a bit so they are covered in the oil, then cling films the tin and sticks it in the fridge.
if you are doing mash it can be made competely the day before, then warmed through with a little extra butter and milk

i don't understand what all the fuss is about, only a very few programmes are commentated.

the trouble you may encounter here is that even if you did manage to find a british olive oil, which is doubtfull, it would probably be made with foreign olives, and just processed in britain.
oliver rowe, whose resteraunt strives to use ingredients only from inside the radius of the tube system, uses a high quality british rape seed oil, which he says has a much more distinct flavour than the rape seed oils that you can buy from the supermarkets.

it may irritate some people, but voiceovers for the blind are very important, and they are always on late at night or early in the morning

i love all the trimmings from the roast, i can't have the meat, because i'm veggie, but i have the stuffing and potatoes (cooked seperately from the meat), red cabbage with port, sprouts, runner beans, caremelised carrots, yorkshires, bread sauce and swede mash, i definately don't miss out!

i like a chunky slice of white crusty toast (i inch thick) the toast should be hot, th butter should be unsalted and cold, and the jam should be plum or greengauge and cold or room temp, because the toast is so thick it retains its heat, and the cold butter and jam provide a nice contrast

if it is late at night sometimes they sign things, or put commentary on, try to catch a programme during the daytime

seriously, there is absolutely no voice over!

i know its not the recipe you are after but i have a couple of ideas
cut the butternut squash in half length way, scoop out the seeds (the seeds are nice washed, dried and roasted with salt and olive oil) and then fill with:

-pre-prepared stuffing, if you can get hold of one with ginger in thats really nice, or find any unusual pack of stuffing mix (chestnut might be nice) fill the cavity and bake until brown. you will have to bake the butter nut squash halves on thier own first, then just pop the stuffing in and stick it in the oven to brown.

-you could try doing a butternut squash souffle aswell, bake the squash halves, then make up a souffle mix (any cheese one would be nice, and fill the cavity and bake as a normal souffle.

if the cavity of the squash is not big enough, you may want to scrape away some of the extra flesh

here are some guidelines for basic nutrition for vegetarians, it tells you all the different types of protein you can eat, and how much: [link]


and heres a comprehensive guide as to what you should be generally eating every day, obviously thoug, consult your doctor if you have any other dietry requirements: [link]

yeah, there is no commentary on nigella, i think it must be a service for the blind

actually, turns out neither of us was right, lol. it is apparently made from the swimbladders of fish: [link]

to go off on a non-food tangent- try bnevertoobusytobebeautiful.com for makeup, they are a totally vegetarian company, that do a lot of vegan products also, and they do a whole range of shimery eye shadows!

most alcohol aswell is filtered using isingglass-fish scales!

what are every ones favourite nostaligic christmas recipes? i think mine has to be homemade chistmas pudding...worlds away from the shop bought!

you could probably just substitute a couple of spoonfulls of crushed toasted sesame seeds, it would make the houmous healthier too, with less oil in

and you'll have to convert the temperature aswell

you can make it, aparently quite easily: [link]
i wouldn't keep it for as long as they suggest though, and make sure you keep it in a steralised jar.

you could use a coffee bean grinder to get the sesame seeds to a fine powder. just so long as the grinder hasn't actually been used for coffee beans (some people keep a seperate one for spices)

also, i think it is an american recipe, so you'll have to use an online cooks converter to convert it into british measurements

it could be agar agar or veggie powdered gelitine, i don't know what recipe you mean, so i couldn't say

good good! hope everything goes ok!

how about baking some minature scones, and making tiny cream teas? or delia has a great recipe for minature cheese scones on her website that would be great just filled with cream cheese

will do! it looks so pretty aswell!

[link]
there you go, took a couple of goes on yahoo, but found it eventually, enjoy!

i've always wanted to try goldschlager, but i'm worried it would be very medicinal?

have you tried useing a heat diffuser with your gas rings? that might help, heres a link for one from lakeland limited:
[link]

feta and halloumi are sheeps milk cheeses

we are having all these reruns because it was some bright sparks idea to have a "local food month" to drum up publicity for the new gary rhodes show, which basically means we get fobbed off with old reruns, and the awfull Gary Rhodes local food heros

personally i'm not a fan of "seasonally scottish"

[link]
heres a link for all of his recipes on this site, if its on this site it'll be in there somewhere!

sorry, that is supposed to say curved, not crved

if i were you i would make a largish square cake, cut it down the middle, length ways line these 2 pieces up on your serving platter, so you have a long rectangle. round the bottom right corner off so it is crved rather than pointy, this gives you the heel of the stocking.

then bake a smaller square cake, and cut the shape of the toe of the stocking out of this, and attatch it to the left hand side of the cake, and ice the cake! viola, a stocking.

or you could bake a round cake then cut it in half to make the toe, but i think that would give more wasteage than shaping the toe from a square cake.

you might want to use some frosting or some other sticky substance to 'glue' the pieces together.

i think you mean GOLDschlager!
[link]
heres an website that you can buy it from.

i hope your party goes well, if you aren't clear on anything, feel free to ask, i'm not sure that i'm very good at explaining this kind of thing!

ok, to make the vol au vent base, don't try to make the pastry yourself, it is a very lengthy, complicated procedure, use the READY ROLLED PUFF pastry that you can get in the chiller cabinet from supermarkets, it is usually found in the dairy isle, alternatively, you can even buy ready made frozen vol au vent cases, that just need to be popped in the oven, you can also buy blocks of puff pastry, but you need to roll these out yourself, personally i always use the ready rolled puff pastry, as it is much easier, because it is already rolled out to perfect thickness.
-you will need 2 circular cutters, one about 1 cm smaller that the other in diameter.

-using the bigger cutter stamp out a disc of pastry, then take the smaller cutter and push it ALMOST but NOT all the way through the pastry disc, so you have a circle within a cricle. alternatively ou can use a very sharp knife to score the smaller circle, just dont go all the way through the pastry, or your filling will leak out.

-next, place on a baking sheet, and follow the cooking instructions on the back of the pastry packet. DONT fill the pastry cases before you put them in the oven. bake the cases untill brown.

-take the cases out of the oven, let cool for a couple of minutes, then when cool enough to handle, using the back of a teaspoon, push the middle disc of the pastry cases gently down, so you have what is effectively a little pastry cup.

-when cooled totally add your fillings, don't do this untill last minute, otherwise the cases may get soggy.

-fillings could include:
*smoked salmon cut into little strips, stirred through with some creme fraiche, a little lemon juice, pepper (no salt) and chopped parsley or dill.
*stilton and walnut with a few leaves of rocket or watercress piled on top
*sauteed mushrooms in a creamy sauce with thyme.

i would imagine at least a couple of monthes, especially with it being the holiday season, i would just phone up and ask if i were you

did you and your husband both have indigestion, or was it only one of you?

why the cooking test? what does it matter if your greengrocer can cook or not, surely all that matters is that they provide fresh local fruit and veg?

mind you, it is possible that you may have developed a slight allergy to cardamom. but definately check out the other ingredients aswell

oops, didn't spot the recipe link either, i agree with old thatch

i would imagine that would be a tin for making individual yorkshire puds in, which is similar to the tray for making fairy cakes, but usually only has four, much larger 'cups'. were they individual toad in the holes?

i do think they are really good quality, and i love them in ministrone, aswell as pasta shapes.

yeah, i think freezing would be the way to go, try to use it as quickly as possible though, as obviously things still deteriorate in the freezer.
you could probably make apple sauce and freeze that aswell.

i think rick stein is on weekend stacks at the mo because they've been running a local food month on uktvfood to try and drum up publicity for the dreadfull local food heroes with gary rhodes, a bad idea if you ask me, especially as gary's programme has been criticised in comparison to ricks!

i know what you mean, new potatoes seem to be taking absolutely ages to cook for me recently

wow! that really is a late harvesting apple tree!
i'm not sure if legally all additives have to be stated, i think that there are some that do not have to be included in the ingredients.
i wouldn't have thought they would keep for very long without deteriorating to be honest.

what is the single ingredient people feel that they just couldn't do without when cooking?

for me, its garlic, i can do with out salt and pepper, or even olive oil, but i add garlic or some form of allium to almost everything i cook!

good luck! you could also try italian deli's, as glace fruit and peel is used quite a lot in italian recipes

oh my gosh! i did not want or need an explanation! as i have now said many many times!!!!!
this was set up as a disscusion, not a lesson!

rosti and i were just trying to have a debate, i was not trying to get the last word, i was simply expressing my opinion, it is after all, a discussion board!

every celebrity chef seeks publicity, it is in the nature of their job.
actually, many celebrity chefs do not have any classical training or qualifications.

ok, first things first james, you call me childish, yet you are the one who has to resort to calling names??? ironic, no?

secondly, i did not ask for, nor want a technical explanation about the process of copyrighting, and stated so several times. i set up this post for people to discuss whether they thought copyrighting was fair or not, not as a lesson on copyrighting.

and lastly, this: "if chefs supposedly care so much about educating people and sharing thier knowlege, why the copyrighting?" was a rhetorical question, as was this: "i mean, nigella openly admits to rallying round her friends and relatives for recipes, so why are they copyrighted as her own?"

try your local health food shop, or an asian supermarket
as far as i know it shouldn't have any difference in flavour though

i don't think it is fair personally

try your local health food shop, you often find that they sell the whole slices of peel aswell as the chopped stuff, and also a range of glace fruits. it sounds strange as glace fruit is obviously very sugary, but despite the name, health food shops are often a good resource for things like this.

ok, i understand the process of copyrighting, i am saying that i don't think it is fair!!!
same goes for classic recipes.

just make sure it is cooked through before serving, as the recipe is for red rather than white meat obviously!

i understand the process of copyrighting, i am looking at this on a larger scale
i mean, nigella openly admits to rallying round her friends and relatives for recipes, so why are they copyrighted as her own?

yeah, rick stein seems to have a real passion for seeking out and actually praising local suppliers and producers, whereas Rhodes doesn't seem to actually have any passion for it, and is always making negative comments.
i like the fact that in rick steins programme the producers didn't have to be all singing all dancing to get praised by him, someone line catching fish would be celebrated, whereas on Rhodes' programme they would probably be critisised for being too simplistic.

i still don't understand why on Rhodes' programme there is a cooking test, after all, you don't have to be a great chef to dive for scallops, or be a butcher, or farm free range chickens. the most important thing as far as i am concerned is to have people that are providing an excellent product, i don't care if they can produce a 3 course meal or not.

totally agree nipple 1, he'll do anything for publicity!

i'm not neccesarily talking about just posting on here, i'm saying in general, how can you copyright classic recipes?

what are everyones views on copyrighted recipes?
personally it realy irritates me that we can only post links to chefs recipes on this board. i realise there is a need for chefs to protect thier commodity, and maybe in the case of someone like heston blumenthal, copyrighting is a good idea, but how can you copyright classic recipes like bruschetta, or moules marinaire, or peppersteak?
if chefs supposedly care so much about educating people and sharing thier knowlege, why the copyrighting?

ok, well, i was just trying to give an informative answer

no, but theres no need for the judges to be so offensive and inconsistant in thier comments

10 minutes on how to make popcorn! how? surely there can't be that much to explain!! lol

ok, but what you said is like saying bread is flour!
cornmeal is what polenta is made out of.

sorry! forgot to add the link for the root veg soup with pecan and parsley salad! here it is!
[link]

what about soup, its nice and warming at this time of year, and if you make a smooth soup decorated with a swirl of creme fraiche and accompanied by some nice fresh bread or a parmesan croute it can look very refined.
something like brocoli and stilton, or even borsch would be nice and seasonal.
or for something a little different, try this recipe for smooth root veg soup with accompanying pecan and parsley salad.

cornmeal isn't the same thing as polenta, as i said in my original post, polenta is a dish made from cornmeal

sorry, that should say big glass of milk, not bug glass of milk

my only sugestion would be to serve it with some sour cream or natural yoghurt or creme fraiche, or drink a bug glass of milk with it. this helps to cool the burn of the chilli.

yes, but cornflour and cornmeal are still very different things

they are very different, cornflour is used for thicking sauces and is a very fine powder, cornmeal is used for making polenta and cornbread, and is coars e.

its an independant store.
it comes in an orange plastic bag and is labelled coxxxx ground cornmeal

i buy my cornmeal from a healthfood shop

also as an alternative to shop bought yoghurts (most are packed with additives)
buy natural or greek yoghurt and stir some honey and chopped dried fruit through, and put in a small tupperware tub.
or make a smoothie with fresh fruit, natural yoghurt and honey, and use an old drinks bottle to fill up.

sticks of carrot, peppers and celery (chop up your own, those bags of battons from the supermarket are tasteless!) and a minni tuperware tub filled with houmous or tzatziki, or some other healthy dip.

the key is forward planning, things like pasta salad and cous cous can be made in a larger amout one evening, and kept in a bowl in the fridge and used for 2-3 days. also, invest in some good containers eg:
-ziploc lunch bags for veggies
-small round tupperware tubs for dips, yoghurt etc
-medium sized tub for pasta salad/cous cous/ sarnies
-large tub to put all the other containers in.

lettuce shouldn't wet the bread if it is dried properly ahead of when you want to use it
-egg mayonaise and cress
-pitta bread with hummus and salad
-instead of just giving an apple, make up a fresh fruit salad with grapes, mango, clementine, melon, pineapple etc, (it will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days) and put some in one of those mini tubs you can get.
-try making pizza using a pizza base bread mix, then use a small amount of passata or tomato puree on top, then lots of veggies (onion, peppers, sliced cherry toms etc) then some cheese on top, you should be able to keep the pizza in the fridge for a few days, and the kids can take a slice or 2 for school each day, much better than the oily pizzas at school
-cous cous or pasta salad with lots of veggies and cubes of cheese

thanks for the reply
in the end i went for the first method, but after your positive feedback i think i'll try the pate method next time! i love stillton, walnut and port pate with pears

bravo!!!
being vegetarian myself, one of the things i've had to acept is that it is practically impossible to be totally vegetarian due to hidden meat products in all sorts of things like cheese (especially a problem when eating out on holiday), isinglass in wines and other alcohol. i do try very hard to avoid eating products contaminated with meat, but i know that there are times that its just unavoidable. one of the biggest problems is eating out in restraunts because even if the menu says vegetarian it may not be so.

are you looking to set up your own establishment, or looking for a job?

absolutely cat in the kitchen
obesity caused by excessive consuption of alcohol is particularly dangerous, for several reasons:
-danger of liver damage, heart disease, neurological damage etc.
-alcohol causes fat to build up around your middle, around some of the most important organs in your body (stomach etc) (which is why people call a paunch a beer belly)
-not only is alcohol high in calories, it slows your metabolism, meaning it actually slows the rate at which you burn off calories.

yes, russet is a type of apple, but they are also a potato, i found an english website talking about the cultivation of russet potatos

Lil abby, i meant aside from cooking talent, but then i thought that was implied

aswell as skiming of the impurities on the top, then pour the clear yellow butter off, that is your clarified butter, leaving behind the white milk solids that sink to the bottom.

DON'T EAT THEM!!! if they are the ones that you can get from florists/garden centres, they are generally not edible. as with anything you buy from garden centres/florists, do not eat them unless they SPECIFICALLY say edible, and certainly don't chance it if they say harmfull if eaten!!!
i would assume that they are a decorative variety, not for eating.

i think that nigella has the perfect balance between simple and impresssive food, i just find rachel allens recipe's a bit bland

and i loathe gordon ramsey

being able to source good local ingredients doesn't make someone a chef, it just makes them a very good cook
a chef is a cook who works as part of a team in a proffesional kitchen, so for example, rick stein is a chef, but nigella lawson is a cook

if you made a proper spag bol sauce, and made more than you needed, you could save the leftovers so you wouldn't have to worry about cooking the next day with all your boxes everywhere. or you could do a pasta bake, pepare it before they get there, then just chuck it into the oven when you're ready to eat.

who is her mother?

yeah, i've had it from the supermarket before and its good, but i haven't been able to get hold of any recently, even in the larger supermarkets

i have the exact same problem snowlight

just checked, snowlight hasn't responded to that post at all

try letting the cake cool for a few mins first, then go round the sides with a pallete knife then place your hand on the top of the cake, flip the cake and tin upside down, and give it a little jiggle to loosen the cake. or just invest in a spring loaded cake tin....

nigella and rachel allen are in a completely different league (could it be that they are being compared because they are both female homestyle cooks?...)

that sounds really nice! i'll definately try that once i manage to get hold of (or make some ) paneer

could i also have your recipe for pomegranite salad?

i'm having no problems accessing it, but i don't know if its because its my original post? one of my messages did get removed (it wasn't even remotely controversial)

i'm making a stilton, walnut and rocket tart on puff pastry, i'm going to bake the puff pastry base blind first, as though making a giant vol au vaunt (sp??), then i can't make up my mind whether to:

-crumble the stilton and walnuts onto the cooked pasty base , flash it in the oven to brown a little on top, and then add the rocket when it is out of the oven, or...

-make up a stilton, walnut and port pate, and spoon the room temperature pate into the tart cases, letting the residual heat warm the pate through, intead of putting it in the oven, and sprinkle with the rocket, or would the pate with port in it be strange in a pastry case with rocket?

help please???

i'd like your recipe for paneer tikka actually

sorry, thats supposed to say good!

woolies do cood utensils, otherwise, try tk maxx, or if you are set on online ordering, try lakeland limited: [link]

does anyone have any more vegetarian recipes then???

sorry, thats supposed to say fruit

you're right gayle, its not like trifle, it sounds a hell of a lot nicer! (although actually, the principal is not that different to trifle, you have friu, biscuity spongy stuff, and creamy topping)

you could even add i dribble of ameretto liquour

glorygirl, i'm not much of a pudding person myself (i hate cake, especially those with the dreaded buttercream icing), but that sounds really yummy!

woolies do a really good range of teflon pans with glass lids, i bought one of thier teflon saute pans with a heavy bottom, stainless steel exterior, and heavy duty non stick material inside, and a glass lid, for under a tenner, and its done me proud.
also, for budget designer cookware, try tk maxx, they have some really good bargains, such as heavily reduced le crusseut cookware!

cat in the kitchen, you have some very good points, and i do egree that excercise is a big aspect, but with regards to the school run, its just not as safe these days for kids to be walking about on their own.

also, i don't understand why people use money as an excuse for buying micro meals etc, its much cheaper to buy veg from a farmers market or grocers, and cheap cuts of meat for stewing than it is to buy four packs of mac and cheese, its even cheaper to make mac and cheese than to buy it.
no excuse!

i should imangine that most of them are going to be a similar price, you could get him selection of unusual hams and salamis instead?

you could also use butter mixed with equal amounts of flour to thicken sauces, you only need about a 50p sized ball, just mush the butter and plain flour together, and whisk into your sauce.

aw, i like rick stein, his food heroes programmes ar the only ones i could watch over and over again though.

i was annoyed that they are already repeating the abominable Rhodes food heroes, i had been hoping that the repeats of that would disappear into obscurity, but no such luck.

no, nigella is a fantastic cook, and very funny, whereas all rachel allen seems to cook is tex mex food, stews and cakes

nigella is a great cook, i love her 'feast' book

i know what you mean about the plums, supermarkets seem to go for the really oversized foreign plums that are almost the size of peaches, and overly sweet and mushy.

i had sweetcorn with a chilli, garlic and lime zest butter once and it was delicious!

i had sweetcorn with a chilli, garlic and lime zest butter once and it was delicious!

i can't see where in the recipe it says italian plain flour, i would imagine that you would be referring to the italian 00 flour though

i've not heard of the one you are talking about, but a tomato passata should work fine, or what i usually do when making pizza at home is spread the dough with a thin layer of tomato puree, and then layer thinly garlic, dried oregano, and thinly sliced cherry tomatos on top, and then put my toppings on, the tomatos go really sweet and melting, they have to be cherry toms though, or baby plum toms

scottie? i've never heard this term before, but i hope it doesn't mean scottish, she's irish!!!

i like the idea of stuffed onions and courgettes, do you have a recipe?

i'm afraid i have a deep aversion to polenta, but i do like lentils

i think a tomato knife would be a good idea, its a small knife about the size and shape of a dinner knife, with a rounded end, and is serated, as the name suggests, it is designed to cut through tomatos with out the knife slipping on the skin, but is really usefull for chopping other veg, herbs , garlic etc.

it also annoys me the way that they are judged partly on their cooking skills, why should they have to be able to cook to be a food hero, the fishermen that risk thier lives everyday are real food heros in my eyes, it doesn't matter whether they can produce a meal from the fish they catch.

well said baboush

also, what does gordon ramsey looking for an apartment have to do with food???

i'm sure i have seen the russet for sale in the uk

if you can't get hold of russet, try maris piper potatoes

yes, he was about to lose his business, but there are better ways to motivated people than wearing them down. so what if the guy liked collecting plates, he didn't have to throw them out, he could have just got the guy to move them into his home as a private collection.
'chef' Ramsey made some unnecesary moves, such as making the guy watch whilst his kitchen equipment was being destroyed, and turning them away from thier pub when they turned up dressed smartly. what on earth is that going to acheive?
that particular episode of kitchen nightmares made cringeworthy tv, and the only reason why i continued to watch the programme the whole way through, was to see if the poor guys business survived.
and why do we have to keep seeing gordon ramsey without his shirt on, its really not attractive.

oh what he will do for attention

i would omit them
i don't really rate them anyway, to me they have a bit of a funny taste

i have a really good pop up blocker, but some of them still get through
annoying!!!

tacos are corn shells and are crispy, i believe fahitas are made in a soft flour tortilla

eh? i'm a bit confused as to what context the question is in?

i don't like the man, i think he is a shameless bully, its a shame that someone with such appaling manners has such a prolific tv career.
i saw him on the new series of kitchen nightmares, and the way he humiliated the chef that was on there, who was a sweet, vulnerable older man was absolutely deplorable.

i really really like red cabbage with port and cloves, makes me think of christmas

happy hunting, they have loads of other good quality reduced cookware aswell.

you could chop up some capers with some fresh herbs, garlic, a little olive oil and a small amount of lemon zest.
does anyone else think this would work, i don't know what pork tastes like, but it seems like it would give a similarly tangy taste to the olive paste???

i absolutely agree with you, and why do we have to have close ups of her tasting things every time she adds aome seasoning or another ingredient?

i ADORE paneer!! i'm thinking of trying to make some myself, theres a recipe in one of the jamie books, has anyone tried making it, is it easy?

i like the idea for cous cous, thanks for the website address snowy, i'll have a look

my main problem is, i get into the habit of buying the same shopping ingredients week in week out, and then, predictably, end up cooking the same thing

sorry can't remember
just a heads up though, in tk maxx, they are selling very reduced le crusset pans and lasagne dishes, some very good discounts!

talking about things that chefs say too much:
"mmmm delicious" from merilees parker
"a lovely little..." from gary rhodes
and gordon ramsey, well, thats obvious isn't it??

i agree with most of what you are saying, snowlight, but i don't think that its really fair to say that its mostly thirty somethings that know little about nutrition. people of all generations are becoming more and more conscious about what they are eating (thing about all the food campaigns at the moment: local, organic, fair traid, school dinners, the list goes on)

i think the english are going the way that the americans have gone, there are a portion that know nothing about nutrition, and are obese, but an awfull lot of american people are extremely health consious, more so than the english probably.

thanks for the ideas, i tried to look for the post but it came up with no results

i think i know what you mean. try the gourmet section of a large sainsburys, they often have things like that

yeah, i didn't realise that food heroes was going to turn into 'the gary rhodes show'

i'm not a big fan of fake meat, i occaisionally use the quorn mince, but i prefer not to rely on it.
i like quite fresh tasting food, with lots of veg
recently i've been eating a lot of pasta, jacket potatoes, risotto, salads, chilli etc

i think to be honest, in future i'm just going to watch the bit with the suppliers, and then change over when the judging bit comes on

on a tangent, epicurious.com is a fantastic american food website, that has a HUGE recipe database, and also features, food blogs etc, well worth a look!

well said lts, a lot of the statements that the judges make are contradictory, or just plain silly

thanks for bringing the recipe for my attention, it looks yummy!

totally agree with you notassuch, the judging process with gary rhodes et al was completely uneccesary and patronising
and could that rosemary please lower her voice????

totally agree with you notassuch, the judging process with gary rhodes et al was completely uneccesary and patronising
and could that rosemary please lower her voice????

i should think so, most squashes have a similar texture and taste

theres no really similar alternative to pancetta that i can think of, depending on the recipe, you could possibly use a blanched savoy cabbage leaf.

and i think kiwi fruit on pavlova would be nice, i love kiwi fruit, i don't care whether its fashionable or not, its tasty

i think anthony bourdain is really hilarious, i love the informal format of his programmes, and i like his relaxed approach to food, and that he is always game for trying something new

i thought the judges comments were at times very ignorant, and very mean spirited, all of the nominees were obviously doing a fantastic job, what is the need to critisise? i would have been very insulted!!! these people should be praised for all the extra effort they are putting in, not having catty little non-comments being made about them!

sesly, psychological causes musn't be overlooked either, these can really affect obesity

i like the ethos of the programme, but do not enjoy wathcing the programme itself, exept for the bit where the producers talk about thier business on site
i much prefer rick steins food heroes, which has the same ethos, but is a simpler, gentler programme

i know, and once i've noticed it, its all i can think of for the rest of the programme!

i love those little recipe cards
it actually brightens my day when i notice they've got new ones in

oh dear...

hi folks, i need some inspiration for vegetarian meals, i seem to be cooking the same ten dishes over and over again recently.
any vegetarian meal ideas would be greatly appreciated, as long as they don't have mushrooms in!!

[link]
[link]

heres a couple of recipes for ketchup, or, catsup, from this very website

it depends what kind of retailers they are to be honest, some supermarkets like sainsburys seem to be making a real effort to publicise more healthy eating, via in store recipe cards, and i think their "wheel of health" is genius, it guilts me out of buying more cheese! lol.
i think that supermarkets shouldn't be allowed to put BOGOF deals on things like crisps, ready meals etc. and i think they should put more special offers on fruit and veg, nuts, etc.

have you tried your local butcher?
they might be willing to get some in for you

i absolutely applaud uktvfood for giving small businesses an oppourtunity to publicise themselves on such a large scale, and, as a side note, its nice to see a new programme on uktvfood instead of repeats. however, i feel that the whole judging process was an unessecary addition, i think that i would be offended if i was one of the businesses, and heard some of the comments that the judges made!!
i feel like it is great british menu all over again, it's even got gary rhodes on it!!
i think the programme has too much of a competitive feel, and is a little mean spirited.
i think it would have been a nice idea to have some of the people that actually nominated the businesses talking about what makes the business so special.
it could have been such a nice, simple programme...

exactly, i mean, something like scrambled eggs with veggies in a wholemeal tortilla takes less time to cook than a microwave meal, and works out much cheaper for a whole family!

a balanced dinner doesn't take all day to make:
soup, spanish omlette, chicken pittas, pasta and homemade sauce, stir frys, there are all sorts of healthy things that take minutes to make, and don't involve opening a microwave meal. or food can always be made in bulk at the weekend and frozen.
if a child was clinically obese, what kind of parent would continue to feed it junk food?? we are talking obesity here, not just being a few pounds heavier than they should!

parents have to take responsibility for childrens diet, who buys the food in the first place!! even if kids chose to buy sweets, crisps etc with thier pocket money, parents should provide healthy snacks/packed lunches for them, and should try to provide a good example, by trying to eat healthily themselves!
so-called healthy cereal bars are loaded with rubbish, and just because walkers are made with sunflower oil, it doesn't make them healthy!
people have free will, adverts shouldn't make that much of a difference. the snacks industry will always try to take advantage of peoples weaknesses, but adverts don't force people to buy multipacks of crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks in the supermarkets!

i liked the bit when brian turner when out and about, to see the contestants doing thier thing, but i thought the judging was overly dramatic, and reminded me a little of the X-factor!
this programme had so much potential, and was spoiled by the producers trying to make it overly dramatic, and glamorous.
to be honest, i would have prefered if the whole thing was more like rick steins "food heroes", rather than being a competition.

i don't believe that question can have only one answer, there are many different reasons for obesity, psychological, medical, or just lack of self control. with childhood obesity, i think the parents are responsible (unless it is caused by a medical condition)

if you look throught the treads on all the uktvfood message boards, there was one a few monthes ago with silvana franco giving advice to budding food writers

i have to say, i'm not as bored of rick stein as i am of nigel slater, gary rhodes and the old james martin programmes
plus, i think chalky's a sweetheart!

in his deli programme it was always *sort of* or *like* lol

as an alternative to christmas pudding, you could make a full sized mince pie, its still christmassy, and makes a nice centerpiece, heres a recipe for no-alcohol mincemeat:
[link]

the website can be inconsistant with ingredients, and they seem to have particular trouble with rachel allen recipes!

snowlight, by the nature of a message board, it is a place for discussion, why should it bother others if people want to have a discussion

uk normsky, there are plenty of other free websites that don't have nearly as many pop ups

lemon chicken: roast chicken breasts in a dish with olive oil, wedges of unwaxed or scrubbed lemon, unpeeled garlic cloves, olive oil, a little white wine, and tyme, rosemary or basil, you can chuck some new potatoes in there aswell to serve on the side if you want, probably best to parboil the potatoes. bake untill the skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through.
at the end of the cooking time, remove the chicken from the dish, with a fork, squish the juices out of the lemon wedges, and the garlic flesh out of its skins, remove remenants of garlic skin and lemon peel, and mix the lemon juice and garlic flesh into the rest of the juices with the back of a fork, serve the chicken with the juice poured over, with the new potatoes, and maybe some green beans on the side, and some crusty bread to mop up the juices

you could try doing parmagianna mellanzane, which is aubergines sliced into 1 cm rounds. fry until browned (that one cal per spray olive oil spray is good), layer with tomato sauce and parmesan, finish with a layer of tomato sauce on top and bake untill golden brown

that is assuming aubergines are low carb...

soups, stir frys, vegetable curries, i believe sweet potatoes have less carbs in than regular potatoes, so you could use as replacement.
here are the results of a recipe search that i did for you on epicurious.com, [link] the whole site is worth a good explore, it has a very extensive recipe data base, the only thing is though its an american site you'll need to use an online cooks converter, to convert cup measurements etc, but a google seach should find one easily.

also, i think that lentils have lower amounts of carbs than potatoes, bread or pasta, but again, i'm not sure.

i can't direct you to a butcher in your area, but my advie would be to go into the butchers and buy some meat, watch how skilled they are, and how friendly they are, ask what you could do with said meat, and see how willing and able they are to answer your questions.

yes, he really doesn't get on with that autocue does he, the words "deer" and "headlights" spring to mind...

it really is amazing!

it does seem rather strage, have you checked to see if you got all the ingredient amounts right?
if you used a recipe off the website, it is possible, though unlikely, that there was an inconsistancy with the amounts that were published, as this does happen occaisionally
or it could be something as simple as you may have used larger sultanas or cherries or chunkier mixed peel.
my advice would be to check the recipe that you used against another one for christamas oudding, to see if the ingredient amounts seem normal

turkish or greek cuisine is possibly not the easiest cuisine to cook, as they usually use lots of ingredients, especially turkish.
i was also going to recomend nigel slater, but OPGB got there first, lol it really is a fantastic book though!
try bill granger "simply bill" his food is very simple and fresh, and does include a few greek and asian influences. he also has some fantastic ideas for shortcuts!

you can also make a fantastic vegetarian version, by frying quorn mince in a little oil untill browned and slightly crispy, with some ginger, chilli, garlic, tumeric, ground corriander, ground cumin and served with a little fresh corriander and lime juice, wrapped in iceberg leaf, with a little natural yoghurt, very healthy too, i've heard that quorn mince has 70% less fat in it than LEAN beef mince!

in you're local health food shop, you should be able to find a product for washing fuit and veg that gets the wax off, i have tried it myself, and it really does work! its disgusting the amount of wax that comes off it. if i remember correctly you just mix it with water and soak the fruit or veg, but it will tell you on the pack

try habitat and also the pier.
don't forget, if you can't find them, and your really keen on the idea, you can always commision them to be made by a craftspesrson, contact your local arts and crafts guild, depending on the complexity of the design of the box, and the wood you choose, it shouldn't be too pricy. its well worth looking into, because it means you can work with the desginer to desgn something you'll really love.

you should put a pin in them, or slit them, just to be safe! i had a nasty incident once when baking chestnuts, and i didn't slit one of them properly, when i took the tray out of the oven, one of them popped off the tray, narrowly passing my face, and caught in my hair! funny, but a bit scary!

mmm, i'm not sure myself, personally, i would just follow the instructions on the back of the packet of beans, especially as pulses can be toxic if you don't cook them properly!

nigella has a nice idea for red soup, made with beetroot and cranberries

i particularly like the idea of mixing squash in with it

yeah, all of it except the chicken, the topic title does specify veggie fillings, lol.
thanks for the ideas though, they all sound tasty

happy goose hunting! its worth trying your local butchers aswell,if you haven't done that already.

any one know some good ones?
nothing with mushrooms

there are tons of pasta sauces that fit your requirements, try epicurious.com its an american site, but they have hundreds of recipes for pasta sauce on there

plenty!
this recipe for lemon, basil and parmesan sauce from simon rimmer sounds nice: [link]
or spaghetti vongole: [link]
red pepper sauce: [link]
you could add some chilli and a drizzle of vodka to that for a bit of kick

i found this supplier, but i don't know if they do delivery, you would ahve to contact them to find out:
[link]

lol, happy peeling!

no, not unless you can get hold of some vegetarian marshmallows, which are not widely available, your best bet for getting hold of them is a health food store, or, obviously, a speciality vegetarian store. most marshmallows are made with beef or pork gelatine. make sure you check the ingredients list, and if it just says gelatine, but doesn't specify that it is vegetarian geletine, it is most likely to be animal derived.

i don't know if you could just buy goose breast portions, you might be better off trying to get hold of a goose breast crown (basicaly goose breasts with the breast bone left on i believe) which would make a nicer centerpiece anyway

i was in a resteraunt recently and ordered an irish coffee, and the waiter came and made it in front of us, i felt so sorry for the poor lad, it must be nerveracking doing that in front of people! its bad enough in the privacy of your own kitchen

are you using the wrong type of cream, i don't know whether you should use double or single cream?
try giving the cream a little whisk before you put it in, the slight aeration should help it to float.

blanch them for about 30 seconds with the skin on, once they've cooled down a bit the skins will come right off.

oh, and make sure you clean the leeks well, they will be gritty other wise

i think this recipe sounds like it would make a nice centerpiece, it is a recipe for chestnut bourgignonne pie:
[link]
and here is the link for the page that it was from, it is the vegetarian society page, there are all sorts of other veggie christmas treats on there. (i like the look of the stilton and port pate, ) :[link]

ok, melt a large knob of butter in a pan, don't let the butter brown, combine an equal amout of plain flour, then add milk untill you get the desired consistancy (about a pint should do it), whisking or stirring throughout. when you have a consistancy that is a little runnier than you need, add the cheese as it will thicken the sauce

well, you could cut the leeks into chunks and steam them, and then serve them with the cheese sauce poured on top, or you could make it into a gratain, with the leeks chopped into chunks, cheese sauce stirred through, and then some breadcrumbs and extra cheese on top, and bake untill brown.

[link]
this was the only recipe for a large piece of beef that i could find from french oddessey

i've not heard of it being cooked in the mik, i know nigella does a recipe for chicken fried with a ritz cracker coating, where she soaks the chicken gougons (sp?) in buttermilk first to tenderize them

yeah, that might be nice, you might want to strain some of the pips out (it'll ruin your seive though!) so that your not crunching down constantly, and you may want to add a few of the raw pods (?) at the end, for a bit of freshness and contrast

i do think that it is more important to support local farmers, than to worry about eating organic. i would like to see more heirloom fruits and veg making a comeback aswell.

i love thanksgiving food aswell, candied yams, mashed potatoes, cornbread with butter, succotash, carrot and swede mash, and dressing (the lighter american equivelent of stuffing). not the turkey though (not very veggie friendly)

did you have in mind a sweetened thickend sauce, or more of a light gravy (i hate to call it jus)

i think its a bit of a double standard that women get critisised for making comments about james martins looks, but men dont get critisised for making comments about merilees parker, for example

i agree that you shouldn't be labelled unethical, but i think it is a bit unfair and sweeping to call people who do make an effort to eat ethical food "politicaly correct do gooders", its everyones own choice to eat the way they like.
i'm vegetarian, but i don't bang on to everyone around me about how good it is to be vegetarian, i'll talk about it if some one asks me, or if its relevent to a conversation, but i don't ram it down peoples throats!

and my decision to become vegetarian had nothing to do with politics!!

i would think that would be alright, it wouldnt have as much flavour obviously, but the brandy in christmas pudding is mainly to preserve it.

lesley is right, you have to have about two sugars in to stop it from sinking in, also, try pouring it onto the edge of the coffee rather than into the middle

it was on brainiac with richard hammond
its not a kids programme though!!!

i got some rosewater from one of those scoop and weigh type shops, it was really cheap aswell, under a pound for about a 150 ml bottle
also, try health food stores
as for a replacement, you could use cardamom pods with the green skin taken off, and the black seeds crushed to a powder, it would not give the same flavour as the rosewater obviously, but it would give a perfumed effect, the same as rosewater does

theres probably no reason why you couldn't make them yourself, for a wide range of chillis, fresh and dried, try chillipepperpete.com or mexgrocer.co.uk

hi, i had a look on deliaonline for you (her official website) all i could find is this recipe for keylime pie: [link]

oh good, i thought 300 for 90 minutes didn't sound right!!! lol, they would be incinerated if that was the correct temp!!!
yeah, 170, sounds a bit better.
veg sounds nice

how are you going to detatch the shank from the rest of the leg? might be quite tough work?

i agree, it doesn't seem to be a particularly well laid out or cohesive website, the recipe information is inconsistant, and they don't put any of the information from the tried and tested sessions on GFL on the site. its about time someone got it sorted, because there are a lot of better managed food websites out there.

here you go, this seems like a more sensible recipe:
[link]
obviously though, omit the extra flavourings, and make sure the duck is cooked all the way through

actually, looking at that recipe, 300 is a very hot oven!
i wonder if that temperature could be reduced, and the legs baked for longer? my oven doesn't even go up that hot!

here you are, theres a recipe for roasting duck legs in 90 minutes from the seattle times (just click the link)
you could serve with baked celeriac and parsnips, or do a celeriac and parsnip mash
[link]

you could do a chestnut and stilton bake, and breadcrumbs on top, nice christmassy flavours, and will go well with the other veg.

macaroons don't have coconut in them, they are made from ground almonds, egg whites, sugar and almond essence. he probably means amaretti biscuits rather than mocaroons from the bakers.
it does still sound a little strange, but there are some very strange traditional north italian recipes for pumpkin ravioli filling, including one that has candied peel in it!!

different methods work for different people, thats why there are so many different methods for poaching an egg! my advice would be just to experiment, and find out what works for you. a good place to start would probably be to use a large pan of gently simering water, no salt or vinigar and see how that works out, from there you can experiment with swirling the water, vinigar, salt etc.
try one egg on its own for first attempt

does anyone know if nigella is planning to film anymore cookery programmes in the near future, i know she has filmed a three part festive mini series for bbc 2, but i was wondering if she is going to film a proper full length series.
i do hope so, i think hers is one of my favourite food shows on tv

you could probably use cherry or plum jam, they would go well with chocolate

once opened, keep it in the fridge, i don't know how long you could keep it for though, although i read that old fashioned chutneys/jams etc tend to keep longer than modern recipes, because the old fahioned ones tend to have larger amounts of vinigar or sugar in them, preserving them better

try making a ministrone with lots of different veg (courgette, carrot, leek, garlic, peppers, tomatos etc, pretty much whatever you want,) and add some chilli, pasta shapes (i like to use the small shells) and some puy lentils, finish with some chopped parsley or basil.

what makes kosher salt kosher?
just intrigued...

i wouldn't have thought it matters if you use brandy in the christmas pudding and brandy on top.
she has probably just specified barley wine as a variation of normal christmas pudding.

when i make christmas pudding i always use brandy

my favourite meal though (as opposed to dish) is christmas dinner, even though i'm a veggie! i love all the little rituals and family traditions.

if its convenience you are after, you could use dried chilli flakes, which i think are really good, other than that, you could use a decent chilli sauce (Oil and Vinager do a few good ones) or try lazy chilli from the supermarket, or sambal oelek, which is a paste made from chillis pounded with a bit of salt, znd is available in jars from larger supermarkets and gourmet shops, or you could try using chilli oil.
of course, theres always good old tabasco
try chillipepperpete.com for all sorts of unusual dried and fresh chillis, and chilli related products (sauces, pickles, chocolates etc)

there are also another two series of surfing the menu kicking about out there that uktvfood should have snapped up.

you can freeze the whites too, apparently frozen and thawed egg whites are better for whisking!

mine is pea, courgette and basil risotto, made with lots of lemon and pepper

i like the food that she cooks, and the surroundings are beautifull, but i don't think she is a very confident presenter, she seemed terrified all the time, and often i could barely hear what she was saying. however, i would rather someone was a little quiet than completely over the top all the time.

snowlight, you can get several different varieties of green lentils i believe

thank you for the speedy reply
so, theoretically, if you grew your own lentils, can you eat them fresh?

does anyone know what lentils look like bafore they are dried?
it just occured to me that i've never seen fresh lentils

i've never tried green lentils, except for puy lentils, but red lentils go very soft, almost to mush, which is why they are used for soups, dahls etc.

breakfast, then lunch, then dinner, then (if i'm feeling greedy) supper
and a snack is called nibbles
i don't know why, lol

ok, first, if you can't get hold of cavalo nero, you can sub it for savoy cabbage.
but if you want the real thing, supermarket/greengrocers "fresh and wild" sell cavalo nero, or try a decent supermarket like waitrose. if you don't have either of those stores near you, try a food/farmers market, i've noticed that most of the veg stands are selling cavalo nero at the moment
if all else fails, try a good italian deli, it is an italian type of cabbage, so they may well sell it

well, i'm assuming that as its to go in a flask, you want ideas for smooth soups, so here are a few:
-pumpkins are (obviously) in season right now, so why not do a pumpkin soup, you could try a thai pumpkin soup, using coconut milk, pumpkin, limes, corriander, ginger, garlic, chilli etc (made this myself last week, its so good, it needs to be strained though, cause pumkin is quite fiborous, also, if you don't want to use pumpkin, you could use butternut squash)
-celeriac and blue cheese
-good old brocoli and stilton, or sub the brocoli for cauliflower
-pea and ham
-spicy tomato soup (a good winter warmer)
-creamy beetroot soup (nigella has a good recipe)

no, i don't think your going mad, i've never noticed it before
my guess is that it could be a voice over so that blind people can follow the programme aswell.

try a high end supermarket/greengrocers like fresh and wild, or an asian supermarket

but my all time favourite is rick stein, i think his cooking is so clean, and i like the fact that he goes in for really simple presentation, and i LOVE chalky.

personally i think he seems like a nice chap, and i agree he can be inconsistent when talking about ingredients (the costco mushrooms incident). but i think he seems like a funny guy. i don't really like the recipes he cooks (not so good for us veggies) but i enjoy watching the programme, and agree with the ethos behind it, i think he is doing a good thing, by showing how we should be trying to source local seasonal produce.

i think your best bet would be to try a proper italian deli, they often sell italian wines that are hard to get hold of here (greco di tufo etc) so i can't see any reason why they shouldn't sell limoncello, alternitively, a lot of offlicences in italy ship limoncello and wines over to england if yo order them over the internet try doing a google search.

did you know you can walk across a swimming pool full of liquid custard

is that a good thing, what does the extra oestrogen do for your body?

you could try using an egg poacher, or a presenation ring, delia has a weird method, she simmers it in a shallow pan, the eggs just end up looking like a flabby fried egg!

delias muffins are supposed to be good (oo er try her webite: www.deliaonline.com
also, the best batter for making muffins is said to be slightly lumpy, unlike batter that you would use for making fairy cakes

as for trying to obtain cavalo nero, try italian delis, food markets, decent greengrocers, or a high end supermarket like fresh and wild or waitrose.

i believe its a type of italian cabbage, it has very dark green leaves, and is a similar shape to a cos lettuce, its a very seasonal product, you could probably substitute savoy cabbage, or at a pinch maybe even spinach??

i thought you had said in a previous thread that you were a chef, i do apolagise profusely for my misunderstanding.
when i worked as a chef, the head chef didn't require us to wear a head covering at all, just whites and long hair tied back.

you can freeze them whole, or you can slice them into rings and open freeze them on a tray, then when frozen you can transfer them to a tub/freezer bag, this ensures they don't stick together in a big lump. i'm not sure about if you wanted to freeze them finely chopped though, probably again, spread the chopped chillis onto a tray, and then freeze and crumble the frozen chopped chillies into a container.

if you buy this months Good Food magazine it has a tutorial on how to make the perfect spaghetti carbonara, having read though this, it seems you may have overcooked the eggs a little, apparently you want to add the egg mixture to the cooked pasta, and then keep stiring untill the sauce is thickened, but not scrambled looking or dry looking.
it really is a good tutorial, and gives recipe variations such as chilli chicken

oh, if using a knife to peel the celeriac, its probably easiest to cut a slice off the bottom, so you have a stable edge to rest it on to peel the rest of the celeriac, then cut the top off, and peel down the sides, as though you were cutting the skin off a pineapple

you have to peel it first, which is probably easiest with a sharp knife, or an easy peel peeler. you can then use it raw in salads, and remoulade: [link]
or cellia brookes brown has a tasy sounding idea for creamy celeraic bake: [link]
you can use celeriac in gratains, or it can replace some of the potato in potato daupenois or potato mash.
it has a light celery taste.

here you go: [link]
you could probably omit the giner etc if you just wanted to keep it simple

jackwagstaff, i am not really sure what the calibre of peoples spelling has to do with cooking or food, i thought you were a chef, not a teacher! i don't understand why you think personality doesn't matter in the kitchen, surely being a chef you understand that it is important to have a cohesive team that get on well together, and not people that are going to be erratic?!?

what about varying the type of bread you use aswell, you could try using some sourdough, or foccacia, or a bagel.
as for fillings try this recipe for smoked turkey and rocket mayonaise sandwich: [link] you could use regular turkey if you can't get smoked.
or this one for grilled tuscan style chicken sandwich: [link]
for something a little simpler, try:
-roast beef, horseradish and mayo on crusty white bread
-good old sausage sandwhich
-goats cheese and rocket
-chicken salad (shredded iceberg or english round lettuce mixed with mayo, or garlic mayo if you like, marks and spencers do a good one, and slices of chicken breast on good white bread)
for something a bit more upmarket you could do smoked salmon with cream cheese on a bagel, with pepper and a little squeeze of lemon juice

arugala is the american name for rocket

just for a laugh- does any one have any strange cookery tips, you know, like putting a match into the water when boiling an egg to stop it leaking if it cracks.

well, obviously it is such a controversial issue to you

jackwagstaff, i hope you are not seriously suggesting that everyone who works in a kitchen wears a hairnet or hat, having worked in a proffesional kitchen myself, i know thats not the case!!

point well made paul gray, i think that sometimes people are over vigilant about food hygene, this is not a perfect germ free world people! what horrible germs are you going to get from hair for goodness sake!

well, my advice would be to experiment, i think yams would be your best bet. i saw a david rocco recipe once where her used ricotta, flour and grated grana padano to make gnocchi with no potatos in it

sorry, forgot, 1 egg

heres the recipe for cornbread, you can make it in a loaf tin, but we always make it in a flat square cake tin, that way you get maximum crust to soft bread ratio. if you want, you can also make them in cupcake cases.
-175g of coars e cornmeal
-45g caster sugar
-125g plain flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-pinch of salt
-250 ml whole milk
-45g cooled melted butter, plus extra unmelted butter for greasing your tin.
mix the dry ingredients, then in a separate container, mix the wet ingredients. then combine the two mixes, it doesn't matter if its slightly lumpy.
pour into your cake tin (or cupcake tin)
bake at gas mark 6 (200c) for 15-20 mins (probably more if using a loaf tin, and obviously, a lot less if making it in a cupcake tin. test it to see if its firm, slightly coming away at the sides, and a skewer should come out clean.
serve with salted butter cold from the fridge

ok, here is the recipe for candied yams, the quantities aren't very precise, its more chuck in however much you like of things.
peel some candied yams, and cut them into 2 inch chunks, put them in a medium sized saucepan, and add the zest of one orange, the juice from roughly one orange, the juice should cover the yams halfway, about one orange per 2-3 yams should do it. a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, a large knob of butter and a spoon of sugar or honey, and a few cumin seed if you like, simmer untill tender.
if they look like they're drying out, before they are cooked, just add some more orange juice, or a little water

[link]
here you go.

Filling? are you talking about ravioli? as Gnocchi don't have a filling, Gnocchi are small, usually potato based dumplings.

well, sorry dibdobdeb, i was just giving what i know as the generally accepted view, but whatever, most people know yams as being sweet potatos.
builder/chef: sure, i'll dig the recipes out for you and post them later.

yes, a yam is exactly the same as sweet potatos, its what sweet potatos are called in the states
at thanksgiving we have them glazed with honey or sugar, butter, garlic, orange juice and zest. and served with the turkey, mashed potatos, cornbread

perhaps, it sort of steams between the baking paper and the tin???

what about a nice cassoulet, with a pumpkin pie for dessert, decorated with those mini sparklers that you can get for party shops and joke shops etc.

here you are, this is one of my favourites:
-rehydrate some vermicelli noodles as per instructions on the pack.
-in a pan, put some vegetable stock, chilli, ginger, lime zest and juice, simmer for about 10 minutes to infuse.
-finely slice some spring onions, and some sugar snap (not mange tout) peas, and lots of corriander. place this and the vermicelli noodles in the bottom of a bowl with some soy sauce.
-take a block of tofu, cut it into inch sticks, and then slice the sticks into pound coin width slices. drop these into the stock to warm through.
-pour the stock and tofu onto the noodles, and top with some crushed unsalted peanuts if you wish and a few more picked leaves of corriander.

i find that the thin slicing of the tofu is key in this dish, as i find it makes it more paletable because i hate the texture of tofu, and this disguises it. if you wanted to you could add some prawns or chicken strips, but its enough on its own. enjoy!

can i freese chickpea soup, it is one where you simmer some tinned chickpeas with stock, tinned tomatos etc for 20 mins, can i then freeze the soup and reheat it? i was worried because chickpeas are pulses, and so i dont know if they can be heated that many times

i've dried them before by just stringing them on with a kitchen needle and string, and then just hung them up somewhere fairly warm to dry (like the kitchen). they make a nice decoration like that aswell. you just need to check that they are drying properly, and not going mouldy on the inside.

woah! that sounds like a lot, but its probobly right, it does say super hot!

thank you jen for the link and thank you paul for the recipe, that sounds lovely

depending on what you need them for, you could replace the panko breadcrumbs with matzoh crackers crushed into crumbs.

do you want fresh quinces, quince jam or quince cheese?

thank you novice cooker, i'll definately try to get hold of that book.
yes paul, i do eat rice

wow novice cooker, that sound ideal!! what is the publisher of the book?
i dont think your allowed to put recipes from a book on the website

farm 123, maybe americans just write better food blogs! i think people are to keen to jump on the "lets insult the yanks" bandwagon

urgh, your kidding!! its like trying to eat a balloon!!!

thank you for the recipe, do you think it would be a problem if i left the oil out as my diet is very strict, and i'm only allowing myself to use that 1 cal per spray olive oil spray.

do you reckon that means someone with a celery allergy should avoid all members of the parsley family, or is it specified to that particular veg i.e. celery

you tend to find that the larger supermarkets stock a more varied product range.

try a proper chocolate shop, you should be able to find it easy.

personally i think its a good thing, if it makes even one person stop and think about the way they are eating, and want to change, before they develop heart disease, or high cholesterol, thats a good thing in my eyes.

i love tapioca, the only thing is, the skin that it forms on top if left to sit is disgusting, worse than custard, its really thick and rubbery.

a good tip is to marinade it in buttermilk before hand, my mum swears by it! something in the buttermilk acts as a tenderising agent

aorry, thats supposed to say parsley not pxxxxly

hi, does anyone have any decent recipes for diet vegetarian food, bearing in mind that i am trying to avoid as much as possible cheese, bread and cooking fat. oh, and i hate mushrooms.

saute chopped onion, celery and garlic, add a tin of tomatos and stock and a tin of chickpeas, and some fresh red chilli, cumin powder and paprika, simmer untill slightly thickened, stir through some spinich leaves, torn pxxxxly and torn basil, serve and crumble some cold feta on top

fennel does have a celery kind of taste, but i would imagine that fennel and celery are "related", and therefore its probably best to avoid fennel, does anyone else know if fennel and celery are linked?

to add to what mrs woof woof said grana padano is the cheaper version of parmesan, it is made in the same way, but grana padano is to parmesan what cava is to chamagne, parmesan can only be called parmesan if it is made in a particular region of italy, and so although grana padano is made in the same way, as it is not made in the special region, it cannot be called parmesan. therefore grana padano should be cheaper than parmesan.

the best way to grow herbs i find is to use already established plants from a arden store, not from the supermarket. i use a window box, and keep them somewhere sunny, but not too hot.

does anyone know of a good readily available unflavoured vegetarian jelly product?i really miss being able to eat jelly, but the only vegetarian jelly i've tried is the powdered stuff which came out grainy, is there a trick to using it?

they are called presentation rings, and are available via lakeland limited: [link]
these ones look to be particularly good, as they look quite deep. these particular ones are made out of stainless steel, so should last a long time.

they are called presentation rings, and are available via lakeland limited: [link]
these ones look to be particularly good, as they look quite deep. these particular ones are made out of stainless steel, so should last a long time.

incense cones work the best, pick a fresh fragrance like frankinsence, lemon or orange, as these tend to cover the smell of frying better. this also works on the smell left after cooking fish.

pumpkin risotto is lovely, or if you can get hold of the smaller pumpkins you can stuff them with cooked risotto. pumkin is also nice as a ravioli filling, or with gnocchi, sage butter and gorganzolla. you can also use the seeds, wash the slime off the seeds , dry on kitchen towel and place on a small baking tray, or in a loaf tin, drizzle liberally with olive oil and salt , and bake untill deep golden brown, keep an eye on them, they only take a few mins or they are burnt. be carefull when you take them out of the oven, as they tend to pop hazardously
also, i know you were against soups, but jamie oliver makes a nice pumpkin and rice laksa, which he then serves in a hollowed out pumkin.

the splash back effect tends to happen with most of those kinds of lids, it also happens with soy i have noticed

to solve future problems like this, a quick search for 'cooks converter' in a search engine will produce plenty of sites that convert cup measurements into ounces or grams.

cornmeal is very readily available in health food shops

fava beans are just broad beans by a different name. you can buy them fresh (not at this time of the year though) from green grocers, or you can buy them frozen from supermarkets. check out this link with more info on fava beans:[link]

you could make grape jam. just make sure you store it in steralised containers (do this by putting jars throught the dishwasher, or washing them by hand thouroughly, let them dry, and then put them in a fairly hot oven for a few mins)

my favourite book at the moment is nigellas 'feast', its full of comforting recipes that are perfect for that fast approaching dark chilly evenings. i especially like the section on christmas cooking.
my favourite book for summer though is bill grangers 'simply bill' his food is so light and refreshing.

my guess is that they would be nicest in salads, just a simple salad, with sliced tomarillos, thinly sliced red onioins, a dribble of white wine vinagar and olive oil, and some torn basil over the top (or if you wanted to keep to the purple theme you could use purple basil. or you could try making fattoush use equal amounts of diced tomarillos and diced cucumber, and half that amount of sliced spring onions, combine, add a couple of big handfulls of roughly chopped mint and corriander, and a large pinch of pepper and a small pinch of salt. dress with lemon juice and olive oil, split some wholemeal pitta breads and bake them in the oven untill golden and dried out, then crumble them over the salad. you could then add other things if you wish, some feta might be nice, or some pomegranite seeds.

you could make apple sauce to go with pork. apple sauce is also nice on top of porridge for brekkie, and in mini apple pies.

alan coxon! arg! it drives me made when he is on GFL with another chef, as when jennie asks the other chef a question, he jumps in quick with the answer, apart from being patronising, it's very bad manners!

i would like to see some repeats of masterchef, but please no more GBM, its awfull, and jennie bond asks the most asenine questions sometimes.

i think bill granger is fantastic, like jamie but more homestyle and less resteraunty. other than him i like martin blunos, i think he's hilarious, and nigella

the swiss marigold powder is very good, especially as they do a reduced salt and an organic version.

one thing i used to hate was goats cheese, i thought it was revolting untill about 2 years ago, then all of a sudden i loved it! there was no transitional phase it was literally overnight! the strange thing is, i used to hate it because i thought it tasted really 'goaty' but now i can't even taste the goatiness!

my great grandmother used to make marrow and ginger jam. she used big marrows as they do not have a lot of flavour themselves, and tend to be very watery, and i think just granted it and made the jam that way.

i know what you mean, i hate eggs, i can eat them in cakes etc, and i can just about cope with scrambled egg, or the yolk of a fried or soft boiled egg, but hard boiled eggs and omlettes turn my stomach. and the worst...the dreaded poached egg, all that flabby white, ugh. i have not managed to overcome my hatred of eggs, but i would of thought that eating something over and over again would just make you hate it more, i would just expose yourself to beans gradually, and maybe you'll learn to love them. try broad beans shelled and mashed on bruschetta, also try flagolet beans, they are very small green beans, that are firmer than butter beans and the like. you can get them tinned

art 1, with greatest respect, i wouldn't neccesarily say that sums is a novice, just a novice at authentic mexican cooking, they may well be an experienced cook otherwise, and just be wanting to experiment.

oh well, never mind, that is how i normally make mayonaise, so that is normal to me, but whatever. it's just mayonaise!!!

well personally i think all this hoopla about mayonaise is a little ridiculous, i was just trying to help someone with a recipe and they also asked for an alternative, so i provided one, i did not advocate making mayonaise.

the word that is starred out is supposed to say parsley, but i spelt it wrong the first time, so the computer thinks its rude! oops

if it was chicken i would go for more italian style cous cous spring onions, lots of fresh oregano and pxxxxly, sliced green olives, red chillies and lemon zest and juice. for lamb i think mor morocan style, dried chili, lime zest and juice, dried apricots, chopped pistachios, lots of mint or coriander and topped with very finely sliced red onions. to cook the cous cous itself, just follow the recipe on the back of the pack, the one i use requires soaking for 10 to 15 mins in enough hot water/stock to just cover the cous cous, when it has absorbed all the liquid, and is light and fluffy, fork through whatever ingredients you are using

it depends on the recipe really, mole sauce recipes vary enourmously, and some call for more chocolate than others, if you use high quality, 70% dark chocolate, it probobly wont be too sweet, but you could add a little at a time, and stop when you have the perfect balance!

no art, a classic aioli may not contain mustard, but we are talking about what makes it easiest for people to cook at home are we not? i don't see the point in following these so called 'classic' recipes to the letter, if you know a tip to make it easier, i say take it, theres no point making things harder for yourself. (by the way, i did mean to say it wont emulsify AS EASILY, but i get a little caught up typing some times, its not a crime to make a typo now and again is it?)

i think the above comments are a bit harsh, people don't come on a food website to be ranted at, they just want help with recipes
sums, try www.chillipepperpete.com for authentic mexican chillis (it's problobly chipotles that your looking for) i've also heard that if you mix strong grated chedder with crumbled wedneslydale or cheshire it makes a mixture rather like authentic mexican cheese.
try making a mole sauce (look it up in the recipes section) and serving it with slices of baked squash

make a normal mayonaise with egg yolks and dijon mustard (you have to include the mustard otherwise it will not emulsify. add a little olive oil in a thin stream, and then continue to add veg oil in a thin stream until you have a good thick mayonaise, add minced garlic to make it aioli, and i like to add the juice of half a lemon to cut the richness, but this is not essential. add salt and pepper to taste, and any herbs that you wish tarragon and chervil are particularly good. there are several things to remember when making mayonaise, you must add the oil a little at a time, otherwise it will split. also dont be tempted to try using all olive oil, it is just too strog and rich tasting, most chefs will tell you the same thing!
if you can't bother with the faff, m+s do a decent garlic mayonaise.

another thing you could do is invest in nigel slaters book 'real fast food' its full of quick recipes and snack ideas, most of the dishes take under 30 mins to cook and have only a handfull of ingredients, and don't involve any faffing about

actually, pumpkin soups and curries are supposed to freeze very well.

[link]
forgot the link so here it is

oh well, aparently on a message board about food you're not allowed to print recipes so here is a link for paella, follow the instructions, but obviously, leave out the fish and meat, and sub chicken stock for veg stock.
as for chickpeas, marinate them in good olive oil, i wouldn't use any lemon juice, as i think the acid would make the skins go tough, maybe lemon zest, parsley, red chilli and garlic. half an hour marinading should do it.
as far as manchego goes, i don't think you could fry it. i would treat it like parmesan

you can make a large batch of pasta sauce, and then freeze it, however, i think homegrown tomatoes are at their best in a simple salad of sliced tomatos laid on a plate, with rings of white onion, fresh oregano leaves, capers, and a small amount of pepper, olive oil, and maybe a scant sprinkle of white wine vinigar

soups are always good for freezing, probobly not ones with pasta in though, the pasta would probobly go mushy. there are a few things to remember with freezing: raw veg don't freeze very well, as the water inside the cells expands as it turns to ice, and bursts the cell walls of the veg, making it more mushy. this effect if reduced when veg have been cooked then frozen. wait till food is thouroughly cooled before putting in the freezer. label food containers or bags with the date that you cooked it on. soups can be frozen into ice cube trays, then transfer the cubes when they are frozen into freezer bags, then all you need to do when you want soup is to dump a few cubes in a pan with some milk or water and heat gently through.

you could do a veggie version of paella, or you could do tapas, things like marinated olives, grilled veggies with different flavourings (garlic, chilli, lemon zest etc), fresh figs, manchego cheese, butterbeans in spicy tomato sauce, peppers stuffed with rice, marinated chickpeas, serve with it a plate of sliced tomatoes dressed with olive oil, white wine vinagar if you wish, and fresh picked oregano leaves, and a salad of sliced red onions, capers and parsley, dressed with olive oil, and a big pile of rustic bread, and to drink have chilled fino sherry.

sambal oelek might be similar if you thinned it with water or lime juice, and added a pinch of sugar, sambal oelek is a paste of pounded red chillies and salt, and can be found in most larger supermarkets

dolcelatte is a creamy, tangy slightly sweeter blue cheese, literally translated it means sweet milk, and it is not actually a traditional italian ingredient, it is made by italy, for the english market, italians favour the saltier gorgonzola. if you are sceptical about blue cheese it's good, because it doesn't have as strong a mould flavour or salty taste as blues like stilton and roquefort

i reckon either use red tomotoes, or grow your own ones, you can grow tomatoes in big pots, as long as they have the proper support (rods etc) so you don't need a large garden

not that i have anything against you voicing your opinion of course, just trying to give possible explanations for the removal of your message!!

i expect the board can't post any messages that could be considered libelous only statements of opinion, either that or your opinion may have been too strongly worded!

i've noticed that, and i find it very irritating, i've also noticed that tv chefs put things 'through' rather than 'in' the oven.

i read cookery books in the same way that i read novels, i don't believe you can get as much out of a cookery book if you just read it once as you can if you take it out every now and again and have a leisurely flick through it. i dont own many cookery books, however, the ones i do own are well worn. also, i am a very strict vegitarian, but i only own 3 vegitarian cook books, the rest are regular, mostly mediteranean style cook books. i think you should adapt recipes to your own taste, so i would take out the meat or fish and put something else in its place

i think she meant hot boiled water, as boiled water can be cold also!

caroline i'd love to see more of italian chefs like georgio locatelli etc and more aussie chefs. i personally wouldn't like to see any more repeats of GFL if it was in preference to other brand new series

i use a small whizzer, and whizz 2-3 parts olive oil with 1 part lemon juice, 1 small clove of garlic, lots of black pepper, salt and a few picked leaves of parsley, obout one table spoon full, and whizz. the reason i do it in a blender is that not only does it mean you dont have to chop the herbs, but it makes the lemon and olive oil mixture into a creamy emulsion

i agree with braces, his whole character is over the top, and is getting to be along the lines of a certain anne robinson!

i think to be honest paul, you're preaching to the converted as it were, everyone who uses this board does so because they are passionate about food and cooking, and they dont need to be told to do so! and i dont think any or many people on this board could be acused of using cookery books as fashion accesories!!!

i've noticed aswell, he almost always manages to get a shot of himself with his top off into his programmes! he's so vain, and not even attractive! i agree, his language is excessive, i prefer the mild manered mr oliver myself!

people support their favourite cooks because all cooks have a different style of cooking, think about elizabeth davis flair for mediteranean cuisine, or nigella with her unpretentious home cooking. by supporting your favourite chefs you ARE supporting the kind of food you like! and in my opinion, gordon ramsey is a shameless publicity seeker, who would do anything for a quick buck and yet another series on channel four!

i think it was used on ed bains programme where he cooks on a cruise liner aswel

well, i think the french boil a pale sausage called bourdain or something like that, i reckon it would be alright, it's no different to cassoulet effectively!

i know you can use it wilted in soups etc as you would spinich, but i'm not sure about baking it, i reckon the best way to see would be to give it a go, thats how some of the best recipes come about, experimentation

my better half does a fantastic pasta dish with fresh egg pasta, a basic classic tomato sauce with a spoonfull of balsamic vinigar and sunblush tomato's tossed through at the last minute, serve with rocket and pecorino or parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top

ooh, sorry, make sure you put a tablespoon or so of olive oil in, otherwise it will be terribly sharp!

i don't know about proper relish, but it would make a nice salsa with chopped fresh coriander, red/spring onions, red peppers or chopped avocado, lime juice and fresh chilli, and maybe some diced tomatos. hope this is of some help!

it has a much milder garlicy flavour than the small garlic, apparently it makes nice garlic crisps, and i should imagine it would make a nice french style garlic soup, or could be used to make a mild potato and garlic mash

NOOOO! not alan coxin! he drives me mad!

personally, i like food uncut, i think its funny, and the taste tests etc are usefull, i like the fact that the format is different to other cooking progs, and its a bit more hands on. i do agree with you poket battle ship, merilees is a bit shouty shouty, however, i've noticed that bizarely, she only shouts when she's reading of the autocue! what is that about!?!

weekends: no more stacks! good, inovitive programmes, not the same old tosh (no offence, but i thinks james martins culinary skills leave a LOT to be desired). and for goodness sake, no more great british menu!, it was awfull enough on bbc1!

its a small cube or strip of bacon, cut your bacon width ways into 1 centimetre/ half inch strips, simple as that!

larger branches of sainsburys sell growing lettuces in little pots, these are particularly usefull for sandwiches, as you can just pick off a few leaves as desired!

oil the food, not the pan, and make sure the pan is nice and hot before putting the food on

well, i'm of the opinion that as it is your wedding day you and the groom should just have whatever you want, and others can like it or leave it! however, mediteranean or classic french style food does seem to be fairly crowd pleasing, the other option could be that anyone who doesn't like the meaty main could eat the veggie main instead?

no probs, i may have to try it myself, it did look rather delish! i watched bill granger myself, i thought the stories about his other daughters second birthday party were hilarious!

jenni is awsome! she's the only one that can stop that alan coxin blathering on endlessly! i mean seriously, when someone asks one of the other guests a question he answers for them! jenni has good manners, she's just not inhibited or prudish, i'd hate to see GFL replace jenni, as it would just go the same way as all the other bland live cookery shows (kitchen showdown/ saturday kitchen anyone)!

uktvfood needs a serious renovation! one new series is definately not enough to stop people turning off, travel and living is so much better for food, and thats not even a channel dedicated to food, which says a lot! people watch uktvfood to become inspired by other peoples cookery, but how can that happen if you're watching the same things over and over! uktvfood has become bland and stale! GFL and food uncut are the only programmes worth watching apart from rick steins french odessy, but they're even milking that for all its worth!

mint leaves, vodka, lime wedges, ginger beer and ice, pour into a jug (proportions are up to you) and give it a swizzle

personally, i always choose the ugly fruit and veg that slip into the supermarket veg accidentally. it does make me chuckle to see a potato shaped like a bottom!

that sounds really tasty! i went to a mass catered event a while ago, and both the vegetarian starter and main course was mushroom based, and i loathe mushrooms with a passion!

proper american brownies should be v.chocolaty, dense+gooey on the inside, crunchy and cracked on the outside, they shouldn't be airy like sponge, and the only 'extras' should be walnuts or pecans, but i feel even those taint the chocolatey goodness!

something for veggies that doesn't include mushrooms!

i agree with chocco, what is the point of having perfect looking food, when i go to italy, the tomatos, peppers, lemons etc look far from perfect, but they look so much mor appetising and taste so much better, also, theres no poing having perfect looking fruit/veg for jams, casserolles stews etc.

simple preprearation/presentation, not too many ingredients, a natural instinct for what flavours go together

yeah, it was eldeflower cordial, about a spoonfull per glass if i remember correctly

beauty and the feast is rather cringe worthy, although one of them has a v.good programme called my greek kitchen. cant remember what channel its on, maybe travel and living? its number 283, i'm getting bored with the programming on uktvfood in general, it's all v.samey, they haven't had any decent new programmmes on for months!

good on them i say! i've got no problem with it whatsoever as long as it's shown after the watershed, i think its ridiculous for people to whinge about it, just switch channels if you don't like what you see for goodness sake!

[link]

here's a recipe for coconut and blackberry slice, don't know if thats any good to u?

to be honest you can forgo the tahini paste altogether if its a palava to get, it makes for a lighter (although less authentic) houmous, if you really miss the sesames you could sprinkle some whole ones on top

you can make a nice dry thai style curry by sauteing onions and garlic together, then adding the meat+whatever spices you want, including fresh chilli, fry this together till brown, then finish with a squeeze of lime and and chopped corriander leaf, serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt and flatbread of some sort.

usually this means homemade, so you could grate equal amount through a microplaner or other such small grater, and then mix together, so you get a paste

squash stuffed with plain or herb risotto and with parmesan browned on top is one of my favourites, my mum also does a lovely veggie alternative for a roast dinner for me, which is a butternut squash half, with the hole stuffed with actual stuffing. you can get some quite interesting stuffings, one company does a giner one which is lovely! also, if you are using butternut squash or pumpkins (i dont know if other squashes have edible seeds), don't chuck the seeds away! wash and dry them and roast them in the oven till brown with olive oil and salt, they're delicious, they taste kinda popcorny keep an eye on them, they only take literally a couple of mins. be carefull getting them out though, they tend to pop and come flying at u! keep your face well away!

i've never heard of treacle tart being made with coconut, usually it is made with treacle mixed with bread crumbs and various other things

well, you ought to research this first, but i've heard that the teachers and TA's are not actually allowed to take the offending food product away, only to advise the kiddies that they are not supposed to have them, as i say though, i'm not sure, so make sure you research this before you mention it.

i would definately not try using gone off milk! i drank some semi-skimmed milk the other day that was two weeks out of date, and it tasted like fish strangely enough and made me very ill!

i too am a big fan of frozen peas, as they are very easy on my student budget!
my favourite combo is pea and mint, so you can do pea and mint risotto, pea and mint puree with roasted garlic. one of my favourite recipes is peas a la francais: sweat thinly sliced spring onions in butter, then add a shredded little gem lettuce and add some white wine (a dash or a good slug, whichever suits you!) and about 100 ml of veg stock, when the lettuce has braised nicely add the frozen peas and warm them through, and finish off with a dash of cream and some black pepper and salt.
hope this gives you some ideas!

-serrano ham with fresh figs and some rocket or maybe a drizzle of honey
-manchego cheese in thin slices with pear
-peppers cut in to thin slices fried in olive oil with garlic and red chilli
-thinly slice courgettes into rounds, then fry in a little olive oil with a little garlic untill brown a crispy (dont overload the pan) layer onto a plate, then sprinkle over some torn mint and a little lemon juice. also crumble some feta or shave some manchego over the top.

i'm a strict vegitarian, and i agree with carol, people should be aware of how meat is slaughtered, i think that people should respect the food they eat, and that knowing where it comes from helps people to do so. i dont think slaughter like that should be aired before the watershed (i dont know whether or not it was) and i dont think children should watch it but they should be educated about where there food comes from, but dont forget people, you can always change channels if you dont want to watch!

you can chop it finely pack it into an ice cube tray if you want to freeze it, but i think its better fresh. you could make: mint juleps, mint and pea and courgette risotto, fresh mint sauce, herb crusted meat, pea and mint puree, feta mint pea and spinich salad, fruit and mint jellies, mojito's and of course the ultimate: pimms

its not honeydew, its galia i think

thats ok, i hope your meal goes well! i might try making that recipe myself!

honey dew?
there's a link here
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it sounds like it will be quite rich anyway, maybe just a big bowl of salad and some nice crusty bread for mopping up the vinaigrette, or a load of boiled and buttered new potatoes? i'm a veggie myself and i know i'd like that.

apparently they are just called presentation rings, i'm sure they do have some posh name but lakeland limited call them presentation rings so there you go! heres a link for them:
[link]

[link]
there's the link to the pot kiln website which has the phone number on it. have a great time!

oh, didn't realise it came up with the link automatically, oh well, just click on it! lol

i've found a jamie recipe that uses natural yoghurt to make a creamy marinade instead of coconut: just put thisinto the search bar and it should come up with it. he also gives loads of suggestions for adaptions to this recipe.
[link]

hope this helps!

keep it ina a place thats cool but light, so it gets enough sunlight. if it gets too hot it will just wilt

if you want a lighter alternative to the traditional mushy peas made with marrowfats, you can put cooked frozen pexxxx pois in a blender, with a small knob of butter, a touch of garlic (optional) cream (optional) black pepper, sqeeze of lemon and some fresh mint of you so desire, and whizz it all up, you can then thin this with veggie stock to make a light pea soup aswell

some courgettes thinly sliced into discs, fried in a little oil untill crisp and brown, layered on a plate with some torn mint, a squeeze of lemon and some feta crumbled on top and served either hot or room temp.

some orange red and yellow peppers in long slices with some chopped red chilli and garlic in a fried in a little olive oil untill they go soft

pasta shapes with whole basil leaves, rocket, toasted pine nuts, shavings of parmesan, some very finely chopped garlic and good olive oil, maybe with some torn mozzerella and olives on top

serrano ham with fresh figs and some rocket or maybe a drizzle of honey??

thansk guys, they both look really tasty, i'll deffo be trying them.

does anyone have the recipe for jamie olivers mozzarella marinated in creme fraiche on bruscetta? i've looked everywhere for it!