How do you buy Wasabi- Flakes/powder or paste?

Thank you very much posset and Rosti!
Rosti- I would like to know how you make French onion soup!
(Has it got wine in it?)

My favourite thing to do with either a squash or pumpkin is a North African dip,which is quite simple to make:boil or steam an unpeeled piece (it is so much easier to peel with it's cooked!)
peel and mash and set aside.
quickly fry some ground cumin (I put just a pinch,as this has quite a strong flavour) and chopped garlic in olive oil and use this to dress the mash with some freshly squeezed lemon juice,salt and pepper.
Where i first tasted this it was served cold (like Houmous) but it is so nice when it's warm,too (so is Houmous,actually)

I am looking for a nice, tasty recipe for vegetable soup (preferably something with barley or lentils,so it is quite healthy&filling and can be served as a meal on its own)
How do you get the soup to be so tasty without adding much of the shop-bought stock (liquid or granules)?
I was recommended celeriac but find it too expensive

well,i've never tried this before so:
[link]

I hope it works!

We've had a thread about quinces before, where this question was asked.
I just hope that it's easy to find!

Could the first one be some sort of baklava?
We have a Cypriot deli nearby and they sell walnut baklava:phyllo sheets filled with sticky wallnut&honey filling

Not quite


Thin shaving of carrots (probably using a vegetables peeler,as I do when making crisp salad at home)
drizzled with olive oil&balsamic vinegar
on a "bed of dark green leaves"
and you don't want to know how much we paid for it...

Thank you posset!
Didn't realise they were so expensive
suppose we'd have to freeze them to keep them fresh and bug-free?

Anyone knows where I can get poppyseed in bulk? even on the web?
How do all these places get their poppyseed supplies?

Yes,I did
Can anyone guess what carrot carpaccio is?

Thank you Snowy!
Finding 1/2 lb of poppy seeds is another problem,as I could only find a tiny packet in the shops,next to the sesame seeds (probably meant as topping for homemade bread)

Looking for eateries that serve cheap dinners (nothing too exotic,something like -sausages and mash ,pie or soup) within a walking distance of Edinburgh Uni-are there any places recommended by the local students?

I bought a lovely cake at a Polish shop-it was rolled yeast pastry (much like a Danish) filled with a sweet black paste,which,I was told,was based on poppy seeds.
I loved this and would like to try and make it at home- anyone knows how they make it so tasty?

Pecans are really expensive- can they be substituted for anything else or do they have a distictive flavour that works well with bananas?
(what about finely ground almond?)

Thank you Mrs woof woof!
We like celery in many different ways- fresh (as a snack or in salads),or cooked in (soups and stews)
would fennel make a good substitute?
(or celery salt for cooking,as Nigella once suggested)

I've tried cooking with celery from different shops and they all taste the same-
bitter,watery, woody
Is this not the right time to buy celery?

don't freeze them-pickle them! they will last forever

has anyone seen this chocolate anywhere in the UK?
We were given some by a friend and they taste so good,I hate to think the only option for us is to buy them online from Austrian shops ...

The Italians have something called "farinata" which is quite nice and I also believe chapatti is yeast free and is made with wholemeal flour,but need to check this with my Indian neighbour.
All over the Middle East flat bread is quite popular,from Matzo to the famous Iraqi pitta that looks quite like some kind of tortilla (there you go-another yeast free bread!) that is big enough to cover a small kitchen table.
so you are pretty much spoilt for choice!!!
by the way- my dad cannot take yeast and after a few years of having to do with yeast free breads he gave up on eating any kind of bread and his fav carbs are now rice and pasta!
He doesn't miss eating "proper" bread anymore

Posset- I had the same question too and luckily I managed to watch this show again using the "on demand" channel (I didn't tape it though maybe someone else did???)
and I can only tell you what that I remember the Turkish chef (not Rick) used a pestel&mortar (I normally use a food processor) to crush the boiled chickpeas,added some tahini paste and lemon juice,then there was some hot dressing made with oil fried with garlic and paprika poured on the top of the tahini&chickpea paste while it was still hot,then for garnish-whole chickpeas and some chopped parsley or coriander
I'll see if I can get this show again and write it down properly
hope this helps!

Thank you very much! (Not as expensive as I thought)
By the way- I was really impressed by the Turkish way of making houmous, but can't remember much,as it was all going too fast!
Is this recipe available online?

Could anyone recommend a good moroccan restaurant in Scotland or the north?

Is there a shop in the UK where the morrocan casserole (the one with the funny lid) can be bought?
Is it very expensive?

Can you make that with orzo (rice shaped pasta) instead of rice?
Also-how horrible would it taste without bacon?
I've some vegetarian sauasages (frankfurter type) I could slice&fry and use for topping?

What do you do with the lemon though?
Seems like a nice and easy recipe

Wow,what a great review!
I think we'll just print it and check all (or most of,if time's short) of the places you've mentioned to see which one's the best for us

Thank you very much miss S!

Where could two hungry&poor vegetarians dine in the area without needing to spend a fortune?
Are there any nice takewaways near the university?

I think they're originally from Persia,but now in North Africa too.
You should never run out of things to do with them
(first-you can send some to me,they cost a fortune here :p
put them in a sandwich with tuna and shirazi salad,cook them with chicken or fish,add them to salads and soups
if you have any left-
pickle some kumkwats and arrange a nice decorative jar to put on your kitchen worktop (that is-if you have enough space,we've hardly any room for allthosefancy pasta jars we got)

Thank you!
Is it very much like a meringue in texture? (as I don't like meringues)

Probably because,as you said,there are so many things you can call "tapas" it can go on forever...
Because everything in your kitchen can be made into "tapas"

Some of my favourite tapas,as a veggie:
* marinated olives (just buy those pitted olives in a jar *about 80P*,drain,put in a deep bowl,cover with olive oil and add med spices like-small chillies,lemon zest,garlic cloves.let it marinate and get the nice flavours)
* chickpea and roast pepper salad (I use fresh red bellpepper and tinned chickpea,as I'm the only one who eats it)
*Something I had at a restaurant and would like to know how to make-crispy little cauliflower florests served with a lemony dressing.I tried deep frying the cauliflower,but it wasn't as crispy as the one at that place.

Provolone is cow cheese.
What about camembert?
There's a restaurant here that serves it fried with sweet dressing-really nice combination!

chocolate fridge cake sounds nice&easy-doyou have a recipe for it?
Is it something like this:
[link]

I like the idea but not the use of cream&creme fraiche (too rich for me poor stomach)

What do you want to do with it?

is it a good frying/grilling cheese you're looking for?
something that'd keep a firm texture after cooking?

My dad's family come from Argentina,where they grill
Provolone.
Hope you can buy this cheese where you live

Thanks cranie!

Could you please type the recipe here for me?

found an American recipe for this fat-free cake,which contain 2 cups of egg whites-how many many egg whites does it take to fill 2 cups?
judging by the number of eggs-should this be a very big cake?

Quinoa is gluten free,but still very high in carb and where I come from is treated on the same lines as rice and couscous.
Saying that,you must have some sort of guidance you can check with?
(Nutritionist,book,etc)

agh,you must be thinking of moussaka?
It has lamb mince,aubergine and white sauce topping.

Many thanks Terry!
I'll check into it

Is it possible to put small wheels on the oven so I can just wheel it out of its corner when it needs cleaning and then wheel it back in?
what I do now is ask my husband to lift the (very heavy) oven and take it outside,so I can clean both the oven and the corner behind it,but it's too dirty (greasey spatter and that) and needs to be cleaned more often.
I remember when I was a child,my dad (who was a welder) made a frame with castors on it for our oven- are these sold in shops nowadays or have to be specially designed for you,as ovens come in different shapes and sizes?
(alternatively-are there ovens that are sold with castors attached?)

I would like to know how to make the chickpea rice they make at my local takeaway:it is dark red (which might mean some tomato paste is used? or some red spice paste?),not very spicy,a litlle on the sweet side and the type of rice they use is a very light,long grain,that I never see in shops.
Anyone knows what spices are used or how I can find this recipe?

If you're only going to eat it on your own and you don't intend to eat chickpeas that often-using a small tin is OK.
We have that problem at our home,where I'm the only one keen on "healthy foods" so need to buy things in small quantities.
The problem with dry pulses is that if you just keep them in the cupboard they attract all sort of "wildlife" and also get a bit of "cupboardy" flavour,and off course ,if you don't want to use them any more-they just take very precious space in your cupboard.
You can rinse tinned chickpeas with lemon juice or give them a quick stir in a pan with some warm,herb infused olive oil-depending on the recipe- and that'll take out the "tinny" taste,but if you buy a good make and not just any cheap tin-they shouldn't be that bad!

No fish recipes for you (unfortunately-not very popular in my family),but I use the bag to make a lovely veg roast(carrot,squash,turnip,sweet potato and roasting potato,red & white onion) seasoned with honey and paprika.

It's my favourite too
(not too spicy,not too greasy and a large selection of low fat salads)
What is your favourite version Dougy?
I love the fried ones and then the ones boiled in soup
never heard of the "lasagne" like version-have you a (veg) recipe?

veggie kibbeh (kubah) is great (especially when flavoured with cinnamon)
The recipe I know has a shell that is made with fine wheat rather than the big grained kind
(but can also be made with rice and I know someone who's making it with quinoa-so any grain goes?)
Funny-as I always thought it was Iraqi-how did it get to Cyprus?
Or did the Cypriots invent it on the first place?
Suppose it's the same thing with Baklava-We have 3 shops in the street selling that,run by 3 people from 3 different places and all claim baklava is an authentic sweet in their countries.
What is it then-Turkish? Greek? Lebanese?

Thank you for your tips!
We have a very old steam cleaner so it might not have all the extensions,but I'll check.

I agree eating meat subsitutes is not the best solution for a vegetarian diet-they are a bit over-processed and contain artificial flavouring.
Some of them are a bit off-putting too,as they're so much like "the real thing" (has anyone tried the veggie slices?)
But then- these are very handy on those nights when you come home tired&hungry just to discover you've run out of quinoa burgers/lentil casserole,so you stuff one of them pies in the oven ,add some salad and hey presto-dinner is served!

Thank you!

Do you have contact details about RHS Wisely (Or are they easy to find through the web?)

Is this the same steam cleaner used to clean carpets&floors or a different kind?

We have a really difficult cooker to clean- the hob has sealed plates and they get stained very easily and are a nightmare to clean,whether wet or dry.
Does anyone here have tips on how to clean them without scarring the sealed surface?
(old greasy stains,mostly)

If one doesn't have a quice tree in their garden-where can one buy quinces?

Many thanks!

It has a really nice smell and I'm sure it tastes nice,too

Sounds fantastic!

Where can I get cardamon?
Is this an Indian spice?

I would like to try and invent my own exciting recipe rather than cook something from a book-
why not?
They always have lots of soft,ripe apricots in the reduced section of my local supermarket during this season,yet nobody wants to eat them and they just rot in the fruit bowl.
And we always have these horrible fizzy drinks in the house as the boys love them.
I know I'd like to add some orange juice or maybe mango juice to make a sweet and rich gravy,
but I'd also like to add some spices and vegetables- but am not too sure what could work with it?
Also-what side dishes could be served with this?
I thought about adding some peeled new potatoes to the dish-is this a good idea?