Cooking thread

[San Bernardhinault]

Do you have a plague of invisible locusts in the house?

[lambers]

They're going to bankrupt me. Surely it can't be normal for a 10 year old and an 8 year old to eat this much?

Given the amount of food our 1.5 year old is currently eating, I can easily imagine facing the same situation in several years time. My partner and I may need to start putting less in our pension funds so we can afford it, as I'm sure food prices will more than double in the next seven or so years.

[Balderdasha]

Do you have a plague of invisible locusts in the house?

No, I literally watched the kids eat all of that. They finished it off with a mini milk ice lolly and a rocket ice lolly before conceding that maybe, maybe they were full and heading off to bed. I expect they will come down again in about half an hour claiming to be hungry again.

[S. aureus]

rocket ice lolly

I'm guessing this isn't arugula flavored.

[Balderdasha]

I'm guessing this isn't arugula flavored.

Ha, no! It's a rainbow coloured fruit juice ice lolly in the shape of a space rocket.

[HORN]

I just air fried a boiled egg. Ten minutes at 130 degrees. It was alright.

Whether or not it really is cheaper than preparing it the conventional way it's certainly cleaner and comparatively stress free.

[slackster]

Mrs Slacks has been baking Sourdough loaves this morning. I’m a happy chappy.

[San Bernardhinault]

Those look utterly fantastic. I am jealous. Particularly if you are well stocked in the butter department.

[Disco Child Ballads]

I just air fried a boiled egg. Ten minutes at 130 degrees. It was alright.

Whether or not it really is cheaper than preparing it the conventional way it's certainly cleaner and comparatively stress free.

Soft boiled or hard boiled? When it comes to soft boiled eggs I swear by the Delia Smith method which involves putting it in boiling water and simmering for 1 minute, then taking it off the heat, covering it with saucepan lid, and leaving it for 5 and a half to 6 minutes.

[Balderdasha]

The method I use is similar but it's put egg in pan of cold water, bring to boil, switch off, leave for two mins, drain, run under cool water so you can peel it.

[Balderdasha]

Not that I make boiled eggs very often. I've discussed my preferred super lazy microwave mug egg technique several times by now.

[Balderdasha]

Meanwhile, this was what I made for lunch today.

[HORN]

Soft boiled or hard boiled? When it comes to soft boiled eggs I swear by the Delia Smith method which involves putting it in boiling water and simmering for 1 minute, then taking it off the heat, covering it with saucepan lid, and leaving it for 5 and a half to 6 minutes.

Ooh. That definitely sounds manageable.

Mine was to the harder end of soft. I might take a minute off next time.

[diggedy derek]

I cooked a spinach and butternut squash curry today - in the oven, rather than on the hob. It worked well, I dig it. I roasted the vegetables, then halfway through, added passata and water, then put it back in to cook off. Worked brilliantly

[slackster]

I’ve just picked a load of wild garlic leaves from the garden. Some will be whizzed up with some baby spinach, nuts, parmesan and olive oil for a pesto pasta dish tonight.

The rest will be blended with a little oil, frozen into ice cube trays and stored in the freezer for later use.

[Bored Of Education]

Something of a grail for me in making my first curry goat. Got the meat - chops and leg - in an international supermarket that has been open a couple of years. Tweaked an online recipe and put in the slow cooker for hours. Mrs B is very wary of it so I took all the meat off the bone halfway through, added any marrow to the sauce and returned the bones on top of the sauce in a sieve so that they helped thicken the sauce without getting mixed up again.

I served it with rice and peas (which I’ve made before) ensuring Mrs B got the leanest pieces. However, in her first bite, she got a massive bit of fat and, although she ate that dish, refused any of the rest so I am working my way through it and it is delicious. It’s quite saucy so, instead of making up new rice and peas just for me, I boiled some rice in some of the sauce last night which was lovely.

Unfortunately, I can’t see Mrs B trying it again so will have to wait until she goes to Amsterdam with friends later on in the year to make another batch.

[Balderdasha]

The Hungry Caterpillar strikes again. I had to finally cut Bboy off from the endless food supply at 10pm last night after: one large bowl of tomato and cheesy pasta, two slices of garlic bread, one plate of red pepper, yellow pepper and cucumber slices, one plate of apple slices and strawberries, one packet of cheese and onion crisps, one packet of popcorn, one packet of dried mango, one digestive biscuit, five squares of chocolate, two glasses of lemon squash, half a packet of snack a jack rice cakes, and some vegetable crisps which he spat out in disgust. At 9pm I found him standing on the kitchen counter peering into the top of the cupboards to see if there was anything he'd prefer to eat there.

[RaggedTrousered]

Six eggs scrambled, with lots of butter, a little pepper and a little salt. That's the first of many such meals for me, if I stick to this new regime.

Bringing a little temper to the thread (in more ways than one, probably).

[Balderdasha]

Eleven days after our last online food delivery we've again reached the point where everyone else thinks there's "no food in the house" and I still think we can eat like kings for a month.

After a weekend treat breakfast this morning of home-baked pain au chocolat and hot chocolate, (porridge with raspberries and grapes for the adults), Bboy wandered mournfully into the kitchen about an hour later asking "why don't we have any food in the house?" So I gave him a packet of cheese oatcakes and some sliced mango while he waited for his lunch (baked beans and veggie sausages on buttered toast, with orange juice and apple slices). Me and MrB had baked beans and cheese on jacket potatoes with a massive salad (lettuce, chicory, carrot, radish, cherry tomatoes, edamame beans, with a lemon juice and balsamic vinegar dressing), with extra tuna for MrB.

I can see at least five different options for batch-cooking this evening.

I have relented though and ordered an online delivery for tomorrow. Partly because Bgirl has her mock SATS this week and will need lots of easy to grab food to help her handle it.