Ready, Steady, Cook...

DJK said:
A change is as good as a holiday.

Changing of a cellular structure might change the consistency, however I'm curious as to how this might change the flavour in a negative way, apart from perception (seems we both have a keen interest in the science of cooking - nice). The top 2 restaurants in the world both freeze their seafood stock before defrosting it through muslin, so maybe you could teach them (Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria - the two top chefs in the world) a thing or two as to what they could be doing better?

There are few occasions where I feel the need to say this, but I reckon you're looking at too much science and not enough cooking. Even more so when you're talking about recipes for a home cook. A tomato base freezes really well, and to discourage people from cooking batches of it to freeze, for the sake of its cellular structure (which 99.9% of people couldn't tell the difference, including me) is absurd. The only issues that I'm aware of with regards to frozen stock is the fat content, which can turn rancid. However skimming the fat off the top can help considerably with this.

I know of many chefs who freeze stocks and one of the interesting things is that many chefs also freeze cooked tomatoes and defrost them through muslin to make tomato consommé, instead of passing them through defrosted. In fact I was taught this exact technique in France, during a chef's course. I never bothered to ask the reasoning as to why this is better than adding salt and leaving it overnight over a bowl, however I think the salt content might be the issue here.

For those who aren't too bothered about the cellular structure of their stocks, be sure to freeze it in proportionate bags, or in an ice-cube tray. You don't want to be stuck having to defrost an entire bottle of the stuff just to use once - you can't re-freeze it again safely...
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NO.

I do not believe you.

You MUST be a Leo. No other star sign in the hocus-pocus world of astrology has this attitude.
 
DJK said:
A tomato base freezes really well, and to discourage people from cooking batches of it to freeze,
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Sometimes you have to cook in batches. Like with blunomore who had "chillies, onion and a load of tomoatoes", I have WAY to many tomoatoe bushes growing this year. I have not planted any, they just came up from last years stock. There is no way I can use them all even after giving more than half away.

So what I know I am going to end up doing, is cooking up tomoatoe, onion and chilli mix, and then freeze them in small bags to quickly add to stews in the up and coming winter or for braai's were we want some on pap.
 
yes, I also do that. the one year we had so many tomatoes, I got fed up with cooking it all into stews, sauces etc. Ended up chucking in the freezer whole, and just adding it straight to the pot :o
 
Comfy food...... ai......

Cheesy Bacon Pasta


One packet of bits o bacon
Garlic
Lots of cheese
Pasta

Boil pasta
Fry the bacon and a bit of garlic and your favourite herbs (to get your bacon nice and crispy when it sizzles nicely pour a bit of water on it then start frying again, it fries the fat out nicely)

Make garlic white sauce
( for 2 people )

Melt 2 tbs butter add fresh garlic black pepper and salt to taste
Take of stove (put it off)
Add +- 2 tbs of flour mix with whisk until a ball has formed
Add 2 +- 2 cups of milk
Put back on stove and slowly start reheating this mixture whisking all the way, when this has thickened nicely ad lots of cheese and the bacon, mix together( like the lat Pieter Pieterse said : laat dit dan lekker met mekaar geselsies) to infuse flavours.

Mix with boiled pasta. And serve with fresh salad..........

The sauce you can decide if you like it stringy and cheesy or more the consistency of white sauce ( to taste) and i have used chorizo and pepperoni instead of bacon.

OH!!! i put chillies in the sauce cause i like it hot...:o
 
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I love Pasta and thanks to Fatties and monies i can now (again) afford whole-wheat (brown) pasta i know this is not the healthiest but it’s better than the white stuff.... i guess...:o

Tuna pasta Salad
This makes lots... but it’s so tasty!!
I make it early on a Saturday and we have food for the rest of the day.( i'm a lazy cook):D

2 cans of tuna
3 hard boiled eggs ( this makes a big difference in the taste you can leave it out but when i do i notice something is missing, and the weird thing is you do not taste the egg..... think it's the egg and mayo thiny):D
Cherrie tomatoes
One big onion (two small ones)
Cheese cut in to little squares (small less than a cm)
Cucumber
( anything you like in a salad, I love to add celery, peppers, radishes and everything i can find in my garden.)
Salad leaves are optional, if you do not have cucumber it’s nice for greenness.

Boil Pasta ( half a pack off screws is usually enough)
Cool it down by rinsing under cool water ( to prevent it from sticking, after you have rinsed it, mix in a bit off olive oil)
Add salad, cubed cheese, drained tuna and eggs (cut up into small pieces)

Add mayonnaise (lekker baie) 2 or 3 tbs of chutney ( to taste)
Black pepper salt and herbs to taste
Mix all together well and serve......


Oke and now you all know i’m craving some comfort food......
 
Mila said:
I love Pasta and thanks to Fatties and monies i can now (again) afford whole-wheat (brown) pasta i know this is not the healthiest but it’s better than the white stuff.... i guess...:o

Tuna pasta Salad
This makes lots... but it’s so tasty!!
I make it early on a Saturday and we have food for the rest of the day.( i'm a lazy cook):D

2 cans of tuna
3 hard boiled eggs ( this makes a big difference in the taste you can leave it out but when i do i notice something is missing, and the weird thing is you do not taste the egg..... think it's the egg and mayo thiny):D
Cherrie tomatoes
One big onion (two small ones)
Cheese cut in to little squares (small less than a cm)
Cucumber
( anything you like in a salad, I love to add celery, peppers, radishes and everything i can find in my garden.)
Salad leaves are optional, if you do not have cucumber it’s nice for greenness.

Boil Pasta ( half a pack off screws is usually enough)
Cool it down by rinsing under cool water ( to prevent it from sticking, after you have rinsed it, mix in a bit off olive oil)
Add salad, cubed cheese, drained tuna and eggs (cut up into small pieces)

Add mayonnaise (lekker baie) 2 or 3 tbs of chutney ( to taste)
Black pepper salt and herbs to taste
Mix all together well and serve......


Oke and now you all know i’m craving some comfort food......
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that sounds nice....think I'll make it sometime over the weekend (busy making chicken pie for tomorrow)
 
something we used to make when I was part of a tour group for a year (was nice, filling, but not of the healthiest food around):

2 min noodles (preferably cheese flavour)
packet instant cheese sauce
any flavour simba chips

crush chips
prepare noodles, but don't throw off water. mix packet instant sauce with water and noodles. add chips

we usually ate it on bread :o

(yeah, don't preach to me about it being VERY unhealthy....as youngsters are, that didn't bother us at the time)
 
Mila said:
I love Pasta and thanks to Fatties and monies i can now (again) afford whole-wheat (brown) pasta i know this is not the healthiest but it’s better than the white stuff.... i guess...:o......
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How about brown rice Mila? That is a "good" carboydrate.
 
brown rice doesn't taste too bad either, and it fills you for longer.

I can never fing the f&m wholewheat pasta....it usually is sold out :(
 
Hot_Chocolate said:
brown rice doesn't taste too bad either, and it fills you for longer.

I can never fing the f&m wholewheat pasta....it usually is sold out :(
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It was off the market (i think) i couldn't find it, it used to be in brown packets, now they come in the f&m packets with bright colours on (like turqouise) I think pwople do not like the taste:( it's a bit more chewy than white pasta, but i likey it just taste a bit more al dente (spelling?:o)

A big pick and pay or hyerrama should have,
Our SPAR ( and i live in the eastrand and you in the best city in the country) had 2 kinds, where the pick and pay had in 4 different shapes.
 
Apologies to Hosehead - damn! I am more sarcastic than usual when I'm completely inebriated...!!! :eek: :o

And a whole cup and a half of WTF for blunomore...:p
 
DJK said:
Apologies to Hosehead - damn! I am more sarcastic than usual when I'm completely inebriated...!!! :eek: :o

And a whole cup and a half of WTF for blunomore...:p
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Let's sum up: you were drunk (inebriated is too much of a euphemism for this situation) and you want to WTF me??

I think not! :D
 
Did you guys read the Week's Quotes section in the Sunday Times yesterday? Someone asked Paris Hilton who the Prime Minister of the UK is. She said Gordon Ramsay!!

Anywho, if you like healthy recipes with fresh ingredients (but you don't want to spend hours on www.epicurious.com like I do) then subscribe to www.Goop.com. Its Gwyneth Paltrow's newsletter. She sends out wonderful recipes (along with the most dreary fashion advice I've been subjected to in ages, places to visit, art to see etc).

This week she sent out some simple Sunday recipes. Earlier in the year she had a detox diet menu (very healthy & filling) with smoothie recipes too. I thought she lived on rice cakes & tofu.

Sunday's Menu:

Garlic bread
Turkey meatballs
Spaghetti
Steamed Peas

All of the recipes are here (holiday food, pancakes, banana nut muffins...):
http://goop.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=35&Iteid=61
 
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dunno if this is the right thread for this but I got myself 5 huge calamari steaks at a meat world at the K90 this weekend - only 50 bucks.

Any tips for cooking it?
 
I got bored with just cooking Mac and cheese last night so i threw in some bacon, bully beef and viennas with white sauce, blew myself away i did, yum yum yum:o
 
bully beef =
picture.php


How can you eat spam!?
 
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