AS: Tea and biscuits and GIN, the British thread

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Comments

  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    Who said anything about breadcrumbs? *gags* 🤢 Cheese grated on the top and then either baked or grilled. Mmmmm.
  • bassobasso Shipmate
    We ate a lot of mac and cheese when I was young. Fit the family budget, I think. Mom made her own and baked it, but breadcrumbs were never a part.
  • Baked in the oven for me, with or without breadcrumbs.
    I made lentil quasadillas, basically spicy lentils sandwiched between 2 tortillas (we had corn ones in the cupboard) and topped with tomato sauce and cheese and lightly baked (or grilled). I’m having mine for lunch tomorrow as I wasn’t hungry and then had to teach this evening.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Mostly I don’t like assembly dishes - too much faff, and piles of pans. But tonight’s fish pie is tolerable. I think because the fish is briefly microwaved in the eventual pie dish, then the milk poured into the roux for the sauce. The potatoes can be microwaving meanwhile, so by the time the sauce is poured over the fish, they’re ready ready to go on top.

    So all in all that’s one pie dish, one saucepan, another ceramic dish, a cheese grater and a wooden spoon.
  • BoogieBoogie Shipmate
    Next you’ll say you don’t like skin on a rice pudding!

    😵
  • Another one who started off with loads of cookery books! Then I started to declutter them by copying the one (or two) recipes I actually used from each one, and filing them in a giant lever-arch file. Next thing you know, the lever-arch file is too heavy to lift and you can't find anything (in spite of the rudimentary filing system therein).

    So, when we moved, I decluttered a load of recipes we'd never got round to trying, and Mr. S put what was left on to a little tablet in the kitchen <respect>. Now I have one small shelf - mainly Jamie Oliver, and the traditional Madhur Jaffrey!

    I'm not trying to advertise here, but I bought a cookery book and four spice blends from a Bristol company, whose curry recipe packs I'd subscribed to for years. That saves having 147 different spices, all going out of date, cluttering up your cupboards - or it would if I could being myself to throw them out! And makes wonderful curries...

    Mrs. S, decluttering failure *sigh* but epic cook!
  • I have that curry book and spice tins too (and some kits). Pricey but very convenient and fool proof. I’m going to get my son a curry book kit when he goes to university.
    I also still have loads of other spices but I do like the occasional adventurous feast so they are staying.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Boogie wrote: »
    Next you’ll say you don’t like skin on a rice pudding!

    😵

    Ha, I don’t know if that means you also don’t like it or if you think it’s great, but I do indeed find the skin on rice pudding quite repulsive! Haven’t had rice pudding since I was a kid, and no intentions of having it again.

  • Boogie wrote: »
    skin on a rice pudding!

    Sorry, this version of the ship does not appear to have the smiley for that.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    As for recipe books, I also haven’t used those for years. When I left home I got myself one from a charity shop, and used it purely for learning how to make macaroni cheese. One of my housemates commented that the only meals I made myself were macaroni cheese and tacos, which wasn’t entirely true, but mostly true, as they were my favourite meals. A Canadian friend had introduced me to tacos - I would buy the little taco kits, and fry food to go in them.

    I became a vegatarian for a while in my twenties, and got the Rose Barton vegetarian cookbook, and used it mostly to learn about the different vegetables - there are pages and pages of photos of vegetables, with little descriptions of them! - but I did also try a couple of the recipes, and found them interesting but fiddly. I don’t get on with recipes, for some reason. I can follow them, but it feels very unnatural and not how I think. I find it too ... all over the place, I guess, and disjointed following the steps and the timing and switching between cooking and reading. I dread it when people ask me for the recipe of one of my meals, as I don’t know how to convert what I did to recipe form!

    Maybe if I’d followed more recipes (I think I can count on one hand the number of meals I’ve made from a recipe) it would have become more intuitive, but I find it far easier and more natural to experiment with making meals from the food I have in the fridge and in my cupboards.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Jengie Jon wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    skin on a rice pudding!

    Sorry, this version of the ship does not appear to have the smiley for that.

    Boogie used one like this, but without teeth:
    :astonished:

    Not sure if it’s astonishment at the idea of my not liking skin on rice pudding or astonishment that such a ghastly food exists! :lol:

    The smiley I would use for skin on rice pudding is this one: :cold_sweat:
  • One of the reasons I knew that I and Himself would get along is that we both like the skin on the rice pudding.
    We've brought the children up well and they both like it too.
  • The skin on the rice pudding is the best bit. Not that keen on rice pudding actually, I prefer other milk puddings like Sago and Semolina
  • MooMoo Kerygmania Host
    When I make mac and cheese, I put part of the cheese in my food processor along with a slice of bread, torn up. This makes cheesy crumbs which form a nice crust.
  • I love tapioca! It’s really hard to find it in packet form these days, I’ve had to buy it online. Obviously the tinned version is fine when camping but I like to make it properly.
    Ah, milk puddings, another British classic to join Tea and Gin!
  • I was trying to find tapioca too, not so much for eating, but for flour. Apparently you can make good gluten free flours at home using mixtures of different flours - potato, rice, almond, soya - and tapioca appears in most of the recipes in the gluten free recipe book on the shelf. I bought amaranth, potato, soya and polenta very cheaply from the local health food chain, because they were going out of date, plus the xanthan I need, but I can't find tapioca flour.

    I tend to dig through my recipe books for ideas when I'm bored of the same recipes I'm cooking from memory and want to add some variety to the mix, to check proportions for baking or because I've found an interesting ingredient on the reduced counter and want to know how to cook it. And also to teach myself different recipes or foods - gluten free is the current challenge. Nigel Slater appeals, and another one who makes me think of him is Colin Spencer who was advocating a vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian diet back in the early 1980s, which is when I bought his books (and use them).

    The dairy free and gluten free regime means macaroni cheese and rice pudding are not on the menu and haven't been for ages. I used to make a variation on macaroni cheese with penne served with stir fried (in butter) carrot and leek ribbons topped with grated cheese, and use the leftover penne to make a pasta salad for picnic lunch - using two pans. [Posting this as I cook a pumpkin risotto mix for lunch, in one pan].
  • chukovsky wrote: »
    One of the reasons I knew that I and Himself would get along is that we both like the skin on the rice pudding.
    Who - Jesus? How do you know?

  • Have you tried making rice pudding with almond milk? I once hosted a Tudor dinner party where I made frumenty, a traditional pudding made from grain (I used barley) and milk and honey but I used almond milk as that was how posh tudors ate it during Lent. I’ve also made rice pudding in the same way.
  • Frumenty is also a savoury dish; grains cooked in stock like you would a risotto (only most tudors didn’t have access to rice hence my barley).
  • Barley is not gluten free, sadly, but I have made rice pudding using coconut milk, and added cardamon pods and dried apricots, or I've made Jack Monroe's peanut butter rice pudding, which I can't find to link to any more.
  • I know, I wasn’t recommending barley, that was just an example of a milk pudding with almond milk I’ve made. Rice works too.
    A good friend has coeliac disorder and a relative is wheat free so I like to explore alternatives. Jamie Oliver has a lovely orange and polenta cake and I’ve made some lovely gluten free chocolate roulades I’ve found online.
    Coconut and caramon rice pudding sounds beautiful.
  • Rice pudding is a no-go area for me, being dairy intolerant and rice allergic. But tapioca pudding with soya milk is mmmmmmm. Also, I’ve been experimenting with Mac & coconut cheese which is passable (the Essential range store does grated coconut cheese - although not in that range).
  • Surely it's better if not everyone in the house likes rice pudding skin, because then there is more for the one who does!
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Barley is not gluten free, sadly, but I have made rice pudding using coconut milk, and added cardamon pods and dried apricots.

    Now that sounds like a rice pudding I'd quite enjoy. So long as it doesn't develop a skin!

  • Frumenty is also a savoury dish; grains cooked in stock like you would a risotto (only most tudors didn’t have access to rice hence my barley).

    Frumenty, or furmity, is the downfall of Michael Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, although in the story it appears to be an innocent enough dish - until laced with RUM (IIRC).
    :fearful:

    (Spoiler alert) He drinks too much of it, and sells his wife whilst he is Under The Influence, the act coming back to haunt him years later.

  • I love tapioca! It’s really hard to find it in packet form these days, I’ve had to buy it online.

    If you're near an Asian supermarket, they usually have it. I've had green tapioca and most recently pink. Sadly only 50% of the family like tapioca whereas 100% like rice pudding so we usually have that.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I'm one of the 0.0001% of the population who think that rice pudding* is the phlegm of Satan. Sorry about that.

    Having said that, I love risottos, which D. describes as "savoury rice pudding". Must be the absence of a skin.

    BTW, are couscous or quinoa any good for those of you who can't have wheat/gluten? And is intolerance of wheat much more common than it used to be? I've only ever known two coeliacs, but wheat intolerance seems to affect a lot of people these days.

    * and most other milk puddings
  • Quinoa, millet, tapioca, buckwheat, sweetcorn/maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice are all gluten free, and you can buy gluten free oats. Couscous is a wheat creation, a variation on bulghur wheat, as is semolina: a bit like tapioca is a cassava product and polenta is a sweetcorn/maize product. Barley and rye, like wheat, contain gluten.
  • balaambalaam Shipmate
    fineline wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    Next you’ll say you don’t like skin on a rice pudding!

    😵

    Ha, I don’t know if that means you also don’t like it or if you think it’s great, but I do indeed find the skin on rice pudding quite repulsive! Haven’t had rice pudding since I was a kid, and no intentions of having it again.

    All the grated nutmeg from the top is in the skin, it's the best bit.
  • fineline wrote: »
    Jengie Jon wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    skin on a rice pudding!

    Sorry, this version of the ship does not appear to have the smiley for that.

    Boogie used one like this, but without teeth:
    :astonished:

    Not sure if it’s astonishment at the idea of my not liking skin on rice pudding or astonishment that such a ghastly food exists! :lol:

    The smiley I would use for skin on rice pudding is this one: :cold_sweat:

    Uhm rice pudding activates my gag reflex, skin on custard and milk activates my gag reflex. I think you know now which smiley on the old ship was appropriate in my opinion for those
  • Jengie JonJengie Jon Shipmate
    edited October 2018
    daisydaisy wrote: »
    Rice pudding is a no-go area for me, being dairy intolerant and rice allergic. But tapioca pudding with soya milk is mmmmmmm. Also, I’ve been experimenting with Mac & coconut cheese which is passable (the Essential range store does grated coconut cheese - although not in that range).

    If you want a cheesy sauce that is milk free then try using Yeast flakes in whatever you use as a substitute for white sauce. I make a sort of cheese mac, using avocado, soy yoghurt*, yeast flakes, garlic and sundried tomatoes which I blend together and then heat and pour of cooked pasta.

    *used to use soya milk and tofu but I have found a soy yoghurt that actually has a slight sharpness to it so use that instead.

  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    Jengie Jon wrote: »
    fineline wrote: »
    Jengie Jon wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    skin on a rice pudding!

    Sorry, this version of the ship does not appear to have the smiley for that.

    Boogie used one like this, but without teeth:
    :astonished:

    Not sure if it’s astonishment at the idea of my not liking skin on rice pudding or astonishment that such a ghastly food exists! :lol:

    The smiley I would use for skin on rice pudding is this one: :cold_sweat:

    Uhm rice pudding activates my gag reflex, skin on custard and milk activates my gag reflex. I think you know now which smiley on the old ship was appropriate in my opinion for those

    Oh, I thought you were telling Boogie that her smilie wasn't showing for you, as it's not a Ship one. And yes, skin on custard and milk are just as ghastly to me as skin on rice pudding. One reason I don't drink milk is because of the slimy cream that was on top of it when I was a kid, and yes, the skin when it was heated. It all makes me feel sick - I guess that is the same as activating gag reflex. And no vomiting Ship smilie, though here are a couple of Apple ones, if you can see them. 🤢🤮

  • Jengie Jon wrote: »
    If you want a cheesy sauce that is milk free then try using Yeast flakes in whatever you use as a substitute for white sauce. I make a sort of cheese mac, using avocado, soy yoghurt*, yeast flakes, garlic and sundried tomatoes which I blend together and then heat and pour of cooked pasta.

    *used to use soya milk and tofu but I have found a soy yoghurt that actually has a slight sharpness to it so use that instead.
    Thank you I’ll give that a try.

  • MMMMMM Shipmate
    I read somewhere (so it must be true) that modern wheats are bred to contain a lot of gluten, as it makes industrial processing easier. That might have something to do with the rise in the more mild intolerances and why some (mildly gluten intolerant) people can eat spelt, apparently.

    I can't help but think there might be a fashion element in it as well. Such as the work colleague who said very dramatically when I was making my porage one morning, 'I simply can't eat grains' but was later happily tucking in to the sandwiches at a lunch meeting.

    I'm not talking of coeliacs,of course.

    MMM
  • My offspring became wheat / gluten intolerant when her grant didn't come through until very late one term and she resorted to eating lentils and rice from the Asian supermarket for months. When she had money again, she tried to reintroduce wheat, but her stomach rebelled and has continued to rebel. She hasn't been tested for coeliac disease, because to do so she needs to eat wheat for the reaction to be observed.

    We knew about the dairy - she was skin prick tested for that as a toddler, seemed to grow out of it, but when she was ill as a teenager, milk was causing problems again.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    I think the fashion element (not the people who are genuinely intolerant, like CK's daughter) is because there are a lot of articles written saying that gluten is bad in general, so people want to avoid it. And cutting out gluten does generally mean eating less processed food, so may lead to feeling better just because of that. Talking from experience, as there is a belief that autistic people shouldn't eat gluten, so I tried going gluten free, back when I had bad IBS. I found I was eating less processed food and generally feeling better, but when I tried eating some gluten-free processed stuff, I got bad stomach pains again. And so then, when I was feeling better, I decided to try eating bread with gluten in it, to see if it would also give me stomach pains, and it didn't. So I concluded that for me, gluten isn't the problem. But I know people who don't have coeliac but who have a genuine intolerance, and their body will react whenever they eat anything with gluten in - it used to be said this wasn't possible, but doctors seem to be understanding now that it is.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks for the info, ladies - I think you've confirmed what I thought, that there's a combination of genuine intolerance and "fashion" from being told that all carbohydrates are EVIL. I know one or two people who avoid gluten because it gives them stomach pain, but aren't diagnosed coeliacs; I'm just very glad I'm not one of them!

    It's a dull, but mild, day here, and we're heading off shortly to drop in to the Cathedral afternoon tea (held on the first Thursday of each month). D. always seems to have a way with the little old ladies who go to that sort of thing - they're always pleased to see him, and presumably put up with me in my capacity as his other half. :smiley:

    Then choir practice in the evening, although as I'm nursing a bit of a cough, I may not be of much use.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    It's a Very Wet Day here - it's been chucking it down off and on since we went out for D's lunchtime concert.

    No ambling today. :(
  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    edited November 2018
    Cloudy and overcast here. I've got lots of things to get done so am, naturally, tiddling around online. It's amazing how quickly you can get sucked into videos of glaciers calving and people getting their hair cut.
  • Sunny with cloudy intervals. Other half has had to go into work so I’ve done some housework and the boys are milling around on their phones. Our friends’ silver anniversary do to go to this evening.
  • After a cloudy start, a lovely, sunny, late autumn day here. SOUP is not called for yet (perhaps at supper-time, early evening), so a nice minced lamb hot-pot is presently being cooked by my trusty Ping Machine.

    There will probably be much Firework-Letting-Off locally this evening, so hopefully the weather will stay fine!
  • Here it is cloudy, interspersed by cloudiness.
  • We’ve had a fry up - bacon, mushrooms, scrambled egg and potato waffles (which are too salty but the shop was out of hash browns when I got them last week).
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    I fancy a fry up now - I might make one. I make hashbrowns by cutting up potato into little pieces, but that's because I don't like the kind you can buy, where they are a sort of patty. I go out for breakfast sometimes at a carvery with some friends, and the hashbrowns there are a mix of chopped up potato, onion and little bacon pieces. It's very nice.
  • Hash browns made with bacon and onion sound delicious.
    We have an electric waffle iron (I bought it for my husband as he lived in America as a child and was always reminiscing about US hotel waffle irons) so I could make proper homemade potato waffles if I wanted. My favourite thing to make in that are courgette waffles made with batter and spiralized courgette.
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    That sounds lovely, Heavenlyannie. I like courgettes, but have never done anything with them other than fry them.
  • MMMMMM Shipmate
    Have been in the garden trying to dig out ground elder from around the raspberries. I realise it's probably a hopeless task. I know you can eat it, but I've never tried it.

    MMM
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I made a soup of bacon scraps and root veg (potato, carrot, parsnip and onion) for lunch. What lifted it out of the ordinary was a large pinch of ras el hanout and a smaller one of chilli powder.
  • To change the subject: my wife, as a Scot living in Wales, has been perched on the very horns of a dilemma watching this afternoon's rugby (on TV). Eventually she decided she could cheer for both teams. (Wales won 21-10 BTW).
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    ... (Wales won 21-10 BTW).
    :cry:

    As D. would put it, "I don't care as long as someone stuffs the Welsh". :naughty:

    It's still Very Wet here, and Environment Canada were very optimistic in their temperature predictions for today. They said it would be 16°; at 2:30 in the afternoon, it's 7°.
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