My favourite recipe is

[Gordon]

Open any beer 

Seriously - since hopefully we'll get some recipes worth keeping this thread has been 'stickied'.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Gordon,

At last glad to see my Mod fees are being put to good use

One of my favourites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0160nm0/paul-hollywoods-bread-5-soda-bread

Why, it is the easiest bread I have ever made, bread for dummies, not only that you can throw in different herbs or spices for your own tastes, I load mine with pepper.

Oh and Mr Hollywood makes it look as if there is no mess, trust me there is always mess.

Gonnagle.

[Rhiannon]

A nice frugal recipe is Broccoli stalk soup. Save up stalks of broccoli as you use the heads - I keep them in the fridge - then when you have enough (two or three) peel and chop, add a leek and a potato, chopped, and some stock. Simmer til soft, blend, then stir in a bit of milk. Season and eat with crusty bread and cheese if liked.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Bashers, Rhiannon and Shaker,

Our resident vegetarians, I am being told it is meat free day, eating more fruit and veg is actually good for the planet but being a vegetarian how does that affect your life, is your fruit bowl always full, do you use more water in your household, are your cupboards full of rice and pasta, is your weekly shopping cheaper, do you feel more healthy, do you miss eating meat.

Go on convert a carnivore.

Gonnagle.

[Shaker]

Dear Bashers, Rhiannon and Shaker,

Our resident vegetarians, I am being told it is meat free day, eating more fruit and veg is actually good for the planet but being a vegetarian how does that affect your life

Well, that's not easy to cover in a short space!

is your fruit bowl always full

Yes!

do you use more water in your household

Not that I've noticed, and not through being a vegetarian. I'm very alert to waste of all kinds - water included - so no, I don't think so.

are your cupboards full of rice and pasta

Well, I have some - I wouldn't say full!

is your weekly shopping cheaper

I've been vegetarian for so long now - twenty-two years - that this doesn't really apply.

do you feel more healthy

Yes, definitely. No question at all. I think that this was easily the most noticeable aspect of giving up animal produce - I felt vastly better for it very quickly indeed. Unfortunately, not in a way that's very easy to describe adequately. I hesitate to say this because I think almost inevitably it'll come across as pious and preachy and sanctimonious in a way that I absolutely don't intend, but speaking purely for myself I'll say that I felt physically better but not a fraction as much as I felt morally healthier for not colluding in the daily wickednesses that are meted out to animals everywhere. Again, I know this may come over as sounding a bit pi-jaw and holier-than-thou, which is not the intention in any way; I'm trying to convey how much better I felt with regard to my conscience that, even if a single vegetarian makes no difference on his or her own - there's strength in numbers -, I didn't have to be in cahoots with the vicarious abuse of animals any more. (And some particularly intelligent and/or sweet-natured animals at that, such as pigs or cows).

do you miss eating meat.

Never, not for a moment, because I don't lose sight of what ethical vegetarianism is about and what it's for. I know that traditionally a lot of vegetarians or ex-vegetarians say that it's the smell of frying bacon which is the killer and which has tempted many a former meat-shunner back into omnivory, but after all this time - for me, personally - I actually find it quite unpleasant in a repulsive sort of way. No, I've never missed it.

My one great and abiding regret about vegetarianism is that I didn't do it years earlier. Like the vast majority of people I was brought up to accept meat and fish as food unquestioningly, even thoughtlessly. It's just the general cultural assumption that nobody questions or steps outside of until and unless they're presented with a reason to do so. There are all too few occasions in life where you can feel that you're engaged in something uncomplicatedly, unambiguously and entirely good and worthwhile, and to me this is up there with the best of them.

[Rhiannon]

Cupboard staples here are pasta, rice, canned pulses, bouillon powder, dried lentils, passata, various herbs etc, olive oil, pesto.

Yes to full fruit bowl, ditto salad drawer.

I feel 'lighter' in the sense that my digestion is very, erm, efficient.

I don't miss meat massively although I eat a lot of Mediterranean food rather than traditional Northern European fare.

[Rhiannon]

Two best recipes to get down are a tomato sauce and a bechamel sauce. From there you can make so many things.

Of course my kids still only want pasta with cheesey sauce.

I rarely have too many cooked veg, but when I do I keep them in the fridge and make them into a bake with a cheese sauce and breadcrumbs the next day. Very often Boxing Day lunch.

[ad_orientem]

Anything with shit loads of cayenne pepper in it or hot chilies. The hotter the better.

[~TW~]

Just noticed this thread as a member of the Army Catering Corps Association I will check out my Army recipes and get back to you.

 http://www.accassociation.org/

   ~TW~

[jeremyp]

You can't beat a well made tartiflette

[Rhiannon]

The simplest dishes are often the best. Sometimes when I've been at a large event I've ended up with an omelette, which often gets me envious glances from the meat-eaters chewing their way through indifferent beef.

I cooked courgettes sliced lengthways with olive oil and garlic at the weekend, and served them cold with lemon wedges.

[Shaker]

You can't beat a well made tartiflette

Words to live by, for sure.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Just noticed this thread as a member of the Army Catering Corps Association I will check out my Army recipes and get back to you.

 http://www.accassociation.org/

   ~TW~

My wife's uncle was in the Army catering Corps and I believe it's become a bit of a family tradition. He was contemporary of Grahame Kerr who used his experience in TV cheffing as the Galloping Gourmet.

[~TW~]

Just noticed this thread as a member of the Army Catering Corps Association I will check out my Army recipes and get back to you.

 http://www.accassociation.org/

   ~TW~

My wife's uncle was in the Army catering Corps and I believe it's become a bit of a family tradition. He was contemporary of Grahame Kerr who used his experience in TV cheffing as the Galloping Gourmet.

 Here is a recipe I used in the Army for Butter cream give it try let me know what you think.

 Decide how much you need forget scales,whenever you find yourself with some cold custard {as we did in the army} add this to the butter and whip it to the consistency you need to pipe it on to your cake,then add vanilla essence to it, and job done,it really does taste good.

Also try a apple flan but when you have the flan covered with sliced apples make a custard with custard powder{do NOT use a custard mix} and do not make it with milk,make it with water and pour it over the apples and you will have a green sauce that looks good which you can also decorate with the butter cream.

 ~TW~ the motto of the corps is We Sustain. 

[Rhiannon]

I noticed some late blackberries when out walking so it's still worth putting this up.

Spiced Blackberry brandy.

Take 350g blackberries and put them in a killer-type jar with a few cloves and a cinnamon stick. Seal and leave for 48 hrs. Strain through a muslin lined sieve and stir in 175g of caster sugar. Put back into the jar and add about half a litre of decent brandy. Leave for a month then bottle.

This can also be made with late raspberries - omitting the spices - or plums.

[Ricky Spanish]

Homemade Doner Kebab:

Traditionally the lamb doner kebab is cooked on a standing rotisserie and thinly sliced to order.
 
The thin slices are perfect because the meat is generously seasoned.

This home version is roasted in the oven and uses a classic doner spice mix to capture that authentic takeaway flavour.

1 teaspoon plain flour
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
500 g/1.1 lb lamb mince

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

In a large bowl, combine the plain flour, dried oregano, dried Italian
herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt and black
pepper.

Add the lamb mince and mix thoroughly for 2–3 minutes. Take out all
of your aggression on the kebab mixture, punching and kneading until
no air pockets remain and the kebab meat is extremely smooth.

Shape the seasoned mince into a loaf and place on a baking tray.

Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes, turning the
loaf half way through the cooking time to ensure even browning.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and cover with foil. Allow to rest
for 10 minutes.


Slice it thin and serve with a Turkish salad and spicy tomato kebab sauce
in a warm pitta bread.

[Rhiannon]

Roasted Parmesan cauliflower and carrots

Break cauliflower into florets. Cut carrots into batons. Blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Toss in olive oil and then Parmesan. Spread on a baking tray and roast in a moderately hot oven fit 20-30 minutes, turning once or twice, until they look done.

[Rhiannon]

Lentil shepherds pie

Make the filling. Fry a finely diced onion in olive oil until slightly browning.  Add some diced carrots and sweat. Add 2 tins of drained lentils plus a tin of mixed pulses, some good hot veg stock and mixed herbs to taste. Bring to the boil, then simmer. Dice some potatoes, boil and mash with some milk and butter. Put the cooked lentil filling in the bottom of a large overnproof dish and top with the mash, starting st the edges of the dish. Smooth and then mark the top of the mash with a fork. Bake in a hot oven until brown. Serve with green veg and gravy.

You can put cheese on top of the mash before baking, and add other veg to the filling.

[ad_orientem]

I love a curry. Here's a quick and easy recipe I found on Youtube for a chicken jalfrezi. Tried it today and it was pretty good. The only thing is I can't find any bloody methi leaves over here. I should have started off with a hotter pan aswell because the peppers started to soften too much. I'll perfect it the next time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BotYQ5jHO_s

[SteveH]

Wholemeal bread.

3kgs wholemeal flour (2 bags)
4tbsps oil
4tbsps honey, syrup, treacle or malt extract
2tbsps salt
3pints warm water (yes, I know I'm mixing metric and imperial measures - yugodda problem wid dat?)
1 level tbsp dried yeast

Put the water in a very large container (I use a plastic 5-gsllon brewer's fermenting bin). If you mix 1 1/2 pints of boiling water with 1 1/2 pints of cold, it'll be at the right temperature. Add the honey, syrup or whatever and the yeast, stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved, then add half the flour (one bag). stir vigorously until all the flour is absorbed. Cover and leave to double in size. At this stage it should be like a stiff batter.
When it's risen, Liberally sprinkle a work surface with some of the remaining flour, and add the rest to the batter. Stir it in until it's absorbed, then empty out onto the floured surface. Knead vigorously by stretching it out, rolling it up, turning it through 90 degrees, and repeating. Do this for at least 15 minutes. If you're not fairly knackered at the end, you haven't done it vigorously enough.
Cut into quarters, and put each quarter into a loaf tin, or, if you prefer free-style, shape with your hands and put onto a baking tray. Spray the loaves with water, and leave to double in size, repeating the spraying occasionally.
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C (200 if it's a fan oven), and put a roasting tin full of boiling water in the bottom, to provide steam during the baking, which helps produce a good crust. Put your doubled-in-size loaves in, and leave for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C, and leave for another 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, and from the tins if used, and put them on wire cooling racks to cool. You can tap the bottoms to see if they sound hollow if you like, but it doesn't prove that they're done: if they're done, they'll sound hollow, but not necessarily vice versa. Sounding hollow is a necessary but not sufficient condition of their being done, and being done is a sufficient but not necessary condition of ther sounding hollow.

[flower girl]

Since giving up all gluten grains about five years ago now, I've been trying to work with gluten-free flours or other methods to make sauces, gravies, roux, and cream soups.  I seem to have succeeded as my family can't tell a difference.  Some of the cream soups are even better, as I use more actual cream than the more roux-based soups do. 

[SteveH]

This thread averages about one post per year!

[Nearly Sane]

This thread averages about one post per year!

What is your favourite recipe?

[SteveH]

What is your favourite recipe?

Wholemeal bread - see reply 19.

[SteveH]

Wholemeal bread.

3kgs wholemeal flour (2 bags)
4tbsps oil
4tbsps honey, syrup, treacle or malt extract
2tbsps salt
3pints warm water (yes, I know I'm mixing metric and imperial measures - yugodda problem wid dat?)
1 level tbsp dried yeast

Put the water in a very large container (I use a plastic 5-gsllon brewer's fermenting bin). If you mix 1 1/2 pints of boiling water with 1 1/2 pints of cold, it'll be at the right temperature. Add the honey, syrup or whatever and the yeast, stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved, then add half the flour (one bag). stir vigorously until all the flour is absorbed. Cover and leave to double in size. At this stage it should be like a stiff batter.
When it's risen, Liberally sprinkle a work surface with some of the remaining flour, and add the rest to the batter. Stir it in until it's absorbed, then empty out onto the floured surface. Knead vigorously by stretching it out, rolling it up, turning it through 90 degrees, and repeating. Do this for at least 15 minutes. If you're not fairly knackered at the end, you haven't done it vigorously enough.
Cut into quarters, and put each quarter into a loaf tin, or, if you prefer free-style, shape with your hands and put onto a baking tray. Spray the loaves with water, and leave to double in size, repeating the spraying occasionally.
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C (200 if it's a fan oven), and put a roasting tin full of boiling water in the bottom, to provide steam during the baking, which helps produce a good crust. Put your doubled-in-size loaves in, and leave for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C, and leave for another 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, and from the tins if used, and put them on wire cooling racks to cool. You can tap the bottoms to see if they sound hollow if you like, but it doesn't prove that they're done: if they're done, they'll sound hollow, but not necessarily vice versa. Sounding hollow is a necessary but not sufficient condition of their being done, and being done is a sufficient but not necessary condition of ther sounding hollow.

Sourdough bread: substitute sourdough starter for dried yeast. Make the starter by putting a cup of flour in a bowl, and adding enough warm water with a level dessertspoonful of honey, treacle, syrup or malt extract dissolved in it to make a sloppy batter. Cover loosely, and leave in a warm place, such as a windowsill. Each day thereasfter, feed it with a bit more water and honey or whatever, and a bit more flour. After a few days, it should be fermenting vigorously, thanks to wild yeasts. After a week or so, add it to the liquid as described above along with 4 tbsps of your preferred sugar, and proceed as above. Rising may be slow. If you keep back a bit of the dough and freeze it, you can keep a culture going indefinitely.