I made rice pudding in my slow cooker, substituting the Thai sweet rice for the pudding rice I would usually use.
It ended up more of a sweet porridge than a rice pudding. I was fairly sure the NE Man wouldn't like it, so I ate it all myself.
Eating the whole pudding myself was a win, even if the consistency was disappointing. I might try again, but increase the amount of milk next time. Having to eat pudding for two on my own again is a risk I am willing to take.
I made rice pudding in my slow cooker, substituting the Thai sweet rice for the pudding rice I would usually use.
It ended up more of a sweet porridge than a rice pudding. I was fairly sure the NE Man wouldn't like it, so I ate it all myself.
Eating the whole pudding myself was a win, even if the consistency was disappointing. I might try again, but increase the amount of milk next time. Having to eat pudding for two on my own again is a risk I am willing to take.
Perhaps try condensed or evaporated milk? Perhaps even an egg yolk to make it more custardy?
I'd stick in a touch of spice, some raisins, maybe some chopped nuts, and a bit of orange zest to perk it up a bit.
Alternatively, if it is porridgy, you might go down the mahalabiya route and add sugar, cardamom, orange blossom water or rose water. The mix is then chilled in the fridge before serving, and you can sprinkle chopped nuts over it - I've used chopped pistachios which works well. It's quite a refreshing thing on a summer's day when you're more in the mood for a mousse than a hot winter-type pud.
Does anyone use an air fryer and have any recommendations? I'm living alone now and have a gas oven so it will be more economical to use an air fryer unless I am cooking a large casserole, zucchini slice etc. I have tried researching online but a lot of websites seem to be created by bots and suggest air fryers for large families instead of singles or don't provide useful information or ratings.
We have a Ninja air fryer and it is very good. My husband uses it more than me as I tend to make curries and casseroles but it is really good for roast potatoes and things like that.
I have heard good things about the Ninja. I am looking at the Daewoo air fryer oven (from Robert Dyas) as it can be used as a normal mini oven, a rotisserie oven (useful for cooking a roast chicken and using it for leftovers through the week), an air fryer, and also comes with a rotating basket which is good for making chips or other food which is normally deep-fried. It seems to be basically identical to the Tower air fryer oven, but the latter doesn't include the rotating basket. I think both are cheaper than the Ninja.
Also @Mili I just spotted that you make zucchini slices aka you must be Australian - sorry if you can't get those brands, tho Daewoo should be available widely I would have thought.
As an aside this prompted me to try and find out the origins of the zucchini slice, as it seems to be a uniquely Australian dish that is mega popular in its homeland but unknown elsewhere. Which is in itself a bit perplexing since it's a pretty simple dish! Dessert-type Aus/NZ slices are reasonably familiar in the UK but not the zucchini slice for some reason.
Thanks for the advice. I don't know who invented the zucchini slice, Pomona. In the 1980s everyone passed the recipe around. It's not so fashionable now, but I like it and make it now and then. It's a bit like a frittata, but I don't think many people had discovered frittata in 1980s Australia
I have a Dash mini-air fryer. Very happy with it. It is just the right size for just the two of us. We also live in a mobile home so counter space was a consideration as well.
Thanks for the advice. I don't know who invented the zucchini slice, Pomona. In the 1980s everyone passed the recipe around. It's not so fashionable now, but I like it and make it now and then. It's a bit like a frittata, but I don't think many people had discovered frittata in 1980s Australia
It seems to have come from an Italian immigrant in the 60s or 70s, so it makes sense that it's an adapted frittata.
... We also live in a mobile home so counter space was a consideration as well.
Funnily enough, the most counter-space I've ever had was in the mini-home we lived in when we were in Fredericton - there was a lovely sort of hook-shaped counter that divided the kitchen, and we could actually cook together, with one of us on either side of it.
It seems to have come from an Italian immigrant in the 60s or 70s, so it makes sense that it's an adapted frittata.
That would make sense. My mum never knew about zucchinis until I was a baby in 1979. I was a bit premmi and couldn't go home immediately and the Maltese nurses who cared for me introduced my mum to zucchinis! But we ate them regularly after that.
My mother planted three to four zucchini every year, though nobody liked them, on the plea that "oh, all but one of them are going to die." Of course none of them ever died, and then she would slice the horrid things and stew them in butter until gooey, and it was utterly disgusting.
I was shocked when I discovered that the things could actually be edible in other forms.
An American friend grows spaghetti squash (here in Australia) and gave me one this year. Apparently some people eat them with pasta sauce, but I just roasted it, scraped out the insides and have been eating portions with butter and salt. I froze the portions so they do turn out pretty mushy and taste a bit like mushy zucchini, but nicer texture. I'm pretty sure there are better ways to prepare them though. I think they are also known as vegetable marrow.
Marrow here is like an enormous courgette. My parents liked stuffed baked marrows. I hated the squishy texture. Spaghetti squash is the one with the insides that look like spaghetti - never tried that. I'm not keen on squashes, either for the texture or the lack of flavour, but butternut squash is popular here.
Vegetable marrows are just the same as ordinary courgette/zucchinis, but bred to produce larger fruit, and usually just called 'marrows'. They are/were mostly serves stuffed and roasted, but were never particularly popular, and are not often served these days. In my youth they were mostly used to extend a meagre quantity of cheap minced meat to feed an entire family. A thick slice filled a plate.
Overgrown courgettes (there's always one, hiding under the leaves until it is gets too big) can be cooked in the same way as marrows, and are a bit more successful as they don't contain quite as much water.
I have grown spaghetti squash in the past, and also found them best eaten roasted and served with butter - or with grated cheese.
Butternut “squash” is known as and treated as pumpkin here in Oz. It is either cut up and baked like potato/ sweet potato/ parsnips & served as part of a “ baked dinner” (= roast to you lot in Blighty) or cooked pureed & made into pumpkin soup.
And indeed most commercial pumpkin pies in the US are made with winter squash like butternut - the cans of pumpkin puree (in the UK you can often find them in the American aisle in a supermarket alongside Gatorade and Nerds) are just cans of cooked pureed butternut squash. It's a useful shortcut for making pumpkin soup and so on.
And indeed most commercial pumpkin pies in the US are made with winter squash like butternut - the cans of pumpkin puree (in the UK you can often find them in the American aisle in a supermarket alongside Gatorade and Nerds) are just cans of cooked pureed butternut squash. It's a useful shortcut for making pumpkin soup and so on.
I always made my pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin. I did wonder about using other squashes.
And indeed most commercial pumpkin pies in the US are made with winter squash like butternut - the cans of pumpkin puree (in the UK you can often find them in the American aisle in a supermarket alongside Gatorade and Nerds) are just cans of cooked pureed butternut squash. It's a useful shortcut for making pumpkin soup and so on.
I always made my pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin. I did wonder about using other squashes.
Winter squashes have less water content than 'true' pumpkins so are generally more flavourful. It's also why small pumpkins taste better than big Halloween ones - I love the little mini ones in autumn, you can scoop out the seeds and treat them like a baked potato.
I've always bought the small pumpkins (not the mini ones) because you only need about a quarter to a third of one to make a full-size pie.
That was, however, in the days when I used to bake to take things into the office. We all work from home now and the office cake occasions are no more.
(We have reverted to sending real birthday cards, though, instead of e-cards.)
I made rice pudding in my slow cooker, substituting the Thai sweet rice for the pudding rice I would usually use.
It ended up more of a sweet porridge than a rice pudding. I was fairly sure the NE Man wouldn't like it, so I ate it all myself.
Eating the whole pudding myself was a win, even if the consistency was disappointing. I might try again, but increase the amount of milk next time. Having to eat pudding for two on my own again is a risk I am willing to take.
Rice pudding works quite well in the slow cooker, although you don't get the nice skin you get with an oven-baked one. I use half-and-half evaporated milk and Graham's Gold Top (one of the joys of living in Scotland) with a good lump of butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
We're having stir-fry tonight, so I had another bash at using up some of the 2kg of Riz Gluant / Thai Sweet Rice.
As per the instructions on the packet I soaked it for 90 mins, and drained it, but then I went off-piste, rinsed it till the water ran clear and tried boiling it. I ended up with a pan of something that resembles wallpaper paste.
Fortunately I still have time to cook Basmati rice.
I've put the paste-y stuff to one side and might try adding milk and / or sugar to it later, to see if I can make something from it. It's got a translucent quality, a bit like tapioca.
Is sticky rice the same as glutinous rice used to make mochi or tteokbokki? If so you could try making tteok aka rice cakes. Rice cakes you can slice and stir fry or use in soups etc, a bit like noodles - think of them like gnocchi as compared to pasta. In Chinese cuisine it's called nian gao, and according to traditional Chinese religious folk tales it was created to be chewy so the Kitchen God would be busy chewing and not report on your doings to the Jade Emperor (the chief deity). This recipe might help give ideas.
I made rice pudding in my slow cooker, substituting the Thai sweet rice for the pudding rice I would usually use.
It ended up more of a sweet porridge than a rice pudding. I was fairly sure the NE Man wouldn't like it, so I ate it all myself.
Eating the whole pudding myself was a win, even if the consistency was disappointing. I might try again, but increase the amount of milk next time. Having to eat pudding for two on my own again is a risk I am willing to take.
Rice pudding works quite well in the slow cooker, although you don't get the nice skin you get with an oven-baked one. I use half-and-half evaporated milk and Graham's Gold Top (one of the joys of living in Scotland) with a good lump of butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
No skin is a bonus. I make mine with oat milk or if I can be arsed to buy it, rice milk, since one of our family is dairy intolerant.
One of Life's Little Mysteries™ is that I loathe rice pudding with the sort of passion normally reserved for serial killers, but I almost live on risotto, which David reckoned was like a sort of savoury rice pudding.
Life is like that. I hate risotto, but I like a good rice pudding - it has to be a good one though with no skin on and not too squishy.
I was very surprised the first time I made a rice pud to see the recipe called for 2 tablespoons of rice. "How's that ever going to work" I thought. But strangely it did.
Funnily enough I love rice pudding (of all kinds, baked or not) but I'm not madly keen on risotto (I wouldn't say hate) - but I also love mixing curries etc thoroughly with rice so the rice ends up quite saucy and wet. It's not the same texture as risotto but not that different, yet the latter is so much better imo.
Whenever I make a curry or chilli, I usually just tip the rice in with it as soon as it's been cooked. It's all going to be mixed together anyway and saves reheating them separately next day.
Thanks for the air fryer advice. I ended up going with a smaller Ninja model. I then went and caught a mild to moderate case of flu, despite being vaccinated, and lost my appetite,so finally tried it out tonight. It was easy to use even though I was dizzy and fatigued. I just cooked frozen fish and chips with microwaved veggies on the side, though. The whole meal including pre-washing and setting up the air fryer took under 20 minutes. I will have to try some more complex functions when I am well and my brain is fully functioning!
Whenever I make a curry or chilli, I usually just tip the rice in with it as soon as it's been cooked. It's all going to be mixed together anyway and saves reheating them separately next day.
I always put rice first and then the curry on top, eat most of the curry ingredients and then mix the sauce and small bits of meat and/or vegetables in with the rice and eat the rice second. I freeze extra serves the same way - rice on bottom, curry on top - even though I'm sure it wouldn't be much difference if I mixed them.
I have no issues with the ingredients in fried rice being mixed in and also recently tried a modern kedgeree recipe where the ingredients are all mixed in and baked in the oven. The recipe included curry paste instead of curry powder, but very little compared to Indian or Thai curries.
One of the things I like about Kedgeree is that AFAIK it's meant to be quite gently spiced*; I think the smokiness of the fish would be rather wasted if the spicing was a ring-burner.
* regular readers of this thread will know that I'm a wimp when it comes to hot spices, so something that isn't meant to be too hot is a winner in my book.
Put the eggs on to boil. Soften the onions in butter in a wok or similar. Microwave the haddock (with more butter) for 3 minutes. Tip the rice into the onions, add the peas and the flaked fish. Toss together until all heated through (add more butter as needed). Serve, topped with the quartered egg, lemon wedges and loads of freshly-ground black pepper.
An even cheatier version is to use hot-smoked fish like smoked mackerel or salmon instead of haddock. Just cook the rice and stir it in. The peppered smoked mackerel adds a nice bit of spice without being really hot.
And cheatier still, chop onions, put in microwaveable bowl, drizzle with oil and mix this in, then blast in the microwave for a relevant number of seconds.
I've never cared for kedgeree or smoked haddock, but Firenze's post makes this sound like something I'd want to try.
Thanks for the kedgeree recipes. I might try out the Jack Monroe one another time. I substituted chives for parsley, but spinach would add some more fibre and vitamins.
Re Kedgeree: I substitute finely chopped celery for onion and, if I've got them, stir in a generous handful of brown shrimps at the end.
On another tack: a friend came to supper last night and reminded me of the most disgusting meal we've ever encountered, which I thought I'd share with Shippies. Lasagne made with tinned pilchards in tomato sauce, cheddar cheese sauce, and topped with cheese sauce and breadcrumbs 🤢🤮
When my eldest son was ay university his best friend was seriously into weight-lifting and fitness so he analysed his food intake very carefully to get the optimum mix of protein, carbs, etc. We visited once when this friend was eating a large helping of several dry weetabix topped with a family-size can of tuna. I had trouble staying in the same room!
I was invited to dinner once to partake of a lasagne. It had kidney beans and pineapple in it along with mushroom soup in place of bechamel.
"There were things in the fridge I needed to use up so I just put them in," our hostess said cheerily and poured us more wine. Lasagne or not, it was surprisingly tasty and we all had seconds.
When my eldest son was ay university his best friend was seriously into weight-lifting and fitness so he analysed his food intake very carefully to get the optimum mix of protein, carbs, etc. We visited once when this friend was eating a large helping of several dry weetabix topped with a family-size can of tuna. I had trouble staying in the same room!
Incidentally, I came across a recipe last night for banana curry. I suppose there's no reason why not, if you can curry plantains, but hadn't really thought of fruit curry before.
But then a banana tree is apparently a giant herb related to ginger so why not.
Comments
It ended up more of a sweet porridge than a rice pudding. I was fairly sure the NE Man wouldn't like it, so I ate it all myself.
Eating the whole pudding myself was a win, even if the consistency was disappointing. I might try again, but increase the amount of milk next time. Having to eat pudding for two on my own again is a risk I am willing to take.
Perhaps try condensed or evaporated milk? Perhaps even an egg yolk to make it more custardy?
Alternatively, if it is porridgy, you might go down the mahalabiya route and add sugar, cardamom, orange blossom water or rose water. The mix is then chilled in the fridge before serving, and you can sprinkle chopped nuts over it - I've used chopped pistachios which works well. It's quite a refreshing thing on a summer's day when you're more in the mood for a mousse than a hot winter-type pud.
As an aside this prompted me to try and find out the origins of the zucchini slice, as it seems to be a uniquely Australian dish that is mega popular in its homeland but unknown elsewhere. Which is in itself a bit perplexing since it's a pretty simple dish! Dessert-type Aus/NZ slices are reasonably familiar in the UK but not the zucchini slice for some reason.
It seems to have come from an Italian immigrant in the 60s or 70s, so it makes sense that it's an adapted frittata.
Funnily enough, the most counter-space I've ever had was in the mini-home we lived in when we were in Fredericton - there was a lovely sort of hook-shaped counter that divided the kitchen, and we could actually cook together, with one of us on either side of it.
That would make sense. My mum never knew about zucchinis until I was a baby in 1979. I was a bit premmi and couldn't go home immediately and the Maltese nurses who cared for me introduced my mum to zucchinis! But we ate them regularly after that.
I was shocked when I discovered that the things could actually be edible in other forms.
Overgrown courgettes (there's always one, hiding under the leaves until it is gets too big) can be cooked in the same way as marrows, and are a bit more successful as they don't contain quite as much water.
I have grown spaghetti squash in the past, and also found them best eaten roasted and served with butter - or with grated cheese.
When done adding melted butter and maple syrup in the cavity is yummy.
I always made my pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin. I did wonder about using other squashes.
Winter squashes have less water content than 'true' pumpkins so are generally more flavourful. It's also why small pumpkins taste better than big Halloween ones - I love the little mini ones in autumn, you can scoop out the seeds and treat them like a baked potato.
That was, however, in the days when I used to bake to take things into the office. We all work from home now and the office cake occasions are no more.
(We have reverted to sending real birthday cards, though, instead of e-cards.)
Rice pudding works quite well in the slow cooker, although you don't get the nice skin you get with an oven-baked one. I use half-and-half evaporated milk and Graham's Gold Top (one of the joys of living in Scotland) with a good lump of butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
As per the instructions on the packet I soaked it for 90 mins, and drained it, but then I went off-piste, rinsed it till the water ran clear and tried boiling it. I ended up with a pan of something that resembles wallpaper paste.
Fortunately I still have time to cook Basmati rice.
I've put the paste-y stuff to one side and might try adding milk and / or sugar to it later, to see if I can make something from it. It's got a translucent quality, a bit like tapioca.
No skin is a bonus. I make mine with oat milk or if I can be arsed to buy it, rice milk, since one of our family is dairy intolerant.
I was very surprised the first time I made a rice pud to see the recipe called for 2 tablespoons of rice. "How's that ever going to work" I thought. But strangely it did.
I always put rice first and then the curry on top, eat most of the curry ingredients and then mix the sauce and small bits of meat and/or vegetables in with the rice and eat the rice second. I freeze extra serves the same way - rice on bottom, curry on top - even though I'm sure it wouldn't be much difference if I mixed them.
I have no issues with the ingredients in fried rice being mixed in and also recently tried a modern kedgeree recipe where the ingredients are all mixed in and baked in the oven. The recipe included curry paste instead of curry powder, but very little compared to Indian or Thai curries.
* regular readers of this thread will know that I'm a wimp when it comes to hot spices, so something that isn't meant to be too hot is a winner in my book.
1 smoked haddock
Onion
Packet microwavable Pilau rice
Frozen peas
Hard boiled eggs
Butter
Put the eggs on to boil. Soften the onions in butter in a wok or similar. Microwave the haddock (with more butter) for 3 minutes. Tip the rice into the onions, add the peas and the flaked fish. Toss together until all heated through (add more butter as needed). Serve, topped with the quartered egg, lemon wedges and loads of freshly-ground black pepper.
I've never cared for kedgeree or smoked haddock, but Firenze's post makes this sound like something I'd want to try.
On another tack: a friend came to supper last night and reminded me of the most disgusting meal we've ever encountered, which I thought I'd share with Shippies. Lasagne made with tinned pilchards in tomato sauce, cheddar cheese sauce, and topped with cheese sauce and breadcrumbs 🤢🤮
"There were things in the fridge I needed to use up so I just put them in," our hostess said cheerily and poured us more wine. Lasagne or not, it was surprisingly tasty and we all had seconds.
Macro Bros really are something else 😂
... or tipsy ... 🍷
You beat me to it.
Incidentally, I came across a recipe last night for banana curry. I suppose there's no reason why not, if you can curry plantains, but hadn't really thought of fruit curry before.
But then a banana tree is apparently a giant herb related to ginger so why not.