The Thai curry was quite good - it was a very simple recipe with courgettes, broccoli and sugar-snap peas, and the Thai flavour coming just from ready-made green curry paste. While it had (to my mind) the right amount of heat*, we agreed that it could have done with more depth of flavour - maybe with the addition of lemongrass and ginger.
* i.e. not very much
Most Thai curries would have ffish sauce, which is esssential to that depth of flavour. If you want to keep it strictly vegetarian, soy sauce is a reasonable alternative.
Boogie - A speedy recovery, devoutly wished and prayed for your son.
Thank you.
In his own words today -
"Still feverish, worse at night. Second Covid test results should be known today. My liver activity is raised but could also be cos I was slamming the paracetamol in the days before the blood test 😄 which is also liver toxic, since switched to Ibuprofen which is mainly kidney toxic 👍. Ultrasound showed nothing special, all abdominal organs are tip top."
If it ain't yer liver that's bu**ered, it's gonna be yer kidneys...hmm...which to choose?
Seriously, though, it sounds as if he's coping with the situation quite well, which I hope is indeed the case. Prayers ascending for his speedy recovery!
If it ain't yer liver that's bu**ered, it's gonna be yer kidneys...hmm...which to choose?
Seriously, though, it sounds as if he's coping with the situation quite well, which I hope is indeed the case. Prayers ascending for his speedy recovery!
Yes - he says his partner is glad to have him home, even if sick! I suppose coping with the real thing is easier than worrying about him catching it. 🤔
Good news - the second Covid test has come back negative. They are looking into Epstein-Barr now. (Glandular fever). Interestingly his Dad had very bad glandular fever aged sixteen. He was hospitalised and missed two terms of school. A genetic susceptibility maybe?
I have to say my Thai green curry was delicious. I always use the fish sauce, which smells horrendous but once it's cooked with everything else I'm sure it gives an extra piquance.
We have stir fry tonight - chow mein - which is our usual Saturday evening fare, washed down with a nice glass or two of red.
Someone on our local FB page is offering n a computer screen fully working, white 2 slice toaster and bag of cotton wool ... An intriguing combination of items, and what's the cotton wool for?
@Baptist Trainfan Easy! The cotton wool is for bathing the burns you get from trying to adjust the screen too near the toaster.
Son No 1 gave the unexpected guest a cookery lesson last night and they produced:
- Smoked mackerel pate with toast
- Wiener schnitzel with gnocchi, parsley and wild garlic pesto, purple sprouting broccoli and baby carrots
- profiteroles
The Unexpected Guest's (he's been with us so long I think he should be given capitals) lack of culinary skills has shocked both my sons, so resident son has decided to teach him a few dishes. Meanwhile I will endeavour to do the same with housework, as well as allowing him to plunder my wardrobe because initially he was only coming to us for a couple of weeks.
@TheOrganist, can I come round to yours for supper? That sounds utterly delish!
As one of S's neighbours came over with a bunch of wild garlic yesterday, we now have a little log of wild garlic butter in the freezer (and some leaves and flowers of it in the fridge). We got a French stick in the grocery delivery, so garlic bread will be on the menu tonight, as an accompaniment to chilli sans carni - I'm going to have my first go at making chilli with veggie mince. 1970s cuisine at its finest ...
In other news, after at least a week of lovely dry weather, we had a fairly spectacular shower of rain (with hailstones) a couple of hours ago - it really was coming down in stair-rods!
Someone on our local FB page is offering n a computer screen fully working, white 2 slice toaster and bag of cotton wool ... An intriguing combination of items, and what's the cotton wool for?
Would the toaster also work for brown bread? A white toaster sounds pretty specific.
In other news, after at least a week of lovely dry weather, we had a fairly spectacular shower of rain (with hailstones) a couple of hours ago - it really was coming down in stair-rods!
You had hail? All we got was a mild drizzle. The difference 5 miles makes.
Someone on our local FB page is offering n a computer screen fully working, white 2 slice toaster and bag of cotton wool ... An intriguing combination of items, and what's the cotton wool for?
Would the toaster also work for brown bread? A white toaster sounds pretty specific.
Tea was barbecue ribs with fried onions, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. I made cornbread to accompany this but found it very bland. I might make eggy bread from the leftovers.
Today’s exercise was some light weeding. When my energy levels improve I’ve got a whole bed of alkanet I need to tackle.
Someone on our local FB page is offering n a computer screen fully working, white 2 slice toaster and bag of cotton wool ... An intriguing combination of items, and what's the cotton wool for?
Would the toaster also work for brown bread? A white toaster sounds pretty specific.
Monday morning so I need to do my emails and admin and this afternoon I will do some marking. I have an hour long tutorial booked this evening but I doubt any students will turn up as the end of module assignment has been cancelled.
Might attempt a walk to the corner shop to buy some eggs later.
My weekly trip to Tesco at about 1045 this morning was almost identical to the same expedition last week, perhaps showing that 'the new normal' is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.
About 10 minutes waiting in the queue to get in, then round the store (carefully following the one-way system, and observing distancing), finding everything I wanted/needed, and straight to a vacant check-out.
My local Co-Op, and the nearby convenience store, are also not to hard to get into - I wonder if people are being Sensible™, and varying the times at which they go shopping, or is it just my good fortune?
Another lovely sunny day here. Time for lunch (chicken and paprika potatoes), with possibly a glass of WINE on deck as an aperitif...
The chilli sans carne was definitely a keeper - in fact I think I'll post the recipe upstairs. It wasn't totally from scratch - shortly before the lockdown we'd bought a tin of "American style" veggie chilli, so I chucked that in as well - but I think that for once I got the spicing about right. And S. loved the wild garlic bread. As there was enough for leftovers, there'll be baked potatoes with chilli at some point too.
It looks like an intermittently damp sort of day, so ambling will need to be carefully timed.
No queue at Asda (they'd all gone to B&Q I think), however we still had to follow the Disneyworld-like route to get in. Once inside people totally ignored the one way system and several pushed past without keeping any distance. I don't like shopping there and much prefer Lidl and Waitrose a little further away (in the opposite direction).
My recent walks have been enhanced by a rather nice activity going on here, where children paint stones and place them for people to find and photograph –there's quite a lot of originality being displayed. And one front garden has put out lots of Star Wars figures and a sign: “May the 4th be with you”! On Saturday it was a teddy bears' football match.
Yes, there is indeed a great deal of creativity being shown!
I've avoided our local Asdas up until now (we have two!), though I am in dire need of some new clothes/shoes, and Ge*r*e at Asda is my preferred source, being strictly a jeans/casual shirt/slip-on shoe person these days.
Dwelling on/in an Ark, with the accompanying cocktail of mud/salt water/diesel oil/tar/paint etc. etc. means that buying anything other than basic cheapo clothing is a Waste of Money. I'd patronise charity shops, but (a) they're shut, and (b) even if they weren't, it's often impossible to park close by.
Peeps in Tesco did seem to be sticking closely to the one-way system, which does (for me) mean a bit of a longer totter than usual, but hey...it's good exercise!
I have decided I want Cheeseburger. Which sounds simple enough, but it has to come out like from a fancy burger place. So I am going to make brioche rolls and barbecue sauce, the whole thing from scratch. Pickles and the proper CHEESE must be procured and onions grilled. I am vacillating on the subject of tomato - a feature of every burger joint burger everywhere, but completely out of season. What to do, what to do?
The Perfect Cheeseburger could keep me entertained for a while.
Feel a bit better today, the crippling tiredness is not so bad and I can breathe without coughing too much. I might just about be able to push the lawnmower around the backyard jungle for ten minutes. Oh look, torrential rain!
@la vie en rouge - at all costs, eschew the Tomato, fruit of Satan (the Tomato, I mean, not you).
The fact that it is out of season is clearly a direct message from God.
But this is indeed a very Serious Matter. What sort of CHEESE, for example, do you envisage using? Is it possible to employ Brie, or Camembert, or Morbier, or Comte, or Saint Agur?
Feel a bit better today, the crippling tiredness is not so bad and I can breathe without coughing too much. I might just about be able to push the lawnmower around the backyard jungle for ten minutes. Oh look, torrential rain!
I'm afraid I can only stomach the Tomato (Fruit of Satan™) if it is pureed, or in the form of ketchup, or SOUP, or otherwise unrecognisable, IYSWIM.
It's not the taste, so much as the texture of the skin, flesh, pips etc. etc.
Quite irrational, I know.
Irrational perhaps, but you are not alone in this regard.
Of course, bear in mind that I strenuously object to any vegetables (or fruit) whatsoever—tomatoes, pickles, onions and lettuce included—on my burgers. I, too, can be irrational.
That is interesting - my favourite thing about tomatoes is the texture. I love all the jelly-like pips. I used to really struggle with the texture of courgette as a kid, but I think because it was overcooked and slimy. Same with mushrooms. When I cook them myself as an adult, they are fine.
Bean burgers, sweet and ordinary potato wedges, green salad and spicy yoghurt mayo for tea. I purposely made too many wedges so I can cut them up for a kind of crispy topping for a sort of cottage pie tomorrow. I heard a cat jumping up noise. I'd better go and see if the food monster cat has jumped on the surface...
Not a big tomato fan either, though I will eat them. I’ll eat a tomato pasta sauce but not keen on tomato soup.
I often make posh burgers in brioche buns with pickles - I quite fancy one now! But I believe husband has just started roasting a venison shank. I’m teaching in just over an hour and I hope he has planned that into his dinner timetable.
But this is indeed a very Serious Matter. What sort of CHEESE, for example, do you envisage using? Is it possible to employ Brie, or Camembert, or Morbier, or Comte, or Saint Agur?
Like I said, this is a most serious project and a good deal of thought will have to be given to it. At this stage I'm thinking Morbier has the right combination of salt and creaminess and cheesy taste. Then again, Raclette has those qualities in abundance and maybe even more so.
OTOH I'm yet to meet a cheese I didn't like on a burger.
I'm not sure that any food dislike (as opposed to allergies or intolerances) can really be described as irrational, any more than liking blue but not yellow can.
I know that food can "grow" on you: when I was little I hated mushrooms with a passion normally reserved for [insert name of Evil Dictator here], but shortly after I discovered the delights of garlic, I read a recipe for mushrooms in garlic butter*, and thought, that sounds nice. And, lo and behold, it was.
* It was in Delia Smith's Cookery Course, with the tagline "This is for people who love the garlic butter that goes with snails, but can't eat the snails".
There's bound to be some reason, probably back in the murky years of toddlerhood, or whatever... my bete noir is Vietnamese banh cuon, which is nothing but rice flour and water cooked to a glutinous mess, with a stray onion or tiny bit of meat enfolded in the jellyfish-like mass. The pics on line make it look much much better than it is. Bleurrrgghhh!
I love the grassy smell of tomato plants. And a freshly-picked, ripe tomato with a little salt is wonderful. But the glossy, insipid things you get in the shops seldom taste of anything. Tomato sauces are quite near the cusp of dislike/repulsion. But ketchup on chips is lovely.
Nenlet1 dips her chips in mayonnaise. Both things are Outrage. The only appropriate accompaniment to chips is vinegar.
I'm preparing to head out for my weekly early morning foray to Tesco's. It feels like a real ordeal these days but with huge relief and satisfaction when it's done.
I prefer mayonnaise with most chips too. Chip shop chips are different.
In other news I have a dressing gown, and new pyjamas, but I had pyjamas <insert happy dance>. I've been experimenting with various patterns as I'm not adult sized, so the pyjamas were testing some children's Bermuda shorts and an adjusted vest (tank) top using a bedding set bought in a charity shop just before we went into isolation. I had fabric left over, so started with a jacket pattern from a transformation challenge in the new Sewing Bee book, basically three rectangles. Other than scaling down the original width on the first rectangle, it's growed a bit in the making, has pockets, shawl collar, tie belt and is a decent length.
As someone interested in food professionally/personally/etc., I have long been fascinated by the extreme reactions that tomatoes inspire. I love them. A friend with whom I largely share tastes loathes them. And that was before the current aversion to nightshade plants (the which I find, frankly, ludicrous). What is not to love about a slightly naughty tomato just plucked, still warm and redolent of sun.... Excuse me for a moment - must to the kitchen....
The book "Lark Rise to Candleford" depicting village life c.1880 has an interesting section about tomatoes (the author died in 1947 so we're OK for copyright):
"It was on Jerry's cart tomatoes first appeared in the hamlet. They had not long been introduced into this country and were slowly making their way into favour. The fruit was flatter in shape then than now and deeply grooved and indented from the stem, giving it an almost starlike appearance. There were bright yellow ones, too, as well as the scarlet; but, after a few years, the yellow ones disappeared from the market and the red ones became rounder and smoother, as we see them now.
At first sight, the basket of red and yellow fruit attracted Laura's colour-loving eye. 'What are these?' she asked old Jerry.
'Love-apples, me dear. Love-apples, they be; though some hignorant folks be a callin' 'em tommytoes. But you don't want any o' they - nasty sour things, they be, as only gentry can eat. You have a nice sweet orange wi' your penny.' But Laura felt she must taste the love-apples and insisted upon having one.
Such daring created quite a sensation among the onlookers. 'Don't 'ee go tryin' to eat it, now,' one woman urged. 'It'll only make 'ee sick. I know because I had one of the nasty horrid things at our Minnie's.' And nasty, horrid things tomatoes remained in the popular estimation for years ...".
Despite years of family history research I have a paucity of notable relatives.
I am,however, related to the person who had the first tomato in Buckie. It was placed in a crystal dish on a table and all the neighbours were invited round to look at it. Several days of visits followed. By the time everyone who wanted to see the tomato had seen it, the tomato had started to rot, and so the taste remained a mystery.
Comments
Most Thai curries would have ffish sauce, which is esssential to that depth of flavour. If you want to keep it strictly vegetarian, soy sauce is a reasonable alternative.
Thank you.
In his own words today -
"Still feverish, worse at night. Second Covid test results should be known today. My liver activity is raised but could also be cos I was slamming the paracetamol in the days before the blood test 😄 which is also liver toxic, since switched to Ibuprofen which is mainly kidney toxic 👍. Ultrasound showed nothing special, all abdominal organs are tip top."
Typical nurse’s answer!
If it ain't yer liver that's bu**ered, it's gonna be yer kidneys...hmm...which to choose?
Seriously, though, it sounds as if he's coping with the situation quite well, which I hope is indeed the case. Prayers ascending for his speedy recovery!
Yes - he says his partner is glad to have him home, even if sick! I suppose coping with the real thing is easier than worrying about him catching it. 🤔
Very wise. There are a zillion fish sauce recipes, and there could very well be shellfish in the one you're looking at on the shelf.
I have to say my Thai green curry was delicious. I always use the fish sauce, which smells horrendous but once it's cooked with everything else I'm sure it gives an extra piquance.
We have stir fry tonight - chow mein - which is our usual Saturday evening fare, washed down with a nice glass or two of red.
I watched it, a great nostalgic trip down memory lane 🙂.
Son No 1 gave the unexpected guest a cookery lesson last night and they produced:
- Smoked mackerel pate with toast
- Wiener schnitzel with gnocchi, parsley and wild garlic pesto, purple sprouting broccoli and baby carrots
- profiteroles
The Unexpected Guest's (he's been with us so long I think he should be given capitals) lack of culinary skills has shocked both my sons, so resident son has decided to teach him a few dishes. Meanwhile I will endeavour to do the same with housework, as well as allowing him to plunder my wardrobe because initially he was only coming to us for a couple of weeks.
As one of S's neighbours came over with a bunch of wild garlic yesterday, we now have a little log of wild garlic butter in the freezer (and some leaves and flowers of it in the fridge). We got a French stick in the grocery delivery, so garlic bread will be on the menu tonight, as an accompaniment to chilli sans carni - I'm going to have my first go at making chilli with veggie mince. 1970s cuisine at its finest ...
In other news, after at least a week of lovely dry weather, we had a fairly spectacular shower of rain (with hailstones) a couple of hours ago - it really was coming down in stair-rods!
Would the toaster also work for brown bread? A white toaster sounds pretty specific.
You had hail? All we got was a mild drizzle. The difference 5 miles makes.
That was my first thought too.
Today’s exercise was some light weeding. When my energy levels improve I’ve got a whole bed of alkanet I need to tackle.
This meant I had cheese and biscuits and red wine in front of the TV this evening (Mr Nen was Zooming) and it was delightful.
And very privileged.
Might attempt a walk to the corner shop to buy some eggs later.
About 10 minutes waiting in the queue to get in, then round the store (carefully following the one-way system, and observing distancing), finding everything I wanted/needed, and straight to a vacant check-out.
My local Co-Op, and the nearby convenience store, are also not to hard to get into - I wonder if people are being Sensible™, and varying the times at which they go shopping, or is it just my good fortune?
Another lovely sunny day here. Time for lunch (chicken and paprika potatoes), with possibly a glass of WINE on deck as an aperitif...
It looks like an intermittently damp sort of day, so ambling will need to be carefully timed.
My recent walks have been enhanced by a rather nice activity going on here, where children paint stones and place them for people to find and photograph –there's quite a lot of originality being displayed. And one front garden has put out lots of Star Wars figures and a sign: “May the 4th be with you”! On Saturday it was a teddy bears' football match.
Yes, there is indeed a great deal of creativity being shown!
I've avoided our local Asdas up until now (we have two!), though I am in dire need of some new clothes/shoes, and Ge*r*e at Asda is my preferred source, being strictly a jeans/casual shirt/slip-on shoe person these days.
Dwelling on/in an Ark, with the accompanying cocktail of mud/salt water/diesel oil/tar/paint etc. etc. means that buying anything other than basic cheapo clothing is a Waste of Money. I'd patronise charity shops, but (a) they're shut, and (b) even if they weren't, it's often impossible to park close by.
Peeps in Tesco did seem to be sticking closely to the one-way system, which does (for me) mean a bit of a longer totter than usual, but hey...it's good exercise!
I have decided I want Cheeseburger. Which sounds simple enough, but it has to come out like from a fancy burger place. So I am going to make brioche rolls and barbecue sauce, the whole thing from scratch. Pickles and the proper CHEESE must be procured and onions grilled. I am vacillating on the subject of tomato - a feature of every burger joint burger everywhere, but completely out of season. What to do, what to do?
The Perfect Cheeseburger could keep me entertained for a while.
The fact that it is out of season is clearly a direct message from God.
But this is indeed a very Serious Matter. What sort of CHEESE, for example, do you envisage using? Is it possible to employ Brie, or Camembert, or Morbier, or Comte, or Saint Agur?
That is not a Jungle. It is a Nature Reserve.
We once visited a Chinese buffet in St. John's where there were strange, bright red grapes in the fruit salad ... you've guessed it ...
Knowledge may be knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
It's not the taste, so much as the texture of the skin, flesh, pips etc. etc.
Quite irrational, I know.
Of course, bear in mind that I strenuously object to any vegetables (or fruit) whatsoever—tomatoes, pickles, onions and lettuce included—on my burgers. I, too, can be irrational.
I often make posh burgers in brioche buns with pickles - I quite fancy one now! But I believe husband has just started roasting a venison shank. I’m teaching in just over an hour and I hope he has planned that into his dinner timetable.
Like I said, this is a most serious project and a good deal of thought will have to be given to it. At this stage I'm thinking Morbier has the right combination of salt and creaminess and cheesy taste. Then again, Raclette has those qualities in abundance and maybe even more so.
OTOH I'm yet to meet a cheese I didn't like on a burger.
I know that food can "grow" on you: when I was little I hated mushrooms with a passion normally reserved for [insert name of Evil Dictator here], but shortly after I discovered the delights of garlic, I read a recipe for mushrooms in garlic butter*, and thought, that sounds nice. And, lo and behold, it was.
* It was in Delia Smith's Cookery Course, with the tagline "This is for people who love the garlic butter that goes with snails, but can't eat the snails".
No, not at all. I cook using passata, puree, I've even been known to consume ketchup on rare occasions, but the Satanic Fruit itself - never.
Nenlet1 dips her chips in mayonnaise. Both things are Outrage. The only appropriate accompaniment to chips is vinegar.
I'm preparing to head out for my weekly early morning foray to Tesco's. It feels like a real ordeal these days but with huge relief and satisfaction when it's done.
It makes them soggy.
In other news I have a dressing gown, and new pyjamas, but I had pyjamas <insert happy dance>. I've been experimenting with various patterns as I'm not adult sized, so the pyjamas were testing some children's Bermuda shorts and an adjusted vest (tank) top using a bedding set bought in a charity shop just before we went into isolation. I had fabric left over, so started with a jacket pattern from a transformation challenge in the new Sewing Bee book, basically three rectangles. Other than scaling down the original width on the first rectangle, it's growed a bit in the making, has pockets, shawl collar, tie belt and is a decent length.
"It was on Jerry's cart tomatoes first appeared in the hamlet. They had not long been introduced into this country and were slowly making their way into favour. The fruit was flatter in shape then than now and deeply grooved and indented from the stem, giving it an almost starlike appearance. There were bright yellow ones, too, as well as the scarlet; but, after a few years, the yellow ones disappeared from the market and the red ones became rounder and smoother, as we see them now.
At first sight, the basket of red and yellow fruit attracted Laura's colour-loving eye. 'What are these?' she asked old Jerry.
'Love-apples, me dear. Love-apples, they be; though some hignorant folks be a callin' 'em tommytoes. But you don't want any o' they - nasty sour things, they be, as only gentry can eat. You have a nice sweet orange wi' your penny.' But Laura felt she must taste the love-apples and insisted upon having one.
Such daring created quite a sensation among the onlookers. 'Don't 'ee go tryin' to eat it, now,' one woman urged. 'It'll only make 'ee sick. I know because I had one of the nasty horrid things at our Minnie's.' And nasty, horrid things tomatoes remained in the popular estimation for years ...".
I am,however, related to the person who had the first tomato in Buckie. It was placed in a crystal dish on a table and all the neighbours were invited round to look at it. Several days of visits followed. By the time everyone who wanted to see the tomato had seen it, the tomato had started to rot, and so the taste remained a mystery.
Going forth to slay the infidels and build an empire, or having the first tomato in town? I know which one I can get a handle on.
AG