What new foods have you tried recently?

[gentlegreen]

Roasted beetroot as a veg for dinner is a great thing.

Perhaps not too far in the future I will be able to behave with a roasting / air-fry facility ...
I even grew mangel-wurzels once - don't recall tasting them ...

 

[Agrippa57]

Roasted veal with caramelized onions, tried in a Ligurian restaurant in Rome. Gorgeous.

 

[gentlegreen]

Microwave popcorn .

 

[Orang Utan]

Microwave popcorn .

View attachment 455737

Popcorn is good for producing high-quality comedy farts, but little else.

 

[charlie mowbray]

Lebanese labneh cheese, both as it is and in a dip. Lovely!

 

[gentlegreen]

Quite a few don't pop so rather than risk overcooking the others I am leaving them to soak for a bit and adding them to the next batch.
It remains to be seen whether this daily 100kcals is a help or a hindrance to my diet.

 

[Epona]

Quite a few don't pop so rather than risk overcooking the others I am leaving them to soak for a bit and adding them to the next batch.
It remains to be seen whether this daily 100kcals is a help or a hindrance to my diet.

View attachment 455889

You might be overfilling the container if that many are left unpopped - N had that issue when doing popcorn in the microwave, turned out he was being a bit greedy and the ones at the bottom weren't able to pop properly.
(We now have a dedicated hot air popcorn maker, which does a much better job)

 

[ouirdeaux]

I make popcorn in a frying pan with a lid. If I can do it, anyone can, because I'm an idiot.

Top tip: when you think it isn’t popping, do NOT take the lid off to see how it's going.

 

[Chz]

I make popcorn in a frying pan with a lid. If I can do it, anyone can, because I'm an idiot.

Top tip: when you think it isn’t popping, do NOT take the lid off to see how it's going.

If you angle the lid, you can fend off home invaders!

Top tip is that coconut oil (not extra virgin - too coconutty!) is the Best Oil to fry popcorn in, flavour-wise. It's what all the theatres used to use before saturated fat became The Devil.
And unpopped kernels can also just be if they're old. The popping action is water inside the kernel boiling, and they can dry out.

 

[gentlegreen]

You might be overfilling the container if that many are left unpopped - N had that issue when doing popcorn in the microwave, turned out he was being a bit greedy and the ones at the bottom weren't able to pop properly.
(We now have a dedicated hot air popcorn maker, which does a much better job)

I actually bought one once but to repurpose for something else that never got made....
I don't think I want to risk improvising with my hot air gun or hairdryer

I'm making mine in an oats bag and am trying to avoid fire - not least because I only have one spare...
no oil, no sugar ..I don't even have salt available..

 

[Epona]

I actually bought one once but to repurpose for something else that never got made....
I don't think I want to risk improvising with my hot air gun or hairdryer

I'm making mine in an oats bag and am trying to avoid fire - not least because I only have one spare...
no oil, no sugar ..I don't even have salt available..

It's just if you're doing it in the microwave and that's the amount left unpopped, you're overfilling the bag.
Try halving the amount of kernels you put in and see how that goes.
You'll get the same amount of edible popcorn from a smaller initial amount of kernels all popping.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Piccalilli

 

[hash tag]

Piccalilli

Surely you mean mustard pickle.

 

[hash tag]

Following on from earlier post, I was given this recently. Delicious. It lasted minutes.

 

[seeformiles]

Just knocked up some seasonal sprout bhajis - v.tasty

 

[The39thStep]

Mr Kiplings Apple Pies. Friend of mine whose wife works at this shop that sells English food brought me some round as I mentioned my diet doesn't allow eating xmas cakes or things with dried fruit of nuts in them but I can eat fruit pies.

They are terrible, at the same time bland and at the same time some sickly sludge inside some over sugary pastry that just disintegrates. I have given them to the birds. Should be banned and Kipling struck off the bakers list.

 

[Skinny Ethel]

Ooh them bhajis look lovely

 

[Skinny Ethel]

Try the aldi apple pies !! The pastry disentegrates if you look at them. Our fucking stairs have a crumbly texture now.

 

[Monte]

Ooh them bhajis look lovely

Yes they do.
Cranberry dipping sauce or a bit of gravy to go with them.

 

[seeformiles]

Yes they do.
Cranberry dipping sauce or a bit of gravy to go with them.

I made a nice raita to go with them - but can see how a seasonal touch will work too.

 

[Monte]

I made a nice raita to go with them

That's not very Christmassy.

 

[seeformiles]

That's not very Christmassy.

Will remedy this tomorrow

 

[gentlegreen]

I used to drink half decent loose leaf tea every day at work, but got out of the habit when I retired - I have a load of tea I bought just before I retired and will never now drink so I'm at least trying to drink some of it ...



At work it probably stopped me snacking, but now I'm so tempted to eat sweet things with it ...

 

[dessiato]

Just had my first homegrown blue oyster mushroom. Very tasty.



I've got some yellow ones which aren't in a hurry to grow.

 

[Epona]

Just had my first homegrown blue oyster mushroom. Very tasty.

View attachment 458543

I've got some yellow ones which aren't in a hurry to grow.

They look lovely, congrats!

 

[newme]

A vegan birthday cake someone made for my BIL. I don't even like cake particularly and it's delicious. Even the cake bit not just the icing that seems to be the case with most of them.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Just had my first homegrown blue oyster mushroom. Very tasty.

View attachment 458543

I've got some yellow ones which aren't in a hurry to grow.

I'm confused - they don't look blue to me.

Your next project should be growing magic mushrooms.

 

[Orang Utan]

Isn’t the Blue Oyster the name of the leather bar in Police Academy?

 

[gentlegreen]

Having simplified my diet even further, and after years of being spoiled by readily available canned beans, I've been cooking chickpeas from dry - I bought them a long time ago...
They taste so much better.
First time using a microwave to do it. I used to boil up a massive load in a pressure cooker somewhat less often...

I'm currently eating two cans a day and it seems they double in size, so one can of dried chickpeas - 320g soaked overnight - so 2.24 kilos a week...

I just popped in the local deli to see how much they charge for loose chickpeas ...

£2.38 for 500g !!! schmorganic though - I was hoping they would have bulk non-organic ..

That works out at 76p for a can
My usual source for bulk stuff is a mile there and another mile back and I only go every couple of months for something like 8 kilos of tahini - it might discourage me from buying kilos of dates and figs - but carrying 18 kilos of chickpeas isn't going to happen !

Canned chickpeas at 49p work out at £3.06 per kilo of dried beans ... you of course have to factor in a small amount for electricity and bother - against better flavour and 730 cans a year not needing to be recycled.

Coincidentally I was in Tesco for more soup and their prices are close to Aldi for both canned chickpeas and broccoli and I suspect their chickpeas are nicer than Aldi's and probably have easy open caps.
And it's much closer to home...

Sorry Aldi ...

Assuming I manage to relocate to the sticks, I will initially have a car so would buy a lot of cans at a time, but hopefully I'll find a way to get bulk beans and grain - problem is the French are massively into woo woo so have "Bio" shops rather than "health food" ones...
I've already probably ruled out growing beans for drying ..

 

[Orang Utan]

Don’t you ever just want to get a Deliveroo or eat a packet of biscuits, gentlegreen ?
Your diet no doubt keeps you alive, but where is the joy? Food is more than just fuel