What's for tea tonight? (#8)

[RubyToogood]

Soupe du freezer, roll, brie.

 

[moonsi til]

Veggie Bol & garlic flat bread

 

[mrsfran]

MIL and Santino made a Greek meal - hummus, taramasalata, fried halloumi and pitta to start, then pasticcio and Greek salad for main. Custard tarts for pudding.

 

[Epona]

MIL and Santino made a Greek meal - hummus, taramasalata, fried halloumi and pitta to start, then pasticcio and Greek salad for main. Custard tarts for pudding.

Beyond jealous

(Oh and I did a bad thing last night after I had polished off the last glass of retsina left over from my birthday meal - I found a bulk retsina deal online and spent the rest of the birthday money that my parents gave me on retsina. Occasionally it occurs to me that we are up financial shit creek and it might have been a bit frivolous, but fuckit I am not spending my birthday money on bills.)

 

[moonsi til]

Epona where possible I do try & spend any gift dosh on treats for myself. Had a facial last b’dsy which is a very rare treat for me due to cost. Helps to keep us keeping on.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Turns out brined pork loin works really well. Cooked to 62 and let it rest in tin foil whilst everything else finished.

Spuds, yorkies, carrots, sweet potatoes and some discounted asparagus. Gravy made with juices from the pork and water from the veg.

Stuffed but it was worth it

 

[Epona]

Epona where possible I do try & spend any gift dosh on treats for myself. Had a facial last b’dsy which is a very rare treat for me due to cost. Helps to keep us keeping on.

Nothing exciting unfortunately, I noticed Sainsbury's had a 25% off 6 bottles or more deal on a ton of wines, including Kourtaki retsina (not the best as it is fairly mild in the pine stakes, but at 25% off it is only £4.30 a bottle + delivery which makes a bulk order worth it) - I ordered a whole load of retsina but you could mix and match it with other wines if you wanted variety.

 

[zenie]

Tofu, butternut squash and chickpea traybake with a tahini sauce. Phroaarrrrrr

 

[Epona]

This retsina is the one I got at a restaurant on my birthday and is much more piney and very refreshing, bit more expensive and not on special offer mind you, but good if you wanted a treat

Retsina White Wine 750ml Tsantali

Buy online Retsina dry white wine produced by Tsantali, a classic Greek wine, with distinctive pine aroma & rich taste, supplied by Agora Greek Delicacies.

www.agoragreekdelicacies.co.uk

 

[Epona]

I just wish it was easier to get in general, with more variety - Lidl does a good one in 50cl pop-cap style bottles sometimes when they have Greek Week.

 

[moose]

The finest Tarka and Peshwari that the New Shalimar has to offer.

 

[Part 2]

My favourite frozen pizza... rapidly becoming my never want to eat it again frozen pizza even though I added a tin of tuna to the top of it....with chips.

 

[colacubes]

A bowl of chocolate ice cream.

 

[Epona]

Turns out brined pork loin works really well. Cooked to 62 and let it rest in tin foil whilst everything else finished.

Spuds, yorkies, carrots, sweet potatoes and some discounted asparagus. Gravy made with juices from the pork and water from the veg.

Stuffed but it was worth it

Oh good, I don't roast pork a lot so couldn't give any recommendations, but I would imagine it to be a good idea as the biggest danger with pork is it ending up a bit dry - tricky to get it right IMO. I have heard talk of brining pork chops which I might try next time I get some chops/loin steak!

What were the measurements/ratio of your brine?

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Oh good, I don't roast pork a lot so couldn't give any recommendations, but I would imagine it to be a good idea as the biggest danger with pork is it ending up a bit dry - tricky to get it right IMO. I have heard talk of brining pork chops which I might try next time I get some chops/loin steak!

What were the measurements/ratio of your brine?

I just eye balled it. Sugar, salt, cloves, peppercorns, a few corriander seeds and a stock cube. Let to soak for about 4 hours.

 

[ringo]

Pasta in mushroom sauce.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

So I fancy using some of the epic stocks of dried beans I have in stock and fancy using the slow cooker for a change rather then the pressure cooker.

I've given the beans a 5 min boil as I forgot to soak them. I'm going to attempt chicken and chorizo. Am I right in thinking I should just let the beaks cook in tomato and stock slowly this morning, before adding meat and get at lunch?

 

[Aladdin]

Cod fishfingers and chips and beans

 

[Epona]

I made a smoked haddock/spinach/potato mornay type affair for the OH, using oat milk for the sauce - he absolutely loved it, so we are cleared to go for oat milk roux sauces from here on in - great news as he has some problems with dairy, a bit of cheese is ok but cows' milk has been a no-go area for a while now. The oat milk behaved exactly the same as cows' milk when making the sauce, and the difference in taste was very small - despite being thinner than dairy, oat milk has a creamy taste which lends itself well to this sort of substitution.

He said if I hadn't told him it was oat milk, he probably wouldn't have noticed enough of a difference to realise it was a different sauce than usual.

 

[sojourner]

Epona where possible I do try & spend any gift dosh on treats for myself. Had a facial last b’dsy which is a very rare treat for me due to cost. Helps to keep us keeping on.

Absolutely this. When we were on our arsebones skint, with both the fella and my daughter out of work and us all relying on my wage, I spent birthday money on frivolous stuff, like posh face cream and the like.

 

[sojourner]

I made a smoked haddock/spinach/potato mornay type affair for the OH, using oat milk for the sauce - he absolutely loved it, so we are cleared to go for oat milk roux sauces from here on in - great news as he has some problems with dairy, a bit of cheese is ok but cows' milk has been a no-go area for a while now. The oat milk behaved exactly the same as cows' milk when making the sauce, and the difference in taste was very small - despite being thinner than dairy, oat milk has a creamy taste which lends itself well to this sort of substitution.

He said if I hadn't told him it was oat milk, he probably wouldn't have noticed enough of a difference to realise it was a different sauce than usual.

I was well impressed with how it handled in sauces. I actually prefer the taste of it in tea, too.

 

[sojourner]

Anyhooo, it's a pie and chips night I think - cheese and onion pie, oven chips, peas, gravy.

Choccy truffles for afters.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Slow cooker is now full of chicken and chorizo bean stew. Smells to tempt me all afternoon as I work.

 

[sojourner]

So I fancy using some of the epic stocks of dried beans I have in stock and fancy using the slow cooker for a change rather then the pressure cooker.

I've given the beans a 5 min boil as I forgot to soak them. I'm going to attempt chicken and chorizo. Am I right in thinking I should just let the beaks cook in tomato and stock slowly this morning, before adding meat and get at lunch?

Sorry, can't help, been a lonnnnng time since I used dried beans.

 

[moose]

So I fancy using some of the epic stocks of dried beans I have in stock and fancy using the slow cooker for a change rather then the pressure cooker.

I've given the beans a 5 min boil as I forgot to soak them. I'm going to attempt chicken and chorizo. Am I right in thinking I should just let the beaks cook in tomato and stock slowly this morning, before adding meat and get at lunch?

Depends on the beans. Don't forget you have to boil kidney beans for ever, so they don't kill you. Well, up to 30 mins.

 

[BoatieBird]

Mini roast: chicken breast joint, roast potatoes, steamed veg and gravy.

 

[mrsfran]

I've got a ham hock in the slow cooker, so it'll be ham and lentil soup with crusty bread. Hopefully the ham stock won't be too salty.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Smoked peppered mackerel, diced peppers, mushrooms and wholegrain rice.

 

[Looby]

I bought mince earlier so possibly spag bol.
There’s also the possibility of something with couscous.
Or beans on toast.
Let’s see who cracks first later. If it’s me it’s definitely the easy option.

 

[moose]

Quick tea - gnocchi, Lloyd Grossman roast garlic/tomato sauce, asparagus pared with my new Spargelschäler

Ice cream with rhubarb compote