many aeons ago, there was a thread on here about making bread .... it died, perhaps because man shall not live by bread alone ..... anyway, there seem to be a fair number of people on this site who enjoy cooking, so i thought to start a thread for recipes and associated topics.

i'm assuredly no expert, but i reckon i cook tolerably well, and i know that any recipe i paste here, genuinely works - even for those who can only shop from supermarkets!

a starter recipe follows ......

If you have ever fancied some jam and haven't got any, you can make it in a few minutes in a microwave.

Use 2 cups (crushed down) of fruit, 1 1/2 cups of ordinary sugar.
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice for strawberries (reduce for sharp fruit)
1/2 teaspoon of butter (not sure why)

put the ingredients in a large bowl and microwave full power (850w) for around 15 minutes boiling. Test a small amount on a cold saucer to test if set. If not then boil for another 2 mins and test again.

You can put in a couple of strips of the lemon peel to encourage setting and then remove.

The jam keeps pretty well and can be frozen.

I often make very small quantities with left over fruit or sometimes I might just buy one punnet of strawbs or raspberries etc. I just make an estimate of the smaller amount of suger. It has always worked so far.

Fred1new - 20 Feb 2014 23:05 - 36965 of 36965

GF,

Bye the way he Manuel did start what could have been an interesting thread for some on food.

If he had refrained from being obnoxious it is possible that many may have contributed to it.

My skin is thicker than the most and Manuel is often amusing!.................ends


absolutely agree Fred this thread like his FTSE 250 thread is lacking input and is becoming very boring.

More and more posters turned off because of his obnoxious attitude and lazy communication skills.

Personally If I were management Id close both of his threads down.

please feel free to add recipes or anything else to do with culinary arts or skills

it's probably beyond you, but perhaps you could construct or just post some simple, cheap recipes so the impoverished of your parish can learn to eat well and healthily on say £5 a day rather than eating ready-meals, crisps and biscuits

==================

on a more general note, i'ld be interested to hear how many of you still have genuine fishmongers in your towns ... or even a regular van that offers fresh fish

it's a sad fact that all sorts of factors ranging from the pernicious supermarket chains, to high street rents to a general lack of support for our local businesses have destroyed most of this once stalwart purveyor

there also seems to be a wide-held belief that fish should be cheap ..... it was indeed perhaps 50 years, but certainly no more and for good reason

A lot of people cant afford £5 per day on food never mind spending money on ready-meals crisps and biscuits.

Do you not think you are a wee out of touch cynic.

Denis Skinner ‏@BolsoverBeast 3m
There are a lot of people in the UK not eating 2 days a week.
Unlike Osborne, they're not doing it voluntarily.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/george-osborne-52-diet-chancellor-3166066

We have a fishmonger who has a permanent post on the land of a home reared cattle farm who have opened a huge farm shop, 2 miles away. I bought a cod loin from him for £6.50 which I suppose could have fed 2 (not a chance with me) and a small but chunky piece of hake which was very tasty for £2.50 as it was the last one. The hake was absolutely delicious. We also have a fish man calls around the village once a week.

Very lucky to have all those resources 3m unfortunately although we have a farmers market on a saturday we have no fish outlets other than fish holes.

Terrible dried up fish and chips, cant use animal fat anymore Im told, as to be veg oil.

Wonder if this is an EEC thing.

Quite a few in Norfolk and Suffolk Mr C. Most of them are only offering the catch of the day landed at Lowestoft, but still, it's all fresh and 'reasonably' priced, though it's the usual "we charge this price to cover the cost of diesel" argument. Plenty of dabs, cod, whiting, crabs and mussels at the moment.

I don't think fish was ever cheap. It was a once a week thing and not just for religious reasons.

Absolutely Hays therefore my out of touch comment re-Cynic above.

Wasnt it Fridays??

If you want to feed a family with a cheap meal

1 PKT everyday value spaghetti 500g Teco 20p
2 packets 500g everyday value passata 2 x 43p or even just one

total of £1.06 for 5 people, 21p a head

Carrot and potatoes soup


carrots 89p for 1.5kg
potatoes £1.18 for 2.5kg
onions 63p for 1kg

That will feed people for about 20p each.

I take it you live of this crap everyday of the week Hays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where do you get your veg form Haystack ,do you go scrumping ?

Fish,

If there doesn't seem decent fishmongers around you, have a look for Makro near you.

Generally, thought of a Electrical goods and "commercial" level food wholesalers, but I often purchase a wide variety of fish in small quantities.

The Fresh fish is stock 2 to 3 times weekly.

Haze,

The Cumin will cost more than the carrots.

Add brown lentils to bump up proteins, fibre, taste and farts.

(Student days.)


But Vegetables at ALDI and Lidl are reasonable quality and price.

Being a tight fisted B I also get all my dry lentils (Puy) and dry Pulses etc at Asian stores.

====

I like wandering through food stores, but buy little prepared food.

Cooking can be fun!

I probably eat the pasta dish at least several times a week. The soup every few weeks. The pasta dish is a staple in southern Italy. They don't add garlic or onions. The sauce is pretty much just passata. You can vary the type of pasta with penned, fusili which are almost as cheap. You can brown some mince before adding the passata and it becomes spag bol. I have Italian friends who eat pasta like that every day for one meal.

There are a large number of soups that can be made very cheaply. There are plenty of veg dishes are that are economical. I am not a vegetarian, but only eat meat about once or twice a week and then it is usually chicken.

I often cook chicken passata (a dish I came up with). Chop up chicken into small pieces, fry till slightly browned with some onion. Add passata, dried origano, chicken stock and cook further. Put in a dish, top with mashed potatoes and brown under grill. It will feed for about 50p per head or less if you use cheaper chicken cuts.

Since booker took over makro, the walk in cold store for meat and fish is excellent here at bristol..,.

Hays well lets start you on £57 per week like a benefit claimant and not for just one week for a full year or more. Remember IDS said he could do it but then when challenged went very quiet. In fact wasnt seen for a month.

Im sure your going to manage all the other outgoings aswel as food.

This a cooking thread, not a political one.