Hi Catherine, good you took some time off over the festive period, and wishing you a full recovery.
Just wanted to say that after returning 3 granddaughters back home, they stayed with us for a week while mum and dad did a house move! We arrived back home yesterday and I wanted something quick and easy but tasty, and using what I had in the cupboard to save having to go to the shops! 😀 your Tomato and Lentil soup with spice from EDPC was absolutely perfect for this. I have a very good spice selection and had fun putting my spice mix together for this recipe. I’m not generally a fan of tomato soups but this one was excellent, warming and tasty, and an added bonus of enough for 2 nights, so no cooking tonight… 🤗
Happy new year, and wishing you a full recovery! My requests would be easy family meals that can be made in advance and then just reheated on the spot (feeding a 4 and 7 year old who are constantly RAVENOUS as soon as they get home from school!).
I'm going to try the zero minute pressure cook you posted about a while ago - would this work with just chicken breasts?
On it, yes. A lot of my dishes can be very easily reheated - in the pressure cooker too, just a splash of water in the base, bring up to low pressure if chilled, high if frozen and fast release. As quick as that. I imagine you are wanting quite carb heavy meals?
And yes, the zero minute method works just as well with chicken breasts - just make sure they are covered and you let it drop pressure completely.
I’m also putting Other in the poll - mainly vegetarian with occasional meat and fish. Thanks to your advice on cooking the fruit additions my venison Dartmouth Pie for Christmas dinner was just right although I had to scrub like mad as when the spices went in they started to stick to the bottom. Probably also had some bits of wood in there from the spoon as well by the end 😄 I am now remembering to heat the PC before adding oil but even so it was a bit of a close call!
A thousand thanks for all your posts. Get really well soon.
yes, I have done similar, especially when "roasting" vegetables and realise that to prevent burning better to add afterwards. Glad it worked out in the end!
Re diet: other, we eat a little meat and fish, but between them my kids have allergies to milk, egg and tomatoes. For small children, they aren't fussy, but finding non-tomato based vegan-ish recipes is very boring!
Alas, all cheeses cause immediate hives in one and delayed tummy issues in the other. I have heard hopeful stories about growing out of egg allergy though, so I have high hopes for her! Planning to give the oxtail a try as we have a great local butcher.
I’ve just rung my butcher and ordered some oxtail for tomorrow. I have an idea I will be needing something restorative fairly soon; runny nose and eyes and scratchy throat and weariness coming on. Worse comes to worse my husband can give the recipe a go as this is his favourite soup by a country mile. Glad to hear you are on the mend.
I’ve done the oxtail and puréed the veg and the first stock is separated in the fridge. I am genuinely surprised with the reboiled bones and extra veggies. I have never thought to do this before but I now have a bonus 1L stock to put in the freezer. Win win and thank you!
I am delighted to see you are coming to my local bookshop in Feb and am booking a ticket as soon as I finish typing this. I adore your books and have quite a few favourite recipes. I am 'omnivorous' but would love to see recipes that don't contain gluten / have suggested alternatives if you need to follow a gluten free diet. Also I live on my own so love suggestions for batch cooking / meals for one. Really appreciated your last post on how to reheat meals from the freezer
Wonderful to hear! Thank you! I am working on a post of "solo" meals based around greens at the mo so watch this space. And I will bear that in mind re gluten.
Believe it or not, there isn't a lot of meat in this house either - it is used mainly to add value - a chicken stock here, a bit of bacon there. Because we all like the flavour even if we don't want to eat through masses of it. It works for us in terms of economy too. I am thinking about a vegetarian cookbook.
Sorry about the korma - that amount of water should be enough because of the amount of water the vegetables give out. It may be that your onion/ginger/garlic paste was a bit drier than mine. But the suggestion of adding the ground almonds after the first cook is a good one - they could be added along with the cauliflower etc.
Hi Catherine, good you took some time off over the festive period, and wishing you a full recovery.
Just wanted to say that after returning 3 granddaughters back home, they stayed with us for a week while mum and dad did a house move! We arrived back home yesterday and I wanted something quick and easy but tasty, and using what I had in the cupboard to save having to go to the shops! 😀 your Tomato and Lentil soup with spice from EDPC was absolutely perfect for this. I have a very good spice selection and had fun putting my spice mix together for this recipe. I’m not generally a fan of tomato soups but this one was excellent, warming and tasty, and an added bonus of enough for 2 nights, so no cooking tonight… 🤗
This is lovely to read, thank you for sharing!
Happy new year, and wishing you a full recovery! My requests would be easy family meals that can be made in advance and then just reheated on the spot (feeding a 4 and 7 year old who are constantly RAVENOUS as soon as they get home from school!).
I'm going to try the zero minute pressure cook you posted about a while ago - would this work with just chicken breasts?
On it, yes. A lot of my dishes can be very easily reheated - in the pressure cooker too, just a splash of water in the base, bring up to low pressure if chilled, high if frozen and fast release. As quick as that. I imagine you are wanting quite carb heavy meals?
And yes, the zero minute method works just as well with chicken breasts - just make sure they are covered and you let it drop pressure completely.
I’m also putting Other in the poll - mainly vegetarian with occasional meat and fish. Thanks to your advice on cooking the fruit additions my venison Dartmouth Pie for Christmas dinner was just right although I had to scrub like mad as when the spices went in they started to stick to the bottom. Probably also had some bits of wood in there from the spoon as well by the end 😄 I am now remembering to heat the PC before adding oil but even so it was a bit of a close call!
A thousand thanks for all your posts. Get really well soon.
yes, I have done similar, especially when "roasting" vegetables and realise that to prevent burning better to add afterwards. Glad it worked out in the end!
Re diet: other, we eat a little meat and fish, but between them my kids have allergies to milk, egg and tomatoes. For small children, they aren't fussy, but finding non-tomato based vegan-ish recipes is very boring!
That is a challenge! Does the milk allergy include all cheeses/types?
I was badly allergic to eggs as a small child and so was my son - we grew out of it, so hopefully yours will too.
Alas, all cheeses cause immediate hives in one and delayed tummy issues in the other. I have heard hopeful stories about growing out of egg allergy though, so I have high hopes for her! Planning to give the oxtail a try as we have a great local butcher.
I’ve just rung my butcher and ordered some oxtail for tomorrow. I have an idea I will be needing something restorative fairly soon; runny nose and eyes and scratchy throat and weariness coming on. Worse comes to worse my husband can give the recipe a go as this is his favourite soup by a country mile. Glad to hear you are on the mend.
I’ve done the oxtail and puréed the veg and the first stock is separated in the fridge. I am genuinely surprised with the reboiled bones and extra veggies. I have never thought to do this before but I now have a bonus 1L stock to put in the freezer. Win win and thank you!
Amazing, Catherine! Very glad you did the extra stock!
I am delighted to see you are coming to my local bookshop in Feb and am booking a ticket as soon as I finish typing this. I adore your books and have quite a few favourite recipes. I am 'omnivorous' but would love to see recipes that don't contain gluten / have suggested alternatives if you need to follow a gluten free diet. Also I live on my own so love suggestions for batch cooking / meals for one. Really appreciated your last post on how to reheat meals from the freezer
Wonderful to hear! Thank you! I am working on a post of "solo" meals based around greens at the mo so watch this space. And I will bear that in mind re gluten.
I love the 'exercises in cooperation' caption!
Believe it or not, there isn't a lot of meat in this house either - it is used mainly to add value - a chicken stock here, a bit of bacon there. Because we all like the flavour even if we don't want to eat through masses of it. It works for us in terms of economy too. I am thinking about a vegetarian cookbook.
Sorry about the korma - that amount of water should be enough because of the amount of water the vegetables give out. It may be that your onion/ginger/garlic paste was a bit drier than mine. But the suggestion of adding the ground almonds after the first cook is a good one - they could be added along with the cauliflower etc.