Same old, same old

I go through phases, sometimes I’m real earth mother, cooking from scratch, all organic! Then I have phases of M and S meals, this time of the year is easy, salad with everything.

I’m not overly interested in food, if I lived alone, it would be a sandwich every night

Made this with cubed goat meat bought when we were out for the day.
It was lovely. I am quite adventurous with my cooking, and enjoy trying new things.

I had a lovely salad in a Mexican restaurant the other night.
Shredded lettuce
Finely sliced onion
Finely sliced green pepper
Lots of coriander leaves

All mixed together and dressed with a little lime juice (lime quarters at the side of the dish)

Topped with grilled chicken
Sprinkled with very finely grated cotija cheese (you could substitute Parmesan)

Enjoy

I cook because I love food and eating it. Newspapers magazines, free handouts are full of recipes these days and I always look at them and cut out any that look interesting and try them.

Try googling for recipes for favourite ingredient - pasta, chicken casserole etc and look down them for ideas. We like casseroles, stews, currys etc and I always cook for four, which most recipes are and freeze the extra portions so I always have plenty of ready meals in the fridge.

I just cannot imagine eating the same four or five recipes week after week. So dispiriting.

That's what I'm like, M0nica.
I spend a lot of time on a forum called 750g where you can type in a favourite ingredient and see the variations.
eg I looked up coucous today - the recipes were nothing like I make!:
www.750g.com/recherche.htm?search=couscous
Chef Damien is nice .

Not going to post a recipe, but if you have recipe books, dust one off, and go through and find something that you like the look of, but haven't made before.

When I was with exdh we would do this about once a fortnight, found some things that in turn became "same old, same old" but with a fresh search every so often, you should find the repertoire expands.

God am sick of cooking throughout the years, I only tend to cook 'properly' on a weekend, when I have a grandkid staying, or sometimes a Sunday lunch if my daughter and the boys want lunch. JAcket potatoes with a variety of fillings, different pastas and sauces, occasionally slow cooked curries or stews - which will do more than once, sometimes a salad but that's about it.

When DD was younger I used to cook everything from scratch - mainly because money was tight and mealtimes called for a lot of imaagination but these days , I cba!

I cook from scratch nearly every day. Mostly because we eat low carb . DH is always up for trying anything new. Aubergine, coconut and spicy peanut curry tomorrow. Today we had an asparagus frittata and salad. Love cooking and love seeing anyone enjoy my efforts

Ooh what time should I come over tomorrow BBbevan? Sounds delicious (and so different!).

? Grammaretto - that’s exactly what I just cooked!

Oh no, I had my baked feta ON the aubergines

I eat mostly fish dishes, so I'll share two of my favourites.

I use a flat microwave steamer with a griddle tray. Take a salmon fillet, cut slits in the salmon and put some thinly sliced ginger and garlic in alternate slits. Top with lemon zest. Place some small tomatoes alongside the salmon. Steam for 2 mins in microwave on 650 or until cooked to your taste. Steam a bag of cauliflower rice in the micro as per instructions. Arrange the salmon on the cauliflower and drizzle with lemon juice and black pepper.

Take a piece of flat white fish per person, make a parcel with some prawns and roll like a jam roly-poly. Place in an oven dish, open edge down. Scatter some green grapes and tiny tomatoes around and pour some white wine over. Bake until fish cooked through. Serve with roast veg- or any steamed veg you fancy. Nice served with potatoes Anna baked in the oven until top layer is nice and crisp.

They're so easy! Honestly!

Ginny that's the kind of meal I like.Especially the grapes with the white fish. Which only needs quick cooking.
How do you make potatoes Anna ?

Fennel, I make potatoes Anna like this and I use only skimmed milk, but I do use a little butter. (Some people prefer lots of butter and full fat milk.) Parboil Maris Piper potatoes (no seasoning at this stage) and drain. Grease an oven dish with butter. Thinly slice the potatoes. Layer in the dish with a little seasoning on each layer. (about 4/5 layers depending on how many servings) When you reach the top layer spoon on a little clarified butter and top up the dish with milk to just below the top layer. Bake on around 180C fan assisted until crispy tops and soft underneath.

Delicious with French beans done like this: Boil up your beans and drain. Fry some onion rings and grated breadcrumbs, enough to cover your beans in an oven dish. Put the beans in the oven dish. Pour over a tin of mushroom soup. Top with the onion rings and breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven until piping hot and breadcrumbs are very crispy.

Hope you like them. x

If I never cooked again it would be too soon. Am bored rigid with it all. When DH goes away I don’t cook a thing. Could last on cereal fruit and yogurt and toasted sarnies. Maybe a poached egg but that is pushing the boat out. ?

I just could not do that, I cook whether I am cooking just for myself or for others.

My biggest fear of going into care is the dull and limited menus.

Thanks Ginny.
I think the potatoes or the bean dish would be a meal on its own for us. Maybe with some cheese on top.
In fact just a veg. dish on its own is enough for me. with bread.

Can't remember the last time that I had a meal that didn't say ding-ding just before I ate it!

We have a dish we call chicken ding.

Hate cooking Never follow a recipe as I ve never got half the ingredients so usually end up with putting stuff in a wok chop loads of veg up whatever is in the fridge throw whatever spices is in the cupboard (like hot and spicy) and add noodle or rice, that ll do or maybe a jacket potato with whatever is around
I never shop for a particular meal, the quicker the better and yes boring, boring, boring Can’t stand it, never have liked cooking I thought I was the only one this thread is very refreshing, seeing I m not

So many people mentioning salmon and yet a kilo of it here costs about the same as I spend, in total, on my weekly food bill.

To say we are surrounded by water, fish of all types is very expensive. The only economical one is a nasty mud-flavoured thing called Basa, a species of catfish, from Viet-Nam and farmed in the (supposedly) polluted Mekong River.
I tried one small piece before I knew its origins and the taste was disgusting but it's being promoted, under various names, across Europe and in Australia..

Thanks for the heads up about basa Bradfordlass. I looked it up and it's as you describe. It is subject to strict EU import laws. It's called cobbler in UK supermarkets. It's often sold simply as 'fish' e,g, in fish and chip shops as a cheap alternative to cod or haddock. (from Wikipedia.) Good to know.

I ve often eaten Basa in the past as it’s cheaper and I never found it tasted any different to cod I rarely eat fish or meat now but my most unacceptable smell or taste is salmon I think it is vile

Yes, thanks BL72 it sounds horrid. Strange, as you say, to be surrounded by sea yet fish is expensive. Someone is making a packet somewhere!

Urmstongran Nowadays being surrounded by sea does not mean being surrounded by fish in any quantity. Over fishing has depleted the stocks of fish in the seas around Britian and many other countries. Catches are smaller and fishing boats have to be run and maintained regardless of the size of the catch.

Attempts are being made to conserve stocks, the main reason for fishing quotas. In Newfoundland the cod industry, a major industry there for centuries completely collapsed in the early 1990s as the result of over fishing. Even a 10 year moratorium on all fishing did little to increase fish stocks although things are gradually improving, nearly 30 years later.