The Good Food Thread (page 6)

JWdaughter

Mamachan, I too hated zucchini, but it is cheap and plentiful here and I found that it is good! Trick is don't let them get big. Any bigger than 6 inches is not good. Lightly saute rounds or cubes (bite size) in a tiny amount of oil or butter (doesn't take much!). With salt or pepper they are delicious, but a bit of fresh grated parmesean and they are BEAUTIFUL. Just takes a little bit of both the butter (because they are high in water content and if you slowly saute over low heat they will not burn) and the cheese, so it is really healthy. I often cook with onions in it, too, just whatever slices or chunks I am in the mood to cut. Very easy side dish.

Oh, a squeeze of lemon on it seems to be required in Egypt/Arabia. I think it is optional though.

Theocratic Sedition

I swear this looks so good right abuot now. Damn.

MrsCedars

Great idea mamochan13. I love courgettes any way, even raw in salad. I will definitely try this one!

JWdaughter , sounds like you are living in a very interesting part of the world. Some of the food combinations are very unusual. I do love aubergine dip. I agree with you it should be more popular. Can you obtain a recipe for authentic Egyptian flatbread?

cedars

Here's my attempt at a recipe for the world's greatest dessert, enjoyed by myself and Mrs Cedars whenever we have the opportunity...

Hot Mince Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

A mince pie (homemade or store bought)

Vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

Put the mince pie in a bowl (obviously take it out of the foil first if it is store bought).

Put the bowl in the microwave. Heat on full with a close eye on the mince pie.

Wait until it pops (shouldn't take more than 15 seconds), and then give it another couple of seconds before turning the microwave off.

If you've timed it well, the crust at the top will have cracked revealing steaming hot mince inside.

Serve with ice cream and enjoy the world's best dessert (in my opinion)!!

Cedars

Hortensia

What a nice thread. I haven't seen it before.

Here's my contribution to zucchini recipes. I slice up enough zucchini for everyone at the table and saute it a bit in some oil or butter. Then I pour a can of stewed tomatoes over it and cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the zucchini is tender. Grated cheese on top if you like it. It's about the only way I like zucchini, frankly.

Home-canned stewed tomatoes, preferably.

I agree about pork shoulder. It's delicious and tender and great served with gravy and potatoes. It's also great shredded and eaten in tortillas with all the trimmings and some green tomatillo salsa.

MrsCedars

I can't believe it took me so long to see Cedars' and Hortensia's contribution to the thread. Thank you (yes even you Cedars). I know Christmas treats season is behind but in spirit of mince pies, here is my homemade mince pie pastry:

110 g lard, from fridge, diced (I use vegetable lard)

110 g butter, from fridge, diced

440 g sifted flour with a pinch of salt and pinch of icing sugar

- rub all ingredients together until the breadcrumb texture is formed, then add 7-10 spoons of icy water and "cut" it with a blunt knife.

- when the pastry starts to stick together, put it in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 min

- after 30 min the pastry is ready to be rolled, and it makes 24 deep-fill mince pies, sometimes I mix mince pies and jammy tarts, but the pastry comes out great each time

LisaRose

I have a good recipe for fake fried chicken, that easier and healthier that regular fried chicken . I have to watch cholesterol, so since a lot of the saturated fat is in the skin, I get boneless, skinless chicken. The problem is, it tends to get kind of dry. I use organic chicken from Trader Joes, they seem to have more flavor, I like the thighs, as they seem to work better, but breasts would also work. I season them ( I use season salt), dip in flour, then into beaten eggs, then into panko bread crumbs. I put two tablespoons of oil in a pan or large skillet (if you are really watching the fat, just spray them with a little oil instead.) add the chicken and bake them at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, flipping them over about half way through. My husband is picky and won't eat anything healthy, he said is was the best fried chicken he ever had. I have also used this on pork chops, they were great also.

nugget

I have a number of family favourite recipes that we have tried and tested. At the moment we are trying to develop some veggie ones simply because it is cheaper and healthier to eat some vegetarian meals during the week rather than all meat.

One good tip I have found is that by adding balsamic vinegar and sugar to a tomato pasta sauce you get a much better depth of flavour.

Vanilla extract added to pancake batter is also a winner and lemon zest added to curry lifts the flavour.

Beignets are easier and quicker than choux buns and creme pat is easy peasy to make from scratch.

Mum

From experience, I believe the best recipes have 5 ingredients or fewer. The one recipe that I make that gets raves from almost everybody is called "oatmeal macaroons." Here we go.

Mix together in a large bowl the following 3 ingredients:

4 cups oatmeal

1 cup vegetable oil, and

1.5 cups brown sugar (dark or light)

Let the mixture "rest" for about 8 hours or overnight in a covered bowl.

Then add:

1 or 2 eggs (to hold everything together). Try one egg first, then add more if needed until the consistency is right. There should be no egg that is not covering ingredients (i.e., no oozing or "independent" egg)

1 teaspoon almond extract (the good flavor comes from this)

Beating the almond extract into the egg is a good idea to ensure good distribution.

Here's the hard part. Because there is no flour in this recipe, the cookie "dough" cannot be dropped onto a cookie sheet or rolled out and cut into shapes. I use latex or vinyl gloves. Take a small amount of the mixture and squeeze it with both hands. The resultant raw cookie should be round, not flat. Place on a cookie sheet. Keep doing this until you have filled a cookie sheet.

Bake @ 375° F for about 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

Enjoy!

SandraC

Mum

I posted my oatmeal macaroons recipe yesterday, and it is still the last post on this thread. Good, because I have something to add.

Raisins (I prefer golden raisins) and/or coconut or pecans may be added after the eggs and almond extract. I like nuts and raisins, but some people prefer the "plain" version of the cookies.

Regards,

SandraC

The Good Food Thread

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