quote:

---

Originally posted by Gracious rebel:

When I was a student, I lived with someone even more rigid than myself. On a Saturday morning we would sit down with a piece of paper, decide on meals each day for the forthcoming week, then do the bulk of the shopping that day, a week in advance. This is seriously unusual I know, especially for students! But it helps to make sure you don't waste food by buying things that then get forgotten at the back of the fridge and go out of date before you have eaten them!

---

Do you know my sister? The story goes that once my sisters cleaner reset the oven while cleaning and the dinner burnt. My sister had major problems with this as she had no back up plan. Yes she did this as a student as well.

I have a plan, but not nearly as detailed as basically I have days when I need to go with the flow. Main meal today is soup and sausage roll, tomorrow is soup and a garlic roll with a sausage roll at another time (or maybe a veg and rice if I want to cook). Sunday is now salmon. I have a rough idea for the rest of the week and will play by ear.

Jengie
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
There was a time in my past when I spent Friday evening preparing meals to be stored in the fridge for the following week, to be slow cooked overnight in the top oven or batch baked in the lower one. I had a cookery book based on these principles. I also did meals prepared to be cooked with an automatic timer when my friend was doing field work for his thesis.
Haven't felt like it for ages. Waitrose has such nice ready meals which get quite cheap when reduced.
Tonight I'm supposed to be eating salad with coronation chicken. Pre-prepared salad because I've got fed up of buying cucumbers which go off.
 

---

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Yes, I usualy know what will be for dinner because meals are planned, but not so rigid that unexpected guests (or absences) cause havoc.

The children have also been brought up to write a shopping list and plan meals - with flexibility built in around the smaller meals of the day.

An old-fashioned store cupboard is the key to being able to cope with the unexpected: it needn't be large but we try to ensure that it contains the ingredients for at least two complete main courses. And the freezer makes that a whole lot easier too, especially if you make a couple of sauces (or similar) that can go with a variety of accompaniments.

Tonight? The last of the stuff from when the children were home that needs eating up, so: stir-fried vegetables (red cabbage, celery, raddish, carrot, mushrooms) with rice noodles, beansprouts and scallops, with baked apple and natural yoghurt to finish.
 

---

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
Another planner here. When we were badly-off newly weds, Macarius & I got into the habit of planning all meals for the following week. We continue to do that, but probably a bit more flexibly.

And like Firenze, we could probably feed ourselves for a decent length siege out of what we have in cupboards and freezer, particularly at the moment, with Christmas stuff still hanging around.

But tonight we're out straight after work to see Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, and will eat first, so I don't know yet what I will be eating!

M.
 

---

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
I cook most of my main meals at home, often quite late at night. Usually I decide what to cook when I get to the kitchen. Which means its very often rice and vegetables... easy, quick, cheap, and I like it. That's what I had on Monday or Tuesday.

If I make a meal around some piece of meat or other central dish or whatever - which I will do maybe once a week, twice at most - I might know what that is, because I will have had to buy it specially, but the other things will be decided on the spot. On Wednesday night I grilled a partridge. Obviously I knew I had a dead partridge in my fridge. But I might have eaten it the day before, of the day before that if I hadn't decided I wanted to cook rice at the last minute. Well maybe not on Monday as that would have been meaty meals two days in a row.

I had celery and mushrooms and onions with the partridge, and some bread. That was decided after I'd started cooking. Not a hard choice, as I always have onions in the kitchen, and usually have celery and mushrooms. But I had been thinking of cooking pasta for the starchy part of the meal but decided I couldn't be bothered when it came to it. And rice didn't seem to go with it, and I didn't have any potatoes, so bread it was.

But planning days in advance? Too much like hard work. Maybe if feeding a big family you'd have to. But for one or two or even three there seems little point. Too stressful, a waste of time and effort. Better and simpler and easier just to keep in standard fresh stuff like vegetables and bread; also the usual cupboard things like flour, and dried herbs, and spices, and Marmite, and pulses, and noodles; have some tins and frozen food in case you need them; and buy more special things as and when.
 

---

Posted by MrsBeaky (# 17663) on :
 
15 plus years ago when I was cooking for a household of 10 (don't ask!) and teaching full time the whole week's menus were planned and shopped for on a weekly basis but with flexibility for absences and additions. It made for a more economical and less stressful existence as I could plan something easy for the evening I was late back from school staff meetings.
That approach is still my default when I have large numbers of family/ friends staying.

But I am now relishing being able to decide on the day what to cook from what I have in the house. So yes I always know on the day what I'm cooking but come at it from different angles.

Pasta and salad tonight. (A staple which has become a treat as pasta is expensive here!)
 

---

Posted by BessHiggs (# 15176) on :
 
Unless I'm craving something that takes a long time to cook or prep, I'm not a planner at all. I have no earthly idea what I'm going to fix for supper 10 hours from now. We have a friend who is the meat manager at a large grocery store who hooks us up with bulk meat when it's going on special. As a result, we have enough meat to feed a medium sized army in the chest freezers in the shed. Around 3 pm today, I will play "meat roulette" and open a freezer and randomly pull something out. That will be the basis for the evening meal. I think it makes me more creative in the kitchen...but that's just me....
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Depends on a) if i am eating alone' b) cooking for others or c) got as busy day with little time to cook.

So port chops tonight with a friend; corned beef hash tomorrow with the curate; steak and chips Sunday as little time to prepare anything fancy.
 

---

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
I know people frequently comment about home cooked meals and their mothers. Well, my mother was truly horrid as a cook. She liked to get a frying pan, put an inch of water in it and stand tin cans of pea or beans, stew or some pasta thing in it and heat them up. Saved on dishes I guess. We also only had powdered milk and orange juice. Eggs were a special treat.

Thus in reaction I cook just about everything from basic ingredients. So tonight I will ride home from work (hope to be home about 5:30) and use yesterday's left over squash to make gnocchi, sauce of tomatoes, basil and goat cheese, and probably sautéd bok choi with a bit of bacon. Though I may opt for broccoli with more goat cheese if the powers that be so suggest. And some beer will be poured into the cook as well. Because it is Friday.
 

---

Posted by Galilit (# 16470) on :
 
We cook night-about (was better when the 3 chilldren were also at home and rostered!!)

We have basically the same thing in winter ( a vego stew based on lentils and a grain which varies) and summer (an ommlette and a mutli-veg salad with dressing of vinegrette or lemon)
Fridays are special - brocolli quiche, rice with dried fruits and pine-nuts, green beans (garden then frozen for the year), a carrot thing we are fond of with ginger, aubergine and tahini, sweet potato with amazing sauce and maybe a home-invented-during the 2004 Olympics salad called Usain Bolt if there is mango or frozen mango.
Saturday mornings an eggy tomato onion fry up with greenies salad.

So things vary but not much. Occasionally I make pasta (with the same tomato-lentil sauce) if requested. Once a year partner makes the matza eggy thing his Grandfather taught him.

If I am under stress (eg when I looked after my mother) I cook the same exact thing every night - lentil-barley-miso stew with varied veg. I can eat it for 8 weeks but usually do something else for Fridays.

We (as a family) like to know where we are.
We do not like surprises or exotica
We (as cooks) like to hear "Oh you've made that again. I really like the way you do it"
 

---

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
In the book French women don’t get fat it says that before you eat anything, ask yourself the question “what do I really want to eat?” Don’t just eat as an automatism, spend a couple of minutes thinking about whether you’re really hungry and what you really want. This approach shouldn’t necessarily end up in eating unhealthy stuff either, if you once develop good habits – this lunchtime after a bit of thinking I realised that I really wanted to go that Asian place where they have the chicken salad/dim sum/vegetable soup option which is quite low calorie and full of healthy vitamins. Your body will start telling you what it needs. Sometimes I really, really want a cheeseburger so I eat one and don’t feel guilty about it.

This “what do I really want?” thing is the reason that I never do a lot of grocery shopping or plan out meals very far ahead of time. I just don’t know that far ahead what I’m going to want to eat so if I do a lot of shopping in advance, either I cook the stuff anyway and don’t enjoy it because it’s not really what I want any more, or I buy something else and the first thing sits in the fridge going to waste. Consequently I shop in small amounts, often on the way home, and buy the thing I really want that night. Also I am one of those people who lose their appetite when stressed/tired/upset etc. and one of the ways I make sure that I eat properly is by cooking something that really appeals to me. If I’m on my way home exhausted, and I know that the meal I have in the fridge is not something I really want to eat, I’ll just go to bed without eating anything, and that’s a bad thing.

I admit that this is much more workable for a single person than for a family. Also I live in a big city where it’s easy to pick a few things up on the way home.

Tonight I don’t know what I’m eating because it’s someone else cooking it. Strangely, when a meal is prepared by someone else, I don’t have the same “don’t feel like eating this” reaction. I think it’s some emotional thing about not having to go to all the effort.
 

---

Posted by ecumaniac (# 376) on :
 
I only have one shelf of fridge space so can't really have more than 2 days' of supplies. So I only plan a few meals in advance.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
Since already prepared type meals are not really available where I live I've had to get used to making lots of meals from scratch. But I'm still in the "make it up as I start cooking" camp. I'll often get some meat out of the freezer at lunch time but often have not actually decided what to do with it until I start cooking. There is a vegetable shop and a small grocery shop just across the street and I quite regularly send someone in the family to get something I decide I want but don't have in the house while I am in the process of cooking!
If we have guests coming I will normally have thought during the day what I plan to cook, but I don't plan ahead much.
 

---

Posted by ecumaniac (# 376) on :
 
I'm having guests for dinner on Sunday, and have just emailed them a photo of the recipe to check there are no allergies or major dislikes!
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I'm with La Vie and Bob Two Owls. It would be impossible to plan meals for a week, I'd never stick to it, even if I could carry a week's worth of stuff home. And I have no idea what I want for dinner next Friday night. The words "impulse buyer" describe me well.

On a weekday night it's often easier just to either shove something in the microwave or have something-on-toast, especially if I've had lunch out. Sometimes I just get cravings for, as it might be, toasted cheese and pickle, beans on toast, bacon sandwiches, etc etc.
 

---

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
Toast...
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I do almost 100% of our shopping at what passes for Tesco in our neck of the woods. I get six entrees which are half ready meals and half dinner sausage. I buy two or three packets of salads and occasionally Brussels sprout. I get ice cream bars for myself as Z has told me that hers need to be lower in carbs. A package of Farmer John hot dogs, one bottle of California wine and six pints of Dutch lager top off the order.

I buy breakfast food like bacon and eggs and cheese sporadically. I get breakfast sausage, Z's ice cream bars and freshly grind the coffee we like at Safeway.

I like Waitrose and shopped there when we lived for a week in a holiday flat in London.

We generally go out for a meal once a week and I have the same lunch everyday when I am working downtown (salmon cream cheese on a bagel with several glasses of ice tea) or a school lunch if I'm not. I keep an emergency Atkins bar or two in the Ford's glove box in case what's on offer at school is unpalatable or way off our Atkins diet, which I admit we have modified a wee bit over the last twelve months....

That said, my wife lost well over three stone last year and I lost about half of that and kept most of it off.
 

---

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
I'm in charge of food chez Nen and I tend to buy and cook the same things most weeks as I know how much time I've got on a particular day, given that I need to work round the comings and goings of the two other people in the house. Consequently I usually know what's on the menu for the next couple of days, although I have been known to have desperately uninspired moments and ask friends or people at work what they're having for tea.

Tonight is easy though - Saturdays are always stir fry days.

Nen - Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
No one seems to have mentioned the core determinant in meal planning - white or red?
 

---

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
We are at present in a chilly Vienna, so the answer to that is easy - red. This time of year at home, we eat a lot of seafood, so white's the rule.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I have to admit I have sometimes chosen the wine first and then the food to go with it (I think that might be what Firenze had in mind).

You know how it is. You look through your wine collection, musing: "I'd forgotten I had that, let's get that one out. Now what can I eat with that?" and then go shopping for food.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
One thing that pins Saturday dinner to either beef or lamb, is that is the night of the Big Red - some 14% stoatter from the new world or Iberian peninsula. By the same token, Sunday is usually fish and a light white, since (some of us) have to get up for work on Monday.

Monday tends to be sausages. Tuesday pasta. Wednesday something a bit more special (in recognition of having made it thus far through the week). Thursday curry. Friday ohgodhowshouldiknow.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Friday night is often takeaway night. On a cold winter's night, fish and chips, tightly wrapped in layers of paper, are a good thing to take home. The heat spreading through the paper keeps your hands warm, too. A cheap and cheerful Chinese takeaway has also brightened up many a Friday night.
 

---

Posted by Chocoholic (# 4655) on :
 
We normally buy a selection of things we like, enough to last the week or so and eat approximately in order of what we fancy that night / what is going out of date.

I'm back on the Dukan diet now though (no sugar or carbs essentially) which does mean a bit more planning is needed - no more bunging a spud in the microwave for lunch or light dinner, or picking up a sandwich while out and about.
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
No one seems to have mentioned the core determinant in meal planning - white or red?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
No one seems to have mentioned the core determinant in meal planning - white or red?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
No one seems to have mentioned the core determinant in meal planning - white or red?

---

White before. Red during.

---

Martini before. Wine(s) appropriate to food. Little something.
 

---

Posted by Chocoholic (# 4655) on :
 
I thought it was gin or champagne before?

Happy birthday Firenze, sounds like a lovely meal.

 

---

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
No one seems to have mentioned the core determinant in meal planning - white or red?

---

White before. Red during.

---

Martini before. Wine(s) appropriate to food. Little something.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Is that Martini or a Martini?

---

quote:

---

btw, what wine with Indian food?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
No one seems to have mentioned the core determinant in meal planning - white or red?

---

Red. It's always red. Even when Nenlet1 is at home, as she's got the taste for it now, having been a white or rose only girl for years.

Nen - grateful of the reminder to open tonight's bottle to breathe before starting to cook the stir fry.
 

---

Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
I usually get meat, fish etc in Marks and S, as there I get food that just need to be warmed up and not doing a lot of cooking. I also have vegetables with it and that's nice.
 

---

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Is that Martini or a Martini?

---

How many Martinis do you usually have before dinner?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Twilight:
Since I not only like to have all my ducks in a row, but lined up according to increasing shades of yellow, I have all dinners planned unto eternity -- or at least till I die and the men folk default to a steady diet of pizza.

I have the same seven dinners every week. They're posted on the refrigerator and if we forget what day it is we know, if it's Mexican it must be Tuesday. It's easy to shop that way. They're all healthy meals and ones we all like. The vegetarian in the family has no trouble with them.

We express our wildsides at lunch.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nenya:
Red. It's always red.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zacchaeus:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Twilight:
Since I not only like to have all my ducks in a row, but lined up according to increasing shades of yellow, I have all dinners planned unto eternity -- or at least till I die and the men folk default to a steady diet of pizza.

I have the same seven dinners every week. They're posted on the refrigerator and if we forget what day it is we know, if it's Mexican it must be Tuesday. It's easy to shop that way. They're all healthy meals and ones we all like. The vegetarian in the family has no trouble with them.

We express our wildsides at lunch.

---

I grew up to a menu like that and I liked it. It was reasuring somehow to know what I was coming into school from, and it was always good wholesome food.

Don't know why I don't do it myself

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chocoholic:

Happy birthday Firenze, sounds like a lovely meal...

---

So what did you lot have for dessert on Saturday? I had a lovely bottle of pinot noir and a low-carb chocolate ice cream bar, just now.


 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We don't really do much serious planning beyond taking things out of the freezer the night before. D. does a lot of the weekday cooking as I'm at w*rk and his job leaves him free during the day; if something takes his fancy to cook, he'll shop for the ingredients and do it (there's a supermarket 5 minutes' drive away, so we don't need to be restricted to a big weekly shop).

The only thing that's set in stone is that on Fridays he cooks me a steak: I'm much more of a carnivore than he is, and it's become a weekly ritual.

Weekends are more fluid: today I decided that I fancied Scots broth, so I made some stock with lamb-bones I had in the freezer and prepped the veggies while the stock was cooking.

For Sundays we'll either be organised and set something going in the slow-cooker on Saturday night, or do something quick like pancetta pasta when we get home from church, or (my favourite option) go out somewhere for lunch.
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
When I'm on, totally spontaneous - whatever's in/on the cupboards, fridge, or takeaway menu. When kuruman is on about six hours' planning.

Though tonight it's hogsbreath, in honour of kuruzapplet jr's 12th birthday ...
 

---

Posted by Emendator Liturgia (# 17245) on :
 
Tonight it is lovely lamb chops prepped with fresh rosemary, boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli with almond flakes and oranges carrots. Dessert is Italian yoghurt cake with vanilla bean natural yoghurt on the side. And yes, a good Aussie Shiraz, with a whisky neat to whet the appetite.

I tend to do the planning and cooking - but we work on a three day cycle, buying fresh every few days. What we eat on which days is flexible. Friday night has traditionally been eat out night - nothing posh as the local nosheries are somewhat limited.

I do miss the experiences I've had when in the UK of going out to the pub after Sunday morning services!
 

---

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I actually cooked a meal tonight which I'm trying to do more often these days.

I had steamed rockfish with cauliflower, string beans, carrots and Swiss cheese. It came out pretty well for an easy one pot meal.
I also made some cornbread from scratch with some of the blueberries that I put in the freezer last August. The low sodium baking powder worked quite well. We'll see how the remainder of the corn bread works for breakfast. If it's too stale I may put it in a bowl with some milk as a breakfast much.
 

---

Posted by Dormouse (# 5954) on :
 
Bizarrely, I'm not a planner generally (except for my lessons, where I have to know what I'm teaching) but, by going to my kitchen & looking on my list, I could tell you not only what I'm eating tonight, but what I'm eating every day until the end of the month!

I used to not meal plan, and buy loads of stuff, and then have things go out of date, or not have the one ingredient I needed for whatever I was cooking. So I started to plan meals for the week, and base my shopping list around it. But planning the food isn't a job I particularly enjoy, so now, at the beginning of each month, I take an hour or so to plan all the main meals for that month.

I use two Hairy Dieter's recipe books, a 5:2 diet book plus various favourite recipes that I've collected. I do sometimes go off plan, if I really don't fancy what I've planned, or if I've bought a bargain chicken, or something like that, but generally I like this way of working. We try loads of new recipes, rather than stick to the same few meals, I don't get "bored" with cooking (which used to be another of my complaints) and I can make sure we have a wide mix of stuff.

Every week I post my menus and associated recipes on my blog (not advertised in my sig at the moment, but if you are interested, PM me and I'll send you a link) At the moment there's a recipe for low(ish) calorie chocolate brownies on there.

[ 19. January 2014, 07:25: Message edited by: Dormouse ]
 

---

Posted by cheesymarzipan (# 9442) on :
 
We plan as it makes food shopping easier (plus then the decisions are out of the way when I am home from work and tired).
We have some flexibility normally driven by 'this has a shorter date than we thought' or 'the meat is still in the freezer at 7pm'.
When I was a student we would keep various stock ingredients in the cupboard/fridge which got topped up every week, and one of us would decide what to eat while another one cooked it (on the grounds that deciding what to eat is enough effort already).
When I lived on my own I used to go to the supermarket on my way home from work and see what was on offer/what I fancied. The trouble is that I would often fancy biscuits or chocolate as well as actual dinner (shopping when hungry = expensive)
We have an icebox at the top of the fridge rather than a freezer so we only shop one week at a time. As there's two of us, we tend to make enough for two days at a time (makes ingredient buying easier)
 

---

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:
We plan as it makes food shopping easier...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by LutheranChik:
We also had a situation last year when our power went out for several days due to a winter storm and we lost an embarrassing amount of food in our freezer.

---

I'm somewhat perplexed about this statement. Given you had no power for 2-3 days, and given that it was winter, the food in your freezer would have been absolutely fine for at least 3 days, provided you opened and closed the door a minimum of times. Dive in, take out food, close door - no need to waste. I know, been there and done the same when floods knocked out the power. Mind you, after 3 days ran the emergency generator longer and plugged in the freezer to keep the food fresh.
 

---

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :
 
We were able to salvage some of our meat that was still very solid and cold, but we were too afraid of the thawed fish and poultry to keep it...and we had berries and veg that were just too gross to eat. We had far more than we could have cooked up for ourselves, and we weren't going to offer other people food that we ourselves were not willing to eat.
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
My meal planning tends to depend on what Waitrose has reduced. And my current state - which is with a sore throat and threatening cold, so I need gloopy stuff.
Tonight, I shall have again what I have just eaten, soup made from a pack of mixed vegetables intended for microwaving, sweated in the herb butter in the pack, heated with a pack of tomato and basil sauce bought for a pasta meal, and then blended with a hand blender. This first helping was topped with grated cheese. It worked very well.
 

---

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
BBQ leg of lamb for us, and a good old bottle of Hunter Shiraz. Maybe more than a bottle, depending on how many show up. What more could you want for Aust Day?
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Sausages. In a bread roll. With lots of sauce. It's Sunday and Kuruman's away.
 

---

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Did anyone have Haggis last night?


 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Sorry, we are not in Scotland! I, for one, would be willing to try it if I were. The Mrs. is less adventurous. That said, we enjoyed a lovely steak last night from what passes for Tesco here....
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
Did anyone have Haggis last night?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gee D:
Haggis would go very well with a pinot noir.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gee D:
Haggis would go very well with a pinot noir.

---

Like as not. But when we do have it, it will be with an interesting Scottish beer and whisky chaser.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Keren-Happuch:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gee D:
Haggis would go very well with a pinot noir.

---

Like as not. But when we do have it, it will be with an interesting Scottish beer and whisky chaser.

---

We had haggis for lunch today with neeps & tatties, curly kale and a red wine & onion gravy. I know purists say no gravy with haggis, but I like it better that way. We had a fairly spicy South African red with it. Followed by raspberry and oat crumble (lacking the cream to make it into cranachan). Whisky may well be a slightly delayed chaser this evening.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
The white - you'll all be panting to know - was a NZ Pinot Gris. Quite unusual.

Can I just point UK shipmates to Morrison's fish counter - in fact, not even the counter, the chill cabinet. We had whole (if small) plaice and sole, coming in at £2 per head.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zappa:
tonight it's hogsbreath, in honour of kuruzapplet jr's 12th birthday ...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
Did anyone have Haggis last night?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gee D:
There is a chain of restaurants here, and presumably in NZ also, called Hogs Breath Café. We've never eaten at one, but from the way others speak of them, it would be a good place for a teenager's birthday dinner - or even a 12 yr old who likes his food.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
The white - you'll all be panting to know - was a NZ Pinot Gris. Quite unusual

---

 

---

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Penny S:
That'll be the people's sauce, then.

---

After 5 hours in the slow cooker it came out remarkably pale.
 

---

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
I've just had spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce on it.

It was . . . well, filling.


 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Talking of forward planning... I'll need to muster my Cuisine Squish. Husband is having major dental work on Friday, so that'll be an pause in anything crunchy or chewy for a while. At the moment I'm thinking white fish, then casserole, then a bit vague.

Anyone got suggestions for Soft Food With Character?
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Queen of puddings? Bread and butter pudding? I have a recipe for something chocolatey based on the same lines (crumbs, egg and milk).
 

---

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
Talking of forward planning... I'll need to muster my Cuisine Squish. Husband is having major dental work on Friday, so that'll be an pause in anything crunchy or chewy for a while. At the moment I'm thinking white fish, then casserole, then a bit vague.

Anyone got suggestions for Soft Food With Character?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
... catering for the dentally traumatised requires food that is tasty without being too exciting.

---

quote:

---

Scallops with roe left on, seared quickly and in a white wine and cream sauce, with perhaps a grating of ginger in the sauce? White fish as you say, done in a similar way. You can always cheat a bit and buy a jar of minced ginger garlic and shallot, a quick way to add those flavours and a zap of acid usually.

---

Gee D, I used to buy scallops fairly often but am having trouble finding any Tasmanian scallops. Plenty of frozen imported rubbish which I won't buy at all. They have been soaked in water so when thawed they are suddenly half the size and they cook into hard leathery circles.

We used to have de C---i Bros down here but no more. Any suggestions for purchasing good stuff? I saw a Landline programme recently on the industry in Tasmania, so I know it hasn't folded.
 

---

Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 
Anyone for 2 minute noodles and a glass of Jacob's creek.........no thought not
 

---

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
Madame usually buys seafood at St Ives. There's also a good fish shop at Hornsby. For some reason, scallops with roe left on are more expensive.
 

---

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
Thanks. After posting, I remembered Ocean Foods at Drummoyne which may have decent ones.
 

---

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
Out for a meal this evening to celebrate Nenlet1's birthday, so no cooking for me!
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Venison - to make the most of the ending of the game season.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Snap. Albeit in the form of meatballs to meet the continuing requirement for unstrenuous foods.

Saturday I'm thinking game pie.

Inbetweentimes, I dunno - soufflé baked potatoes? Chicken Normandy(ish)?

I will be so glad when steak or chops or a roast can come back on the menu.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Venison meat balls are good too - had them last week.

Wild boar is delicious too.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I found wild boar quite disappointing. It was very like pork.

Last night I picked up a butter chicken curry plus side of rice from the supermarket deli, as they start selling off what's left from the fresh curry bowls at a reduced price. So for the princely sum of £1.75, half of that has been my dinner tonight and the other half will do for tomorrow.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Warthog though is very tasty.

I resisted the promptings on the packet to do them in an Italianate sauce and instead made an onion gravy with onions (natch), garlic, brown sugar, beef stock, balsamic vinegar and creme fraiche. All of which went extremely well with a simple Burgundy.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I ate pork in cider. But apparently it should have been Dartmoor Pony according to the talk I went to tonight. Farmers are choosing to put cows and sheep on the moor in preference to ponies as they are more valuable due to their meat. So, to keep the pony, we should do what the French do and eat some of them. Apparently it's wonderful, tasty, good quality meat.

Hmmm, wonder if Horse in Cider would taste as good as what I did eat tonight?
 

---

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
Rice with bean sprouts and a veggie mélange of peas, chopped peppers, scallions, and celery flash-cooked in soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, and hot red pepper flakes. Would have been better with some peanuts and pineapple chunks, not to mention 5-spice powder, but it was (as usual) snowing, I didn't have them on hand, and I wasn't going out again in that mess. Made do with a sprinkle of sultanas and a bit of candied orange peel. OK, but no gold stars.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Moose. I wish that was what I could have had for dinner tonight. Slow roasted in a brick oven for sixteen hours. Roast moose. *sigh*

The Wendy's salad was OK, but it's no moose.
 

---

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
Boring food tonight. I forgot to defrost some meat so we had leftovers... green beans, rice, some tilapia fillets. Not much of any one thing but I'm trying to cut down on overeating so I guess it will have to do.

Ask me tomorrow. Tomorrow will be better!
 

---

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
Warthog though is very tasty.

I resisted the promptings on the packet to do them in an Italianate sauce and instead made an onion gravy with onions (natch), garlic, brown sugar, beef stock, balsamic vinegar and creme fraiche. All of which went extremely well with a simple Burgundy.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by jedijudy:
Moose. I wish that was what I could have had for dinner tonight. Slow roasted in a brick oven for sixteen hours. Roast moose. *sigh*

The Wendy's salad was OK, but it's no moose.

---

don't hate me...

moose-sgetti last night. was delicious. night before was "heavenly" halibut - a recipe with green chile.

tonight its plain old chicken soup - had a carcass needed cooking up. I'm also making fry bread to go with it.

I don't really plan meals, exactly. it's based on what's in season, what's available, what's on sale, and what's going to go bad if I don't use it.

I'll plan large meals, of course. special events and such. otherwise, some time in the afternoon I'll look in the fridge and think, "oooh, better use up the artichokes!" and create from there, giving me enough time to run to the store for various things.
 

---

Posted by Barnabas Aus (# 15869) on :
 
We had elk and bison spaghetti when we were in your part of the world last year, comet, and loved it.

Most interesting meal we've had so far this week was roasted Atlantic salmon tail with creamy mashed potato and steamed baby broccolini followed by roasted fresh figs, from a local grower, topped with honeyed Greek-style yoghurt and drizzled with pan juices.

Been a busy week otherwise, so the rest have been underwhelming although Mrs BA made a tasty beef stirfry before we went to parish council tonight.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I found wild boar quite disappointing. It was very like pork.

---

Infinitely superior to pork. Maybe it depends how it is cooked. My first experience with wild boar was in a specialist restaurant in the outskirts of Prague.
 

---

Posted by Dormouse (# 5954) on :
 
I have a student who is a hunter - he regularly tells me how many wild boar he has killed, and twice has given me the fruits of his shooting. The Filet Mignon I marinaded in wine/cognac and then pan fried slices in a bit of butter/oil. Served with a mushroom sauce this was delish! The big haunch was marinaded for two days in 2 bottles of red wine and then roasted with garlic & rosemary. The marinade was reduced down. Equally delish
I think wild boar tastes like pork used to - free range, slightly toothsome and yummy.
 

---

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
I am no fan of pork - I did a roast with it not long ago and was reminded of how I don't like the taste.

We eat a lot of chicken in this house and tonight it is going to be curried. Tomorrow I'm trying a new slow cooker recipe which involves lots of vegetables and the slow cooker.

Nen - looking forward to tea already.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dormouse:

I think wild boar tastes like pork used to

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:
I'm also making fry bread to go with it.

---

Hate you? I think I'm in love...
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Our nearest delicatessen sells 'Wild Boar pate' which is very tasty. But today we had meatballs. Fortunately nobody sneezed while we were eating them.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:
don't hate me...

---

No hate at all. A bit (a large bit, mind you) of jealousy here.

I was invited out for dinner tonight, and had fried halibut. Tasty, but way too much for one meal!

Oh, someone gave my dad a chunk of bear meat once. When my parents roasted it, it stunk up the whole house.

[ 21. February 2014, 01:09: Message edited by: jedijudy ]
 

---

Posted by Jade Constable (# 17175) on :
 
Last night was paneer tikka masala and seekh/shami kebabs for my birthday I need to figure out what to eat today - going away for the weekend so want something quite simple that doesn't result in much washing up or leftovers!

*leans towards fish finger sandwiches*
 

---

Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
We're having fried chicken. Mr.T once said I make the best chicken in the world and since that's the only compliment he's ever given me, I think it might be true. I'm going to make it with chicken tenders because that's what we have in the freezer. I just saw a little You-tube video that tells you how to take out the tendon. I heart You-tube.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Quick survey of the fridge shows that this evening needs to be chicken + courgettes in some sort of constellation. If I could work under-ripe tangerines, grated cheese and Black Forest ham in there as well, it would be a plus. But I think that would tax even my powers of fusion.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
Quick survey of the fridge shows that this evening needs to be chicken + courgettes in some sort of constellation. If I could work under-ripe tangerines, grated cheese and Black Forest ham in there as well, it would be a plus. But I think that would tax even my powers of fusion.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
Quick survey of the fridge shows that this evening needs to be chicken + courgettes in some sort of constellation. If I could work under-ripe tangerines, grated cheese and Black Forest ham in there as well, it would be a plus. But I think that would tax even my powers of fusion.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by jedijudy:
Moose. I wish that was what I could have had for dinner tonight. Slow roasted in a brick oven for sixteen hours. Roast moose. *sigh*

The Wendy's salad was OK, but it's no moose.

---

Ah so that's how you get lovely tender moose. Not that I'm having it tonight but it's what I had a couple of weeks ago in Norway.

Tonight though is some sort of trout fishcake - there was a choice of 4 flavours at the farmers' market a few weeks ago, and I can't remember the flavour that I chose. Whatever it is will be very tasty.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
I think I'm moving towards lemon/tangerine baked chicken over griddled courgette and sesame flavoured noodles. The ham and cheese could combine with a white fish for Sunday. And tomorrow is the game, bacon and mushroom pie. So that's the weekend sorted.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Two meals out this weekend, my cooker needs a holiday! Tonight is a concert with a meal in the interval (bliss!), then Sunday is a BSO workshop in Exeter which goes on all day, so we'll probably go for a Pizza before driving home. Tomorrow, the oven can still rest, because I'll just use the hob to whistle up some stir fry prawns with courgettes, peppers and my favourite Trofie pasta. All cooked in crème fraiche and white wine. Yum!
 

---

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :
 
I was going to make BBQ chicken today (BBQ as in coat in BBQ sauce and bake, not grill outdoors -- we have gale-force winds and rain/snow mix going on outside at the moment), but DP voted for half BBQ, half crispy-coated.

My mom's always-delicious baked chicken was coated in simply seasoned cornflake crumbs...we rarely have those on hand, so I think I'm going to season panko crumbs and use those instead. That or buzz up some seasoned bread cubes in the food chopper. I can't remember what Mom used to use as the binding agent for the crumbs -- maybe a beaten-up egg with milk? -- but I use mayonnaise; brush the chicken pieces with that and then shake them in a bag of crumbs. It keeps the chicken underneath moist while keeping the crumbs on.
 

---

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
Eating late as my husband won't get back from Germany until around 9pm. We'll having line caught tuna with a spicy lemongrass stir-fry.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Some sort of flan tonight, so I am told.
 

---

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
A belated happy birthday, Jade.

Our slow cooker vegetables were disappointing. Despite my following the recipe to the letter it didn't taste of much and the parsnips and carrots were still hard, even after over 10 hours.

Tomorrow is stir fry - usual Saturday night fare, utterly predictable and always delicious.

Nen - at the coffee stage.
 

---

Posted by Roseofsharon (# 9657) on :
 
I have had a spell in hospital, followed by a slow recuperation, so we are gradually working our way through the soups and casseroles that I made and froze from last year's garden surplus.

Supplemented by the occasional takeaway or supermarket ready-meal when the various combinations of courgette, pumpkin, parsnip, beetroot & chard become too repetitive.
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nenya:
Our slow cooker vegetables were disappointing. Despite my following the recipe to the letter it didn't taste of much and the parsnips and carrots were still hard, even after over 10 hours.

---

I cook vegetables in the microwave for a few minutes before I put them in the slow cooker.

Moo
 

---

Posted by nickel (# 8363) on :
 
Tonight Dear Husband is teaching Dear Daughter to cook steak in an iron skillet on top of the stove. They'll start in the next half-hour. Meanwhile, I'm doing roast baby potatoes in the oven, and carmelized onions in a saucepan atop the stove. The onions are already smelling wonderful. Green beans to go along, and we're set.
 

---

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
Asparagus for only $1.49 / lb. at the supermarket! It's asparagus on toast for me tonight (and lunch tomorrow).

I also bought ingredients for a boiled dinner to make over the weekend, but it's beggared me. $1.99 for a bag of 3 poorly-looking parsnips, so I didn't get them; the beets -- only 3 of them, though reasonably-sized -- were $3.49; already have carrots, onions and potatoes at home; wanted some leeks, but they wanted $2.49 for ONE leek (!!!), so that's right out. The cabbage was reasonable at 49 cents a pound. But the corned beef -- about 2 and a half pounds -- was almost $10.

You can bet Ill take enormous care with this preparation, and it'll get divided into very modest portions and some of it frozen. Then it's going to be popcorn for supper a couple of times a week for a while. But eventually I'll be able to have some red-flannel hash.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
That does seem a bit pricey. I see a supermarket I sometimes order online from is doing 750g of parsnip for 90p - which translates, I think, to about a pound and a half for $1.50. Leeks are about $2 a pound.

Is it seasonal dearth, or difficulty of supply?
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
We had what we thought would be a lovely New York steak, but while my half was medium rare, my wife's was medium well! The cooker is relatively new and the broiler should be doing a much better job! We also had butter leaf salad...


 

---

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
posted by Leo

quote:

---

Some sort of flan ...

---

My mother used to make that: despite the fact that she'd cooked it she never knew what sort it was and tasting gave no clue either.

Mama - the only person I knew who could produce a dish based on tinned tuna and have everyone think it was pork
 

---

Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
Last night, so I didn't need to cook or go to a shop, I got and ate at the train place in Paddington. "Bagel" there has really nice food - I had one which they all have circle bread and then in it all sorts. I had purple vegetables and meat. It was lovely!
 

---

Posted by Barefoot Friar (# 13100) on :
 
Tonight we are having my inlaws over for dinner; it is my mother-in-law's birthday. We'll begin with a bit of caprese salad. Next will be a small cup of winter minestrone with crusty rosemary bread and herbs in olive oil. The main course is baked fish with asparagus and green salad on the side (most likely with a balsamic vinaigrette to dress it). Dessert is made-from-scratch chocolate cupcakes that Mrs. Barefoot made last night.
 

---

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
Parsnips are always expensive here, around $9/kg, and you need to choose them carefully to avoid the woody-centred ones. At the moment, leeks and asparagus are cheap and good.

Tonight, we're having a leg of lamb, which I'll cook over charcoal. I'll sprig it with thyme, garlic and anchovy all chopped together, cook it over the coals for about an hour, wrap in foil and leave for 10 to 15 minutes. Madame's going to cook a pumpkin tagine, and do the salad. Then some Spanish sheep cheese, and finally fresh mangoes and rockmelon. A bottle of Hunter Shiraz, probably an 06 from Mc....
 

---

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
Tonight's dinner is on the weight loss;

Salad.. some escarole and romaine added with radish, carrots and scallion a wine vinegar dressing.

A cup of a very simple chickpea soup (toss dried chickpeas and water in the slow cooker) left from lunch.

Spaghetti squash with tomato sauce

a "Sumo" mandarin orange. They are a variety that shows up for a month or two now from California. They have a very high sugar and flavor.
 

---

Posted by Dormouse (# 5954) on :
 
Tonight we're having Hairy Dieters' Pork Schnitzel with potato salad, coleslaw and lambs' lettuce. I have just made 5 glasses of jelly-with-peaches so that will be my dessert (an attempt to wean myself off chocklit in the evening!)
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
You name it, we've eaten it during the past month. Time to get the aprons out, put the newly cleaned plates aside for drying, and send this thread off to bed.

Ariel
Heaven Host
 

---

© Ship of Fools 2016


UBB.classic^TM 6.5.0