WHAT DID WE HAVE FOR TEA?

[busybees]

I got some neck end of lamb from Bells Butchers and made Lancashire Hotpot with some allotment sprouts and because the oven was on all afternoon we had a rice pudding with delicious skin on it.
Perfect food for a cold winter day. It was clean plates all round. It think it is once of the most satisfying feelings cooking for my family and seeing them wolf down good wholesome food.

[Bradders Bluesinger]

Sounds lovely BB....!
Can you still get Middle neck of Mutton too ...(it makes the best stew ) ?
That rhymes ....I feel a song coming on

PS My Dad always loved the skin on a rice pudding ...he called it the "linoleum"...and then pinched it !

[Stanley]

BB, welcome to the site. "It think it is once of the most satisfying feelings cooking for my family and seeing them wolf down good wholesome food.. Music to my ears, I have been preaching that gospel for years. It's the cheapest way of feeding them as well. Forgive the question but roughly how old are you? I ask because on the whole it is the older end who recognise this and what I want to see is the younger ones learning the same lessons. Love the economy of making the rice pudding because the oven was on anyway. Someone did a good job of teaching you what used to be called 'Domestic Economy'! We need more of it.
Yesterday was a day of bits and eating up what was handy, the black pudding is no more and I only have three small potatoes left. I do like an empty fridge!
Brad. My mother's rice pudding crust was famous for being like black leather. I used to like scraping the burnt rim off round the cooking dish. ("It's not burned, it's well done!")

[Marilyn]

I have to admit I get quite sick of cooking....day in, day out.

[Stanley]

Try my ploy Maz, have an occasional day of bits and pieces. My mother used to call it a "Climbing the cupboard door day".

[Wendyf]

Bubble and squeak, with a fried egg & bacon. Yummy, and only the bacon not home grown. My neighbour turned up yesterday with his"rent" for grazing my field....half a lamb for the freezer.

[Moh]

Meat & Potato Hash tonight with the remains of the beef - 3 good meals out of a joint cost £5. Will serve it with my home pickled beetroot.

[Wendyf]

What's your recipe for pickled beetroot Moh? I've just opened my first jar and am disappointed that the vinegar flavour has completely overpowered the beetroot.

[busybees]

BB, welcome to the site. "It think it is once of the most satisfying feelings cooking for my family and seeing them wolf down good wholesome food.. Music to my ears, I have been preaching that gospel for years. It's the cheapest way of feeding them as well. Forgive the question but roughly how old are you? I ask because on the whole it is the older end who recognise this and what I want to see is the younger ones learning the same lessons. Love the economy of making the rice pudding because the oven was on anyway. Someone did a good job of teaching you what used to be called 'Domestic Economy'! We need more of it.
Yesterday was a day of bits and eating up what was handy, the black pudding is no more and I only have three small potatoes left. I do like an empty fridge!
Brad. My mother's rice pudding crust was famous for being like black leather. I used to like scraping the burnt rim off round the cooking dish. ("It's not burned, it's well done!")

I am 39 years old ( I am girlfriend of postie you saw on town aasking questions about Upflatts)

I love cooking and my mum brought us up on a tight budget but we were always fed extremely well.My Grandma was brought up in virtual poverrty in Hull and she was a wonderful cook turning the most meagre ingredients into a feast fit for a king.
My partner and I have allotments and my partner and I keep bees also. I make all my own jam , soups etc, I love making bread and baking. If the oven is on for tea I always have to utilise all the space. People of my age always say they don't have time to make these things but yesterday I layered up my hotpot and mixed my rice pud ( about 10 minutes preparation time)and put it all in the oven in the morning and set the timer to come on and we had a gourmet tea. It just requires a little thought and planning. I like to use the cheap cuts of meat. I recently had a go at making my own sausages , they turned out really well. I am a very old fashioned homely type and I love being in my home and looking after my family.
I think there's something really exciting about going to the allotment and picking the things you are going to cook for tea, or better still cook them on the camping stove at the allotment and eat alfresco.
I love a trip to the butchers and seeing all what's for sale and at least you can ask them how to cook the meat correctly, I like Clitheroe market too, the stalls sell a lot of local stuff.
I like to know what I am feeding my family and if I make it all myself then I know they aren't eating any rubbish

Tonight my boyfriend made tea, he got Chicken Kievs from Hirsts Butchers, mash carrots and peas.

[Marilyn]

Busy bees, are you 'Allotment Girl' from the old OGFB site?
Same philosophies, just wondering.

And I do applaud you for your healthy approach to living.

I used to cook big meals and feed crowds, but the offspring have left home now...we find we need fewer and fewer calories as weight tends to creep up as one gets older...and my aim these days (sadly) is to get all the basic food groups/vitamins/minerals/fibre onto our plates in as small a serve as possible! There are no desserts in this house. Main meal has to fit on bread and butter sized plates, as I have thrown away our regular sized dinner plates. I try to make three quarters of what we eat veg or Salad. ( and we don't eat red meat)
So cooking isn't the huge pleasure it once was.

[Marilyn]

Have just finished making the salad for tonight.
So three quarters of our small plates will be Salad ( containing...lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red capsicum, green capsicum, red onion, sweet corn kernels, grated carrot, and some butterfly pasta). To be served with a hard boiled egg each, and one grilled Chicken Sausage each. A tiny sprinkle of Honey Mustard Salad Dressing.

[Stanley]

BB, lovely to know that a chance meeting like that can trigger off a new member. (No wonder he looks healthy!) We go on about food on other forums, keep your eye open for 'We are what we eat'. I love hearing about people, especially the younger end like you, who haven't forgotten about natural ingredients and good food.
Saw a haggis in the Cathedral of Choice yesterday so got one. I do like a haggis every now and again, offal is much neglected these days.
Maz, sorry but I finished the spuds off with a chip butty for tea! I shall be on an economy drive for a while, the Burial Fund has taken a severe knock with paying for the stove and the re-upholstering! Economy is the household mint! (Another good reason for cheap natural ingredients cooked at home.)

[Moh]

What's your recipe for pickled beetroot Moh? I've just opened my first jar and am disappointed that the vinegar flavour has completely overpowered the beetroot.

I just cook it and then pickle it in pickling vinegar. Pork chops with onions, tomatoes and apple tonight, probably roasties and cauliflower.

[busybees]

Busy bees, are you 'Allotment Girl' from the old OGFB site?
Same philosophies, just wondering.

Hee hee you are quite the detective Marilyn, yes I was allotment girl, It must be two or three years since I have been on here and had forgotten my user name etc. Since then I have met my mr wonderful and life has really changed, I don't use the internet that much because we seem to be that busy with one thing or another, but I am going to make a point of checking back here because I forgot what a good website it is.

Yep the only downside of cooking is the pounds creeping on but I try to keep it fairly healthy , in the spring, summer and autumn I am really active but winter makes me want to hibernate.

I made lentil and tomato soup today.After bringing it up to the boil I sat it on the stove to simmer away.

I love haggis , it's a while since I had it . I will pop it on the shopping list.

[Marilyn]

Well Welcome Back BB. It was simply your zest for freshness that had me making the connection. I was interested in what you had to say back then, and still am. ( and I envy you having an allotment. Am currently bending hubby's ear about a small veg patch in the back yard.)

[Julie in Norfolk]

I looked at this thread for inspiration and the lancashire hot pot has it for me. Off to the shops for the ingredients and then back to the kitchen later on. And before you ask Stanley, annual hols this week with the exception of Tuesday when I had to go in. Will try to pick a warmer week next time.

[Marilyn]

CHIPS, Stanley?
( can't remember the last time I ate chips...they are not part of my dietary regime...but I have given up being shocked by your Chip intake...so do enjoy!) Though on second thought, if the burial fund is a bit on the low side after being raided, perhaps ease up on the Chips?

[Wendyf]

I'm trying out recipes from the "River Cottage" Veg book, (Xmas present). Last night it was roast aubergine and potato, with an omelette to keep it company. Interesting...

[Stanley]

I seem to have lost a post about Haggis and Neaps. Made it yesterday and have enough left for tonight.

[Marilyn]

Wendy, I catch 'River Cottage' whenever I can. (I imagine myself living that kind of lifestyle)
The simple life, and the joy of getting back to basics with food, and knowing where it comes from.
Ahhhh..that is the dream anyway. Don't even have room for a veg patch, though could go a few trugs.

[Moh]

Spanish chicken tonight with chorizo, peppers, garlic, onion and served with rice.

[Wendyf]

Can you get an allotment where you live Maz?

[Julie in Norfolk]

It was Lancashire Hot Pot as promised. I am not too keen on kidneys and was wavering when I found a suggestion for substituting with black pudding! It gave the richness I was expecting. Another suggestion was to melt some butter, add seasoning and toss the potato slices in with that. That works and beats the little knobs of butter by ensuring a coating before you put the potatoes on the top. No Emma, (she is in the States at the moment) so I got a thumbs up from the other two. Now what about tonight.....

[Stanley]

The Haggis and Neaps went down well for tea. Apart from my usual odds and sods I got some oxtail from Stewart and slow cooked it all day with spuds, carrots and parsnips. It has sat there all night on the stove and when warmed up today it will be pretty good cold weather fuel. I don't know why but ox-tail makes such brilliant gravy..... Actually it's crying out for dumplings but I managed to restrain myself, mind you when the level drops today a few dumplings will extend it very cheaply!

[Marilyn]

No allotments here.

Red Salmon Cakes, mashed spuds, baby peas and Cauliflower/Broccoli Cheese Bake. ( couldn't eat it all...eyes bigger than my belly as usual )
Washed down with a nice Shiraz.