Sick of potatoes

iluvlamp

Hi guys my mother thinks were still in 1840's and relies almost solely on potatoes as a side to anything, usually meat. Whether its mashed,baked or steamed or roasted. When i mention this too her that it cant be healthy she insists the majority of people in ireland eat this. The odd time to win me over she'll make rice!! so its about spuds 5times a week and rice twice. Is there anything anyone can suggest as an alternative as a side or a different meal altogether? something simple i can make myself or suggest to my mam, thanks

Jellybaby1

iluvlamp wrote: »

Hi guys my mother thinks were still in 1840's and relies almost solely on potatoes as a side to anything, usually meat. Whether its mashed,baked or steamed or roasted. When i mention this too her that it cant be healthy she insists the majority of people in ireland eat this. The odd time to win me over she'll make rice!! so its about spuds 5times a week and rice twice. Is there anything anyone can suggest as an alternative as a side or a different meal altogether? something simple i can make myself or suggest to my mam, thanks

I have been one of those mammies in the past who always relied heavily on the old spud. I think you have answered your own question. Find something you want to eat, and do your mum a favour and cook for the family once, or twice, a week. I was converted to different foods when our children began to get very bored and now I cook anything they suggest but I always have to keep a couple of days for their poor old dad who still loves his Irish meals like shepherds pie, bacon, spud & cabbage etc. I cook Indian, Chinese, Greek, Italian recipes and still make time for what my children call 'peasant food'. My son really takes an interest in food and tries out lots of recipes and makes up his own. Great fun way to educate the palate!!

neuro-praxis

Potatoes are in fact very good for you indeed but too much of anything becomes kind of horrible, so I understand your frustration!

Couscous might be just the thing for you. You make it by soaking it in boiling water, and then mixing it with anything that you think will taste good - chopped apricots, raisins, mint, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, spices and seasonings in whatever combo you like. Takes 5 mins, is inexpensive and very simple to prepare.

Ophiopogon

I never liked pototoes always thought they taste of nothing!!

There is loads of alternatives though so depends on the what the rest of the dinner is...if it requires a mash for a topping (shepards pie, etc) try another veg like carrot/turnip. Or else try a lentil mash.

Or as a side I like cailiflower "rice" (shallow simmer cauliflower till just cooked than wizz in the processer with seasoning, butter or oilve oil) or polenta.

Plus like others have said there is loads of grains like coucous, etc.

I would agree as well that you should just start cooking yourself, doesn't have to be complicated just pick up one ingredient that you like the look of or want to try and go from there.

Acoshla

Pasta, salads, cous cous as mentioned, noodles, sweet potato in mash, chip or roasted form, lentils, all things that can be made really quick and easily.

ThunderApple

What about pasta?
I've started doing lots of different fresh salads instead of potatoes and I don't miss it at all. We eat something like a steak and lots of fresh vegetables. It wirks for us because it's always different.

bigneacy

Ophiopogon wrote: »

I never liked pototoes always thought they taste of nothing!!

This website really needs a dislike button :pac:

mw3guc

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove my spuds :eek:
However, the easiest alternative if you don't is more/other vegetables - this depends on your own tastebuds and availability. You could always take on that particular aspect of the meal so you could 'win' your poor mother over for a change

iluvlamp

Wow fantastic ideas thanks guys, ye pasta is kinda in the rice section for me as in we have quite a bit to make things more ''exotic''!! cous cous sounds like a winner, and simple too. Chopped apricots also sounds cool, thanks again, hmmm i wonder should i show her this thread now lol...right time to brush up on my own cooking skills, no doubt ill be back with another question soon enough

Ophiopogon

bigneacy wrote: »

This website really needs a dislike button :pac:

Yeah I tend to not tell people as you'd swear I was telling them I hate kittens the way they react sometimes!!

StupidLikeAFox

Perhaps make your own dinner instead of relying on mammy? (no offence )

Honey-ec

iluvlamp wrote: »

Wow fantastic ideas thanks guys, ye pasta is kinda in the rice section for me as in we have quite a bit to make things more ''exotic''!! cous cous sounds like a winner, and simple too. Chopped apricots also sounds cool, thanks again, hmmm i wonder should i show her this thread now lol...

Or do the cooking yourself for a change instead of complaining about your mother's.

Jellybaby1

As I already said here, when my children became bored and I changed what I cooked I realised there was a whole world of flavours out there that I hadn't even contemplated so maybe your mum will feel the same. At this stage it's almost like a competition as my son and I share new recipes all the time - it's such a pleasure - then when I say I don't like something he says 'really, how could you not, why not add a little of this, or that spice' and then we remake the recipe to suit ourselves. We watch the cheffy programmes on TV for ideas and check the websites as well, RTE, BBC and Channel 4 have food sections. Choose what you like to eat when you eat out, simple curry even, find something to cook together and see how it goes. If you have limited funds and you need spices the Indian spice shops do large bags at very good prices but maybe you could start small to start, but the supermarkets are way too pricey for spices.

Look whos talking

A salad is simple to prepare and can last a couple of days... i love my potatoes though ....

Jellybaby1

Actually potatoes are so versatile and can be cooked in so many ways. We've given up the chips and make spicy wedges instead. I too love potato salad, and I usually cook too much mash so I can use the leftovers for potato salad, adding chopped onion or scallions and maybe fresh peas or frozen, some salt, and my all time favourite dressing Heinz salad cream, yum. I'm off to make some now! I know cheffy folk will be irritated by the salad cream......but I don't really care!:D

mw3guc

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Actually potatoes are so versatile and can be cooked in so many ways. We've given up the chips and make spicy wedges instead. I too love potato salad, and I usually cook too much mash so I can use the leftovers for potato salad, adding chopped onion or scallions and maybe fresh peas or frozen, some salt, and my all time favourite dressing Heinz salad cream, yum. I'm off to make some now! I know cheffy folk will be irritated by the salad cream......but I don't really care!:D

Agree wholeheartedly - spuds rule at versatility. OP, have you tried making different types of mash as already mentioned? Dauphinoise? Or gnocci? What about home made potato bread?
As for the salad cream Jellybaby ... if you like it, what the heck! I still use some packet soups/sauces as a base for other things and do I care about the purists? NO! If it works, it works :pac:

iluvlamp

Honey-ec wrote: »

Or do the cooking yourself for a change instead of complaining about your mother's.

Well unless i take off school early to go home and cook dinner during the year, it has to be ''mammy'' who cooks!! anyway it was a genuine question, not a snipe at my mam

Jellybaby1

I know you weren't sniping at your mum OP. (I don't think some posters here are even interested in this subject at all. (Anyhoo, I quite understand it is difficult when you are in school but there are always weekends! Don't forget too that a lot of people work full time and still come home and have to cook for their family. There are ways around every problem, try a Saturday lunch. And aren't you on holiday now too, another opportunity!

iluvlamp

oh i know a lot people im sure have to do a whole day's work and come home and start cooking, but i get in from night study at 7.30 i dont think im being unreasonable to assume that my mam who has been at home during the day wouldnt mind sticking the dinner on or anyone who was home for that fact. Yep im off now for a whole summer, which gives me time to no doubt mess up a couple of the recipes mentioned on here, but practice is practice, thanks again for the suggestions

iluvlamp

Honey-ec wrote: »

Or do the cooking yourself for a change instead of complaining about your mother's.

:eek:some really snide people on this, not what i expected from the cooking & recipes section!! lol

jill_valentine

You're looking for a bit of variety in the staple, which is fair enough, Pasta and rice have already been covered, as has couscous, which is mad handy. A bit of ginger and lemon juice in with the couscous makes a world of difference, or even half a vegetable Oxo cube depending on how refined one's pallet is.

If you're pushed for time and space in terms of preparation - I remember my own mammy used to get a bit cranky if we "got in her way" when she was making the dinner - Tesco do sachets of lemon & coriander couscous, I think they're about a euro each. Takes about five minutes and just a bit of boiling water to prepare, and it's gorgeous. You can use that as a staple to add to just about anything.

If you do get an excuse to cook the whole dinner yourself, you could go a bit themey and do something like pittas or burritos. For the former, a bit of lamb mince, for the latter, beef mince, whatever spices you can rustle up, and you're well away.

If you are stuck with the aul' potatoes, it's worth gathering up herbs and spices to have to hand, just the cheapass Lidl ones. A bit of coriander or chili powder can liven things up just enough that you don't go mental and start throwing potatoes out the window or anything.

Jellybaby1

iluvlamp wrote: »

oh i know a lot people im sure have to do a whole day's work and come home and start cooking, but i get in from night study at 7.30 i dont think im being unreasonable to assume that my mam who has been at home during the day wouldnt mind sticking the dinner on or anyone who was home for that fact. Yep im off now for a whole summer, which gives me time to no doubt mess up a couple of the recipes mentioned on here, but practice is practice, thanks again for the suggestions

Awwww! Well 7.30's a bit late for experimental cooking I suppose. But you are right, practice will give you the experience you need. Give yourself a target, get 5 new recipes you enjoy eating and cooking before September, and bob's yer uncle!! And when you are finished all your studying and earning (hopefully) the big bucks, bring your mum out for a slap up meal!!

Minder

Cous cous can be cooked using boiling water if you want to use it in a salad. But it really comes into its own when it is made using the deeply flavoured stock that has been used to cook the lamb, chicken or sometimes fish that are served with it. The liquid needs to be stock like - watery in consistency. For lamb, a typical cous cous stew would be onions and garlic sweated down in olive oil, then spices such as a small amount of tumeric and coriander - then sweet spices such as cinnamon are added. Also added is dried mint and tomato puree. The meat is covered with water and seasoned, then allowed to simmer for a long time until the meat is tender. Add the stock in batches to the cous cous to avoid swamping it. As the cous cous absorbs the liquid, it will set. Fluff it up with a fork to separate the grains. It can be steamed or cover and microwaved to finally cook it - just a couple of minutes I find - there should be no hard bits.

The other grain to look out for is quinoa. Cook that immersed in boiling water until tender. I add tumeric to the water to give it some colour. Once tender, drain and leave in the sieve to steam. Quinoa is great cold in salads or use hot as a side dish.

Guill

There's a Spud for every occasion.



And a way of cooking it too!

muckety

My favourite potato at the moment is the wexford (carne) new potatoes, boiled then 'smushed' with the back of a spoon, dot with butter (lots) and put in oven for about 20 mins to crisp ..... yummy!

(as an alternative to the OPs mummy-potato dishes?)

mrsdewinter

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I too love potato salad, and I usually cook too much mash so I can use the leftovers for potato salad, adding chopped onion or scallions and maybe fresh peas or frozen, some salt, and my all time favourite dressing Heinz salad cream, yum. I'm off to make some now! I know cheffy folk will be irritated by the salad cream......but I don't really care!:D

As much as I hate the sight of the stuff (and it's down to nothing more than food snobbery!), there's nothing to beat salad cream in potato salad.

Just carry on, J!

Ficheall

Ophiopogon wrote: »

Yeah I tend to not tell people as you'd swear I was telling them I hate kittens the way they react sometimes!!

Kittens taste like crap.

As does couscous, come to that.

Spuds are awesome.

Jellybaby1

mw3guc wrote: »

As for the salad cream Jellybaby ... if you like it, what the heck! I still use some packet soups/sauces as a base for other things and do I care about the purists? NO! If it works, it works :pac:

mrsdewinter wrote: »

As much as I hate the sight of the stuff (and it's down to nothing more than food snobbery!), there's nothing to beat salad cream in potato salad.

Just carry on, J!

Abso-blooming-lutely!!

Honey-ec

iluvlamp wrote: »

:eek:some really snide people on this, not what i expected from the cooking & recipes section!! lol

No more snide than complaining about your mother's limited repertoire.

And if you think that was snide, I'd suggest you stay well away from AH.

iluvlamp

Honey-ec wrote: »

No more snide than complaining about your mother's limited repertoire.

And if you think that was snide, I'd suggest you stay well away from AH.

No it wasnt snide, i talked about my mother's repertoire as u put it, in order to express the FACT of my frustration at my mothers cooking in order to get advice. It was a genuine question answered by everyone with some helpful recipes except yourself, who offered nothing but a snide remark without knowing any reason why i cant cook all the time instead of my mother, its idiots like you who put off first time posters. I'll certainly think next time before posting such a obviously loaded question as advice on what else to cook than potatoes in future!!:mad: thanks the everyone else i did cous cous lastnite, i think im addicted!! :rolleyes:

Minder

iluvlamp wrote: »

...i did cous cous lastnite, i think im addicted!! :rolleyes:

How did you do it? If you like cous cous, try quinoa, it's very similar in texture.

Faith

iluvlamp and Honey-ec - lay off it, both of you. If you have a problem with a post, report it and then refrain from further baiting on-thread please.

beagle001

If you want a lovely change head into a local Asian shop and pick up a bag if sticky rice.
You have to leave the rice in a bowl of water for around an hour and a half before you cook it.
It can only be steamed so no rice cookers and I guarantee you will like it if you like rice.
It's fairly filling and is best to dip into things,role it up in your hands can be added with mango and coconut milk as a desert also but best savoury.

ElleEm

Sneak a sweet potatoe into the vegetable press! They taste so yum and you can tell your mam that it's STILL a potatoe. I love them.
You could also try butternut squash mixed with regular mashed potatoe. They taste fairly similar to sweet potatoe.
I've also read about people pureeing (sp?) cauliflowed and using that as a mash substitute.

Sergeant

The girlfriend and I have been travelling around Asia for the past 4 months. Lots of rice and noodles..........

The Irish spud is one of the most glorious and delicious things that grows on this planet. Absence is what is required to rekindle your love of the humble tuber.

the beer revolu

Peal barley is a great staple - especially good with stews.
+1 on the quinoa .
BTW cous cous is not a grain but rather like a type of pasta made from wheat flour.
Bulgar wheat is also nice - quite like cous cous but with more bite.
I love polenta. Nice allowed to cool into a cake and fried.
When having rice don't limit yourself to long grain white rice. There is a world of rices out there, try them, look in your local Asian shop.