The General Chat Thread

MissFlitworth

From about 3 to 19 I didn't eat vegetables or have much interest in cooking bar making sure that we had Heinz (and not Chef) ketchup and and Hellman's (and not Heinz or godforsaken salad cream) mayonnaise. I kind of enjoyed messing around in the kitchen but my Mam was ridiculously uptight about us being in there* so didn't get cooking till I moved out for college and added 'peppers' and 'very mild cheddar' to my list of things I could eat. Even then though it was mostly stirfry. All the stirfry. All the wee packets of Blue Dragon Black Bean sauce. Stirfry with chicken, stir fry with sausages, stirfry on toast (did this, not just putting it in for comic effect).

When I was in my early twenties I was lucky enough to make friends with people who really, really loved their food and were generally clever and wonderful and into buying nice ingredients and cooking for friends and they just infected me with their out and out glee for nice things. I also started spending a lot of time with my Aunt & her Swiss partner and their love of cooking for people and having nice, fresh food struck me as a wonderful way to spend your evenings. I associate food that people have prepared with care and thought with love and people wanting you to be in their home (which as a teenager with hideous social anxiety wasn't something I felt a lot. Having people cook for me was like medicine it was so welcoming. This sounds mad but it also gave me a window of time that I was sure I was ok to be in someones house, like the couple of hours a meal took, so it nipped some of the anxiety I felt about overstaying my welcome right in the bud) , it's great. So started making a couple of things myself, gained a reputation for 'always having nice things for dinner' and have never looked back! Quite a lot of my friends are intensely into their food which makes me very happy. I also love nice cookware, food presentation and kitchen stuff probably a lot more than I like cooking. It'll be what puts me into Stubbs Gazette.


I'm also gradually working my way through the list of things I considered 'yuck', I used to have a real problem with textures of food that I'm nearly on top of, can eat beans now (although not baked beans because that sauce makes me gag) & mushrooms and all sorts of things that I thought were overly slippery, mushy or spongey.








*or so I thought at the time but in retrospect we used to absolutely wreck the place, wipe down a floury counter with a wet cloth leaving clumps of dough to stick everywhere, break things and then bugger right off having made something completely inedible out of food she was breaking her back to provide. Ah, kids.

Johnny_Fontane

MissFlitworth wrote: »

When I was in my early twenties I was lucky enough to make friends with people who really, really loved their food.

I always had an interest in food but was very similar to miss flitworth. The (now) obsession was sparked by some friends.

Its harsh to say it, but I feel really sorry for people who are fussy eaters (even more sorry to include vegetarians). But thats the way I feel. This idea that 'I dont like fish' or 'I dont like cheese' is in my mind ridiculous. I think most of the time its psychological or down to a very bad experience. YOU CANT SAY YOU LIKE FOOD AND THEN RULE OUT AN ENTIRE FOODGROUP!

That said, I'm not a big fan of goats cheese :P, but I will always eat it, if its put in front of me and give it that chance to one day prove my taste buds wrong.

hollypink

I haven't posted here before but I enjoy this forum so decided to take the plunge. I didn't really learn much about cooking from my mum as she didn't tend to let me or my siblings help in the kitchen, apart from preparing veg and setting the table. So I got started with cooking when I went to college and my meals relied heavily on shop bought sauces, ready meals and takeaways.

It's only now in my late thirties that I'm starting to try out recipes and even risk cooking occasionally for other people. I've eaten a lot of bland food in recent years due to dieting, but I've started to be a little more adventurous although nothing like the gorgeous dishes I see posted on here. But my beef and guinness stew and Italian meatballs in tomato sauce were very well received by guests on recent occasions, so that's encouraging Gotta start somewhere!

Animord

I got given a book called "Look, I can cook" when I was about six, I LOVED it so much, and funnily enough it is still in my book case and I still use it occasionally. My mum and aunt cooked everything from scratch and it all came from our farm, so I was pretty immersed in cooking from a very young age. There was never anything from a packet and in fact we used to beg for 'shop' bread for a treat...

I can't imagine not cooking.

hardCopy

The Sweeper wrote: »

To answer the question - I learned by watching Minder cook.

Am I only one who thought this was an unsuccessful cookery show with Arthur Daly?

Mr Simpson

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

I always had an interest in food but was very similar to miss flitworth. The (now) obsession was sparked by some friends.

Its harsh to say it, but I feel really sorry for people who are fussy eaters (even more sorry to include vegetarians). But thats the way I feel. This idea that 'I dont like fish' or 'I dont like cheese' is in my mind ridiculous. I think most of the time its psychological or down to a very bad experience. YOU CANT SAY YOU LIKE FOOD AND THEN RULE OUT AN ENTIRE FOODGROUP!

That said, I'm not a big fan of goats cheese :P, but I will always eat it, if its put in front of me and give it that chance to one day prove my taste buds wrong.

I don't mind fussy eaters per se (I can be one at the best of times), its people who say they don't like things without ever trying them that wreck my head.

Animord

hardCopy wrote: »

Am I only one who thought this was an unsuccessful cookery show with Arthur Daly?

lol - I thought that - I was trying to remember them ever cooking anything, drinking yep but food no!

Faith

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I'm also gradually working my way through the list of things I considered 'yuck', I used to have a real problem with textures of food that I'm nearly on top of, can eat beans now (although not baked beans because that sauce makes me gag) & mushrooms and all sorts of things that I thought were overly slippery, mushy or spongey.

I find this interesting as I have issues around textures too. I can't eat egg whites, for instance. Instance gagging for me. Mushrooms I'm forcing myself to eat - I enjoy the flavour but not the texture. I'm not good with beans, I must admit (except I can eat baked beans!).

MissFlitworth

It's so much more texture than flavour for me when it comes to food I don't like (or really enjoy - mmm crispy or doughy). I'm getting in to mushrooms now but hate the slippery/pop of juice in your mouth texture of them. Can't be doing with aubergine (spongy), very soft vegetables (mash & gravy is not a tasty option for me), mushy food like very milky porridge & lots more besides! Always thought I wasn't a fussy eater anymore but now that I think about it I really am

confusticated

I hate baked beans too, I thought it was the texture but I happily eat other types of beans...they seem kind of gritty to me? Almost like peanuts the way they stay in your teeth. Never found anyone who got that though, so might just be me. Love mushrooms!

I'm another one for starting college and stirfries at the same time. Well no, the first four months or so featured an awful lot of waffles and fish fingers. But I love stirfry - you can put pretty much anything into it and it'll be tasty! We baked lots at home when I was small, but dinners were lots of boiled spud, meat and 2 veg type meals. Since I moved out though they seem to have gotten more adventurous, but the rest of the family's spice tolerance is about 1% of mine.

Minder

The Sweeper wrote: »

First: I remember griddle cakes. Whatever happened to the recipe for those?

To answer the question - I learned by watching Minder cook.

The funny thing is I was in my mid teens, still at home, trying to replicate things he introduced when he'd come back to the parental home on a visit. I laugh heartily when I remember the unholy dog's bollix I made out of quite a number of things he introduced. Crunchy couscous, how I recall thee...

Griddle (or Girdle) Cakes were a Delia Smith recipe. Recipe here

I remember the days when cous cous was a culinary adventure. The Father in Law taught me how to make the lamb in a light broth flavoured with sweet spices and dried mint. That broth was then used to hydrate the cous cous. Still the best way to make it imo.

I remember making a homemade jerk paste for chicken wings from scotch bonnet chillies. It was so hot it was inedible, but I persevered in eating several wings, with Dad looking at me as if I was crazy.

Loire

OK...Vin de Loire behind this post, but, generally, apart from the Xmas forum (and I think they're a bit mad Ted in a great way) and perhaps the "Expand your Horizons" forum, is there a more positive place to hang out than here? So much doom & gloom, yet this place is a santuary. Best of all though, the skills we're learning will GUARANTEE that we can all feed ourselves & our families to such a great extend that our grand kids will say that "our granny/grandad was a great cook, never used anything fancy, but good ingredients and cooked so well" like has been posted recently. It's not about what, it's about how.. :)

pampootie

I can't remember when I wasn't interested in food! My mum and granny used to bake a lot and I was always given dough or pastry to muck about with and bake, and everyone would ooh and aah over my dry burnt pastry "biscuits" so I thought I was brilliant at it. We grew our own veg and had fruit trees so when I was out playing I was used to picking an apple or peas or strawberries fresh to snack on. My granny babysat me a lot and used to make jams with me, and it's still one of my favourite ways to spend a Saturday. My mum was a saint too about letting me make a giant mess and waste loads of food at the start!

Faith

Loire wrote: »

OK...Vin de Loire behind this post, but, generally, apart from the Xmas forum (and I think they're a bit mad Ted in a great way) and perhaps the "Expand your Horizons" forum, is there a more positive place to hang out than here? So much doom & gloom, yet this place is a santuary.

It makes me feel very proud and happy that you feel that way, Loire . I love this forum, I love that we've developed such a great community, and I'm so happy that others enjoy it too.

Animord

MissFlitworth wrote: »

It's so much more texture than flavour for me when it comes to food I don't like (or really enjoy - mmm crispy or doughy). I'm getting in to mushrooms now but hate the slippery/pop of juice in your mouth texture of them. Can't be doing with aubergine (spongy), very soft vegetables (mash & gravy is not a tasty option for me), mushy food like very milky porridge & lots more besides! Always thought I wasn't a fussy eater anymore but now that I think about it I really am

I don't know where you are, probably Dublin, but if you are round the south area there is a great stall called Ballyhoura Mushrooms at various markets in Cork and they do all sorts of mushrooms that are very different to the shop bought ones. I know they supply lots of the restaurants in Dublin and round the country. There is one that apparently tastes like lobster - I haven't tried it but I could get some this weekend and report back if you like? I usually get a bag of mixed ones from them and fry them in butter for sunday breakfast, served on a bit of sourdough toast they are really good.

leahyl

Faith wrote: »

It makes me feel very proud and happy that you feel that way, Loire . I love this forum, I love that we've developed such a great community, and I'm so happy that others enjoy it too.

This forum, The Christmas Forum and The Weather Forum are my top three (not necessarily in that order though :pac:)

MissFlitworth

Animord wrote: »

I don't know where you are, probably Dublin

I am indeedy, but I do make a point of eating and drinking my way around Cork once a year

Animord wrote: »

There is one that apparently tastes like lobster - I haven't tried it but I could get some this weekend and report back if you like? I usually get a bag of mixed ones from them and fry them in butter for sunday breakfast, served on a bit of sourdough toast they are really good.

Oof that sounds amazing, please do even if all it does is makes me furious with jealousy!

Animord

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I am indeedy, but I do make a point of eating and drinking my way around Cork once a year



Oof that sounds amazing, please do even if all it does is makes me furious with jealousy!

lol at eating and drinking round Cork. My life's ambition is to eat the length and breath of India. Oh and Thailand, and maybe Vietnam...

I will get on to my mushroom-mission first thing tomorrow morning and return with my report, hopefully they will have them, if not I will make an executive decision to buy something else weird and wonderful.



Someone on my facebook has just told me that they are picking Medlars this weekend. I have never had them before and am trying to get an invitation... has anyone else had them?

Loire

Faith wrote: »

It makes me feel very proud and happy that you feel that way, Loire . I love this forum, I love that we've developed such a great community, and I'm so happy that others enjoy it too.

+1 and in no small part due to your efforts

Loire

Animord wrote: »

My life's ambition is to eat the length and breath of India. Oh and Thailand, and maybe Vietnam...

Mine is to eat in every Michelin star restaurant in France (6 or 12 months depending on the pot) spending a few days beforehand in each particular town. I'd like to end the trip with a glass of Cotes du Layon on the banks of the Loire.

MissFlitworth

Animord wrote: »

lol at eating and drinking round Cork. My life's ambition is to eat the length and breath of India. Oh and Thailand, and maybe Vietnam...

Mexico for me. Just need to get a job that sends me away a lot to places where there's lots of good food. (Spy? Evil Strip-Mining/Frakking Consultant? Anthony Bourdain Stunt Double?)

Mr Simpson

Loire wrote: »

Mine is to eat in every Michelin star restaurant in France (6 or 12 months depending on the pot) spending a few days beforehand in each particular town. I'd like to end the trip with a glass of Cotes du Layon on the banks of the Loire.

That would be some feat, there are just under 600 michelin star restaurants in france :eek:

Animord

Loire wrote: »

Mine is to eat in every Michelin star restaurant in France (6 or 12 months depending on the pot) spending a few days beforehand in each particular town. I'd like to end the trip with a glass of Cotes du Layon on the banks of the Loire.

Money is no object in this particularly ambition. So you go for the full twelve months...

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Mexico for me. Just need to get a job that sends me away a lot to places where there's lots of good food. (Spy? Evil Strip-Mining/Frakking Consultant? Anthony Bourdain Stunt Double?)

Mmmm, might come back via Mexico and Peru and Argentina, and then there is hardly any point coming straight home, you may as well do the Caribbean islands while you are at it...

Loire

Mr Simpson wrote: »

That would be some feat, there are just under 600 michelin star restaurants in france :eek:

doh! OK (in my Pierce Brosnan, James Bond accent) "Let's narrow it down, shall we?":pac: 2* restaurants of which there are 83.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Michelin_starred_restaurants


Requirements:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFZP8zQ5kzk

Loire

Animord wrote: »

Money is no object in this particularly ambition. So you go for the full twelve months...

Yip. Kids through college and the first year of my retirement, with Mrs Loire :cool:

Animord

Loire wrote: »

Yip. Kids through college and the first year of my retirement, with Mrs Loire :cool:

It'll fly by and on the upside, plenty of time to plan the route...


I lived in London for years and at one time or another ate at most of the Michelin starred restaurants and most of the cool and trendy places and funnily enough if I had to pick the meal that stands out in my memory the most it'd be sea bass that I had a little restaurant in Portugal that, quite frankly didn't look wildly clean. But it was cooked on a open BBQ type thing and served with chips and some salad. it was all crispy and salty round the edges and cooked to perfection inside. Oh dear Lord, I am hungry now.

Dizzyblonde

Loire wrote: »

OK...Vin de Loire behind this post, but, generally, apart from the Xmas forum (and I think they're a bit mad Ted in a great way) and perhaps the "Expand your Horizons" forum, is there a more positive place to hang out than here? So much doom & gloom, yet this place is a santuary. Best of all though, the skills we're learning will GUARANTEE that we can all feed ourselves & our families to such a great extend that our grand kids will say that "our granny/grandad was a great cook, never used anything fancy, but good ingredients and cooked so well" like has been posted recently. It's not about what, it's about how.. :)

For me it's all about getting new ideas and a fresh approach to cooking. Not to mention helpful, friendly people. I'm not nearly as adventurous as a lot of people in the forum, and after decades of cooking for my family it's great to learn new things.
This forum is better than any cookery book

Merkin

Does anyone like Rolys in Ballsbridge? If so they have a Facebook offer for two people this coming Sunday for full A La Carte meal for two for €69 which is pretty good value, normally at least that per head.

Loire

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

This forum is better than any cookery book

I agree...won't stop me getting more books as Xmas pressies though

Dizzyblonde

Merkin wrote: »

Does anyone like Rolys in Ballsbridge? If so they have a Facebook offer for two people this coming Sunday for full A La Carte meal for two for €69 which is pretty good value, normally at least that per head.

I haven't been but my daughter has and reckons it's overrated. That's just her opinion though. If it's Sunday lunch you're having, Dobbins do a fabulous one for €26 a head.