General Chat Thread II

Dizzyblonde

L1011 wrote: »

This isn't entirely food related, but its about food, and I don't do any other gardening :pac:

Harvesting the raised beds this weekend between rain showers, got a proper growth time period on it this year for the first time, previous years I either started too late or was using pots and did more salad leaves which we then forgot to use.

For some reason, basil did not take well and has only started giving good growth in the past weeks; and also the carrots aren't great at all, and take up too much space.

Onions and spring onions came out great but the space yield for onions is too poor to bother with again - may go to shallots next year. Chives have gone great to the point that I'm bored of them now! Coriander bolted too fast to notice but still got a decent few freezer bags of leaves over the summer.

Have a cold frame now to get started a bit earlier next year on some things; and planning to go for more herbs and less conventional veg.

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

^ I had two rows of potatoes in my raised bed this year. Waited till they flowered and the leaves started to brown before picking. Marbles is all I got, bloody marbles!

Parsley’s done well but Dill just shot up and flowered before I picked any.

I've had a large raised bed for years, originally used for growing vegetables. I grew beetroot, carrots, garlic, kale, etc. In the past few years I've just had raspberries, rhubarb and gooseberries in it and they've done well - in fact the raspberries did too well this year, they got completely out of hand. I've made chutneys and relishes, jams and jellies from what the bed produced over the years and now I've completely lost interest in it.
I've decided to take it out and put in a zen garden where I can relax and not have to slog

Gloomtastic!

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I've had a large raised bed for years, originally used for growing vegetables. I grew beetroot, carrots, garlic, kale, etc. In the past few years I've just had raspberries, rhubarb and gooseberries in it and they've done well - in fact the raspberries did too well this year, they got completely out of hand. I've made chutneys and relishes, jams and jellies from what the bed produced over the years and now I've completely lost interest in it.
I've decided to take it out and put in a zen garden where I can relax and not have to slog

I do ask myself all the time why I bother. Apart from herbs, you can always buy the veg cheaper in the shops than it costs to grow your own. I've just bought two cherry tomato plants from Aldi for the raised bed that cost me €10. Here we go again! :rolleyes:

Faith

Deja Boo wrote: »

Came in looking for the [now] defunct Cooking Club ...would be something kinda fun during covid isolation.

All of the recipes and threads are still available in the cooking club sub forum.

New Home

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I do ask myself all the time why I bother. Apart from herbs, you can always buy the veg cheaper in the shops than it costs to grow your own. I've just bought two cherry tomato plants from Aldi for the raised bed that cost me €10. Here we go again! :rolleyes:

Buying tomato plants is bonkers, if you ask me, unless you're looking for a specific variety or you're in a terrible hurry - you can literally get the seeds for free!

The pros of growing your own is that you know exactly what sort of pesticides and fertilisers (if any) you've used and that the crop is much fresher that anything you'd get in the shop. Oh, and the taste, for the most part.

Graces7

New Home wrote: »

Buying tomato plants is bonkers, if you ask me, unless you're looking for a specific variety or you're in a terrible hurry - you can literally get the seeds for free!

The pros of growing your own is that you know exactly what sort of pesticides and fertilisers (if any) you've used and that the crop is much fresher that anything you'd get in the shop. Oh, and the taste, for the most part.

We have a short growing season out here but I grow anything that will produce leafy greens and "graze" on them eg turnip greens, kale . Also broad beans and peas usually do well . Same as when I lived in Orkney. I am leaving my potatoes until much later as they will keep filling out a while yet. And as I only get shopping every two weeks I need to grow some. The leafies will carry on cropping a while yet. Chickweed is good too! And a superfood. NB Tomatoes and I do not get on well together but would use seeds else.

the beer revolu

New Home wrote: »

Buying tomato plants is bonkers, if you ask me, unless you're looking for a specific variety or you're in a terrible hurry - you can literally get the seeds for free!

The pros of growing your own is that you know exactly what sort of pesticides and fertilisers (if any) you've used and that the crop is much fresher that anything you'd get in the shop. Oh, and the taste, for the most part.

But if you haven't saved the seeds from the previous autumn, you have to buy plants.

New Home

Any tomato you get in the shops for your salad would gave tons of seeds. Bags of tomato seeds are also cheaper.

the beer revolu

New Home wrote: »

Any tomato you get in the shops for your salad would gave tons of seeds. Bags of tomato seeds are also cheaper.

I'd never use a shop bought tomato to plant outdoors in Ireland.

But, doh, I forgot about buying packets of seed.
However, if you just want say 4 plants (like I do), it's not a big deal paying €150 fir them.

This year, I'm going to save seeds, though. Every year I have a panic that I can't find Gardener's Delight - I won't grow any other variety, having tried many.

L1011

I wouldn't expect commercial variants to grow well in home gardens at all. Applies to all seeded fruits really. They've been selected for different properties.

For some plants they'll have limited resistance to pests that home garden varieties do for instance - the commercial production likely using pesticides

New Home

I might have been lucky, but my own tomatoes, grown from seeds taken from shop-bought fruits, have been doing very well. Mind you, they were Irish tomatoes from a local organic farm, so that might have made a diffrrence. I've cherry tomatoes (both the tiny ones and the mid-sized ones) and small plum tomatoes.

the beer revolu

New Home wrote: »

I might have been lucky, but my own tomatoes, grown from seeds taken from shop-bought fruits, have been doing very well. Mind you, they were Irish tomatoes from a local organic farm, so that might have made a diffrrence. I've cherry tomatoes (both the tiny ones and the mid-sized ones) and small plum tomatoes.

Outdoors or under glass?

New Home

Two outdoors, three inside by the patio door.

Deja Boo

Faith wrote: »

All of the recipes and threads are still available in the cooking club sub forum.

Thanks it's just more motivating to do it with others.

rubadub

Does anybody know if any supermarkets sell the herb "summer savory"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_savory

It is in some herbs de provence mixes too, but not in the tesco one and I was not forking out for schwartz!

New Home

Try some of the ethnic shops, I doubt it'd be easy to find in the supermarkets. Some of the larger non-chain health food shops would probably have it, too.

Graces7

I just googled summer savory and Whole Foods Online EU have it if it is not urgent?

the beer revolu

rubadub wrote: »

Does anybody know if any supermarkets sell the herb "summer savory"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_savory

It is in some herbs de provence mixes too, but not in the tesco one and I was not forking out for schwartz!

I've never seen it in shops.
We had savoury (winter, I think) in the garden some years ago.
To my mind, you could use thyme, marjoram or oregano as a decent substitute.

rubadub

Thank you all! I will check out some Asian shops, I am due a trip.

I saw it on amazon too so might get some other things to get the free postage.

As many herbs de provence mixes do not have it I figured it must not be a particularly outstanding flavour.

I am making a KFC type breading and it is one thing I cannot get and is one herb that Col. Sanders had revealed. Since there are loads of other herbs in the mix it is not essential that I get it on its own so might just get the schwartz mix if I am stuck. I already have thyme & oregano in my mix.

This guy has 9 videos about trying to get the mixture right!

Legend has it that when Sanders sold up in the US he was disgusted with the drop in quality of the spices and gravy that the new people brought in. He was still in control in Canada and was meant to have them use this spice mix

https://marionkay.com/product/chicken-seasoning-99-x/

I knew about this years ago but I now see they list some of the herbs & spices, while years ago none were shown.

Ingredients:
Monosodium Glutamate, White and Black Pepper, Fine Flake Salt, Sage, Coriander, and other natural spices

Sanders nephew was meant to reveal a recipe but the guy in the video tested it and said it was nothing like it at all.

Shenshen

rubadub wrote: »

Does anybody know if any supermarkets sell the herb "summer savory"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_savory

It is in some herbs de provence mixes too, but not in the tesco one and I was not forking out for schwartz!

I usually get it from the Polish shop, it's very popular in central and Eastern Europe.
I refuse to eat green beans without it

rubadub

Shenshen wrote: »

I usually get it from the Polish shop, it's very popular in central and Eastern Europe.
I refuse to eat green beans without it

Great, I can see the Polish name is Cząber ogrodowy in case it's not in English.

It is difficult to search online as I kept finding references to things being literally savoury.

Graces7

rubadub wrote: »

Great, I can see the Polish name is Cząber ogrodowy in case it's not in English.

It is difficult to search online as I kept finding references to things being literally savoury.

Opting for "images" helped with that.

New Home

Shenshen wrote: »

I usually get it from the Polish shop, it's very popular in central and Eastern Europe.
I refuse to eat green beans without it

Or Jerusalem Artichokes (a.k.a. fartichokes...).

rubadub wrote: »

Great, I can see the Polish name is Cząber ogrodowy in case it's not in English.

It is difficult to search online as I kept finding references to things being literally savoury.

Look for it under its botanical name, you might find the seeds online somewhere or the live plant in so.e nursery.

rubadub

New Home wrote: »

Look for it under its botanical name,

I used that to find the Polish name.

Satureja hortensis site:.pl

Roald Dahl

rubadub wrote: »

I am making a KFC type breading and it is one thing I cannot get and is one herb that Col. Sanders had revealed. Since there are loads of other herbs in the mix it is not essential that I get it on its own so might just get the schwartz mix if I am stuck. I already have thyme & oregano in mix.

https://marionkay.com/product/chicken-seasoning-99-x/

I knew about this years ago but I now see they list some of the herbs & spices, while years ago none were shown.

Sanders nephew was meant to reveal a recipe but the guy in the video tested it and said it was nothing like it at all.

I myself tried to make this KFC mix back when the "secret recipe" was revealed a couple of years ago. it was nice, but didn't taste very much like KFC.

One spice I notice that does not seem to have been mentioned in the recipe is nutmeg. Maybe also it could be that all ingredients are not present in equal amounts? If I was to make it again I would go heavy on the salt/MSG, white pepper (and maybe nutmeg), and less so with all the others.

No idea if nutmeg is the missing component, but I made two recipes recently - the delicious Krokotten for the Cooking Club and a German dish called Würzfleisch - and happened to notice that they both taste really, really like 'pepper sauce'. Pepper sauce is also something that I have tried to make in the past without success, never knowing that nutmeg is what seems to be the elusive key ingredient.

Might be worth a try!

Deja Boo

There's some sort of online tutorial from pinterests tiktok recipes, about soaking chicken nuggets in pickle juice, first... (I can't even imagine.)

It may not be KFC, but might add some flavour interest ?

Do you suppose the missing part (from KFC) could possibly be MSG ? ...or maybe cornstarch for an added crunch factor? (I've not had KFC, so have no clue.)

Shenshen

New Home wrote: »

Or Jerusalem Artichokes (a.k.a. fartichokes...).


Look for it under its botanical name, you might find the seeds online somewhere or the live plant in so.e nursery.

Thanks for reminding me - I'm planning to add it to my new herb garden next year, best get the seeds now

rubadub

Roald Dahl wrote: »

One spice I notice that does not seem to have been mentioned in the recipe is nutmeg. Maybe also it could be that all ingredients are not present in equal amounts? If I was to make it again I would go heavy on the salt/MSG, white pepper (and maybe nutmeg), and less so with all the others.

nutmeg is not in most of the recipes, but was certainly mentioned on the forum I found. I do not like nutmeg so would not bother, I also do not like cloves or allspice so leave them out. I am not really trying to make an exact copy of KFC just a decent southern fried chicken, many do not rate the current KFC as particularly good, it scored lowest in that video I posted. The standout spice not listed in the copycats is paprika, if you look up many other southern fried recipes (not trying to be copies) it is very often included.

It is definitely not equal amounts of the spices. The bogus nephew recipe was not equal amounts either https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-kfc-recipe-revealed-20160818-story.html

These were the 2 voted best by the 2 people in the video.

Dustin’s Recipe with MSG:
28g (1oz) White Pepper
28g (1oz) Black Pepper
14g (.5oz) Garlic Salt
7g (.25oz) Sage
7g (.25oz) Coriander
7g (.25oz) Ginger
7g (.25oz) Cayenne
3.5g (.125oz) Clove
3.5g (.125oz) Allspice
3.5g (.125oz) Savory
1.8g (.0625oz) Marjoram
1.8g (.0625oz) Thyme
340g (12oz) salt
25g msg

Tested 40g spice mix with 200g cake flour
2 tsp spice in 4 cups water brine


Earls FINAL
9g MSG
9g White Pepper
6.9g Black Pepper
3.9g Garlic Salt
2.78g Sage
1.56g Coriander Seed
1.43g Summer Savory
1.35g Ginger
1.05g Rosemary
.75g Cloves
.75g Allspice
.53g Red Cayenne Pepper

Tested 13g spice per 200g cake flour and 24g Fine Flake Salt
2 tsp spice in 4 cups water brine

Deja Boo wrote: »

soaking chicken nuggets in pickle juice, first... (I can't even imagine.)

It may not be KFC, but might add some flavour interest ?

yes, I have seen pickle juice mentioned and will try it. Some brine it in the same spices. The acid in the pickle juice will tenderise the chicken a bit, some would use buttermilk, I use acidic yogurt.

Deja Boo wrote: »

Do you suppose the missing part (from KFC) could possibly be MSG ? ...or maybe cornstarch for an added crunch factor? (I've not had KFC, so have no clue.)

MSG is definitely there, I use quite a bit of it. Potato starch is meant to be in the current KFC recipe which would add crunch like cornstarch. I use potato starch on wings and it works great.

L1011

I'm actually working from home now, months in (long story) so have been doing less batch cooking and more single dishes. This is leading to some chained dishes where I have leftovers

Frikadellen lead to both lasagna (due to pork and beef mince) and tomato soup for lunch (due to having white bread); toasties for lunch lead to a pasta dinner (due to the majority of a red onion); a fry up leading to some puff pastry black pudding and goats cheese parcels leading to a chicken and mushroom casserole-with-a-lid (to not annoy the pie zealots) - but I'm now slightly stuck for a simple lunch to use up:

Half a white onion
Half a red pepper
Half a white pepper
Not a vast amount of block mozzarella
There's some of the goats cheese left also actually

Any ideas?

New Home

L1011 wrote: »

I'm actually working from home now, months in (long story) so have been doing less batch cooking and more single dishes. This is leading to some chained dishes where I have leftovers

Frikadellen lead to both lasagna (due to pork and beef mince) and tomato soup for lunch (due to having white bread); toasties for lunch lead to a pasta dinner (due to the majority of a red onion); a fry up leading to some puff pastry black pudding and goats cheese parcels leading to a chicken and mushroom casserole-with-a-lid (to not annoy the pie zealots) - but I'm now slightly stuck for a simple lunch to use up:

Half a white onion
Half a red pepper
Half a white pepper
Not a vast amount of block mozzarella
There's some of the goats cheese left also actually

Any ideas?

1. Stuffed peppers?

2. Otherwise you can make sweet and sour peppers: fry the onions and the peppers cut in chunks in some oil, add water when they're slightly brown, add a generous pinch of salt, a very generous pinch of sugar (a tablespoon or more, depending on how much veggies you have), some decent wine vinegar - balsamic is fine, but not the crappy one. Cook on a slow heat until caramelised. Serve hot or cold with some chopped parsley (fresh, not dried) if you have it. (Make sure that the proportion of salt sugar amd vinegar is well balanced.)

3. Another idea is to add them to some aubergines, garlic and tomato (passata, fresh or peeled). Fry the veggies minus the tomatoes in a little oil (incl. onion and garlic), add the tomatoes and some salt and if needed some water or even better vegetable stock. Cook on a low heat until reduced.

Both can be served on toasted ciabatta bread (or a decent bread that would hold its shape), cover with mozzarella chunks and stick it under the grill until they've melted.

New Home

Also, risotto!!