General Chat Thread II

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123958327#Comment_123958327

Oh, salt and pepper, that's it. I used an electric chopper. It takes a few cycles of pulsing and then pushing down the mixture to contact the blades. Set in the fridge.

The paprika helps with the colour. You could sub the sherry vinegar with lemon juice, just make sure it's not too wet.

I used two cans of mackerel in brine, drained, so as to have enough of the mix in contact with the blade.

Dial Hard

Got a whopper Too Good to Go bag in Sheridan's there. Cheeseboard mac & cheese definitely on the menu this week!

Dave_The_Sheep

I've looked at that a few times, never seem to see anything worthwhile. Always seems to be newsagents and garages trying to offload their detritus. Any tips?

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123959078#Comment_123959078

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123959559#Comment_123959559

I must get into that app… Thread here:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058214672/too-good-to-go-food-app

Gremlinertia

Slightly out of left field question but - myself and Mrs G love the insides of Moro/Boost bars and I was pondering an attempt to try recreate, I've had the barest of browses online and nothing looked convincing so I'm wondering if anyone here harbours similar niche obsessions and maybe has a site or recipe to recommend?

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123959559#Comment_123959559

Ignore anything with a rating of less than 4.3 stars, add the places you want to try to your favourites (mine are Sheridan's, Tartine, Bretzel Bakery, all the James Whelans, Lotts & Co and Squaredish), and check the app once or twice a day for that all-important little green dot in your favourites tab. After that it's really just luck and timing. There was a period of a few weeks there when the Tartine bags all seemed to come up on days I was in the office and the Sheridan's ones invariably came up while I was working from home 🤣

This is today's haul. The Mt. Leinster alone is about 8 quids worth of cheese.

magicbastarder

have i mentioned before that the bookers cheddar is my current Favourite Cheese?

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123960120#Comment_123960120

It's soooooooooooo good. Although I am very much looking forward to trying the Mt. Leinster too. Raw milk cheddar.

Planet X

A bit late but……getting a few pounds of Mincemeat made for mince pies for Christmas.

Bredabe

I was trying to preserve some pealed beetroot, had only red wine vinegar so I popped the slices in that.

Now I'm finding it too tart for my tastes, how do I make it more mellow without adding sugar or sugar type products to it?

New Home

Soak it in water for many hours?

zell12

Where do folk get their spices for a bargain? I'm popping North soon, will be getting Curry powder 1kg £5, Turmeric 1kg £5, Chilli powder 1kg £5, Peppercorns 100g £1. Any similar prices here?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123980432#Comment_123980432

Asian supermarkets, may not match those prices but are vastly cheaper than supermarket jars, and sell more sensible size bags (50/100/200/400g for each type usually)

Unless you use 1kg of turmeric a year, don't buy 1kg of turmeric. Potency goes fairly quickly.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123980432#Comment_123980432

Costless supermarket in Tallaght. Great prices. Asian supermarkets too.

I don't buy in huge quantities though as you won't have time to eat 10% of the spices before they start to lose flavour.

Dunno how long it would take me to go through a kilo of tumeric. Maybe not in my lifetime.

Dial Hard

I've discovered the wonder that is frozen paratha through an Indian friend. I'm never buying or ordering in naan again.

SineadSpears

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123982702#Comment_123982702

The ones with potato and green chilli are lovely 🤌

Dial Hard

The piece on microplastics in the kitchen in today's Irish Times advising people to use glass chopping boards. An angel loses its wings every time someone uses a knife on a glass board 😞

magicbastarder

what?

glass?

what?

L1011

Jaysus.

Wood. Just use wood.

I realised that the inside of our plastic measuring jugs was getting a bit beaten up - all the forks stirring stock cubes dissolving and so on I guess - so got actual, French made, Pyrex jugs to replace them. Probably the only glass jugs that can sort-of stack. They're the stumpy type my Mam had in the 80s and they do market them as classics!

Also changed to glass storage boxes. They don't stain, they don't get a little floppy if heated up in the microwave.

Also been replacing silicon utensils with, mostly, wood but sometimes metal ones as they clearly start to release something after a while - they get sticky.

Black Sheep

Wood all the way…

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123983947#Comment_123983947

Also been replacing silicon utensils with, mostly, wood but sometimes metal ones as they clearly start to release something after a while - they get sticky.

Speaking of maintaining wooden items, I've a card scraper which I occasionally use on chopping boards and the like. Wouldn't be easy to use on utensils though. They're generally only a few quid each but need to be sharpened periodically. Kinda like using a plane on wood; generally you can't sand kitchen items because they would generally have absorbed enough oil that it'd gum up sandpaper.

https://www.strahanonlineshop.ie/products/cabinet-scrapers?srsltid=AfmBOooTLo_av9dzvfFLMUEqY3lofhiQEFPZwPZoyyAcWJGA_vaeI06a

If you had a knife you weren't precious about, you could use it in a similar way.

awec

I'm sure everyone has seen the endless ads for Huel on their social media. I bit the bullet and ordered some of the stuff a few weeks ago.

I mainly ordered it because I work from home 100% of the time, and I needed something alternative for weekday lunches, particularly on days when I don't really have time to make anything. I was getting fed up of eating the same stuff, and I wanted it to stay pretty healthy (though to be clear, I am absolutely not a massive health food person, you won't find me drinking a kale smoothie or counting calories in a meal).

Figured I'd stick up my thoughts on it so far, from the perspective of someone who literally just wanted something quick and easy to eat at lunch time.

I ordered the selection of the hot and savoury pots, so I got 4 x Spicy "Chicken", 4 x Hoisin "Duck", 4 x Korean BBQ Noodles and 4 x Katsu "Chicken" Noodles. The quotes are there because these are all vegan so it's not real meat.

These are actually good! In terms of flavour, I think the Katsu is probably my favourite, then the spicy chicken (which is actually properly spicy), the Hoisin and finally the Korean BBQ. But they all taste good and they are all filling. The consistency of them is nice, they are not like pot noodle / koka where its noodles in a bowl of flavoured water, these are much thicker than that, it's like noddles with an actual sauce and pieces in it.

Also ordered the bars, mainly for snacking on the golf course. I have to say, these are probably the best protein bars I've ever tasted. The outside is hard and the inside is semi-soft and chewy, it's a really nice consistency. The flavours are good. I ordered the selection pack again and so far they are all great. Will 100% be buying more of these.

It's too expensive to eat every day (not that you'd want to) , but if anyone else has saw the ads and was a bit unsure, the savoury pots are a decent lunch option for someone in a hurry.

I've tried their meal-as-a-drink things before. Not good, really wouldn't be bothered with this. Like drinking a very heavy protein shake.

sammyjo90

In the same bost as you and I have thought about doing that myself a lot. , Good to know they aren't pure crap

Dial Hard

Genuine question, lads, but does working from home full time not mean you have way more time to make a few proper lunches than people with a commute???

magicbastarder

working in the office usually meant a more regimented lunch break; being pulled away from your desks by colleagues to go to the canteen and have a chat, and maybe a walk after.

now my lunchbreaks are much more random; i have been known to run errands on them and then at 3 or 4 o'clock realise i forgot to get lunch.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123989746#Comment_123989746

Some days I do, but honestly I'm pretty lazy about eating at lunch time on week days. I just want something that takes minimum effort and I can just eat it. I'm not really into actually cooking at lunch time, and if it involves having to wash up pots or pans after I am rarely bothered.

Sometimes I'll cook a burger or something but most of the time it's just sandwiches, soup, or something I can chuck in the air fryer.

I work very flexible hours, so I don't have a defined lunch break, which doesn't help. Some days I'll take 10 mins for lunch, other days I could take 2 hours. Some days I could go at 12, other days I mightn't bother with lunch til 3. Just depends on what suits me on any particular day. As magicbastarder said above, people who work in offices tend to socialise at lunch which means it's usually at a fairly regular time.

sammyjo90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123989746#Comment_123989746

For me, it 100 percent should mean that. But I've gotten very lazy with lunch and not crazy keen on leftovers so that doesn't help.

Dreamweapon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123982702#Comment_123982702

I love these, very moreish. I must pick some up as i haven't had any in ages.

igCorcaigh

Yes, those paratha are good, as are frozen roti. I also love the frozen pancakes from the Chinese shops, lovely and thin.