The General Chat Thread

Merkin · 13-04-2014 09:05PM

awec wrote: »

Something really quick would be nice. Like coming home from work and having something within 15/20 minutes.

Thai green curry maybe?

Ann Landers · 13-04-2014 09:22PM

awec wrote: »

Don't think it really deserves it's own thread - I have a load of chicken left over from a roast, what should I do with it?

Chicken broth! Soooo good. I like this recipe:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9831/roast-chicken-soup

homemadecider · 13-04-2014 09:54PM

awec wrote: »

Something really quick would be nice. Like coming home from work and having something within 15/20 minutes.

Chicken fried rice.

Put some rice on to cook - this will be done in 20 mins. While it's cooking, put some onions, mushrooms, leftover chicken and any other veg you like on to fry in a pan. Once the rice is done, dump it into the frying pan with the veg and mix well. Make a space at the side and pour on a beaten egg. Scramble the egg in the pan and then mix it through the rice.

Season with salt/ pepper/ soy sauce/ mirin/ hot sauce etc.

Faith · 13-04-2014 11:04PM

Chicken Caesar salad. With bacon and croutons, it's a really filling, tasty meal.

MissF, you poor thing! Spent a summer in California a few years back and we were inundated with ants the whole time. Irritating things, but far preferable to mice or something like that IMO.

IvyTheTerrible · 14-04-2014 07:21AM

Just saw my first ant in the kitchen of the season. Now begins my annual ant-watch!
They send out scouts who make the first scent trail, so if you see one, kill it before it can go back to the colony and lead the rest of the feckers back to the kitchen.
It's become more difficult to kill them now because I have a toddler so most of the effective ant killers aren't baby-friendly.
I'll be on the watch from now until the end of September, ugh. Hate hate hate them.

the beer revolu · 14-04-2014 08:55AM

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Just saw my first ant in the kitchen of the season. Now begins my annual ant-watch!
They send out scouts who make the first scent trail, so if you see one, kill it before it can go back to the colony and lead the rest of the feckers back to the kitchen.
It's become more difficult to kill them now because I have a toddler so most of the effective ant killers aren't baby-friendly.
I'll be on the watch from now until the end of September, ugh. Hate hate hate them.

Oddly our garden is always alive with ants in the summer but they tend to be the outdoor type and don't visit us in the house.

IvyTheTerrible · 14-04-2014 09:19AM

the beer revolu wrote: »

Oddly our garden is always alive with ants in the summer but they tend to be the outdoor type and don't visit us in the house.

We live in a ground floor apartment that is nearly 70 years old, so there are lots of little gaps and cracks around the place for them to get in. The garden is full of ants nests, so it's not feasible to destroy the nests either!

the beer revolu · 14-04-2014 10:15AM

Bought two rabbit's on Saturday.
Went to joint them yesterday only to discover that one of them was a pararabbit - only 2 legs!
There will be words.

Merkin · 14-04-2014 10:18AM

the beer revolu wrote: »

Bought two rabbit's on Saturday.
Went to joint them yesterday only to discover that one of them was a pararabbit - only 2 legs!
There will be words.

What a horrible life for the poor little wabbit. First he's born disabled and then slaughtered to be eaten

I really hope he had some happiness in his little life the poor little thing.

the beer revolu · 14-04-2014 10:22AM

Merkin wrote: »

What a horrible life for the poor little wabbit. First he's born disabled and then slaughtered to be eaten I really hope he had some happiness in his little life the poor little thing.

I think he was poorly shot - through the fore quarter - and the legs were cut off as a result.

I actually feel better about eating wild meat rather than intensively farmed meat (provided it is well shot).

IvyTheTerrible · 14-04-2014 10:24AM

the beer revolu wrote: »

I think he was poorly shot - through the fore quarter - and the legs were cut off as a result.

I actually feel better about eating wild meat rather than intensively farmed meat (provided it is well shot).

We've had to cry off eating sanglier this year, where we would usually be eating eat, there has been a spate of dead sangliers and nobody knows what's killing them. Analysis show it may be a bacterial infection but they don't know what bacteria. So no game for me til they do!

Dubl07 · 14-04-2014 06:08PM

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

We've had to cry off eating sanglier this year, where we would usually be eating eat, there has been a spate of dead sangliers and nobody knows what's killing them. Analysis show it may be a bacterial infection but they don't know what bacteria. So no game for me til they do!

Very wise. Are there indications of it affecting anything other than the boar?

IvyTheTerrible · 15-04-2014 06:13AM

Dubl07 wrote: »

Very wise. Are there indications of it affecting anything other than the boar?

No, not as far as I know, all the news reports I have seen only mention the boar.

tmc86 · 15-04-2014 11:20AM

Does anyone use a delivery service for organic/regular fruit & veg?

I'm looking at a few in Dublin to get delivered on a weekly basis and wondering if anyone has hay recommendations etc?

Tired of poor quality supermarket veg!

The price per box seems to be approx €20 which I think is quite good value.

fiddlechic · 15-04-2014 01:23PM

tmc86 wrote: »

Does anyone use a delivery service for organic/regular fruit & veg?

I'm looking at a few in Dublin to get delivered on a weekly basis and wondering if anyone has hay recommendations etc?

Tired of poor quality supermarket veg!

The price per box seems to be approx €20 which I think is quite good value.

No but I'd also be very interested in this. Enquired a couple of years ago and they didn't deliver to apartments. Have changed work since so could be an option.

MissFlitworth · 15-04-2014 01:40PM

Lots of my friends use this guy

http://www.flynnsfreshveg.com/

I've gotten orders from him before and he's great, fruit & veg were (as far as I can remember) top notch. Just doesn't work for us to get a box of veg delivered for a variety of reasons so we stopped ordering but no complaints about the service or quality.

Also used to pick up a veg box (well - bag really) from homeorganics.ie from the environmental place on South William Street that I cannot remember the name of. It was great! Lovely veg, lovely fruit, seasonal things thrown in (courgette blossoms, cherries), free eggs on occasion. Again, didn't work for us but not the fault of the service, pure user error.

BaZmO* · 15-04-2014 02:31PM

I absolutely love the idea of this but I just know what will happen. I'll end up with a mountain of fertiliser.

MissFlitworth · 15-04-2014 02:39PM

That's part of what happened to us. Found it really hard to eat the full contents of the box every week and also had to buy extra fruit & salad vegetables so it didn't work. I think if we were more organised, less fussy and ate potatoes more regularly it would have been great though

BaZmO* · 15-04-2014 02:42PM

And even though I'm 100% sure I know what will happen I'm still tempted. :rolleyes:

I'm convincing myself it'll make me eat healthier.

Faith · 15-04-2014 02:45PM

I think it's a great idea too because I'm desperate to get more veg into my diet, and particularly a greater variety of veg. But I agree 100% with Bazmo - we wouldn't use half of it and it'd rot and I'd feel guilty as hell

rubadub · 15-04-2014 02:49PM

GalwayGuy2 wrote: »

Does anybody else freeze natural yoghurt for cooking?

I do, I have an ice cube tray that is only used for sauces, you freeze them and pop them out and store them in a bag. If sauces are liquid enough you could fill those ice cube bags so it does not go all fuzzy with frost.

I would then leave them defrost in a bowl in the fridge or just heat it up. It can sort of separate a bit but is fine for cooking in sauces.

Good for smoothies too as it cools it down without diluting with just water.

IvyTheTerrible · 15-04-2014 03:01PM

You could think about sharing the box with a friend, that's what friends of ours did to split costs and cut wastage! They never threw any of it away then.

MissFlitworth · 15-04-2014 03:03PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

And even though I'm 100% sure I know what will happen I'm still tempted. :rolleyes:

Even though I've been down the vegetable box path twice now and thrown away bags of rotted vegetables twice with guilt swamping me I am still looking around some websites going 'hmmmm, maybe if...'

rubadub · 15-04-2014 03:13PM

I have a rake of carrots in my freezer, got them really cheap, I never really thought of freezing veg before this, some things turn to mush, fine for soups though.

Merkin · 15-04-2014 03:39PM

Do you know about the whole blanching process before freezing Rubadub? If you do this then they will keep their firmness and colour etc.

Tom Dunne · 15-04-2014 04:24PM

Merkin wrote: »

Do you know about the whole blanching process before freezing Rubadub? If you do this then they will keep their firmness and colour etc.

Tell me more....

tmc86 · 15-04-2014 04:52PM

The flynns fresh veg was one I was looking at and free delivery is very tempting.

I think the idea of a variety box is also one of the reasons why I'm looking into it as it would mean looking for new dishes etc and ways to use different types of veg.

Waste would be a worry though.

I might give it a whirl and see how I get on!

Ann Landers · 15-04-2014 05:23PM

Can you freeze wine for cooking? I don't drink it, but love using it in cooking. Hate if some of it goes to waste.

Merkin · 15-04-2014 05:25PM

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Tell me more....

Here you go m'dear, you'll never encounter a soggy or mushy frozen vegetable ever again!

http://www.organicgardening.com/cook/how-blanch-vegetables

And here is the link for crop specific timings etc

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze.html

Merkin · 15-04-2014 05:26PM

Ann Landers wrote: »

Can you freeze wine for cooking? I don't drink it, but love using it in cooking. Hate if some of it goes to waste.

Yes! In ice cube trays or in little zip lock bags.

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