Food for thought (or for food...)

Myranda

I have been having tasty treats in the form of meat lately...

The other day was a fillet steak so rare that I didn't need anything with it - just munched it down on its own, and it was reet lovely.

Today was mildly spiced meat balls made by hand all I needed was a little wholegrain mustard. Yummed them down.

The revelation that a little really good food can make for a very pleasant evening has got me on the quest for tasty foods that when cooked right are amazings

jd0272

A bit basic in its form, but spag bol, lasagne, and any chilli beef variant made NOT with horrible minced meat, but with slow cooked beef (believe it or not, brisket or braising joints are the best IMO for slow cooking and among the cheapest, stick em in the slow cooker with some veggies of yer choice and the meat just falls apart) as the meat base, and a thick home made proper tomato base. Spice/herb to suit.

Yum yum.

bertie

Myranda said:

The revelation that a little really good food can make for a very pleasant evening 

 in a non patrionising way,  I find that statement quite sad - in that it was a revelation.

jd0272

Good food, a good slippery workout (snigger snigger) with yer other half, and a nice big bottla gin make it all better.

randomhandclaps

If Dr Atkins is right you should see the pounds falling off.

jd0272

Only if you drink the gin with diet coke. 

(Ignore the other dangerous chemically ingredienty bits and bobs in the diet coke).

Eat healthy and don't eat crap food works for us. Cept the odd treat.

Myranda

bertie said:

Myranda said:

The revelation that a little really good food can make for a very pleasant evening 

 in a non patrionising way,  I find that statement quite sad - in that it was a revelation.

I should I think clarify.

I sort of mean better food.

Rather than just steak it was a 21 day aged fillet, chose the best bit, a little seasoning rubbed in, pan seared it ... rare? practically blue, still bloody... so tender you could practically cut it apart with a fork.

By buying less of a more exclusive product a nice meal was a wonderful meal...

I shall be buying less-but-better more often.

ESBlonde

Buying quality ingredients from small independant shops/markets is the way to go. Nice food properly prepared is a joy in itself. Better if some fancy chef does it but anyway the world is better like that.

ToneControl

Myranda said:

bertie said:

Myranda said:

The revelation that a little really good food can make for a very pleasant evening 

 in a non patrionising way,  I find that statement quite sad - in that it was a revelation.

I should I think clarify.

I sort of mean better food.

Rather than just steak it was a 21 day aged fillet, chose the best bit, a little seasoning rubbed in, pan seared it ... rare? practically blue, still bloody... so tender you could practically cut it apart with a fork.

By buying less of a more exclusive product a nice meal was a wonderful meal...

I shall be buying less-but-better more often.

that's what I've been doing recently

Aged fillet from Aldi or Tesco, a really heavy iron griddle pan I got for £30 from TK Maxx

I've got the kids eating medium rare now

 

the best fillet steak, salt marsh lamb, etc is still cheaper than decent ready meals, so I've been going that way, especially since I can't now eat wheat or barley, which is in everything

 

My latest trick is buying plain frozen seabass, hake, salmon, cod, defrosting for an hour in cold water and frying it up nicely seasoned at lunch time with some simple veg or gnocci

Total cooking time 7 minutes

 

bertie

Myranda said:

I should I think clarify.

I sort of mean better food.

ah,  got'ya

roundthebend

There was a new TV programme on last night with Nigel Slater and Adam Henson where they attempt to show you how easy and cheap it is to cook decent quality meals.

For example, they tried a range of Tesco ready lasagnes from 75p to £3.50 per portion. The £2.20 option was quite good in their opinion, and the £3.50 one was excellent enough that Nigel said he wouldn't be ashamed to serve it up and claim he'd made it himself. But, they concluded that it was expensive like that. So, they made a batch of 20 homemade ready portions to put in the freezer. They even grew the Durum wheat on a farm in the Cotswolds and had it milled for the homemade pasta. But the result was much cheaper and tastier, for around £2 per portion.

I know loads of people who can't be bothered cooking, but simple food can taste fantastic, is usually healthier, doesn't have to be hard or take ages to do, and can be an enjoyable and rewarding process. We've been cooking 95% of our meals from basic ingredients for 10 years and it's great when you discover quality ingredients.

stickyfiddle

Sod fillet. Ribeye is where the action is. Get a good evenly-marbled ribeye and it's unbeatable.

Homemade burgers are great too. Just decent beef mince, a dollop of wholegrain and a splash of beer is all they need if seasoned right. Once oh get that sorted no other burger will be of enough.

bertie

stickyfiddle said:

 Get a good evenly-marbled ribeye and it's unbeatable.

I agree on your comment about fillet,   best end of rump is superb and usually a darn sight cheaper than rib. Problem with cheaper ribs, especially supermarket ones - theres a whole lot of fat -  while marbling is good, great chunks of fat aint

If the meal is going to be a 'veg and sauce'  then rump for me,  if salad and/or chips - sirloin.........if a really good rib cannot be found

guitarfishbay

Try to find a good local butchers.  Mine does fantastic sausages, when I tried them for the first time I was genuinely annoyed at myself for ever bothering to buy sausages from the supermarket around the corner.  They're about the same price as the 'premium' supermarket brands but the difference in quality and flavour is huge.

Phil_aka_Pip

IMO finding proper food in a local and for the most part independent shop is the way to go. For taste, nutrition, value-for-money, and fill-you-up-ness. Supermarket stuff only looks cheaper.

CabbageCat

I mostly eat vegetarian (for calorie and price reasons - I still like meat) and get most of the stuff from Tesco. The local greengrocer and the Turkish/Asian mini-mart places nearby have much mouldier produce that costs more. Herbs and spices all come from the exotic shops though, a pouch of paprika costs half as much as those Schwartz pots and you get four times as much.

Much of my meat is free nowadays. My Ma keeps sheep to stop her field getting overgrown and has more lamb than she can possibly eat. She doesn't keep pigs or moocows any more though. Boo.

My local butcher has nice stuff but never seems to have any chicken. What's going on with that?

bertie

CabbageCat said:

or moocows any more though. Boo.

do they have colds?