Bing said:
All I seem to buy is bread, milk, crisps, cereal and chocolate biscuits....is chocolate one of your 5 a day?
My first Sunday lunch
- Thread starter Leesfarm07
- Start date
All I seem to buy is bread, milk, crisps, cereal and chocolate biscuits....is chocolate one of your 5 a day?
RubyBlueZ4MC said:
Is that a make of chocolate biscuit?
Well done! I can thoroughly recommend Delia Smiths cook books for the basics. And I have an ace curry recipe if you feel like having a go 
I think I've pulled.... :rofl:sars said:Sorry to hear, but good for you and tbh seeing a bloke doing the shopping and not buying ready meals sends out all the right signals to us single older females
Thanks Stuart might give that a go if the kids get sick of sausages etc. I had to google how go cook roast potatoes and followed a Delia recipe..worked okStuart Truman said:Well done! I can thoroughly recommend Delia Smiths cook books for the basics. And I have an ace curry recipe if you feel like having a go
Sorry but I had to laugh.....Carol M said:
KFC is only fit to be thrown up.. 8)
Being on your own can be daunting but you seem to have it under control now
I took care of my wife when she was sick and then was single after 27 years, you'll be fine.
Ps the new ovens are magic with all the auto probe functions, my dog could cook a roast with ours.....
. . But I'd have to fight her for it later 
Now I'm no longer single all I get is bigger in the middle, drat! Stay healthy :wink:
Leesfarm07 said:Thanks Stuart might give that a go if the kids get sick of sausages etc. I had to google how go cook roast potatoes and followed a Delia recipe..worked okStuart Truman said:Well done! I can thoroughly recommend Delia Smiths cook books for the basics. And I have an ace curry recipe if you feel like having a go
I took the man cave approach, and invested in shiny gadgets. A good food processor and a Dualit hand mixer. A cooking gadget shop is as much fun as the tool section in a DIY store
Stuart Truman said:Well done! I can thoroughly recommend Delia Smiths cook books for the basics. And I have an ace curry recipe if you feel like having a go
I use deliaonline a lot. It's very good.
I must admit I seem to be washing up all the time. I used to just leave stuff on the side before and do it later but now zoom as soon as it's used I've got the fairy liquid out... What's happening 
Leesfarm07 said:I must admit I seem to be washing up all the time. I used to just leave stuff on the side before and do it later but now zoom as soon as it's used I've got the fairy liquid out... What's happening
Your turning into a modern man and doing the house work!! Seriously you will love cooking i do all our cooking. I started doing it to get out of doing the washing up. But the wife is so much more intelligent than me as she said we needed a dish washer now i cook and i end up loading the bloody dish washer after as well!! I must have a word with her about that!!
use this
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15179/Lakeland-Meat-Thermometer
and never worry about whether your food is overcooked / undercooked again
almost all the instructions on cooking meat are wrong - if you cook on a low temp and use this to tell you when the middle of the meat is cooked - its very hard to go wrong
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15179/Lakeland-Meat-Thermometer
and never worry about whether your food is overcooked / undercooked again
almost all the instructions on cooking meat are wrong - if you cook on a low temp and use this to tell you when the middle of the meat is cooked - its very hard to go wrong
Hey OP, don't know how you are with cooking but I've learned loads on how to cook tasty food on the cheap and easy from Jamie Oliver, I know some people think his presenting style is a bit marmite, but personally I do like his recipies - lots of ways of getting fed quickly with minimal effort.
Quick tip for 'time management' which my mum taught me when I went to uni - anything that can be cooked in a pot like say, a curry, cook a 'batch' - it won't take much longer, just scale everything up quantity wise and use judgement on how long to cook for - and portion off the extra to stick in the freezer, ready for when you need it (use decent tupperware, not the cheap stuff that never closes because the lids shrink/go wonky). Another side benefit is that if you do a lamb/chicken/fish curry, it almost acts like a marinating step - like when you have a curry but then have leftovers a day later (always seems nicer!).
On a 'lazy' day, or when you're just plain knackered, a few minutes to defrost and a further few minutes on 'nuke' in the microwave, and you're sorted - while that's on the go stick some pitta breads in the toaster, once done, rub a little bit of (real) butter on those and rip open a ready-washed salad for something on the site and crack open a cold beer!
Quick tip for 'time management' which my mum taught me when I went to uni - anything that can be cooked in a pot like say, a curry, cook a 'batch' - it won't take much longer, just scale everything up quantity wise and use judgement on how long to cook for - and portion off the extra to stick in the freezer, ready for when you need it (use decent tupperware, not the cheap stuff that never closes because the lids shrink/go wonky). Another side benefit is that if you do a lamb/chicken/fish curry, it almost acts like a marinating step - like when you have a curry but then have leftovers a day later (always seems nicer!).
On a 'lazy' day, or when you're just plain knackered, a few minutes to defrost and a further few minutes on 'nuke' in the microwave, and you're sorted - while that's on the go stick some pitta breads in the toaster, once done, rub a little bit of (real) butter on those and rip open a ready-washed salad for something on the site and crack open a cold beer!
Leesfarm07 said:I must admit I seem to be washing up all the time. I used to just leave stuff on the side before and do it later but now zoom as soon as it's used I've got the fairy liquid out... What's happening
best way forward. it's psychological - when there are dishes on the side/in the sink, they start to multiply as it'll take 'too long to do them all' - but then the pile gets bigger. If everyone does them as soon as they're finished with their plates, the sink is always clear.
We used to have a rule where 'the cook doesn't clean', but I scrapped that when I realised that I am a really tidy cook and I clean up as I go along and my wife will find a use for every utensil and dish we have just to make a pasta as well as turning the kitchen into Baghdad!
Machine monkey said:Leesfarm07 said:I must admit I seem to be washing up all the time. I used to just leave stuff on the side before and do it later but now zoom as soon as it's used I've got the fairy liquid out... What's happening
Your turning into a modern man and doing the house work!! Seriously you will love cooking i do all our cooking. I started doing it to get out of doing the washing up. But the wife is so much more intelligent than me as she said we needed a dish washer now i cook and i end up loading the bloody dish washer after as well!! I must have a word with her about that!!
Haha, No sooner than my missus said I should do the washing up, a dishwasher was ordered and plumbed in! Anyway, all men know women can't stack the things properly....
oke: Lf07, Well done you. Slow cookers are great for stews, curries etc. Chuck all the ingredients in the night before, switch them on in the morning and the meal is ready for when you get home from work.
Might as well share a recipe. Dead tasty but you do (ideally) need a food processor. It's a Gordon Ramsey, tweaked slightly as I've found times that work slightly better.
If you want it "zingier" leave some or all of the Chilli seeds in. This has become a firm favourite and is the first thing I tried my hand at when i wanted to start cooking.
Ingredients - Enough for 6 Servings
• 1kg chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 star anise
• 400ml coconut milk
• 100ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 400g green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
• Handful of coriander leaves, roughly torn
Curry paste
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4–5 long, red chillies, trimmed, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 3 lemon grass stalks, trimmed with the outer leaves removed and thinly sliced
• 5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 large shallots, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2–3 tbsp groundnut oil
Coconut rice
• 500g jasmine, Thai fragrant or other long-grain rice
• 400ml coconut milk
• 5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• Pinch of sea salt
Method
First make the curry paste. Put the garlic, chillies, lemon grass, ginger, shallots and turmeric in a food processor and whiz to a paste. With the motor running, trickle in a little groundnut oil and blend well, scraping the sides of the processor several times. (Or you can pound the ingredients together in batches using a pestle and mortar).
To make the curry, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the groundnut oil in a large cast-iron casserole or heavy-based pan. Tip in the curry paste and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until they are beginning to soften.
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and stir to coat them in the spice paste. Add the lime leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, coconut milk, stock, sugar, soy and fish sauces and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 30–40 minutes until the chicken is tender.
For the rice, rinse the grains in cold water to get rid of any excess starch. Drain and tip into a heavy-based pan. Add the rest of the ingredients with 270ml water, stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Leaving the lid on, remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for 5–10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve while still hot.
Skim off any excess oil on the surface of the curry. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Tip in the beans, put the lid on and cook for another 3–4 minutes until the beans are tender. Scatter the coriander leaves over the curry and serve with the coconut rice.
If you want it "zingier" leave some or all of the Chilli seeds in. This has become a firm favourite and is the first thing I tried my hand at when i wanted to start cooking.
Ingredients - Enough for 6 Servings
• 1kg chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 star anise
• 400ml coconut milk
• 100ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 400g green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
• Handful of coriander leaves, roughly torn
Curry paste
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4–5 long, red chillies, trimmed, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 3 lemon grass stalks, trimmed with the outer leaves removed and thinly sliced
• 5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 large shallots, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2–3 tbsp groundnut oil
Coconut rice
• 500g jasmine, Thai fragrant or other long-grain rice
• 400ml coconut milk
• 5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• Pinch of sea salt
Method
First make the curry paste. Put the garlic, chillies, lemon grass, ginger, shallots and turmeric in a food processor and whiz to a paste. With the motor running, trickle in a little groundnut oil and blend well, scraping the sides of the processor several times. (Or you can pound the ingredients together in batches using a pestle and mortar).
To make the curry, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the groundnut oil in a large cast-iron casserole or heavy-based pan. Tip in the curry paste and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until they are beginning to soften.
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and stir to coat them in the spice paste. Add the lime leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, coconut milk, stock, sugar, soy and fish sauces and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 30–40 minutes until the chicken is tender.
For the rice, rinse the grains in cold water to get rid of any excess starch. Drain and tip into a heavy-based pan. Add the rest of the ingredients with 270ml water, stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Leaving the lid on, remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for 5–10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve while still hot.
Skim off any excess oil on the surface of the curry. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Tip in the beans, put the lid on and cook for another 3–4 minutes until the beans are tender. Scatter the coriander leaves over the curry and serve with the coconut rice.
Blimey I didnt realise there were so many male cooks and washer-uppers on here. Thank you all very much for the advice, tips and recipe's (Stuart ) This all goes to show what a close community this Forum is. Even though I have only ever met a handful of other members I am genuinely touched by the support...Thank you
) This all goes to show what a close community this Forum is. Even though I have only ever met a handful of other members I am genuinely touched by the support...Thank you Similar threads
