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Topic: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?  (Read 2886 times)

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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #15 on: September 04, 2008, 05:08:27 PM »
I dont trust that vinegar & milk thing... the thought of it turns my stomach.
I get my mom to send me powdered buttermilk from the US... but i can also find buttermilk in most local supermarkets.


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #16 on: September 04, 2008, 06:30:08 PM »
Now the recipe I use says to use baking powder not soda.......

I'll look for buttermilk next time I'm in the big supermarket, being as I don't use it often, (although I would if my biscuits would rise!) I haven't looked really hard for it.
Deb

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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #17 on: September 04, 2008, 06:43:41 PM »
In our supermarket, the buttermilk is a small container usually around where they sell single cream, double cream, sour cream, creme fraiche, and plain fromage frais, etc...if that helps. :)

It's not a carton like you'd buy in the US - more like what they sell double/single cream in here.
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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #18 on: September 04, 2008, 06:47:03 PM »
I don't know that my cooking has improved that much per se, but I have learned to make things that I wouldn't have bothered with before. Best example is corn tortillas. I've discovered they're not that hard, and homemade is SO much better!!! :D


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #19 on: September 04, 2008, 06:52:47 PM »
Elynor, how do you make your corn tortillas? Do you have, or get masa flour?
Deb

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' Regret the things you do, not the things you didn't'



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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #20 on: September 04, 2008, 07:07:20 PM »
Now the recipe I use says to use baking powder not soda.......

I'll look for buttermilk next time I'm in the big supermarket, being as I don't use it often, (although I would if my biscuits would rise!) I haven't looked really hard for it.

Sorry, meant baking powder! 
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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #21 on: September 04, 2008, 07:15:24 PM »
My mom hauled over a sack of masa when she visited. But you can order it from mexgrocer.co.uk--they have the same brand (Maseca) as I have. The stuff from Cool Chile Co. that you can get at Sainsbury's is not very nice. You probably want a press as well. It's a bit of a faff the first couple of times, but I have it down to a science now.

The best thing I've discovered is letting the masa sit for a while after mixing it. It handles much better. I usually use the time to make my salsa. :)


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #22 on: September 04, 2008, 07:17:38 PM »
I dont trust that vinegar & milk thing... the thought of it turns my stomach.
I get my mom to send me powdered buttermilk from the US... but i can also find buttermilk in most local supermarkets.

I find in an emergency, milk (whole) and lemon juice works a treat.  I'm also a little weirded out by vinegar in baked goods.  I've got a fabulous recipe for cream baking powder biscuits that doesn't use any buttermilk though, or butter!   Dead easy and soooo good. 
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer.



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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #23 on: September 05, 2008, 09:09:38 AM »
I find in an emergency, milk (whole) and lemon juice works a treat.  I'm also a little weirded out by vinegar in baked goods.  I've got a fabulous recipe for cream baking powder biscuits that doesn't use any buttermilk though, or butter!   Dead easy and soooo good. 

What's the recipe, if you don't mind, Elliejean?

Elynor, I make tortillas all the time, we prefer homemade. We don't use a press. I'm glad you mentioned the masa in Sainsbury's, I've been tempted to buy it, but it's really expensive! Now I know better!
Deb

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' Regret the things you do, not the things you didn't'



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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #24 on: September 05, 2008, 09:47:45 AM »
I'm also a little weirded out by vinegar in baked goods. 

I know it doesn't sound very nice but it is usually such a small amount of vinegar that you do not taste it.  I use it in my meringues to keep them soft and marshmallowy.


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #25 on: September 05, 2008, 01:00:27 PM »
Well, considering I was living alone for so long before I got here, I hardly ever cooked before... but since I have been here, I have been cooking more, and I think it's definitely getting better as I do it more often, and though we haven't had much money, I have made some pretty nice dinners without spending a lot, just trying to use whatever is here... the other night, I just rubbed some chicken legs with butter, lemon zest, cracked pepper, and a few other seasonings and baked them and they were really nice with some roasted onion mash and veggies.... YUM! And the meal was uber-cheap....


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #26 on: September 07, 2008, 02:50:34 AM »

Elynor, I make tortillas all the time, we prefer homemade. We don't use a press. I'm glad you mentioned the masa in Sainsbury's, I've been tempted to buy it, but it's really expensive! Now I know better!
Flour or corn tortillas?  I'd love a good recipe for flour tortillas!  I used to have one, but lost it years ago. 


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #27 on: September 07, 2008, 08:41:55 AM »
Flour, I don't use a recipe really, just mix some flour and add a bit of salt, baking powder, and a little oil, then mix all together with lukewarm water. We make chappatis all the time too, but we do with whole wheat flour and water. Nothing else added. And! I just learned how to make pooris, by watching a youtube video! :D Gotta love youtube! They are so much fun to do, because they poof up into a ball when frying.
Deb

'If it's too loud, you're too old!!'

' Regret the things you do, not the things you didn't'



http://debbiesmomentsintime.blogspot.com/


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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #28 on: September 07, 2008, 08:08:07 PM »
What's the recipe, if you don't mind, Elliejean?

No trouble at all!  I was so happy to not have to cut the butter into the flour, prob my least favorite thing.  Here it is, I'm making some this week as it happens:

Cream Biscuits


2 cups plain flour, plus extra for the counter
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups double cream

Preheat oven to 230C.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.  Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds.  Turn the dough out on a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball.  Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle.  Cut biscuits with a round cutter.  Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. 

I love how easy they are.  In fact, I'm using them as the top for a chicken pot pie later this week, simply because I'm crap at pastry!!
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Re: Has Your Cooking Improved.....?
« Reply #29 on: September 08, 2008, 05:34:54 PM »
Okay reading this has made me wonder what the recipe for enchiladas was!  :D  I'd love to make some.

When I first moved overseas (not to the UK- the UK is my third foreign country so far) I depended on bringing certain items from home, but now I'm a bit more creative.  I do still bring things such as Reeses PB chips for special occasion cookies, and fajita seasoning, but I also have been inspired to source my own recipes for fajitas as well.

I can't say my cooking in the UK is healthier than in the US, though.  Out of the US, Oz, Germany, and Holland, the UK is the toughest for sourcing reasonably-priced produce and fresh meat.  I also find the baking isle a bit lacking, but then I was spoiled in Germany I think!

(You can take my shopping woes with a grain of salt- I'm not in a city here in the UK, and I know this contributes greatly to my problem!)

If you feel up to sharing the enchilada recipe, I would really love to try it out.


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