_angel_
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Point taken there has probably been some overcooking going on but I prefer fresh. Raw carrot is also nice on it's own and grated in salad. True I hardly can be arsed to do this though.
delia's new book on cheating
- Thread starter catrina
- Start date
Point taken there has probably been some overcooking going on but I prefer fresh. Raw carrot is also nice on it's own and grated in salad. True I hardly can be arsed to do this though.
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
You've no doubt heard this before, but would a potato ricer be more suitable for you?
To be honest, ever since I got my first ricer I'd never even think of using a masher. So much quicker, and it even lends itself to a cheat tip of its own. Instant mash - zap 3 or 4 baking spuds, then run them through the ricer whole. The skins are retained by the ricer, so you don't need to peel or anything. Then add butter, milk and salt.
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
What is this zapping you speak of?
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Takes too long...usually mashing for many mouths.
people who buy this shit shouldn't even be allowed to eat....that way we can eventually get them out of the gene pool
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
My brother managed to get over his fear of needles to have acupuncture for his frozen shoulder - and it worked, and very quickly. Never thought I'd see the day etc, but the pain and restriction of movement were driving him to distraction.
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I think cheating's a good idea, not everyone's got time to prepare from scratch. I like frozen yorkshire puddings
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
I think that belongs on one of the alternative medecine threads.
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
Sure, but I'd say it's a lot quicker than normal mash anyway. If I was doing mash for 8, I'd take 8 large baking tatties, zap* for 20 minutes, then 1 spud per press of the ricer.
*microwave
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
I think that belongs on one of the alternative medecine threads.
It was just a helpful aside to Mrs M as she'd mentioned her condition - but thanks for the suggestion Maggot
Rollem
two kinds of wonderful
there really are better things in the world to get appalled about.
its all about picking and choosing. picking and choosing what cheats you want to use. my understanding is that the book's abut making good meals accesible to people on a low income, or with little time. why be appaled by that?
Actually, it appears I'm kind of right.
Mince doesn't have any of that extra crap in it. Why do you need to buy mince from a tin when it is readily available and easily freezable, and requires no preservatives?
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
Re, being appalled by pre-chopped/mashed stuff - I'm sure many people are lazy bastards, but I'm sure these products are a boon for the infirm elderly and others who have limited use of their hands
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
my cheats meals for when i am rushed and unprepared are this:
omlettes. so quick, full of good things and not messy. winner!
also, quickly fry some onion and chorizo in a pan, add some chickpeas or barlotti/kidney beans. while this is going make some cous cous with vegetable stock with a squidge of tomato puree . add it to the pan then throw in some grated carrot,sweetcorn(tinned),peas, brocolli, spring onion etc, maybe some chopped olives or herbs if i fancy it.heat through and eat. takes about ten minutes and is a nice quick filling meal
I do approve of fish4ever tuna or mackerel fillets (more sustainably fished than most tinned fish product). I usually have a tin or two of this in my cupboard for when i haven't had time to defrost some frozen fish.
quick meal: chop some kale and fry in garlic for a couple of minutes,you can add red onions, spring onions or olives or whatever you have around. grate over some carrots, throw in some sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts,chuck in some dried seaweed, add some nutmeg, flake in the fish, heat and its ready. quick, light tea or lunch ready in five minutes.
eating well requires a bit of effort it's true but if you plan for being short of time and buy good quality ingredients that you knock together then you can still eat well. the only problem i have with tinned food is the quality. how well do you think a tinned animal would have been treated? it will be the shittest meat in there no?
things like tomatoes and tinned veg, chickpeas and beans i can abide by but i think meat is another issue. makes me think of dog food.
oh and fish, fish is the perfect standby. you can defrost in the microwave and it cooks so quickly
omlettes. so quick, full of good things and not messy. winner!
also, quickly fry some onion and chorizo in a pan, add some chickpeas or barlotti/kidney beans. while this is going make some cous cous with vegetable stock with a squidge of tomato puree . add it to the pan then throw in some grated carrot,sweetcorn(tinned),peas, brocolli, spring onion etc, maybe some chopped olives or herbs if i fancy it.heat through and eat. takes about ten minutes and is a nice quick filling meal
I do approve of fish4ever tuna or mackerel fillets (more sustainably fished than most tinned fish product). I usually have a tin or two of this in my cupboard for when i haven't had time to defrost some frozen fish.
quick meal: chop some kale and fry in garlic for a couple of minutes,you can add red onions, spring onions or olives or whatever you have around. grate over some carrots, throw in some sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts,chuck in some dried seaweed, add some nutmeg, flake in the fish, heat and its ready. quick, light tea or lunch ready in five minutes.
eating well requires a bit of effort it's true but if you plan for being short of time and buy good quality ingredients that you knock together then you can still eat well. the only problem i have with tinned food is the quality. how well do you think a tinned animal would have been treated? it will be the shittest meat in there no?
things like tomatoes and tinned veg, chickpeas and beans i can abide by but i think meat is another issue. makes me think of dog food.
oh and fish, fish is the perfect standby. you can defrost in the microwave and it cooks so quickly
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
get some
its good in salads too
its good in salads too
toggle
wobbly
no freezer?
toggle
wobbly
I don't have dried seaweed in my store cupboard
I do, well, the stuff for sushi rolls anyway. they are one of my emergency standbys, fill em with some sort of veg or egg.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
ahh, interesting. have been meaning to give that a go.
the seaweed i have is chopped up like herbs so you just sprinkle it on all sorts of things, sandwiches, salads, cous cous, soups even.
the seaweed i have is chopped up like herbs so you just sprinkle it on all sorts of things, sandwiches, salads, cous cous, soups even.
Epona
Radar 2006-2020, Sonic 2006-2022, Jakey 2007-2024
Peeling potatoes and mashing potatoes are things that are getting increasingly difficult for me.
Grating cheese is the other. It's all very well everyone without arthritic hands going on about 'how hard can it be?' and deriding people for using pre-prepared ingredients, well they may as well enjoy feeling superior about the fact they can do it now, because one day they may come to experience what it's like when once easy tasks are no longer within their abilities.
Well, this thread has taken a turn I hadn't intended.
I think my initial thought was that this book came out, and a lot of people were having the same kinds of reactions. I don't think we need Delia to tell us what's acceptable or not to cheat with, we can do that ourselves, I was just curious what other people thought.
Perhaps we can carry on discussing good and not-so-good food cheats.
For example, I don't see anything wrong with buying pre-chopped onions. I personally prefer to save money and chop them myself, but an onion is an onion.
On the other hand, I still maintain my position that tinned meat is a little odd, unless you're really in a pinch (which means different things for different people, of course). When I didn't have a freezer, I bought meat when I knew I was going to eat it.
I think my initial thought was that this book came out, and a lot of people were having the same kinds of reactions. I don't think we need Delia to tell us what's acceptable or not to cheat with, we can do that ourselves, I was just curious what other people thought.
Perhaps we can carry on discussing good and not-so-good food cheats.
For example, I don't see anything wrong with buying pre-chopped onions. I personally prefer to save money and chop them myself, but an onion is an onion.
On the other hand, I still maintain my position that tinned meat is a little odd, unless you're really in a pinch (which means different things for different people, of course). When I didn't have a freezer, I bought meat when I knew I was going to eat it.
Well, this thread has taken a turn I hadn't intended.
I think my initial thought was that this book came out, and a lot of people were having the same kinds of reactions. I don't think we need Delia to tell us what's acceptable or not to cheat with, we can do that ourselves, I was just curious what other people thought.
Perhaps we can carry on discussing good and not-so-good food cheats.
For example, I don't see anything wrong with buying pre-chopped onions. I personally prefer to save money and chop them myself, but an onion is an onion.
On the other hand, I still maintain my position that tinned meat is a little odd, unless you're really in a pinch (which means different things for different people, of course). When I didn't have a freezer, I bought meat when I knew I was going to eat it.
I know what you mean catrina. Delia was on the radio the other day and she felt that chefs were intimidating people because they could never cook like them and so they give up. With busy lives it is a choice between ready meals and doing everything yourself and so she had a "third way". She's lovely and turned down a seat in the house of lords. I love Delia.
scifisam
deleted
Try doing it one-handed.
I managed, but it was very difficult and slow and I only persevered because pre-grated cheese is either mild (eurgh) or terribly expensive. Also, my other arm worked perfectly well. Also also, I like good cheese enough that I'd grate it with my nose if I had to.
It does take quite a while to make mashed potato - in the preparing and the washing up (people always seem to fail to take washing up into their cooking times! It is part of the whole process).
I'm not sure how peeling, boiling, mashing and washing up the necessary stuff for that can be easier than taking frozen mash out, sticking it on a plate (which can then be used for eating off) and warming it.
I agree about the tinned mince, but people might buy it so that they have it in and so don't have to go to the shops just for mince.
Agree with all that, except that, as you mention, the book is aimed at newish cooks, who might be put off by more imaginative dishes. There'll probably be a follow-up book with other recipes - this is Delia, after all.
Frozen veggies can also sometimes be a bit healthier than 'fresh' veg which has been sitting on the shelves for a day or two.
I usually use home-made mash for dishes like shepherd's pie but have some frozen mash in as extra JIC more is wanted. Besides, they're potatoes; they're there for their carbohydrate content, not for their vitamins and minerals. I don't think they're going to decline in carbs just for being frozen, somehow.
Regarding the potato ricer - wouldn't that take quite a bit of cleaning? That can also be difficult for someone with mobility impairments.
Exactly. And those people aren't exactly few and far between.
The people complaining about this book could even find themselves using frozen mash and pre-grated cheese when they get old, get ill or break their arms.
It's better to teach people to use prepared ingredients to make relatively home-cooked meals, than to have an artificial divide between completely home-made food and ready meals. Once someone's learnt how to make meals from ready-made products, they might progress to making meals from scratch. It's a fairly big jump in-between.
Cheats' meals also require fewer kitchen tools - that's another thing that cookbooks often forget to mention.
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
I like Delia. I've never yet followed a recipe of hers which has gone tits up/required adjustment. She's simple and easy to follow.
Not everyone has basic cooking skills, not everyone has had the benefit of a parent showing how to cook, and/or school doing it either.
If I want swanky imaginative recipes there's loads of celebrity chefs out there pushing out those kind of books.
But if I want to know how to make/do something, the basics, some of which I might have missed or forgotten - you can't beat St Delia.
Cheers re the dried seaweed tips btw. I'm gonna try and taste it, perhaps use it, thanks.
Not everyone has basic cooking skills, not everyone has had the benefit of a parent showing how to cook, and/or school doing it either.
If I want swanky imaginative recipes there's loads of celebrity chefs out there pushing out those kind of books.
But if I want to know how to make/do something, the basics, some of which I might have missed or forgotten - you can't beat St Delia.
Cheers re the dried seaweed tips btw. I'm gonna try and taste it, perhaps use it, thanks.
Wolveryeti
Detty Pig
My favourite cheat's tip is to use 'cream of' soups as sauces. It works fucking well - e.g. cream of tomato for tomato sauce, or cream of mushroom on a steak with a bit of pepper. Cheap as chips too!
I like cooking from fresh, but it has an element of masochism to it. I'm not organised enough to do it in a sensible way - i.e. it generally ends up being vastly more expensive and time consuming because I need to get my ducks lined up and some stuff always goes to waste.
I like cooking from fresh, but it has an element of masochism to it. I'm not organised enough to do it in a sensible way - i.e. it generally ends up being vastly more expensive and time consuming because I need to get my ducks lined up and some stuff always goes to waste.
Geri
wasn't born to follow
I think I might invest in some frozen mash now! 
I do prefer to make my own, but potatoes give him indoors heartburn, and it's such a faff making them for one - ready mash is nice, but it's usually for two and I end up throwing some away, which really bothers me as I hate food going to waste.
I've wondering before about freezing mash that I'v emade myself - but I imagine it would be gross when it's unfrozen. Has anyone tried this?
I do prefer to make my own, but potatoes give him indoors heartburn, and it's such a faff making them for one - ready mash is nice, but it's usually for two and I end up throwing some away, which really bothers me as I hate food going to waste. I've wondering before about freezing mash that I'v emade myself - but I imagine it would be gross when it's unfrozen. Has anyone tried this?
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
My Mum occasionally used to make meals from tinned mince and steak when we were on holiday in our caravan. I think it was perfectly acceptable.
Anyway, I like Delia too, and I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to make cooking more accessible. As she said on the radio, "it's not for every day", but good if you're in a hurry. I'm not averse to shortcuts occasionally - yesterday I made Nigella's Naan pizza for lunch and it was pretty good.
Anyway, I like Delia too, and I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to make cooking more accessible. As she said on the radio, "it's not for every day", but good if you're in a hurry. I'm not averse to shortcuts occasionally - yesterday I made Nigella's Naan pizza for lunch and it was pretty good.
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
When I made the grated cheese comments I hadn't thought about people with arthritis and other disabilities. I apologise for being inconsiderate.
But I'm sure that most grated cheese buyers are simply lazy fuckers!
