Need inspiration, what ya cooking tonight

[KathieB]

20 minutes ago, Thimble Hall said:

Tonight I am cooking lamb chops ...  homemade mint sauce.

Will you share your mint sauce recipe? I did a Google search and was overwhelmed by the many variations, ended up with a jar of mint jelly again.  

[havanaholly]

The Chicken Korma was outstanding, and I don't think I put in half what the online recipes did; but enough of the important ingredients that it was right tasty.  I'd also be interested in your mint sauce recipe, Jeannine.  Every once in a while Publix will put shoulder blade chops or other odd but yummy cuts of lamb on sale and we are HUGE fans!

[Thimble Hall]

Hi no problems. I use my own home grown mint but be sure to use it as it's peak before it blossoms as the flavor is different. for me that is mid summer. I only use spearmint, sometimes called English mint in garden centres??

I use the leaves very well packed down,  The mint goes through my electric chopper after measuring, don't zap it to nothing, you do want tiny bits of mint showing

Try it with this amount but it is Ok to double up or down., it is pretty forgiving. Wash and dry the mint then pack into 4 cups

 

4 cups of  tight packed mint,  just leaves, no stalks

6 cups of ordinary white vinegar

4 cups of white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon of citric acid. this keeps the color nice and green

 

Process the mint as mentioned above, using a little of the vinegar,.

Put the rest of the vinegar and the sugar in a stainless pan , bring to boil and boil for about 2 or three minutes, add the mint, salt and citric acid, bring back to a boil.

I then pack mine into to sterilized jelly jars, seal and process for about 10 minutes in a water bath.

 If you have packed the mint in tight it should be quite thick, if not use as is, but if thick, I add a wee bit of vinegar to a small amount in a dish before serving.

There seems to ne no reason I can find as to why it is sometimes thicker than others but it happens.

Commercial mint sauce comes various forms, I can buy a bottle which looks like vinegar with a few leaves added..not much good,. I see a lot of mint jelly which I don't like much, there is an imported  sauce one I think it is Colman's in a square jar, it is excellent and it is what I aim to reproduce. There is another one that we get here in a round jar that looks thick, but it is awful  and it tastes of peppermint.

I think you may have to play a bit with it as mints vary, especially depending on the summer temps

You can also make it as needed but it is different  and I wanted to make up a recipe I could can, because I can't always find a good commercial one, if you can find the Colman' I would buy it, it is very thick and you need to dilute it down a tad

 

I should add, when I am making this of it looks too thin I add more mint, more is better in this case

[KathieB]

Thank you! I found Colman's mint sauce on Amazon. A case of 6 - 8.5 oz. bottles are winging their way to me from England, should be here in a couple of weeks. It seems the prudent way to go, as being a new gardener in this planting zone, and considering the rocky, red clay soil of Georgia, I don't know what quality of home grown mint I might end up with.

[Thimble Hall]

That is a very good idea you made  actually, It is exactly what I like and I actually prefer it to my homemade, but only buy that brand. Trust me I have tried them all and this is the only one that is any good. I am glad I could help you

[havanaholly]

I'm going to try mint in one of my planter pots on the back porch.  For some reason the only Colman's product our local grocery stores carry is the mustard powder.

[KathieB]

3 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

I'm going to try mint in one of my planter pots on the back porch.  For some reason the only Colman's product our local grocery stores carry is the mustard powder.

I haven't seen it either, Holly. The Colman's mint sauce I ordered from Amazon is shipping from England, but the shipping was free, so I figured I may as well stock up. I don't think six jars is too many. 

[KathieB]

8 minutes ago, Redlillies said:

I really dont know how to cook, but im trying my best. Hoping i can cook delicious for my kids :) 

Amber, this thread is designated off topic, but please be aware that this forum is dedicated to dollhouses and related topics. It is not a general chat forum. 

[havanaholly]

I found a recipe for lemon-rosemary potatoes on an Indian recipe site, so I have strips of beef marinating in garlic and ginger and going to fix an antepasto to have with it.

[Thimble Hall]

Well my SIL in law turned up with two live lobsters for me today, small ones but I cooked them and scoffed both with nothing but home made fresh from the oven sour dough bread and butter..they were good

Tomorrow, I was on  cooking prime rib and all the fixings including Yorkshire pudding and I am making one of the few hot desserts I eat which is steamed  suet treacle pudding with custard. It is called treacle pudding but it is actually made with Golden syrup,.

Of course if it turnouts to ne 90 degrees, the Prime rib will go in the freezer for another day and will use my   back up plan. I shall BBQ strip loin steaks  with mushrooms and fried onions with  BBQ large prawns , serve with corn on the cob and,  Greek salad and  baked potatoes, sour dough bread just the same as the first idea as it is in the fridge slow rising now. I can do of lot of it  outside. Dessert will be English Trifle and I made a Jewish Honey cake today as an extra for tomorrow.

So we will see  what I decide tomorrow.

[havanaholly]

I'm thinking shrimp napolitano on angel hair pasta with an antepasto of fresh spinach, tiny tomatoes and a few olives.  I made a mince pie that we've begun to work on.  Mother's Day will hopefully be a quiet one.

[rodentraiser]

Jeannine, it's supposed to be 85 here today and tomorrow, so it might well be 90 in your neck of the woods. I got some boxes of shrimp shumai when I went to visit Lisa yesterday. Albertson's used to carry it before they were bought out by Safeway,but now I can only find it in a store 20 miles from me. Anyway, I'm going to be having that as soon as I get the wash into the dryer before it gets hot and then for supper, I'm just having watermelon, and cream cheese on French bread with some strawberries.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to look at another lot and then stop at the store and get some lettuce (which I forgot yesterday). So it looks like for the next couple of days, I'm having ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches and salad for breakfast and dinner (I don't eat lunch on account of I get up so late). I so hate this heat. It's only 73° right now, but humid, so I have the fan on already. And the sun hasn't even swung over. Blech!

[Thimble Hall]

Ha, Ha , that touched a nerve..I don't eat lunch as I get up so late, me too, sometimes I am nervous to admit it but I love the still of the night and I hate mornings so I am often going to bed at 3 am so noon isn't so bad is it?

I did the steaks.. oh I should say I did some of the steaks, it is sort of open house here on Sundays so I tend to get ready for a crowd and yesterday I got one, we were in fact defrosting stuff to give the latecomers LOL. I always  have frozen ready to bake pies that I make ahead and I always have ready made cakes in the freezer too. so it was relatively easy.

[rodentraiser]

Jeannine, it's 3am as I'm typing this and although I'm going to bed in a couple of minutes, I sometimes stay up and see the sun come up before I sleep. Then I sleep until 2pm sometimes. I don't think there's a thing wrong with it but I won't tell if you don't tell.

[havanaholly]

Kelly, your circadian clock is just set backwards.  Mine was like that until one of my early nursing jobs had me working all different shifts; a couple of times I worked all three shifts in a single two-week cycle, and I frequently worked doubles.  After that I fell into bed before midnight and I often don't wake up until the sun is up.

[Thimble Hall]

I won't tell...

 I probably  got mine working decades of night shifts but if I go back into my child hood I preferred nights it mornings even then

[havanaholly]

I am going to try the rest of my shrimp napolitano over rice with asparagus tonight.

[Thimble Hall]

I have nothing to eat tonight.. well no that's not right, I have loads of stuff in the freezer but nothing defrosted, I forgot! Oh 'eck.

Poached eggs on toast.. or bacon and eggs, or  beans on toast, or bacon and eggs with beans and toast on the side with marmalade.

Cheese on toast.. grilled cheese,( English style) grilled under the broiler with Worcester sauce sprinkles.

Albacore canned tuna , with salad, or  home canned salmon with salad, or mixed with mayo and as sandwiches

Boiled eggs and toast fingers and I get to use my baby eggcup and spoon from my childhood.

What a pile of choices,

It could be a KFC night, at least the Chihuahuas would like that, although they do like cheese and fish.

 

I have a huge big bag of Costco pancake mix, I don't eat pancakes, it was bought by accident. Does anyone have any ideas for using it up other than pancakes. I don't buy Bisquick which I think it pancake mix but I heard somewhere that one can do all sorts of things with it ??

I intend to make clam chowder tomorrow

[havanaholly]

I use baking mix to make biscuits and muffins and scones, occasionally waffles and once in a while pancakes.

[Thimble Hall]

Thank you Holly,  I am not sure but I think  US biscuit is what I would all a scone..maybe, if so do you have a recipe please. I could make those and send them up to the community dinner

[havanaholly]

My maternal grandmother was born in the US a couple of months after all of her family arrived from Scotland.  For each two cups of baking mix I mix in a large egg, two tablespoons of sugar and enough milk to make a biscuit dough; also any fruit, nuts, granola cereal or whatever the hubs wants in them (plain is good).  I mix it all together with a fork.  Turn it out onto a floured surface to knead lightly a couple of times into a flattish circle and set it on an oiled baking sheet (I use cooking spray).  Cut it into wedges and bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, however long it takes to bake the insides fluffy and the outside golden.

I'm also good about forgetting to add the sugar when mixing, and find that sprinkling it over the top before baking works.

[Thimble Hall]

Thanks Holly I will give that a go.

Can you explain to me the difference between a biscuit and a scone..I know about beaten biscuits but after that I don't.

A biscuit in the UK is a cookie in the US and Canada

 

[havanaholly]

In the southern US a biscuit is a piece of quick-rise bread made with flour to which small amounts of salt, baking powder and baking soda have been added; shortening is worked into the dry mixture in a one part shortening to three parts flour ratio and sour milk/ buttermilk added to make a soft dough.  This is divided into equal portions, rolled into balls, placed on an oiled baking sheet, flattened and baked at 450F for about ten minutes/ until golden.

[Contrary Housewife]

Biscuits and scones are very similar, the US biscuit tends to be savory, while scones tend to be sweetened.  Biscuits can have herbs, cheese, jalapeno peppers, green onion and other things added to them.  When made plain and served at breakfast they can be eaten with butter, jam or honey, much like a scone.  Split and topped with hot cream gravy and black pepper they become the classic country dish "biscuits and gravy", which is something of an art form in the south.

 

 

[havanaholly]

40 minutes ago, Contrary Housewife said:

...the classic country dish "biscuits and gravy", which is something of an art form in the south.

And formed the basis of this morning's breakfast in our house, breakfast bowls, to which I added scrambled eggs and hash browns.  BTW, there has to be crumbled breakfast sausage in that gravy.

The rest of this AM's cathead biscuits with ham slices are for tonight's supper, along with a pan of caramelized Vidalia onions, cabbage & carrots.