Baking - Tips, Questions, Discussions, Recipes.

So, Imanaged to make them today! However I'm now pooped with no appetite, so I think a nap is in order..........Zzzzzzzzzz

Hi Lass!

Ah, you are a star! All those ideas for turkey Brilliant! I actually am going to try your Mums Satay and Porcupines! I like the idea of rice mixed into the mince and the soup is a great idea as they can be dry although I will use beef and stick to your mums original recipe and you are such a good friend to do all that googling for the other ones I think I will try the one with lemon and oregano! I will let you know how I get on!

Wow, those scones look amazing! I wish you lived near to me I would but those from you! I'm sorry to read you were too tired to eat them hopefully once you are rested you will enjoy them with the clotted cream and Jam 

Ah, Lass what beautiful cats! I love all animals but cats are my favorite are they a certain breed? their markings are fabulous ! they must keep you warm in the bed!

I really do hope you feel a bit better soon You are having a rough time at the moment and how you stay so cheerful is amazing in fact I take pattern from you and the other heroines on here and when I get down I think of you all and say to myself if they can do so can I!

I must say this cooking page is becoming my favorite and awaking my taste buds! I only now need the time and I will be cooking away! I bought some of the Oatly milk to try so I shall be having it on my porridge in the morning! 

Almost forgot today when I went to my Dr. I was told I was booked in for my first Radio zap today! Yes, I have had my head fried today! no only joking!!! it went like a dream brilliant staff and No side effects whatsoever the scalp is not even warm! I get another 4 next week so fingers crossed also saw a 3D image of my skull today and where the rays are going! right across the bottom of my skull from both sides! I lay there listening to rock music thinking about what was happening and it was surreal! I think its because it's my head lol looks like I will be left with a very high hairline which is not too bad I might start a new fashion! I still did not get my wig so have to sort that out yet, also managed to get a short walk in afterward to shift the Radio and get the fresh air into my lungs and have been drinking gallons of water lord knows what my water bill is going to be with all the toilet flushing! Also managed to avoid the dreaded steroids my Radio Dr said to not start them until I get symptoms so spared those for a few days yet! 

Love Bluebell xx

Hi

Re Lebanese bread,

I made four,’ loaves’ from the 500 grms of flour I used. Had to add extra water.Filled them with crushed garlic and haloumi cheese .

ERm. Oh. Ah. probably the best pitta I have ever made. Not quite the bread I had in mind. My fault. I should have described it better.

However I left the remaining dough in the bowl over night.

This morning I thought. Sling it or bake it? Pushed it back and then into a bread tin. Into the oven. A bit heavy but SWMBO had the first slice with butter and the second slice with jam. I love it when my mistakes come together.

On a further note the garlic I crushed in a mortar and pestle with salt to make a very dry Ali Oli. Then added the grated cheese for the filling. The left overs she used as a topping for the rice.” Make this topping again”

Of course Dear.

Hey Bluebell,

I'm glad some of the turkey recipes appealled! And I wasn't sure if turkey was the only meat you were able to have at the moment, but the beef balls are really very good! Hope you like them as much as I do! And yes, the lemon and oregano ones appealled to me too. I'm afraid I only linked you to the ones I thought would be tasty, so there may be ohers out there that might appeal to you, but not me. lol

You wouldn't need to buy them, I always give my baking away for free. I just enjoy doing it, it calms me down - usually - but I can't eat everything I make and I'd rather it was enjoyed than goes in the bin. Had to chuck a load of spiced pumpkin cookies not long ago because I hadn't seen anyone to give them too, and my appetite wasn't great.

But had some scones today with the clotted cream. I put hoemade raspberry jam on half, and blackcurrant curd on the other half. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. See!

Went out today to the rehearsal the kids were having, as they'd been told to find old green clothes from their house or charity shops. Sowe went to collect them..... but none of the kids had got anything. So my friend and I had got up and struggled down there for nothing. And I'd been awake since 5, and not having a great pain day. So I could have done with just staying put. But got home at about 1, ate some lunch, then ended up passing out (falling asleep) until about half five. Oh well, that was saturday gone I guess. lol

How did the Oatly go down? Still feeling a bit heavy - was that you or someone else? - or did you enjoy? Very glad to hear there's a tingle in the tastebuds! Long may it continue! Still feeling ok after being zapped?

Hope you're well!!

Hey Titus!

I'm so sorry the bread wasn't the right one! It was the only thing I could think of that was specifically Lebanese, but it's a slightly different recipe to a pita. lol. But I am glad some good things came of it in the end! lol Though.... SWMBO?

And garlic, cheese, and salt, Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, can't really go wrong with that!!

Lass

xx

Hi Lass

              Oh, believe me, they certainly got my taste buds going as do those gorgeous scones!! Lass you are making me hungry! Hey ever thought of giving the naughty boys a few of your biscuits?! After all, they are kids first and foremost 

Oh I hate it when I have a wasted journey and especially when you should have had a rest day ah lass the pain days are the worst and they just hit out of the blue too at least mine do. I hope it doesn't last too long x

Yes, thanks the Zaps are going ok! Only some warmth at the place on my head and no headaches! but some inflammation in sinus area and ears so I phoned the hotline for advice and they told me to start the steroids today and thankfully no weird side effects! may it last! A very sore and painful spot on the back of my head which I have had for a while has suddenly stopped! so something has happened also big one but bit soon to get excited or hope my double vision is coming and going!! it can do that at times but it is usually replaced with a blurred vision which is as bad but this time when the DV stops it's clear! actually normal so roll on Monday they can blast away at me and I really do not care about side effects or hair loss I have to give this a shot so fingers crossed

I keep looking at your scones lol I can almost taste them the jam looks delicious too. I too find I end up throwing out food as not only does my appetite let me down but I suddenly do not fancy something or I end up in Hospital and it wasted I now have cut back a lot, I finally found a butter I can eat! Its Lurpack so hopefully it will help with the weight gain almost forgot yes I tried the Oatly milk the Oat milk I tried before was a different brand and Thanks for the tip lass I liked it and it sat with me as I also had a large glass of it I was surprised to read it contains oil of all things!

I really do hope this finds you feeling a bit better

Love Bluebell xx  

Hey Bluebell,

I'm glad the tastebuds seem to be back in action at the moment! And yes, the scones were lovely when I finally got one (3) last night.

As for the kids outside, sadly in this day and age you can't do that. I'd love to give my baking to the families and people in the street. Especially next door and opposite as both those houses are used for refugees, so they have almost nothing. But you just can't do that anymore as everyone is too suspicious of others, and then there's allergies. I'd give the kids a lovely healthy cake or biscuit, and next thing I'd know, I'd have the police at my door thinking I was doing something dodgy!

I'm not sure what's going on with my body at the moment. Something isn't right, but I've no idea what or why. Trying to work out if it's still a knock on from my busy Sat and Sun last week, or if there's something more going on. Seeing the doc tomorrow anyways to tell him off and ask about a new lump I've found, so I'll mention it to him - though he's fabulously useless, so I'm not holding my breath.

Glad to hear the zapping is working, and the steroids have helped and not hindered! As you say, long may it continue!! And whoo hoo for the lack of blurred vision! That's awesome!

My freezer is jam packed with stuff for the very reason you state. lol. My appetite goes, or I just don't fancy something - so where I can, I freeze it until I do fancy it! Much better than chucking it out. So I'm currently trying to work my way through it so that it doesn't go to waste.......though the trip to Aldi yesterday didn't help that cause. lol. Too many tasty bits and pieces at nice cheap prices.

Lurpak is my favourite! The slightly salted, spreadable one is a staple in my fridge. So good choice! And yay on the Oatly! I am glad it went down ok and you enjoyed it. There's a chocolate version of it too if you fancy a treat.

And if you're ever down in my area, I'll make sure and bake something tasty for you!

Lass

xx

Hi Lass you and your scones kept me awake last night thinking about them! Honestly! I am so glad you finally got to enjoy them  Do you know I never thought about the food and allergies etc such a shame when you think about it years ago we always shared food with neighbors especially if you had something special! 

Ah, Lass get your self-sorted you know your own body so if it is not right it needs investigating "Fabulously useless" LOL oh that did make me laugh brilliant! I love it! Still, I am sure you will guide him in the right direction!

I try to freeze everything to save waste but sometimes it either won't freeze ie cooked veggies or even cooked fish as it goes too watery or I actually have no room! or I take out meat to thaw and cook don't cook it for whatever reason so it is binned I stood there the other day and thought all this food and I cant eat it!

Oh, I love Aldi food! they do some very tasty food I love their cooked meats especially the Italian ham or their ice cream those little tubs and when they have the world special on! That's when I used to go to town trying them all out! I remember once getting a cake mix for a ginger cake you only had to add oil and it was beautiful! I never saw it since more is the pity you can save a fortune shopping there and they have lots of British food! My problem is I haven't been able to get out to shop although I do the bulk online I used to go to Aldi for my treats! Their tinned fish is really good I like the herrings in mango and peppercorn sauce a lovely combination! My local Aldi is very small and very busy can be like a rugby scrum at times which I always hated I am not a fan of supermarkets at all! So I used to go about 9 am! My ex-wont go that early so it puts me off but a few Aldi treats are calling me!

Bluebell xx

Meant to say I'm loving the oatly! It is very different from anything I have tasted rich yet light and hey that's the lurpac I got too lightly salted! Fabulous butter ah lass I will have a scone please lol thanks so much for the all the help I think I will ask about all food from you as you seem to have sourced the best! Ok tomato sauce? I like daddies  Heinz seems to be a bit spicy are there any other brands I may not know about? Thanks again x

Bluebell xx

Hey Bluebell,

Scone dreams! Lol. I hope you can get yourself some scones to calm your mind, as it seems to want some! lol. And yes, I remember my Mum had a group of friends who would share a bread starter. So each month they'd switch who held the mother and was responsible for feeding it, then they'd all get a share of it tomake fresh bread with. Same with a yoghurt culture. And each Christmas, we'd make all the neighbours little plates of homemade sweets. Or we'd pass over soup if they were sick, or they'd pop round with extra cake for us kids if they had extra, etc etc. Or there was a lollypop man who as we were crossing the road, would give us each a sweet. Or a woman who would give us fruit from her trees as we went by. And so many other random things. But these days, there's too much suspicion of strangers to be able to do that, and too many allergies or food beliefs - veggie/vegan/paleo/etc - and so on. It's sad we've lost that sense of community in so many places.

Saw the doc earlier - found another lump in the shower this morning too, so good thing I was seeing him. And he was as useless as expected. He asked why I was there, and I told him I was there because he'd asked me to come in for a medication review, but as it happened, I'd found another couple of lumps that needed looked at. His response? "When you say 'another', what do you mean?" I just stared at him, thinking to myself that I'm probably the most medically interesting patient he has, how does he not know what's going on?! So ended up having to go through my whole history with him while he added it all to my notes, again.

Then he got onto the lumps, got quite nervous as he looked me over and worriedly asked if I was wearing a bra. Then when I said I was, very hesitatingly asked if I would take my top off for him then. He's SO rubbish when it comes to anything like that, or asking about anything gynae related! He had a feel of them, and is referring me for an urgent ultrasound. So that's something at least. He thinks it's another couple of lipoma, as I do, but got to get it checked just in case.

See, I like going to Aldi and Lidl for their continental food. lol. When they first came here, they had a lot of German produce that brought back memories from when I lived in Germany asa child. So quite often when I'm there, I'm looking for the stuff from my childhood. VERY annoyed they've stopped selling remoulade though, as I can't find it anywhere else around here, and the stuff on Amazon is expensive! If Aldi or Lidl started doing online shopping, I'd be on it like a car bonnet! lol. I'm the same as yourself and can't get out to a shop or round one too easily, so I doall my shopping online. Used to be with Tesco, but have recently switched to Morrisons. I did a priice comparison, and while Morrisons is a little more expensive, the packs are bigger. So when you work out the price per 100g - you're actually spending less. Which is where the Tesco Price Promise thing is a bit of a scam in my opinion.

Glad you're loving the Oatly! I tried all of the different versions of dairy free milks when I found that milk was giving me issues, and Oatly was my absolute, hands down, favourite. The chocolate one is just as good too if you fancy a treat. And I'm hoping a friend will go to Ikea for me one day soon, so they can buy me the Mango and Passionfruit Lassi style Oatly, as I REALLY want to try it!

Yeh, I've tried a few butters over the years, and the Lurpack Salted Spreadable is my fave. Tried the Lighter version, but it loses a lot of the taste, so sadly - it's got to be the full fat one. lol. Currently enjoying it on toasted seeded bread, with a scraping of Morrisons own brand Marmite. Mmmmmmmmm.

As for tomato sauce, I don't buy it too often, especially as last time I bought a catering size bottle from Makro. It's bigger than my HEAD! lol. But I'm not a fan of Heinz, and I don't think I've ever tried Daddies. I'm afraid I'm not really much of one for branded products usually. I'll always start off with the shops own brand, and if I like it - then done and dusted. lol. So for tomato ketchup, it's usually been the Tesco's own brand that I get, but not the saver version. The next step up. Def an own brand girl, as you can get stuff that tastes just as good, but for sometimes more than half the price, as well as less salt/sugar/fat/etc.

Though Mayonnaise, that's different. While the Tesco's own brand is ok, there's a flavour of mayo I've NEVER before been able to find here! If you've ever been to Belgium and had mayo on your chips, then you know there is a distinct flavour difference between that and what we have here. Well, I randomly bought a Polish jar of Mayo from Tescos a few weeks back, and it's PERFECT! It's the exact taste I like of the European mayo as opposed to the British mayo. So that's me made a change for life. lol. And if you like that Belgian flavour, I'd def recommend trying the Polish mayo too!

Lass

xx

FYI to anyone reading.........

Macaroni Cheese, on top of toasted seeded bread that has been spread with Marmite, is AMAZING!!!!

Def going to have to do that again!

Lass

xx