Old-fashioned tasty recipes......PLEASE!

DH is the cook in our home: most of our meals are home-cooked from scratch, and he bakes all our bread "by hand" (i.e. not using a bread-maker). He uses a range of spices & herbs (including home-grown herbs), curries and stir-fries are included amongst the meals, and we try to eat healthily. Many of our meals are "meat-free", though we're not vegetarians. However the only ingredient names that we even recognised on the list, are "quark" & "tofu"! (We don't use either, preferring to use beans.) Does this make us really boring eaters?

antheacarol55

Not a one.
I am a cheese on toast sort of person

antheacarol55. Me too, have you tried cheese on toast with sliced tomato on top (in your AGA) delicious.

grandMattie
Millions of people don't have ethinc shops round the corner. They use this wonderful invention called the internet where you can buy anything.

STEW
Cubed meat- flour dusted, browned.
Chopped onions, chopped potatoes, sliced shallots, chopped carrots, broth, rosemary, salt, pepper. Hob simmer 6-8 hour.

Hear hear, vampirequeen ? ?

The only things missing from my pantry is carnaroli rice and Gochujang chilli paste.
I don’t bother with recipes if I have to go hunting for more than 2 new ingredients. I feel they have to earn their place on my shelves and that it’s not a once used and forgotten item. That would be such a waste of money!

I have all the afore-mentioned items apart from quark which I remember hating in the 70’s and also condensed milk. I’m another who hates bland food. I ordered Aleppo chilli flakes and they are great to sprinkle on food which I may not have added enough chilli to as they are quite milk. I’ve often bought canaroli rice but usually use arborio.

Mild not milk

Yes Lemsip, when clearing out my late Mother’s house we came across a half full bottle of Vodka with a date of 1967, my wedding day stuck on it. I put it in the box we had labelled ‘rubbish ’ but DS quickly took it out again saying “what a waste, I’ll have that “

This is when Hello Fresh and other similar boxes can be good.All the ingredients needed for the recipes are there.Spices, pastes etc are in smaller sizes and are just enough to be used once. Can be expensive but so can an assortment of jars to e used once only.

I have (bog standard) chilli paste and silken tofu, and use them regularly. I prefer smoked tofu with almonds and sesame seeds though. I do love my fruit and veg - but never eat animals.

We were burgled in the mid seventies 70's when I was a teenager. They took a bottle of gin from the drinks cabinet which was unopened and which my parents had kept from their wedding reception in 1948! It had a strange metal fastening, a bit like a Kilner jar but was still sealed. I hope they were very ill if they drank it!!!

I found a tin of Colman's mustard powder - one of those small rectangular yellow metal tins. Priced 1/6. Smelt OK to me. Kept the tin for its nostagia value.

Missfoodlove

The link only gives the ingriedents, not the full recipe.

I don't keep exotic spices in my cupboard as they are expensive and I won't use them frequently. My adult children do, however, so, since one still lives at home, I find interesting additions to the food cupboard.

I wonder, though, if the extravagent purchasing is one reason why he hasn't got his own place and at his age I'd owned a house for a decade.

I "Commonise" these recipes where possible.

Gochujang chilli paste would become hot sauce or just a normal chilli hot paste, Kimchi would turn into pickles veg/gherkins,
quark would become cream cheese, carnaroli rice would become supermarket brand rissotto rice,
kicap manis would become basic soy sauce
silken tofu would become basic tofu or Quorn pieces.

I love re-editing posh recipes and turning them "Common" just to prove that it's all just words.

You can't beat fried egg on toast with ketchup.

Well said Alexa!!

Alexa

You can't beat fried egg on toast with ketchup.

My favourite Saturday lunch.

Fish and chips anyone?

I buy a lot of stuff from approved food so most is out of date before I buy it. I can't resist a bargain so some I will never use. Do find Milk products like rice pudding and carnation milk go very yellow but otherwise fine. Watch out for rhubarb and tomato products in tins the acid can actually rot the tin and leak everywhere.
I have never used a pressure cooker. A little scared of them although I can remember mum scraping a steamed pudding of the sealing where she for got to make a hole in the can. I have never had the nerve to cook one of them either

naninka every Friday night is chippy tea!

I made some caramel slices at the weekend using a OOD 2013 tin of condensed milk.
The family loved them - I will tell them when they are all eaten