Flavour and Colour
Again, thanks for all your comments, and am so pleased you enjoy this site, seemingly almost as much as I enjoy writing it. Before I answer your queries, must thank you Marjorie for giving us your sausage recipes. There is an easy recipe for Turkish Delight - but posted nearly a year past, you will find it on 09/12/06, but I will also give a slightly different one today for you.
Delighted to read you live Leicester SweeterRita, might I ask which area? My parents settled in Leicester (I was born in Coventry, my dad in Wolverhampton, my mum in Leicester) when I was nine years old and until I was married we all lived off the Evington Road. Beloved and I then moved to Oadby where we stayed until moving to where we live now. I still miss living in the Midlands and would prefer to go back and end my days there. On the other hand, Morecambe is nearer my family.
Valerie, last night I fully intended to look up a suitable stuffing for the salmon, but a Craft moment overcame me (Can't Remember A Flipping Thing) and so went to bed, this time - with all the nostalgia chat about being tucked in at bed-time - deciding to try putting a blanket over the bottom to the middle of my duvet, tucking it in the sides to see if I could get a better night's sleep. Apart from being a little difficult to get into bed without undoing the tucking, how good it felt, all warm and cuddly, and I slept so well, with lots of lovely dreams, that I woke late and today my memory is back again. I will just scamper downstairs to get my fish book and see what it says, back in a minute...
...There was not a lot written about salmon, but plenty of stuffings to go with other fish - will just take a quick look and see if any are suitable. Oddly, none given for salmon in the index. Reading the few salmon recipes, they appear not to be stuffed, even when whole, but dressed with dill, and occasionally duxelles (finely chopped mushrooms fried gently in a little butterwith a finely diced shallot until all the moisture driven away). I suppose the duxelle could be introduced into the cavity to make a stuffing. I will give you a couple of stuffings suggested for other fish which you might find interesting and possibly give you something to work with to go with salmon.
This first stuffing is for whole but gutted and boned Bass, Bream, Mullet, Sea Trout.
Herb Stuffing for Fish:
8 oz (225g) spinach, parboiled
2 oz (50g) stale bread, finely crumbed
1 oz (25g) butter, softened
2 oz (50g) young sorrel leaves, finely shredded
2 oz (50g) finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped tarragon
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
Sqeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach and chop finely. Mix with the butter and the bread crumbs, mashing well with a fork before adding the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Use this to stuff the fish, pressing the sides and stuffing firmly together and re-form the fish to its original shape before cooking.
This next is stuffing use with squid, but it might just work with other fish.
Onion, Pine-nuts and Currant Stuffing:
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 tblsp olive oil
4 oz (100g) rice
4 tblsp pine nuts
4 tblsp currants
2 tblsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Cook the onions in the oil until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Then stuff the fish.
Note: in this instance the fish is cooked in a liquid, which causes the rice to swell and also cook.
Ah, reading through the preparation part of the book I have just seen this: "any pink-fleshed fish of the salmon family benefits from the inclusion of aromatic ingredients into the cavity. Chopped fennel or dill, with additional flavours by garnishing it with finely chopped shallots."
And, on another page: "because the stuffing can be a visible feature of the finished dish, it should be a mixture that will contribute to the appearance as well as the flavour of the fish. You can use vegetables alone, or combine with chopped fish, shellfish, or fish roe. In the demonstration pictures shown (in the book), trout is stuffed with a mixture of spinach, butter, chopped onions and pieces of raw salmon, then cooked on a bed of onions moistened with white wine. Sorrel can be used instead of spinach".
As some weeks to go before Xmas, I still have time to do more searching.
Funny how things happen, as I reached for the book with the recipe for Turkish Delight, a little book fell from the pile underneath it. Ah, I thought, serendipity, inside will be a recipe for stuffed salmon. But there wasn't one, however - there was a recipe for a kipper and onion quiche which will freeze, and a perfect one for me to make today as I still have that pack of frozen kippers bought for the Challenge almost 12 months ago (time I think to use them up as although they can stay frozen quite safely, they will lose flavour), plus some pastry left-over from making a fruit tart last week. If it turns out well, I will give you the recipe tomorrow.
Turkish Delight:
1 large cup boiling water
2 generous cups sugar
1 oz (30g) powdered gelatine
1 tsp citric acid
red or pink food colouring*
vanilla extract
lemon essence
icing sugar
In a saucepan boil the gelatine, sugar, citric acid and the water, for 15-20 minutes, stirring well. Divide the mixture into two - colouring one half with the red or pink food colouring and flavouring with a few drops vanilla extract; keeping the other half white and flavouring with a few drops of lemon essence. Pour each into two greased shallow containers. When cold, cut into squares with a knife dipped into boiling water. Roll squares in icing sugar.
Tip:* if using food colouring often - such as for icing cakes etc. food colours are best used in paste form, as they come in a much wider variety of flavours, and you can get more intense colours (such a red) using the paste rather than using the liquid colour which tends to dilute the icing too much. However, with the above recipe, as the colour needs to be pale, use only one drop at a time of the liquid until you get the colour you wish.
To add to the last paragraph - anyone with children will always find it far cheaper to make their celebration cakes rather than purchase them. Starting when they are small, ample time to practice, so by the time they are married, wedding cakes will be a doddle. Have to modestly say (oh, why be modest, having four children and plenty of practice, I got darn good at it), that I have iced many wedding and celebration cakes for others in the past. A few useful tips, always add a few drops of glycerine when beating up royal icing. No noticable difference, it still sets hard, but cuts cleanly with a knife rather than tending to crack. Perhaps worth me mention that my first wedding cake made for a close friend (luckily), did not contain glycerine in the icing, so bent the silver knife when using for the ceremonial cutting (a little bleat from me that 'I shouldn't have used Polyfilla' made them all laugh and saved the day). If making fragile decorations, add a tsp of gum tragacanth (from the chemists) to the icing used for piping the decorations only (not for icing the cake itself) as this makes it super strong, and prevents a lot of breakages.
To get a really flat top and sides, spread the royal icing very thinly (even still able to seeing the marzipan beneath), and let it dry overnight. Using the flat of a knife, drag it across to remove any ridges (some people use fine sandpaper) and brush away the icing dust. Give another coat and repeat once a day until satisfied (it may take up to six or eight coats but well worth it for a perfect appearane).
Mentioning icing - after putting the almond paste on the cake, leave it uncovered for about a week for the marzipan to dry out or it could taint the icing with yellow patches.
And for those who haven't the patience or the time, if your cake does have ridges or holes, just get an icing pipe with a tiny round hole and start doodling an endless jig-saw like rope, icing over the ridges and around any dents and they will then seem to disappear.
Sadly, nowadays most cakes seem to be covered in fondant icing, but maybe one day royal icing will come back into fashion. You can always practice using royal icing on this year's Xmas cakes. It is after all, far cheaper than buying the fondant, all you need is egg white (saved?), icing sugar and a bit of lemon juice, plus a goodly amount of elbow grease.
For some reason I thought today was Saturday, and now it seems it isn't. Which means I need to get a move on, another viewer coming today.
Having drafted the delayed October 06 recipe index (last year's, not this) , I will try to put it up either very early tomorrow morning, before I do my usual posting, or last thing tonight. Otherwise, if I do it now, it will appear above this, and you might just think I have forgotten today's posting. Just remember if you log on early tomorrow and see only the index, then come back later and you should see more.
So roll on Monday, a day I always enjoy - the start of a new week, new discoveries, new dishes to try. See you then.
Delighted to read you live Leicester SweeterRita, might I ask which area? My parents settled in Leicester (I was born in Coventry, my dad in Wolverhampton, my mum in Leicester) when I was nine years old and until I was married we all lived off the Evington Road. Beloved and I then moved to Oadby where we stayed until moving to where we live now. I still miss living in the Midlands and would prefer to go back and end my days there. On the other hand, Morecambe is nearer my family.
Valerie, last night I fully intended to look up a suitable stuffing for the salmon, but a Craft moment overcame me (Can't Remember A Flipping Thing) and so went to bed, this time - with all the nostalgia chat about being tucked in at bed-time - deciding to try putting a blanket over the bottom to the middle of my duvet, tucking it in the sides to see if I could get a better night's sleep. Apart from being a little difficult to get into bed without undoing the tucking, how good it felt, all warm and cuddly, and I slept so well, with lots of lovely dreams, that I woke late and today my memory is back again. I will just scamper downstairs to get my fish book and see what it says, back in a minute...
...There was not a lot written about salmon, but plenty of stuffings to go with other fish - will just take a quick look and see if any are suitable. Oddly, none given for salmon in the index. Reading the few salmon recipes, they appear not to be stuffed, even when whole, but dressed with dill, and occasionally duxelles (finely chopped mushrooms fried gently in a little butterwith a finely diced shallot until all the moisture driven away). I suppose the duxelle could be introduced into the cavity to make a stuffing. I will give you a couple of stuffings suggested for other fish which you might find interesting and possibly give you something to work with to go with salmon.
This first stuffing is for whole but gutted and boned Bass, Bream, Mullet, Sea Trout.
Herb Stuffing for Fish:
8 oz (225g) spinach, parboiled
2 oz (50g) stale bread, finely crumbed
1 oz (25g) butter, softened
2 oz (50g) young sorrel leaves, finely shredded
2 oz (50g) finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped tarragon
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
Sqeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach and chop finely. Mix with the butter and the bread crumbs, mashing well with a fork before adding the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Use this to stuff the fish, pressing the sides and stuffing firmly together and re-form the fish to its original shape before cooking.
This next is stuffing use with squid, but it might just work with other fish.
Onion, Pine-nuts and Currant Stuffing:
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 tblsp olive oil
4 oz (100g) rice
4 tblsp pine nuts
4 tblsp currants
2 tblsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Cook the onions in the oil until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Then stuff the fish.
Note: in this instance the fish is cooked in a liquid, which causes the rice to swell and also cook.
Ah, reading through the preparation part of the book I have just seen this: "any pink-fleshed fish of the salmon family benefits from the inclusion of aromatic ingredients into the cavity. Chopped fennel or dill, with additional flavours by garnishing it with finely chopped shallots."
And, on another page: "because the stuffing can be a visible feature of the finished dish, it should be a mixture that will contribute to the appearance as well as the flavour of the fish. You can use vegetables alone, or combine with chopped fish, shellfish, or fish roe. In the demonstration pictures shown (in the book), trout is stuffed with a mixture of spinach, butter, chopped onions and pieces of raw salmon, then cooked on a bed of onions moistened with white wine. Sorrel can be used instead of spinach".
As some weeks to go before Xmas, I still have time to do more searching.
Funny how things happen, as I reached for the book with the recipe for Turkish Delight, a little book fell from the pile underneath it. Ah, I thought, serendipity, inside will be a recipe for stuffed salmon. But there wasn't one, however - there was a recipe for a kipper and onion quiche which will freeze, and a perfect one for me to make today as I still have that pack of frozen kippers bought for the Challenge almost 12 months ago (time I think to use them up as although they can stay frozen quite safely, they will lose flavour), plus some pastry left-over from making a fruit tart last week. If it turns out well, I will give you the recipe tomorrow.
Turkish Delight:
1 large cup boiling water
2 generous cups sugar
1 oz (30g) powdered gelatine
1 tsp citric acid
red or pink food colouring*
vanilla extract
lemon essence
icing sugar
In a saucepan boil the gelatine, sugar, citric acid and the water, for 15-20 minutes, stirring well. Divide the mixture into two - colouring one half with the red or pink food colouring and flavouring with a few drops vanilla extract; keeping the other half white and flavouring with a few drops of lemon essence. Pour each into two greased shallow containers. When cold, cut into squares with a knife dipped into boiling water. Roll squares in icing sugar.
Tip:* if using food colouring often - such as for icing cakes etc. food colours are best used in paste form, as they come in a much wider variety of flavours, and you can get more intense colours (such a red) using the paste rather than using the liquid colour which tends to dilute the icing too much. However, with the above recipe, as the colour needs to be pale, use only one drop at a time of the liquid until you get the colour you wish.
To add to the last paragraph - anyone with children will always find it far cheaper to make their celebration cakes rather than purchase them. Starting when they are small, ample time to practice, so by the time they are married, wedding cakes will be a doddle. Have to modestly say (oh, why be modest, having four children and plenty of practice, I got darn good at it), that I have iced many wedding and celebration cakes for others in the past. A few useful tips, always add a few drops of glycerine when beating up royal icing. No noticable difference, it still sets hard, but cuts cleanly with a knife rather than tending to crack. Perhaps worth me mention that my first wedding cake made for a close friend (luckily), did not contain glycerine in the icing, so bent the silver knife when using for the ceremonial cutting (a little bleat from me that 'I shouldn't have used Polyfilla' made them all laugh and saved the day). If making fragile decorations, add a tsp of gum tragacanth (from the chemists) to the icing used for piping the decorations only (not for icing the cake itself) as this makes it super strong, and prevents a lot of breakages.
To get a really flat top and sides, spread the royal icing very thinly (even still able to seeing the marzipan beneath), and let it dry overnight. Using the flat of a knife, drag it across to remove any ridges (some people use fine sandpaper) and brush away the icing dust. Give another coat and repeat once a day until satisfied (it may take up to six or eight coats but well worth it for a perfect appearane).
Mentioning icing - after putting the almond paste on the cake, leave it uncovered for about a week for the marzipan to dry out or it could taint the icing with yellow patches.
And for those who haven't the patience or the time, if your cake does have ridges or holes, just get an icing pipe with a tiny round hole and start doodling an endless jig-saw like rope, icing over the ridges and around any dents and they will then seem to disappear.
Sadly, nowadays most cakes seem to be covered in fondant icing, but maybe one day royal icing will come back into fashion. You can always practice using royal icing on this year's Xmas cakes. It is after all, far cheaper than buying the fondant, all you need is egg white (saved?), icing sugar and a bit of lemon juice, plus a goodly amount of elbow grease.
For some reason I thought today was Saturday, and now it seems it isn't. Which means I need to get a move on, another viewer coming today.
Having drafted the delayed October 06 recipe index (last year's, not this) , I will try to put it up either very early tomorrow morning, before I do my usual posting, or last thing tonight. Otherwise, if I do it now, it will appear above this, and you might just think I have forgotten today's posting. Just remember if you log on early tomorrow and see only the index, then come back later and you should see more.
So roll on Monday, a day I always enjoy - the start of a new week, new discoveries, new dishes to try. See you then.
posted by Shirley at 7:01 AM
4 Comments:
thanks for the turkish delight recipe Shirley, am off to copy it down, will do for xmas, as always enjoy reading about your day and the recipes
my soon to be daughter in law got me some lovely fleecy throws from primark, £2 each so i intend to use one for a blanket next to me in bed in the winter, being brought up by a granny who was terrified of us being cold in bed, blankets and heavy coats were the norm in winter on the bed so that you could hardly move lol
love Marlene
Shirley, I'm so, so enjoying reading about your life plus all the wonderful receipes. I have been thrugh exactly what you are doing, selling your house. I sold my house about 18 months ago,as being divorced and coming up to 60 wanted to get rid of the mortgage. I finally found a house I liked (old with character) but it needed re-wiring and a damp-proof course but it has been worth it though, just the painting to do now and I can open the boxes. I also agree with you, the old style of living was much better, I was certainly much happier.
This is how I found about your blog, got fed up at not having my books and went into Amazon to see if I could get another copy of one of your books, then saw your name on the google page with blog behind it. Now you know how I found you. Best wishes with selling your house and the move. Am looking forward to your new book. Can we have these receipes off your blog in it please.
Take care, Ann
Hi Shirley, what a small world this is!
I was born in April 1944, in a street called Willowbridge Street, which was in between Catherine Street and Belgrave Road. I attended Taylor Street School and then Willowmead Girls School, so I didn't have far to go.
I loved it round that area because everyone knew everyone and they all helped out. Times were hard and I remember the rationing books which I had to take to the shops for my mum. You were never without friends. A very close-knit community! We had some really GREAT times round there. Which I find you don't get nowadays.
Then when I was 18, everyone had to leave round that area because they decided to demolish all the area to build a new estate, so everyone had to move out in different areas. I sure missed everyone and was so heartbroken! It never seemed the same again.
Rod (my husband) used to live down Melton Road just round the corner from the now demolished Colliseum.
My mum, Rod and I very often talk about the good ole' days. My mum always says "we'll never see the likes of them days again."
Before I finish I would like to say great info and recipes.
Well will finish for now and I hope you have a lovely evening. Do take care.
SweeterRita
Dear Shirley,
Thank you for the chicken chopping info. Will you be buying the bogof turkeys in the week after Christmas? They could be a real freezer-filler.
I enjoy your chat on the blog. I think the blog is at its best when it leads to new ideas or connections being made on inexpensive living.
For example, your work on split peas I thought was very useful. I would like to hear your approach to other astonishingly good value foods which are under used.
In fact I have one for you here. You know how people steep muesli before being able to eat it. Well I have discovered with the stuff I make that you don't need to steep if you incorporate certain things. For example the excellent but punitively expensive Dorset cereals (£3-00 a box) do it by incorporating wheat flakes, toasted and/or malted. I have found you can make the texture better just by adding dessicated coconut. Then you can eat it straight away.
Now coconut seems to be wonderfully inexpensive and I bet it will go well with all sorts of things, even yellow split peas!
The other thing I value immensely, is being able to ask you questions which you always answer so fully with practical tips. You and your pc are the ideal kitchen accessory for the 21st Century!
Seriously, it is very helpful to be able to ask advice from an experienced cook who has thought about and practised economical cookery.
Those things are what I like best in your blog. The library of inexpensive recipes is good too.
Now, an update from yoghurt corner.
Yesteday, did my own easi-yo. I made up a litre of double strength milk from dried skimmed milk (200g per litre of water). So that at least is virtually fat free. Because I was sceptical and rather than loose the lot, I put in a big tin of evap a la Eileen. Then a couple of tablespoons of Easi-yo Greek Yoghurt powder and gave a good shake.
Turned out OK. Better than when I tried with just semi-skimmed bottled milk. The flavour was not great. The best so far is with ordinary cows milk and evap but that must be fairly high in fat.
I will try again with just the powder and no evap. Some I have started to strain to make cheese and I will get those Cardomoms going!
I will mix the milk cold nest time as on the surface, despite much shaking, there were lumps of milk powder which had not dissolved.
Best wishes,
Cheesepare
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