Jenni

Food allergies and intolerances are not funny, and should not be messed with, in my opinion. On the other hand, it is true that some people make up allergies to avoid foods they don't like. However, I have sometimes got the feeling that certain eating establishments wouldn't give a toss about making sure something wasn't in your food unless you scared them with an allergy warning. Not all places, for sure, but there are a couple of places that I personally wouldn't eat at if I was really keen on avoiding a certain foodstuff. I think the best thing to do is ring a restaurant ahead of going there and give them due warning. That makes everyone feel happier and better prepared. And if you're cooking for someone at home, as far as I'm concerned you should be making something that you think they will enjoy, not trying to trick them into eating things that might make them uncomfortable - either because you're testing to see if their intolerance is real or because you want to make them like something. Unless it's your brother. And then you're allowed to put sweet potatoes in things and see if he eats it. And then yell "Ha, you do like it!"

I will be dining at the Oz restaurant on Saturday night, will give a full report afterwards. In addition, any other Egulleters in the area can play spot the forum member if they should happen to visit too...

Maybe a semolina cake? Variations are common in the middle east. Found many recipes when googling "lebanese semolina cake", here are some of them: http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/recipes...-semolina-cake/ http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2006/12/basbousa.html http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/22917/...dessert%29.html http://www.grouprecipes.com/20603/basboosa...olina-cake.html

Sounds like what you get on the streets in India when you ask for a masala soda. They open a bottle of thumbs up, and then add lime juice and spices. Usually chat masala, so the black salt in it gives it a distinctive sulfur smell. An aquired taste maybe, but I like it!

This looks like a good site for vegan ice cream: http://veganicecream.blogspot.com/ I made her Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream and it was divine.

As a resident of Bristol, I feel I must add my current top tip: Oz, on the triangle in Clifton. The website (http://ozrestaurant.co.uk/index.htm) makes it look a bit rubbish, but the food is sublime, and the service excellent. The prices are very reasonable too. If you like turkish food, this place is for you!

I have an excessive amount of rice, other grains, pulses and spices on hand at all times. Also, an excessive amount of vegetables. In my regular shop, most of the cart is made up of produce! What don't I have a lot of on hand? Well hardly and cans or frozen stuff, and practically no prepared food stuffs such as sauces, jams, etc. We need it, I make it!

The veggie options sound a bit rubbish to me, and I got to say, the pud wouldn't be my first choice. Other stuff sounds ok.

What's up with the advert? Everyone has their "guilty" pleasures, right? I bet even top chefs have similar favourite non-gourmet foods - their local chippy's fish and chips, a cheap hotdog at a football match; maybe even something totally unlikely like heinz baked beans on toast. What's wrong with enjoying simple pleasures?

I can't tell you how they do it, but in the middle eastern stores near my house they have a whole slew of courgette (zucchini, whatever!) packed in jars, and looking at the ingredients I can tell you that they aren't full of preservatives.

Are you sure? Because she also has a "Curry Bible" featuring recipes for "curry" from all over the world. ← I have Indian Cookery and the Curry bible and they are very different books. ← That's exactly the point I am making. Looks like dougal has done plenty of research though!

Are you sure? Because she also has a "Curry Bible" featuring recipes for "curry" from all over the world.

They were probably urad beans, not technically a lentil. Urad gram or urad dal (the dal is the split version, and is usually white because it is usually skinned). Urad or ma is a popular in the punjab.

Probably not quite what you are looking for, but I'll share with you my daily healthy bread: Chapati They're thin (easy to digest), wholewheat (much healthier than white), don't need any oil added and are really easy to cook, once you know how. The trick is to cook them on the tawa (a flat pan for cooking breads) till cooked through but not to brown, and then hold them over the burner (I use a coat hanger (!), but you could use tongs) till they puff up.

My mom, who is British and my dad, who spent several years there used to make these once in a while. I don't have a recipe, but I can only describe the ones they made as a thick large crepe. No leavening, as you mentioned, but the proportion of flour to liquid must be higher than for a crepe. There's actually a pancake house chain here in Illinois that makes a pretty good replica, but they call it a 49er flapjack. ← I believe my Mum does 2 eggs, 125g of flour, 300ml of milk and some butter for cooking. Something like that.

What is a proper British pancake? So much to learn. The pancake issue came up with an Indian guest recently. She asked for pancakes (not on the menu at that lodge, but that is another story) hoping for something spicy, and got American pancakes. American, British, Swedish, Indian....so many pancakes! This is a good challenge, I do want to be more well rounded and international in my work. I think I'll make financiers for tea today. ← Well, from what I know, American pancakes are thicker and spongier than British ones, and are eaten with weird things like bacon British pancakes, the kind made on pancake day are thinner and have no leavening in them. They are more crepe like. The traditional accompaniment is lemon juice and sugar. As for Indian "pancakes"....mmmmm....dosas, cheela, pudla, poora....they are all good, but definitely different from what I would call a pancake!

I can't see any reason why....there are plenty of lads in my family who would practically be offended if they weren't offered two fried egg with their brekkie! Hmm...have to disagree on that. We definitely think of pancakes as a Sunday morning breakfast in my house, and on pancake day of course. Plus, people eat different things when they are on holiday, and I'm sure the chance to eat proper British pancakes (as opposed to the very different American kind) would be very welcome. When we have pancake day in my house, we always say that we should have pancakes more often! By the way, I am British , and I'm not trying to put down all your ideas. I'm just trying to say that things aren't etched out in stone!

Wow, not only the food allergies thing, but macademias are much more expensive than peanuts, so it's kinda misleading to tell people that's what they are getting.

Sorry if this is not what you are looking for, but can you do European style pancakes? They're quite different from American ones. Great fillings could be lemon and sugar (very British), chocolate and strawberries (very European, especially Nutella) or even strawberries and whipped cream. As for Asian desserts, what about Asian style rice pudding? Indian kheer or payasam is divine, and thai recipes using coconut milk are delicious too. And I agree, Indian sweets are often WAY too sweet, but if you make them yourself you can adjust the amount of sugar. Try shirkand; very thick sweetened strained yoghurt with cardamom, saffron and often pistachios.

It should be noted that many/ most Indian cooks don't use ready made "curry" powders. There may be a few masalas that they prepare in advance, but mostly they will use different spices for each dish, and prepare them as they cook.

Chestnut flour pancakes are divine. There are quite a few recipes online, just google.

I love making traditional Indian pickles, but, even though I like how they taste, I hardly ever eat them.

Because, of course, you know exactly what she was doing in the bathroom.

I can't drink black tea (gives me a headache), so when my family and I go out somewhere and think we might stop for a cuppa at some point, I always take a few of my favourite herbal teabags. My parents buy drinks off the menu (usually tea or coffee), my brother gets a soft drink and I ask for a cup of hot water. Since the rest of my family are buying things, usually we are never charged for my water, and often they offer to take my tea bag out to the kitchen so they can pour boiling water on to it, rather than leave me to dunk with warm water. I really don't see a problem with that. On a similar note, I do sometimes take my own food out to eat whilst the rest of my family buys food. Never at proper restaurants, gosh no, but at little cafes and the like. I have good reason too, because I'm vegan and it's really hard to get definitely vegan food out at most places. Again, since the rest of my family are buying meals, I see no problem with me sitting quietly and eating my own packed lunch. As I said above, I would never do that at a proper restaurant, but if we're going out to a zoo/ museum/ park/ whatever that has a little place that serves food, or if we're in the city and everyone else wants to stop for a sandwhich or a salad, I'm quite happy to whip my own meal out. I'm only doing it so I'll be guaranteed to have something I can definitely eat.

Erm....pretty much sounds like my pantry. And yes, I do use them all!