Carlovski

Mexican stuff is definitely available - just not easily - unlike chinese and indian ingredients - not much of a mexican population in the UK! Edit - looks like i can get a bit of the stuff from Here, either online or whenever I am next in London.

Mexican ingredients are a bit tricker to source in the UK - I'm sure I can get it mail order though - I think the cool chile company stocks quite a bit. I think i have a Mexican cookbook somewhere, and I know there is a mexican section in The Cook's Book

Anyone who looks in my cupboard always laughs at my bean selection - i do like my beans! That sort of food is usually what I fall back on for a mixed crowd anyway (And amazing how many meat eaters go for the veggie options). The 5 bean chilli is a vegetarian cliche - but a well made one can be very good (Although I do usually 'cheat' and put in a load of chorizo if i'm not feeding a vegetarian)

Ah I see - nice idea! Still good recipes though!

Thanks - I've just gone out of my pimenton phase, I went through a period where I threw it in everything - not always to the benefit of the dish though! I might need to get back into it though to replicate that elsuive smokey taste though, and much better than that vile liquid smoke stuff. Your recipes look great - very much in my style of cooking as well.

I think I should be ok - I do only really eat meat a few times a week - maybe a bit of cured meat as ingredients (Bacon, chorizo etc) but most of my protein probably comes from pulses and legumes at the moment. I did have a serious carniverous week a few weeks ago (Steak 4 times in a week!) and felt a bit funny afterwards!

Thanks -i may take you up on your offer. Mushrooms, definitely - it's often texture I miss in vegetarian food - It's good to chew! In fact a big grilled portabello mushroom 'burger' is my usual option if I am at a barbecue (thats a British Barbecue a.k.a grilling for our American chums who are picky about such things!)

Nope - you are spot on, that's what I was thinking about. In fact I quite often go vegetarian in indian restaurants/takeaways anyway. Also can help with the work lunch problem - leftover spiced potatoes? Just wrap them in a flatbread of some description and an instant lunch. I have access to a half decent south indian takeaway/restaurant when I can't be bothered to cook as well.

Ok, Here is the plan. I'm going to go vegetarian - and possibly Vegan for a while, at least a month possibly three. I haven't gone mad, or changed my philosophy (see my Sig ). the opposite in fact. I want to do this so I appreciate eating meat even more. I don't eat a lot of meat anyway, and I'd like to say that when I do it is only the finest and most humanely reared. But it isn't true - often convenience or finances get in the way. Case in point - last night I ended up buying a pack of the dreaded boneless skinless chicken fillets from the corner shop to put in a chicken and broccoli stir fry. Don't know why I bothered - the broccoli was far more interesting to eat than the chicken. If I can prove to myself that I am content not eating meat - that I don't always have to fall back on it if I can't think of anything else to cook I can stop myself doing it again. As for Vegetarian vs Vegan, I'm still not sure. I do like eggs, and they provide a myriad of quick meal options, but I am sure I can do without. Butter I'll miss for sure and although i love Cheese, i think I can stay away for a while. Not being able to use Parmesan or Pecorino might get tricky though. Actually I might forget the whole Vegan idea - I'm british and need 5 cups of milky tea a day and I am not using soya milk. Maybe I will be extra careful in what I buy - I always buy free range eggs anyway and I can be a bit more watchful on milk, butter and cheese. I also will try and not revolve meals around them - just not be scared of using them as an ingredient. I don't think that is cheating too much, do you? As for the rules I have come up with so far No Meat substitutes. They all look grim anyway. Tofu in it's natural form is fine (I am planning on regular trips to the chinese supermarket anyway) I'm not going to be rigorous in products with animal deriratives. i'll stop eating Anchovies (that will be difficult!) but I'm going to carry on using fish sauce etc. If I eat out I'll try and keep to the rules, but If there is something I really want on the menu, and I'm happ with the provenance of the ingredients then I will have it. I'd like suggestions for other rules I should/could follow. recipe suggestions also greatly appreciated. I suppose I should list my assets/constraints... I only have to cook for myself - occasionally might cook for a friend, but none of them are ravenous carnivores (this will be easier now my South African housemates have moved out!) I can cook reasonably well - nothing too fancy but a good line in pastas, risottos, curries, stir frys - standard bachelor fare. (Going veggie will be infinitely easier for me than low carb!) I don't drive and only have access to shops accessible by walking/public transport. I can get to some decent supermarkets (Waitrose and Sainsburys for those who know UK supermarkets) and also a good chinese supermarket and a few indian local shops (Good for spices and some fresh produce). I can make use of Local farmers markets too, one in Winchester every fortnight and a more local one once a month. I could look at joining an organic veg box scheme too. I don't have a lot of fridge or freezer space - i can't store a huge amount of make ahead stuff. I will be marking a big late summer/harvest minestrone from the farmers market though - but I do that every year! I considered turning this into a blog, but have decided against it. Firstly this is more of a personal thing (Despite me writing about it on the internet!) Secondly i would end up feeling that I had to make the effort to do something interesting every day, not necessarily what I want to eat. I will post updates though, and any good recipes I find/come up with. Phew - bit of a mammoth post, but please, any helpful suggestions will be gratefully received.

Sounds good. Horrible website though....

I think we have got a bit of a mix between being a professional cook here, and being able to cook. Professional cook is consistency, consistency,consistency - a home cook tends to be a little different - it's more about confidence and touch. Someone mentioned making a caesar salad dressing without a recipe - I don't think that is much of a test - that is following a recipe (I'll stay clear of arguments about the best or most authentic one). A real cook is one that can make a dressing, taste it and correct it to make it suit whatever salad it is to be tossed with - it depends on the salad ingredients being used, and also on the ingredients in the dressing - some vinegars (And lemons) are sharper than others, some oils are stronger etc.

Sounds like a plan - I'm due a visit to see my little niece and nephew. I still wan to find out what 'Blessed the whole family' is!

That claypot dish is rather good, and filling isn't it? The fish cake things were particularly good, and I'm not normally a huge fan of those. I really need to go with some more people - really give the menu a going over. Problem is if you go on your own and have a claypot dish you aren't really going to be able to eat anything else

See - not just me and Binkyboots who like Lidl! Independent article I still reccomend their parmesan and the Chorizo.

Universe shaped donuts......

I think 10 minutes for an inch thick pice of tuna is a bit too long!

I don't like to buy more than I need - especially as I don't have that much storage space. when I bought cutlery I went to a shop where you could by pieces individually - so I got 2 knives, 2 forks and 2 spoons. I have one huge pasta bowl I eat out of most days, a black stoneware bowl for soup and noodles and a couple of plates. I share a house so we have loads more stuff communally, but I use my things 90% of the time. I have two saucepans, 2 woks (One normal one, one heavy cast iron one without a handle) a saute pan and a casserole. I have a couple of knives (Small little global veg knife, big heavy chefs knive and a viciously sharp santoku) and my essential microplane grater. Fairly minimal really - most of my friends have lots more, even the ones that never cook. We did go out and buy a deep fat fryer recently but It hasn't even been turned on yet.

There is a difference between unexciting and sloppy cooking - if the sole had been cooked as badly as suggested I would have sent it back - lemon sole is a soft fish but not that soft! I wouldn't expect anything ground breaking for a set lunch (though I do like the sound of the lemon sole with cockles) and in many places I wouldn't expect too much in the way of execution but here, where they are obviously trying to make a name with cheaper ingredients well cooked I would do. I bet the proprieters would prefer things to be sent back so that problems can be corrected, especially at a fairly early stage of the restaurants development. I'm glad you are going back to try dinner - let us know how it goes.

Yeah, because if you were genuinely passionate you should be passionate enough to charge three times those prices? No wonder restaurants that try to deliver good food at affordable prices struggle in this country with reviews like that. I find newspaper restaurant reviews in general very confusing, the score rating seems to be very much geared to the reputation/price range i.e an established, expensive restaurant which get hammered in the text of the review will get 16/20, but a local moderately priced one will get enthusiastic comments for the food/room/service but rarely get above 12/20 - I can understand if they have sliding scales for the different level of restaurants - but this never explained, or even hinted at in the reviewers comments.

Wow - when I was a student (in the real Durham got to get my British Snobbery in somewhere) I was considered a culinary icon just because I'd knock up the occasional bowl of pasta in the college kitchen! I love the look of Wegmans, just wish we had something similar here. I think our style of cooking are poles apart, but I'd like to think I share at least a fraction of your enthusiasm.

Some of my female friends switch from beer to vodka and diet tonic when they want to lose a few pounds. And a friend of mine who lost a lot of weight with weightwatchers reckoned he was still allowed to drink a lot of Michelob Drys - they were about half a point or something, a burger being about 10 or something I guess! Personally It's not the beer that gets me - it's the craving for curry/kebab afterwards!

Actually I've picked up some half decent pans very cheaply at TK Max. Got a seriously heavy frypan with lid a while ago which I use a lot - goes into the oven which is handy. On saying that the 'pan' I tend to use the most is a shallow wide casserole thing with little handles on each side - It's good for pasta sauces, casseroles (Obviously) etc - anything 'one-pot' which is most of my cooking. And I bought it for about a tenner in Woolworths about 5 years ago!

Lifestyle Managers ← Sourcing his meat? That's not his 'Lifestyle', that's supposed to be his job.

Also supermarkets like to offer a bewildering selection of anything that has a long shelf life - it gives an illusion of quality and choice without any problems of wastage. Hence the 257 types of Jam, chutney, breakfast cereal etc but only 2 types of potato.

It's nice to have the all these options, out in the sticks we either get your standard British curry house (Which can be very nice, don't get me wrong) or a 'Modern Indian' restaurant, which is basically the same, except they charge more, give smaller portions and put coriander in everything. Although there is a new south indian place opened in Southampton which looks like it might be a bit more interesting.