Topic: Hairy Bikers !!

[Obelixx]

I have an ambition to go to Borough market too just to see what they have. 

I get my spices in a local market but for some, I have to go to Brussels and raid the Chiense and Thai supermarkets near the Bourse - kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and chutneys.

I've recently branched out and ordered some online from the UK and that has worked well - kashmiri and chipotle chillies and sumach.   I looked for kashmiri chilli seeds on line but found none so had a go at sowing some from the dried chillies and bingo, I now have 8 babies.  Brilliant.

[Debs]

Blimey!! Look what this Hairy Bikers link has unearthed - budding cooks everywhere 

I'm brilliantly positioned where I live (Newcastle - upon- Tyne) as we have a large Asian community in the west end where I can readily buy all my spices and also fresh asian/chines veg, fresh nan breads, curry shops etc
Also have Chinese community with their supermarkets as well as other ethnic communities too.

I also love cooking, so appreciate how frustrating it must be if you can't get hold of an ingredient due to lack of availability where you live
Give me a shout if you are in need of spices & i'll happily oblige for cost of stamp & spice

Debs x 

[Mrs Tweedy]

Gazza, at 4am the drive through London is a doddle. Shame you aren't nearer, you would love the market. The variety of fish is incredible. I got some razor clams one week which were delicious. 

Debs, I think I may be a blossomed cook rather than budding; I have been cooking for more years than I care to admit to.

Obbelix, I get my kaffir lime leaves frozen from the Chinese cash and carry and the lemon grass fresh from the same place. We are so lucky, we live at the edge of Epping forest, but  we have the chinese cash and carry, 10 minutes away, Turkish food shops 20mins away and half an hour to the Greek deli's, and 5 mins from several Asian food centres. It is a foodies paradise.

If you have sumach and we get a summer for BBQ's try making a BBQ'd onion salad.
Peel onions and cut in half. Leave the stalk in tact to keep the onion together and thread them onto skewers. Brush with oil and cook until slightly charred.

Remove from skewers and put into a dressing made with olive oil, salt, pepper, a good pinch of sumach, about a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses, teaspoon of wine vinegar and lots of chopped parsley. Eat warm as an accompaniment to kebabs with flat bread.

[Debs]

Yes Mrs Tweedy,

I too am more of a blossom than a bud 

Debs x

[Mrs Tweedy]

Or we could be  a wonderful matured wine.

[Obelixx]

Haven't found pomegranate molasses yet but then I do live out in t'country 30 miles south of Brussels so haven't looked locally.  However, I can be in Brussels in about an hour depending on traffic and there are so many nationalities and communities of immigrants or diplomats or international business people that there are specialist dellies and shops for every cuisine except maybe north Korean if I want to seek them out and then find a parking space.   Sometimes ordering online is just easier.

[Mrs Tweedy]

You make me glad to be living where I am.

[cornykev]

I'm not much of a spicy person, well not in the text your talking about    but after reading this thread I ordered the book and it arrived today, I blame you Gazza and stop putting them mouth watering dishes on, they make me hungry even when I've just eaten. I'll read back to see if you explained it Gazza, but if not how do you get the bones out the chicken before cooking it.  PS cheers Fitzie.   

[fitzsie]

Cornykev,  I hope you enjoy the book as much as I am continuing to do so! Had the peppered steak this evening and the sauce was simple and so tasty. Had with them the potato wedges which are found in another recipe for chicken. At the weekend I also made the first sweet dish from the book, the carrot cake. Very straight forward and another recipe to recommend. Can't stop using the book !  Enjoy !

[daveylamp993]

My wife has cooked the Cajun chicken for tea today,i must say it was lovely,thank you for the ingredients.(and she didn't even burn it)

[gazza1960]

Ill try and post any recipes on at tea time Kev,that way you should have already eaten fella,and no matter how liptastically delish they may seem youll be full and will only think of it as something to try maybe another day.

Whats that mate,how to remove bones,youve lost me..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Cajun is chicken breasts and the spatchcocked is just that,the whole bird is butterflied open and the paste is smeared over,OK.you can remove the bones but itsa chore mate for the sake of a few mins extra cooking time saved.

Having worked at Heathrow for 25 years,I got to sample plenty of  Asian,African cuisine and have to say the majority of the meals prepared for me and my mates on the shift were ""Meat on the bone",no secret there as its accepted that ................


"""The principal effect of cooking meat on the bone is that it alters the flavour and texture. Albumen and collagen in the bones release gelatin when boiled which adds substance to stews, stocks, soups and sauces. The bone also conducts heat within the meat so that it cooks more evenly and prevents meat drying out and shrinking during cooking.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ""

Not my words,just accepted cooking science that our continental partners have known and used for generations,the curries would arrive in huge silver
pots,ok yud get a few namby pambys want it removed from the bone but the asian mums that had prepared it for us said..""Thats why yuv got fingers""
and sure enough we,d sit there gorging ourselves on some fine foods with spicy gravys dribbling down chins and fingers,as we picked the bones clean,so think about what flavour you might miss out on before you get bizzy with the boning knife Cornykev  !!!!!!!!!

Gazza

[cornykev]

I love chewing it off the bone, but I misunderstood your butterflied chicken for the whole thing being deboned, I must have mixed this up with another thread where the whole bone comes out and cooks quicker but as you say a bit of a chore.   

[gazza1960]

yer cant beat it Kev,I think it was me and another member talking about de boning the chicken after spatchcocking it,yer,its easier eating but the Ol cave dweller comes out in me and I enjoy grabbing a bone end and chewing down on the meat,although after eating I dont tend to drag Jude off into the back of the cave by the hair these days,well,especially if the footys on.....

I did the cooking on our "Plot Barby" last summer and all the other drunken allotmenteers made short work of all on offer,I just hope we actually have a summer as ill be on the lookout for fresh ideas for marinades from other members that I can do a dry run on before offering it to the locals.....

Gazza

[Mrs Tweedy]

Oh, no doubt about it meat cooked on the bone is sweeter, especially in curries. I actually don't bother with chicken breast it sticks in my throat. I have serious voice issues. Lost the voice for 2 years and still have to manage it on a day to day basis.

I taught for at a Primary school where we often had international food days. Bliss, I had lots of the mums giving me their secret recipes. Forget an apple for the teacher it was curries and the best naan bread ever.