This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Arti,

Take Ally up on the offer to ship some SA culinary goods. She will definately do it. Ally was kind enough to send me Rooibos tea, which is ABSOLUTLY WONDERFUL. I can't thank her enough for turning me on to it. I'm lucky enough to live in a city that has a South African food market so I can get the sausages and chutneys here. I also found a health food store that carries the tea at a reasonable price, so I will never be without again. (Thanks again Ally for the heads up on Rooibos)

Like you guys, I love food and cooking. My dinnner tonight was pan seared sea scallops wrapped in prosciutto and basil with steamed asparagus.

I've been to Texas a few times. Nothing like the drive from Houston to San Antonio in the spring for beautiful wildflowers. I have family in San Antonio. One of the oddest things I ran across was barbequed crabs on the coast near the Louisanna border. Ever run into those?

Jack

Hey Jack

Nice to have you in the 'food' thread - I know you love to cook and I have been waiting for you to post. I tried Shannon's recipe last night (can't get scallops here though, so I substituted) - the one from the other thread, and it was fabulous!

You dinner sounds great too, except I am not too crazy about asparagus (weird, I know - about the only veggie I don't eat) - wonder why we don't get scallops here?

I can also send you some spices and stuff if there is anything you have your eye on that your store doesn't stock...

Please post some more foodie ideas - I am a bit bored with same old, same old!

Oh - always wanted to know - what is a 'short stack'? And the difference between your bacon and Canadian bacon?

Thanks guys.

Hey guys

Try this recipe for Moroccan lamb shanks...I am not too crazy about too much fruit with my meat, you can omit it (although it is not real sweet), or exchange for either pitted prunes or olives, depending on your taste:

Ingredients
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 3cm piece fresh ginger, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks, about 450g each (about 1lb each)
• 2 large red onions, cut into wedges
• 11/2 tbsp Harissa Paste (from major supermarkets, I hope)
• 200g can chopped tomatoes
• 600ml chicken stock, hot
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 100g dried ready-to-eat apricots, halved
• 100g dried ready-to-eat figs, halved

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Bash the cumin and coriander in a pestle and mortar or whizz together in a mini food processor, then add the ginger, garlic and salt, and work or whizz to a rough paste. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole (large enough for the lamb shanks to fit snugly) over a high heat. Add the lamb shanks and brown well all over. Remove and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions to the casserole and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the spice paste that you made and the Harissa and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and stock, return the shanks to the casserole and stir together. Bring to the boil and drop in the cinnamon stick. Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours, turning the lamb once or twice.
4. Stir the dried fruit into the casserole and return to the oven, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until the lamb is almost falling off the bone.

This serves 4 people and is really quick to make as it spends most of its' time in the oven and there isn't a lot of preparation. I sometimes make it if I am having people over and don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen - just take it out of the oven and serve. It goes really well with warmed pitta breads to mop up the sauce, and a nice salad.
Hope you can get Harissa paste over there - it is great with chicken too!

I got this particular mixture from a food programme I was watching a long time ago - the measurements are not exactly the same as I didn't copy it down - just stole the idea and used my own amounts, but it works just fine!

Ally,

I got this particular mixture from a food programme I was watching a long time ago - the measurements are not exactly the same as I didn't copy it down - just stole the idea and used my own amounts, but it works just fine

Taking inspiration from one dish and adjusting it to your own tastes and what you have in you larders is the hallmark of a good cook!

When I want a quick bite in a short time I make a "pizza" using a burrito wrapper for crust (I know you know what those are since you have been to Texas) but any flatbread would work. I rub the wrap down on the up side with a little anchovey paste, just enough to coat, then top with a handful of chopped fresh baby spinach. Next is where the inspiration come in. I open the frig door and see what leftovers I have. Rotisseriare chicken is a favorite, any grilled veggie especially yellow squash or zuchinni, roasted red peppers, red onion, mushrooms, tomato, whatever looks good. Top with a little cheese of your choice, pop in a 450 oven for 5 to 8 minutes, and presto, a crunchy, chewey, tasty, thin crust pizza.

This is really easy and fun - I bet your boys, if you can get them out of the pool and in the kitchen, would have a lot of fun making these.

On yea, I can't believe you don't have scallops, living on the sea coast like you do. They are the most delectable thing in the sea.

Hey Jack

This does sound good - my kids would love it (minus the anchovy paste, with tomato paste instead! They sure do get stuck in a rutt at that age).

We only have tacos, soft tortillas and pita bread here, but I am just thinking that a 'pizza' wrap using a soft tortilla (filled with nice goodies) and then brushed with olive oil and baked for a few minutes in the oven to give it a bit of a crunchy-crispness....Mmm, have to mull this over.

I sometimes use a soft tortilla, fill with scrambled eggs(tossed in a little butter), some extra crispy bacon, and a little grated cheddar, wrap it up an enjoy - great Sunday breakfast, or even a light supper...If you are vegetarian, it also works great with roasted veggies and crispy spinach, or if you like fish - try it with shelled prawns (shrimp) tossed in a spicy tomato chutney, some iceberg or romaine lettuce for crispness...

Thanks for the inspiration, Jack - good light weekend meal.

Ally,

To answer your questions, a short stack refers to a half order of pancakes, three to be exact. Canadian bacon is ham, American bacon is cut from the fat on the back or belly of a hog and is streaked with fat and lean (mostly fat). Bad for you but it taste great. In the South you also have strick-o-lean, which is exactly what the name implies, a piece of fat with a single thin strip of lean meat in it. Traditonally it is fried and served for breakfast with biscuts and eggs.

Jack

Hi Jack

Very confusing! We have back bacon and shoulder bacon here, both lean with just a strip of fat, then we get streaky bacon which is, as it says, streaks of lean and fat; but we also get both ham and gammon (lots of varieties)...
Bacon is generally for breakfast (but is so good, you can eat it anytime) - biscuits? Do you mean scones? Biscuits to me are 'cookies'! Why would you eat scones for breakfast when they are much nicer for tea with strawberry jam? And there is toast for breakfast...Ham is for sandwiches or salads and gammon is grilled or fried for supper (sometimes breakfast).
Are your pancakes fluffy and thick like a crumpet or flapjack, or thin like a crepe? And is it true you guys have syrup on French toast?
Interesting to see how others live/eat!

Thanks.

Ally here is a recipe for some biscuits not my own but hey


CAT-HEAD BISCUITS

2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/3 c. solid vegetable shortening, cut into walnut size pieces
1 c. buttermilk
Unsalted butter, melted

In a food processor combine all dry ingredients and shortening. Process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and process, using pulse motion, until mixture is moistened. (This can also be done by hand using 2 knives to cut in shortening.) Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly 3 or 4 times.
Divide dough into 10 small pieces; roll and flatten each into a 1/2" thick round (about the size of the average house-cat's head) and place on two lightly greased baking sheets. Brush each top with melted butter and bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10 large biscuits.

Hey Shannon

Biscuits are scones! I have copied a recipe below for scones, and you will see the similarities! I am unfamiliar with vegetable shortening - would that be something like butter or margerine?

Thanks again guys - I can now be the first South AFrican to make American biscuits next time my Texan friends come to stay!

Ingredients
225g/8oz self raising flour
pinch of salt
55g/2oz butter
25g/1oz caster sugar
150ml/5fl oz milk


Method
1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter.
3. Stir in the sugar and then the milk to get a soft dough.
4. Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up.
5. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk or beaten raw egg. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden.
6. Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter and good jam and maybe some clotted cream.


[/i]

Shortening

Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Shortening is a semisolid fat used in food preparation, especially baked goods, and is so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture (as in shortbread). The term "shortening" can be used more broadly to apply to any fat that is used for baking and which is solid at room temperature, such as butter, lard, or margarine, but as used in recipes it refers to a hydrogenated vegetable oil that is solid at room temperature. Shortening has a higher smoke point than butter and margarine, and it has 100% fat content, compared to about 80% for butter and margarine.

Although the term has been in use for many years it is now known that shortening works by inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten) strands in wheat-based doughs. The similarity in terms is entirely coincidental since full understanding of the structure and chemistry of dough is comparatively recent


Not to good on the old ticker(heart) in large quantities
Later Ally , thanks for the recipe, Shannon

ally i think my neighbours are braaing some vleis right now ;)
both sets of inlaws are visiting from SA for 3 mo!
the only afrikaans i ever learned is: ek is lief vir jou

ps shortening = trans fat! ;D

Hey JL

Ek is baai lief vir jou my skaatie, en jou praat die taal baai goed!
I love you too!

I can't belive you know that, and vleis (meat) and braai! Wow, I am so impressed.
Hou gaan dit met jou? How are you?
Ek kaan nie Afrikaans praat nie, can jou Engels praat assebleif? I can't speak Afrikaans, can you speak English please?
Or Ek Kaan nie Afrikaans verstaan nie, can you Engles praat asseblief - I can understand Afrikaans...
So you have some SA folks nearby - it really is a small world - say hi from Durban for me, and thanks for the message! You could even try some Zulu on them, if you feel adventuress - Sawou Bona (hello); ou gune jani (how are you); n'giapila, na-we? I am fine, and you?

Soo excited! A Canadian can say I love you in Afrikaans - I won't ask how you came to learn that particular phrase - just don't say voetsek (mild version of F-off) or bliksom (mild version of sh#t)!

Ally,

Here is a picture of Southern (American) style biscuits. They should be light and fluffy. I got the picture from a Google search. I remember as a kid my mom making biscuits from scratch every Sunday morning. It was always a family feast, eggs, fried potatos, bacon or southern style cured ham (very salty), grits, and thick gravey. I would take a biscuit, split it open, and smother it in gravy. Mmm good, but very bad for you.



I forgot that you guys call cookies biscuits, sorry. The biggest difference between scones and biscuits I can tell is that biscuits are light and not sweet, and scones are heavy and have sugar in them.

I hope you do try to make biscuits. Let us know how they turn out.

Jack