What Are You Eating & Drinking?

[Mythopoeika]

About to cook up a large amount of chilli con carne...using Santa Maria chilli paste.

 

[Frideswide]

That looks interesting. What does it add that is more than just dumping chili powder in?

You can tell I am not a natural cook

 

[Mythopoeika]

That paste has a lot of other stuff in it, such as paprika.
My chilli today is:

• Loads of onions (chopped)
• 500g minced beef (British)
• Santa Maria chilli paste
• Teaspoon of Sainsbury's Harissa paste
• Green Giant sweet corn and peppers
• Knorr Flavour Pot garlic
• Sainsbury's Italian tomato puree with garlic
• Sainsbury's Italian chopped tomatoes with olive oil and garlic
• Napolina Red Kidney Beans
• A bit of water

Edit: sorry, the paste's ingredients are: Tomatoes, Water, Chilli Pepper (10%), Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Cane Sugar, Garlic, Lime Juice Concentrate, Salt, Cumin, Oregano, Preservatives (E202, E211). Not paprika!

The above amount is enough for 4 substantial servings.

 

[GeorgeP]

Bangers and mash with garden peas and a rich gravy. Tea plus two sugars

 

[Mythopoeika]

Just ate some of that chilli I mentioned earlier.
Hog. Heaven!

 

[Frideswide]

Lime Juice Concentrate

This interests me.... I wonder if lemon juice (which I have to hand) would make a similar contribution??

 

[Mythopoeika]

Maybe...are you thinking of making your own chilli paste from scratch?

 

[Frideswide]

Not me! Mr Frideswide does curries from scratch and I'm wondering if a gift of some chili "stuff" would be nice for a wee unbirthday present. Last year I got him some coriander plants which were brilliant.

 

[Mythopoeika]

There's a place up the road from me that does 'chilli experiences':
http://www.edibleornamentals.co.uk/....html?osCsid=fdb67c80cd1491dafd16098d348c11c9
I've never tried it myself, but that may appeal?

 

[Frideswide]

There's a place up the road from me that does 'chilli experiences':

that looks really good! I'd enjoy that as well. The Chilli Cooking and Tasting experience for Two People would be perfect. And I could afford it.

I just can't see how to get him to Bedfordshire from Glasgow without some sort of Rendition Experience coming first


But the Chilli Lovers Hamper looks like it might be doable! Thanks Mytho! *we seem to have lost the hug smiley*

 

[Mythopoeika]

Aww, sorry - perhaps there is a similar place a bit nearer to Glasgow?
A hamper sounds like a good idea.

 

[GNC]

Cheese and tomato pizza, coleslaw, tomatoes and a Waldorf salad. Whenever I have the latter I hear John Cleese's voice in my head saying he doesn't have any Waldorfs.

 

[Novena]

I've just received my weekly shopping and find to my chagrin that I had mistakenly ordered 2 kilos of yellow peppers instead of just 2. So, that's what I'll be eating for the foreseeable future... any recipe ideas gratefully received.

 

[Andy X]

This morning I ate a full English breakfast that included: one fried egg, baconx2, one sausage, one hash brown, beans, mushrooms, fried bread, bread n butter and a lovely cup of tea with two sugars.

Why does the tea taste so nice after a full monty breakfast?

Oh, the mug that contained the said beverage looked like something your mother would have gathering dust in a cupboard. Very early 80s look, design and feel to it. Overall, I gave that mug a rating of 82%.

Ah, fried bread...it's been too long...

 

[Frideswide]

any recipe ideas gratefully received.

Yellow peppers stuffed with yellow peppers?

 

[Andy X]

That paste has a lot of other stuff in it, such as paprika.
My chilli today is:

• Loads of onions (chopped)
• 500g minced beef (British)
• Santa Maria chilli paste
• Teaspoon of Sainsbury's Harissa paste
• Green Giant sweet corn and peppers
• Knorr Flavour Pot garlic
• Sainsbury's Italian tomato puree with garlic
• Sainsbury's Italian chopped tomatoes with olive oil and garlic
• Napolina Red Kidney Beans
• A bit of water

Edit: sorry, the paste's ingredients are: Tomatoes, Water, Chilli Pepper (10%), Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Cane Sugar, Garlic, Lime Juice Concentrate, Salt, Cumin, Oregano, Preservatives (E202, E211). Not paprika!

The above amount is enough for 4 substantial servings.

Good call, I always add a bit of paprika and harissa myself. And those pickled jalepenos in a jar. Of course, none of this is 'authentic', nor is the use of mince, allegedly.

I always like to read about the history of a cuisine when developing a recipe, and as I'm sure any fule no, the evolution of the various styles of chilli is every bit as complex and full of incident as that of Indian food, for example.

 

[GeorgeP]

Ah, fried bread...it's been too long...

...soaking up everything.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Good call, I always add a bit of paprika and harissa myself. And those pickled jalepenos in a jar. Of course, none of this is 'authentic', nor is the use of mince, allegedly.

I always like to read about the history of a cuisine when developing a recipe, and as I'm sure any fule no, the evolution of the various styles of chilli is every bit as complex and full of incident as that of Indian food, for example.

Funnily enough, I do have a jar of jalapenos - but I keep forgetting to put them in!
Yep, I know none of that is authentic. I just care about taste, not authenticity. It isn't a really hot chilli, but it has loads of taste and texture. Mmmm.

 

[rynner2]

Ah, fried bread...it's been too long...

It's orgasmic with HP sauce!

As for Chilli, I'll probably do one tomorrow. (When I say 'one', I mean a socking great panful. One meal, save some and freeze some for future use.)

Normally I just use chilli powder, but this time I have a jar of Uncle Ben's hot chilli sauce, on offer from the local shop, plus whatever else I have to hand. I have some home-pickled peppers (not picked by Peter Piper, as far as I know!), onions, garlic and peanut butter. (Well, maybe I won't use the latter! )
I also have a collection of bottled hot sauces for that certain Je ne sais quoi if the outcome proves a bit bland.

 

[Mythopoeika]

As for Chilli, I'll probably do one tomorrow. (When I say 'one', I mean a socking great panful. One meal, save some and freeze some for future use.)

Yep, that's what I did today - a huge frying pan full of chilli. It's the only way to put it all together and get the taste right.
Peanut butter in the chilli might be interesting - go on, try it!

 

[Frideswide]

yes - a kind of satay crossover!

 

[rynner2]

Peanut butter in the chilli might be interesting - go on, try it!

It would add some 'crunch'. But so do chickpeas - decisions, decisions...

 

[rynner2]

yes - a kind of satay crossover!

And I have some Chinese five spice...!

Maybe I'll leave out the chilli instead....

 

[skinny]

Tacos topped with melted cheese, smashed avocado and tomato (ok guacamole), spicy sauce, fresh squeezed lime juice, shredded lettuce and sour cream. Pretty standard in style, but I add refried beans to my mince mix for that heart-attacky edge. I made three and have had two. Stuffed to the gills.... but can't see good food go to waste. Bon apetit. Tall cold glass of full cream milk.

 

[GeorgeP]

I had a roast chicken cob with butter and a glass of orange pop.

Currently drinking a bottle of beer (its not from the beer hamper folks)

 

[GNC]

I've just received my weekly shopping and find to my chagrin that I had mistakenly ordered 2 kilos of yellow peppers instead of just 2. So, that's what I'll be eating for the foreseeable future... any recipe ideas gratefully received.

I don't know about recipes, but stocking up on indigestion tablets for afters might be a good idea.

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

That all-time-classic, cornflakes (the original and still the best) with lashings of ice cold milk.

And a cup'o PG. With milk and one sugar.

I'm a man of simple tastes.

 

[Frideswide]

But so do chickpeas - decisions, decisions...

chickpeas are great! Unfortunately Mr Frideswide does not like them

 

[Andy X]

It's orgasmic with HP sauce!

As for Chilli, I'll probably do one tomorrow. (When I say 'one', I mean a socking great panful. One meal, save some and freeze some for future use.)

Normally I just use chilli powder, but this time I have a jar of Uncle Ben's hot chilli sauce, on offer from the local shop, plus whatever else I have to hand. I have some home-pickled peppers (not picked by Peter Piper, as far as I know!), onions, garlic and peanut butter. (Well, maybe I won't use the latter! )
I also have a collection of bottled hot sauces for that certain Je ne sais quoi if the outcome proves a bit bland.

A socking great panful is the only way to go. And a dirty great wooden spoon like an oar to stir it with.

Actually, peanut butter might work quite well. There are those who swear by a little dark chocolate in chilli, perhaps doing as the Aztecs did? My own recipe has evolved (or possibly grown unwieldy with an expanding roll call of 'secret' embellishments)* from one I committed to memory in my teens when making massive quantities of the stuff was part of my job in a bar / restaurant kitchen. It's from there that I got the pickled peppers, but strangely it also featured powdered mustard, which I've never bothered with.

I think I have about twelve chilli sauces on the go at present, including 'Dave's Insanity' - the sauce that nearly took Jeremy Clarkson from us before his time - although this is less a foodstuff and more a weaponised distillation of purest capsaicin.

*Has anyone noticed that whenever you compliment someone on their cooking and they go 'Ho ho, I'm afraid I can't tell you the secret ingredient - I'd have to kill you, ha ha" it invariably turns out to be ketchup or marmite?

 

[Mythopoeika]

I used to have a bottle of Dave's Insanity sauce, but after I'd tried a little I threw it away. Too much OTT on the heat, and not tasty enough. My favourite chilli sauces are Cholula and Flying Goose Sriracha. Lots of taste.