I eat the same thing for lunch every day

[buttgammon]

I like to add frozen berries at the beginning so the porridge turns a lovely shade of purple. Also chop up a ripe banana and add at the start, dissapears into it and tastes super sweet, counters the tart frozen berries without adding sugar.

I'm not sure quite how it happened but this morning, it swirled into a nice purply colour despite the fact that they were only in there for about thirty seconds.

[Sebastian Cobb]

It's a cumulative process, cooking; you learn new recipes and your ability to create stuff that tastes good with practice.   It's a very worthwhile skill to develop as it saves you money and personally I find cooking very therapeutic and good for me.   I've no interest in cookery programs like Masterchef I've got proper professional cookery books and at one point was thinking about pursuing it as a career (serious graft).

It really doesn't take too much thought or effort for me to throw something together; real simple thing as SC has just alluded to is your pasta oils; garlic, chilli flakes, tomato puree or some sun dried tomatoes chopped up, some chopped up shallot/onion, olives, fresh herbs whatever you like really just cook them in olive oil for a few minutes to flavour it then add your cooked pasta and coat.  Really simple stuff like this is so much cheaper buying sauces or whatnot and tastes great.  You can easily make this and have reheat it for lunch the following day or the day after.

I got gifted a day out at a curry cooking school a few years ago as a present and that was good, probably only about 50 quid or so, I was self-taught up until that point but they did give some good feedback on stuff you can't really quite figure out or is a bit loose/subjective in books. Even the validation was nice to some extent. Plus they supplied the ingredients so you end up with several tupperwares, a meal at the end and print outs of the recipies and pastes you made when you were there. I wasn't really enthusiastic about the idea when I was given it but it was really useful and a bargain really.

[TrenterPercenter]

I got gifted a day out at a curry cooking school a few years ago as a present and that was good, probably only about 50 quid or so, I was self-taught up until that point but they did give some good feedback on stuff you can't really quite figure out or is a bit loose/subjective in books. Even the validation was nice to some extent. Plus they supplied the ingredients so you end up with several tupperwares, a meal at the end and print outs of the recipies and pastes you made when you were there. I wasn't really enthusiastic about the idea when I was given it but it was really useful and a bargain really.

Yep I've done a few of these things; there is local lady that does a curry school in her house; all vegetarian and she is incredible and shows you how to do everything.  She is making a tidy penny in flogging her curries as when Covid hit and she couldn't have people in the house anymore.  She is very popular and sells out within a matter of hours.

A lot of cookery programs are unrealistic in what they cook which is a pain.  A friend of mine that was a "won't cook" now he's got a new job with a bit of extra cash has started doing those hello fresh and has remarkable got the buzz for cooking (a bit) and can now do a lot of the basic things.  Those things are great for getting to grips with some techniques (but are expensive re ingredients - once you buy one and learn it you can get the stuff bulk and save ££).

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah I have mixed feelings about those. Obviously massively overpriced but often have been put off by not knowing where I'd source something, and at the time when new to stuff didn't know 1) lots of stuff could just be "normal stuff under a different name" (e.g. capsicums ffs) or 2) for spices, etc quite easy to source on ebay if you don't have a lot of variety near you. Just extra hurdles to begin with, it is very annoying planning to try something new and not knowing if you can find stuff, or even worse, finding something out of stock in the supermarket and having to traipse round for something pedestrian.

[TrenterPercenter]

Yep annoying when people mess about with the names. I'v amassed a cupboard of dried herbs and spices over the years (I'm sure some of it is past it's sell by date but they are dried so last for ages and you can buy them all quite cheap if you can find a good South Asian shop (supermarkets are way more expensive for this stuff).  I've recently got a window boxy thing and started growing fresh herbs (like a real wanker) and it's been great livening things up (parsley is great for garnishes and salads but fresh sage also is great in so many things)

Once you've a got a decent spice rack across a few cuisines you can just buy whatever is on offer or reduced and make some great cheapo meals.  Cardamon, Cumin, Coriander Seed, Fennel Seed, Chill Powder, Garam Masala, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Turmeric, Paprika, Allspice, Onion Salt and Celery Salt will allow you to do loads of Indian, Mexican, Jamaican and Persian Dishes will probably set you back £20 for all of those but they will last you for at least 6 months.

EDIT: add to that fish sauce, soy sauce, five spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, now you've got Chinese and some French stuff.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I got a masala dabba for the main ones then put some of the more common ones in some glass jars, it becomes obvious pretty quickly that schwartz are taking the piss.

I was looking at growing some fresh stuff, it always seems daft buying the clippings when the living stuff in supermarkets isn't much more, although often struggles to live. I was looking at a subscription thing recently a lot like Hello Fresh but for growing herbs, and fucking hell the prices:
https://www.thegrowguide.world/shop/p/one-off-october-edition

it does look like some work has gone in to the presentation, the seeds themselves cost pennies so I reckon upselling pots are the real moneyspinner.

[TrenterPercenter]

I got a masala dabba for the main ones then put some of the more common ones in some glass jars, it becomes obvious pretty quickly that schwartz are taking the piss.

I was looking at growing some fresh stuff, it always seems daft buying the clippings when the living stuff in supermarkets isn't much more, although often struggles to live. I was looking at a subscription thing recently a lot like Hello Fresh but for growing herbs, and fucking hell the prices:
https://www.thegrowguide.world/shop/p/one-off-october-edition

it does look like some work has gone in to the presentation, the seeds themselves cost pennies so I reckon upselling pots are the real moneyspinner.

Yep that is very expensive for seeds you can get them much cheaper and yep if you then propagate them yourself you are laughing.  Supermarket living stuff I'm sure has obsolescence planned into them they never last.  As the same with all plant the hardier and healthier they are the better they will survive, crop and bear good seeds themselves - you can get much better plants at garden centres but good seeds at the same.  They work really well in your window box things (I bought some from IKEA that are really big and deep).

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Every time I see the thread title I sing it in my head to the tune of the verse in "Self Esteem" by The Offspring.

[touchingcloth]

I like to poach frozen raspberries in soup and serve them with a pork pie/sausage roll.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Every time I see the thread title I sing it in my head to the tune of the verse in "Self Esteem" by The Offspring.

Slade here.