Junk food consumed in quarantine

[Dewt]

All Day Breakfast in a tin for you my friend.

[Sebastian Cobb]

All Day Breakfast in a tin for you my friend.

Had a veggie lasagne for tea the past 4 nights on the trot. Made it myself though.

[Dewt]

I'm trying to radically reduce and eventually eliminate my meat intake. Spending an entire day cooking ragu for lasagne is something I'm struggling to let go of. This diseased world making shopping a nightmare is helping.

I ended up making the Spam musubi today. Satisfying, but I'm going to have to do something about the cat hair situation in this apartment.

[Blue Jam]

Cat musubi. Two birds, one stone.

[Dewt]

That would be full of hair! Think it through mate.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I'm trying to radically reduce and eventually eliminate my meat intake. Spending an entire day cooking ragu for lasagne is something I'm struggling to let go of. This diseased world making shopping a nightmare is helping.

I ended up making the Spam musubi today. Satisfying, but I'm going to have to do something about the cat hair situation in this apartment.

I like cooking but don't like time consuming things like that which requires frequent small amounts of attention through the day.

The veggie one really is a piece of piss, not only does it require you to simmer the pulp of baked aubergine and peppers for about 20 minutes tops, the white stuff is pancetta and parmesan so you don't have to stand at a stove stirring bechemel like a lemon either.

Part of the reason I've been thinking about doing ribs or maybe a mongolian beef thing is because I've been having a lot of veggie stuff lately, partially through an attempt at reduction (no interest in elimination) but also 'cos it's easier to do 2 week shops if I buy a load of pulses and that. Even the meaty stuff has been from a couple of big packs of chicken thighs I've been splitting up and freezing.

[Dewt]

The bechamel is definitely a bigger pain in the arse than the ragu. After an initial cook on the stovetop, my ragu goes in the oven in a dutch oven and just gets stirred every hour.

What I'm really doing here is fishing for somebody to tell me how they make a meat-free ragu with all the fuss of the b'meated one.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Isn't ragu the sort of thing you could've drastically saved time doing in an instant pot, which you have mentioned you have?

[Dewt]

Sure, if I wanted a shit ragu.

[Dex Sawash]

Whole aisle of Ragu at the Super Walmart.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Look at how proud they are of their 'real' cheese. Desolation.

[Better Midlands]

The bechamel is definitely a bigger pain in the arse than the ragu.

Have you tried using plain natural yoghurt instead of making bechamel? I've never looked back.

[Fr.Bigley]

Just checked and the stuff I bought actually is comprised of some bona fide wasabi, but only 0.2%, while 24% is horseradish and some of the remainder is E numbers, presumably green ones. Grrrrr.

Whatevs, it was only about 20p and I like horseradish too. Don't like "horseradish sauce" though as it usually contains m*y*nn*s*. By my reckoning I still done good.

Where can I get the good stuff then? This stuff I bought is actually Japanese but perhaps it's the crap they export to gaijin who are more used to the saltfest that is Wagamama.

Best place to look is ask an independent sushi place near you for their supplier, legit sushi always comes with actual wasabi; why go to the trouble of buying a rolls Royce and serving it with Halfords wheel trims. They know their shit those lads.

[Fr.Bigley]

Whole aisle of Ragu at the Super Walmart.

Love how the label reads "made with other natural flavourings"- like the branding department just couldn't be arsed to list them because even they know it's shite and the demographic aren't wasting anytime reading anything.

[Ferris]

Isn't ragu the sort of thing you could've drastically saved time doing in an instant pot, which you have mentioned you have?

Our slow cooker gave up the ghost the other day - is an instant pot worth my time? Mrs Ferris was going on about it but I still don't fully understand the difference. I'm a bit suspicious of electric cooking vessels tbh, what's wrong with some cast iron on a stove top?

[Dewt]

It's not a great slow cooker but it is a reasonably good electric pressure cooker (unless you want to do canning and other higher-pressure stuff). The main thing is that all the recipes are for it.

[Dewt]

Have you tried using plain natural yoghurt instead of making bechamel? I've never looked back.

I'm pretending not to have read this.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Also my Tesco's need to restock this sharpish

Sweet jesus!

[Sebastian Cobb]

Our slow cooker gave up the ghost the other day - is an instant pot worth my time? Mrs Ferris was going on about it but I still don't fully understand the difference. I'm a bit suspicious of electric cooking vessels tbh, what's wrong with some cast iron on a stove top?

It's pretty handy. I've not use the slow cook as most things that can be slow cooked can also be pressure cooked pretty quickly.

As twed says all the recipes are for it and I've gotten good consistent results, whereas I generally had to adapt slow cooker recipes as they often came out too wet.

I've found it very good for biryani's as well. I've seen slow cooker recipes but I've heard they're shit and can turn out like pudding.


Someone I know has got a Ninja, that sounds amazing. Basically a pressure cooker and an air fryer so it can pressure cook things then brown them off.

[Cold Meat Platter]

Whole aisle of Ragu at the Super Walmart.

RAGU RAGU RAGU RAGU  BRINGS THE ITALIAN OUT IN YOOOOOU

[Dewt]

The real shame is that I've actually bought that on purpose when I wanted dumb fast food cheese on some pasta.

Inferior to the queso that comes in cans, though. It was really grainy.

[Cold Meat Platter]

The real shame is that I've actually bought that on purpose when I wanted dumb fast food cheese on some pasta.

Inferior to the queso that comes in cans, though. It was really grainy.

Deep, leaden shame usually reserved for incest or murder.

[Ferris]

Thanks both, will have to investigate now. Was hoping you'd say they were shit and I could luxuriate in my new counter space having binned the slow cooker.

[Dewt]

Deep, leaden shame usually reserved for incest or murder.

Fair.

[NattyDread 2]

The bechamel is definitely a bigger pain in the arse than the ragu.

Is it the Italian Americans who just bung ricotta (and maybe some egg I think) on top? I made a lasagna yesterday and bought some ricotta to try that method, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Bechamel's not that much of a faff is it? Takes about 10 minutes. And if you've already got some ragu squirreled away from making shiteloads before, then you are fucking laughing.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Is it the Italian Americans who just bung ricotta (and maybe some egg I think) on top? I made a lasagna yesterday and bought some ricotta to try that method, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Bechamel's not that much of a faff is it? Takes about 10 minutes. And if you've already got some ragu squirreled away from making shiteloads before, then you are fucking laughing.

That's what I do in the veggie lasagne.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/aug/14/how-to-cook-perfect-vegetable-lasagne

[Captain Crunch]

Is it the Italian Americans who just bung ricotta (and maybe some egg I think) on top?

Yes, like Tony Bennett's Mum:

https://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/tony-bennett-lasagna

I'm a bit iffy about this as well, would another cheese with a similar texture but nicer taste work ok? 

[Sebastian Cobb]

It tastes different when you cook it. And you tend to add parmesan.

I licked a spoon of ricotta clean and was surprised by it.

[chveik]

I prefer bechamel but used mascarpone once instead and it was pretty good

[Captain Crunch]

Might just wait for the Wensleydale factory cafe to open up again, cheese heaven.