What are you eating and drinking tonight?

[Gooner Girl]

Any good cooks on here?

Ordinarily, Kangana's your man (poncey chef type, see?!) however, I can readily recommend Enfield's cod and chorizo number that you'll find a few pages back. Even I managed to make a success of it - yes, THAT easy.

Can't take all the credit Bruce. I knicked the recipe but you can add little twists of your own here and there.

Anyway GG, in case you haven't found it, please see the recipe below.

Catalan of Cod (for 4)

Chop and lightly fry a whole onion in olive oil in a large pan (you'll need one with a lid)
Cut approximately 100g of Chorizo sausage into small cubes and add to the onions.
Once the Chorizo has started to soften add your 4 cod steaks. Cook each side for 1 minute.
Place a slice of Beef Tomato on each steak.
Cover the whole lot with 1kg of fresh mussels
Pour 50cl of white wine over the ingredients
Place the lid on the pan, bring to the boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. The mussels should be open, discard any that aren't.

You could then serve into bowls or, what I do is serve the mussels as a first course (with some nice Foccaccia to soak up the soup) and the Cod steaks separately with Saffron rice.

P*ss easy. And with more than a passing nod to G. Ramsay, Esq.

Sounds nice, though i've never eaten mussels...

[Gary the Enfield]

Any good cooks on here?

Ordinarily, Kangana's your man (poncey chef type, see?!) however, I can readily recommend Enfield's cod and chorizo number that you'll find a few pages back. Even I managed to make a success of it - yes, THAT easy.

Can't take all the credit Bruce. I knicked the recipe but you can add little twists of your own here and there.

Anyway GG, in case you haven't found it, please see the recipe below.

Catalan of Cod (for 4)

Chop and lightly fry a whole onion in olive oil in a large pan (you'll need one with a lid)
Cut approximately 100g of Chorizo sausage into small cubes and add to the onions.
Once the Chorizo has started to soften add your 4 cod steaks. Cook each side for 1 minute.
Place a slice of Beef Tomato on each steak.
Cover the whole lot with 1kg of fresh mussels
Pour 50cl of white wine over the ingredients
Place the lid on the pan, bring to the boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. The mussels should be open, discard any that aren't.

You could then serve into bowls or, what I do is serve the mussels as a first course (with some nice Foccaccia to soak up the soup) and the Cod steaks separately with Saffron rice.

P*ss easy. And with more than a passing nod to G. Ramsay, Esq.

Sounds nice, though i've never eaten mussels...

Buy fresh from the supermarket or Fishmongers. Never frozen.

[William the White]

Stir-fry 'solution' is a good one...

And you need an uncomplicated cook book...

Ken Hom's '100 Quick Stir-Fry Recipes' is good.

An idiot's guide... Tasty results...

£8.10 on amazon...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Homs-Recipies-B ... 023&sr=1-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My current fad is Tagine... but you need time...

[BWFC_Insane]

Any good cooks on here? I need inspiration. My diet is crap. I don't need to lose weight but the amount of junk food i eat could sink a battle ship and its not doing my insides any good at all i'm sure. I have a really sweet tooth, am not a huge fan of vegtables and always seem to eat on the run. Both hubby and i are pretty rubbish cooks and we need to overhaul our diet. Whats quick and easy (both snacks and mains) and most importantly - healthy. Any ideas please?

Stir fry. Quick easy and healthy, well depending what you chuck into it! Make a simple sauce in the wok with some ginger, chilli, garlic, lime, and stock depending upon what you are stir frying and thicken with some cornflour to create an authenticish Chinese sauce.

Can stir fry veg with any combo of meat and fish, or just veg if you want to be good. Adjust stock type accordingly. Serve with rice or noodles.

Good plan - sauce sounds a bit complicated (seriously i'm a crap cook!) but certainly fits the healthy and quick criteria... I wish i liked vegtables more...

Nah sauce is easier than you think. Make up some stock, not too much, it's only boiling water and some liquid stock, or some granules or whatever, then add some chilli to it, some grated ginger, some lime juice. Add it to the veg and meat in the wok that have been stir fried, make sure it's on a full heat, bring it to the boil quickly, then add some cornflour that has been stirred into a small volume of cold water to make a paste and stir. If you need more cornflour, make a little more cornflour and water paste and add it. Only thing to do is do it quickly, so as not to stew the veg etc. Sauce should only be in the wok a minute before serving. Tastes nice!

[Gooner Girl]

Any good cooks on here? I need inspiration. My diet is crap. I don't need to lose weight but the amount of junk food i eat could sink a battle ship and its not doing my insides any good at all i'm sure. I have a really sweet tooth, am not a huge fan of vegtables and always seem to eat on the run. Both hubby and i are pretty rubbish cooks and we need to overhaul our diet. Whats quick and easy (both snacks and mains) and most importantly - healthy. Any ideas please?

Stir fry. Quick easy and healthy, well depending what you chuck into it! Make a simple sauce in the wok with some ginger, chilli, garlic, lime, and stock depending upon what you are stir frying and thicken with some cornflour to create an authenticish Chinese sauce.

Can stir fry veg with any combo of meat and fish, or just veg if you want to be good. Adjust stock type accordingly. Serve with rice or noodles.

Good plan - sauce sounds a bit complicated (seriously i'm a crap cook!) but certainly fits the healthy and quick criteria... I wish i liked vegtables more...

Nah sauce is easier than you think. Make up some stock, not too much, it's only boiling water and some liquid stock, or some granules or whatever, then add some chilli to it, some grated ginger, some lime juice. Add it to the veg and meat in the wok that have been stir fried, make sure it's on a full heat, bring it to the boil quickly, then add some cornflour that has been stirred into a small volume of cold water to make a paste and stir. If you need more cornflour, make a little more cornflour and water paste and add it. Only thing to do is do it quickly, so as not to stew the veg etc. Sauce should only be in the wok a minute before serving. Tastes nice!

And where do you buy cornflour in a supermarket - is it with the normal flour?!

Cheers for the recipe book recomendation William. Healthy diet not going well so far... Have just about eaten all the chocolate in the house now though...

[TANGODANCER]

Paid a visit to the new Tesco in Farnworth and was delighted to see brown soda-bread on sale. Love the stuff, always have since early days in Ireland, but this was absolute crud. Even with a healthy spread of Lurpak it still tasted like dry buttered cardboard. Definitely one to avoid.

[jaffka]

does tesco still do the chorizo and potatoes?

[Bruce Rioja]

Paid a visit to the new Tesco in Farnworth and was delighted to see brown soda-bread on sale. Love the stuff, always have since early days in Ireland, but this was absolute crud. Even with a healthy spread of Lurpak it still tasted like dry buttered cardboard. Definitely one to avoid.

Was this the stuff you bought, Tango? If not, then avoid it also as it's absolutely shite. Sooooo disappointing.

[Lord Kangana]

Soda bread is really hard to get right without either leaving it too dry, as Bruce experienced, or stodgy as f*ck when you undercook it.

Had some of that there stuff a couple of years back Bruce, and it is indeed dry and shite.

[TANGODANCER]

Paid a visit to the new Tesco in Farnworth and was delighted to see brown soda-bread on sale. Love the stuff, always have since early days in Ireland, but this was absolute crud. Even with a healthy spread of Lurpak it still tasted like dry buttered cardboard. Definitely one to avoid.

Was this the stuff you bought, Tango? If not, then avoid it also as it's absolutely shite. Sooooo disappointing.

Bejasus, the very stuff Bruce with the Rankin fella himself on the front. They could have left the "in" off and given us a clue. Disappointing indeed.

[Gooner Girl]

Yum, Jam Doughnuts for lunch...

[Lofthouse Lower]

Two for one offer at Greggs

Having that

[Gooner Girl]

Huh. I had to put up with Icelands frozen ones defrosted. Not the same, but kids asleep so can't go up to the village bakery (best and cheapest bakery in the world)

[Lofthouse Lower]

I think you'll find the bakery near me is best.

Steak and gravy pie
Brown barm
Choc and raisin flapjack

= £1.50

Bargain

[Gooner Girl]

What on earth is 'brown barm'?!

[TANGODANCER]

I think you'll find the bakery near me is best.

Steak and gravy pie
Brown barm
Choc and raisin flapjack

= £1.50

Bargain

Sounds like the bargain of the century. One Carr's pasty is that much.

[General Mannerheim]

also sound like the lunch of champions! where is it???

[Lofthouse Lower]

Bakers of Craft - Liverpool Road, Preston

[boltonboris]

"Brown Barm"? You on a diet?

[Lofthouse Lower]

Going away in three weeks, this beach bod doesn't sort itself out

Anyway, I'm having a pie and a barm and a cake, no diet can contain me.