Food

Did you use any vinegar in the brine?

Also I forgot to turn off the slow cooker this morning; it has some oxtails and brisket, with some tomato chipotle and kidney beans destined for chilli. I did put that on low at about 9 last night .. major disaster?

good tip .. maybe lamb in slow cooker then layer (half?) cooked rice on top?

No vinegar, almost put lemon juice in but decided against it... Salt, sugar and aromatics, that was pretty much it...

@amey

For bad ass biriyani part cook rice in the microwave ( 1 mug of rice, boiling water from the kettle, pyrex bowl, salt and high power for 5 minutes)

Drain rice, layer meat / rice / lemon, coriander /sliced/tomato, cling film the top and microwave again for 7-10 minutes per mug of rice on high power.

Don't get too close when you peel off the cling film or you'll get a face full of hot spicy steam.

Euph?

Anyone ever tried making salt?
I have a meeting about some possible work with a food producer soon who uses salt as a key ingredient. Living about 100 yards from the sea in Brighton I was thinking of making some and bringing it with for novelty value.
Research suggests the process seems straight forward. I appreciate it won't be guerande but my understanding is that so long as the local fish are safe enough to eat the salt produced would be fine after boiling if not the most beautiful colour.
Thoughts?

Hmm, dunno. There's a lot of shit in the water round Brighton. I'm not sure I'd feel safe eating it.

Would you willingly drink sea water straight off the beach in Brighton?
Your salt would basically be that, minus the liquid.

I made a curry sauce today, with mild curry powder that was out of date in 2001 and sainsburies basic tomato sauce....I am a cooking god, bow at my feet ;)

Get yourself on the next series of Masterchef.

I reckon if you went up the coast a bit towards Hastings you'd be alright.

Made a banging thai green curry tonight after having the best one of my life in at Robbins in Cambria, CA last month. Was made awesome by having tons of lime in it and omitting the fish sauce.
Would have taken pics but I ate it..

Cheers.

It was made to try and improve some falafel I bought, the ready to eat kind that have pretty pictures on the card sleave. They were awful, oven heated, microwaved and deep fried.

On the other hand, found a lovely naan place near Arsenal stadium, they do a lovely seasame, garlic, cheese, chili or garlic naans. About 60p-80p

Its Bakhtairs naan on blackstock road N4

made a calzone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXA3ce9nm9E

I drink enough every day when I swim in it (though admittedly after years of such abuse my gut might be a little more hardened than the potential client).

Shirley the boiling method would be enough to take care of most escherichia and friends? And salt as a means to preserve against bacteria for thousands of years blah blah.

That said @Tenderloin's suggestion of going a bit down the coast (or even out to sea) isn't a bad one. Might join a mackerel boat from the marina this week and get some from a mile out. I'd like it to be "Brighton salt" rather than "Eastbourne salt".

I presume there's no difference in salinity depending on depth of water?

Taking things back to basics here:

How to do porridge in the microwave without some sort of oat volcano erupting in the bowl and making a massive mess?

I used standard rolled oats (not the instant / sachet oats which have loads of weird shit added to them) and microwaved on full for about 2 mins, stirred, 90 secs, stirred, bit longer, stirred etc)

I normally do it on the hob at home but am gonna try to have porridge at work too now.

I turned some old chillies into the best chilli sauce I've ever eaten... Take half a bag of old chillies (trim off the yucky parts), two heads of garlic, a tablespoon of salt and a healthy glug of oil (any kind you want, I used sunflower) and whiz up in a food processor... Transfer the gloop to a jar with a lid and fill with more oil... Give it a good shake then chuck in fridge, give it another shake every time you visit the fridge then use it on whatever you want after a it's steeped for a couple of days...

Delicious...

Put a banana in it. But the simple answer is you have to watch it.
Also use boiling water straight from kettle, fill to just enough to make the oats float, pinch of salt. Stir. Leave for 30seconds. Add some milk. Stir. Put in microwave at 1min at full. Stir and repeat till perfect for you.

Gonna be doing the Christmas cottage thing for a couple of nights. So am already thinking about how to feed the four of us. It'll be up in the Lake District so I'm thinking something that can be slow cooked, preferably in one or two pots, so you can set off for some scenic cold weather walking action and it's all done for when you get back. So maybe pork belly, or brisket.
But open to suggestions...

Porchetta...

Nice pro tipz! Thanks dude. I like the idea of the banana as a calming agent.

Will also start off with some boiling water, at the moment i do about 50/50 cold milk and cold water.

Think I'll heat it on a lower power for longer too rather than just nuking it. And watch it like a hawk of course.

I haven't done this but just thinking it through...
are you able to have the mix pre-soaked in a tub/jar overnight?
You'd be able to cook it less, coz thats when you get an oat volcano.
I'm thinking something like 1 min max power, stir, 1 min med, stir, 30 secs max.

I have just started curing a Coppa and a Panchetta. Pretty sure I cut away the right muscle for the Coppa. Curing with 2.5% Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne pepper and 0.25% #2. I know its meant to have cloves or cinnamon but I didnt have it and its all really just an experiement for my curing chamber to see if I can regulate it at the right humidity.

Porridge is so much creamier if you soak it overnight, not always possible at work tho'!

Porchetta is a good call..