Food

Ha, I went there for lunch yesterday. They didn't do the dosa deal on Sundays but I got the takeaway box. Really good, nearly as good as Rasa Express! Maybe I'll just go there.

He's one for you guys.

I'd like an amazing vegetarian lunch, not too expensive, for less than a tenner and near to a branch of Co-Op bank.

Any suggestions?

Earth in Kentish Town.

I'm currently banging through one of their salad boxes. Top stuff

Poncho8 salad box with double meat. Everything is better with double meat. Mmmm pork..

I roasted 2.6kg of pork belly yesterday with some pork bones and veg - for a lovely roast yesterday (crackling was top notch)

Combined the gravy and shredded leftover pork and left in a ziplock overnight - I will shove that in the oven for an hour or so to jamify this evening. Knock up some coleslaw, crisp up some crackling and make into some top notch sarnies.

The pork bones will go into a pressure cooker with some other gubbins to make a nice healing bone broth.

Should see me through the week.

^ Doin' it right...

Bone broth, tell me more.

^^^ You are soaking my keyboard!

Hmm plenty of greens here, both in supermarkets as in farm shops. Cant be bothered to look up al the English translations though...

I looked up the dutch one for swiss chard: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snijbiet that is the stuff.

Bone broth, tell me more.

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/16004110328/quick-pressure-cooker-bone-broth

You can do some great stuff with bone broth - I think it's good for kids (?) Anyway you can freeze it in ice cube trays and pop a couple out to heat up as a soup base or keep in the fridge as a jelly and do the same. In a pressure cooker just takes the time element out, I've not done it with pork bones before but I'm sure it will be top notch

Loin, what's your preferred method to get the skin super dry to get the crackling working out of interest?

I'm already thinking to some yummy easter appetisers, like tortellini(wrapped kind of pasta) salad skewers.
When it's served on skewers, this pasta salad makes a beautifully presented appetiser for Easter brunch . If I'm pressed for time or I want to make it a meal or just can't bother, I can still skip the skewers and toss all of the ingredients in a bowl with dressing, it's light and friendly digestive. Not much too eat but as I said they are just appetisers.

Loin, what's your preferred method to get the skin super dry to get the crackling working out of interest?

I have found that there are a few key things to crispy crackling:

Score properly, Stanley knife is best I find as it doesn't score too deep.

Plenty of salt rubbed in, around and over.

I raise the pork up on pork bones and try to get the pork skin as flat as possible.

Oven as hot as possible for the first 45 minutes - get a few rotations of the tray in to keep even crispness.

If it's not as crisp as you would like but the pork is cooked, carefully remove the skin and lift it from the pork, this can help render a little of the fat away to help crisp.

Patting dry, pouring over boiling water are reasonable measures.

One other option I have seen is to remove the skin and press it between two trays so it's super flat, then lay it on a grill tray and cook it. Just seems a bit of a cheat to me!

Hours late but you can go to the Co Op bank on Euston Rd then stop off at one of the many veggie indian spots on Drummond St for their lunch buffet deals.

Hunger got the better of me and I went for food first. I thought about Diwana, which is my favourite of the buffet restaurants, but I went to Rasa Express and got their meal box with some Medhu Vadai dumplings as well. So good.

Then I found that the Co-Op bank on Euston Road was closed.

Loin, what's your preferred method to get the skin super dry to get the crackling working out of interest?

Idea taken from Serious Eats, where extensive testing was done to make oven-fried crispy, crackly chicken wings.

Try air drying the skin overnight (while keeping the meat juicy by packing it in plastic foil) and pour some baking powder over it while it's drying. This is just a theory, but it might just work.

I(crackling was top notch)

make into some top notch sarnies.

I've not done it with pork bones before but I'm sure it will be top notch

your new chef catchphrase?

I have found that there are a few key things to crispy crackling:

Score properly, Stanley knife is best I find as it doesn't score too deep.

Plenty of salt rubbed in, around and over.

I raise the pork up on pork bones and try to get the pork skin as flat as possible.

Oven as hot as possible for the first 45 minutes - get a few rotations of the tray in to keep even crispness.

If it's not as crisp as you would like but the pork is cooked, carefully remove the skin and lift it from the pork, this can help render a little of the fat away to help crisp.

Patting dry, pouring over boiling water are reasonable measures.

adding to this, mands top tool tip is this baby instead of the stanley knife...

Apparently available in asian supermarkets, or make one. My parents have it and it's rather therapeutic to use.

That is good for pricking the pork skin once is dead, for the ones who deal with porks while alive I heard that acupuncture is pretty effective too, it also keep the porks more healthy, while alive, thanks to the medical(chinese) treatment.

I'm starting to eat most of my carbs at lunch, so I want to have low carb dinners. My inspiration (especially for the veggie part) is failing me... Don't wanna eat ratatouille every day.

Any easy/cheap recipes for simple daily low carb dinners? (WITHOUT CHEESE)

Made this the other night: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/red-quinoa-salad-with-cauliflower-and-walnuts

Though Quinoa is becoming an increasingly expensive option

^ Wow that looks surprisingly delicious! I will most definitely try that, but rather as a small side dish than as an entire / partial meal.

I made some buffalo wings on Sunday after finding (I know, I know; again with the Waitrose) Waitrose do packs of chicken wing drummettes for £1.80 per pound or something.

Did the floured and baked in oven method to get them crispy then tossed in Franks Red Hot Buffalo wing sauce. Tres bon.

Liking the baking powder and air drying idea up there so roll on this Sunday and Paris Roubaix!

^i used to get those all the time but frustratingly there's never enough meat on them as they are pretty tiny so you end up eating a shit load of skin to the meat ratio which is ultimately less satisfying and much more unhealthy.

they are still tasty though. esp with franks red hot buffalo wing sauce.