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Recipes what keep in the fridge

23:07 / 01.01.05

One of my resolutions is to cook more, 'cause otherwise I am going to eat all my money. I have the metabolism of a freaking hobbit these days, seriously. I can eat breakfast and dinner at home, and carry some yogurt and fruit for second breakfast, and have a sandwich for supper, but I also want to be able to cook a fairly large quantity of something to have for lunch.

I figure lasagna is one idea. Stews maybe? Do vegetarians make stew?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

23:24 / 01.01.05

Mmm stew.

Two medium onions
A leek
Three or four carrots, scrubbed
Two floury-type spuds, scrubbed but not peeled
A parsnip
A turnip
4 or 5 sticks of celery
Two good handfuls of some dried pulse eg lentis
One handful pearl barley
Clove of garlic, crushed or grated or whatever
1 pint stock
Two tablespoons mixed herbs
Salt & pepper to taste

Chop the vegetables into chunks, except for half of one potato which should be chopped up fairly fine. Chuck eveything into the biggest saucepan you have, add the stock and top up with enough water to cover everything. (Some people say you should fry the onions first but I don't think that works as well.) Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring whenever you can be bothered. Serve with bread and butter.

You can bung loads of different stuff in this for variety. Sometimes I make it with spinach or red peppers, or chuck in a tin of tomatoes. A friend of mine uses bulgar wheat in place of the pearl-barley and adds a shedload of black pepper so it's really spicy. Beans eg kidney beans are good in this, but you really want to buy the dried ones and soak them overnight (or they're poisonous). Omnivores may want to bung in a tin of mince.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:35 / 01.01.05

I always fry the onions first. And mushrooms.
Courgettes are good in stew. But the leek is the really important bit.

00:06 / 02.01.05

There's a lot to be said for soup as well.

Take two onions chopped very finely, fry them for a bit, and then two or three minutes later do the same for ten tomatoes, and ten *imported* mushrooms. Add a glass of red wine, however much stock, salt, pepper and garlic, leave to simmer for ages, and then pour in a glass of sherry when it's coming to the boil. An hour or so later, phone up everyone you've ever met and tell them how much you love them.

00:58 / 02.01.05

I thought you had to boil the kidney beans for 10 mins to kill the toxins? I was under the impression that soaking wasn't enough - but as you're still with us, MC, obviously it worked ok!

03:25 / 02.01.05

Collard greens keep. But if you're strict with the vegetarianism, I dunno -- they taste a whole lot better with a hambone in the boilin' water. I'm not strict with the vegetarianism, but when I am, I still like doin' a pot of greens. Mince up garlic, kind of steam 'em with some vinegar in the water. Good with rice or legumes.

Mashed potatoes. Better yet, mash some potatoes with a couple boiled carrots & onions, maybe some fresh parsley. That's good stuff, and it keeps for a long time.

A curry is a kind of stew. Freezes very well. Plums had a great ginger chickpea curry recipe on here in the gastronomicon thread. It was definitely one of those dishes that tasted better on the second day.

09:19 / 02.01.05

I'm definitely not all that strict on the vegetarianism—I think I say I'm a vegetarian because there is no single word for 'person who refuses all mammals and tries to avoid birds but fails regularly.' But my body reacts poorly when fed mammal; I don't know how it feels about something like the presence but not the consumption of a 'hock.

09:22 / 02.01.05

You know, I just realized I have a really stupid question: How long do frozen things tend to keep? Is it indefinite, like a frozen zombie?

09:42 / 02.01.05

No, most frozen things should really be eaten in about three months, I think. I'm not really sure why, though!

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:54 / 02.01.05

Mmm... I do more than soak the beans overnight, I boil them for at least half an hour because otherwise they're too hard. Missed that part out, sorry.

17:16 / 03.01.05

My latest trick for quick lunchings and munchings is to make up a mess of stuffed potatoes over the weekend and freeze them for weekday lunch. Bake the 'tatoes, scoop out the innards and prepare them as you would mashed potatoes. Mix in ingredients that freeze well, like beans, corn, broccoli, cheese, spinach, etc. Plop the resulting mess back into the skins, freeze. they microwave well and are fairly filling, depending on the stuffing.

My favorites are chili, broccoli-cheese and mixed veggie with basil-pepper sauce.

18:22 / 03.01.05

A subject after my own heart.

Once-a-month cooking is a whole weird scene—there's an edge of evangelical/survivalist paranoia to some of the sites—but at the end of the day there are some decent recipes.

The 30 Day Gourmet is a good start. Also go hither for recipes, thither for a primer on the concept and methodology, and here, there, everywhere for recipes and info.

A lot of this stuff is meat-based, I'm afraid, but there are plenty of basic themes to mess with and adapt as you will.

18:30 / 03.01.05

And hey! Here's a soy-based OAMC program—a week's worth of tasty vegan treats.

15:04 / 05.01.05

SOUP!

I love making soup in the winter. Get a flask and a hunk of bread and it's nice to have a homemade hot meal at work (or college, or wherever).

I made a good one a couple of days ago:

1 butternut squash
1 parsnip
1 can of coconut milk
various Thai seasonings (lemongrass, chilli, coriander, garlic etc)
one lime

chop veg, and simmer in a large saucepan with coconut milk and some water (make sure the veg is just about covered by the liquid). Add seasoning and the juice of the lime to taste. When the veg is soft enough, give it a whizz or two through a blender, return to the pan for a little more simmering and seasoning, and serve garnished with some fresh coriander (cilantro for you American types).

I made enough for about 3-4 people, but it depends on the size of your squash.