LIVER AND BACON WITH OR WITHOUT ONIONS - THE AMBROSIA OF THE GODS

It’s eaten as a vegetable, so in this context it can probably be counted as one.

Frozen vegetables are usually much fresher when frozen than fresh ones are when the reach the shops. However, the freezing process can affect the texture, so things like frozen sprouts can have an ‘over cooked’ texture even when not over cooked.

 

Fresh sprouts can be microwaved too, so the goodness doesn't get lost just because they're fresh. And I never add salt to vegetables, either at the table or when cooking, regardless of how I cook them.

 

I was told years ago that sprouts should be cut in halves or quarters and rested for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking. Try cooking them in a heavy bottomed fry pan on a high heat with olive oil and garlic, or roasting them in the oven, finishing them off with a splash of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.

 

Yes, I usually cut sprouts in half then steam them. In fact, I always steam our "greens" - never boil them. We grow a lot of our own vegetables and prefer them fresh. We are seeing far too much pre-packaged food in our supermarkets even though they claim to be "plastic free"! I would never consider frozen vegetables. I can't remember the last time I purchased any frozen food (ice cream excepted!).

 

Well they come from the same family, but how they vary is explained here Turnip I differentiate them because both are sold in local Supermarkets, with the large bulbous round and very tough ones being Swedes and Turnips looking a lot like Parsnips, but with a white skin as opposed to yellow. In my opinion -North or South - (excluding Scotland for reasons set out in the link) I regard them quite separately and prefer the term Swede, which just happens to be the term I was brought up with.

I thought Halloween lanterns were made from bright yellow Pumpkins which go on sale throughout October? Certainly the Swede (as just defined) could be used to make smaller lanterns but no wonder the task would be left to Dad and a sharp chisel - and a few cut fingers no doubt?

 

Oh dear Pauline with me 'SALT' -particularly the absence of same - is a sore subject. I am old school when it comes to cooking and admit to a French* influence that food cooked without the right level of salt is anathema; FLAVOURLESS at worst or OR BLAND at best. Fresh vegetables should always have a 'pinch' (varying from half to a teaspoon) of salt added to the water. With frozen you may need a trial and error approach, but generally, I err on a smaller 'pinch'. Pasta and Potatoes must ALWAYS be cooked in salted water. I only ever leave out salt when other ingredients have their own salt content (anchovies for example or obviously fish sauce) or when adding a little pasta water to the pan.

*I often debated this with my late French brother-in-law in Australia who besides being a butcher by trade also served an Apprenticeship in a French Restaurant. When he cooked a bowl of 'La Mer' Salt was always alongside and I loved watching him adding pinches to whatever he was cooking. He also had a 'Chef' friend visiting from France at the time we were there, who took great pains to remind that the right amount of seasoning was the key to good cooking. This has since been emphasised on TV when watching Chefs of all Nationalities and in cook books and particularly Delia's. There should be little or no need to add salt at the table if food is cooked correctly.

Before those who rush to tell me about high sodium levels being bad for you beware as I have heard arguments for and against many times. The same with 'sugar' scares with 'low calorie' substitutes (advice also given to me when I went on a pre-diabetic course warning we should avoid same) all such adulterations alter tastes and flavours long associated with their non-diet/ 'slightly salted' equivalents.

 

Yes the first bit of that advice about cutting sprouts I do follow, as did my mother and mother-in-laws before me. Not sure about the resting but likely good sense depending on where they were before the cutting. I am most interested in the olive oil and garlic tip, and roasting and adding balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. That sounds interesting and may have to try same.

 

I suppose I should have qualified my agreement about sprouts being cut and will do so in a moment but, to aid understanding, it is first necessary to relate that my first marriage was to a girl from rural Northamptonshire who had remarkable parents. Her father held down a job at a nearby Railway Works and still had time to run a (not so) Small Holding and grew every vegetable possible and flowers too for that matter. If that wasn't enough in addition he kept pigs, hens, ducks (on a pond) and bred rabbits and pheasants. We rarely wanted for food which was quite a saving being young married. In addition her mother was a traditional cook and prepared vegetables as they had been prepared for generations. It was she who advocated cutting sprouts and all produce was fresh and of course my wife practised what she had been taught.

Just as there has been mention of cutting slits into the stems of Broccoli so it was with sprouts. As I did not cook in those days, I only have memory of the cut being more a quartering of the sprout button, although the larger sprouts were halved. My mother visited from time to time and although a 'townie' I again have memory of her agreeing to the quartering of sprouts.

If it helps my present wife has no memory of cutting sprouts either, but then she has no great memory as a child of them having sprouts except with 'C' dinner and as today, like Peter, I tend to use frozen sprouts I do not cut them either.

 

On a business trip to North Carolina where the cuisine involves a lot of frying I just had to try deep fried Brussel sprouts. Can't say I'll be rushing to eat them again and I speak as a sprout lover. I do tend to halve or quarter them before cooking but that is just so they cook quicker. I recently tried using sprouts instead of cauliflower in a cheese sauce, with a lot of whole grain mustard it was surprisingly palatable.

 

Ok I think sprouts have had a run for their money, so how about a new theme..do you serve roasts and similar meals WITH OR WITHOUT GRAVY?

First let me say as someone brought up in a household in Birmingham where Gravy was sacrosanct for any roast, pie, liver or virtually any meat dish served with potatoes and greens, there was never a question to offer a meal without gravy, only how good was the gravy.

Anyone who watches 'Last of the Summer Wine' repeats on TV will know what I mean when a male character qualifies his wife nor by temperament, or affection but by the quality of her gravy, especially onion gravy.

So imagine how I the felt when courting (my future first wife) and visiting her home in a Northamptonshire village to find her mother did not make or serve gravy with the Sunday roast. When I asked for gravy her mother made some with an Oxo and hot water and offered it to me to pour over my meal.

I recall telling my mother back home and she was a shocked as I and it is a wonder the courtship lasted. However, I learned in a phone call that her father had been an Army Sergeant cook and he had promised I would be served 'proper' gravy for my next visit.

That was the last time that household, or my own of the future, ever served roasts without gravy as her father made the gravy using the meat fats with water from the strained greens and flour or 'Bisto' to thicken. The quality was up to my mother's standards as the principles of making were more or less the same.

The subject reared its head again a few years later with my UK's sister third marriage (no comment) because her latest (and last) husband never had gravy with his meals as a child and could not understand why anyone should require gravy. He enjoys roasts and the like either 'dry' or pours sauce (brown or red depending on the meal) over his meal. My son has been known to do the same, but in his case he chooses to forego his wife's lovely gravy, for ketchup...but then he is a heathen and I disown him on the spot. My daughter, thank goodness, is a gravy girl.

So I throw it open to the Forum to ask are you a -WITH OR WITHOUT GRAVY - household?

 

Probably a 'without' although I do sometimes serve the meat juices (fat removed) as 'gravy', and I have sometimes thickened the meat juices with cornflour. I never use gravy browning, nor do I eat gravy that has been made with it, though my husband sometimes has gravy if we eat out in a carvery.

 

My wife would also use a little cornflour mixed with COLD water (never hot) to thicken the juices and endeavour to pour away much of the fat. She then would use Bisto to add colour. I personally like to make gravy using a Knorr (or similar) stock cube (Beef or Chicken) or part of same, perhaps mixed with a small spoonful of Tesco gravy granules if I need to thicken. I do admit however that sometimes Bisto does the job just as well.

But to refer back to the statement to use the meat juices (fat removed) I ask do you mean just pouring off most of the fat, and some of the juices with it, or have you a better method? And why do you not eat gravy made with a colourant addition?

When my Oz sister married to her French husband attempted to pour off fat when she had cooked an English type roast, one would hear cries of "no, no, no" from her husband who thought such actions ran counter to imparting flavour - a great crime. He would even go as far as to insist she save the fat for use in the making of a future Jus. When he took over the cooking my sister said the flavours were out of this world, but the kitchen was a b***y mess. He would answer that was the role of the Brigade de cuisine implying she had that role - and the entente between them was far from cordial. She would get stuck in with clearing up and, knowing he had offended, he would volunteer to dry up.

 

Definitely with gravy - the roast is too dry otherwise. I use the meat juices, pour off the fat and thicken with cornflour. I find it doesn't need colouring, or salt. But then I'm probably the world's worst cook...

 

With gravy. “Original” Bisto powder mixed in a little cold water and added to the meat juices and fat.