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1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

Norm, is that cocaine I see on the top left of your tarts? Naughty boy. 

 

A lot of you are producing some tasty bites. I'm so sick of cooking in a microwave.

 

On Alamy's food suggestion, I see examples of two things that both bother and confuse me. A stack of pancakes too high to deal with and a burger too thick to bite into. The pictures look good; I'm not dissing the photography. I just want to know who eats this kind of thing?

 

 2D4YNKX.jpg

 

Do you have a sweet tooth Edo? You can make some pretty good desserts in a mug in a microwave! 

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Everything I eat is from M&S these days. They have lots of prepared meals, some of them pretty good. I miss cooking but there is no room in this dreadful kitchen. Sweet tooth? Well, everything I eat and drink is not health food. 

 

 

2D6CWY3.jpg

 

 

Edited by Ed Rooney
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one little cooking tip many probably wouldn't know. You can't make mayonnaise with eggs which have been frozen. I can't imagine why that should be. I always get my eggs from the local little shop who get their eggs from the bloke up the road who has several hundred rescue hens from battery producers. They scratch & peck right where I walk the dog in the mornings. They gather the eggs every day and keep them in a draughty shed. We've been having heavy frosts so they likely freeze. You can beat those yolks  as long as you like before drizzling in the oil but they will never thicken. Happened last year as well. I was forced to buy 1/2 a dozen free range from waitrose, beat up a couple of big yolks, thickened up a treat, added oil and produced my usual brick-laying consistency. Slowly added in the separated failed attempt from the day before and it stayed thick. So, no waste!

 

Whole lot of delicious mayonnaise to get through though

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5 hours ago, Robert M Estall said:

one little cooking tip many probably wouldn't know. You can't make mayonnaise with eggs which have been frozen. I can't imagine why that should be. I always get my eggs from the local little shop who get their eggs from the bloke up the road who has several hundred rescue hens from battery producers. They scratch & peck right where I walk the dog in the mornings. They gather the eggs every day and keep them in a draughty shed. We've been having heavy frosts so they likely freeze. You can beat those yolks  as long as you like before drizzling in the oil but they will never thicken. Happened last year as well. I was forced to buy 1/2 a dozen free range from waitrose, beat up a couple of big yolks, thickened up a treat, added oil and produced my usual brick-laying consistency. Slowly added in the separated failed attempt from the day before and it stayed thick. So, no waste!

 

Whole lot of delicious mayonnaise to get through though

 

I always make my own mayonnaise, much nicer than shop bought! Unusually though my recipe uses the whole egg not just the yolk. Also sunflower not olive oil which makes it lighter.

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13 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

a burger too thick to bite into.

:lol:.......and they have to stick a skewer through it to stop it falling apart.

G51240.jpg

(Doesn't really belong on this thread as I didn't cook it though.)

Edited by spacecadet
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6 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

 

I always make my own mayonnaise, much nicer than shop bought! Unusually though my recipe uses the whole egg not just the yolk. Also sunflower not olive oil which makes it lighter.

The whole egg mayonnaise sounds a great idea at first, but what to do when you want to make a souffle or maybe meringues if you don't have a store of spare egg whites? The whites don't seem to mind being frozen so I keep a couple of little pots in the freezer and top them up every time I have a couple left over from my weekly mayonnaise. If I get too far out of balance, the dog is a willing option. She may look a bit designer-dog but will eat anything.  

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13 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

Coincidentally there was a recipe for ranch dressing in The Guardian today! Although personally I would go with mayonnaise not tofu!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/28/ranch-dressing-improves-everything-so-i-tried-to-improve-ranch-dressing

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Allan

 

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2 hours ago, Robert M Estall said:

The whole egg mayonnaise sounds a great idea at first, but what to do when you want to make a souffle or maybe meringues if you don't have a store of spare egg whites? The whites don't seem to mind being frozen so I keep a couple of little pots in the freezer and top them up every time I have a couple left over from my weekly mayonnaise. 

Other way round to you! 

If I’ve made a soufflé the leftover yolks go in with whole eggs in things like an omelette or scrambled egg.

Also you can make soufflés and  meringues using aquafaba*so no egg whites needed at all! 

*the liquid out of a tin of chick peas.

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21 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Norm, is that cocaine I see on the top left of your tarts? Naughty boy. 

 

A lot of you are producing some tasty bites. I'm so sick of cooking in a microwave.

 

On Alamy's food suggestion, I see examples of two things that both bother and confuse me. A stack of pancakes too high to deal with and a burger too thick to bite into. The pictures look good; I'm not dissing the photography. I just want to know who eats this kind of thing?

 

 2D4YNKX.jpg

Back in the dark ages, a town that had a new Arby’s was part of my husband’s safety meetings territory. Those were the days when Arby’s piled on the thin sliced beef high. Bob would pick one up for me and bring it home. It was so thick I had to open wide, push the sandwich down over my bottom teeth before I could use my top teeth to bite. I always got the horsy sauce on it. Horseradish, only creamy. Stung my nose & sinuses. Nowadays, you have to raise the top bun to find the beef.

I guess I’m one of those!

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All this talk of pizza got me to walk up the road today to Rudy's where I was able to get a mushroom and ham pizza margarita to go. 'Twas a nice change from the boredom of the lockdown. 

 

Rudy's see themselves as Neapolitan. When I was able to eat inside, I would always talk in Italian to the guys making the pizza. They were all Italians, but when I used the Neapolitan slang word 'keste' (it means 'this is it'). Only Neapolitans would understand. Half the Rudy's cooks knew it, half did not. 😉

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2E7X9NJ.jpg

 

And here's today's pizza from Rudy's. Cooked ham and black mushrooms. 

 

Yeah, I ate the whole thing. I could have skipped the last two slices but I hate to throw out food. 

Edited by Ed Rooney
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When my helper works longer or harder than usual on the day he cleans the house, we order delivery from a local Italian restaurant and I pay for a regular margarita with extra cheese and pepperoni.  We finish it.   Libertalia is named after an anarchist pirate community and is run by Florentines, so they do have some things that are not pizza, but pizza is easier to deal with.  

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14 hours ago, MizBrown said:

When my helper works longer or harder than usual on the day he cleans the house, we order delivery from a local Italian restaurant and I pay for a regular margarita with extra cheese and pepperoni.  We finish it.   Libertalia is named after an anarchist pirate community and is run by Florentines, so they do have some things that are not pizza, but pizza is easier to deal with.  

It’s nice that you have cleaning help. I’m sure it much more affordable there. I need it, but can’t quite afford it. I could manage a one-off, but I’m afraid that would just show me what I’m missing, lol. Then I’d be frustrated. It’s like $80-100 for two hours, here.

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Roux at the Landau

 

lunch-dishes-at-the-roux-at-the-landau-inthe-langham-hotel-uk-PT6YPY.jpg

 

@Craig Millar, Fife

 

craig-millar-@-16-west-end-st-monans-fife-scotland-smoked-salmon-oyster-and-dashi-sauce-2CC2YMC.jpg

 

Cheap Tapas bar in Spain, 7 tapas and a BOTTLE of wine for 6 Euros! (pre Covid)

tapas-on-display-in-glass-cases-on-spanish-bar-HGHPF8.jpg

 

tapas-on-display-in-glass-cases-on-spanish-bar-HGHPG5.jpg

 

I've just noticed the fly on the skewer.

Edited by mickfly
Spotted a visitor.
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4 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

It’s nice that you have cleaning help. I’m sure it much more affordable there. I need it, but can’t quite afford it. I could manage a one-off, but I’m afraid that would just show me what I’m missing, lol. Then I’d be frustrated. It’s like $80-100 for two hours, here.

 

My knee is a bit screwed up from getting twisted trying to level a refrigerator and then further when my dog pulled me me around.  I have to have a dog walker.  Getting once a week cleaning from the fish tank to the floors to laundry is probably a luxury, but it's not a huge expense.  Once a month, he cleans the two upstairs rooms.  Photo gear and storage items are in one of those.  The back  bedroom over mine in the rear annex is empty at this point.  Neither I nor my dog feels safe on the stairs up to it.  The stairs to the studio over the kitchen are broader, less nervous making. 

 

My pension is under $1K a month.   Rent is $230 US a month.   Cable (internet and TV) and cell phone service is around $80.  I'm paying Luis $90 a month for the dog walking and $5.74 plus cab fare for major grocery shopping (not every week), and around $35 a month for cleaning and doing laundry once a week.  And we have the customary Christmas bonus of a month's salary.  Sick time we pay him anyway. 

 

The more obnoxious expats believe that if they pay more than the going rate, the Nicaraguans won't respect them.  I've found Nicaraguans vary as much as any other group -- had to fire one for not really working (and the Nicaraguan friend who recommended her to me fired her shortly after I did).  Another quit because she didn't want to clean the fish tank.   Another one got a better job.  Another one went to Costa Rica in 2018 when tourism here collapsed due to the civil unrest.  Luis was my first housekeeper/dog walker and came back after he was laid off another job a couple of years later.   Our dogs love him.  My cats, not so much, but one of my British friend's cats also adores him. 

 

I'd really like to get the photography up to the point where I could make $100 to $200 a month from it which would help considerably.  

 

One thing to look into is having someone come in once a month, if that's affordable, to do a deep cleaning, especially of and under stuff that requires heavy lifting.  I suspect that your prices are through an agency.  The people who actually do the cleaning work probably make $12 to $20 an hour. 

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I think the best way to find a good housekeeper here is by asking neighbors. There is an app that helps neighborhoods with lots of things and a friend found a terrific housekeeper that way. I'm still doing it all myself but sometimes wonder why. I could probably afford twice a month. I think housekeeper is similar to cat-sitter in that it is a personal business involving a lot of trust.

 

Paulette

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11 hours ago, MizBrown said:

One thing to look into is having someone come in once a month, if that's affordable, to do a deep cleaning, especially of and under stuff that requires heavy lifting. 

 

I call that spring cleaning and only do it once a year. At springtime of course.

 

Allan

 

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On 30/01/2021 at 21:00, Ed Rooney said:

2E7X9NJ.jpg

 

And here's today's pizza from Rudy's. Cooked ham and black mushrooms. 

 

Yeah, I ate the whole thing. I could have skipped the last two slices but I hate to throw out food. 

It's prettier than mine, Ed. I can't get the thick edge. I've tried shaping the dough over the back of one hand but I lose my nerve when it starts to droop too much.

My leftover slices are particularly nice for lunch the next day......not that I'd want to discourage gluttony you understand......

Edited by spacecadet
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RIGHT! I'm off to get me lunch.

 

Tuna pasta bake followed by a Gala apple.

 

Allan

 

Edited by Allan Bell
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3 hours ago, NYCat said:

I think the best way to find a good housekeeper here is by asking neighbors. There is an app that helps neighborhoods with lots of things and a friend found a terrific housekeeper that way. I'm still doing it all myself but sometimes wonder why. I could probably afford twice a month. I think housekeeper is similar to cat-sitter in that it is a personal business involving a lot of trust.

 

Paulette

You must be talking about the app “Next Door”. I use it a lot. I found a great appliance repairman, garage door repairman and HVAC guy that way. Also the guy who built my brick mailbox pillar.  I found the guy there to do my renovations after moving here and he ripped me off. Way overcharged but I didn’t realize it at the time. I was dealing with my husband’s extreme dementia and couldn’t think straight. Win some, lose some.

MizBrown, it appears you have learned to navigate the bumps and twists of your adopted town very well.

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On 02/02/2021 at 13:15, Sally R said:

This doesn't really fit as it is not something I made at home during lockdown. It was actually a delightful surprise at a cafe I went to a few days ago when it was still possible to do so as we went into lockdown a couple of days later (Sunday evening). I just thought it was a fun and creative way to serve coffee and a cute monkey:

 

 

a-monkey-design-in-the-froth-on-top-of-a-flat-white-coffee-in-a-black-mug-on-an-orange-saucer-with-a-teaspoon-on-a-table-with-black-and-orange-flecks-2E6ET0C.jpg

 

That's very cute and I think anything food/drink related is for this subject.  

 

Today I bought some heart shaped foil covered chocolates my reasoning being.....for photographic purposes - ah well......

 

Carol

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13 minutes ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

That's very cute and I think anything food/drink related is for this subject.  

 

Today I bought some heart shaped foil covered chocolates my reasoning being.....for photographic purposes - ah well......

 

Carol

 

Scoffed the lot while setting up eh?

 

Allan

 

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