I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Trying Out a New Food Product

Whilst shopping in a local International food store in London, I came across some kaszka. I knew the name—it is a Polish and general East European rice-based cereal powder. I had never tried it but thought I would experiment.

A Successful Result

The kaszka instructions were only in Polish, illustrated with pictures, so I took a leap into the unknown, using guesswork as I don't speak the lingo (although I do have dictionaries in several European languages). However I guessed that mleko meant milk and wanilia meant vanilla. The pictures showed various steps and that the mixture should be stirred with a liquid, which I assumed was milk or water.

I tentatively put some kaszka in a cereal bowl and added some milk which I had previously warmed. I mixed it up until the texture seemed satisfactory. It had a slightly sweet flavour and I quite liked the taste. It made a nice pudding, a bit like rice pudding or semolina, but much smoother.

A Surprise Finding

After doing some research, I later discovered that the particular product I had purchased, Bobovita Kaszka, was actually a type of baby-food rice porridge with natural sweetening and no added sugar. So, in other words, it was mildly sweet.

Coconut Milk

The Alpro coconut milk carton was in my store cupboard and once more I had been feeding my curiosity about products which had been around for a while but were new to me, so I had purchased it recently as an experiment to see what it tasted like, but had not yet got round to trying it out. It's actually a milk-free alternative to milk, especially useful for lactose intolerance.

My Experimentation Progressed

The next time I used the kaszka powder, I thought it would make a good cereal rather than a pudding, so I did the same again, mixing liquid with the powder, but this time instead of adding milk, I added Alpro coconut milk, which is a substitute for real milk, and I also added a mixture of flaked coconut and dried fruit (consisting of raisins, cranberries and chopped dates). I then warmed the mixture in the microwave for one minute so that it was not cold but not hot either.

It was delicious and I will certainly have that for a nutritious breakfast quite often in future.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons kaszka
• 2 tablespoons Alpro coconut milk (use 4 tablespoons if omitting plain milk)
• 2 tablespoons milk (use 4 tablespoons if omitting Alpro coconut milk)
• Small handful coconut flakes and dried fruit (e.g., cranberries, raisins, chopped dates)

Optional addition:

• 1 to 2 dessertspoons coconut or plain yogurt

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. The mixture is then ready to be eaten cold. Alternatively, warm the mixture in a microwave for 1 minute before serving.
3. Optional: Top with plain or coconut yogurt.

Healthy, Easy Vegan Kaska Breakfast

© 2021 Diana Grant

Do Leave Your Comments, Questions and Suggestions Here

Mark Tulin from Palm Springs, California on July 01, 2021:

Looks like a rice-based oatmeal. Something that a gluten-free person like me could eat. Thanks.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Apple Pie With a Poppy Seed Twist

This recipe is particularly suitable for inexperienced cooks because very few ingredients are required and no sepcial skills are needed. Beginners and regular cooks can rejoice at the fact that they can produce such a tasty and slightly unusual fruit pie with so little trouble.

I love experimenting with ingredients and poppy seed filling is my latest addition. It comes in tins and packets, or there are recipes for making it at home. This filling is very popular in Eastern Europe, and is often used for celebratory dishes. Now that international food is so popular, it's not hard to find it in international grocery stores and, of course, online.

I actually invented this recipe because I had half a tin of the filling left over after I had made poppyseed roll—and whilst making an apple pie, I was looking round for some additional flavour to give it a kick. I usually add cinnamon, apple pie spice or even crystallized ginger. This time I wanted a change, and my eyes fell on the rather brightly decorated tin, which tickled my creative streak.

Equipment

• An oven-proof glass or metal dish
• Pastry board (or flat, clean surface)
• Oven-proof pie tin or bowl
• Egg whisk or fork
• Bowl (to mix eggs)
• Knife (to cut apples and shape pastry)
• Pastry brush

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 2 tablespoons Bakalland poppy seed filling, (or any similar brand of tinned poppy seed filihng)
• 3 Bromley apples (or any large and sour-tasting apples)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup / 250 ml water

For the Crust:

• 1 roll ready-made puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, white sugar or honey (or any sweetening alternative}

Cook Time

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 (375°F/190°C).
2. Core the apples, and peel if desired, then chop into small chunks. Place them in a saucepan, adding the poppy seed filling, cinammon and water. Gently boil for 5 minutes until the apples are softened and the water has partially evaporated, so that the mixture is still wet and slightly juicy.
3. Place the apple mixture in a shallow baking dish and cover it with the pastry so that the edges of the pastry are spread and overlapping over the sides of the dish. Cut round the edge of the pastry with a sharp knife or pastry cutter so that it fits the dish, and press the edges to seal the dish. Pierce the pastry in 2 or 3 places to allow steam to escape.
4. Beat the egg yolk and paste it over the pastry surface with a pastry brush to give it a nice glaze.
5. Place the pie in the oven and cook at Gas Mark 5 (375 °F/190°C) for 20 minutes. Check whether the pastry has risen and turned pale brown and, if necessary, cook it for 5 to 10 minutes longer (according to your taste and the accuracy of your oven temperature).

Photo Guide

Serving Ideas

Apple pie, with or without poppy seed is very versatile. You can eat it in any of the following ways:

• Hot, warm or cold
• With ice cream
• With cream
• With custard

Another Delicious Poppy Seed Recipe

• Poppy Seed Roll Recipe (Only Three Ingredients)
  This delicious poppy seed roll recipe calls for only three ingredients, making it super quick and easy. Ready to eat in just 30 minutes!

Comments

Mark Tulin from Palm Springs, California on May 10, 2021:

A triple yum on this one. Love apples.

Louise Powles from Norfolk, England on May 02, 2021:

This sounds lovely and easy to make too. Thankyou!

Iqra from East County on May 01, 2021:

This recipe sounds delicious and it's very easy to cook. Thanks Diana

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Crunchy, Crispy Kale (No Oil!)

Most crispy kale recipes include frying or baking the leaves using cooking oil in order to crisp it up. It's somewhat quicker to do that, but how nice to have a completely guilt-free snack which has a similar texture and flavour but is entirely fat free.

Rate This Recipe

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 kilo kale, chopped into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed chilli seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, finely crushed (or use bottled garlic pieces)
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala or other spice of your choosing

Spice Adjustments and Options

• For instance, if you are on a low-salt diet, you may wish to leave out the salt altogether or cut down on the amount.
• If you don't like hot food, you may wish to cut down the amount of chilli seeds, but I wouldn't advise cutting them out altogether, as they do add flavour.
• The garlic is optional, but as it is good for you and adds to the flavour, I would recommend using it.
• You could replace the garam masala (which is actually a mixture of several spices) with a spice or spices of your choice, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cumin, and/or curry powder . . . or you could omit the spice altogether.

Instructions

1. Wash the kale leaves thoroughly in a strainer, removing any hard stems, and any parts which are yellowing or turning black. Then shake off as much water as possible.
2. Line a large baking tray with silver foil and turn the oven onto the lowest possible heat, or on a very slightly higher heat if you want to cook the leaves quicker, but with the extra work of having to check them after 25 minutes and thereafter every 5 or 10 minutes to ensure they don't burn and turn black. (Slower cooking on a lower heat will avoid this problem.)
3. Cut the leaves into pieces about 2 or 3 inches long. Then spread them out on the lined baking tray.
4. Sprinkle salt, chilli seeds and garam masala or any other optional spice over the leaves. Then place the loaded tray in the oven for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the temperature.
5. Remove them when crisp but not burnt black, and tip into a large bowl, to eat hot or cold, according to preference.

Photo Guide

Useful Tips About Kale

• How to Clean Kale: 12 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
  Kale is a healthy leafy green vegetable that can be used in salads and other recipes. If you want to use kale, it's important that you wash it first. To wash kale, you will need to remove the stems and submerge it in water. Then, rinse...
• The Many Types and Health Benefits of kale - Mayo Clinic Health System
  The popularity of kale has skyrocketed in our country over the last four to five years. It has become available at not only farmer’s markets but local grocery stores, as well.
• How to Cook Kale and 9 Tasty Ways to Serve Kale
  These simple ways to prepare kale, from steaming, roasting to throwing it in smoothies for a healthy breakfast, you'll be eating green in no time.

Do Leave Comments or Questions Here

Louise Powles from Norfolk, England on April 30, 2021:

I really do like kale, and this recipe sounds lovely. I'm definitely trying this. Thanks!

Thelma Alberts from Germany on April 30, 2021:

I love kale. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I would love to try it.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Perfect for Novice Cooks

Poppy seed rolls are a delicious and not overly sweet pastry that are very quick and easy to make. Indeed, they're so easy to prepare that even a totally inexperienced cook could bake it successfully.

Because this recipe only has two main ingredients, both of which can be purchased ready-made from a grocery store, all you need to do is assemble the rolls and shove them in the oven.

About the Ingredients

• Poppy seed filling is a traditional East European food, and poppy seed rolls are popular in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Hungary, to name but a few countries. The filling can be made from scratch, of course, but it's so much more convenient to buy it in a tin or packet. It can be purchased in grocery shops that stock international foods of that ilk. In London, where I live, we are blessed with numerous grocery stores of every nationality, whereas if you live away from multi-national cities, it might be more difficult to find. Fortunately, you can always buy it online.
• Ready-made puff pastry is available in virtually all supermarkets, and you can usually buy it as a single pack or a double pack. It's typically cheaper to buy a double pack, and you can freeze it until you are ready to use it. It's far less messy to use the ready-made puff pastry than making it yourself, and I must confess I never make pastry from scratch anymore—I hate getting covered in flour.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 roll ready-made puff pastry roll
• 1/2 tin (425 grams) Bakalland poppy seed filling (it comes in 850-gram tins)
• 1 egg yolk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C, Gas Mark 7. Lay a sheet of grease-proof baking paper on a large oblong baking tray or just grease the baking tray itself.
2. Unwrap the pastry and lay it out on a flat surface so that you are facing the widest edge (see photo).
3. Spread the poppy seed paste evenly over the whole surface, leaving about 1/4 in. (1/2 cm) empty along the long edge furthest away from you.
4. Separate one egg yolk from the white. Whip up the yolk in a bowl with a fork. Then paint egg yolk thinly along the 1/4 in. (1/2 cm) empty long edge of the seeded pastry furthest away from you.
5. Starting with the part nearest to you, wrap the long edge of the pastry fairly tightly in a roll away from you, and press the length of the wet egg-soaked edge gently against the dry part to seal the edge all the way along, so that you have a long sausage-shaped roll of filled pastry.
6. Lightly grease the baking sheet with butter or cooking oil to prevent the roll sticking when cooked. Then place the roll onto the baking tray. If it won't fit because it is too long, cut the roll in half with a sharp knife. Then paint the exposed part of the pastry with egg yolk, which will give it a shiny glaze when cooked. Then cut diagonal stripes into the top edge of the pastry.
7. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. Then remove from the oven, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting the roll into slices.

Photo Guide

Ready-Made Poppy Seed Filling

Leave Your Comments Or Suggestions Here

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on April 25, 2021:

I'm sure you'll enjoy it

Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on April 24, 2021:

I love poppy roll and always buy it when I see it in the farmers' market but now I can learn to make it from your article. Thank you.

Umesh Chandra Bhatt from Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India on April 22, 2021:

Interesting. Well explained.

Iqra from East County on April 22, 2021:

This poppy seed roll sounds delicious and yummy. And prepared under 30 minutes. Thanks for sharing Glorious

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Waste Not, Want Not

Whether you'd like to save money, help the environment, or make your provisions last during a political or health crisis, there are many great reasons to reduce food waste.

My children laugh at me and call me "war baby" because I hate wasting food. I was brought up in England during the 1940s and 1950s. This was a period of great austerity, when food was rationed—that is, if you could get it at all.

Quite ordinary things like eggs and sweets were considered to be precious. During the war, people in England were rationed to one fresh egg a week, although it was possible to get powdered eggs. As children, we used to beg American soldiers stationed here to give us treats, typically asking, "Have you got any gum, chum?"

We were taught to eat up everything on our plate. A popular expression was "Waste not, want not; pick it up and eat it". And if we were being picky about food and refusing to eat something, my parents would say, "Children in Greece would be grateful for food like that". Responding, "Well, let them have it, then" did not go down well, as you can imagine.

What I Do to Reduce Food Waste

These ideas are good for the environment, and they save money, too. I hope you will find some good ideas here that you might choose to adopt in your own kitchen.

1. When Cooking Vegetables, Don't Throw Away the Water

Remove and use the cooked vegetables in the way you originally intended. Use the vegetable water, which contains vitamins, for soups, stews, stir-fries, sauces, gravy and so forth.

In addition, if you have just used a saucepan or frying pan to cook your vegetables, and there are bits of vegetable stuck to the bottom, add a little of the hot vegetable water and swill it round to unstick the bits and then pour this water with its added flavour into the original vegetable water and use it as above.

2. Use Up Leftover Cooked Potatoes and Other Vegetables

As long as you have some leftover potatoes, you can mash them up with cooked onions and any other cooked vegetables to make bubble and squeak.

Simply mash all the soft vegetables together into a sort of large flat cake, or several small ones, and fry until brown on both sides. This is a traditional British dish, usually eaten with egg and bacon for breakfast, but it can be used with any meat or fish dish or as an accompaniment to a vegetarian meal. It's also quite nice to eat on its own.

3. Use Up Overripe Fruit

Quite often, fruit that is overripe has quite a large area of flesh that is still edible. Part of it may have gone brown and soggy, but part is still quite tasty, and in fact, because it is very ripe, it often has a particularly sweet and strong flavour.

Methods:

• Wash the fruit, cut off the edible parts and use them to make fruit salad for a nourishing and delicious breakfast or sweet, full of vitamins and fibre.
• Put all the edible parts in a blender with milk, yogurt and or fruit juice to make a smoothy.

4. Use Up Your Ageing Vegetables

Go through the vegetables stored in the vegetable drawer in your fridge, and sort out any items which are looking a bit tired. Wash, peel and cut up the good and edible bits, throwing out any yellowing and aged bits. Then bake the edible parts in your oven or make them into a soup.

Method for Baking:

• Place silver foil on a large baking tray. Then grease the foil lightly with butter or cooking oil and place the vegetable slices on it.
• Sprinkle lightly with more oil and your preferred condiments such as salt and crushed chilli or pepper.
• Then bake over medium heat in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until slightly brown, or until slightly crispy if preferred.

Method for Making Soup:

• Cover all the vegetables with water. Include some onion and add your preferred herbs and spices such as garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.
• Boil for 15-20 minutes.
• When cooked, add a meat or vegetable stock cube or two, according to your taste, as additional flavouring.

5. Use Your Leftover Salad

If you haven't used up everything in your dish of salad and the remains are looking a bit limp or unappealing, you don't need to throw it away. Instead, boil it up for soup, add it to omelette filling, or blend it and add the mixture to other hot meals such as curry, stew, pie, or anything with a sauce.

I Love My Slimline Ninja Blender

I use my Ninja Blender all the time. It works efficiently, and since it's slim, it doesn't take up much space on the kitchen counter. The mug has an additional screw-top lid, so it can be used to store the liquidized mixture after blending.

As well as making drinks and blending food, I also use it to grind and blend food waste which I then dilute and spread around plants in the garden as a mulch. This puts all the nutrients back in the soil. Just try banana skins blended and dug into the soil around your rose bushes; they'll thank you with abundant flowers.

Do Leave Comments and Suggestions Here

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 02, 2020:

I'm glad you found it helpful.

Thelma Alberts from Germany on July 02, 2020:

I can´t waste food as I know as a child what really hungry means. I make most of my leftover food. Thank you for sharing your article. I have learned something from it.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 16, 2019:

I don't do banana smoothies but I do have fridge inspection and using up sessions

Virginia Allain from Central Florida on July 15, 2019:

I was born after the war, but my parents grew up in the Great Depression and were very thrifty in so many ways.

You have great food thrifty ideas. I have banana smoothies to use up my over-ripe bananas. We plan our leftovers to use in another dinner or lunch. Sometimes we have a clean-out-the-fridge buffet to use up all the dibs and dabs of leftovers.

Lorelei Cohen from Canada on July 14, 2019:

Growing up on a farm we made use of most of our food. What we didn't consume was fed to the pigs or dogs, or used as compost for our two very large gardens. Recycling was simply a part of our lives back then.

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on July 13, 2019:

I love bubble and squeak. I like your ideas for using vegetable water. It always seems like a waste to throw it away. Thanks for sharing the other ideas, too.

RTalloni on July 12, 2019:

Always meant to look up Bubble and Squeak, now I know. Learning to make the most of food is smart and not difficult. Modern society complains about not having enough money but all we have to do is look at how much food is wasted and how much is spent on eating out to see we are not poor people. Thanks for sharing your methods of using food at hand.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Quick and Easy Hummus Recipe

Hummus (also spelled houmos) is a nourishing and traditional vegetable dip or side dish which originated in the Middle East, though its popularity has spread well beyond that area. In London, where I live, it is now so commonplace that virtually all supermarkets stock it, usually in several varieties.

The main ingredients are crushed chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) and tahini (crushed sesame seeds). It is usually accompanied by pitta bread or vegetable sticks such as sliced carrot.

As the flavour can be a bit bland, I was delighted to come across hummus with caramelised onion as an additional flavouring in a supermarket. This recipe is my homemade version. To my mind and taste buds, it gives an attractive richness to an otherwise fairly bland-tasting side dish, especially with the optional addition of a sprinkling of ground chilli seeds.

Rate This Recipe

Cook Time Using Dried Chickpeas (Excluding Soaking Time)

Cook Time Using Tinned Chickpeas

If you use tinned chickpeas, you'll save a lot of time because there's no soaking or cooking required.

Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 10 min Ready in: 20 min

Equipment

• Blender
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Saucepan
• Frying pan
• Wooden spoon

Ingredients

Main Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked dried chickpeas (or 1 can of tinned chickpeas)
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander or parsley (or a small handful of fresh)
• 1 large onion, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Optional Ingredients:

• Salt to taste
• Sprinkling of ground chilli seeds
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

Instructions

1. If using dried chickpeas: Wash them and then soak them overnight in a saucepan of cold water. Make sure there is plenty of water to cover them, as they will absorb much of the liquid and swell up. Wash them again after soaking. Then boil them gently for about 90 minutes in plenty of fresh water to allow for evaporation.
2. If using canned chickpeas: Drain off the liquid. They don't need additional cooking as they are already cooked.
3. Reserve a little of the liquid whether from the home-cooked chickpeas or the canned ones to add to the blender mixture.
4. Chop the onions into small pieces and fry them in a pan on a low heat with the olive oil, brown sugar and garlic. Stir the mixture so that the onions don't crisp up; they should turn soft and translucent after about 5 minutes.
5. Put the chickpeas and fried onions in a blender or liquidizer together with two tablespoons of the reserved liquid and blend to a smooth paste. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend them in until the mixture is as smooth as you want it (see below for more detail).
6. Remove the mixture from the blender and put it in an appropriate container for storage or immediate use.

I Use My Slimline Ninja Blender for This Recipe

My Slimline Ninja blender works well and, being slim, doesn't hog much space on the kitchen counter. The mug has an additional screw-top lid, so can be used to store the liquidised mixture after blending.

As well as making drinks and blending food, I also use it to grind and blend food waste which I then dilute and spread around plants in the garden as a mulch. This puts all the nutrients back in the soil . . . just try banana skins blended and dug into the soil around your rose bushes—they'll thank you with abundant flowers.

Accompaniments to Hummus

Hummus is traditionally eaten with pitta bread as a snack or side dish. It is also used with salad or as a dip with vegetables, such as carrot sticks.

At my local Kurdish restaurant in London, if you order lamb kebab for lunch, it comes with an enormous salad, with a big dollop of hummus in the middle, and a side-plate with fresh pitta bread. It's actually enough for two meals, and I'm not too proud to take some of it home in a doggy box if my appetite has been spoiled by a late breakfast.

More About Hummus

• Chickpea - Wikipedia
  
• Tahini - Wikipedia
  

Short Quiz About Hummus

For each question, choose the best answer. The answer key is below.

1. What is Tahini made from?
   • Sesame seeds
   • Couscous
   • Olive paste
2. Where did hummus originate?
   • Europe
   • The Middle East
   • East Africa
3. What is the traditional accompaniment to hummus?
   • Tortilla wraps
   • Naan bread
   • Pitta bread

Answer Key

1. Sesame seeds
2. The Middle East
3. Pitta bread

Commercially Made Hummus

© 2019 Diana Grant

Do Leave Your Comments, Suggestions or Questions Here

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 16, 2019:

I must say, I use crushed red pepper flakes on nearly all food except sweet things - love it

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 16, 2019:

You can actually buy caramelised houmous, but only a few supermarkets stock it

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 16, 2019:

I love it, so hope you do try it

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 16, 2019:

Yes the blades on my blender clean easily, and then there is a separate lid without blades to store the contents

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on July 11, 2019:

We keep hummus in our home much like a staple. Costco is where we purchase it because it is priced well. I add crushed red pepper flakes to it to spice it up a bit. Your idea of adding caramelized onions and garlic to it sounds good to me. Thanks for your recipe.

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on June 23, 2019:

I buy hummus at my local supermarket and enjoy it, but your version sounds much nicer. I like the idea of adding caramelized onions very much.

Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on June 23, 2019:

I still have to try hummus with caramelized onions. Thanks for the instruction.

Mary Wickison from Brazil on June 21, 2019:

I enjoy hummus but don't make it very often. I can see that the caramelized onions would would give it more flavor.

I didn't quite understand how that blender worked without a lid, so went to YouTube to see. That seems to be a good idea because the blades would be easier to clean. My blender doesn't easily come apart making cleaning difficult.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Mildly Spicy Fish Curry

I sometimes make this curry for my grandchildren, who like spicy flavors but don't like anything very hot. They all rave about it.

I like to add extra vegetables for extra nourishment. If a smoother curry is preferred, you can always blend the vegetables before adding them to the sauce, or you can omit them altogether.

How I Learned to Make This Curry

Many years ago, in the mid-1960s, I worked in a typically English restaurant with an Indian person. He wasn't actually a chef, but we decided to produce Indian curries on the menu, and he taught me how to cook and use Asian spices the way his mother had shown him in India.

The dishes we cooked were not necessarily the dishes you would normally find in an Indian restaurant, but they were popular, and we enjoyed branching out a bit.

The skills and taste for hot and spicy food have remained with me, and in turn I have passed them on to my family who are all very creative in their cookery.

Please Rate!

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 3 medium to large fresh carrots, sliced thinly
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, or other cooking oil
• 1 large red pepper, sliced and chopped
• 2 tablespoons green vegetables (e.g., cabbage, spinach, broccoli or even lettuce)
• 4 lbs. (2 kilos) white fish (you can use any fish, so I use the cheapest, which is usually basa)
• 1 tin coconut milk (or coconut cream or powdered coconut milk)
• 2 teaspoons garlic and onion paste
• 2 to 3 teaspoons fish curry paste, depending how hot you want your curry: when cooked, taste it and add more for a stronger flavor
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 to 3 tablespoons peas, frozen
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel the carrots and cut into fairly thin slices. Put them on to boil in a small amount of water, just covering them. So they will be boiling whilst you are preparing everything else.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan whilst peeling and chopping the onions. Then fry the onions on medium heat, so that they brown and sweat without burning. Stir them every now and then, whilst preparing the other ingredients, and add the red pepper.
3. Chop the greens up fairly small and add them to the carrots, making sure the water covers them.
4. Cut the fish into pieces, either lengthwise or widthwise, about 4 inches long (although precise size doesn't matter).
5. Mix the curry paste with a little hot water from the carrots. Then mix it in with the coconut milk.
6. Add the fish to the pan of onions on a very low heat, sprinkling all over with the turmeric. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the curry and coconut mixture, the garlic and ginger paste and the frozen peas and the carrots and greens. Stir gently to mix the ingredients. The sauce should be fairly thick and creamy, If it looks a bit dry, add some of the vegetable water.
7. The fish only takes about 5 minutes to cook from frozen, so make sure it does not fall to pieces from overcooking. Let the dish stand for a few minutes or more so that the fish absorbs some of the flavors.
8. Serve with rice (see video below if you are not sure how to cook rice).

Fish Curry Paste: Available in Asian Shops

Fish curry in various forms is so popular all over Asia that you can ring the changes with different fish curry sauces from different countries. The ones I use most are Sri Lankan.

How to Cook Rice, by Jamie Oliver

More Curry Recipes

• How To Make Curry Puffs Recipe - Delicious Deep Fried Pastry Puffs with Curried Meat and Potatoes
  Curry puffs are popular snacks in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. They are not only delicious to eat but easy to make, too. Check out these curry puff recipes here.
• Curries: Stories, Tips, and Recipes
  Curry is a blanket term used to describe a vast range of Asian spicy stewed dishes. There are many different styles of curries. Not all are hot. Get tips and recipes for curries here.

Do Leave a Comment or Question. I love to Get Feedback From Around the World!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 14, 2020:

RoadMonkey: It's very useful to be able to use up odd bits of fish in a curry, and as the taste is somewhat disguised by the spices, the cheapest possible fish can be used instead of something more fancy

RoadMonkey on July 12, 2020:

Hmm, I like curry and sometimes cook it from the absolute basics but have never tried fish curry. When you mentioned "frozen", I remembered I have some fish in the freezer that needs used up and this would be a tasty and quick way to do that. Thanks.

Louise Powles from Norfolk, England on October 10, 2017:

I love fish curry. Although I've never tried making it myself, but will definitely give this a try. Thanks. =)

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on September 13, 2016:

Yes, I make it very regularly, Larry

Larry Rankin from Oklahoma on July 03, 2016:

I have recently discovered I love curry dishes but have yet to make my own.

I'll have to give this one a try. Sounds terrific.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 28, 2015:

Yes, I saw we have lots of common interests when I first started following you, Colleen

Colleen Swan from County Durham on November 28, 2015:

Hi Diana, Super recipe. As it happens we were talking here yesterday about making a fish curry. Aside from that, having read your profile I think you and I have a lot in common and look forward to getting better acquainted.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on September 21, 2015:

Glimmer Twin Fan: I looked again at the ingredients quantities and I think 2 tablespoons of greens is about right. You'll see from the photo that the dish is not loaded with greens - but no reason why you shouldn't experiment to find what works for you. I sometimes do a separate dish of curried vegetables to go with my curries

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on September 20, 2015:

This sounds very tasty. I love spicy food, so I think I would enjoy your recipe very much!

Claudia Mitchell on September 20, 2015:

Oh this looks delicious. One question, the greens and peas amounts seem low to me, especially if the recipe serves 6 people. Should that read cups? I love my greens so I would definitely add more. Nice recipe!

One of my earliest recollections of food is my mother feeding me Ryvita and Marmite during World War II, when I was about three years old.

What Is Marmite?

Marmite is a traditional British savoury spread that is made from yeast. It has a distinctive strong, salty flavour, and it is very popular throughout the British Isles. The man who discovered that yeast, a by-product of beer brewing, could actually be used as a well-loved spread must have made a fortune.

What Is It Like?

Marmite has a sticky consistency, a dark brown in color, and it is usually spread thinly on buttered bread, toast or savory biscuits. Because of its pungent taste, it is not universally liked; hence the advertising slogan, "Marmite—Love it or Hate it".

I am among the ranks of Marmite-lovers. In fact, if I don't have it for a few days, I have cravings that must be satisfied, and only Marmite will do.

Can Vegetarians Eat It?

You might be interested to know that, unlike Bovril, which is fairly similar, Marmite does not contain any meat extract, so it is acceptable to vegetarians.

My Marmite Memories

One of my earliest recollections of food is my mother feeding me Ryvita and Marmite during the War, when I was about three years old. This means I've been eating Marmite for over seventy years... I wonder how many bottles I've consumed in that time.

Many other foods were in short supply during the World War II era, and Marmite was known to be good for you, as it is high in various B-Vitamins. It was even given out as part of army rations.

Everyone in our family loves it, so I don't know who the people are who hate it, but it certainly isn't us.

My favorite way of eating Marmite is to spread a little butter on to toast or very fresh bread, and then smear it with Marmite, as an accompaniment to my boiled eggs, instead of using salt. This to me is the ultimate comfort food, and I have it most days for breakfast. You might think that the strong flavour would drown the taste of the egg, but, funnily enough, it doesn't—it seems to enhance it.

Many years ago I was invited to travel to Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, before it was developed, and the friend I was visiting begged me to bring over six pots of Marmite, because he loved it so much. Of course I did so, but I had to laugh when I discovered it in a supermarket there—he'd thought it was impossible to buy out there, but I suspect that wherever you find a lot of Brits living, you'll find Marmite, because it's part of the staple diet of the British.

Marmite in My Home

I keep an extra bottle of Marmite in my store cupboard at all times, so I never run out.

Here are the ways I use Marmite:

• I use it as an alternative to salt, so when I have boiled egg and toast, my usual breakfast, I don't use any salt at all, I just spread some Marmite on my toast
• Occasionally I fancy some peanut butter on bread, and this is much enhanced with a smear of Marmite on top. I've recently tried it with almond and coconut peanut butter, and can solemnly pronounce it "Out of This World"
• Marmite is delicious in tomato and chicken sandwiches - again, this is because both those foods taste better with salt, or something which tastes salty, like Marmite. So now I always, always spread Marmite on one side of the bread in my sandwich
• When the jar is empty, and I've scraped out all the Marmite I can, I swill the jar round with very hot (not boiling) water, and use the dark brown mixture when making gravy or soup—it gives it a nice tang. I don't pour boiling water into the glass jar because the intense heat could cause it to shatter

Do try these ideas if you like Marmite. You'll be amazed and delighted.

A Marmite Tweet Heard Round the World

A Nice Big Pot of Marmite

Other Ways to Buy Marmite

There is also a Limited Edition of Matured Marmite—stronger and a lot more expensive. I was stunned to find that Marmite XO, as it is called, is now out of production, and I saw it selling on the internet in October 2016 for up to £75, and even the empty bottle was being sold for about £5. What a shame that I ate mine, and only threw away the bottle a couple of years ago!

Reduced-Salt Marmite

I am trying to cut down my salt intake, so I thought I would see how reduced-salt Marmite compares with the original. I found it slightly thicker, and a bit different, obviously, but it definitely tastes good. I have now bought it several times and use it as the standard rather than the saltier version.

Marmite Peanut Butter

When I discovered Marmite peanut butter, I had to try it. Of course, it's delicious. I used it on toast to accompany boiled egg, which I have most days for breakfast. You can get it crunchy or smooth.

The Marmite flavour blends well with peanut butter, and tastes delicious, but slightly milder than it would be if you were to spread your own Marmite on a separate peanut butter. Try it and see what you think. And remember you can buy it either smooth or crunchy.

Nut spreads seem to be all the rage at present, and I don't know why they weren't brought out decades ago as a popular range. I must confess that, having tried the Marmite peanut butter version, I actually prefer low-salt Marmite spread over coconut or almond peanut butter on my toast, so I do hope the producers of Marmite follow the trend, and produce their own brand, as it's a nuisance having to spread two items on one piece of toast, instead of having it done for you at the factory!

Marmite: Why Would You Eat That?

Love it or hate it. It's difficult to be neutral!

I welcome your comments, below. (I'm particularly interested to hear from anyone trying Marmite for the first time after reading about it here!)

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on September 12, 2019:

It does have a very strong flavour, but if spread very thinly you might find you like it - it's very easy to put too concentrated an amount on the accompanying bread or biscuit

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on September 12, 2019:

Fish and chips is a typically English dish, and nowdays Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Turkish food are standard very popular stalwarts

Thelma Alberts from Germany on September 02, 2019:

I have tried Marmite once when we were in England. I didn't like it. Maybe if I will try it again, I might like it. Thanks for the information about marmite.

Jo Miller from Tennessee on August 25, 2019:

I've never had Marmite, but I'm going to be back in England in a few weeks and it's on my too do list. It does not sound too tasty to me, but I'm going to try it--while in England. I know I can get it on Amazon, but it doesn't seem the same.

Any other suggestions of things I should try while in England?

Bill Kasman on October 28, 2016:

I can easily live without it - it's the most awful stuff I've ever tasted!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on October 30, 2014:

How can you live without it for 364 days?

Buildreps from Europe on October 29, 2014:

I thought it was typically Dutch. I only like it once a year on cheese :)

John Hansen from Gondwana Land on October 04, 2014:

Hi gloriousconfusion, thanks for the follow. Being an Australian I am not a Marmite fan (though I don't hate it) but I love Vegemite. The two are very similar and I think your preference stems from the one you have grown up with. Most people who aren't familiar with these spreads smear too much on their bread or toast and henceforth, hate the stuff. I also feel they need to be eaten with butter and not margarine for best effect. Vegemite was born as a use for yeast extract from the making of beer in Australia and the inventor was impressed by Marmite and wanted an Aussie version. He called it Parwill at first, a play on the name Marmite, but it didn't take off. Changed the name and the formula slightly and Vegemite quickly became Australia's favourite spread. I love it on fruit buns and scones. I agree both these would be a good salt replacement with certain foods that need it. Interesting hub, voted up.

Thomas F. Wuthrich from Michigan on September 19, 2014:

My sister and her family spent several years in Australia and brought back something called Vegemite...which sounds a whole lot like Marmite. Are they pretty much the same? I used to spread a thin coat of butter on a piece of toast, followed by a thin coat of Vegemite, topped with a poached egg...which someone must've told me was one way the Aussies consumed it. Pretty tasty...as long as you didn't overdo the Vegemite. Aha! I only just now (after posting my comment) viewed the video...which sort of answers my question.

Barbara Tremblay Cipak from Toronto, Canada on September 11, 2014:

well, now I want to take a lick and try the darn stuff just to see if I'm in the love or hate category!

Ann Hinds from So Cal on September 11, 2014:

Tried it, not a favorite but if I had to eat it again, I could probably choke it down. We will eat just about anything.

Jill Hart from Weston, Idaho on January 23, 2014:

Love Marmite, still remember the first time I tried it - a sandwich from my Aussie friends while camping at the beach in Japan.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 23, 2014:

@Adventuretravels: Yes, we English must teach the foreign visitors what we eat at home - that is, when we're not eating chicken tikka marsala, pizza, kebabs, choritzo, won ton, pain-au-chocolat, Danish pastry and all the other delicacies we have adopted from abroad

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 23, 2014:

@SusannaDuffy: To each his own, but Marmite is the one that sits on MY toast!

Giovanna from UK on January 23, 2014:

Mmmmmm - Marmite - I love it! I am the UK Contributor on Squidoo, I specialize in travel and I think visitors to the UK should certainly brave some Marmite on toast at their B&Bs! So I shall promote this lens in my FB page and Pinterest Boards and give it a thumbs up too! Thanks for sharing.

Susanna Duffy from Melbourne Australia on January 22, 2014:

Never would I dream of touching Marmite - even with a 40ft barge pole! I was raised on Vegemite (see how sturdy I am?) Vegemite is on my toast every morning

Rhonda Albom from New Zealand on November 07, 2013:

Sorry, I hate it! Although we do always have it in the pantry. We use it instead of bullion to make a vegetable stock base for vegetarian soups. I don't mind it in soup, but don't give it to me in a sandwich.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Serve With Cheeses and Meats

Early in September last year, a friend gave me about a kilo of green walnuts and suggested that I pickle them. I'd never even seen a green walnut before, let alone tasted pickled walnuts, but she told me they are delicious in combination with things like cheese or ham and other cold meats.

I enjoy trying new things, and she made the recipe sound really easy. Actually, it was one of the easiest recipes I have ever made, and so it was that I tasted pickled walnuts for the first time last October.

The idea is to use only young green walnuts, before the shell forms. This means picking them in June or July if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. Test each green walnut by sticking a pin in it. If you feel any resistance from a hard shell inside, then discard it.

What Does It Taste Like?

Pickled green walnuts have a very strong flavor, but it's delicious. If you are not keen on strong flavors, you might not like this dish, or you might just like a small amount to add to your cheese sandwich.

Preparation Time

Prep Time: 30 minutes, but spread over 6 weeks

Total Time: 6 weeks from start to finish

Yield: 6 jam jars or bottles

Ingredients

• 1 kilo (2 lbs.) fresh walnuts
• Brine made from 100g of salt in 1 litre of water
• 5 cups malt vinegar
• 3 to 4 teaspoons sugar (preferably brown)
• 1 teaspoon pickling spice, including black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Instructions

1. Important note: Walnuts stain indelibly, so wear protective gloves and wipe drips from surfaces immediately.
2. Soak the walnuts in brine (salted water) for 10 to 12 days, changing the water after the first 3 to 5 days when it looks a bit scummy. The walnuts will gradually turn black, but that's all right; they're supposed to.
3. Wash and drain the walnuts, and lay them out to dry on a rack or baking tray for about 3 days until completely dried out and black and soft all over.
4. Pour a little vinegar into a saucepan, add the sugar and spices and boil for a few minutes.
5. Put the walnuts in clean jam jars and add the spiced vinegar after it has slightly cooled. Add more vinegar to completely cover the walnuts.
6. Put the lids on the jars and label them, including the date.
7. Store for at least 4 weeks before eating. The pickles will last about a year.

More About Walnuts

• Walnut Recipes: BBC
  Walnuts add texture and crunch to dishes. Pair them with goats’ cheese and a drizzle of walnut oil in our salad recipes or stir them into a classic coffee cake. This popular and versatile nut consists of two wrinkly lobes enclosed within a large knob
• 13 Proven Health Benefits of Walnuts: HealthLine
  Walnuts are exceptionally nutritious and may keep you healthy in impressive ways — from weight loss to cancer protection. Here are 13 proven health benefits of walnuts.

Please leave comments below!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 11, 2015:

Yes, they are reputed to be very healthy

Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on January 10, 2015:

I have to admit I have not yet tried pickled walnuts. Walnuts, though, have now become staples at our house because of its health qualities.

Kerri Bee from Upstate, NY on October 21, 2014:

Ok, this sounds fascinating. I want to try these.

Thomas F. Wuthrich from Michigan on September 20, 2014:

I've never heard of pickled walnuts and am having a hard time imagining what they must taste like. Chutney, perhaps? Sweet pickles? Do they retain any "walnut taste"...? I wonder if other nuts such as hazelnuts are similarly picklable

Shinichi Mine from Tokyo, Japan on March 27, 2014:

I can't wait to try this. Looks so good.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on March 27, 2014:

@growsocialea: Good luck with new job and walnut collection

growsocialea on March 27, 2014:

I am starting a new job that has a orchard of walnut trees, really going to enjoy trying this recipe out!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 08, 2013:

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't know about pickled walnuts!

Susie05 on November 04, 2013:

I have never heard of pickled walnuts, this is really cool!

anonymous on November 03, 2013:

I've never heard of these. Sounds very interesting.

Lorelei Cohen from Canada on November 02, 2013:

I have never tried a green walnut. They grow in a city near us and around the time they are ripe you do have to be wary where you walk as the crows toss them to the sidewalk to get them to crack lol.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

The Secret to Perfect Omelettes

Are you a beginner in the kitchen, or have you had difficulty in the past making omelettes? You will be happy to learn just how easy making them really is. Once you grasp the technique, which I will share with you below, you'll be ready to make magic in the kitchen.

If you are a more seasoned cook, you probably know already how to make omelettes—but I wonder if you've had any as delicious as the ones I am going to show you?

Equipment

• Small frying pan, preferably non-stick
• Tablespoon and dessert spoon for measuring
• Egg whisk (or a fork)
• Mixing bowl
• Grater
• Turner or fish lift

If you are making an omelette for more than one person, it is possible to make one huge omelette in a large pan, and divide it after it has been cooked. However, I don't advise this method as it is a bit messy, and it doesn't look so appetizing. After all, aesthetics in cooking are important, too, even though it is the taste and texture which matters most.

Cooking Time

Prep Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 6 minutes

Serves: 1 servings

Ingredients

• 2 or 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 dessert spoon olive oil
• 1 or 2 dessert spoons grated cheese

Instructions

1. Gather the necessary equipment: mixing bowl, small frying pan, egg whisk or fork, grater and turner/fish lift. Also, have a plate standing ready to receive the omelette, as there will be split-second timing to ensure the omelette is turned out of the pan before it overcooks.
2. Break the eggs into the bowl, add the water and whisk them. If you like a very light omelette, whisk until slightly frothy, but if you like a slightly heavier omelette, whisk until the egg yolks are only just combined with the egg whites and are still a bit streaky.
3. Grate the cheese.
4. Heat the olive oil in the frying pan, swirling it around to ensure the base is completely covered in oil, until it just starts to smoke.
5. Pour in the eggs and tip or stir the pan so that the egg mixture completely covers the base. Turn down the heat and, using the turner, keep dragging the partly set eggs into the middle, so that the liquid spreads out to the edges.
6. Just as the omelette is starting to solidify, but is still slightly runny, sprinkle the cheese evenly over half of the omelette.
7. Run the turner round the side of the pan briefly, to ensure the omelette is not sticking. Then, whilst it is still slightly loose, fold the half of the omelette which hasn't got cheese in it over the half that has got cheese, and allow it to solidify slightly. If you like a pale omelette, tip it out almost immediately onto a plate, and serve immediately, before it has time to sink down. If you like a darker omelette, just continue cooking until it browns, and then turn it out onto a plate (You can either slide it out with the turner, or flip it over like a pancake.)

Mushroom Omelette

1. Slice four mushrooms, and fry them in a small amount of olive oil or butter. I sometimes add a tomato as well.
2. Start cooking the omelette using the same method as for the cheese omelette, above—but this time, instead of adding grated cheese, add the cooked mushroom (or mushroom and tomato).
3. Or if you fancy cheese and mushroom omelette, add cheese and mushroom as a filling.

Tomato, Onion and Cheese Omelette

Cooking Time

Prep Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 6 minutes

Serves: 1 person

Method

It's so easy, once you've mastered the basics of making a cheese omelette—you do everything the same as before but this time preparing and frying the filling before you start on the omelette because it takes a few minutes longer to cook the onion.

Thus, instead of just using grated cheese as a stuffing for your omelette, this time we will ring the changes.

1. In a small saucepan, fry half a small onion, chopped small, add a clove of garlic, finely chopped, and a tomato, cut into small pieces, adding a pinch of any green herbs that you have, fresh or dried.
2. Use a tablespoon of the mixture for your omelette, spreading it over one side, and sprinkle some grated cheese over it. Then fold the other half of the omelette over, to enclose the mixture.

More Variations

• Add a little garlic and coriander leaves.
• Make a seafood omelette by adding prawns.
• Experiment by adding a tiny amount of dried chilli seeds or fresh chopped chili, but do be careful and only use a small amount, as you don't want the flavour too overpowering, or you won't be able to taste any of the other more delicate ingredients.

More Omelette Recipes

More About Eggs

• Organic vs. Free-Range vs. Cage-Free Eggs
  Which is best: organic, pastured, free-range, cage-free, or battery eggs? A number of factors contribute to the answer: nutrition, contamination risks, animal welfare, and environmental impact.
• 3 Ways to Tell if an Egg is Bad - wikiHow
  How to Tell if an Egg is Bad. Have you ever been in the middle of baking or cooking, only to notice your eggs are past the "sell-by" date? Or maybe your eggs are in a container with no expiration date and you're not sure when you should...
• How to Poach the Perfect Egg (4 Ways)
  In this simple recipe guide, I describe how to poach eggs in an egg poacher and in boiling water. I also look at poaching eggs in the microwave using egg rings.

© 2012 Diana Grant

It's so nice to hear from people all round the world! I love to get feedback. Leave a comment or question here.

Dshibu from Nairobi on September 19, 2019:

yummy omelet.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on June 11, 2019:

That's funny, cheese is the one ingredient I wouldn't leave out of an omelette.

Thelma Alberts from Germany on February 24, 2019:

Yummy! I love omelette but I have not tried putting cheese on it. That is a good idea. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Have a great week.

RUBBANI on September 03, 2018:

tasty

Sandy Ks on December 30, 2017:

I love making omelets. They are so many ways to make one.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 08, 2014:

@paulahite: Thank you so much!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 08, 2014:

@CherylsArt: I'll have to try that - I'm growing more spinach than I could possibly use, so any new ideas are welcome - thanks

CherylsArt on July 08, 2014:

I like using sauteed spinach too.

Paula Hite from Virginia on July 08, 2014:

Nice recipes! I shared it on our G+ page today. Come and check it out!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/10673155513900942970...

Rose Jones on January 03, 2014:

I like to have a few stock recipes that are oldies but goodies and can be made with what is an hand. Chicken soup for example. Here is a great article on another classic: the omelette. Bookmarked.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 30, 2013:

@noner: Follow my instructions and you will find scrambled eggs a thing of the past

noner on December 30, 2013:

At the point that I try to fold my omelette I usually end up with scrambled eggs.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on May 24, 2013:

@SheGetsCreative: I never thought of putting avocado in an omelette - must try it

Angela F from Seattle, WA on May 24, 2013:

Love omelettes - especially ones with cheese and avocado!

anonymous on December 19, 2012:

I love omelettes.

loveanime22 on November 30, 2012:

I love omelette

ohcaroline on November 22, 2012:

I enjoy a good omelet now and then.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 22, 2012:

@Ahdilarum: Glad your son is encouraged to cook, my children were too, but, as a child, I wasn't allowed in the kitchen, as we had a cook, so when I married at 20 I could just about boil an egg, and not much else. That's what gave me the idea to do a whole lot of web pages for beginners about cooking basic food

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 22, 2012:

@anonymous: It's really very simple, and there is a cookery programme on English TV where the chefs compete with each other to make one in less than a minute. But of course, that doesn't include fancy ingredients

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 22, 2012:

@Michey LM: Thanks so much for the blessings

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 22, 2012:

@Joan Haines: Yes, until I was taught the proper way by my Mother-in-Law who ran a restaurant, mine were also very touch-and-go

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 22, 2012:

@Loganor: Except, perhaps, brussels sprouts!

Loganor on November 21, 2012:

Omelets are like the ultimate way to get rid of leftovers - you can put anything in them! LOL

Joan Haines on November 20, 2012:

When I actually make a decent omelette, I am astonished. Now I know the secret, so I'll be expecting nice omelettes from here on out!

Michey LM on November 20, 2012:

It look delicious to me, and I like the way you explain, Blessings!

anonymous on November 20, 2012:

I love a really good omelet and yet have never tried to make my own! I always thought it was too difficult. Having read this great article I can now see that it really isn't that difficult after all.

Susan Deppner from Arkansas USA on November 20, 2012:

I fix omelets frequently - they really are much easier than they look. Love 'em!

Ahdilarum on November 20, 2012:

omelette is simple thing, which even my 10 year old son will prepare and serve

Totus Mundus on November 11, 2012:

Nice omelette ideas, Spanish omelette is a favorite of mine.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on August 22, 2012:

@anonymous: I had one this morning with a tomato,garlic,onion and cheese filling - all my favorite ingredients: Bliss!

anonymous on August 22, 2012:

I am suddenly craving for an omelette.

Arthur Russ from England on August 14, 2012:

Thanks for visiting my eggy lens; I love omelettes especially with chips (which I think is known as Fries in America).

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on August 10, 2012:

@Lady Lorelei: Enjoy!

Lorelei Cohen from Canada on August 10, 2012:

Your omelette recipe not only looks simple to prepare but it also looks delicious.

Tony Payne from Southampton, UK on June 09, 2012:

I love omelettes, especially with cheese, ham, peppers and onions, and Louisiana Hot Sauce too. Nicely done, now I fancy breakfast.

JoshK47 on May 16, 2012:

I've never quite managed to make an omelette correctly. Thanks for sharing! Blessed by a SquidAngel!

Bill Armstrong from Valencia, California on May 14, 2012:

Sadly I failed, back to the drawing board

CameronPoe on May 12, 2012:

"The Secret is to Have the 0il

Smoking-Hot Before You Drop the

Egg Mixture in"

Because I don't do this, my omelette turns into scramble eggs.

getmoreinfo on May 10, 2012:

I like to add fresh vegetables to my omelettes which I try to eat on the weekend so I can pile them high with cheese and sauce. Yummo. Thanks for all the tips.

MarionElodie on May 10, 2012:

This is a great lens! I recently found out about a sweet breakfast omelette and prepare it regularly, but the recipes you shared look great as well. Thanks for sharing!

Clairissa from OREFIELD, PA on May 10, 2012:

Looks yummy! Thanks for the tips. I think I will make one right now. :)

jammarti on May 09, 2012:

Thanks for sharing! I would definitely try this one on weekend. Hope it would taste good. (fingers crossed)

mrsclaus411 on May 08, 2012:

Thanks for sharing your recipes and your secret to great omelettes.

anonymous on May 08, 2012:

My Family loves when I make Omelettes, I used to work for the Hospitality Industry; I watched and observed the Cooks prepare certain Foods! I already love to cook and now I can cook almost like a Profession al! ;)

At least my Family thinks so! :D

thememorybooksh1 on May 07, 2012:

I like cheese Omelet :) thanks for the recipe.

trendydad on May 07, 2012:

looks tasty, nice lens

simonzenger on May 07, 2012:

i like .it's look delicious...

Senditondown from US on May 07, 2012:

I love to eat and cook omelettes. The key is exactly what you say in step #4...dragging the partially set egg to the middle. Have never tried using olive oil. Very nice lens with easy to follow instructions.

Gerald McConway on May 07, 2012:

My secret is to cook off my bacon and then lie the eggs right on top of bacon fat. Yes, it has a few more calories, but man is it goooood!

Deb Kingsbury from Flagstaff, Arizona on May 07, 2012:

I love omelets. I just have to be careful not to undercook them in the middle while overcooking them on the outside.

blessedmomto7 on May 05, 2012:

I love omelets with veggies in them. Congrats on your front page lens!

Heidi Vincent from GRENADA on May 04, 2012:

Great omelette tips! Hope my omelettes improve.

KimGiancaterino on May 04, 2012:

I love omelets -- they're fast and satisfying. Also good for any meal of the day. Your onion, tomato, cheese combination sounds like a winner!

faber80 on May 04, 2012:

excellent tips!

Winter52 LM on May 04, 2012:

Now that looks easy enough... I just might be able to pull this one off without it looking like scrambled eggs. ;)

RachelDillin on May 03, 2012:

Omelets are delicious! Thanks for the tips.

MelonyVaughan on May 03, 2012:

Excellent tips! I'm bookmarking this lens.

alex89 lm on May 02, 2012:

I am a cook so I already know how to make an omelette, but this is a great idea for a lens! Now I'm thinking that might be what I make for dinner :)

Arc4life on May 02, 2012:

I love omelettes, and always have difficulty creating the perfect one. Nice tips !

Fcuk Hub on May 02, 2012:

Your how to make lens is great :)

anonymous on May 02, 2012:

Wow! I love cooking especially in the morning before going to the office. I make sure I have omelettes in the table. This will definitely make my day bright!

cream cheese icing

gemmawild on May 02, 2012:

My omelettes always turn into scrambled eggs, it's that frustrating I've given up. But I will give it another go, armed with your handy tips! Thanks =)

puppyprints on May 01, 2012:

looks delicious!

ElizabethJohnson on May 01, 2012:

Haha I wish I didn't click on this! Now I'm super hungry! ugh :P

writerkath on May 01, 2012:

Hi Diana! That was some helpful and easy-to-follow advice! I am heading over to a few of your other lenses... that Risotto looks good next! :) *Blessed!*

allenwebstarme on May 01, 2012:

Omelette is my favorite breakfast. I will try cheese omelette.

LisaDH on April 30, 2012:

My son makes fun of my pathetic attempts at a decent-looking omelette (although he doesn't complain about the taste!), so I'm going to try your directions and see if I can improve.

Kay on April 30, 2012:

I make the messiest omelets. I'll have to try your method! Great page. Great tips!

getmoreinfo on April 30, 2012:

I love to eat omelets, especially on the weekends, because I can add cheese and bacon and fresh broccoli pieces. Yummo.

Stephanie Tietjen from Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 30, 2012:

I appreciate the tips for additional ingredients as I eat an omelette every morning and it can be dull. I like the seafood omelette idea. These are great instructions and ideas. Thanks!

digitaltree on April 28, 2012:

Nice lens about omelette, i want to make one for breakfest.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

How to Cook Vegetables Properly

When I was newly married and in the first home of my own, I hadn't a clue how to cook anything at all except boiled eggs and toast. My mother-in-law took me under her wing, and, with great patience, taught me how to cook meals suitable for her darling boy. She cooked in our family restaurant, and made things look easy, simple food done with flare.

Mindful of how many people find cooking something of a mystery, I thought it would be helpful to show how to cook simple vegetables, which form the basis of many meals. Once you know the basics, you will have the confidence to move on and maybe try more complicated meals, but this article is for beginners in the world of cookery.

Vegetables In This Article

• Onions
• Potatoes
• Parsnips and Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Swede
• Gem Squash

Onion

Onions are a very useful vegetable for adding flavour to stews and soups, or for roasting with meat.

Peel the onion by stripping off the parchment-like outer leaves with a knife, then if using onion in a stew or soup, or simply as fried onions, cut the onion in half, and chop it into pieces, or slice it. Then put a tablespoonful of cooking oil (I always use olive oil) in a frying pan, and gently fry the onion until it is golden brown—about five minutes, then use it to add to the other stew or soup ingredients.

Fried onion: If using simply as fried onion, for instance with a barbeque, you might like to cook it on a slightly higher heat, so that it gets a bit crispy, but make sure you stir it, or it will stick to the pan and burn.

Roast onion: Keep the peeled onion whole, or if very large, cut it in half. Put it on a baking tray, cover it with about a teaspoonful of cooking oil and a little salt, and cook it in the oven on a medium heat for about 45 minutes to one hour, turning it over once, and basting it with oil. Usually it will be cooked in with roast potatoes and meat, as it imparts flavouring to the cooking oil as it cooks.

Potatoes, Parsnips and Carrots

The simplest method for all three of these root vegetables is to peel them, cut them up, cover them with water, add salt to taste and boil for twenty minutes, drain and serve.

How big should they be cut?

• Potato: about the size of a golf ball
• Parsnips: two or three pieces
• Carrots: several long strips, or large or small slice

More About Potatoes

• Mashed potatoes: After boiling drain off the water, add quarter of a cupful of milk to the potatoes in the pan, heat and add a knob of butter and mash with a fork or masher. If the consistency looks a little dry, add more milk.
• Roast potatoes (or roast parsnips): Peel and cut to the size of a golf ball, boil them in salted water for fifteen minutes, put a tablespoon of cooking oil in a baking tray, then put the potatoes or parsnips in, turning them over so they are coated lightly with oil. Then put on top shelf of oven and regulo 6 for about 30 minutes, until brown. It helps if you turn them over once during cooking but not essential.
• Baked potatoes: Wash and scrub whole large potatoes, and put them in the oven regulo 6 for about 40 minutes. If you don't like the skins too tough, wrap them in silver metal foil for about 30 minutes, and just undo the foil for the last 10 minutes to dry off the steam.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a fairly bland vegetable when cooked; it's better when prepared as cauliflower cheese.

Boiled Cauliflower: Wash, and cut the cauliflower into large florets, cutting off any blemishes. The leaves can be used too, discarding any thick stalks.

1. Boil for 15 minutes, adding a sprinkling of salt to taste.
2. Drain and serve.
3. It is sometimes served with a plain white sauce over it.
4. Do not overcook because cauliflower goes soft, falls to pieces and smells disgusting when cooked too long,

Quick and Easy Cauliflower Cheese

This is a very tasty dish, which can either be served on its own, as a nutritious vegetarian meal, or as a vegetable to accompany meat.

The Cheese Sauce

The ingredients and instructions of how to make the cheese sauce can be found in How to Make Cauliflower Cheese, so I won't re-state it in detail here.

Suffice to say you cook the cauliflower as above, for 10 to 15 minutes, and whilst it is cooking, make a white sauce using cornflour, following the instructions on the box; then stir in some grated cheese to the mixture.

Then pour the white sauce over the drained cauliflower and add a sprinkling of grated cheese on the top, because cheese tastes and looks lovely when it has browned on top.

Put it in the oven at Regulo 6 for about 20 minutes, or until just turning brown.

And have a look at my special French Le Creuset red metal baking dish. I've had it for years, and it is very serviceable and hard-wearing. I love it because, although it's a bit heavy, it's ornamental enough to be taken straight from the oven to the dinner table whilst hot—but I do have to have a heat-proof mat to save it burning the table.

Broccoli

My mother used to pronounce it "berocolli."

Wash the broccoli, cut it into florets, and drop into boiling water. Add salt to taste. Boil for ten minutes if you like it slightly crunchy, and fifteen minutes if you like it a bit soft. Do not overcook, or it will go soft and squashy and fall apart.

Drain and serve.

Broccoli should not be eaten if it has been stored too long and has turned yellow.

Cabbage, Swede and Gem Squash

Cabbage

There are several varieties of cabbage—some with dark leaves and some with lighter leaves, some with solid centres, and some more open.

Pull off as many cabbage leaves as you need, cut away any thick stems, then wash the cabbage leaves, cut or tear them into smaller pieces, and put them in a pan of boiling water, salted to taste. Boil for 15 minutes, making sure the leaves are fully covered with water, so that they don't dry out. Then drain and serve.

Some people like their cabbage cooked very soft and a bit soggy, in which case, just boil for 20 minutes instead of 15. Pale cabbage takes slightly less time to cook than dark cabbage,

Swede

Cut a piece of as much swede as you need, peel it with a potato peeler or sharp knife, and then cut it into small pieces—about 1" to 2" cubes. You need to cut it up small because swede is a very hard vegetable, and would take a long time to cook if not cut. Boil in salted water for 20 minutes, then mash with butter and serve.

Gem Squash or Any Other Kind of Squash

Boil the squash in water for 20 minutes without peeling it, then cut the squash in half, add a dollop of butter, pepper and salt, and serve.

Health experts advise us to eat at least five portions of fruit or vegetables a day. What's your daily intake of vegetables?

Ready for More? Try Cooking With Aubergine

• Easy Stuffed Eggplant or Aubergine
  This is a quick and easy vegetarian recipe, and it tastes delicious, with melted cheese oozing over a blend of vegetables, baked in the oven

Do Leave A Comment - A Little Food For Thought

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 15, 2013:

@Erin Mellor: I didn't know you could eat raw broccoli, although I like raw carrot.

I think I'd feel a bit cheated if I was given raw vegetables with my roast dinner, it sort of calls for roast or hot vegetables and gravy.....imagine gravy on raw vegetables!

Erin Mellor from Europe on December 15, 2013:

My secret tip is to serve broccoli and carrot raw and claim it's for the health benefits, rather than my idleness.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on May 02, 2013:

@KimGiancaterino: I thought hubble bubble was another name for a Hookah, used in Turkey and other countries for smoking. I have just looked it up and it is also a variation of bubble and squeak, but with the addition of things like baked beans and tomato sauce.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on May 02, 2013:

@MaggiePowell: Yes, that's nice. I haven't got a barbeque, but eat grilled vegetables at other people's barbeques. I chuck loads of vegetables into everything, like curried chicken and stew.

MaggiePowell on May 01, 2013:

In the summertime I love throwing veggies like squash or peppers on the bar b que grill. YUM.

KimGiancaterino on May 01, 2013:

We were watching an old Miss Marple movie, and there was a reference to hubble bubble. This is the first I've heard of bubble and squeak, but I guessed correctly on your quiz. If you have a good hubble bubble recipe, please share. We have several Le Creuset baking dishes in all four colors. They look brand new even after years of use.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on May 01, 2013:

@Frischy: I've never heard of a distinction between summer and winter squash. So much food in the UK is imported because it is not seasonal in England that it's always summer somewhere! Just try it and see!

Frischy from Kentucky, USA on May 01, 2013:

Is your technique for cooking squash for summer or winter squash. I have such trouble cutting up winter squash. I would love to have a simpler way. If this works for winter squash, I am definitely trying it!

Monika Weise from Indianapolis, IN USA on May 01, 2013:

Thanks for all the great suggestions on cooking vegetables!

Ann from Yorkshire, England on May 01, 2013:

Great lens for beginners. Most people tend to overcook veggies. I steam all my vegetable - less likely to overcook them that way and they keep more of their nutrition.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on May 01, 2013:

@Pinasheart: Good - we all have to learn to abandon junk food and embrace vegetables (have you ever embraced a cabbage???)

Pinasheart on April 30, 2013:

I learned some new stuff from this! thanks! im always looking for new veggie recipes.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 04, 2012:

@marsha32: Just cut into fairly small pieces and then boil them for twenty minutes. Personally I am not keen on turnips on their own, but they are lovely in a stew

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 04, 2012:

@AmandaTWaH: That's great - good luck

AmandaTWaH on December 04, 2012:

I'm definitely not new to the kitchen. I've been cooking for the family since I'm a teen but this year my fiance's grandma asked me to cook Christmas dinner and I want everything to be perfect. This helps a lot!

AmandaTWaH on December 04, 2012:

I'm definitely not new to the kitchen. I've been cooking for the family since I'm a teen but this year my fiance's grandma asked me to cook Christmas dinner and I want everything to be perfect. This helps a lot!

marsha32 on December 03, 2012:

Do you have any advice for turnips? A man at church keeps giving them to us. So far my daughter just eats them raw.

anonymous on August 22, 2012:

Thanks for sharing the great tips on how to properly cook vegetables.

mrsclaus411 on May 08, 2012:

Great lens.

NeverTooLate2012 on February 21, 2012:

Wonderful lens! Some things I knew, some are new.

Prudent-Man on February 18, 2012:

I have decided to cut back on the meat and cheese food groups and eat more fruit and veggies. This lens gave some variety to add to the menu.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

A Fresh, Healthy and Fast Tomato Sauce Recipe

This is the best tomato sauce for flavour and nutrition. When you make homemade tomato sauce, you can control what goes into it, so you'll know that it's all natural and can make sure you don't add too much salt or fat.

When you learn the secret of how to make this basic recipe, you can begin playing with variations using lemon juice, garlic, spices, herbs, or chili. If you prefer a milder flavour, you can also change the recipe to make a more bland tomato sauce.

There are many recipes for tomato sauce, but this one is beginner's level. It's so easy that you could ask your children to make it while you concentrate on the more difficult food.

Good for Pasta, Mincemeat, Taco Shells and More

This tasty sauce is the perfect accompaniment to meatballs, beef burgers, chicken, or pasta: The lemon juice gives it a fuller flavour, and the tiny amount of sugar reduces the tartness. My family loves it.

Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

Supplies

• Small- or medium-sized saucepan
• Wooden or Teflon spoon for stirring
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife

Ingredients

• Half an onion
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, or 1 pound chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• Half teaspoon of sugar
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil or butter
• 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

Instructions

1. Chop up half an onion into small pieces and fry it in a small saucepan with a teaspoon of oil or butter until golden brown.
2. If you are using tinned tomatoes, add the tin of chopped tomatoes including the juice to the saucepan. Alternatively, add one pound of fresh chopped tomatoes and one tablespoon of water.
3. Add a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a teaspoon of mixed herbs, a sprinkle of salt, and half a teaspoonful of sugar. Optional: Add a crushed clove of garlic and a clove.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer for two or three minutes (for tinned tomatoes) or, if using fresh tomatoes, until the tomatoes are tender (about five minutes).

Tomato Sauce Mixed With Minced Meat

Recipe Variations

You can vary this sauce by adding:

• Oregano, marjoram, coriander leaves, and/or mint, and also by adding a tiny amount of fresh or bottled chili.
• Pinches of powdered coriander and cumin for a more Middle Eastern flavour.

But beware, these herbs and spices have strong flavours that can be quite overpowering, so don't swamp the sauce with them. It is better to add a pinch at a time, stirring and tasting after each one, to make sure the flavours enhance without drowning the taste.

Share Your Feedback Below

It's so nice to hear from people all round the world. I love to get feedback (no pun intended).

Rate This Tomato Sauce Recipe

Comments

Martha DeMeo from Little River, South Carolina on June 20, 2020:

Great recipe and so easy.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on June 11, 2019:

Yes, it's certainly worth a try - tomatoes are particularly nutritious.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on June 11, 2019:

Bon appetit!

Cynthia Sylvestermouse from United States on May 19, 2019:

I would love to start making my own tomato sauce! Thank you for the recipe and the suggestion.

Rose Jones on May 18, 2019:

Sounds delicious! And so healthy.

Thelma Alberts from Germany on January 29, 2018:

Just the way I make my own homemade tomato sauce. Mostly, I add dried pizza spices as all the Italian spices are together. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

Lisa on July 16, 2017:

Not sure about the lemon and as my husband is diabetic could just leave out the sugar and include other spices?

Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on July 30, 2015:

The recipe looks easy enough, and like you mentioned, we'll know what we are eating. Thanks.

Gloria Faye Brown Bates on July 28, 2015:

I never thought about making my own tomato soup! I do, however, make a good homemade vegetable beef soup. I am happy to read this!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on November 10, 2014:

I've got some stored in my freezer ready for instant access when needed

Wendy Henderson from PA on November 07, 2014:

This looks yummy! Thanks for sharing.

Margaret Schindel from Massachusetts on November 06, 2014:

Diana, this sounds like an easy to make, tasty tomato sauce that would be a great staple to have on hand. I'm sure it tasted better than canned sauce and I like having control over the ingredients. For example, I'd use organic tomatoes. Thanks for sharing!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on August 02, 2013:

@jptanabe: : Thank you for your message which will be dealt with as soon as possible.

This is an automated reply.

Jennifer P Tanabe from Red Hook, NY on August 02, 2013:

Nice! I usually add to the cans of tomatoes to make tomato sauce. I really should try making it with fresh tomatoes.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 30, 2013:

@SheGetsCreative: : Thank you for your message which will be dealt with as soon as possible.

This is an automated reply.

Angela F from Seattle, WA on July 30, 2013:

Sounds like a great basic recipe to have on hand.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 30, 2013:

@Raymond Eagar: : Thank you for your message which will be dealt with as soon as possible.

This is an automated reply.

Raymond Eagar on July 30, 2013:

I love tomato in all my dishes .

MikeRobbers LM on March 17, 2013:

this tomato sauce looks delicious! thanks for the recipe

ismeedee on March 15, 2013:

A lovely rich tomato sauce base recipe!! I like to add loads of veggies to it!

Joan Haines on September 02, 2012:

You're right that a good blender helps. It does a lot, and not just for tomato sauce. Also for refreshing smoothies, other sauces, etc., etc.

tyler70 on August 10, 2011:

Love the lens. Never made homemade sauce before, but here's a good time to give it a try! I like your recipe and I'll be sure to use it in my next pasta dish(:

anonymous on August 09, 2011:

Lovely sauce recipe, sounds a lot like my own.

poppy mercer from London on January 19, 2011:

I'll try this when my tomato glut comes this summer

Mona from Iowa on January 19, 2011:

Once you make your own tomato sauce I can't imagine anyone ever going back to a can. This lens makes it look easy which hopefully will get more folks to try it. :)

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Cauliflower Cheese: Easy Vegetarian Recipe Taking Just 10 Minutes to Prepare

Cauliflower cheese is a traditional English dish that is both delicious and nourishing. I love this dish—it's so simple to make that even a beginner would find it easy.

It is nutritious, looks good and tastes delicious—comfort food at its finest. It can be used as a great vegetarian main course or as an accompaniment to other food.

In order to prevent it from becoming a bit mushy and strong-smelling while cooking, the secret is to only parcook, or partially cook, the cauliflower before pouring the sauce over it, because it will carry on cooking in the oven.

Equipment Needed

Assemble your equipment before starting:

• Large oven-proof dish
• Large saucepan
• Small saucepan, preferably non-stick
• Tablespoon for measuring
• Wooden spoon for mixing
• Cheese grater

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 ounce butter
• 3/4 pint milk
• 1teaspoon mixed Herbs
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Optional additions:

• Pinch crushed chilli seeds or paprika
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 red pepper

Instructions

1. Wash the cauliflower and cut it up into florets. You can also use the leaves, cut small.
2. Cover the cauliflower with water, and boil for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 7 (250).
4. Then remove the partly cooked cauliflower from the water and put it in an oven-proof dish, retaining the water for later use.
5. Meanwhile, whilst the cauliflower is boiling, melt the butter in a saucepan, preferably non-stick, over low heat.
6. Add the flour, a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon, to make a roux (a thick paste). Keep stirring the mixture and pressing it against the side of the pan, to prevent lumps forming. Once you have made the roux, gradually add the milk, a very little at a time, stirring constantly to make a smooth paste, and squashing out the lumps. Keep stirring until you have added all the milk and it gradually thickens. If you are short of milk, you can use some of the water in which the cauliflower was boiled.
7. Add most of the grated cheese, holding back about 1 tablespoonful, which will be used to sprinkle over the top in due course.
8. Continue stirring, being careful to scrape the mixture from the bottom of the pan, as it will have a tendency to stick to the base and sides. When it comes to the boil, it should have the consistency of thick but not solid custard. If it is too thick, add a little of the vegetable water until it is slightly runny, but not sloppy. Whilst you are stirring, add herbs, salt and pepper to taste. If you like a slight tang, add a few chilli seeds or paprika (see photo). Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as it has boiled.
9. Mix any further optional vegetables (chopped onion, chopped garlic, and/or chopped red pepper) in with the cauliflower and then pour the sauce over it, covering all the cauliflower. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the top.
10. Place the oven-proof dish in the oven for about 20 minutes on the top shelf, until it is lightly browned.
11. Then serve.
12. You can choose whether you want the top to be pale brown as in the photo below, or darker brown like the one in the introductory photograph.

Photo Guide

Variations and Additional Vegetables

The traditional dish is simply cauliflower cheese, but I frequently add leeks, and occasionally I add sliced lightly fried onion, courgette, kale, and/or broccoli—just whatever I have available or that needs to be used up.

Doctors Say We Should Eat at Least Five Pieces of Fruit or Vegetable a Day

Video: Cheese Sauce

© 2010 Diana Grant

Do Leave a Comment! I Love to Get Feedback (No Pun Intended)

Martha DeMeo from Little River, South Carolina on June 20, 2020:

I love cauliflower and cheese and have made a dish similar to this, even with broccoli. Thanks for sharing a delicious recipe.

DreamerMeg from Northern Ireland on January 26, 2020:

I like cauliflower cheese. I like cauliflower with macaroni cheese too, in fact, probably anything with cheese sauce or even just cheese! I like to add a teaspoon of mustard powder to my cheese sauce to give more of a bite. I might try some chilli flakes in the next one though, I haven't tried that, not have I tried adding extra vegetables, like broccoli and leeks. That would be a nice change. Thanks.

Rebecca Mealey from Northeastern Georgia, USA on January 26, 2020:

Oh, good. I'm always looking for vegetarian recipes, and this is a keeper. Would I cook in on say 350 degrees F in my electric oven?

Merry Citarella from Oregon's Southern Coast on February 23, 2014:

This looks great, and I just happen to have a cauliflower in the fridge! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on February 23, 2014:

@RPWag: If you are not used to cooking much, you need to look out for "quick and easy recipes" - I've even done pages on how to cook vegetables - I hadn't a clue how to cook anything whatsoever when I left home, apart from toast, so I like to explain the basics to people who haven't got a helpful mother-in-law like I had.

RPWag on February 23, 2014:

I really do love quite a few vegetables, but hardly ever eat them. Easy recepies may be the answer. Thank you

David Stone from New York City on February 20, 2014:

Nice simple recipe with foods I really like. Nice to learn about it.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on February 20, 2014:

@BritFlorida: That's great, thank you so much

CherylsArt on February 20, 2014:

It looks and sounds good. : )

Jackie Jackson from Fort Lauderdale on February 20, 2014:

Just to let you know that I added this to the British recipes page at https://hubpages.com/food/british-recipes - if you have more,let me know :)

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 29, 2013:

@Lorelei Cohen: Or you could even have both

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 29, 2013:

@Raymond Eagar: Me too

anitabreeze on July 28, 2013:

This looks great, will try it out for sure!

Lorelei Cohen on July 28, 2013:

Looks delicious. I would substitute the red pepper with broccoli. Oooooh so good.

Raymond Eagar on July 28, 2013:

I love cauliflower

Avi Wolfson from Massachusetts on June 23, 2013:

Great recipe, I use the Orgreenic frying pan, it works great!

Nancy Tate Hellams from Pendleton, SC on January 21, 2013:

I will sure have to try your Cauliflower Cheese Recipe. I love cauliflower but forget about purchasing it and cooking it. Thanks for the heads up on a great sounding recipe.

Frischy from Kentucky, USA on January 18, 2013:

This sounds delicious and might be a way to get my cheese-loving daughter to eat cauliflower! I'm going to give it a try!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 18, 2013:

@BarbaraCasey: Delighted and bon appetit!

BarbaraCasey on January 18, 2013:

Printed and in the recipe binder!

mrsclaus411 on May 08, 2012:

Looks delicious.

poutine on April 26, 2012:

Must try it soon. sounds so delicious.

anonymous on April 26, 2012:

Oh, this cauliflower cheese is now on my must try list of recipes. It sounds wonderful! My Aunt used to fix something similar only she used cabbage and it was always so good.

bjslapidary on April 12, 2011:

What a great recipe. Can't wait to try it. Again you have the best lens. Great work.

LikinTrikin LM on February 26, 2011:

Oh that looks soooo YUMMY....my husband is the cook in the family can't wait to share this with him.

myraggededge on February 19, 2011:

I lurve cauliflower cheese. We have it at least once a week, often with added leeks (being in Wales, see?). Blessed :-)

anonymous on February 19, 2011:

Nice lens

knit1tat2 on February 19, 2011:

excellent sounding recipie, and thanks for sharing it with us! Next cauliflower I get, will go into this!

mockingbird999 on February 18, 2011:

Cauliflower and cheese is one of my favorites. I haven't had it in ages. Now I'm hungry for it.

Sniff It Out on February 03, 2011:

I love cauliflower cheese, I agree about not overcooking the cauliflower, its not nearly as nice if it goes mushy.

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

Turn Leftovers Into a Delicious Meal

This is one of my many ways of using up chicken or turkey.

I was brought up to hate wasting food, and because of this, my children used to laugh at my parsimonious habits and call me "War Baby." Well, the last laugh is on them, because now we are all living through hard times in a recession, and everyone needs to economise and avoid food waste.

From Kitchen to Table in 15 Minutes

Picture the scene: You've had your lovely roast turkey or chicken and numerous vegetables for your Sunday dinner, and now there are odd scraps of leftover meat adhering to the carcass, and half a bowl of vegetables all waiting to be used up.

So now it's a weekday, and you've been busy all day and just want to do something tasty and quick. Well, delicious chicken or turkey patties should fit the bill, and if you assemble all the things you'll need before you start, you'll be sitting at the table eating in 15 minutes.

Cook Time

As you can see from the list of ingredients below, precise ingredients and quantities are not critical and you can vary them according to taste and what you have available—the aim is simply to have enough bulk to feed however many mouths need feeding. And every time you make patties, they will vary slightly in taste.

Ingredients

• Handful of cooked chicken or turkey
• Cooked potato (at least 2 small potatoes per person)
• Onion, cooked or raw
• Greens; e.g., cabbage, kale, spring greens, spinach or Brussels sprouts
• Any cooked root vegetables; e.g., parsnip, swede, turnip (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic (optional)
• Olive oil (or any other cooking oil, but olive oil is better for you)
• Absolutely any combination of herbs and spices that you like, to flavour the patties without overpowering them; e.g. ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, chili powder, coriander, cumin, caraway, paprika, turmeric, mixed spice, curry powder, mixed herbs, coriander, tarragon, sage, parsley, thyme, oregano . . . what have I missed?

Instructions

1. Beat the egg, then blend all the ingredients including seasoning in a blender—just do short bursts so that it is still lumpy and not a complete mush. (If you are not using a blender, mash what is mashable and chop up the rest.)
2. Sprinkle a little flour on a board and on your hands. Scoop out about a tablespoon full of mixture and form it into a round flat patty on the board (note: size doesn't matter). Make further patties.
3. You can even make just one huge omelette-sized patty, as long as it is coated with flour, but it may be more difficult to turn over. Note: the egg binds the patties (i.e., stops them from falling apart), and the flour stops them being too wet when fried.
4. Heat the oil in the pan to medium heat, then add the patties, shaking or prodding them in the pan now and then to ensure they don't stick to the bottom. After 2 minutes, check to see how they are cooking and whether they are browning. Turn them after about 2 or 3 minutes, using a spatula or fish lift. Then cook the other side. They should end up being lightly golden brown on both sides.

Garnish Options

• I like my turkey or chicken patty with tomato sauce or brown sauce; you might like it too.
• Green peas go well with it as a side dish.
• You could put a sprig of whatever herb you have handy on the top—parsley or coriander would make it look a bit fancier, and they taste good too.
• As a chilli lover, I might even add a sprinkling of chilli prawn paste or sweet chilli sauce.

Another Way to Use Up Leftover Poultry

• 8 Quick and Easy Recipes to Use Up Leftover Turkey and Chicken
  Turn even the smallest amount of chicken or turkey leftovers into a tasty meal! You can give them new life by using them in paella, risotto, pilaff, stir fry, soup, sandwiches, and more!

Chicken Patty Recipe

© 2010 Diana Grant

Do leave a comment here. I love hearing from you all!

BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on November 28, 2019:

Thanks for the idea...it seems simple enough

Merry Citarella from Oregon's Southern Coast on April 07, 2014:

Looks like a great recipe! I'll try it!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on June 05, 2013:

@Gypzeerose: Wow, that's great. I wish I could post you one as a treat. Instead of that, I'll just have to eat it myself and think of you!

Rose Jones on June 05, 2013:

This is a great recipe - definitely something i will try as opposed to just thinking about. I do something similar to this with salmon, but I would love the chicken option. Like Kim I would love to have some chicken patties but am turned off by the chemicals. I have pinned this onto my Thrifty Living as well as Chicken board and out with g+. and digg. Everyone needs some standard recipes that are healthy that and easy and this is one that we can fall back on.

KimGiancaterino on May 01, 2013:

My husband will like this recipe. We've stopped buying prepared patties because they're often loaded with garbage like soy protein isolate and corn syrup. I bought him a patty maker too.

poutine on October 10, 2012:

Those chicken pattys sound pretty yummy to me.

BestRatedStuff on October 09, 2012:

this is so useful, we eat a lot of chicken, and this looks like a tasty way to use the leftovers.

EbizTaxTips LM on October 09, 2012:

I don't remember ever having chicken patties before but I love salmon patties so will have to give this a try! Thanks for sharing your recipe.

techmom on October 08, 2012:

Looks delish! I'll have to try next time I have leftover chicken.

Bill Armstrong from Valencia, California on October 08, 2012:

I use chicken all the time and this will come in handy, thanks for sharing

anonymous on August 22, 2012:

Sounds easy to prepare which is perfect for a mom like me.

mrsclaus411 on May 08, 2012:

You really do have lots of delicious recipes. Thank you for sharing.

anonymous on February 24, 2011:

I love chicken patties, and this looks like a great recipe. Thank you for sharing.

desilegend on October 20, 2010:

Looks absolutely delicious!

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

This Recipe Will Give You a Taste of Spain

I learned to make this quick and easy paella because my mother lived on the Spanish Costa del Sol in Málaga for 25 years, where we experienced the delights of Spanish food.

Every Sunday we would have paella at a different beach cafe—it is the traditional Sunday lunch for many Spanish families, equivalent to a Sunday roast in England. Sometimes we could sit at the bar of a beach cafe and watch the cook at work as he was throwing ingredients into the huge paella pan. We'd listen to its sizzling, savouring the spicy aroma wafting our way. The sand would shimmer in the heat, the waves would lap up the beach, and we'd each have a glass of sangria in hand.

Equipment

If you don't have all of the equipment listed, just use whatever you have available.

• 1 or 2 large, deep, flat-bottomed pans, or a paella dish (even a large wok would do)
• 1 large mixing spoon
• A cutting board
• A serrated kitchen knife for cutting vegetables
• A sharp kitchen knife for cutting meat or seafood

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 large onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 inch of fresh ginger
• 2 peppers, large
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 500 to 750 grams raw chicken, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cube chicken stock
• 250 grams shelled prawns, frozen
• 500 grams Paella or Arborio rice
• 250 grams frozen peas
• Lemons
• 1 teaspoon saffron
• 2 medium or large tomatoes
• A sprinkling of chili powder
• A sprinkling of paprika
• 1 to 2 mussels per person (optional)
• 1 to 2 prawns per person (optional)
• 2 sprigs of coriander

Cook Time

Instructions

1. Fry onions slowly in a generous amount of olive oil until translucent golden brown.
2. Add the chicken, chili and garlic and cook until lightly browned. To save time, cook in a second pan while the onion is browning.
3. Whilst the chicken and onion are cooking, de-seed and chop the peppers into large chunks. Add to either pan together with the cloves, ginger, saffron and paprika, along with any other optional flavourings, and continue frying gently and stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add another generous tablespoon of olive oil and pour in the rice, stirring and frying it for 2 to 3 minutes until all the rice grains have been lightly coated with oil and are slightly translucent.
5. Combine the rice with all the other ingredients into a single pan and add the chicken cubes and about 1 pint of boiling water. Stir until the cubes are dissolved.
6. Cover and let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the peas and small prawns, stirring them in evenly.
7. Slice the tomatoes and arrange the slices in a circle on top of the rice.
8. If you wish, decorate the paella with the large prawns, mussels and coriander. Slice the lemons into quarters and add these to the top, squeezing some juice over the rice. Put the lid back on and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. If the rice looks dry, add a little more water so that the cooked rice is a little sticky—neither floating in water nor dried out.
9. Serve when the rice is cooked and soft. Traditionally, paella is served at the table straight from the paella pan.

Caution!

If you bring the paella pan to the dining table, remember to first put something on the table to protect it from the boiling hot metal pan.

Substitutions for Your Paella Recipe

Remember, you can make a meat paella, a seafood paella or a mixed paella, so choose your ingredients according to what you have available or can easily buy. If you don't have all the ingredients listed above, here are some substitutions you can make:

• Instead of garlic cloves, you can use 1 to 2 teaspoons of powdered garlic.
• Replace fresh ginger with 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger.
• If your chicken is already cooked, add an additional chicken stock cube.
• A fish or prawn stock cube can take the place of the chicken stock cube.
• Short or long-grain rice works instead of Paella or Arborio rice.
• If you haven't got lemons, use a good squirt of bottled lemon juice.
• Saffron is expensive—if you don't have it on hand, you can use turmeric instead, which gives off a better color (but not a better flavour).

It's quicker to use two pans so that you can cook things simultaneously, thus cutting off a few minutes of cooking time. It also gives the food more room to fry at the bottom of the pan.

Don't Be Put Off by the Long List of Ingredients

You probably already have most of the ingredients.

Paella is a traditional Spanish rice dish, normally made with whatever meat or fish and vegetables you have to hand. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients—you probably have most of these things in your cupboard, and if you leave something out or substitute it, you can still enjoy your paella and feel proud of your imaginative variation.

The thing about paella is that it is a traditional rice dish that varies from province to province, using whatever local ingredients are on hand. Sometimes, in the Spanish interior, it is made with just meat, such as chicken or rabbit. On the coast, it is sometimes made with a mixture of seafood such as prawns, mussels, squid, octopus and/or fish. It can also be made with a mixture of meat and seafood—and you can try adding different vegetables, too.

Keep in mind that this is not "haute cuisine"—it's an easy, rough-and-ready, seat-of-your-pants style of cookery. You can do it. Have faith in yourself! Just experiment until you get it right. With the ingredients above, it will still taste good, even if it doesn't look right. Rome wasn't built in a day!

Did You Enjoy This Paella Meal?

chi kung on May 03, 2013:

I like this recipe and it looks delicious. I haven't eaten anything Spanish yet so I guess it1s high time to taste one :)

norma-holt on January 23, 2011:

Great recipe lens and featured on Holiday Cooking

hayleylou lm on January 18, 2011:

**Blessed** and featured on My Time as a Squid Angel :)

Sniff It Out on October 14, 2010:

I love paella but have never made it myself... perhaps its time to give it a go :)

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

This Risotto Is Easy Enough for Beginners!

I will show you here how to make this cheap and healthy meal which is really tasty. Risotto, which means "rice, in Italian, is a traditional Italian dish, and you will learn here a method for cooking rice the Italian way. Traditionally, porcini mushrooms are used for this recipe, as they have a strong flavour. You can buy dried porcini in packets if you can't find the fresh mushrooms, or you can substitute other mushrooms. The other main ingredient is goats milk cheese, which also has a very pungent flavour. If it is too strong for you, just use a substitute.

Believe it or not, I had never tasted risotto until very recently, when my daughter tried out a mushroom risotto recipe whilst I was in her kitchen. I thought it would be bland and that I wouldn't like it, but how wrong I was—it was surprisingly delicious.

Once I know roughly how something will taste, I improvise with my own recipe, and find that near-approximations work quite well. That's what makes this mushroom risotto recipe so easy.

Porcini mushrooms and goats milk cheese may seem expensive, but because they are strongly flavoured, you don't need a lot, so this is in fact quite an inexpensive meal, as well as being nutritious.

Rate This Recipe

Cook Time

Ingredients

Note: Quantities for this risotto are not vital—just use what you have.

• 4 cups risotto rice (the most suitable alternative would be paella rice, but otherwise you could use any rice you have available, but it works best with a rice which gives a sticky subsistency)
• 2 ozs dried porcini mushrooms (but any other mushrooms, dried or fresh, would do instead of or in addition to porcini mushrooms, which taste quite strong; even a tin of condensed mushroom soup would work)
• 1/2 onion, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 big blob of butter (1/4 oz.)
• 2 teaspoons fresh coriander leaves (or other herbs if preferred)
• 1 oz. goats milk cheese
• 1 oz Greek-style yogurt or cream
• 1 clove
• A sprinkle of nutmeg or mace
• 1 chicken or vegetable boullion cube
• 8 cups water (or 2 cups for each 1 cup of rice)

Instructions

1. Fry the onion in the olive oil till golden brown.
2. Add the garlic.
3. Add the butter and melt it.
4. Add the rice and gently fry and stir it till all the rice grains are coated with butter and oil.
5. Add the boiling water.
6. Add the mushrooms, chicken or vegetable boullion, spices, and any herbs except the coriander—you can vary these according to your taste.
7. Gently simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until very soft. If it looks as though the rice has absorbed all the water, add a little more, so that ultimately the texture is a slightly wet, sticky, glutinous mass. It should not be dry like usual boiled rice.
8. Add the goats milk cheese, and either yogurt (healthy) or cream (richer and naughtier) and stir until the cheese has melted.
9. Just before you serve the mushroom risotto, add the chopped coriander (coriander is best when not cooked a lot).
10. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese (optional).

Note: You probably won't need salt, as the boullion is salty. Use salt sparingly, if at all.

You Can Buy Dried Mushrooms Online

It's very useful to keep a packet or bottle of dried mushrooms in your store cupboard, so that you can make your mushroom risotto whenever you have a little left-over rice. It means you don't have to worry about keeping a store of fresh mushrooms, which go off quickly, when you decide on the spur of the moment to cook your mushroom risotto.

If you want a bit of luxury, try dried Italian porcini mushroomsfrom Amazon. They have a good strong flavour, so you don't need to use a lot, and you can keep some back for later use.

What Is Your Cooking Style?

Do you believe recipes should be followed to the letter? Are you a nervous cook or a creative maestro? Let's see how precious you are about following recipes slavishly! Take the poll below and see how you compare with everyone else. You might be pleasantly surprised.

A Popular YouTube Video About Italian Risotto: Fantastico!

How Did You Get On?

Did you think this recipe was quick and easy, and was it tasty? Would you eat it again?

Please Share Your Comments Below.

Sandro on October 26, 2014:

Amazing

Diane Cass from New York on October 09, 2014:

I love mushrooms, and I love rice. This sounds easy. The vegetarian in our house will love it too.

Elsie Hagley from New Zealand on October 09, 2014:

Thanks for the reminder. Have just about forgotten about a meal like this. Before my children left home I was always cooking a meal like this.

Susan Zutautas from Ontario, Canada on October 09, 2014:

YUM!!!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on October 08, 2014:

Yes, I eat it sometimes when I'm not in the mood for meat

Maurice Glaude from Mobile on October 07, 2014:

Sounds good since I no longer eat meat!

Barbara Tremblay Cipak from Toronto, Canada on February 17, 2014:

It looks and sounds fabulous, I really need to cook a decent meal today!

Susan Zutautas from Ontario, Canada on February 17, 2014:

Sounds delicious and a recipe I'll be trying soon.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on February 17, 2014:

@goldenrulecomics: Me too - I even like them raw

goldenrulecomics from New Jersey on February 16, 2014:

I love mushrooms

Tom Christen from Switzerland/Ecuador on September 01, 2013:

That sounds and looks so yummy :) Gonna make that soon... Thank you for sharing!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 30, 2013:

@Michey LM: I never thought of it as an accompaniment to a meat dish, but why not? Everything is worth a try.

Michey LM on January 29, 2013:

I'll try this one and serve with roast pork.

ismeedee on January 29, 2013:

Love mushroom risotto. Must try this recipe!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 29, 2013:

@Scraps2treasures: Thanks for the blessing.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on January 29, 2013:

@anonymous: Thanks, I must confess it took me by surprise!

anonymous on January 29, 2013:

Congratulations on your purple star, well deserved.

Scraps2treasures on January 29, 2013:

I have never made risotto but I might have to try your recipe. It looks really good. Congrats on the Purple Star, by the way! Blessed.

Susan Deppner from Arkansas USA on January 29, 2013:

Mmmm! Congratulations on the purple star for this yummy recipe lens!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 17, 2012:

@kevkev227 lm: Having only recently discovered that I like risotto (after years and years of thinking it would be dry and uninteresting), I have been experimenting with various ingredients - that's what is so good about trying a recipe - you can then make your own variations according to family taste.

kevkev227 lm on July 17, 2012:

I love risotto...my wife makes it with mushrooms, butternut squash and parmesan :)

Bobski606 on May 20, 2012:

Sounds yummy!

Vikki w on May 03, 2012:

Mushrooms = nice to eat and good for health

writerkath on May 01, 2012:

Diana! You are my kind of cook. I love the "Big blob of butter" instruction! I do the same thing! :)

KimGiancaterino on April 07, 2012:

Mushroom risotto is one of my all-time favorites and my husband loves to make it. Of course, he makes it different every time, but it's always a crowd pleaser.

anonymous on July 17, 2011:

Mmmmm! This sounds wonderful--I love risotto, and I love mushrooms. I always thought risotto was too daunting for me to try, but this doesn't seem so difficult. Fabulous lens!

greetingcardsinfo on June 30, 2011:

Gosh this sounds really nice I will have to try this and let you know what it taste like.

WindyWintersHubs from Vancouver Island, BC on February 22, 2011:

I haven't cooked with goat's cheese either but I love rice and mushrooms. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

Moe Wood from Eastern Ontario on February 13, 2011:

This sounds yummy. I love rice and mushrooms together. They make such a good combination. I've never cooked with goat cheese before.

JoyfulPamela2 from Pennsylvania, USA on February 06, 2011:

This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe! : )

Dianne Loomos on February 03, 2011:

I've never tried Risotta of any kind but this one looks really yummy! I think I'll try it! Thank you for featuring Depression Era Cooking and Recipes.

rlivermore on February 01, 2011:

This sounds delicious! I look forward to trying it.

Blackspaniel1 on January 31, 2011:

Looks like an interesting dish.

Achim Thiemermann from Austin, Texas on January 31, 2011:

Mushroom risotto is one of my favorite dishes. You offer a quite interesting variation with goat cheese and yogurt...I should try this! :)

tandemonimom lm on January 31, 2011:

This looks amazingly good!

anonymous on January 31, 2011:

I love mushroom risotto, I will try your recipe, it looks yummy

jgall34 lm on December 13, 2010:

I love risotto, this recipe looks delicious.

MargoPArrowsmith on November 11, 2010:

Risotto with mushrooms! Yum!

James Jordan from Burbank, CA on November 09, 2010:

DROOOOOL!

Sniff It Out on October 22, 2010:

Love mushroom risotto, I have never tried using goats cheese in it before so maybe I should try that :) If I use the dried porcini mushrooms I soak them first by pouring boiling water on them and then use the liquid that the mushrooms have been soaking in, it gives a lovely, deep flavour.

hayleylou lm on October 09, 2010:

Sounds delicous - I have lensrolled this to all my recipe lenses :)

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on September 16, 2010:

@myraggededge: Thank you so much for the blessing. Hope you have now tried the recipe!

callinsky lm on June 24, 2010:

I am a mushroom FREAK. Give me fungus I scream! I cannot wait to try it, and I definitely well. It sounds absolutely yummy. (O;

myraggededge on June 24, 2010:

Sounds delicious, Diana. Might have to give it a go. Blessed by a Squid angel :-)

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

A Simple Recipe for a Traditional Jewish Favorite

Chopped liver is, in effect, a chicken liver pate. The whole preparation and cooking process from start to finish only takes 15 minutes.

I would particularly recommend this recipe for beginner cooks, as there are so few ingredients and not much can go wrong, except perhaps making the texture too smooth by over-blending. The version I know and love has a slightly lumpy texture.

Chopped liver is not only versatile but also slimming—it's great for snacks, starters, a complete meal or a packed lunch!

A Perfect Anytime Snack

We always used to look forward to having this whenever my family travelled from London to visit my mother in Spain—if we arrived in Spain on the night plane, we could always be sure that she would have a plate of chopped liver waiting for us, whatever time we arrived.

It was a great convenience food, as she could make it earlier in the day and then, as it is eaten cold, she could produce it at whatever time of night we turned up, knowing that we would love it, and were looking forward to our favorite snack, spread on whatever she had to hand, be it bread, biscuits, or Ryvita (although traditionally eaten with matzos, which is unleavened bread, matzos would not be readily available in small Spanish food markets).

Cook Time

Equipment Needed

• Large pan for frying
• Tablespoon for mixing and measuring
• Blender or mincer
• Small egg saucepan

Note: Don't Worry if You Haven't Got Suitable Equipment

In the olden days before blenders and mincers were available, people would simply mash the ingredients, because the final product is supposed to be a bit lumpy and not a smooth paste.

However, life is much easier if you do have a blender or food processor—I use my Magimix almost every day. It does so many things: it can grate, slice things thickly or thinly, mix pastry and thick sauces, and blend things like soup, puree or pate. My machine has been very hard-wearing and I have had it for over 35 years. Not bad, eh?

Ingredients

Traditional ingredients:

• 1 lb / 0.5 kilo chicken livers
• 1 large or 2 small onions
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or schmaltz (chicken fat)
• 2 eggs
• A sprinkling salt and pepper, to taste

Optional and non-traditional ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 clove
• A sprinkling mixed herbs
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sherry, marsala or brandy

I would just mention that my family version of this recipe has slightly moved away from the traditional version, in that I add a little garlic, spice and a small quantity of alcohol, which gives it a slight tang. These three additional ingredients are, of course, optional.

Instructions

1. Fry the onion on a low heat in a large pan for 3 or 4 minutes until it has lightly browned.
2. Whilst the onion is frying, remove any bitter gall or bits of heart from the liver (if you are not sure what to remove, just fish out any lumpy bits that don't look like liver).
3. Remove the fried onion and put it in the blender at this stage, or otherwise just move the fried onion to one side of the pan and add the liver. Add seasoning. Continue frying and turning the liver for 3 to 5 minutes until it is just cooked. Frying it on a fairly high heat will brown and slightly crisp it on the outside, and leave it pale pinky-brown. on the inside--browning the onions and liver in this way gives it a nice strong caramelly flavour.
4. When cooked, empty the mixture into a blender and put one tablespoonful of water and a tablespoonful of alcohol into the pan, swill the pan round to pick up the remains of fried liver, then pour it over the mixture in the blender. Blend it by running the blender in a couple of short bursts, so that the mixture is still lumpy, not smooth.
5. Whilst the liver is cooking, hard-boil two eggs for 5 to 8 minutes, then run them under cold water to make them easy to peel. Add one peeled hard-boiled egg to the blended liver and give it a short burst on the blender, so that the liver and egg are combined but still slightly lumpy and the bits of egg show through, Turn out the mixture into a suitable dish or container. Then give the second peeled egg a quick blast on the blender so that it is still lumpy, not smooth. Then sprinkle that egg over the top of the chopped liver as a garnish.
6. Put it in the refrigerator or serve immediately.

Photo Guide

Serving Suggestions: Matzo, Ryvita, Fresh Bread or Toast

Chopped liver is also nice on its own, and makes a slimming meal

As a traditional Jewish dish, chopped liver is often eaten with schmaltz (chicken fat) spread thinly on matzos. Orthodox Jews would not eat chopped liver with butter, as their religious food rules prohibit eating milk and meat in the same meal.

However, in my opinion, you don't need any additive with chopped liver and you can spread it directly onto whatever you are having without butter or schmaltz. Either way, it's quite a slimming meal.

Jewish Comedy With Jackie Mason

© 2010 Diana Grant

What Are Your Thoughts?

DreamerMeg from Northern Ireland on June 16, 2019:

I used to love fried lambs' liver as a child, with onions and gravy, served with cabbage. I also like chicken pate but I have nver tried this. It sounds good.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on October 01, 2015:

I agree - the bought chopped liver is nothing like the home made dish

Lori Green from Las Vegas on September 19, 2015:

I just made this last week. It's my families favorite holiday treat. My blender went on the fritz so I had to hand grind just like my Grandmother did. It came out so good. I used a drop too much oil, but it didn't matter. It was so so good. I crave this stuff during the year. Not store bought. Only hand made.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 31, 2014:

There's no comparison - home-made tastes quite different and much nicer than the bought pate

Susan Zutautas from Ontario, Canada on December 28, 2014:

I buy liver pate all the time but I've been wondering how to make it myself. Will try your recipe soon.

Stephanie Henkel from USA on December 28, 2014:

My mother always served chopped chicken liver as an appetizer on holidays, and I love it! Your hub reminded me that it's been too long since I've had it!

Joyfulcrown on December 28, 2014:

I am going to try this and share with my sister, she needs iron. Thanks for sharing.

Shauna L Bowling from Central Florida on September 27, 2014:

I love chopped chicken liver. I haven't had it since I left home. I don't know why I never asked my mother for her recipe; I have so many of her recipes! I had no idea that cloves are one of the ingredients.

I also like chicken livers wrapped in bacon and baked. Yum!

Elsie Hagley from New Zealand on September 26, 2014:

Liver is one of our favorite foods, that is "Lambs liver" we have grown up with it and feed a family of five children, as we kill our own mutton.

It is a food that's high in iron so eating too much could be a problem, especially now I'm older, some foods like that do upset my stomach.

Will try your recipe looks very interesting. Thanks.

Barbara Radisavljevic from Templeton, CA on September 26, 2014:

I don't like liver at all, but my husband loves it. Maybe I should try cooking it for him this way.

Shinichi Mine from Tokyo, Japan on September 26, 2014:

This sounds good too. I don't love liver, but I like it done this way.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on October 04, 2012:

@Frischy: I've never heard that one before!

Frischy from Kentucky, USA on October 03, 2012:

This is interesting and I am going to give it a try. I have always heard of chopped liver -- as in, "What am I? Chopped liver?" -- but, I never actually knew what it was. Now I know!

anonymous on August 22, 2012:

Thanks for sharing the recipe. Sounds delicious.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on July 18, 2012:

@Craftypicks: Yes, you are right, shop-bought chopped liver isn't nearly as nice - it doesn't keep well, and seems to have a different flavor

Lori Green from Las Vegas on July 17, 2012:

I grew up on chopped chicken liver and use basically the same recipe. It's SO good. You can't buy it in the store like this. It has to be home made.

norma-holt on February 02, 2012:

Another great lens. Blessed and featured on Blessed by Skiesgreen 2012. Hugs

SilverLotus1 on November 11, 2010:

I love chopped liver! Great idea for a lens, and well done.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on June 30, 2010:

@Hairdresser007: Yes, I know a lot of people like it much smoother, but the way I make it, and my mother, and her mother before, uses the traditional Jewish recipe - and I suppose it came from Middle and Eastern Europe before they had blenders. Possibly the addition of alcohol is also a modern touch - I don't know.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on June 30, 2010:

@burgessvillian: I'm making Chopped Liver again today - come over and try some! It beats liverwurst pate any day!

burgessvillian on May 08, 2010:

I enjoyed this lens. I like liverwurst pate so I may like your chopped liver. Another good lens.

5*s

James Jordan from Burbank, CA on May 07, 2010:

i usually like chicken liver pate but I am not so thrilled about your first pick for some reason. I like mine more creamy texture I guess. But your lens is great! And the recipe looks good. I might just ground it down more!

I used to help in our family restaurant, love good food and enjoy thinking up creative ways to cook and use leftovers to avoid food waste.

What to Do With Leftover Chicken or Turkey

After your Christmas dinner or Sunday lunch, you might stare at the leftover turkey or chicken and wonder how you could possibly use it up. I hope these recipes will show you new tricks to incorporate your leftovers into delicious meals!

Try using the leftovers to make the following dishes. Detailed recipes are set out in full below this list.

8 Quick and Easy Recipes for Leftover Chicken or Turkey

1. Paella
2. Vol-Au-Vents
3. Sandwiches
4. Stir-Fry
5. Soup
6. Patties
7. Risotto
8. Pilaff

My secret to affordable, mouthwatering meals is combining small quantities of delicious, expensive foods with larger amounts of low-cost foods such as potatoes, noodles, and vegetables. Bon appetit!

My Cooking Background

I love food. I come from a background of great change, and have experienced both wealth and poverty, traveled widely and have lived in several areas of very mixed cultures, ending up in one of the most metropolitan cities of all--London. I have had the opportunity to try many wonderful national and international dishes and, in a city where so many cultures live side-by-side, it is easy to find an enormous range of imported food sitting side-by-side with local produce. As you would expect, this has influenced my style of cooking.

1. Paella

Paella is a traditional Spanish rice-based dish made with the meat, fish, and vegetables you have on hand. This recipe feeds six people.

What You'll Need:

• 1 or 2 large, deep flat-bottomed pans, a paella pan, or a large wok
• 1 large mixing spoon

Ingredients:

• 1-2 large onions
• 6 garlic cloves or 1-2 tsp bottled garlic
• 1" fresh ginger or 1 tsp bottled ginger
• Olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 500g - 750g turkey or chicken
• 1 chicken or fish stock cube
• 250g frozen shelled prawns
• 500g arborio rice
• 250g frozen peas
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp saffron (better flavor) or turmeric (better color)
• 2 large tomatoes
• Chili powder
• Paprika

Optional Ingredients:

• Mussels, 1 or 2 per person
• Large prawns, 1 or 2 per person
• 2 sprigs fresh coriander or 1 tsp bottled coriander
• Mixed powdered spice
• Mixed herbs

Instructions:

1. Add a generous dash of olive oil to your pot and heat the pan. Chop the onions and cook them in the oil until they turn a translucent golden-brown color.
2. Add the chopped turkey/chicken, chili, and garlic. Stir and cook until the meat is lightly browned.
3. De-seed and chop the bell peppers into 2-3" chunks. Add them to the pan with cloves, ginger, saffron/turmeric, and paprika. Continue stirring for 2-3 minutes.
4. In a new pan, pour another dash of olive oil and add the rice. Stir until all the rice is coated with oil and slightly translucent. Add the rice to the first pan and add the chicken or fish stock cubes and 1 pint of boiling water. Continue stirring until the cubes have dissolved. If you're using cooked meat, just add an additional chicken stock cube for extra flavor.
5. Cover the pot with a lid and let everything simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Then, mix in the peas and small prawns.
6. Slice the tomatoes and arrange them in a circle on top of the rice. Decorate with the large prawns, mussels, and coriander. Slice the lemons into quarters and squeeze some of the juice over the rice. Replace the lid and simmer for 10 minutes. If the rice looks dry, add a little bit of water. You want the cooked rice to be a little sticky but not floating in the water or dried out.
7. Serve when the rice is cooked and soft.

2. Turkey or Chicken Vol-au-Vent

A vol-au-vent is a hollow case made of puff pastry, and it's a great way to incorporate your leftover meat into an innovative dish. You can make larger vol-au-vents for a complete meal (allow two per person) or go with smaller versions for party appetizers.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups turkey or chicken
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 pound mushrooms
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 10oz can cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
• Vol-au-vent cases

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make sure the turkey/chicken is cut into small enough pieces to fit into the vol-au-vent cases.
3. Melt the butter in a pan and saute the turkey/chicken for 1 minute.
4. Grease an 8"x8" dish and add the meat.
5. Use the pan to saute the sliced mushrooms until they're lightly browned.
6. Add the sour cream and the canned soup to the mushrooms. Stir for 1 minute, making sure to scrape the bottom to prevent burning.
7. Mix the garlic salt and paprika into the mixture and pour it over the chicken.
8. Bake the filling for 30-35 minutes.
9. Top the filling with cheese and bake it again for 10 more minutes. You want the cheese to be melted and bubbly.
10. Fill your vol-au-vent cases with the filling. Warm everything up according to the cases' instructions, and enjoy!

3. Chicken or Turkey Sandwich

My father used to make chicken sandwiches for us on Sunday nights. These sandwiches are easy to make, nourishing, and delicious! They're simple to put together and will save you time and energy. Remember, you can interchange chicken and turkey!

Ingredients:

• Bread
• Schmaltz (chicken fat) or mayonnaise
• Chicken or turkey meat, cooked
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Marmite (optional)

Instructions:

1. Spread schmaltz or mayonnaise on one slice of bread.
2. Lay down layers of the meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
3. Top it off with a second slice of bread.

If you want to avoid using salt, you can substitute the schmaltz for Marmite on the first slice of bread.

4. Turkey or Chicken Stir-Fry

The idea of stir-fry is to prepare everything before you start cooking. The cooking period is very short, so make sure you slice the vegetables very thinly. The whole cooking process should only take five to eight minutes, leaving the vegetable textures slightly crunchy. This quick and tasty recipe serves three to four people.

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion
• 4-8 oz. cooked turkey or chicken, shredded
• 1 red or green bell pepper
• 1 packet bean sprouts
• 1 packet Chinese rice or egg noodles
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 fresh garlic cloves or 1-2 tsp bottled garlic
• 1" fresh ginger or 1-2 tsp bottled ginger
• 1 tsp bottled coriander
• Chili, to taste
• Soy sauce
• Chicken or vegetable cubes
• Oyster sauce
• Hoi Sin sauce
• Chinese five-spice
• Sweet Chilli Sauce
• Chilli oil
• Raw spring onion
• Cooked prawns (optional)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Vegetable Options:

• Broccoli
• Green beans
• Cabbage
• Carrot
• Courgette
• Frozen peas
• Parsnip
• Celery
• Mushrooms
• Cauliflower
• Bok choy (Chinese cabbage)
• Bamboo shoots
• Sweet corn

Instructions:

1. Chop the onion and bell pepper into small chunks. Finely slice the remaining vegetables.
2. Boil the noodles in a small saucepan according to the package instructions. This should take about 3 minutes. Add the chicken or vegetable cube into the water as you cook the noodles. Drain the noodles and set them aside.
3. Heat up the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onion and fry it quickly to sear it. Add the turkey or chicken first, and then add the ginger, garlic, chili (optional), and Chinese five-spice. Fry everything for about 15 seconds over medium-high heat.
4. Add the other vegetables and stir them in. Go in the order of hardness, so that the harder vegetables will have more cooking time than the softer ones. Reserve the bean sprouts and mushrooms for last so that they don't go mushy.
5. Add the prawns and cook them.
6. Once the prawns are cooked, add in the flavorings you want in the dish.
7. Pour the cooked noodles into the wok and mix them with the vegetables. If you want to keep them separate dishes, skip this step and serve them separately.

5. Turkey or Chicken Soup

This homemade soup is both tasty and nourishing!

Ingredients:

• Turkey or chicken leftovers, including skin and bones
• 1 large onion
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 leek
• 1 or 2 sticks of celery
• A handful of soup mix (barley, lentils, black-eyed beans, rice, or oats)
• Salt or chicken/vegetable stock cubes
• Seasonings (peppercorns, ginger, paprika, bay leaves, parsley, rosemary, thyme, etc), to taste

These are the basic ingredients I use, but I'll often add leftover vegetables from other meals such as parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, peas or finely chopped cabbage.

Instructions:

1. Slice and fry the onions until they're golden brown. Slice the remaining vegetables and the rest of the ingredients (except salt) into the pressure cooker. For easy clean-up, place all the bones in a steamer that keeps the bones separate from the food but still flavors the soup. Cover everything with about 2 pints of water. It's best to add salt after the soup is cooked because dried beans soften up better when cooked without it.
2. If you use a pressure cooker like I do, cook everything for about 30 minutes. If you opt not to use one, it is best to first soak your pulses (dried beans) in a lot of water for about 12 hours. Once they've softened, add them to the soup and simmer everything for about two hours.
3. Fish out all the bones, either by using a long utensil or removing the steamer. Season the dish with salt. You can have the soup as is, or you can blend everything in a blender to make a thicker soup.

6. Turkey or Chicken Patty

Making turkey or chicken patties is a great way to use up all your turkey or chicken. These are flexible because you don't need to use specific ingredients and precise quantities. The aim is simply to have enough food to feed everyone. You can experiment with different ingredients to see what taste you like best!

Ingredients:

• A handful of cooked turkey or chicken
• Cooked potato (two small potatoes per person)
• Onion, cooked or raw
• Greens (cabbage, kale, spring greens, spinach, or Brussels sprouts)
• Any cooked root vegetables (parsnip, swede, turnip, etc)
• 1 egg
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves (optional)
• Olive or any cooking oil
• Any combination of herbs and spices (e.g. ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, chili powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, curry powder, tarragon, sage, parsley, thyme, and oregano)

Instructions:

1. Beat the egg and then blend the remaining ingredients (including seasonings) in a blender. Do short bursts so the mixture is still lumpy and not completely mushed. If you don't have a blender, just chop and mash what you can.
2. Sprinkle a little flour on a board and on your hands. Scoop out about a tablespoon of the mixture and form it into a round flat patty on the board. Continue making patties until you use everything up. You could even make one huge omelet-sized patty as long as it is coated in flour, but it'll be more difficult to turn over.
3. Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat and add the patties. Shake or prod them every so often to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. After two minutes, check to see if they're browning. Use a spatula or fish lift to flip them over after about two or three minutes and cook the other side. They should end up a light golden-brown color on both sides.

7. Mushroom and Turkey or Chicken Risotto

This mushroom risotto recipe is exceptionally easy to make and requires few ingredients. My daughter made this a few months ago and received a mixed range of responses. All the adults enjoyed it, and all the children thought it was horrible! I think the goat cheese's strong flavor was the culprit. The ingredient list is flexible, so you can substitute goat cheese with cream or plain yogurt for a milder taste. This recipe serves two people.

Ingredients:

• A small handful of skinless cooked turkey or chicken
• 1 cup rice (I recommend Italian Arborio, Spanish Paella, or Jasmine rice)
• A handful of porcini mushrooms
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 oz. goat cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains with butter.
3. Add 2 cups of hot water to the pan. Bring everything to a boil, and then turn the heat down to simmer for 15 minutes. The rice should be soft.
4. While the rice is simmering, shred the turkey or chicken into small pieces. Add the meat, mushrooms, garlic, chicken stock cube, and salt to the rice.
5. When the rice has absorbed most of the water, add the goat cheese (or substitute) and stir it in. The resulting risotto should be sticky and glutinous.
6. Serve with freshly ground pepper.

If you want to indulge, use a tin of condensed mushroom soup instead of the mushrooms, cheese, and cream.

8. Turkey or Chicken Pilaff

This delicious meat and rice dish has a great curry flavor and serves two to three people.

Ingredients:

• 3 tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 green or red bell pepper
• 1 ½ cup raisins (optional)
• 1-2 cups chicken leftovers
• 2 tsp olive oil or butter
• 2 ½ cups rice
• 5 cups chicken stock (or 5 cups water mixed with 2 chicken cubes)
• 1 tbsp almonds
• 1 sprig of fresh coriander leaves (optional)

Instructions:

1. Chop up the onion and fry it gently in the oil or butter with the curry powder and garlic clove for about 3 or 4 minutes.
2. Shred the chicken and chop the bell pepper into small chunks. Add them to the pan and continue frying for one to two minutes.
3. Chop the tomato and raisins and add them to the mix.
4. Add the rice and continue to stir the rice until all the grains are coated with oil and turning translucent.
5. Pour in the chicken stock. Gently simmer everything for about 15 to 20 minutes. All of the liquid should be absorbed, and the rice should be soft but not soggy.
6. Add the almonds and sprinkle the top with chopped coriander leaves!

Would You Share the Food on Your Plate With Anyone Else?

Would you be prepared to give some to your beloved, even if it is your favourite food, or something special, or something which it is difficult to divide - this makes me think of things like prawns, lobster, caviar, egg, and roast potato, but for you it might be meat and vegetables or part of your pudding?

How about Voting in this Poll? - What's your attitude to food?

© 2009 Diana Grant

Tell Me What You Think About This Web Page - Did You Like it, Hate it or Want to Comment on Anything Else?

Dawn from Maryland, USA on November 27, 2017:

The turkey/potato patty looks delicious! I'll have to try this idea.

Thelma Alberts from Germany on November 27, 2017:

Great ideas for leftover chicken or turkey meat. You make me drool. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 02, 2015:

Thanks - there should be something for everyone here, whatever their taste!

Rose Jones on November 29, 2015:

Diana, you have a winner here! Sent out to all of my social bookmarking - this is essential information. I have a friend I say is my platonic wife and she would love this.

N376 on September 09, 2014:

Lots of yummy suggestions!

Julia M S Pearce from Melbourne, Australia on September 09, 2014:

Always use leftover chicken. Great Recipes here.

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on September 09, 2014:

Yes, it's quite handy freezing a little to use later, but I have heard that once chicken has been unfrozen and cooked, it shouldn't be refrozen, so take care

Mommy from The Fabulous Midwest on September 09, 2014:

Yummy! I'll have to try some of these recipes.

Giovanna from UK on September 09, 2014:

Awesome recipes. Great Hub! Thanks for sharing.

Merry Citarella from Oregon's Southern Coast on September 09, 2014:

I like all these ideas for using leftovers! Whenever I buy a rotisserie chicken I always end up freezing a little bit. I'll be trying one of these soon. Looking good here!

Nancy Tate Hellams from Pendleton, SC on September 09, 2014:

These recipes sound great and most of the I have never tried but will now. Thanks for sharing.

ssphia on February 07, 2014:

Great recipes, sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!

Flora Crew from Evanston, Illinois on December 30, 2013:

Good lens. I have some leftover turkey too!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 28, 2013:

@WebMarketingPro: Sorry about that - it's a bit like Marmite - you either love it or hate it!

WebMarketingPro on December 28, 2013:

I think the chicken and the egg image was a bit much for my taste. Great lens though...

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 27, 2013:

@Lorelei Cohen: That's what comes of having worked in a restaurant!

Diana Grant (author) from United Kingdom on December 27, 2013:

@Virginia Allain: Yes, I love that too

Virginia Allain from Central Florida on December 27, 2013:

My hubby makes a wonderful turkey soup with lots of veggies and we eat it for about a week.

Lorelei Cohen on December 27, 2013:

I think you have covered just about every turkey leftover here. Delicious.

Susan Deppner from Arkansas USA on December 24, 2012:

Great recipes! I usually make turkey or chicken noodle soup with leftovers, as well as Turkey Curry in a Hurry (which I posted in the plexo above). Mmmm, I'm getting hungry!

LadyEnglish on December 24, 2012:

So many great ideas here.

Sandy Mertens from Wisconsin on November 30, 2012:

These recipes look yummy!

Jennifer P Tanabe from Red Hook, NY on November 24, 2012:

Great collection of recipes for our leftover turkey!

blessedmomto7 on November 23, 2012:

Great ideas. I have never considered making paella with anything other than seafood.

ohcaroline on November 22, 2012:

I found some new ones I'd like to try. Thanks for sharing.

digitaltree on April 28, 2012:

great recipes, i can't wait for breakfest.

DeannaDiaz on January 31, 2012:

Lovely list of recipes and I can't wait to try the Chicken Supreme!

Barbara Isbill from New Market Tn 37820 on January 12, 2012:

Looks delicious. I am including your recipe lens in my chicken soup lens. Hope you have a great day.

WindyWintersHubs from Vancouver Island, BC on December 30, 2011:

We have turkey sandwiches or I make a turkey pie. I can really use some new leftover recipes ideas. These recipes all look so tasty and have ingredients that hubby would enjoy. I will especially have to try the stir-fry and supreme recipes. Thanks for sharing!

kathysart on December 28, 2011:

Great lens with some wonderful recipes. THUMBS UP ANGEL BLESSED

VarietyWriter2 on December 04, 2011:

Blessed by a Squid Angel :)

Ronlove LM on November 29, 2011:

Awesome! Lense lots of good information

goldenrulecomics from New Jersey on November 24, 2011:

Lots of great recipes!

iWriteaLot on November 24, 2011:

Wonderful lens. The Chicken Pilaf looks so yummy! Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you have lots of leftovers!

Lou165 from Australia on November 23, 2011:

My hubby has been known to buy a cooked chicken from the supermarket on a Friday night so that we can have some of his favorite dishes on the weekend that I originally 'created' as a way to use up leftovers! Looks like I now have a few more one's to try - delicious :)

Lloyd Pinto from Mumbai on February 24, 2011:

Blessed by your friendly neighbourhood Squid Angel Chef!

JeffreyTymczak LM on January 07, 2011:

Why can't I stop Drooling?????? Great Job!!!

norma-holt on December 29, 2010:

Certainly like these recipes and the vol-au-vents might be my favorite. Featured this on Holiday Cooking.

poppy mercer from London on December 26, 2010:

Would have loved to try your tasy sounding recipes but....We have just had a big free range chicken for Christmas, as we were staying at home and being quiet, with just the two of us this year. Man of the house came down with flu, so the chicken leftovers have made man flu chicken soup. Perfect. Seasons Greetings to you.

SofiaMann on December 26, 2010:

With so many possible recipes and sometimes I can not think how to prepare the turkey. Thanks.

Mona from Iowa on December 26, 2010:

We often do a turkey pot pie with pre-made pieshells. Quick and easy and you can just through in some leftover potatoes, gravy turkey and then add some extra veg. Lots of good ideas to try here.

CozyKitty on December 02, 2010:

Tastefully done! Think i need to go make a snack now ...

;-)

BuckHawkcenter on November 24, 2010:

The anything else I want to comment on is...I should have known better than to read this page while I was hungry! Gotta go make a turkey sandwich, now!

Lisa Auch from Scotland on November 14, 2010:

I am bookmarking this page! Chicken stirfry first to try! Blessed

nickupton lm on October 30, 2010:

Top quality lens. My dad always used to make turkey curry with the Christmas leftovers and freeze it so we could be eating it for weeks. In the end I looked forward to the curry more than the roast!

Edit Photos from Earth on September 18, 2010:

Great lens. Being in the top 40 leaderboard can help to get you noticed by a Squid Angel. Squid Angel Thumbs Up.

Niki Goddard on July 05, 2010:

I'm always looking for great new ways to use up leftovers and this lens has given me a lot of ideas, as well as making me very hungry! Big thumbs up from me, and I will also just mention that chicken curry is a great way to use up the scraps of chicken too - yum!

jolou on April 22, 2010:

I love homemade chicken soup, and yours is fast and easy.

anonymous on March 20, 2010:

I must confess that I'm starving after visiting this yummy recipes lens. I haven't eaten yet toady, but that will be my next move. I love making dishes to use up those left-overs, and you have some very good looking recipes and tips here. Waste not, want not! 5 Stars and I'm going to lensrollt my recipe lenses to bookmark this. ~ Thanks for the tips.

bobtyndall on March 09, 2010:

Love your recipes. I like to try all kinds of different cuisines. 5* and I lens rolled you to my recipe lenses

ElizabethJeanAl on February 19, 2010:

We eat a lot of chicken and turkey so there's always leftovers to use. Chicken soup is a favorite with my family, especially if I make bread to go along with it. I like chicken salad sandwiches. As chicken or turkey is on the menu at least once a week, we all get to have what we want.

Thanks for sharing

Lizzy

Delia on February 15, 2010:

great recipes...5*

Treasures By Brenda from Canada on December 31, 2009:

Nicely done & blessed by a Squid Angel.

pkmcr from Cheshire UK on December 29, 2009:

Really nice and good advice for anyone looking to make use of leftovers! Blessed by a Squid Angel :-)

Dreadmoc on November 23, 2009:

Very nice lens. 5 stars.

Beth Webster-Duerr from Henrietta, New York on November 21, 2009:

Excellent ideas and recipes. 5 stars, Fav and lensrolled to my Cornbread Casserole recipe lens. Yum, Thanks

myraggededge on November 21, 2009:

Some great suggestions for leftover chicken - they would work for turkey too!

strayspay on November 21, 2009:

Great lens! Five Stars - most all of us need thrifty ways to prepare leftovers. I especially like the chicken patties.