Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #3

[agilbe]

Sounds delicious. I think anything goes for a Paddy's Day meal. Irish people don't eat very traditionally on St Patrick's or any other day really. As long as there are potatoes in some form, the meal is Irish!

Corned beef has become associated with the Irish in the US but it is rarely eaten here and was never traditional. The only corned beef most of us know in Ireland is a slightly suspect cold deli meat that is not very popular. The traditional dish here is bacon and cabbage. The bacon used is more like ham though. I think what happened is that when Irish immigrants arrived in America, they couldn't always get bacon for bacon and cabbage so they started to eat corned beef and cabbage instead, and so it is a particularly Irish dish in the Irish-American tradition. But corned beef is a mystery to most of us in Ireland!

One element that makes your meal really Irish, believe it or not, is the coleslaw! Yes it's in no way Irish but Irish people are nuts about it since it became popular here in the 1960s and 70s. Lasagne is another big hit. I was listening to the radio yesterday and they were debating what would be the most quintessentially Irish meal ever according to modern Irish tastes. They came up with lasagne with coleslaw and chips (French fries) and a pint of full-fat milk. I had to laugh. It may sound disgusting but that would be a very popular pub lunch or even restaurant dinner here!

How interesting, lasagna and coleslaw? OK I can see it. We usually have salad with our lasagna. So the coleslaw replaces our salad. I say the coleslaw dressing is different because it has a little bit of ketchup. I know it sounds strange. It's more of a tangy than sweet dressing. It's the only kind my family will eat now.

 

[agilbe]

There were a lot of leftovers from the corned beef & cabbage dinner, so I am making a "dump" soup today. Half a head of cabbage, half an onion, a couple of celery stalks, half a red pepper (from another meal), and a bundle of fresh thyme are simmering in the broth from the corned beef meal and a large can of diced tomatoes. When the veggies are tender, I will add the leftover cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. This will be a very large pot of soup that will last for several days. DH will pick up a crusty loaf of bread when he's out today. No more meal prep or cooking until at least Sunday

I make only sourdough bread now. I can think of a few nice artisan breads that would go well with that wonderful sounding soup. What time is dinner?? I'll bring the bread!!

 

[Mo Thuairim]

How interesting, lasagna and coleslaw? OK I can see it. We usually have salad with our lasagna. So the coleslaw replaces our salad. I say the coleslaw dressing is different because it has a little bit of ketchup. I know it sounds strange. It's more of a tangy than sweet dressing. It's the only kind my family will eat now.

Maybe lasagne with salad in the summer, but the rest of the year many people go for the full heart attack on a plate of layers of meat and dairy and carbs, probably with some boiled or steamed carrot and broccoli on the side. Particularly if they're eating out and 'treating' themselves. Because the weather is so cold here most of the year, our food definitely does trend towards the stodgy, comfort-food side of things! Coleslaw is almost always made with mayonnaise here (or if you're being fancy, maybe crème fraîche) rather than a lighter dressing. I like the Asian-style slaws though, a bit fresher and lighter.

 

[mickey2942]

Maybe lasagne with salad in the summer, but the rest of the year many people go for the full heart attack on a plate of layers of meat and dairy and carbs, probably with some boiled or steamed carrot and broccoli on the side. Particularly if they're eating out and 'treating' themselves. Because the weather is so cold here most of the year, our food definitely does trend towards the stodgy, comfort-food side of things! Coleslaw is almost always made with mayonnaise here (or if you're being fancy, maybe crème fraîche) rather than a lighter dressing. I like the Asian-style slaws though, a bit fresher and lighter.

Tell me about it. The winter here has been pretty cold. It makes you want to eat fettuccine Alfredo, carb load...lasagna. Rich, hot, cheese filled dishes.

Yeah. It is going to be Spring soon, and I am watching it more closely now, since Christmas we have been on a better diet. No more pasta.

 

[agilbe]

Where I live the winter was colder than usual, but only a handful of days below 32F. Mostly 50s and 60s for highs. Lots of soups and casseroles. The summers are another story. It's not unusual to have weeks on end of 110+F. I try to avoid turning the oven on at all costs. We try to eat light. Salads and sandwiches.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

I like lots of cuisines from different countries but one Irish food I cannot live without is soda bread. It's just heaven. It's very simple to make but it requires buttermilk so if you don't eat dairy you can substitute with a plant milk like soya, then you need to curdle it with an acid. Usually lemon juice or apple cider vinegar is recommended but I've found a dash of Asian rice wine vinegar gives the best results with no aftertaste for a vegan version. You don't need to add butter but you can to make it richer or simply use a plant butter or margarine. Darina Allen is queen of the Irish soda bread and this is one of her (many) recipes. I prefer brown soda but white soda is nice too for more of a scone-type bread.

(ETA: If you want to 'fake' buttermilk with regular milk or a plant milk, you need to pour the milk into a measuring jug, then add about a tablespoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or rice wine vinegar per cup of milk. Leave it for a couple of minutes to let it curdle, then stir and add the now 'buttermilk' to the dry ingredients.)

Traditional Brown Soda Bread

 

[HongKongPhooey]

I like lots of cuisines from different countries but one Irish food I cannot live without is soda bread. It's just heaven. It's very simple to make but it requires buttermilk so if you don't eat dairy you can substitute with a plant milk like soya, then you need to curdle it with an acid. Usually lemon juice or apple cider vinegar is recommended but I've found a dash of Asian rice wine vinegar gives the best results with no aftertaste for a vegan version. You don't need to add butter but you can to make it richer or simply use a plant butter or margarine. Darina Allen is queen of the Irish soda bread and this is one of her (many) recipes. I prefer brown soda but white soda is nice too for more of a scone-type bread.

(ETA: If you want to 'fake' buttermilk with regular milk or a plant milk, you need to pour the milk into a measuring jug, then add about a tablespoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or rice wine vinegar per cup of milk. Leave it for a couple of minutes to let it curdle, then stir and add the now 'buttermilk' to the dry ingredients.)

Traditional Brown Soda Bread

This recipe look great.

I do love soda bread with avocado and poached egg for a good Sunday breakfast.

 

[EGirl]

Chris grilled skirt steak for fajitas last night and it was delicious! I was shocked at the price though, almost $10/lb.

Going to visit my parents today so no cooking for me. Burgers on the grill. They live on The Guadalupe River, so hopefully we’ll catch some catfish or better yet, some reds.

 

[IceIce9]

Skirt steak is what many of our local Mexican restaurants serve, but I have never cooked it myself.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Started my day with banana chocolate chip pancakes. I haven’t had them in forever. I had an old banana left. It was too ripe for my taste to eat it plain. Cleaning out my fridge today of what little bit of leftovers I have. Not much but food safety is first.

Then I’ll be back to setting up my kiddie pool garden area.

 

[mickey2942]

Chris grilled skirt steak for fajitas last night and it was delicious! I was shocked at the price though, almost $10/lb.

Going to visit my parents today so no cooking for me. Burgers on the grill. They live on The Guadalupe River, so hopefully we’ll catch some catfish or better yet, some reds.

Skirt steak at $10 a pound! Wow!

It used to be a very economical cut of meat.

Good luck fishing.

 

[IceIce9]

Skirt steak at $10 a pound! Wow!

It used to be a very economical cut of meat.

Good luck fishing.

Yeah I remember it being one of the cheaper cuts of meat.

We don’t eat beef, and haven’t for quite a few years. But I was shopping with a friend and she got a very small piece of beef, and it was over $10. I told her I was glad I didn’t have to buy beef because it would surely wreck my budget.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I like lots of cuisines from different countries but one Irish food I cannot live without is soda bread. It's just heaven. It's very simple to make but it requires buttermilk so if you don't eat dairy you can substitute with a plant milk like soya, then you need to curdle it with an acid. Usually lemon juice or apple cider vinegar is recommended but I've found a dash of Asian rice wine vinegar gives the best results with no aftertaste for a vegan version. You don't need to add butter but you can to make it richer or simply use a plant butter or margarine. Darina Allen is queen of the Irish soda bread and this is one of her (many) recipes. I prefer brown soda but white soda is nice too for more of a scone-type bread...

DH bought a large (more than 2#) loaf of soda bread at Costco early in the week. It's delicious, and we ate some every day with coffee and with our corned beef & cabbage dinner. There is still half a loaf left, so I wrapped it tightly and put it in the freezer before it got stale. It will make a nice bread pudding - maybe for Easter. I've made soda bread a few times using this recipe: Irish Soda Bread Recipe | Ina Garten | Food Network

 

[mickey2942]

Yeah I remember it being one of the cheaper cuts of meat.

We don’t eat beef, and haven’t for quite a few years. But I was shopping with a friend and she got a very small piece of beef, and it was over $10. I told her I was glad I didn’t have to buy beef because it would surely wreck my budget.

That is why, when I saw "Tri-Tip" reduced half price, I grabbed three. A lot of people think that with the war in Ukraine, the price of products using wheat will skyrocket. I don't know.

Off to clean the yard and start planning for the garden.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

DH bought a large (more than 2#) loaf of soda bread at Costco early in the week. It's delicious, and we ate some every day with coffee and with our corned beef & cabbage dinner. There is still half a loaf left, so I wrapped it tightly and put it in the freezer before it got stale. It will make a nice bread pudding - maybe for Easter. I've made soda bread a few times using this recipe: Irish Soda Bread Recipe | Ina Garten | Food Network

Ooh orange zest. I might try that. I usually make unsweetened breads but some of the sweeter ones are delicious too. That recipe puts me in mind of a mix between barmbrack (traditional Halloween sweet bread) and a thing we call spotted dog, which is basically a sweet white soda with dried fruit. Rachel Allen (Darina Allen's daughter-in-law - that whole family are food royalty here!) has a few Irish bread variations here. I might try it with caraway seeds too.

https://parade.com/129408/rachelallen/11-chef-rachel-allen-talks-irish-breads/

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I make only sourdough bread now. I can think of a few nice artisan breads that would go well with that wonderful sounding soup. What time is dinner?? I'll bring the bread!!

The soup turned out well - rustic, hearty, flavorful, and there is plenty left over. We had a crusty French boule for accompaniment, but sour dough would be good, too. I used to enjoy baking bread from scratch but haven't done so in years. There are so many wonderful artisan breads available in markets these days, and we enjoy trying new ones frequently.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Chris grilled skirt steak for fajitas last night and it was delicious! I was shocked at the price though, almost $10/lb.

Going to visit my parents today so no cooking for me. Burgers on the grill. They live on The Guadalupe River, so hopefully we’ll catch some catfish or better yet, some reds.

Fish is yummy. Fingers crossed for a keeper red for you. Don’t usually keep catfish - not sure if you get hard heads or gafftops in the River?

 

[agilbe]

The soup turned out well - rustic, hearty, flavorful, and there is plenty left over. We had a crusty French boule for accompaniment, but sour dough would be good, too. I used to enjoy baking bread from scratch but haven't done so in years. There are so many wonderful artisan breads available in markets these days, and we enjoy trying new ones frequently.

About 9 years ago I made some starter and played with it on and off. The last 6 months, I've gotten more serious. I bake probably about 3 times a week. A sandwich loaf, an artisan loaf and then bagels, english muffins or pancakes. I've been enjoying it. Glad the soup turned out well.

 

[IceIce9]

When my kids were little, I worked for a family-owned German bakery. They had maybe a dozen employees, and distributed their baked goods all around Indiana. The bakery was the entire lower level of their home.

They used their family recipes that they brought with them from Germany. While they baked quite a few different varieties of bread and rolls their specialty was salt rising bread. They supplied it to many restaurants and specialty stores.

The man always baked the salt rising bread himself, the recipe was not written down anywhere. Unfortunately he died suddenly and no one else knew the recipe.

The salt rising bread was so good, I have never had any bread like it anywhere else. My dad loved salt rising bread and said it tasted just like he remembered from his childhood. I always took him a couple of loaves.

 

[mickey2942]

Interesting about "Salt Rising Bread". Recently I purchased some "Bakers Ammonia", used as leavening in the 1800's, before baking powder and baking soda. I wonder if the old recipes used that for leavening?

Ammonia Cookies