Not long ago, in a blog not very far away, a wise man they call JW10 posted of Horse:
http://jw10-jw10.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/under-starters-orders.html
He told tales of burgers and ready meals invaded by horsemeat – invaded so cunningly that no-one could tell!
Well, since JW10 unleashed this scandal, 60% of us have changed how we shop! We don’t trust food any more - we're fleeing Processed Meat in terrified droves and some hitherto eaters of flesh are even going for vegetarian options! The end of the world is surely nigh…
Except, of course, for Vegetarian ready meal brands, sales of whose burgers, mince and sausages have suddenly soared. Flavoured with hints of chicken, beef and not horse, they’re made from a form of fungus, you know.
A form of fungus. What's so trustworthy about that?
George and I don’t eat huge amounts of processed food because we like cooking. Mid house-move though, we lived entirely on ready meals and jolly nice too in their tempting plastic trays.
The first ready meal I remember was MadeByVesta – a veritable revolution in the sixties. At the time I’d never cooked anything except Chocolate Krackolate Cakes for school fetes (always a best-seller), but was inspired to make one of these miracle ready-curries for family tea. Add boiling water, it said, give a quick stir and leave to fester – no need to stand guard or stir again. I'm sure that's what it said...
Mum and dad’s pan never recovered, and I gave up cooking.
Until, in bedsit-hovel days, I found Cup-Noodle and Pot-a-Soup. Nice and quick between work and gallivanting. Pour in boiling water and they’re… really edible. I became addicted - sometimes adding, for an avant-garde twist, a tin of processed peas – sublime!
Even today, many find joy in pot and cup – only this week we met someone who’d tried his first Noodle ever, and found it Was Good. Someone else we know delights daily in the taste and convenience of soups in a cup. (A busy local TV celebrity who generally cooks cordon bleu).
My own habits changed and I discovered (for gourmet gatherings) Boil-in-the-Bag. That first Chinese Feast was a Triumph! Except for the prawn balls, which turned out to be Not-boilinthebag and ended up bobbling around in the pan with strips of their molten plastic... However, thirty seconds under the grill Worked Wonders.
These days, cooking is always a joy, and I owe a goodly part of my expertise and quick thinking in the face of trauma to the eyebrows of Fanny Cradock:
Inspirational. And it is She who's (Wikily) credited as the originator of the Prawn Cocktail!
But what now of the horses?
Well obviously - it's all been a huge emotional upset...
10 comments:
Ah, dear Fanny and Johnny! I remember them well. She was the original Kitchen Goddess (even with those eyebrows). But back to pot noodles and ready meals (wot we here call TV dinners because you eat them from a tray while gazing at the goggle box)...I confess to having had a Ramen Noodle cup or two when I was working in an office and forgot to pack lunch. Instant soup, too. But that was when I was younger and foolish and didn't know about SALT and ADDITIVES.
I'm an obsessive label reader now. Nothing passes my lips if it has dye in it. I actually make my own soups in big batches and freeze portions. In fact last night we dined on mushroom soup with sherry -- to die for. My favorite though is kitchen sink soup. Every veggie that's beginning to look a bit limp goes in. The taste is always a little different with each batch, which makes it more exciting.
I think I'm beginning to get obsessive about food storage and wastage. After too many parcels of frostbitten mystery meat were thrown away, I now vacuum seal everything (Do NOT try this on bread!) Last week I inventoried everything in my freezers (I have a big 'un and a littler 'un)and typed it all up. So when John asks "what's for dinner?" I whip out my clipboard and Bob's your Uncle...a ready meal! Well, apart from the cooking, that is.
Hurray, our snotty internet's back on!
Hi Expat! I like the sound of your vacuum seal - do you have a special appliance to Apply Vacuum, or will any old vacuum cleaner do? We store a goodly bundle of linen like that - neat and tiny.
I once made a vat of Leek & Potato Soup for imminent weekend guests and dropped it twixt hob & counter. Wailed for an hour as I scraped it off walls and every surface and implement.
Kitchen Sink Soup sounds hugely innovative & enticing - might you think of demonstrating it on Youtube please? You could be a revolutionary Fanny & Johnny! Did you know they weren't married? I was Shocked, but not sure why...
I've always been a hunt, kill, and drag-back-to-cave sort of chap, and a wait-for-mate-to-fill-my-plate sort of chap.
Nowadays, I really do enjoy shopping in food stores and in markets. I may be the world's most inept and disaster-prone commis-chef, but I think I make up for that by doing my fair share of noshing, washing-up, and clearing up afterwards...
:-)
Well, CI, I've always pictured you Spartacusly; one can also imagine you rampaging to the ends of every aisle, fearlessly & without mercy gathering choice (additive-free)delights.
Eat, drink and merrily so!
I have this nifty little machine - permanently on my kitchen counter top. You pop the meat portions in a bag (of course sold by the machine manutacturer for the purpose), slide the bag into the sealer slot, press the button and Hey Presto! It sucks all the air out. Air, of course, is what causes the food to spoil. Honestly, meat is still recognizable and hugely edible after a year! Prior to this, is was open the ziploc, knock the ice off and guess.
I've done the vac air out of storage bags, too. Love that.
Happy to share my Kitchen Sink soup recipe if anyone wants it.
Thinking about JW and looking forward to when he comes back to us. I miss him.
Heavens yes, Expat, I miss JW too - this was a sort of post in his honour. Sort of.
Anyway, I Want a Go on your kitchen-top vacuumer! Just 'press the button'? - hours of pleaure! I hadn't realised simple Air could be so toxic. Except for that surrounding certain socks... But I'm scanning our kitchen Now to find a sealer-space - could it be wall-mounted, perhaps?
The first thing I shall seal will be your Kitchen Sink Soup - Yes please for the sharing recipe thereof!
Are dyslexic slimmers deity?
:-)
Indeed they ARE, CI! They are the Gods of the slimming cosmos...
Sorry to have been AWOL. Swamped with work and other stuff. Also preoccupied with the Boston bombing. Catch up at the weekend.
God, Expat - couldn't believe that evil Boston atrocity. Warmest wishes to anyone you know who's closely affected.
Take care, and try & find a moment to relax...
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