Food that’s not worth the effort

[BarrelOfOtters]

Crab…picked yourself
Unfilleted fish
globe artichoke all that finiking for some little bites

Mayonnaise. After reading about ultra processed food, I wanted to ditch the light mayonnaise and make my own. It took forever to drip oil in slowly, and it tasted vile in the end. Back to Hellman's.

Thank you, I've always made it with tinned chickpeas, but have recently started to use my pressure cooker again, I like the idea of cooking more flavour into the chickpeas under pressure.

Yes I've used it in a meat sauce for pasta, but wouldn't use it in a more creamy lasagne.

1lb haddock, 1/2lb smoked haddock, packet of peeled prawns, cockles if you like them. Chopped parsley, butter, milk, juice of a lemon or slop of wine.

Poach haddock in milk. Drain. Use milk to make a white sauce, add parsley, salt, pepper, wine or LJ. Fold in poached fish, add prawns and cockles and/or a tbs of capers. Allow to cool overnight. Spread over hot mash. 40 mins in the oven.

Quick prep and easy.

I remember my mum slaving away making and steaming her own Christmas puddings. If I have them (not really keen) I buy them and microwave them for about thirty seconds!

I'm surprised. I never liked mayonnaise until I made it and now I have to stop making it or I could easily eat a bowl at a time!

That still sounds like too much faff.

Apple crumble - mainly because I'm not that bothered on it,

Lasagne is an incredible faff but sooo delicious homemade that I make it a couple of times a year. With loads of cheese. No better comfort food than that.

Supermarket pizza. It’s rock hard and hurts your jaw, the sauce is bitter, the veg tastes weird and the whole thing often has a massive tedious crust. It’s nothing like proper pizza and these days costs a small fortune. I’ve never had a supermarket pizza I wasn’t disappointed with.

Kedgeree. Spent ages looking for the pod things. Crushing them was a pain. A lot of fuss for some fishy rice. And the recipe ended up being enough for an army, so I froze it and we had to keep having it.

Chicken wings - greasy fingers for a tiny amount of chicken. Thighs are so much better.

Thai curry paste. I went to the loo in a Thai resto when the kitchen staff were clearing down - enormous tubs of Mae Ploy !

Lasagne isn't a faff if you make a large batch of ragu & freeze in suitable portions.

Ohhh definitely, @willWillSmithsmith!

I used to make my own Christmas puddings - hours of steaming them, making the kitchen like a sauna, and then dh and I were the only ones who even wanted any of it on Christmas Day.

Buying and nuking one is a much more sensible option!

Is that for fish pie? My recipe: raw chunks of fish in dish with a boiled egg and a 'sauce' of sautéed onions, cream, mustard, lemon juice and cheese. Mash on top. Done. So easy. (The fish cooks in the sauce) it's Jamie Oliver but I adapted it.

The first year I lived in the US I couldn't understand why supermarkets weren't full of dried fruit in October/November and I faffed around and made Christmas cake and Christmas pudding with what I could find. I was the only one who ate it - people basically don't like that kind of thing around here. I haven't bothered since, though I ask my son to bring over a Tesco's finest if he's coming for Christmas so he and I can enjoy it.

Yep, oranges and grapefruits. This is why we have juice, all the taste, none of the peeling.

You just have to use your fingers. A child is good for this, they enjoy it and you can crack on with the sauce.

Chicken wings no point to them at all, skin, gristle and bone.

I'm open to new things, tin, packet or something else?

Homemade Yorkshires require a knack with pancake batter, hot oil and an even hotter drier oven, preferably fan. Some posters may have ovens that don’t get hot enough (oven thermometers can be an eye-opener) or retain too much moisture. They also don’t always work if the oven’s crowded.

Globe artichoke.
Grew them. Prepped and cooked them. let them go to flower after that.

Many fruits to be honest, I admit to buying ready chopped

Prawns in shells, whole crab (nice fishmonger thankfully does ready dressed, love crab). Actually most seafood unless the restaurant is prepping (ever shucked an oyster, near impossible!)

Oh and puff pastry, and filo I buy ready made

@Hiphopopotamus

You can cheat at risotto, I put all the stock in at once and even my chef friend asked for my recipe!)