Thread 14 - TalkLair: “What The Hell Are We Supposed To Use, Man? Harsh Language?”

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 13).

Summer should be well under way, but the chilly wind, grey clouds and pouring rain beg to differ. Looks like 2024 continues to be a washout - on the bright side, the Tories got washed out too! In the TalkLair, we remain hunkered down keeping cosy and warm. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

Peanuts are legumes that grow underground. In Malaysia we call them groundnuts. Which makes more sense than peanuts, to me.

I really like tigernuts, but you don't seem to get them here so much any more. It's one of my great joys of visiting Spain in summer because you can get Horchata de Chufas, which is basically tiger nut milk.

Tiger nuts look easy to grow. Might be worth a go.

plantura.garden/uk/vegetables/tiger-nut/tiger-nut-overview

At least 2 of my local shops sell tiger nut milk, but I don't think I've ever seen an actual tiger nut.

That's the way the world is going: you used to buy the raw materials, and now they are less widely available, but you can buy the complete, manufactured and packaged product.

I’m not convinced I’ve ever even heard of tiger nuts before.

I remember tiger nits too.

Talking of nuts that aren't nuts, has anyone ever heard the Unbelievable Truth episode about berries? It's hilarious. So few berries are berries.

nuts (obviously...)

Led to it by a MN username 🙂, I just looked up a recipe for spanakopita. It looked lovely, and the kind of thing I'd like, but it does seem a faff to make. Anyone here make it?

Spanakopita is utterly delicious and I'm tempted to add feta, sundried tomatoes and filo pastry to tomorrow's Tesco order. Life is too short to make filo pastry from scratch!

I'm also considering making it with leeks instead of spinach ...

I've neither bought filo, nor attempted to make it. But Lidl down the road always has plenty of spinach, made me wonder.

I do! It is a bit of a faff, but set against that, if you make the size that I make, it'll last for ages.

2 medium onions, sauteed in olive oil and/or butter with some garlic:
A 900g bag of frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed out so it's as dry as possible (a jelly bag is the best way to do this, I find);
(Optional) A couple of sauteed courgettes or a punnet of sauteed mushrooms;
Mix all that together as far as possible. Then add:
4-6 eggs, whisked together with salt and pepper
200g pack of feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small pieces
A handful of walnut pieces
About a teaspoon of grated nutmeg
Dill if you like it, and/or oregano.

Melt about 50g butter
Line a square brownie tin with foil and butter the foil (use a brush for all the buttering, it's easiest). Lay sheets of filo pastry in the tin, buttering them as you go, and leaving enough hanging out the side to fold over and cover it eventually - try to aim for a thickness of around 4 sheets for any one point to avoid leakage. When it's ready, add the veg mix and smooth out into the corners.

You can sprinkle sesame and/or nigella seeds on the pastry as you fold it over the top - if you just sprinkle them on top they will mostly end up falling off. Bake in a medium oven for 45-60 mins until golden brown. Take out, using the foil, and pull the foil flat to help it crisp as it cools. Nicest tepid.

I checked with a Greek friend because I was sure I'd just made a lot of it up, and he said it was pretty authentic.

I LOVE spanakopita (and anything with filo pastry really). I've never made it myself but you can buy them frozen in Waitrose, currently on offer.

Sounds great, Squeaky, thanks!

Sod that, for such treats, if I can then, I'll grow it myself.

There's a really good Greek bakery near Snoop that does marvellous spanakopita.

I've just been looking up nuts and it looks like most nuts aren't nuts. I knew about peanuts but not - as named by others - almonds, pistachios, cashews and pine nuts. Almonds are dropes which is something I've never heard of, as are macadamia nuts but they are also nuts and so are seen as tree nuts.

Hazelnuts, acorns and chestnuts are true nuts. Walnuts are tree nuts and Brazil nuts are seeds. The world no longer makes sense and we need to stop calling things nuts and berries that are not in fact nuts or berries. Or, we could do as I'm about to which is pretend that I've never read all of this nonsense and that even if I have read it I don't care and am craving pistachios and macadamia nuts which are definitely not pureed food but then neither is popcorn and I had some of that.

And yet it seems avocados are berries, which I didn't know.

I see our Irish Lidls are having something called Pistachio spread as an Italian week special soon so might investigate that. I also realise I must investigate frozen gluten-free pastry - it would be lovely to get some filo.

However today I went with another recent theme and had sausages with swede turnip, potato, cabbage and shallot. I remembered when I was shopping that an American who has started doing food writing for the Irish Times was astounded (in a good way) that Irish supermarkets didn't just stock fresh cabbage, they usually stocked several different kinds. I rejected Savoy, White, and Green, and chose a nice narrow-headed York. I may have rejected Kale as well but they usually keep that on another shelf for some reason.

I did the sausages in the air fryer but everything else in the microwave, the potatoes and turnip together earlier in the day, then zapped shredded cabbage, chopped shallot and butter together for three minutes, mixed them with the mashed root veg and re-heated it all together. Very nice indeed.

I'm prepared to be very casual and inclusive and even kind about things identifying as berries and nuts and fruits and whatever, but am passionate in my denunciation of any suggestion that mushrooms are vegetables.

Your meal sounds lush, @DeanElderberry

Apropo of nothing to do with the food we've been talking about but another food altogether. I haven't bought butter for a good few months. Butter is mad expensive these days or maybe I forgot how expensive it was and so was surprised by it when I was buying on Sunday.

Life without butter, though...

Re spinach, the Coop sells bags of washed microwaveable-in-the-bag spinach (in the fresh veg area). It's on the pricey side but very delicious indeed and my absolute go-to for instant veg. I chuck it raw into fish pie and would probably use it raw for spanakopita.

Spinach tastes nice but makes my teeth feel weird. Also, it's like this:

Now, obviously I think I am not being unreasonable, but surely it is batshit to think of pinching mugs from a hotel and also incredibly po-faced to not take the mini-toiletries/beverage sachets?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5162151-to-think-its-okay-to-take-certain-things-from-a-hotel?

It is batshit. I have a friend who occasionally does private catering in (usually wealthy) people's houses. She steals things like a tea towel or a napkin or some other little trinket. She's also nicked stuff from shops. She sees it as harmless. And she wonders why I don't like her staying over at my flat