MISC HALF HOMEMADE

[susan8020]

CURRY ETC. Bring home a take-out of a very spicy curry dish. Add canned coconut milk, some chopped meat and veg -- that makes several servings of mildly spicy curry.

Same with a boxed spicy entree from the grocery store. (Tasty Bite used to be good for this, though lately they've got too mild.) A boxed spicy dal makini could combine with a can of Progresso lentil soup.)

(First catch your take-out. ;-) Here are some tips for easily managing the take-out from the restaurant table to home to storage.)
http://susan8020.dreamwidth.org/895.html

--------------------

BASTARD BEEF WELLINGTON: Buy frozen pie crust and a soft spreadable sausage such as Braunswiger. Spread the sausage over and around a piece of steak. Enclose the steak in the pie crust and bake.

('Liver pate' is traditional for this and very good. Authentic 'goose liver pate' is unethical, but various other soft 'liver sausage' and even veg/vegan 'pate's are available. Or if you fry liver with onions, run the leftovers through a blender for a 'mock pate'.)

Fresh vegs for half homemade

[susan8020]

For adding fresh vegs to prepared dishes, here are some tips about how to keep fresh vegs very handy.
http://susan8020.dreamwidth.org/10112.html

Tins, Tomatoes, and Rotisserie Chickens

[17catherines]

Not a cross-post, but a link to my carnival submission at Cate's Cates which includes

• Three recipes from tins
• Three things to do with a rotisserie chicken, plus stock
• Three ways to jazz up a basic tomato pasta sauce from the shops

storebought fried tofu for half homemade

[susan8020]

Speaking of things worth buying already prepared -- fried tofu!

Iirc Commodorified said a while back, that vegetarians don't EAT tofu, they just BUY tofu, then the non-vegetarians throw it out after it goes bad. I'm guilty.

But a couple of weeks ago I bought a tray of 'fried tofu' and made some cuts to divide it and put it straight into the freezer. Now I just took it out broke off some pieces and added them to hot curry that was warming up -- fine.

Tofu that's been frozen gets a nice chewy texture with spongy holes to fill up with sauce. Fried tofu more so apparently.

Buying it already fried means no fooling with the creepy white stuff under water.

Here's more background on 'frozen tofu' in general:
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHMC_enUS396US397&aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=%22frozen+tofu%22

Tim Tam Cake, and other things to do with a packet cake mix

[17catherines]

Happy food carnival day!

I decided my first post was way too boring, so this is the fun half of my contribution.

Basically, it's a whole collection of ways to adulterate packet cake mixes until they are unrecogniseable as packet cakes, starting with the classic from my student days - Tim Tam Cake. 

Enjoy!