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I've recently tried my hand at cooking Maryland crab-cakes, based on recipes I've found on t'internet, with a few of my own "twists & tweaks" thrown in for good measure! My attempts have mostly turned out very well - if I do say so myself -but most of the recipes I've found - which are mostly American (unsurprisingly) - include an ingredient called "Old Bay Seasoning".

 

This is something I'd never heard of - and I've never seen on sale, even in the many, many ethnic shops I regularly visit. It's easy enough to buy Old Bay Seasoning online - and there are plenty of recipes for making your own spice mix (which is what I did in the end).

 

"Old Bay Seasoning" is apparently a kitchen staple - and a store-cupboard essential - across huge swathes of America, so I'm just wondering if any of you fellow foodies have ever used it.....or even heard of it?

 

 

I have heard of it, and mostly because I need to avoid it as it would make me ill. I'm allergic to red and green peppers, and it contains red pepper flakes.

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Crikey Medusa - being allergic to red and green peppers seems like a very uncomfortable allergy to have. I bet you have to use a lot of imagination when you're home-cooking or eating out, because so many of the world's cuisines involve the inclusion of so many different kinds of red and green peppers, either in raw form, like chopped fresh chillis, bell peppers etc, or in dried powdered/flaked form - like chilli powder/flakes, cayenne, paprika, pimenton, etc.

 

How do you manage to give your food that hot "kick"? Are you okay eating other kinds of hot pepper - the kind made from whole or ground dried peppercorns - like black pepper, white pepper Szechuan pepper, or with other hot, spicy flavours like wasabi, horseradish, ginger, galangal etc?

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I made my own rhubarb and ginger last week. Most of the recipes I've seen recommend waiting for about 4 weeks before drinking but I couldn't resist cracking it open over the weekend and it was gorgeous. I also spot some new rhubarb coming through in my garden ready for the next batch.

 

Hi - could you share the recipe you used please? Thanks

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Crikey Medusa - being allergic to red and green peppers seems like a very uncomfortable allergy to have. I bet you have to use a lot of imagination when you're home-cooking or eating out, because so many of the world's cuisines involve the inclusion of so many different kinds of red and green peppers, either in raw form, like chopped fresh chillis, bell peppers etc, or in dried powdered/flaked form - like chilli powder/flakes, cayenne, paprika, pimenton, etc.

 

How do you manage to give your food that hot "kick"? Are you okay eating other kinds of hot pepper - the kind made from whole or ground dried peppercorns - like black pepper, white pepper Szechuan pepper, or with other hot, spicy flavours like wasabi, horseradish, ginger, galangal etc?

 

 

To be honest, it's not bad once I worked out what sort of thing is likely to include peppers, and then l can let my sense of smell go to work. I can tell if a takeaway has peppers before taking it out of the bag. I avoid Mexican, some Spanish and some Mediterranean food and am careful with anything I haven't cooked, but it's no worse than anybody else with an allergy, and to be honest, I'm not anaphylactic so it could be a whole load worse. I just projectile vomit, and restaurant staff are usually as careful as me once I tell them that I'll puke all over their eatery if they aren't :)

 

 

I also have burning mouth syndrome, so giving anything a spicy kick is something I simply don't do any more. I am fine with peppercorns used gently (they're unrelated to capsicum peppers) and Szechuan pepper, and chili doesn't make me sick either, just bell peppers, pimento and good old fashioned capsicum. I do miss being able to have a curry every now and then, but the cress on an egg and cress sandwich is too spicy sometimes, as is standard ginger beer, so it's all a bit irrelevant.

 

 

 

The upside of having a very sensitive mouth (it's caused by a selection of things, which could include years of medication that causes a dry mouth and my thyroid being broken) is that I'm also a super taster, so I am the queen of appreciating the subtleties of bland :)

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Thanks Medusa. I particularly like your phrase "...so I am the queen of appreciating the subtleties of bland". It's a really positive slant on having certain food intolerances and allergies

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Ooh - it's been ages since I've been on here, but then again, it's been ages since I've cooked anything new. However, I made oriental style lemon chicken for the first time last night - and it turned out pretty well. Lemon chicken has always been one of my favourites when I eat out at Chinese restaurants - I love the thin, crispy batter on the strips of chicken...and the gloopy, citrussy, piquant lemon sauce.

 

My home-made version wasn't quite the same as the restaurant versions...but it was pretty near - and I was quite proud of it. I ate it with some stir-fried Chinese veg and egg noodles. Delish!

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I've never had venison let alone Roe deer and living locally I must use Beeches more often, a few of my neighbors keep singing his praises. I'll give venison a try at the weekend.

 

I'd forgotten about this thread. I found the venison ok and have tried goat since which was lovely in a Jamaican style curry, will definitely have it again.

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On 09/11/2017 at 20:48, FIRETHORN1 said:

I too use jars of sweet and sour sauce Hauxwell. They're good enough when in a bit of a rush, although I do admit that I always enhance the jarred stuff a bit, by adding a few extra veg, extra seasoning etc.

 

I much prefer my own home made s&s sauce though ....if I've got the time to faff about!

 

To make my base sauce (enough for about two servings) I use a couple of tablespoons each of seedless raspberry jam, sherry vinegar, a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a squeeze of clear, runny honey and the juice only from drained tin of pineapple chunks. I then heat it and simmer it gently until it reaches the required flavour and consistency - if it's too sweet, add more vinegar/lemon juice, if it's too sour, add more jam/honey. If it's too thin, simmer a bit longer to reduce down - or if too thick, add a splash of water and stir in.

 

Once the base sauce is ready, I stir in the pineapple chunks from the tin I drained earlier, some spring onions, de-seeded cucumber, red pepper and carrot - all peeled and cut into "matchstick" strips, a clove of minced garlic, a thumbnail sized piece of minced fresh ginger and a small pinch of Chinese 5-spice seasoning. Warm it through gently, until the vegetables and pineapple chunks are warm - but still quite crunchy in texture.

 

After I've got my basic sauce right, I'll add pretty much what I feel like and what I've got left in the fridge or freezer. Water chestnuts work well, as does sweetcorn, bamboo shoots, bamboo sprouts, thinly sliced mushrooms, chopped bok-choi or Chinese leaves, sugar- snap peas............. a splash of soy sauce or oyster sauce.....a grind 0f Sichuan pepper....a drizzle of sesame oil over the top of it......the possibilities are endless!

:)

Finally got round to trying FIRETHORN1 sweet and sour base recipe and I can definitely recommend it.  I did add a tiny squeeze of chilli paste.  

It tastes nicer than jars. 

 

 

 

 

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I found Hanger steak in Waitrose today, also known as onglet or butchers cut. I believe it's from the diaphragm. Seen it cooked on various cookery shows but have never seen it either in a butchers or supermarket.

 

Took a lot more cooking and resting than other steaks but would probably still put some people off due to it still being quite rare.

 

Not to be eaten as a steak, slice thinly across the grain and have on a barmcake.

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It just goes to show how unadventurous I am nowadays that this is my first post on this thread since June.

 

Black Turtle Beans.....the only reason I tried them was because they were being given away at work due to being two years out of date (bbf). I googled them and basically dried beans last forever, they just need a bit more soaking.

 

So I soaked for 24 hours and simmered for 2 and they're great. Good texture that goes well with rice, casseroles etc and could also be mashed as a spread or re-fried bean alternative.

 

2 years out of date...meh

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Welcome back Taxman! I thought that (like me), you'd run out of new stuff to try! I've cooked a few "variations" lately, using different herbs/spices/seasonings etc -but nowt that I would actually call "new", as such.  I've met and worked with a few Middle Eastern and Moroccan colleagues lately. I've really enjoyed the food they've shared with me,   so I've been experimenting with different seasonings... like Raas-el-Hanout,  Baahar seasoning etc - all very delicious and tasty, but it's basically not really  all that different from cooking an Indian-style curry - just a different blend of herbs and spices to use when marinating your meat or chicken etc . It also involves using a lot more fruit - especially  dried fruits, like figs, prunes, raisins, apricots etc

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Coco haricot beans have been in season these last few weeks here in France. Simmered in chicken stock with onion, diced carrot and a boquet garni they've been a great side dish for a roast chicken - then adding the rest of the chicken and some greens, and sometimes a few slices of mild chorizo to the remaining beans and stock, a great stew for the next day - preferably served with walnut bread - a speciality round these parts.

 

 

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