Weight For It!

I was reading a recipe online, and the majority of comments below it were nothing to do with the finished food product, but all about the way the recipe was written. It was from the USA and all ingredients were listed in cups, rather than by weight. 

I have a set of ProCook cups, bought in a sale years ago. They are strong, and the silicon grips make them easy to hold - and they do not distort. And the storage ring opens and closes easily.

I've also got some vintage Salter Balance scales, with two sets of weight - imperial and metric. 

We also have a glass topped battery operated digital scale - and a Tala Cook's measure.

I think there are pros and cons for each of these systems

• The measuring cups are obviously essential for a cup based recipe - but I am concerned that if a powder is more densely packed/settled, then its weight will be significantly different from powder loosely gathered. That is bound to affect the resulting cake.
• I love my balance scales, but they are quite cumbersome and heavy. I use them for large quantities [fruit based stuff like chutneys, and my Christmas cake]
• The digital scales are Bob's favourite, he finds them most accurate* - and I must admit that the 'zero' button is useful if you want to use your bowl and add-and-weigh ingredients as you go along. But a larger bowl obscures the panel and you cannot see what the weight is.
• The Tala measure is useful if I am weighing out rice, or lentils to put in a casserole - and it also has volumetric scales [metric and imperial] and cup-measures printed in it. But I don't use it often. It may go to a CS soon!

And I mustn't forget my stack of pyrex jugs, used for measuring liquids. Bob prefers to weigh liquids on the digital scale as he says it is more accurate. The jugs are good too for using in the microwave - I like having a handle to get hold of, rather than clutching the sides of a bowl.

But even with accurate scales, there are still unexplained disasters sometimes. We ate all the bread on Wednesday evening, so on Thursday morning, I made a 'rapid' loaf in the breadmaker.

There's "rough and rustic" and then there is bizarrely shaped lumpen mass...

It will provide hunks to accompany soup, and toast to be topped with beans - and if all else fails, bread pudding or crumbs!

Unattractive does not equate to inedible. 

How do you weigh? 

[not 'what do you weigh?' that is far too personal a question!]

One Pound Of Flesh?

I read Sue's blog on Friday morning and realised that one of the books she'd mentioned was on Steph's kitchen shelf. So I asked S if I could borrow it for a bit. It's an interesting book. The recipes are all main courses, no starters or puds. Which is good, as I'm currently trying to eat less sugar. And each serves just one person.

This strikes me as a good approach - if you are eating alone, you may not want to keep cooking four-portion meals. Not all recipes portion-and-freeze well. So you'd have the same thing every evening Monday-Thursday. Miguel wanted variety, in a way that was simple, straightforward and not wasteful - and economical. 

The book came out in 2017. I haven't done costings, but maybe they cost a bit more than £1 now, but the principle holds true. Miguel is committed to working from a core group of ingredients and cooking from scratch [no UPF jars of pre-made sauces] There are four sections - vegetarian, meat, fish&seafood, and chicken. 

Yes I know chicken is meat, but it sort of makes sense to have its own category.

I think it is a well planned book, and would be brilliant for a young person just starting out cooking for themselves [recipes require minimal equipment] or busy working people who want

 a decent meal in the evening but don't want to rely on ready meals or takeaways - and older people living alone who enjoy cooking and maybe want some fresh ideas. The meals work well together - if a recipe needs half a pepper, you can find another to use up the second half later in the week.

And here's the good bit - you can easily multiply up for a number of guests. Most recipe books are for 4 people or more, and the solitary diner has to divide ingredients down [one quarter of an egg, anybody?] But these recipes serve one, and increasing the ingredients list is easy. 

I've yet to try any of the recipes, but I have certainly enjoyed reading through the book. **** The recipes are inexpensive, but do not look cheap - and they do look very tasty!

[Maybe after I've cooked from it, I'll up my rating to 5*]

UPDATE recipes pictured from top to bottom

Roast chicken balloting with potatoes [cover pic] 

Cabbage and bacon conchiglioni

Thai crab cakes and bisque

Huevos con con chorizo

Toad in the hole