The Drop In Centre 3

[Gary L]

I make my own fish and chicken stock and freeze 4 litres at a time. 45 min in pressure cooker. Also bulk prep of sofrito veg - chopped carrots, celery and onions means I can make a pasta sauce in minutes ( and then freeze half ). Cooking for me is relaxing but I can sympathise with those not into to it. 
puddings, now, are a different matter and are firmly in Paco’s hands…

[Mikiesboy]

6 hours ago, Brayon said:

I'm saving that link! Thank you, Reader.

Some yummy looking stuff on there.  I do like @mollyhousemouse. Buy a few chicken thighs and marinate and freeze them, cut up chicken breast into chunks and freeze in smaller portions to stir-fry. See if you can buy frozen stir-fry veggies.  If you make a small batch of chili, freeze one or two portions.  I take bell peppers, wash them, cut them in half from the stem down, clean them out and then i take grated carrots and sliced onions and sauté them until soft. Put the pepper halves in a freezable container... pile on the carrots and onions and freeze. 

Michael and Dan thought i was crazy for doing that. It's an old WW2 recipe from my grandmother. When they did not have much to stuff them with. You can freeze the peppers without cooking them first. They will be soft when you take them out. I let them defrost and then heat them in the toaster oven or air fryer.  Michael and Dan love them, and they are a great side dish. I usually do 10 peppers, but you don't have to make that many. Two or three peppers will give you four or six portions. 

I'm sure molly and i can give you more ideas if you need them... lol    

[Mikiesboy]

5 hours ago, Gary L said:

I make my own fish and chicken stock and freeze 4 litres at a time. 45 min in pressure cooker. Also bulk prep of sofrito veg - chopped carrots, celery and onions means I can make a pasta sauce in minutes ( and then freeze half ). Cooking for me is relaxing but I can sympathise with those not into to it. 
puddings, now, are a different matter and are firmly in Paco’s hands…

Yeah all that kinda prep make dinner faster.  I make my own stock. I keep chicken parts and roast them in the air fryer, then i add all the bits of veg i've saved in the freezer and make stock. 

I do get tired of cooking but mostly i like it. I love making bread and desserts as well.    

[Mikiesboy]

Happy Sunday... yeah. 

[Gary L]

A snack lunch in Valencia…..

[chris191070]

Me and Hubby just had this with iced coffee.

[Mikiesboy]

2 hours ago, Gary L said:

A snack lunch in Valencia…..

 

31 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

Me and Hubby just had this with iced coffee.

You guys so need to tell us what you are eating. They both look spectacular, but what are they? 

[chris191070]

35 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

Me and Hubby just had this with iced coffee.

Pancake, stuffed with banana, strawberries, custard and chocolate crisp. Then topped with milk and white chocolate with chocolate tweels and maltesers.

Edited August 3, 2025 by chris191070

[mollyhousemouse]

4 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

Pancake, stuffed with banana, strawberries, custard and chocolate crisp. Then topped with milk and white chocolate with chocolate tweels and maltesers.

and i thought my bagels were fancy! 

also here we are, in our third iteration of the drop in center, still talking about food 🤭 

[chris191070]

Just now, mollyhousemouse said:

and i thought my bagels were fancy! 

also here we are, in our third iteration of the drop in center, still talking about food 🤭 

That's never gonna change, we like each other's recipes and food eats to much.

[spyke]

19 minutes ago, mollyhousemouse said:

and i thought my bagels were fancy! 

also here we are, in our third iteration of the drop in center, still talking about food 🤭 

Orange you glad we are? I know I yam.

[Wayne Gray]

2 minutes ago, spyke said:

Orange you glad we are? I know I yam.

Wow. That's like me challenging Bruce Lee to a martial arts contest.

I mean, you're just asking for PUNishment.

Edited August 3, 2025 by Wayne Gray

[mollyhousemouse]

12 minutes ago, Wayne Gray said:

Wow. That's like me challenging Bruce Lee to a martial arts contest.

I mean, you're just asking for PUNishment.

ohh, something to chew on... let's see what i can cook up

[Mikiesboy]

55 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

Pancake, stuffed with banana, strawberries, custard and chocolate crisp. Then topped with milk and white chocolate with chocolate tweels and maltesers.

lord love a duck...that would give me diabetes.... i bet it was amazing!!

[Mikiesboy]

29 minutes ago, spyke said:

Orange you glad we are? I know I yam.

ruh roh

[mollyhousemouse]

11 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

ruh roh

not to stir the pot, but ideas are starting to simmer

[Brayon]

16 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

lord love a duck...that would give me diabetes.... i bet it was amazing!!

OMG!!!! That saying is now in my bag. "Lord love a duck." 

[chris191070]

23 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

lord love a duck...that would give me diabetes.... i bet it was amazing!!

It was amazing, I kept telling myself the fruit made it good for me.

[Mikiesboy]

39 minutes ago, Brayon said:

OMG!!!! That saying is now in my bag. "Lord love a duck." 

that's an old english saying ... my grandmother said it often. haha

[Mikiesboy]

33 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

It was amazing, I kept telling myself the fruit made it good for me.

the fruit made it less bad for sure.. lol  i'm glad it was delish!!

[Gary L]

3 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

 

You guys so need to tell us what you are eating. They both look spectacular, but what are they? 

Okay, living in Valencia, many families have this paella every Sunday.  Once a month is enough for me.  The classic paella consists of chicken and rabbit first fried in the paella (that’s actually the name of the cooking pan); then add wide runner beans, a local crop, fry a bit more and add grated tomato, local of course; next add water/stock up to the screws and boil for 10 min; check for seasoning and add rice grown just south of the city and butter beans, again local.  Cook until all liquid absorbed and rice cooked (tricky for a Brit to get right at first) and for the last five minutes put loads of fresh rosemary over the top (stolen from nearby field).   
You must NEVER stir once the rice is added so that the bottom of the rice gets crispy and slightly burned, even.  
You can also do a seafood version or vegetarian.   If you are a heretic from Alicante you can mix seafood and chicken.  An abomination according to my Valencian significant other! 
Oh and if you like snails, chicken feet and other horrors, these are also acceptable….. but not in my kitchen.   
I await other menus.   
BTW, Chris’ dessert affair looked to die for…. 

Edited August 3, 2025 by Gary L

[Mikiesboy]

37 minutes ago, Gary L said:

ou must NEVER stir once the rice is added so that the bottom of the rice gets crispy and slightly burned, even.

Interesting... i had an Iranian friend and they made their 'celebration' rice .. basmati first cook in the usual way.. then it's drained...oil added to the pot and rice put back until the bottom was crispy.. omg it was so good.   
 

i find these similarities in cooking and food interesting. 

Edited August 3, 2025 by Mikiesboy

[spyke]

4 hours ago, Wayne Gray said:

Wow. That's like me challenging Bruce Lee to a martial arts contest.

Isn't Bruce Lee dead?🤔

Nah, no challenge at all. Just an appreciation for @mollyhousemouseand her puns, and that I'm so glad she's back and posting. I have missed her. 

[Starrynight22]

Yay a new house for the crew!  Thanks tim

 

 

 

Now to go read 7 pages lol 

[Starrynight22]

Hello all.  

I'm starry.  I pop in every 2 weeks or so these days.  I enjoy hearing about people's lives from all over. And even though I wouldn't know most of the DICer's by sight I feel like over the last 8ish years I've come to regard this place as a safe, fun,  friend filled living room.  I'm the one sitting by the fireplace with a hot chai. 

And I knew Michael was tall......but I didn't realize He was 6'11".  Wow. 

My little one (ha!) is almost 5'2" and he is not yet 10 years old.  So.. I feel like I will soon have a new sort of kinship to our Canadian host tim, in that I will soon be outsized by my household members