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Deprived - not


idun
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With so much talk of cutting things out, I've made a dinner that shows no sign of deprivation at all. Lamb in red wine, mash, choux de savoie, carrots and parsnips, all with a rich red sauce. And treacle sponge and custard to finish. No starter, doubt we could manage one and no cheese either.

I suppose if I was cutting down, I 'd have the lamb and a little sauce and the veg but no patates and ofcourse no pud. As it is I'm going to be very happy with tonight's meal and maybe a little glass of wine.

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When we first got to France there was no NZ lamb, and then amazingly, and I'm not saying that there is any coincidence at all,  there was the Rainbow Warrior and suddenly there it was in the freezers. I didn't like our local lamb in France, it was too gamey, and I prefered NZ. This was british lamb today, and even NZ isn't so cheap anymore.

Why shouldn't I eat lamb then, if I was cutting back? I thought it was a cholesterol thing and my cholesterol is 4 so I'm not worried about that and I love lamb.

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Last weekend we had pork belly...done in the oven sitting on a bed of cubed parsnip, butternut squash, swede, sweet potato and carrot. The bottom of the pork belly I spread with wholegrain mustard, then added just enough water to half-cover the veg. Once the meat and veg were cooked I mashed the root veg without draining off the smallish amount of remaining juice and served with green beans and baby potatoes.

The meat, which comfortably served 3 of us, cost just under £2..

I think I can do recession cooking.[:)]

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We too used to buy NZ lamb out here because we preferred the flavour- it used to cost about 8 euros a leg. 

I looked at some on Saturday in Super U: 27 euros!

Suffice to say yesterday we had Day 1 of our 3-4 day chicken dishes..

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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Last weekend we had pork belly...done in the oven sitting on a bed of cubed parsnip, butternut squash, swede, sweet potato and carrot. The bottom of the pork belly I spread with wholegrain mustard, then added just enough water to half-cover the veg. Once the meat and veg were cooked I mashed the root veg without draining off the smallish amount of remaining juice and served with green beans and baby potatoes.

The meat, which comfortably served 3 of us, cost just under £2..

I think I can do recession cooking.[:)]
[/quote]

You try doing it for that price in France, sweet potatoes are €3.80 minimum per kilo and I have to travel 35 miles in the hope of finding some, usually one time in 3 I will succeed, even veg thought only suitable for cattle (maybe swede is included in that) are a silly price, topinambur at €1.95 per kilo [:-))]

I confess to never having seen a butternut squashe here despite going to the city fruit and veg market several times a month, I bet it would cost £2 alone.

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LOL I bought sweet potatoes for the kids at the ecole maternelle to try. Handed the bag to the teacher, explained what they were, gave cooking instructions and she took them home and fed her family. Twas the last time I took anything into school to try.

So what do the picardiens, picardais [8-)]?? eat then?

 

I usually put food on the table quite cheaply, but I do like treats sometimes.

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I will give you a clue, in a town serving a community of more than 200000 there are no longer any restaurants, just friteries and a kebab shop, the only culture that will drag people out is une soirée pâtate et pinard [:(], and that is from the horses mouth from one of the dynamic few who try to put on cultural events and get the community together.

Re growing your own, well the only thing that grows on my concrete and block paving are weeds, people do take pity on me and give me veggies occasionally when they have a surplus, the topinambur was a surprise, they had grown them for the flowers but they had spread like wildfire, a whole tray of them came from only one pied, they are only considered as edible by bêtes or L'anglais but i really like the taste of them.

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Out at friends' house at the weekend, we had Tartiflette for the first time. Only meat was lardons, but it tasted delicious and was very filling. I don't think that can have been very expensive, but I'd certainly recommend it. got the recipe to try out when I'm back in England.

Chancer, I read in our local paper that topinambur was the new veg of the moment even in France. You are a trendsetter it seems.

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[quote user="Frecossais"]Out at friends' house at the weekend, we had Tartiflette for the first time. Only meat was lardons, but it tasted delicious and was very filling. I don't think that can have been very expensive, but I'd certainly recommend it. got the recipe to try out when I'm back in England.

Chancer, I read in our local paper that topinambur was the new veg of the moment even in France. You are a trendsetter it seems.

[/quote]

Take back the real Reblochon cheese to put in it.

You know it was one of those apparently traditional dishes which were actually dreamed up by a  promotional team (In this case marketing for this cheese)

Delicious though...

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Reblochon is not exactly cheap.  About 8 euros for the usual size about 6 inch diameter, I suppose.

In the interests of economy, I use the Reblochon-type cheese from Lidl.  Under 4 euros.

Once cooked in a tartiflette, the taste is excellent and, unless you are some sort of tartiflette connoiseur(se), you wouldn't know the difference.  At least I don't know the difference![:D]

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Ah - Jerusalem artichoke! (had to look it up). I don't eat any nasty green things, although I do eat salad.

We had shoulder of lamb on Sunday. It was Irish and the cheapest I've seen for ages at €5,95 per kilo from SuperU. Two shepherd's pies are now in the freezer.

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This is beginning to sound like a very cosy little Vendee gathering! Are you inviting Pommier too?

I have a yummy recipe for them, simmered with tomatoes, onions and parsley.

Actually I am not sure that topinambours are fit to be eaten in polite company. My stepsons used to call them "f*rtichokes".

Angela

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Hate to say it but lamb and mutton are the worst of all meats for anyone with cholesterol or diabetes problems because of the high fat content. Its a no-no in that case. Wish it was cheap like it was when we were children,we used to have it midweek and for roast on sundays back then. Now its perhaps once per year if the lamb steaks are on special.
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