Friday 1 February 2013

Lemon Curd, Foster Dog and Fish for tea

 
   I have been asked about Foster Dog and am pleased to say that he is settled and loved. They have been working hard at socialising him and he is responding much better now to other dogs. We are so pleased for him as he is such a loving dog.
                                                                                                                                                                  I I thought I would cost out the lemon curd I made the other day.  I made 7lb of lemon curd.
 12 unwaxed lemons.......£2.80
 1lb unsalted butter..........£1.80
 2&half lb  sugar.............£1.30            all ingredients bought from Lidl
1 dozen free range eggs ( must be fresh) these cost me nothing, but I sell them at £2.40 per dozen, so I will cost them in to help anyone who doesn't keep chickens.
Total.....£8.30.     which works out as £1.18 a 1lb
I don't think this is bad for a seriously good quality product, which tastes heavenly.

Lemon curd on toast is about as good as it gets , though lemon curd tarts are popular, but probably our favourite here is lemon sponge pudding made in the microwave.

Lemon Sponge pudding - grease a pudding basin with butter and put 4 tablespoons of lemon curd in the bottom.
In another bowl make a sponge mix with 6oz Self Raising flour; 4oz margarine; 4oz Sugar and two eggs (if you have a lemon grate the rind into the mix and the juice from the lemon - but you can do without this if you want) If no lemon juice, add two tablespoons milk.
Spoon the mixture on top of the lemon curd. loosely place a circle of paper on top and microwave the pud for 5 minutes. Done !

 We looked at our three hives yesterday. Two seem pretty strong but the third doesn't look too good. Fingers still crossed for them. Fondant sugar given to all.

I shall be cooking fish tonight. As I said in a previous post  D. Is keen on sea fishing and we make frequent trips to Looe in Cornwall where he fishes with a group of like-minded friends. My favourite way to cook fish is in crumbs which I make with (Lidl) cornflakes ( either in the food processor or in a plastic bag crushed with a rolling pin). Dip fish into flour, then beaten egg, then the crumbs and fry in a small amount of oil. If you are gluten intolerant you can use cornflour instead of flour.
 If you have young people who say they don't like fish, try cutting the fish into strips before coating and frying as above. serve with bowls of mayo or a favourite sauce and call them Cougons  (don't mention the word fish !)
The fish I cook this way are Pollack, Whiting, Cod (rarely) and , my favourite, Ling.
Started cutting out my new sewing  projects last night.. What a treat !!
That's all for now
Gill


7 comments:

  1. I cook fish in a similar way with the only exception being that I use cornmeal (corn flour for you I think?) instead of cornflakes.

    My family loves almost any kind of fish prepared this way.

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    1. Good idea ! Must try that. I call it cornmeal too, it can also be called polenta can't it?
      I have just had a look at your blog which is very interesting. I shall visit it regularly. As I am quite new to frugal blogworld I'm still finding the blogs I can relate to.
      Best wishes across the miles
      Gill

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    2. I'm not sure, but I think polenta (which is called grits in the Southern US -- funny to me how we all eat the same foods with different names) is a little coarser than the cornmeal we use. I'm thinking maybe it is similar to your corn flour only because we use it in breads, but I'm not sure.)

      Glad to meet you!

      Shara

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  2. Corn meal is a bit coarser than corn flour - I use panko crumbs but here in the midwest the fish is so iffy - we are 1,000 miles from the ocean and the fish is not all that fresh, most of it is frozen.
    Love your store cupboard - Iemon curd is so lovely and so easy to make. I made some lime marmalade out of the Guardian the other day - I used some pectin and did nt bother with the lime leaves - really really good. Very difficult to get Sevilles here.
    Definitely going to try that sponge pud. !
    Have a great weekend, stay warm, wind chill of -27C here, it was jolly cold grocery shopping today.

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    1. I have a hard time finding panko crumbs but I'm guessing it is because I live in a rural area. The ocean on the other hand is pretty near. We are just a couple of miles from the sound and have a lot of commercial fisherman in our area. Ironically I do buy some frozen fish though because just like all things the fresh seafood has its "seasons."

      My least expensive fish prepared like this is whiting.

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  3. Hello F.I.D, thankyou for joining us over at Hillside, I thought I would come and meet you properly. Your blog is very interesting, I see we have several interests in common and I look forward to reading more as you go along.
    Blessings, Kath.

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    1. Thanks for that Kath. I see that you work with Vulnerable Adults. That was my life's work until I retired 3 years ago.(D and I still offer respite and day care under the shared lives scheme)
      Gill

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