Home Cooking Ideas, Tips and Recipes

[Ladymuck]

HELP!

I've just started to make Narnia's Irish Soda bread. I don't have any cream of tartar. Can I substitute with something else? I have baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

HURRY...

*panicking...*

[cate]

Are you using it in milk to make it acidic? If so then you can sub lemon juice or white vinegar.

[Ladymuck]

Yes - skimmed milk. Hurry...

[cate]

How much milk? For three quarters of a cup I would use about 2 tablespoons.

[Ladymuck]

Shit No! I've just checked the recipe. It's Narnia's. There's NO milk (or any liquid). That can't be right. HELP. Narnia - where are you?

[Ladymuck]

Oh hang on - Jesus, Mary and Joseph...

There IS milk - only it's not in the list of ingredients...it's ONE PINT OF MILK. Phew!

[cate]

There should be buttermilk in the recipe. And a sub for buttermilk is the lemon juice or vinegar in milk trick.

Some people like less vinegar, so use 1 tablespoon in cup then add milk to come to a cup. Leave to stand.

[Ladymuck]

Nope: he just says "milk". And all I have is skimmed milk. Boo hoo...

[cate]

Well, try it with that. I would use at least 3 tablespoons of vinegar of lemon juice and then add the milk to bring it up to 20 fluid oz which is an imperial pint.

[Ladymuck]

Re vinegar, I have basalmic, cider, and distilled white. I am guessing use the white? So how much per my pint of skimmed milk?

PS...I much appreciate this cate...but too freaked out by panic at moment to express it...HURRY...

[cate]

White - I just told you above how much to use.

[Ladymuck]

Yes - sorry - X-post...not sure about the imperial pint though:-S...

Dashes back to kitchen...

[cate]

US pint is 16 oz - imperial is 20 oz. So pint of milk here equals 20 fluid oz.

[Ladymuck]

*returns from kitchen*

Thanks...

Too late though - it's in the oven LOL!

I have to say, it didn't look anything as per the video clip you attached. It kept falling apart and I had problems getting it to stay in some sort of ball. Anyway, it's on a baking sheet (thanks for tip re. no need for tin BTW) on 220 degrees as per Narnia's recipe above. And I "made the cross" so as to let the fairies out - so we now have a house full of fairies! It's all very exciting. Despite the fact that I didn't have COT or buttermilk and the fact that it looks nothing like it should, being the optimist that I am, I am now preparing some herb and garlic butter to we can smear that onto the bread when it is ready.

Thank you SO much for your speedy advice cate. MUCH appreciated. xx

[HAL9000]

Ladymuck Wrote:

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> Whilst the cooking takes

> place...you can go off and do whatever you

> like...even have a sleep for a couple of hours

Precious advice from Lady I've-already-blown-up-three-pressure-cookers-and-now-I'm-not-allowed-to-have-one Muck!

[Ladymuck]

We've just eaten half of it, and it aint half bad! Twas lovely with the garlic/herb butter (used fresh garlic HAL9000;-)) and pumpkin soup.

Thanks for coming to the rescue cate. And thanks for the recipe Narnia.

Edited to add a missing bracket - as am aware of the presence of a (rusty) pedant on this thread.

[karter]

ha ha ha Hal, i know what i am not getting LM for xmas.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Bit of a disaster - ended up with only two and a half pots.

Anyhoo, add 500g of sugar to every 500ml of liquid and a tablespoon of lemon juice*. Bring slowly to boil, making sure sugar has dissolved first. Let it do a rolling boil for about 15 mins

Check it's ready by drizzling a little onto a chilled plate, put back in fridge for 2 mins and if it wrinkles when you gently push it, it's done.

Stir in a teaspoon+ of dried chilli. Pour/ladle into sterilised jars, put lids on.

*the lemon juice was an addition this year, not sure it worked - caused everything to super-scum. Perhaps it is better added to original apple mix.

David - thank you for your kind comments. x I used apples from P.Rye Park - they are more minature than crab. The tree is in the Japanese Garden. I did notice, however, that there are loads of crab apples in Highshore Road there for the picking.

[Ladymuck]

HAL9000 Wrote:

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> Precious advice from Lady

> I've-already-blown-up-three-pressure-cookers-and-n

> ow-I'm-not-allowed-to-have-one Muck!

Very funny. Trust you to dig up the past, you rusty old machine you.

Here, have some of my lovely bread - and it IS lovely.

*shoves fat slice of bread loaded with melted herb/garlic butter into "rusty's" face*

[Ladymuck]

DC - there are still some crab apples (yellow ones) in St. Francis' Park (opposite Sainsburys). However, they are VERY ripe and starting to go brown - so hurry.

[karter]

Time to get rid of that rusty old computer which is now obsolete and upgrade to something modern with fresh recipes.:))

[cate]

Lady M,

May I humbly suggest you check your recipe and ingredients before you start cooking. Next time try it with buttermilk. Sainsburys has it, as does SMBS which sells it in a pint container.

Edited to add maybe you overmilked the bread if it kept falling apart.

[Ladymuck]

Ha ha ha ha - good advice Cate! And there is no need to be so humble LOL!!!! I am truly scatty with the brain the size of a pea...always doing at least 3 things at once...but what can you do LOL!

Seriously though, thanks everso much for your help. xx

[Ladymuck]

karter Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Time to get rid of that rusty old computer which

> is now obsolete and upgrade to something modern

> with fresh recipes.:))

We've tried, but he keeps coming back in his old form. Worse, he's all over the place...in many a parallel universe. I am hoping to go to a parallel universe where he is actually extinct, or at least where he uses fresh garlic and lemons in his recipes and where I am able to use a pressure cooker LOL!

[katie1997]

HAL9000 Wrote:

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> Consistency is the key to professional quality

> cooking - whether at home, in the restaurant or

> the factory.

thanks for that HAL, I'll remember that when I'm making hummus at my factory tomorrow and then later when my restaurant opens for business :))

> ETA: I don't see anyone in the 'fresh ingredients'

> brigade grinding their own sesame seed paste, by

> the way.

OMG are you implying that you spotted me leaving the Dulwich Supermarket (across from EDD, btw) with a jar of ... tahini!! I can assure you that each sesame seed is grinded, individually, in my kitchen. Honest guv.

Viva the Fresh Ingredients Brigade B)