Me too...Make your own food and forgo the mass market/processed foods!

I think one of the biggest myths we were sold back in the 80s was that low fat diets were the best way forward for health. It's now pretty much been blown out of the water and certainly in Britain is now being blamed for people gaining weight over the last 30 odd years. Problem being that low fat foods have to be pumped full of all sorts of bad additives to make them palatable.

I look back at the diets my parents generation consumed, full fat dairy, fat left on meat, cakes and puddings etc. Most of them lived into very old age, as did their parents before them. When I look at my own post war baby boomer generation, snack foods like crisps, chocolate biscuits, sweeties and fizzy drinks were very much a big treat you didn't have every day (my dad was a hardworking coal miner who used to bring back crisps from the pub on a Saturday night, also a Terry's Chocolate Orange for my mum as an apology if he'd drank too much beer ).

Low fat went out of the window for me a long time ago when I realised it did nothing for keeping down weight. Went back to eating higher calorie / higher fat foods but less of them and I feel as fit as a flea.

As for all the stuff around saying x, y and z in your diet cause cancer, well, when I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2006, the breast Consultant, my Oncologist and my Radiologist all said to me "don't ask us why you got this, as we'll never be able to tell you and it's nothing you have done". Quite simply it was nothing to do with diet, drinking, etc. All of us have a growth hormone in our bodies that's designed to switch off at the age of 28, only in some people it doesn't, and in some of those it causes cancer (it presents in breast and stomach cancers).

Health information gets hyped up in the press and ends up being presented incorrectly, then it spins out of control. To a certain extent I believe we are seeing this with the pandemic situation we are currently living with.

I have discovered this dish a few years ago when some friends took us to a Lebanese restaurant back home.

It is very simple to make and incredibly tasty. I love it. There are, of course, many variants of Tabbouleh salad out there and you can also let your imagination work but this is a very good start
https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/tr...bbouleh-salad/

Had wanted to try making fried chicken for some time and finally gave it a whirl after coming across a fairly simple & straightforward recipe

Picked up some de-boned chicken thighs from local butcher and seasoned with some BBQ chicken seasoning I enjoyed in New Orleans - outstanding

Few tips I advise from above recipe is to go less is more in terms of the flour, not to be afraid to season liberally and for extra crispy batter it twice

I left it 11 minutes in deep fryer for each batch and I was pretty surprised at how tender, crispy & ultimately easy it was in the end

I got a can of Cajun spice standing in my pantry, that I got in New Orleans. Still a bit apprehensive about opening it

Yep always do that for the flavour but be careful to not use the end part of it which generally always has a little bit of grit from the mushrooms.

Migros sells arborio rice ...... nowhere. I mean it's on their website but nowhere on stock around here.
Can I just use any "risotto-rice" or is that bit the trick?

Denner has it, 1 kg for 2fr.

Of course. Even better, pour it through a strainer.

That's not statistically true. Lifespan has increased dramatically over the years. I agree that obesity levels have also increased, but your parents and grandparents lived a much less sedentary lifestyle.

Sorry Curley...I just saw this! Yes, I believe any "risotto" rice works. The trick is parboiling the rice for 6-8 minutes with a lid on which cuts down the stirring time at least . PS..I bought "Risotto Arborio" rice from Coop if that helps...

If you're doing that it's going to absorb only a fraction of the flavour from the stock, so it's not really a true rissoto.

Not that that's a problem, but I prefer to use Basmati and the absorption method, fried in a little groundnut oil until translucent, then adding chicken stock (260ml per 100g rice), chopped onion, coriander leaf and a whole chilli split down the middle. Tightly seal the top, then leave on very low heat for around ten minutes, or turn it off completely and leave for 15-20.

No need to be sorry, I only wrote my question today.
Yes, cheers, I'll check Coop.

You make Risotto with Basmati?
Waiting for Tom .....

Isn't that more like a biryani?

No. It's clearly not a risotto at all. Much nicer, in my view, as one who's not really a risotto fan.

Not really. The pre-frying of the dry, raw rice is not normally done in Indian rice dishes; this is more of a Mexican technique. Fresh tomatoes or peppers can also be added, taking care to adjust the water quantity, but I've never tried making it into a main course by adding meat to it, which is more of what a biryani is about.

Where is Tom to weigh in here?

Busy stirring risotto the old fashion way.

Speaking of which, you can always bake the risotto if the stirring is an issue.

Which becomes more like a paella, perhaps.

We have a Kenwood cooking chef - basically a stand mixer with a heating element (and other attachments). Anyway, it makes both a great risotto and a polenta because you can set the temperature, and also set the stirring speed and time interval between stirring.

That sounds like a great machine. Can you post a picture or link?