Kitchen Garden Forum

Going by the previews, I think this week's programme is going to be the one to really get our dander up. Where they find these gallimaufry of numpties for these programmes I do not know, and why they then agree to expose their bad habits to the nation's scrutiny I can only guess at. Still, some people will do anything to get on the telly.

I'm not quite sure where the "economy" bit of the advice given by the two chefs comes in. For sure, a good bit of home cooking is always intrinsically economical. But macadamia nuts for the brownies? Last time I looked, these cost an arm and a leg.

Ok, I finally watched this and I lasted about 30 seconds before I started swearing at the morons and throwing things at the tv again.

What a load of bovine faeces it was!!!!!! What the hell happend to common sense?

Ok, normal service is resumed as rant is now over

Don't pretend you weren't warned!

haven't seen the programme, but just checked last year's numbers to see what we spent on food. I'm quite relieved to say about £32 per week. As my partner isn't working and I only do a few hours a week and have been off for a month or so, I was a bit worried about how much we seem to spend on food. That's for 2 adults and 2 children under 3. That includes toiletries ect, and for the most part I don't buy disposable nappies and never buy baby food.

We grow lots of veg, but never have enough to last the year, so buy a lot of fruit especially for the boys. They could eat a punnet of blueberries a day if I let them.

It amazes how much money people throw away. You see these programmes where people go over their monthly budgets and they really have no idea where their money goes. We're on a tight budget, but we've never been frivolous.

Sorry just rambling.

Dear Malk, it's nice to read your boys get plenty of fresh vegetables as well as fruit. They'll thank-you in later life.

Here's one that makes Economy Gastronomy seem serious intellectual fare.

Virgin Cooks

Of course it might have improved after the first two minutes when I threw the TV out of the window

Oh ffs...............the mind boggles. I lasted around 40 seconds then aimed the computer at the window. What the hell is wrong with these people?

******** Lizzie goes into corner shaking her head and chunnering *********

Sorry, the trailer part (Virgin Cooks) put me off - switched straight back off - my two under 10's could do better than that shower.

I threw my self imposed determination not to watch cookery programmes out last night and watched this programme, trying to keep an open mind. They were trying to teach a bunch of students to cook nutritious meals, instead of living on take aways and junk food. Give the lads credit, they did try and followed the recipes given....

......BUT, the stuff they had them cooking made me wonder what happened to good old staple grub such as casseroles, stews, omelettes etc. I understood that they were making stuff they would be able to get more than one meal from but what a lot of faffing around. I can't imagine many students sticking to that regime for long.

I'm sure I won't bother tuning in next week.

I think I'll have a look at the good looking bloke on Saturday morning though.........
Cheers.

We seem to have a whole generation of parents these days who don't know how to cook so I suppose it's hardly surprising that their kids are brought up to regard processed meals and takeaways as the norm. I can't help wondering how many families would survive if ever food rationing had to be re-introduced into this country on WW2 scale. There are so many meals which can be produced with inexpensive ingredients once you have a little cooking experience and the confidence to experiment, and even though food is daily becoming more expensive, I'm still appalled at the food bills of some households. Last night's programme with the 5 students was the first one I watched. I was genuinely shocked at how much they were spending on food. Perhaps it's time for cooking to be reintroduced into all secondary schools as part of their life skills and citizenship classes. And a compulstory shut-down of all take-away outlets during the school holidays to encourage parents to teach their children to cook when they have a captive audience at home?

My son left school in 1996 when cookery was still part of the curriculum, not that it was much use to him as a life skill. They never did anything which was useful, such as basic meals. It was always daft things like cookies,fruit cocktail,onion soup, pizza (we had to buy the base ) and many more useless things. By the time he was 14 and could "opt out" of subjects in favour of others for his GCSE's, I was relieved when he dropped cookery. He learned far more from me at home than he did at school. I remember speaking to his teacher at the Parents evening about the rubbish they had to do and she was quite affronted! When I pointed out that the students would hardly be able to fend for themselves on the things she was teaching them, she seemed amazed. I gave up.

When I think of the real food we learned to make when I was at school in the mid sixties, it is a world away.

As Primrose says, it's about time schools started teaching how to make real food,especially as so many students now go to University and have to cook for themselves.

Cheers.

Reminds me some years ago my twin grandchildren stayed the day, asked what they wanted for lunch, the reply being sausage rolls, beans, chips. [real gourmet stuff] started to peel the potato's, they both said, no grandad we want chips, mum gets the out of the freezer. the trouble came later when daughter-in-law came to collect them, to be told that grandads chips were better than hers.

I remeber someone telling me she had her son's friend to lunch and had made homemade tomato soup! The friend was totally unimpressed saying didn't she know you could get it in tins and it wasn't red enough!

Judging by our tomato glut this year, it looks as if we'll soon be on the home made tomato soup run. I have quite a lot of yellow tomatoes as well this year so not quite sure what colour it will turn out to be. Orange?