[Twilight]

So I bought this pie. It was chicken pie, but that's not important to the story. I baked it in the oven, placed it on the table and stuck a fork into it.

The top was dry as a cracker and the fork met with no resistance all the way to the bottom. I twisted the fork and steam came billowing out of the hollow space within.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Hollow.

My mind raced. What the fuck, I demanded to know. Where the fuck is the filling? My filling, that I paid for with cash.

Tearing open the pie, I was confronted with a thin layer of chicken pieces in sauce, spread over the base of the pie as if by a knife over a slice of bread. The top 3/4 of the pie's depth was nothing but air. The alleged 150g pie contained two tablespoons of filling. Count them: two.

This is worse than communism. Under communism, pies had a filling.

I don't know. Country is going to the dogs. This Labour government. Tsk tsk.

[I_Like_Plants]

Been shopping at Tesco's again, have we? Tsk tsk.

You could learn to make your own pie and it should come out cheaper....

[Kingcoal]

[web]http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-IX/Detail.aspx[/web] Now that's a good Chicken Pot Pie, or at least that's what we call it in the States.

[I_Like_Plants]

Yep, you don't even have to put pot in it, if you don't want to...

Pie I think used to be a staple of Limey cuisine, I think all it takes is being able to make a good crust then you can try out all sorts of things for inside, anything you'd put in a stew or cassarole or anything. Or add egg and call it quiche!

[mercurygirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'Y')ou could learn to make your own pie and it should come out cheaper....

[I_Like_Plants]

Manteca is Mexican for lard. Find it in the Mexican foods area of your market. It's in a light blue/dark blue box.

[Kingcoal]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'Y')ep, you don't even have to put pot in it, if you don't want to...

Pie I think used to be a staple of Limey cuisine, I think all it takes is being able to make a good crust then you can try out all sorts of things for inside, anything you'd put in a stew or cassarole or anything. Or add egg and call it quiche!

[mercurygirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'M')anteca is Mexican for lard. Find it in the Mexican foods area of your market. It's in a light blue/dark blue box.

[I_Like_Plants]

OK you can get your own pork fat trimmings etc and make your own lard, I thought the stuff in the box is plain old lard, that's what it says (english is in smaller letters) but maybe I'm wrong.

Crisco is hydrogenated, that's bad stuff.

You might also try some healthy oil + some butter, in place of lard - may or may not work, it's an idea.

We read labels like crazy around here, to avoid Chinese produced stuff and to see what's in there, there's some really nasty stuff being sold as food. Diet soda is only one example.

[I_Like_Plants]

PS another thought on lard, I'm considering perhaps making crafts or something, maybe guitar picks, out of beef bone. I can get beef bones with the marrow pretty cheap at the market. Thus, I may end up with a good supply of soup stock and the tastier componants of the marrow, plus lard. Plus bone for my crafts.

[mercurygirl]

Check the labels carefully. They hydrogenate to extend shelf life.

Beef bones won't give you lard, although they will make excellent stock. Oh, I just remembered, tallow! Look up tallow candles. Lard is rendered fat, usually pork, from around certain organs. I suppose some people use beef fat for cooking.

Anyway, if I'm going to eat an animal's fat, it damn well better have been raised right. I like to economize, but good food is not the place for it, IMO. I like to get into the history of food, because it's become obvious to me that previous generations, some of them way back, knew a lot more about nutrition than we generally do today. Go figure!
You're right, there are lots of articles on how-to available. First, you need a good source though.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'W')e read labels like crazy around here, to avoid Chinese produced stuff and to see what's in there, there's some really nasty stuff being sold as food. Diet soda is only one example.