Spices for your Store Cupboard

 

The spices and seasonings I cannot live without are:

 

Aromat,  by Knorr (which I use to season anything from chicken goujons to salad dressings)

Thyme, which is a fabulous herb to put on vegetables with olive oil and sea salt.  Also marvellous to add to most sauces as it is not too strong.

Ground Nutmeg, great for seasoning white sauce.

Fresh Garlic

Worcester Sauce, wonderful as a dash in any creamy sauce which is to be served with meat.

Cleaning Windows without Chemicals

Get a bucket full of hot water and put a capful of vinegar into it.  Get some old newspaper, wet it with the hot water then scrunch up. 

Scrub the window pane and when you have got the grime off dry it off with a dry piece of newspaper.

Your windows will sparkle and there are no greasy smudges.  Use this on the car windows too.

Clean your smelly dishcloths

Don't throw them away...

 

Boil them in an old saucepan with a little bit of washing powder for about 5 minutes.  What our Grandmothers used to do, it works with all cloths as long as they are natural fibre.

Your dishcloth will smell as good as new and will last alot longer.

 

Quick Tip for Cooking Broad Beans

Don't put salt into the water when you are cooking Broad Beans,  it hardens the skins.

After you have shelled them, drop them into boiling water, not cold water.

If you are using the frozen beans it is the same rule!

Put the salt on them once you have drained them.

Using Flowers in Food

This is the season when there are several plants in the garden whose flowers you can safely use in food.

A new one for me is the Chive Flower, that gorgeous purple flower.  Tear the flower gently appart and use as a garnish in Soups, or in a salad.

The old favourites of course are Borage (often in drinks) and Nasturtiums in anything from Salads to chicken dishes.

Unusual Uses for Lemons

 

If you would like to use your Cafetiere for Leaf Tea, put a squeeze of lemon in it with some hot water, swill it around and tip out. The cafetiere will now smell fresh and ready for tea!

 

If you have used your chopping board for onions or garlic, rub a lemon over it and wash. The smell should have gone.

 

If you do not have a lemon squeezer and you are in a hurry. Squeeze the lemon with one hand and use the other hand as a strainer.  You will find the juice runs through your fingers and the pips will be caught!

 

Get rid of the smell of Frying Oil

If you have been frying chips or anything smelly in your kitchen, put some vinegar in a bowl and leave it in the kitchen overnight (with the doors closed) in the morning the smelll will have gone.

Dont throw away your slightly brown Broccoli Heads

If you have got some Broccoli that you have left a little past its sell by date, don't throw it out.

Brush the little brown seeds off the florets, then break the florets up, put them in a roasting pan, sprinkle with olive oil, a little salt and perhaps some garlic cloves and bake in the oven 180 deg, until crispy and brown.  Delicious with any meal!

Easiest Cake Recipe Ever

As I am sure you know, there are so many slightly differing cake recipes that I used to get very nervous and confused about which was the correct one to follow.  This simple trick was taught to me by a wonderful old lady who lived near us.

 

4 oz Butter

4oz Sugar

4 oz SR Flour

2 Eggs.

 

You do the usual stuff, beat the butter and sugar together first etc.  But the secret is that you can increase the quantities or make them less by always following the same percentage of 1/2 eggs to the number of oz of every other ingredient.

So if you had 6 oz each of flour, butter and sugar you would have 3 eggs and so on...

Frozen Instant Breadcrumbs

 

You can use any old bread.  I have even used dry croissants. Make the breadcrumbs in a food processor and just freeze.

They last for ages and you can use them from frozen.

So much better than the frozen kind.

Easy Pizza Dough

 

I will not claim that this is my recipe. It belongs to dear old Jamie Oliver. However he is a great chef and this recipe I have been teaching in schools.

 

You may not know this, but you can freeze bread and pizza dough and take it out when you need it.

 

Recipe for 4 pizzas

1kg strong flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar/honey

3 x 7g sachets of yeast

1pt tepid (this means blood temperature) water

 

Method

Put the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Allow the yeast to start to froth.

Mix into the flour and salt.  Add more water or flour if you need it. You should have used up all the flour mixture but  it should not be sticky.

Now the fun part, kneading!

Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes, I find that using the heel of my hand to push into the dough quite effective.

The dough is ready when it is smooth and a little shiney.

Leave covered in a large bowl for at least 40mins.

It will double in size.

Knock it back.. If you are making pizza, divide into 4, roll out each roll and place on a floured baking tray, put on all your ingredience and cook in a hot oven for about 20 mins (take care it does not burn).

If you are making bread, knead again and form the shape you want to bake the bread.  Let it rise again and cook.

 

Cow Parsley

 

I was told this by a gardener friend of mine.  This year there has been a profusion of Cow Parsley and other gorgeous wild flowers that I really wanted to pick for the house so I thought this little trick was worth a try.

 

Add a cup full of bleach to the vase of water  (this would be for a large vase, put a spoonful in a smaller one.

The results are amazing.

See in the photos below. The ones that have been taken outside were put in the jar 6 days ago...