Snadra
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Posts posted by Snadra
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We still only have a painted wall (which I wipe down fairly frequently) in our house, but our plan is to get a colour-backed glass splashback. They're highly durable and you can have any colour you'd like. I have several friends who have them and they love it - dirt shows, but it cleans up easy, and no grout to dirty. They show up in display homes and kitchen renovations with high frequency in Australia.
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The instructions I've seen for freezing potatoes for hashbrowns usually suggest blanching them before freezing. I keep meaning to try it (seeing as that kind of hashbrown is pretty unavailable here) but still haven't gotten around to it.
You could try making potato perogies. They freeze beautifully and make a quick meal too. The kind I make also has potato in the dough wrapper. That would certainly see you through a lot of potato.
Have fun!
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I pretty much stick to oregano and savoury for dried herbs, although I keep meaning to get dried mint, which apparently has quite a different flavour to fresh. We had dried dill around a fair bit when I was a kid, and it does have a nice flavour.
After making this recipe a few years ago I really got into mixing different herbs and so now I tend to go a bit overboard when buying fresh herbs, and yes, they often get the better of me. But you *can* get back control! Use singly or mix a few different fresh ones and liberally:
- sprinkle on boiled potatoes (plus butter, plain thick yoghurt or sour cream)
- mix through egg noodles
- put in an omelet (delicious if you make a thin one and put it on a soft roll with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and some chili sauce)
- stir into zucchini or corn fritter batter
- sprinkle over a plate of sliced tomatoes, cucumber and avocado with vinagrette dressing
- sprinkle on boiled potatoes (plus butter, plain thick yoghurt or sour cream)
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Why not Coriander/Cilantro? It works well with the curry flavours, and I really like the combination with apple.
That was my first thought too! I also like it in combination with a couple others like mint and parsley. They work together really well and I love to mix a few together as it makes for a lively and fresh taste (thyme wouldn't be out of place either in that mix).
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I just want to reiterate, you really should contact Worksafe. This is not about dobbing in your company (and contacting them does not require you to dob them in) but about checking whether the task you are being asked to do and the way you are asked to do it meets local safety guidelines. You can get advice on how to do the task safely from a source that will be more reliable than a google search. I cannot speak to other countries, but here WorkSafe/Workcover are there to assist you and help keep you safe first and foremost.
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Oven cleaner would almost certainly be classified as a hazardous chemical and so should be listed in your workplace's hazardous materials register. In NSW (Workcover) this means that it must not only be correctly stored and labelled, but also that your employer must provide you with clear guidelines and any necessary training in its safe use as well as any required safety equipment, according to the material safety data sheet for the chemical. The legislation should be similar in Victoria (WorkSafe).
If you have concerns about safety practices In your workplace, you really should contact WorkSafe.
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“A marble bar encourages interaction between customers and the baristas they will order directly from . . . ."
I don't get it. Is it the marble that encourages interaction? Or the bar? Because most coffee places have a bar. So it must be the marble. But I've never thought of marble as encouraging interaction, particularly. Anyway, what sort of interaction, exactly, other than ordering and getting coffee? Maybe you can negotiate the prices or something...
Very odd.
Well, here should be some kind of reaction between marble and acids. Maybe they think acid tongues will cause an interaction with the marble?
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Australian comfort food? WTF? Dagwood dogs (if you don't know..don't Google) and lamingtons? Weird. Toby's here serves...paninis.
To be fair, Toby's IS good at its coffee, and started out as a wee fighting independent - but is now part of one of the huge food multinational corporations, Cerebos. Which is hardly catnip to hipsters..if only they knew they were supporting the Man!
See, I was thinking overlooked snags, crumbed cutlets and salad plates with beetroot and tinned pineapple, and couldn't imagine how hipsters would be attracted by that.
I didnt realised they'd been bought by Cerebos - for some reason I thought they were in private equity hands. But, being owned by Cerebos, at least they'll have first rate access to Gravox for all the ridgy-didge comforting meat pies they'll be serving.
Most restaurant PR turns me off, because you just KNOW that when you go there it will all turn out to be smoke and mirrors and the modelslashwaiterslashactor serving you will not only screw up your order but double charge you as well. And the food will be so different from what the reviewer got on his visit that you will think you wandered into the wrong place.
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Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I don't even like buying it within a day or two of the use by date. Not sure if it's mistrust, paranoia, ignorance or what but I am an absolute date freak about all foods-meat included.
Jeff
Just to be clear, we are not talking about meat that has expired, but is nearing the date. Or at least thats what I'm talking about. Typically, I see it slightly discounted a few days before expiry, and more heavily discounted as expiry approaches. I have never seen meat for sale past expiry (and if I did I would complain to the manager), and rarely on the day of expiry.
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Oh. Steak tartare in a food processor.
Anyone up for beef paste?
Erm... I actually make tartare in a processor. As long as you start with smaller bits of meat, pulse only and don't over process I find it works really well. I grew up with fairly finely minced tartare though, and loathe it when it's too chunky. And I didn't learn it from food TV.
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No photos of my own, but we love our Stanton Bright flatware from Robert Welch. It's perfectly balanced, and its rounded shape in the hand makes it very comfortable to hold and eat from, if perhaps a little too happy to slide off the plate sometimes! We got our set on sale a few years ago, and I'm keeping my eyes peeled for another sale (every design but ours seems to go on sale!).
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Tea bags. Life is too short to clean tea leaves out of a pot my hands can't fit into.
When it comes to a single cup of tea, I totally agree. But tea leaves is why I got one of these: it keeps the tea warm and the leaves stay in the infuser. No more teapot hands!
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It sounds like many people don't trust their supermarket to manage the meat properly. Nibor, I was especially curious about buying meat that just hit the shelves. Do you not trust that the refrigeration is keeping the meat cold enough?
Weinoo, I simply don't see much that is interesting go on sale, beyond industrially produced pork and chicken.
The premium-cuts-to-mince procedure that Chris mentioned is interesting, and although there is a lot less actual butchering occurring at retail sites in general I suspect it is still the norm. As a rule we stick to free-range and organic meat (whether discounted or not) and my understanding is that it arrives at the supermarket prepackaged and is not processed on site (yes, we would visit a farmers market, but the one nearest me makes me want to beat my head against a wall, and the rest are simply too far away to contemplate). The packaging probably gives me a little more confidence in its safety, although that confidence may be misplaced. We have never had a problem.
My best find ever was whole beef fillets discounted 60%. They were delicious!
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Recently my husband and I realised that when we do the groceries we tend to cruise the meat and cheese aisles looking for the 'reduced' stickers on the packaging, and have generally stopped buying meat that isn't. While it does mean we have to deal with what we buy rather quickly, it also means that the organic and free range products becomes a lot more affordable (as a rule they are what we stick to, discounted or otherwise).
We end up with a lot of chicken thighs and rump steak (although when one Woolworths was newly opened there was a lovely time when they were regularly discounting premium meats by 50%). It's a good job I've learned to enjoy thighs, because there was a time I couldn't stand them! But we are sale chasers anyway - the perpetual sale cycle of the retailers has trained us rarely to pay full price - note everyone feels the same way. Certainly, my in-laws have looked at me oddly when I bring home a lovely wedge of Brie or packet of lamb with a discount sticker on it. My feeling is that as long as we are using the meat before it's expiry date and storing it properly it's just as good as anything else. And I prefer soft cheese to be fully ripe!
Are we the only ones who do this? Does near-expiry discounting change how you shop and cook?
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So, I'm slowly stocking my freezer (and finding a few bits of forgotten things than are irretrievably crusted in ice in the process). The foodsaver is fantastic! Why didn't I get one years ago?!
So far I have made meatballs in both tomato sauce and In gravy, ragu bolognaise and Vietnamese caramel chicken. We have also prepared chicken breasts with flavoured butter, to be gently cooked in the bag, marinated thighs to be grilled or broiled, burger patties, seasoned stir fry chicken and pork.
Still to make: perogies, beef rendang and Georgian pork stew. All of this is moving a little slowly because I'm generally purchasing meat only when it's reduced. And then I'll probably repeat the process for myself when I move!
Has anyone else come up with good freezer friendly meals lately?
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I love 'forgotten skills', even though I have done more reading than cooking from it.
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I use prepeeled garlic....used to use a garlic press, now i use a microplane.
Oh, wow! I likke the idea of using a microplane for preparing garlic for certain sauces. I've been slicing the cloves super thin with a razor blade or very sharp, thin-bladed knife, but this microiplane thing sounds perfect. Thanks.
I use the microplane for ginger and garlic all the time - works great! I love how versatile the microplane is and use it at almost every meal.
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I must have read a different article -- the one I read was all about a vain, shallow woman who wants to be thin because men don't like chubby girls.
We must have read the same article!
Outside of arithmetic I am always leery of the simple and obvious. Until the 80s it was 'obvious' that ulcers were caused by stress and diet, and the 'simple' solution was to cut them out in major surgery. My father-in-law has endured the side effects and complications of that simple solution for some 40 years now. I am not suggesting that there is an obesity bacterium working its way through the populations of the western world, transmitted by fried chicken and kebabs, but I have a hard time believing there is a simple and obvious here: if there was the problem wouldn't be so...big.
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I've been known to eat a grilled cheese and peanut butter sandwich. A lovely combination of ooze and creamy saltyness. Haven't done it in years though, and I'm unlikely to either! It belongs to a younger metabolism...
A lot of sweetish things go well with cheese. My out-laws enjoy an evening snack of small chunks of cheese with bits of candied ginger, and my husband likes sandwiches or toast with cheese (cheddar type) and golden syrup. Personally, I think rhubarb jam goes well with a bit of cheese on bread. Or strawberry,or apricot, or...
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I use the method described here when browning smaller pieces of meat for a braised dish. Makes life much easier!
I rarely bother with chicken stock - most soups I make I just use water instead. Which made me rather happy to see Michael Ruhlman's onion soup recipe. I just don't see soup as an economical dish if you have to spend hours making a stock using ingredients that will only get discarded. It's different if it's playing a starring role, obviously! But my go-to vegetable soup uses only veg, water and seasonings and you'd never find it wanting in flavour.
And I peel my own garlic for the same reason I don't buy pre-cut melons and pumpkins from the green grocer: I don't trust their cleanliness. Also, I can keep unpeeled garlic out of the fridge, whereas the peeled stuff probably ought to be kept chilled.
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Lots of ideas coming up here!
You could also do some between meal snacking with your dad: pita, olive oil, dukkah, baba ganoush and/or hummus (no garlic!); poppadums and spinach raita; tortilla chips, simple guacamole and salsa; cheese, crackers and dried fruits; veg sticks and curry yoghurt dip (I am still making yoghurt assumptions here). Those are the kinds of food you can enjoy while catching up with each other and it puts less pressure on dinner to be traditional or substantial. What season is it where you are? I've happily eaten meals that consist only of one veg (asparagus and corn especially), and this wouldn't seem that odd if you had a substantial pre-dinner snack.
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I just received my copy of this beautifully illustrated book today, and on first flick through there is a lot I would like to cook. I adore the illustrations, and am very happy to have a book that uses ingredients available here without dumbing down the recipes. Plus, there is a great story behind how the book came to be published.
So far the top of my to do list includes Puerco en Salsa de Pepitas (pork in pumpkin seed sauce) and Mojarras en su jugo (bream in its own juices).
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I have open shelves, and store all my glassware bowl down as I prefer risking schmutz on the rim to potential insects crawling around the interior. My best glasses live in a different location and are more carefully stored.
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I'm sure I saw pre-cooked lamb shanks at Franklins last winter - I'm not sure if they were cooked sous vide, but they were definitely vacuum packed on the shelf. I never picked them up though, mainly because I always avoid marinated meats, and in my head these were in the same category. The brand was either Cargill or Hormel - neither of which I regularly see on the supermarket shelf here.
Ginger beef in NYC -- where to find
in New York: Dining
Posted
If all else fails, this recipe is pretty much what I remember a restaurant owner described to the ginger beef obsessed boyfriend I had a long time ago in those wintry environs. I've made the dish myself a few times because despite moving onto different tastes, it's still darn enjoyable every so often.
It's also very similar to crispy schzewan beef (which I've also seen called rainbow crispy beef) if that helps at all.