How to make home-made yogurt? It is easy and a whole batch will cost you little more than one small single shop-bought yogurt.
How to make home-made yoghurt
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Category Archives: Food
Make gratin with leftover tagliatelle
Don’t throw out your leftover pasta//tagliatelle as they will make a lovely diner the next day.
Spread your leftover pasta (stored overnight in the fridge) over the bottom of an oven-proof dish. Here, I also used leftover fish (trout). Break a couple of eggs into a bowl, add milk (about 100-150ml), enough to cover about 3/4 of the pasta), an optional dollop of double/single cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the pasta and sprinkle grated cheese (about 50g). Cook in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) until golden brown (about 25 min).
Tip: add frozen peas for added colours.
How to dry salad leaves
If you don’t have a salad spinner, here is how to dry your salad leaves. Take a clean kitchen towel and place your salad leaves in the middle. Take all four corners and hold them in your hand, making a tight fist. Lift your hand to the side of your body, ear height, and bring it down fast like you were trying to slap the air. Give two or three vigorous whips like this until no more water falls on the floor.
Saving money on chewing gums
Did you know that it is actually cheaper to buy chewing gum packaged in small packets rather than in one large pot? So, buy a pack of small chewing gum packets, pour the content into your (empty) plastic pot and you now have a convenient supply of chewing gum.
Reuse the oil from preserved vegetables in a jar
If you buy jars of vegetable in oil such as sun dried tomatoes or roasted peppers, make sure not to throw out the oil when your jar is empty. This oil, usually vegetable oil, can be used in your cooking. Handy for example when frying onions or in any recipe requiring vegetable oil. The advantage is that it already contains some flavour!
What to do with unused egg whites
Only using egg yolks in some recipes will let you wonder what exactly you could do with the unused egg whites. Well, do not throw away because Continue reading
Bouquet garni bag
I have found a great use for these small net washing tablet bags found in some washing machine packs. Continue reading
Home-made vanilla ice cream
When you taste this easy and quick recipe, you will think twice about buying ice cream again! Max cost £1.30 for around 900g of ice cream (using free-range eggs) and there are no additives or other nasty chemicals, just what you put in it! Continue reading
How to remove zest from your grater
When making lemon or lime zest, most of the zest gets stuck on the grater. I used to run a pointy knife along the little blades to try and scrape off the zest but I have now found an easier way: Continue reading
Cooking gone wrong – Meringues
Don’t worry if things go wrong in your kitchen. It still happens to me even though I have been cooking for nearly thirty years.
I had a couple of egg whites left over from my delicious lime cheesecake. So, I decided to make meringues.
They looked lovely and delicious. But, believe me, they tasted horrible. I had a couple of mouthfulls just to make sure. They had definitely gone past the point of no return! Meringues are meant to look white. The temperature in the oven was just too high. Lesson learnt.
Easy Lime / Lemon Cheesecake
This recipe was easy and simple to make and so yummy that I want to share it with you. You can also make it without any scales! Swapping lime for lemon will make give you a yummy lemon cheesecake. Continue reading
Reuse plastic bags from sliced bread
Once you have finished your shop-bought sliced bread, don’t throw out the plastic bag because you could reuse it in many ways. Continue reading
Poached eggs without burning your fingers
Do you burn your fingers when cracking eggs above a saucepan full of boiling water to make poached eggs? To prevent this, here is my tip.
Crack the egg inside a ramekin then empty it gently into your simmering water, pinching the side of the ramekin with your thumb and index finger.
Last minute quick crumble
Have you ever wanted to eat crumble for dessert without having to wait 30 minutes for it to cook in the oven? Well, this post of for you then! Continue reading
How to serve hard ice cream
If your ice cream is too hard to scoop, I found that the following tip works better than dipping the ice cream scoop in a mug of hot water. Continue reading
How to store / freeze fresh chestnuts
Chestnuts are expensive but if you prepare them yourself, you can save a lot of money. They will then be readily available, as and when you need them. It took me a few years to perfect my technique and I am happy to share it with you below. Continue reading
Packed lunch – Reuse your aluminium foil
Although I use plastic containers for sandwiches and salads, I use aluminium foil for tortilla wraps because it is the only material (I have found so far) that helps them keep their shape. My tip for you today is simply to Continue reading
Easy and quick home-made sausage rolls
In this post, I will show you how to make your own sausage rolls. It is easy and quick and you will impress your friends and family. Continue reading
Home-cooked frozen beans for packed lunches
Add home-cooked frozen beans to your savoury salads. Once I have Continue reading
Container for sandwiches
An empty 500g spreadable butter container will make the perfect container if you only have one sandwich for lunch.
What to do with leftover stale bread
If you have any leftover stale sliced bread you no longer want to use, Continue reading
Corn for packed lunches
As Autumn is approaching, fresh corn is becoming plentiful and cheap. When cooking corn on the cob (I boil mine for 5 minutes with a teaspoon of sugar, no salt), make sure that you Continue reading
How to make shop-bought herbs last longer
Have you ever wondered why potted fresh herbs (parsley, basil, coriander, etc.) bought at the supermarket never last very long, even if you remember to water them? Continue reading
How to store fresh parsley
Whether you buy or grow your own, take advantage of the summer season to stock up on fresh parsley and store it in your freezer for readily available supply all year round. Continue reading
How to spread hard butter on bread
To add to a previous post, I have another tip to share with you on how to spread hard/cold butter on bread. If your freezer is too small to hold all your loaves, only freeze half of them. Then, when making a sandwich, take one slice from a frozen loaf, on which to spread the cold butter, and one from the unfrozen loaf. Of course, you could always use the microwave to soften your butter but that would be cheating! 😉
Things to do with leftover lasagna sheets
If you ever wondered what to do with leftover lasagna sheets, my suggestions might help you: Continue reading
How to make healthy beef burgers
Why is it that you cannot get men and children to eat vegetables with their burgers? I like to “hide” onions and sweet peppers in my home-made burgers so that the choice is not theirs. 😉 It is also a healthy way to make more burgers with the same amount of meat without having to Continue reading
Home-made chocolate croissants – chocolate puff pastry rolls
This recipe is so easy, you will be making it every Sunday! Continue reading
How to make French flan / set custard
Following my post on how to use up milk, you will find below a picture-based recipe on how to make a flan, which is the French near equivalent to English set custard (only the French flan uses whole eggs not just yolk!). The following quantities will make about 12 ramekins. Continue reading
Cool food down quickly with ice packs
In the winter, I often leave food outside to speed up the cooling process before placing it in the fridge or freezer, making sure that it is safe from any opportunistic thieves (whether my dog or the neighbour’s cat). In the warmer weather, this is not possible so you need to use another technique. Continue reading
How to use up milk
You are going shopping soon and realise that you still have a lot of milk left in the fridge. Need some ideas on how to use it up? Continue reading
How to store fresh chilli peppers
Whether you grow your own or buy them from the shop, you will find below the easiest and cheapest way to store fresh chill peppers. Continue reading
Make plastic forks fit small disposable packed lunch boxes
If and when you use disposable packed lunch boxes, you will find that your plastic forks do not fit inside.
To solve the problem, simply snap the end of the fork handle and Bob is your uncle! 😉
Packed lunch on the go
Sometimes, you do not want or cannot carry around empty plastic containers after you have eaten your packed lunch, i.e if you are having a day out, travelling by train, etc. All you want to do is Continue reading
How to make Yorkshire puddings
Now that you have made an effort preparing and roasting your chicken, you need to cook home-made Yorkshire puddings, not just warm up shop-bought ones. Continue reading