I worked out 'swoosh' by myself recently and pondered on the hours I had spent cutting the stalks out/ off. My step dad used to cook the leaves and stalks separately, the stalks he served thinly sliced with white sauce.
martine5,
Aug 3, 7:12am
My most helpful hint is freezing brown or unwanted bananas. You can let them become very ripe and then pull them out for the worlds' best banana muffins/loaf and/or smoothies.
rover48,
Aug 3, 9:20am
For the life of me I can't work out "swoosh" with the silverbeet, help! ! ! ! I still cut down both sides as well.
herika,
Aug 3, 8:25pm
Great thread! When using maize cornflour to thicken a sauce, make just before serving the meal, thicken the sauce and remove from the heat as soon as the desired consistency is reached. Cooking for too long once it has thickened runs the risk of the sauce becoming thin again :)
dragonzflame,
Aug 3, 11:04pm
Most people use those plastic takeaway containers for freezing standby meals. But if you only have one of those small freezers above the fridge? Use those bulk bin ziplock bags. They squash down thinner, making thawing easier, and saving a huge amount of space.
... And it means you don't need to keep getting takeaways to replenish your stock of containers ;-)
fisher,
Aug 4, 12:31am
Tip Top 2 litre Ice cream containers: We have tried plastic milk bottles, coke bottles and everything and sundry to help keep our fish cool in the chilly bin while out fishing. . yes we use salt ice but it can get expensive. . You could do this in summer for chilly bins for picnics etc... . Fill a White plastic Tip Top ice cream container with water till overflowing. . secure lid and freeze. . Place in chilly bin and they last the whole day...
fisher,
Aug 4, 12:36am
Mussels and Scallops Have guests for dinner and serving mussels in their shells. . Hand pick some nice even size relatively clean mussels and scrub the shells well... Use the contents however. Save the shells in the pantry for next time... saves all the work / scrubbing for next times presentation. .
cookessentials,
Aug 4, 1:10am
If you squeeze a little lemon juice over your apples and/or bananas before you freeze them, it helps stop them goiing brown.
purplegoanna,
Aug 4, 2:25am
yip i use ziplock bags cause then i can make them flatpacks as theyre easier to store in my weeny freezer.
kob,
Aug 4, 2:51am
if you cut peel and core an apple and slice it , dip it in lemon juice dry on a paper towel and bag in zip locked bags you have your very on apple packs that dont go brown.
fey,
Aug 4, 3:10am
This came about by sheer laziness and because I have arthritis in my wrists and fingers. I just can't sometimes cut up a hard pumpkin skin and all, I don't have the strength. So one day I wondered why I couldn't cook it whole. So I did. Now I would never do it any other way. After I took it out of the oven, I twisted the knob on the top and it just came off in my hand. I carefully cut into pieces and scooped out the seeds etc with spoon. Viola... . easy no cut pumpkin completely cooked.
elliehen,
Aug 4, 6:26am
For how long and at what temp? Please :)
darlingmole,
Aug 4, 6:36am
To swoosh is easy my friend. Hold the bottom end of the silverbeet (the bit that would have been closest to the earthy) and hold the leaf in your hand and swoosh/GLIDE your hand briskely down towards the skinniest bit at the end (the top bit of the leaf) until the green leafy part is seperated from the white stalk. Does that make it easier to understand? My Auntie showed me this trick as a teenager and even though I've never been mad keen on the vege it also a staple at home because it IS good for me and it IS cheap!
darlingmole,
Aug 4, 6:39am
oops above post was for rover ... ...
rover48,
Aug 4, 8:52am
Ahhh clear as mud now, thanks for that, will try it next time :)
fey,
Aug 5, 1:23am
elliehen... . I put in one of the medium sized green pumpkins -buttercups? ? - at 180-200 for an hour to hour and a half. Just test with a knife. I did learn by the way, that you can do exactly the same thing in the slow cooker... ... on high two-three hours then three-four hours on low. Same results but tastes more steamed than baked.
nfh1,
Aug 5, 1:58am
Would you stab the pumpkin first?
fisher,
Aug 5, 3:33am
Why cook/use a whole pumpkin... The trick is to pierce the centre air pocket. . Using a long sharp knife or chopper like I do, make an incision at the stalk/core right through to the centre. . Holding the pumpkin firmly and on a damp tea towel to stop sliding and moving, push straight down and lever the knife/chopper back and forth cutting slowly as you go right down to the opposite side of the pumpkin. . That's the hard part over and done with. . Now make a similar cut to form a wedge exactly as you have just performed. . This wedge should now be able to be removed... Make slices/wedges for the amount required and then using a soup spoon, scoop out and scrape all the interior till cleaned. . Give the seeds a good wash, dry them and place them in a wee dish on the window sill to dry. . Place into a labelled plastic bank bag and plant these seeds in an out of the way cool shaded spot for summer time growing... give the scooped out pulp to your worms in your worm farm... :}
valentino,
Aug 19, 11:01pm
Christmas Ham bones with a good bit of meat, especially the meat that looks not quite fully cooked should not be tossed out, cut all including bone into smaller still good size pieces using a very clean hacksaw or similar fine toothed saw then wrap in plastic wrapping or in ice cream containers with lids and freeze for use in soups like "Pea and Ham Soup" or for other winter type soups.
Absolutely lovely.
glendeb,
Aug 20, 8:32pm
I'm not a pro, but neccesity is the mother of all invention, so...
In the spring I buy one bunch of spring onions from the supermarket - costs about $2-3. Plant them in the garden, then just chop as you need. I have only just used all of the spring onions from 2 seasons ago. I also plant seeds so I have an ongoing supply, but for those who aren't confident in their gardening skills this is practically no fail.
Any excess veges given/grown in the summer can be frozen, you may just need to be creative. I cube or grate courgettes, they can then be added to pasta dishes, lasagne, spagetti bolognese etc. Tomatoes can be frozen whole, or chopped and frozen. Mushrooms, either frozen whole or chopped and bagged. There are lots more ideas, but trial things first and see what happens!
PS thanks fisher for the original thread!
2halls,
Aug 20, 9:20pm
Keep a freezer notebook for any meat or cooked meals you put in there (make sure you label them ! ! ). Just a quick note as you put it in, then cross it off when you take it out. Saves having to rattle around in the freezer before you go shopping to see what you have. Also, whenever you make a crumble topping, make double and either freeze it or keep it in the fridge in a container. Then you've always got a quick and easy pudding option on hand :-)
mzdvious,
Aug 23, 4:50am
*Freeze your celery before it gets beyond repair and it will be great for soups/casseroles :) *Also freeze your leftover sourcream for stroganoffs and soups too *Buy tomato paste in a tube to avoid waste. It keeps for ages in the fridge. *You can freeze cheese and simply grated from the block for cheese sauces etc. *Add small amounts of Ginger to heavy meal to aid digestion. *When making kids lunch for school, make sandwiches with frozen bread, by lunchtime they will have thawed and will be nice and fresh.
Hope i haven't added ideas already posted. I haven't read them all :)
fisher,
Aug 23, 8:08am
Cheers glendeb... some good ideas as are all the others... anything to make lifea little easier:}
winnie15,
Aug 24, 6:12am
run out of cooking spray? rub a cut potato over the pan .. stops foods from sticking..
leon20,
Aug 24, 7:20am
Dont buy a simpson oven : ) Ok I'll get therapy alright.
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