This shouldn't make me as happy as it does

I've found my preferred oil bottles and now I have my own set of own-branded oil. The bottles are from Aldi, their Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil (which is nice and remarkably good value). I'm thinking some people might be getting these bottles for Christmas...

rough labelled oil

Protecting my chopping boards from black mould using garlic

I did a search a while back about mouldy chopping boards, specifically black mould which seems to particularly target wooden boards. I came across this post by the frugal girlabout how to how to get rid of black cutting board mildew. This confirmed my suspicion that it was mildew, but that brings up a whole heap of issues for followers of Leviticus. Thankfully I don't follow Leviticus.

But I do have a mould problem. Dr K has a small chopping board which became 'infected' a long while ago back in Southampton, I suspect as a result of having been left standing in stagnant water around the kitchen sink. I took action to try and save the board by chopping off the lower section where all the black was visible plus a buffer zone of about a centimetre for good measure. I lovingly rounded the cut edge to match it with the old edges.

black mould creeping through the board.

However the mould came back. It took a while, but gradually the blackness reappeared at the bottom of the board which I had cut. I tried again to slice off the bottom to eradicate the problem, but yet again the blackness returned. What I realised is that the black mould was already far within the heart of the wood and travelling up the cell structure long before appearing on the surface, so the whole piece was probably infected deeply rending this board unsalvageable. So I have now retired this board from active use in order to isolate it from my other boards to prevent cross infection.

The board after the second reduction.

I have other chopping boards which are very precious to me. In fact one of these has just celebrated it's tenth birthday. When I first got this board I was so impressed with it that I started buying it as a wedding gift (which I thought was quite a nice gift) as it should last a lifetime or perhaps two. They are simply a thick slice of tree, in the round, Chinese style. I was fed up with the plethora of crap block-work chopping boards which are simply glued together and as such almost designed to fail with time.

As a result of the preciousness of these boards, and in an attempt to see them though my lifetime I decided to take pre-emptive action against the mould by implementing an approach that I have no idea the effectiveness of. I remember from a Gardeners' World last year that the application of Garlic juice to trees - almost as an intravenous drip - is being trialled, with some success, as a treatment for various diseases. So with this in mind I augmented my usual oiling procedure (which I do about every time I remember to) by rubbing the oil in with half a garlic clove as an applicator rather than my finger as I was using previously. The next time I tried this I actually rubbed raw garlic into the board before the oil, forcing the natural garlic oil into the grain of the wood. It took about two cloves per side, and seemed reasonable effective at 'wetting' the board with garlic. Then rubbing in the oil with the clove provides a further garlic application. As I say, I have no idea to the effectiveness of this approach, but seeing as I use the boards for garlic frequently in the first place, I felt that the addition of some extra garlic could not hurt and should only help I hope.

one of my lovely Chinese chopping boards - simply a slice of tree

large garlic cloves halved

raw garlic cloves rubbed into the grain of the wood

olive oil then rubbed in with the cloves

Oh I do love garlic. Have a go and try it yourself. I guess as a real test I could attempt to garlic-ify the already mouldy board and see if it stemmed the mould. Hmmm, perhaps I might give that a go...

2015-09-23

Hexagonal jam jars pictured for scale (available from: @JamJar_Shop)

It's jam time of year and so far we've made three batches of cherry jam, three of mulberry, a mirabelle plum, an exotic greengage pickle and assortment of fruit mushes. There is a bucket of damsons to process as well as a few bits and bobs for gin and a demijohn of blackberry wine on the bubble. Safe to say it's been a good fruit year so far.
Therefore it is also that time of year when empty jars become rather important. We tend to keep most, but even still supplies are running low. Also, while it is good to recycle used jars (unless health and safety have got to you) and the quest for the nicest shop brought jars is satisfying, there is something much more pleasing about having all your jars the same size and shape. Very pleasing indeed. That is where The Jam Jar Shop comes into its own. You can buy case-loads of lovely jam jars all the same size. You can even buy ones in different sizes and have a little family of them. I much prefer the hexagonal variety as they stack so nicely and afford a good view of the jam inside. Specifically the 8oz size as this is a good balance between a practical amount of jam to enjoy per jar, but filling lots of jars generating plenty for you to give away. The 12oz are best if you're going to eat your own jam (or are really super generous to give away large jars). Meanwhile the 4 ozers are really cute but don't contain enough jam to make their gift-bestowal adequate. When it comes to lids I'm on the side of black looks best. I've found that the silver/gold ones tend to decay a bit over time and with repeated usage.
The only problem I have with the shop itself is the pictures of the jam jars. It's really quite hard to compare the different sizes when the images have no frame of reference. Hence why I have tried to take the photos below. In doing so I have discovered that it is quite tricky to give jars that are the same shape but mildly differing in size a sense of proportion. I walked round the house looking for something suitable. I tried filling them with whole cloves as these have a very definitive size, but then there are just too many to make the comparison useful. In the end I found that standing them on the newspaper was as effective as I could get it.
As a side note I do use these jars, the 8oz size, as spice jars. They look fabulous, naturally tessellate on the shelf and you don't need labels as you get such a good view of the contents. Sometime I find the 12oz more appropriate for some of the bulkier spices which tend to come in larger packs.

jamjarshop 12oz hexagonal jar filled with whole cloves

jamjarshop 8oz hexagonal jar

jamjarshop 4oz hexagonal jar

jamjarshop 4oz, 8oz, 12oz hexagonal jars all together for scale
2015-09-08

Lime pickle without the lime (but with greengages)

I made a rather splendid Sunday dahl last night and wandered if I could use up some of the green gages that we've scrumped from the local neighbourhood. Apparently not a lot came up on a search, but then I wondered about making something like a lime pickle. Googling "instant lime pickle" showed up lots of recipes for lemon pickle instead, which was odd but handy seeing as I didn't have any limes but did have a lemon. I briefly mused as to whether my fridge had 'got smart' and was so intelligent it knew what fruit was sitting in the fruit bowl on top of it. But perhaps, this time, it was just a coincidence.
Zapping the lemon in the pressure cooker (which had been in action processing the sturdy yellow split peas) was quick. I'd added a couple of test greengages too, but they didn't survive. The lemon went soft and squishy and had leaked a glorious liquid. I chopped it up into eighths and then sprinkled over some salt, ground roasted methi seeds (just a little) and turmeric powder and chilli powder. Here I popped a few quartered greengages in to jazz it up. Then I heated some sesame oil in a pan, popped in a spoon of black poppy seeds, let them fizz then poured it over. A quick mix and that was it. Chilled it slightly then enjoyed it with home made wholemeal chapatis courtesy of Dr K.

instant lemon and greengage "lime" pickle
2015-08-25

Kuti Pots

I've just found that you can buy Kuti pots on Amazon:
Pink Apple C650 Unique Quality Plastic Containers 40 g (Pack of 252)
For those not familier with Kuti Pots, Kuti's Brasserie is the leading curry house in Southampton and his takeaway's come in the best quality plastic pots that you can buy (this is agreed by anoyne in the know). The pots last for ages and can be used as lunch boxes, freezer boxes, fridge boxes and hot water bottles (yes, they are water tight). Go and order a takeaway or buy in bulk.
2015-07-30

Birthday Treats for the Office

For work today I fulfilled the tradition of bringing in some goodies for the office by providing a hobbit-appropriate second breakfast of crunchy nut cornflakes (which I'm not sure people totally appreciated) followed by a second lunch of mini mince pies with Baileys cream and lembas donuts - which were simply a donut wrapped in one of my office grown leaves. I though it was fitting for a hobbit who has just come of age.

lembas donuts and some mini-mince pies with cream for my office
This evening Dr K and I went out to watch the final The Hobbit at the lovely Arts Picturehouse in Cambridge. I was able to make use of both Orange Wednesday and a members ticket = free cinema for the both of us. Great seat right in the middle middle of screen one. Not quite the impact of the IMAX at the weekend, but a good place to watch a film. The film itself was good and enjoyable but not really a scratch on the original LOTR. I fear that perhaps Peter Jackson isn't a very good story teller preferring instead to make superfluous sweeping camera moves rather than focus on character development or plot. I think the films were seriously hampered by being split into three making them oddly both overly long and waffly and yet unsubstantial. The music didn't compare anywhere near as good as the original sound track (which reminded me to play it tomorrow at work). I shouldn't be too hard on the film though, it was fun and after all the book is itself a much softer version of the tome to come.
2014-12-17

5-Day Proved Bread, Tastes Like a French Baguette @realbread

This was utter magic. A mix of error, indolence and forgetfulness on my part resulted in a half kneaded dough sitting in the fridge since last Tuesday. I knocked it up after having cooked a rather delicious lasagna (actually, make that two, something deep within me is unable to cook in small amounts). My aim was to make the most of the oven while it was on but it got late and I couldn't be bothered. So it was popped in the fridge over night.
Finally, today, Dr K took it upon herself to sort out my mess. Adding a little more flour and giving it a rise in the warmth, it began to look a little more like a workable dough, if a little loose. A single rise the a prove on the tray before being popped in the oven along with a water tray at ~220 degrees. We sat down to watch Transcendence on the recommendation of the other Dr K and rather enjoyed it. Afterwards we checked on the cooling loaves which had a good squeeze to them. Slicing in with the knife revealed a surprising holey texture surrounded by a tough but stretchy shell. We tasted. A look of shock was apparently visible on my face - we had not only rescued a loaf from the brink of failure, but created something quite special and the closest to our Valhalla - a French baguette - than ever before. Literally delicious with a crunch chewy texture.
't really do recipes.

• 1 kg flour mixed 7 to 3 white to brown (all strong from Daily Bread and Arjuna)
• 600ish ml water (slightly warm I recall)
• <20ish g sea salt
• >10 g yeast fresh from Arjuna
• mixed & left, then half kneaded and left in the fridge
• leave for 5 days
• add in a bit more flour
• rise
• shape and prove
• bake for ~10 mins at ~220 degrees then lower for longer

bread

bread

glorious bread
2014-11-15

Forget the Balsamic

This combination is almost divine - light soy and sesame oil. Wrap rice and some raw vegetables (ideally include pickled radish) in seaweed leavers and then dip it in this and enjoy. Mouth joy. Note that the sesame oil should be good quality - not the typical rubbish you find in the Amoy range at Sainsburys - just like with olive oil, the oil quality is paramount.

oil and soy - the Asian equivalent of balsamic vinegar and olive oil
2014-11-10

My Email to the One Show

I was quite concerned by your report on rat infestations. The report was hardly balanced and left the (less competent) viewer with the suggestion that leaving food out for birds and composting should be avoided. Surly this is not responsible reporting.

The report gave no evidence for how 'bad' rats really are to back up the premise of the report. Could this be because they arn't actually that dangerous?

The final point about rubbish made me think of a suggestion for your show to investigate. The report mentioned that leaving rubbish in bags on the floor rather than in a wheelie bin is generally not a good move (no shit sherlock). The point was made that with fortnightly collection this action with excess rubbish is almost expected if not required - but quite why this is I think highlights a deeper issue.

I live in a student house of four people. Living separate consumer lives you might expect our rubbish to reflect that with four individual meals cooked etc. But no. Instead we produce less than one bin-liner of rubbish a week (I've been keeping notes).

So what's the real problem here? Easy. The amount of rubbish being purchased by consumers - buy more fresh products (i.e. prepare cook your own food) and lo and behold you don't generate much waste. What you guys need to investigate is the sheer amount of rubbish that companies get away with packaging their products in and then somehow make attractive to the less discerning consumer. I'd like to see the myth that pre-prepared food (like ready meals) are a) tasty, b) cheap and c) 'proper food', dispelled.

On a related note I think it would be worth investigating the rules being put in place (possibly my shops) regarding how shops display products. In the case of the sandwich industry I believe the problem is that produces are under pressure to actually over-package their products for the reason of making it easy for super market operators to stock shelves.

the one show, ready meals, rats

Mega Seaweed

Miso soup is good. Miso soup tends to come with little bits of seaweed chopped up into it. It depends on the make as to how much and what quality you get. I'm usually quite excited by a small inch-square piece. But recently a friend's Mum brought me some seaweed back from Singapore, and this stuff is big, I mean really big. After soaking it expands to a completely ludicrous size and I then add it directly to a sachet of instant miso soup for some seriously souped-up seaweed. Nice.

Now that's what I call seaweed

seaweed, miso soup, vegetarian

Coooking Night Conclusion

So it's coming up to 4 am. I got home from work and started preparation at about 8pm, making that 8 hours cooking. Hmm, a tad excessive one might think. Well I've got rice for 24 and stroganoff for 21 as well as a macaroni cheese that happened during the time it took to make a batch of rice. I was mostly slowed by the rice, as I can only do three cups at a time in my sturdy little rice cooker. Phew. I would go to bed, but then I'd wake some time in the afternoon, so instead I'll stay up a while longer and have a 2 hour kip to see me through tomorrow. Might try a spot of web development.


3 slabs of tofu, 1.5 kg of mushrooms, 5 peppers, 5 bulbs of garlic, 5 white + 7 red onions, half a tube of tomato puree, a bottle of red wine and plenty of time. I love cooking :o)

Cooking Night Begins Its Conclusion

The debris pile from all the onions and garlic that's been chopped.



cooking

Cooking Night Continues

I'm nearly 6 hours into this marathon cooking session. Sure a couple of hours were all in the preparation, and for one I mostly watched neighbours. But still, this is turning out to be quite an evening. It better taste good tomorrow.


The kitchen still in a messy state with batch 2 brewing on the hob.



cooking, vegetarian

Cooking Night

Welcome! You join me here on a cooking night. I'm set to prepare enough food to feed about 18 people at tomorrows Southampton Uni SCM meeting. We always prepare a veggie meal and tomorrow it's me. I'm cooking a vast vat (make that two) of tofu stroganoff and a mountain of rice. Here are some photos through my iSight webcam taken just before 12 pm. I've just about finished the first batch and am about to move onto the next if only I can find some way of storing the first. Hmmm... tricky.


Chef Nick - this is merely a small glass of wine to see what it tastes like.


Here is most of the available work surface filled with debris.


It's only a small kitchen, but I like to fully utilise it :)

cooking, stroganoff, tofu

Wing Yip

The best Chinese online shop you're likely to find this side of Russia. You can order up to 25kg of stuff (equipment, tools, bottles, bowls, rice etc.) and get it delivered for £4.50 within 4 days - splendid.

You might be thinking, phaw, four pounds fifty is a lot of money for postage, but not when a truly massive box appears at your door a few days later.

I'd reccoment purchasing their round chopping board (yes, it is a slice of tree) as it will kick your wooden block chopping boards to splinters and cost a third of the price. Nice.


chopping board, Wing Yip, Chinese, online shopping