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Build in flavour
While making a turkey pot pie with the last of my Christmas leftovers, I realised an important point. Dishes like pot pies rely on building in flavour at every step of the recipe – you simmer the chicken (or turkey carcass in this case), then use the broth to cook the veggies. This builds flavour…
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leftovers
Ah, Thanksgiving. One of the leading causes of leftovers along with Christmas! But leftovers is where the home canner can really shine. The turkey carcass? Boil it up to make a bone stock and put the squeeze on it. Same with the leftover veggies, you can put them up for later use. You could add…
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Vinegar, the unsung hero
Why do I call vinegar the unsung hero? Because of its many uses… Cleaner White vinegar (also called distilled vinegar, also called acetic acid) in a 1:1 mix with tap water is a very effective cleaner and steriliser. Use instead of bleach to clean stove tops, windows, bathrooms, and so on. Be careful with tiling…
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Fast food is cheaper – right?
Well… no. Not at all. I recently bought a 9.5lb ham for about $10 including tax. I simmered it for 4 hours, making it literally fall-off-the-bone tender. I stripped the meat off the bone, dropped the bone back in the pot, added a little white vinegar, and simmered the result for 2 hours. I pressure-canned…
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An open letter to the Alabama Legislature
Honourable members of the Alabama Legislature, There are bills before the House and Senate to remove the 4% state tax from groceries. Sadly the definition of groceries in this bill includes sodas, chips, cookies, candy, and other such items usually referred to as “junk food”. You have an opportunity to change our state for the…
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Frugal living
This post was inspired by a comment I made on twitter about frugality. The other name I was seriously considering for this blog was “your grandma was right”. Our grandparents lived incredibly frugally – meals were centered on fresh, seasonal, local produce; meat was a once or twice a week special thing; nothing went to…
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Kitchen Failures
It’s something no-one likes to admit to. When you follow the recipe and… you fail. I was looking forward to some nice tangerine and lime marmalade and, instead, I have lime/tangerine soup. Or maybe a marinade or glaze… but not something you can spread on toast, or crumpets, or whatever. I even tried opening up…
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British food
I would like to deal with an ongoing perception that British food is bad food. This perception seems to be largely based on the state of British food seen by GIs during World War 2, when rationing was in effect. Food supplies were erratic, quality and freshness were erratic and sub-optimal, and this lead to…
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Sausages
Ahh, sausages. You’re not a real country unless you have a sausage. And a beer. And a cheese. Moving swiftly on, bangers are simply British sausages. Bangers are as much a staple of British cuisine as baked beans on toast, but unless you’re in Britain they are hard to find. To make bangers you need…
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Rethinking marmalade
Marmalade has long been a staple of British breakfasts. This odd mixture of orange rind and sweetened pulp has graced many a slice of toast, muffin, scone, or as the case may be. But what is marmalade? In the English language, and in EU law, marmalade refers to any preserved citrus fruit. Peel or no…