Domesblissity: Miscellaneous

Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Thai basil & macadamia pesto

Thai Basil & macadamia pesto is a lovely combination. I reckon you can make just about anything into pesto.

Pesto comes from the Italian word pestâ which means ‘to pound’. I’ve made pesto from sun dried tomatoes, spinach, silver beet, traditional basil and any mixture of nuts. At a recent trip to my local farmer’s market, I couldn’t pass up a beautiful bunch of Thai basil.

Thai basil leaves are a little smaller and there is an edible purple flower.

Thai Basil & Macadamia Pesto Domesblissity.com

The flavour is a little different to regular basil which lends itself well to Italian tomato based dishes but the Thai basil is better suited to Asian style dishes. I knew I could pick a few leaves to add to a Thai curry or stir fry but I had better things in store.

I also had macadamia nuts in the cupboard so I ground some and made it up into a pesto with olive oil, garlic cloves and parmesan cheese, just whizzing it up in the food processor.

Thai Basil & Macadamia Pesto Topped Fish

I had a nice piece of snapper in the freezer and that’s what I was topping with my pesto. I just spread the pesto on top of the fish and wrapped in baking paper, baking for about 15 mins in a 170 deg C oven.

I served the fish with roasted and Thai caramelised truss cherry tomatoes (based on a Karen Martini recipe I saw on BH&G Australia). It was delicious. I’ll be keeping my eye out for more fresh herbs at the markets from now on. Making it in a pesto is a great idea to prolong the life of the herb and capture it at its freshest best.

Friday, March 20, 2020

How to cut onions without crying

It took memany years to work out how to cut onions without crying – particularly if theyneeded to be finely diced.

One strategymight have involved wearing swimming goggles. Luckily that was in the agebefore mobile phones and social media!

I triedholding my breath.

I tried afancy chopping gadget (waste of time, money and space).

I tried afood processor. What a pain to clean – and if anything it made the tears worse!

I tried redonions. Brown onions. White onions. New onions. Old onions.

But still myeyes would water and sting – giving me a tiny glimpse into what those with Dry Eye syndrome experience daily.

If I wasreally lucky my nose would start streaming in sympathy (yes, I’m beingsarcastic!).

There had to be a better way.

I’m notsure how I hit upon this method – perhaps in a kitchen hints column in amagazine – but I’ve been using it for years now and all I can say is IT.REALLY. WORKS.

And now I’msharing my secrets with you.

How to Dice an Onion without the Tears

Cut off the “top” and “tail” of the onion

Peel while rinsing under cold water

Place the onion with a flat side down on the cutting board, as this creates a stable base.

Hold the knife in front of you and carefully make thin slices all the way across the onion, making sure you don’t cut all the way through to the bottom (try to get as close as you can, but not all the way).

Now turn the onion 90 degrees, and make thin slices across that intersect the previous cuts. Once again, be careful not to cut all the way through (it’s not the end of the world if you do, but it does make the next step quite a bit trickier).

Insert the knife into the middle cut, and slice it all the way through.
Take the two resulting halves and lay them flat side down on the cutting board.

Make more fine slices through each half and watch how you suddenly have piles of diced onion!

You will have a bit of onion at the end of each half which is not neatly diced, but as it’s already sliced it’s quick and easy to chop finely.

And voila! Diced onions and not a tear in sight.

I’m notsure if it’s the rinsing in water while peeling, or taking a methodicalapproach to it, but for some reason it’s extremely rare now for an onion to makemy eyes sting and water (top tip – DON’T make the mistake of touching your eyeswith oniony hands, yee-ouch!).

It’s so effective I can even make up several mince meals at once and freeze them, because even though I need to chop several onions I still don’t cry.

This means I get to enjoy cooking with onions (and eating the yummy results) much more often. And considering onions are packed with nutrients like vitamin C, antioxidants and folate, as well as full of flavor – I’d say that’s a win!

How to cut onions without crying

Monday, July 15, 2019

26 sweet or savoury recipes using cottage cheese

I first remember cottage cheese in the 1970s when my mother bought it. I think it was because of the diet craze and somehow cottage cheese had all these health benefits. For me, as a teenager, I took one look at it and knew it wasn’t for me but as an adult, I’ve found it to be just as good to use in recipes as cream cheese but lighter and healthier. Here’s 26 sweet or savoury recipes using cottage cheese.

What is cottage cheese?

Cottage cheese has a mild flavour and is made from milk. It is made usually by heating the milk then adding an acid product to separate the curds from the whey. I think a lot of people are put off by the look of it but it can easily be whipped to a smooth consistency with either an electric hand beater or whisk.

Commercially, the product undergoes a few more processes and then mixed with cream ready for packaging and sold in the supermarket as we know it today. There are various levels of fat content available.

It’s easy enough to make yourself at home. It’s also the perfect substitute where ricotta cheese or Greek yoghurt is needed in a recipe. Blend the cottage cheese until smooth and use as required.

Is it healthy?

As mentioned earlier, it is well known in dieting circles as being the perfect light solution to cream cheese because of the lighter fat content. It can be used for both sweet and savoury options.

That doesn’t mean that it can’t be used normally to replace cream cheese in recipes if you don’t have cream cheese.

Many countries around the world use a product similar to what we know as cottage cheese. It’s called quark and used regularly for both sweet and savoury dishes.

If you’re looking for ways to use up cottage cheese, search for quark recipes for more inspiration.

Sweet Recipes Using Cottage Cheese

Cottage Cheese Pancakes (Russian Syrniki)

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cottage Cheese

Peaches & Cream Cottage Cheese Breakfast Cake

Savoury Recipes Using Cottage Cheese

Spinach & Cottage Cheese Stuff Chicken Breasts

Sunday, July 7, 2019

20 sweet or savoury tahini recipes

If you’re looking for a versatile ingredient that keeps well in the pantry, even after being opened, tahini is it. A perfect alternative to peanut butter and allergy free, tahini is perfect. Here are 20 sweet or savoury recipes using tahini.

What is tahini?

Tahini is ground sesame seeds, usually blended with a neutral flavoured oil to form a paste widely used by Middle Eastern countries and is a common ingredient in hummus. It really is what makes hummus taste so good.