HOW TO FOLD FITTED SHEETS : OMG WE NEVER KNEW HOW TO DO THIS

USES FOR A TIN CAN

We recently inherited a tin, an Altoid tin of sort. We got it from a colleague after she finished her candy. We have been thinking of what to use that tin for but nothing good came up yet. We are thinking of turning it into a spice tin since we are so into cooking these days. Here are some ideas:

A survival kit.

Not quite sure about this artificial mini zen garden. Looks cute but pretty useless.

Loving this cool idea of a paint palette.

MR WASHY'S DELIGHTFUL PUMPKIN POT GETS FEATURED ON TASTESPOTTING

Click here to read more about Mr Washy's Delightful Pumpkin Pot.

WHICH GARDEN SNAIL IS EDIBLE?

Lets put it this way, we can eat garden snails and they are delicious. People got a little turned off when we posted on how to clean and detox your snails for cooking, saying it is cruel. But what is not? Is eating chicken less cruel than hibernating snails and then cooking them? Strange readers we have. Anyway, here are some visual tips on how to identify these free delicacies in your garden. Not for the weak-hearted.

Helix aspersa, known by the common name garden snail, is a pulmonate gastropod that is one of the best-known of all terrestrial molluscs. It has two recent synonyms: Cornu aspersum and Cantareus aspersus.^[3]

Although this species is edible, it is often regarded as a pest in gardens, especially where it has been accidentally introduced.

The species is an agricultural and garden pest, an edible delicacy, and occasionally a household pet.

In French cuisine, it is known as petit gris, and is served as escargot. The snails are farm-raised or bred as a hobby and eaten with garlic butter or cream sauces. Their texture is slightly chewy. The practice of rearing snails for food is known as heliciculture.

Recently, this snail has gained popularity as the chief ingredient in skin creams and gels (crema/gel de caracol) sold within the Latino community and used for wrinkles, scars, dry skin, and acne.
We posted the below a while back :

 

FREE DELICACY IN YOUR GARDEN : SNAILS

We watched an old series of Gordon Ramsay and got inspired by his passion to rear his own food. In one of the episodes, he researched snails and found out that those edible buggers are available in all our gardens. All they need is a merely detox to rid whatever nasty things they might have eaten in the garden that contains chemicals and all.

We are extremely cite about that. But we do have to research more into it as the garden snails found in our region has a pointy shell. Not sure if that is an edible species although this site did mention that all land snails are edible. Read more about it here.

I would suggest gathering the snails right after or even during a heavy rain. Snails like to come out onto the sidewalk when it rains (they probably don’t like drowning). If you don’t anticipate rain anytime soon, you can spray the yard down with a garden hose and then wait awhile for the little guys to come crawling out. I don’t know how long it takes them to come out when it gets wet, but they are snails, so it’ll probably take a few hours.

First, wash the snails with water.

After you’ve gathered your snails, place them in a jar with a tight fitting lid and a few holes for breathing and leave them alone for two days without feeding them. You want to make sure you don’t skip this step as it’s the detoxification process and will allow your snails to purge any toxins they’ve consumed recently.

Gordon suggests putting a carrot in their jar after two days of detox and leaving them until their poo starts turning orange. I’ve also heard that you can feed them cornmeal which is supposed to make them taste good (I’m going to go with Gordon’s suggestion on this one).

After they’re pooing orange, put them in an airtight jar and leave them in the fridge until they stop moving. Your snails are now ready to cook!

IT IS UMAMI! NO WONDER THIS KETCHUP TASTES SO GOOD

There are a lot of Heinz Ketchup fans out there. Many people frown at other brands saying they are watery and not as concentrated. This is no wonder. After the few posts on umami, we realized why Heinz is the favorite ketchup brand. It is because of the concentrated ketchup! More umami in a mouthful.

TEN UMAMI-RICH FOODS

• Tomatoes (particularly sun-dried and ketchup)
• Wild mushrooms (dried shiitake)
• Rich bouillons
• Cured and smoked meats
• Cheese (particularly Parmesan and ripe blue cheeses)
• Fish and shellfish (particularly anchovies and tuna)
• Seaweed
• Soy sauce
• Oriental fish sauces
• Saké

SOME UMAMI PRODUCTS WE HAVE AT HOME

We've all been around long enough to have heard the word umami, the Japanese term for the sensation of "meatiness." It's one of the five basic tastes that are sensed directly on the tongue (the others being salty, sweet, bitter, and sour), as opposed to the vast majority of what we perceive of as "flavor," which is actually created by aromatic compounds stimulating receptors in our soft palates and nasal passage. Glutamates are the molecules that lend this umami sensation to foods, and are a salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid found in abundance in certain things like seaweed and cheese. It can be bought in crystal form as monosodium glutamate (aka Ac'cent).

Like salt and sugar, glutamates have the ability to enhance certain qualities of foods without actually changing their flavor profile, making them the ideal candidate for—pardon the expression—beefing up my turkey burgers.

• Hon-dashi: A dried, powdered form of dash, the Japanese broth made with sea kelp and smoked bonito flakes. While sea kelp on its own can contain up to 3200mg/100g of glutamates, the amount in powdered dash is considerably less—closer to 1,000mg/g.
• Pure MSG powder: To be used sparingly. By the way, any time someone claims to be allergic to MSG, just point out to them that Parmesan cheese is about 1 percent glutamic acid—a far higher concentration than is in your typical container of take-out Chinese food.
• Dried porcini mushrooms: While mushrooms themselves only contain about 180mg/100g of glutamates, drying them concentrates this amount.
• Parmesan cheese: This is a heavy hitter, with around 1200mg/100g.
• Marmite:. The most concentrated of the lot at 1900mg/ 100g. Marmite (and vegemite) are made with yeast extract, the same ingredient that food manufacturers add to canned beef broth, allowing them to create soups that taste meaty, even when they contain almost no meat at all.
• Soy Sauce: Asides from high salt levels, soy sauce has got around 1,000mg/100g.
• Anchovies: A common addition to French stews, anchovies are on the same level as soy sauce, with about 1,000mg/100g.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Remember the old Lea & Perrins commercials? "Lea & Perrins—for a better steak." Well, it's the 800mg/g of glutamates that do the bulk of its work.

MAKE YOUR OWN UMAMI KETCHUP WITH HESTON BLUMENTHAL

THE FIFTH TASTE : YOUR FOOD WILL TASTE BETTER IF YOU KNOW HOW TO EXTRACT ITS UMAMI

FROM WIKIPEDIA :

Umami, popularly referred to as savoriness, has been proposed as one of the basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human and animal tongue.

Umami (旨味^?) is a loanword from Japanese meaning "flavor" or "taste" (noun).^[1] In English, however, "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternative translations.^[2][3] In as much as it describes the flavor common to savory products such as meat, cheese, and mushrooms, umami is similar to Brillat-Savarin's concept of osmazome, an early attempt to describe the main flavoring component of meat as extracted in the process of making stock.

The umami taste is due to the detection of the carboxylate anion of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring amino acid common in meat, cheese, broth, stock, and other protein-heavy foods. Salts of glutamic acid, known as glutamates, easily ionize to give the same carboxylate form and therefore the same taste. For this reason, they are used as flavor enhancers. The most commonly used of these is monosodium glutamate (MSG). While the umami taste is due to glutamates, 5'-ribonucleotides such as guanosine monophosphate (GMP) and inosine monophosphate (IMP) greatly enhance its perceived intensity. Since these ribonucleotides are also acids, their salts are sometimes added together with glutamates to obtain a synergistic flavor enhancement effect.^[2][4]

MAKE AN ORANGE RIND OIL LAMP IN 3 STEPS

Oranges seem to be a fruit that gets us thinking here at FF, and when we spotted this rind oil lamp we thought we’d share it. Though the directions really can’t get any shorter, we’ve done my best summary below.

1. Halve an orange and scoop out the fruit, leaving the long pith in the center (as the wick).
2. Fill with olive oil.
3. Light it up.

[from Recyclart, via Portugal Smallholding]

CLEVERLY TURN YOUR CARROT SCRAPS INTO SALAD : GROW YOUR OWN CARROT LEAVES

To determine if carrot tops are good to you in a salad, try them first. They can be eaten, but leave it to your taste to decide if they are good. Some people think they are not so good raw, others like them in salads. They are very nutritious, so if you can find a way to use them that you like, do. Be sure to clean thoroughly since their tops can harbor a lot of grit. Some people use them as garnish, like parsley. They also add nice green color when chopped and added to dishes, such as layered in lasagne. More people tend to use them cooked, especially in soups, than raw. They might be enjoyed stir fried or sauted with mushrooms and wine, in juiced vegetable drinks, as a steeped hot tea, or in small amounts in mixed cooked greens.

CARROT TOPS GROW GREENS

It’s the time of year to stop discarding carrot tops and start recycling them into centerpieces for the spring holiday table. Kids will have fun watching these leftovers sprout new greens and then planting them in little pots. It’s a good way to learn about recycling, planting and how plants grow.

Turning carrot tops into frilly greens is simple and it’s a clever way to reuse the tops of carrots you’d probably toss on the compost pile or into the garbage disposal. You won’t be able to grow carrots from the tops, but they can be used as a mini-science experiment to show kids a carrot top contains everything it needs for a new plant to grow.
Children can get involved in the process by caring for the carrot top and by measuring and recording the green’s growth. They can also decide when it’s time to plant.

HOW TO GROW A CARROT TOP

1. Select fresh carrots (not baby carrots) that sport a little green on the top.
2. Cut off the top 2 inches from the crown of one or more carrots.
3. Place the tops in a shallow saucer, cut side down.
4. Add water so that half of the carrot top is submerged in the water.
5. Place the saucer on a windowsill where it will get light.
6. Add water to the saucer as needed to keep the tops from drying out.

The carrot tops will sprout in about 1-2 weeks.

OUR LATEST KITCHEN GADGET : THE DUMPLING MOULD

OK, we love our dumplings. We have mastered how to make the dough from scratch. Applause! But shaping it is still way beyond our fairly capable fidgety fingers. Believe it or not, although we have fidgety fingers, we are double jointed. It is dangerous for us to be using knives in the kitchen and we cannot play the piano. But yes!, we can make a lot of other things.

Our latest craze is the dumpling mould. This has a diameter of about 7.5cm. It looks rather scary, like a bear trap? Like dentures? But it is a life saver for us who are crap at making dumplings. This little dumpling mould makes us look like a pro!

It works like an empanada mould as below. Pretty neat, but many would frown at this.

COLD CLIMATE TEE SHIRT REVAMP

Keep those elbows warm with this easy to do quarter-sleeve tee shirt.

WHY PAY MORE? : GROW YOUR OWN GARDEN FURNITURE

SELF-WATERING IDEAS FOR THE NOT-SO-GREEN-THUMBS

Here are some self-watering ideas:

Creating a terrarium environment by reducing water loss.

Terracotta soakers keep the soil wet without overwatering.

'Underground' reservoir.

Making your own 'underground' reservoir with soda bottles.

Self-watering spikes.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO COMPOST : CRYSTAL MUD, THE HYDROPONICS SOLUTION

We have been posting a lot about growing our own food and we know some of you might be thinking we are overdosing on it. Well, we do regard all these as useful knowledge and knowing where your food comes from is a more than natural common sense we should all have. Some people like to have a sterile environment indoors and do not like to have compost or too many pot plants lying around especially in climate countries. We are ok with that but Mr Washy isn't. We remembered something called Crystal Mud or Soil and decided to read more about it. It is pretty huge in Asia and people have been using it for years. It cannot be bad if no one has complained about it after such a long time.

Crystal Soil is a water absorbent polymer that is translucent, odourless, bio-degradable, 100% non-toxic, re-usable and environmentally friendly. It comes in an assortment of colours. When soaked in water it inflates to more than 100 times its original size. It is a form of hydroponics.

You can grow your plants in it, sprout seeds or even combine it with compost so that you create a self-watering pot plant. Not too bad if you ask us. It is completely fool proof and not-so-green-thumb friendly considering you will never over-water ever again. Keep the mossies from reproducing too.

SPROUTING FROM YOUR PUMPKIN SEEDS : EATING PUMPKIN SPROUTS AND SHOOTS

Do you know apart from roasting your pumpkin seeds, you can also sprout them or grow pumpkin shoots for consumption? We are not into a long wait to harvest. We are really not the type to grow pumpkins from pumpkins seeds. Firstly, we do not have the space. Secondly, we do not have the patience to wait for the fruit.

Some people grow their own pumpkin shoots. We heard that it is relatively easy to grow and they grow like wild fire. So, we should be able to get a few harvest in a few weeks?

Loads of people, especially Asians stir-fry their pumpkin shoots. Looks very healthy and tasty to us. (photo from showshanti.com)

 Pumpkin shoots stir-fried with sambal belachan.

MR WASHY'S DELIGHTFUL PUMPKIN POT

Mr Washy took our suggestion to turn his pumpkin into a pot, and here is his step-by-step.

Pick a pumpkin of a decent size. The size of the pumpkin will depend of how many servings you want to get out of it. This pumpkin yield about 2 servings, or for Mr Washy's standard, only 1.

This is how to cut a pumpkin. Use a paring knife to cut the top of the pumpkin to create a lid. This lid will help to create humid environment and stop the steam from escaping a little.

Remove the pith and the seeds.

Mr Washy washed the pith off the seeds to save them for us. This is a lot of seeds from a pumpkin. No point wasting them.

Mr Washy dries the seeds in the sun. We are planning to dry them up and grow pumpkin shoots out of them for consumption. Alternatively, you can almost roast them in the oven with the pumpkin pot and eat the seeds.

Meanwhile, chop up 2 chicken breasts, onions, garlic and a chicken cube. Mr Washy carved some pumpkin out from the lid to that he can have more space for the ingredients. Any herbs or spices to your liking will work.

Mix all the ingredients together along with some pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, herbs, a dash of olive oil. Be creative. We would caramelize the onions the next time we make the pumpkin pot again so as to add more flavors.

Stuff the ingredients into the pumpkin pot and add some white wine.

Close the pumpkin pot with the pumpkin lid.

Pop the pumpkin pot into the oven at 200 Celsius for about an hour. Remember to put it on a roasting tray in case of any juices oozing out. (The foil contains some leftover ingredients which cannot be fitted into the pot)

You will know when the pumpkin pot is done when you smell that infused pumpkin chicken stew in your kitchen.

Chop up some garnish and serve in the pumpkin pot itself.

Scoop the soft pumpkin and pumpkin-infused chicken stew to serve with rice or linguine pasta. You can taste an obvious difference between the pumpkin-infused stew and the chicken stew in the foil.

The pumpkin pot cooked with all the juices from the pumpkin, making use of the juices from all parts of the gourd. There is a lot of flavor in the skin, and especially the skin as we all know from fruits and gourds. We totally love this pot idea and it is not only super tasty, but saves a lot of washing too.