Foodlovers Foodtalk Forum
Show all posts by user
For Foodlovers readers to discuss gardening.
Re: Pastry - Expiry Date - 2 days ago
I don't think expired commercial pastry would be harmful to eat as it will be thoroughly cooked, but give it a sniff first in case the fat in it has gone rancid.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Netflix - 9 days ago
I started to watch the new series of Somebody Feed Phil and somehow it's lost its charm for me. The sight of him stuffing his face over and over again (especially the pastrami sandwich) just seems grotesque now,. I think the format might have had its day when more and more countries have children dying of malnutrition.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: 'Consume within x days...' instructions - 9 days ago
I wouldn't take any notice of that on a jar of capers, which are preserved with salt and vinegar and last for a long time. I suspect that the warning is there to observe general food safety criteria in various markets (probably the US) so that the capers can be legally sold anywhere in the world.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Not My Day Today - 12 days ago
The butter leaking out of the cake may have been a result of not creaming the butter and sugar enough, or not beating the eggs in enough. The creaming of butter and sugar forms a base for the emulsion that forms when you slowly beat in the eggs. The stable emulsion then contains the fat while the cake rises and the flour absorbs the fat. My saddest cake mistake was when I was on the vergeby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Greek Yoghurt Recipe - 5 weeks ago
I came to the same conclusion, and I also decided that it was important to support Zany Zeus as a small local manufacturer of high quality products. We also buy their halloumi, feta and ricotta, which are all top quality and well worth the extra cost.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Greek Yoghurt Recipe - 5 weeks ago
I love Zany Zeus yoghurt angd have not found any other local yoghurt to match it. Unfortunately I can't think of any way of making an equivalent that is cheaper, because you would need yohurt made from reaL whole milk and then strain it to remove excess liquid. You would need to make or buy whole milk yoghurt then strain it for about 24 hours in a muslin bag. Most other "Greek" yby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Shopping Scams - 6 weeks ago
I just took a phone call which was very obviously an attempted scam. It was an ordinary looking Australian number. When I answered, a robotic American voice said she was from Visa and had noticed two unusual transactions in my account this morning, $800 Amazon gift card and $100 Apple Music and because these were not in my usual pattern of spending she was inviting me to "press 1" toby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Cherry Tomato Glut - 6 weeks ago
That sounds lovely Irene. Tomatoes and capers are always a good combination and I can imagine the horseradish adding an extra dimension. Did you use fresh horseradish or bottled horseradish sauce?by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Plum Sauce - 8 weeks ago
Nutmeg tastes very similar to mace (it is a different part of the same fruit).by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Shopping Scams - 2 months ago
I thought it might be useful to document any scams that we run across, as they are getting increasingly clever. I had thought that I was pretty good at spotting them but recently fell for a new kind. I was looking on line to replace a particular Alessi peppermill (the Michael Graves design with the blue wings on top) which had finally broken after 30 years of use. I found various sites thaby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Pumpkin.... - 3 months ago
The name has come to me overnight - Sweet Dumpling. Here's a link.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Pumpkin.... - 3 months ago
Sorry that you were so disappointed in the flavour. I think there are several variable with pumpkins - variety, growing conditions and ripeness. There is a very flavourful small pumpkin which I have seen in some vege shops (Fruit World in particular). They are stripey cream and green, about 12 - 15cm diameter and the name is something like "Sweet Bun", II can't remember exactly.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Spiced Nuts? - 3 months ago
The nuts won't all brown at the same rate, but on a low heat with plenty of stirring you should be able to manage them all in the same batch. The ones I would take special care with are the walnuts and pecans, because they have more surface area with all the lumps and hollows, and brown more quickly. I think the butter in my recipe helps to distribute and transfer the heat, thereby helping wiby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Spiced Nuts? - 3 months ago
This is the recipe I have used with great success. If you want it spicer just add a little cumin powder and/or chilli flakes.. Sugared Nuts 210g whole nuts 1 egg white ΒΌ c sugar 2 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt 50g butter, melted & cooled Roast nuts 180C 6 min. Whip egg white, whip in sugar, cinnamon & salt. Whip in butter. Mix with nuts. Roast 160C 30 min, stirrinby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: To MSG or not to MSG! - 3 months ago
I don't use MSG because I don't like the artificially enhanced flavours that it produces. I don't regard it as particularly harmful though, no more so than soy sauce or fish sauce, which are also high in sodium. I don't much like the flavours added by Vegeta or "chicken powder" or any of those dried seasonings - to me they make everything taste like packet soup - but I don't regarby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Spring Onion glut18 - 3 months ago
We've got a large quantity of huge spring onions in the garden which the gardener wants to take out and I want to do make the most of. There are only so many salad dressings and stir fries that we can get through. I'll cook and freeze some, but I wondered about slow-cooking a leg of lamb surrounded by spring onions (cut up) and some lamb stock. Has anyone tried this? Would the spring onionby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Just an Xmas Moan - 3 months ago
Here's a link to a very funny rant by Giles Coren, in support of traditional Christmas food and customs.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Just an Xmas Moan - 3 months ago
For dessert you could revert to the tradition of having just one large spectacular dessert - a lovely big pav with whipped cream and fruit. That would suit everyone on your list except the pre-diabetic, and he/she shouldn't be eating dessert anyway. When did the fashion start for having an assortment of desserts? It used to be just the one, either a Christmas Pudding or a Pavlova. Does iby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Just an Xmas Moan - 3 months ago
I think the way to manage this array of food aversions is to side-step the traditional Christmas dinner and instead put on an assortment of foods as a buffet. Everyone can select whatever fits with their preference. There's no need to worry about each person getting a nutritionally balanced meal - it's a one-off after all - and if you include one dish that is vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Portable food to share - 4 months ago
My standby picnic food is an Italian-style frittata - eggs, cooked potato, cooked mushrooms, Parmesan (or vintage Gouda), cooked in butter or olive oil. It can be cooked the night before, will hold without refrigeration for several hours, and can be eaten without utensils. It is gluten-free. A dairy-free variation is a Spanish tortilla, with eggs, onions, potatoes and olive oil..by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Butter - 4 months ago
Here's Golden Churn at Moore Wilsons. Not cheap any more!by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Butter - 4 months ago
Thanks Dawn for the tasting notes - fascinating how people's opinions vary. I noted that one taster reported "A gentle pale inside with that yellow ring on the outer surface. 10/12". The yellow ring around the outside would have been oxidation from inadequate packaging! Irene - I used to work in downtown Auckland and there was a deli there that sold Golden Churn canned butter. Itby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Butter - 4 months ago
Here's a link to the discussion that ensued the last time you raised this question. All I can add is that if you are interested in the flavour differences it would be useful to do a comparative taste testing - get together some samples of all of the butters you are interested in, make sure they are all at the same temperature, then try a little piece of each, one at a time, thinking carefuby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Preparing for El Nino - 6 months ago
We'r4e facing the same worry, having had most of our fruit and vege crops (and some shrubs) ruined by the constant wet last season. You need to rebuild the soil nutrients that have been washed away, then add as much fibrous matter as you can to retain moisture during the drought, We grew a cover crop in one big vege plot (barley and lupin) and that has just been dug in. Pea straw is gby TPANDAV - Garden Lovers Forum
Re: Tried ChatGPT? - 6 months ago
Do be wary of any information you get from AI. It can often come up with incorrect, inaccurate, or incomplete information because its purpose its to reproduce patterns in text, not to actively consult sources to provide accurate information. Just as AI generated images are often hilariously wrong (six-fingered hands, missing ears, five legged sheep etc) the written information can be way oby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Controversial Date Loaf - 6 months ago
What I'm saying is that volume measures are inexact, while weight measures are consistent. Your cup of flour or dates may be different from someone else's, particularly if they are not an experienced baker.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Controversial Date Loaf - 6 months ago
I haven't used that recipe, but on reading it the first thing that struck me was the measurements by volume (cups, tabs) rather than by weight. That allows a lot of imprecision, especially with dates, but also with flour. If someone chopped the dates coarsely (or even measured the 2 cups whole before chopping) they would end up with a much smaller quantity than if they chopped finely then measby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Seville oranges available now - 6 months ago
If any marmalade makers on this forum haven't tried Seville Oranges I strongly recommend that they do. Sevilles make fabulous marmalade. And the zest and juice, in small quantities, are a great flavour boost to salad dressings, cakes, meat casseroles and anything to which you might add orange.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Old fashioned Worcestershire sauce recipe - 7 months ago
Two essential flavourings of Worcestershire Sauce are anchovies and tamarind. Maybe add those to this recipe for a more authentic flavour. And the recipe seems to have left out vinegar, which is also essential.by TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: organic free range chicken - 8 months ago
Thanks so much for reporting in Stephanie39. I'm glad you liked it so much, it's one of my standbys, especially in spring when we have lots of suitable herbs. Coconut milk will not split if it has thickeners in it - Aroy-D in the green tetrapak never used to be thickened but I wonder if that has changed. In any event, the purpose of the splitting is really just to fry the shrimp paste so iby TPANDAV - Foodlovers Food Talk