Foodlovers Foodtalk Forum
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For Foodlovers to talk about recipes, cooking, and everything else foodie!
Re: Pork shank - End leg - 7 years ago
Thanks TPANDAV. I once got a free range pork shank from a direct-from-the-farm place. The other cuts of pork I got were delicious but the shank was far too lean for roasting and ended up really dry.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
What did Santa bring for your kitchen this year? - 7 years ago
As my Christmas pressie to me I got a Whirley Pop popcorn pot that has a crank to stir the popcorn as it pops so you don't get any unpopped kernels. It's the unpopped kernels that are my popcorn bugbear. My quest for the ultimate popcorn popper has ended! I'd been eyeing rhem up on Amazon but then found that they were available in New Zealand. Yes, it's another unitasker, but I am a fan of the spby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Salads from the Service Deli - 7 years ago
I don't usually even look at the salads at the deli counter but the one supermarket salad I have a weakness for is potato salad. I have no idea why. I think it's because the dressing is really tangy and the potato is actually slightly undercooked whcih gives it a really nice texture.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Food project/recipe goal for 2017? - 7 years ago
I really want to have a go at making brawn this year. What is your goal for a recipe or food project that you want to master (or at least try?) In 2017?by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Knives - 7 years ago
My two favourite knives are Wusthoff but I have a variety of other brand knives in different shapes for different things. I favour the Santoku style of knife because I don't tend to use that cheffy rocking motion when I cut things up. I'm a sharpening fiend and my friends often get me to bring my ceramic knife sharpener when I visit. I always run my knives over a steel just before I use them as wby DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Best Recipe Find for 2016? - 7 years ago
My best recipe was an overnight pizza dough recipe. Easy, I know, but I'm a klutz when it comes to anything to do with baking/doughs and this was idiot-proof. J1 - don't give up on chickpea flour! Socca is so quick and easy and cheap and delicious. I'm now experimenting with different recipes for panisse (Provencal chickpea fries) which are proving to be equally easy, cheap and delicious.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Reducing waste - Gift wrapping ideas - 7 years ago
You could cut up old clothes and use the fabric to wrap pressies. My ex-BIL was a comokete greenie and always wrapped pressies in fabric. One bit of fabric I got from him was utterly gorgeous and turned out to be Marimekko. I wish I'd asked him where he got it from. I ended up stretching it over a canvas and hanging it on the wall.by DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Yummy kimchi chips - 7 years ago
I've just made a batch of kimchi chips in my dehydrator and they are so good and so easy. I had bought some kimchi and still had heaps left that was taking up room in my fridge so after a quick search on the internet I whipped out my dehydrator and made the chips. What made it so easy was that the kimchi was already chopped up so all I had to do was drain it and lay it out on the dehydrator traysby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Potato Chips - 7 years ago
I'm a potato chip fiend so I make homemade chips all the time. I do them a myriad of ways depending on my mood. Deep frying is the most idiot-proof. Airfrying is pretty ok but yields uneven results. The dehydrator is time-consuming but the chips have a real potato flavour; you can also make Pringles-type chips in the dehydrator by processing cooked potato into a paste with flavourings - these aby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Pork shank - End leg - 7 years ago
I roast it in my Romertopf then finish it in my Airfryer to get amazing crackling. Tpandav, where do you get your free range pork shanks from?by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Nosh - Closing down - 7 years ago
That's good they have a buyer, I don't like to see businesses going under. Having said that, I'm not a big fan of the Mt Eden Nosh which is my local. I only go there for the odd produce special. Farro is much friendlier; Sabato is friendkier, more knowledgeable and has more interesting stuff plus loads of things on tasting; Bulk Food Savings is cheaper, more interesting and firendlier.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: What in a Jar? - 7 years ago
Savoury crackers, especially ones that are flavoured so you can snack on them as they are. There are loads of different ones - rice based, oat based, flour based. The common denominator is that the ingredients are cheap and they're easy to make. Everyone loves them because they taste so much better than commercial ones.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Pepper or Capsicum? - 7 years ago
Capsicum. If I hear pepper I have to kind of translate it in my head and work out what it is by context! Lorna, I was thinking that as well - Americans say bell pepper and English say capsicum.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: A Sentence A Day Journal - 7 years ago
That's such a brilliant idea. if anyone comes across where to buy one, please let us know.by DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Price is such a subjective thing when you're a foodie... - 7 years ago
Irene, you are preaching to the converted here :-). I share your pain because I used to be a travel agent before I was a vet nurse! I cringe every time I see ads about booking airfares and travel yourself and the implication that all a travel agent does is what you could do yourself. Ha! Yes,sorry, I went off topic too but it's great to hear about others experiences and opinions.by DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Price is such a subjective thing when you're a foodie... - 7 years ago
The reason that veterinary pharmaceuticals are so expensive is that: 1) They're not subsidised like human drugs in NZ. If anyone has ever had to pay or heard about human medication in the US, they'll know how much drugs actually cost. 2) Animal drugs are expensive partly because the licencing process for animal drugs jn NZ is expensive. All animal drugs have to be licenced mainly because of NZ'by DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Price is such a subjective thing when you're a foodie... - 7 years ago
Food is a thing that I happily spend money on and I just wanted to share a moment that made me chuckle about people's priorities and how it's all relative. Yesterday I treated my friend to a nice dinner out to celebrate an achievement of hers. We had three courses as well as drinks and coffee and the bill came to $132.00 after the Entertainment Book discount, which I thought was really reasonaby DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Mandolin Recommendation - 7 years ago
I have had a Borner for years and recently bought a cheaper Avanti mandolin specifically for slices because I found that the v-shape of the Borner blade allows too much variability in applying pressure when slicing so I ended up with erratic flat slices. However, if it's the safety aspect you're concerned about, I've found that the best thing is a spiraliser! Yes, I know it's different to juliby DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: Cockroaches - 7 years ago
I'm in Mt Eden and I've found that since I started using the sticky traps made by Kiwicare, the number of cockroaches has diminshed considerably. I get them from Countdown. I've tried the ones from the $2 shop but they don't work as well because the Kiwicare ones have bait. They're non-toxic and easy to use.by DK - Foodlovers Non-Foodie Chat
Re: You know you're a food lover when... - 7 years ago
...you're buying a baguette, a piece of St Marc gateau, some canele and a palmier from the best French bakery in the city and on one arm you have a bag of stuff from the Sri Lankan grocer next door while on the other arm you have a bag from the Chinese supermarket across the road. This was me at 11am this morning!by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Oyster Sauce - 7 years ago
It's my fave food shop. I go there all the time and I still spend ages looking through the whole shop every time. You can get everything from cricket protein to food-grade rosebuds to 3 different types of semolina flour. There's loads of free parking in the carpark just outside the door. It doesn't have a street frontage, the entrance opens onto the carpark. Further to your thread, I got a tinby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Cheese - 7 years ago
I buy Edam as my bog-standard cheese. I'd prefer Colby or Tasty but Edam is a lower-fat option. My treat cheese is Epoisse - lovely and stinky but doesn't taste as stinky as it smells.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Oyster Sauce - 7 years ago
Thanks for that TPANDAV, I saw the Megachef brand at Bulk Food Savings today and had a mind to try it but now you'e convinced me for sure.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: popcorn flavours - savoury - 7 years ago
Vanessa, the vadouvan I use is Martin Boseley's from Sabato in Auckland and it has big bits of dried shallot in it which sink to the bottom when I use it on popcorn. If I could be bothered I'd grind it up in a mortar and pestle first to get all those shallot bits!by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Food envy - 7 years ago
@ Vanessa45 - I love that comment about the oysters in the carpark!by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Lachanophobia. - 7 years ago
A few years ago there was a series of BBC TV programmes about REALLY fussy eaters and many of those were literally phobic about vegetables, some to the point of vomiting if they touched vegetables. I can't remember what it was called. I've never met anyone personally who has suffered from this.by DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: popcorn flavours - savoury - 7 years ago
I love Cerebos's Chicken Salt and Salt and Vinegar seasonings. I also like curry powder or vadouvan. Garlic powder and salt is yummy too. Powdered nutritional yeast gives popcorn a Marmite flavour. You can also use any powdered stock as a flavouring. Parmesan cheese is tasty as well and this is where the pre-grated powdery Parmesan cheese actually has a use! The secret to a good popcorn flavoby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Goodie Bags - 7 years ago
I've just read the article and I agree with CarolynC - the "No takeaways" listing is completely different to "No doggy bags". It's a completely ridiculous and erroneous article because of this. I love doggy bags and have never been refused one in a restaurant but I would completely understand a restaurant's refusal to give you a doggy bag. However, I don't think this is a veryby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Food envy - 7 years ago
Nope, never. I'm usually the one with the dish that others have food envy for. I'm also the one that at ethnic restaurants the owner comes over and asks if I've lived in that country. In a Japanese restaurant I once asked why they asked me that question and they said that I don't order like a New Zealander! I tend to order stuff that looks tasty or that I wouldn't make at home or that I haven't eby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk
Re: Chickpea Flour Pancakes - 7 years ago
I love socca and make it all the time because it's so quick and easy and tasty and cheap. I've never had a soggy bottom because the recipe I use starts on the stovetop and finishes under the grill. I also don't put onion in it. It's definitely a savoury pancake not a sweet one. Anything that can go on a pizza or pasta can go with this. Think simple Mediterranean flavours. You can top it likeby DK - Foodlovers Food Talk