So today I will do a little kitcheny kinda blog. I will reveal a couple of cool home remedies for cleaning in the kitchen and also (as usual) tack on a few more 'I wants'. I actually LOVE cooking, but the problem is that I'm not a particularly efficient cook when under pressure or trying a new recipe. Therefore, despite reasonable talent and good ideas....my poor family experience bipolar style swings in their meal quality. For instance, my menu this week (yes, I planned a whole week, I know, right?) includes Moroccan lamb shanks, chicken and prawn rice paper rolls with fantastic herby Asian rice salad etc, BUT for the last two nights (oh yeah, two nights...no wastage at my house!) they have been subjected to the most basic of bolognese dinners. I can't even say spaghetti bolognese, because it happened to be broken up lasagne sheet bolognese, due to a pasta shortage in my pantry. I even sent my long-suffering fiance and my son to school with bolognese SANDWICHES!! HAHAHA. The problem (for them) is that despite loving better food, my palate is actually well used to eating bland and boring and repetitive...so they just have to deal with it....the kids are usually okay, I'm raising them to be like me...hehe, and my lovely boy just has to cope because the alternative is him cooking which is NEVER going to happen on a regular basis! It's a little disturbing how much I enjoy having this wee bit of power to inflict myself on them all...hehe. Okay, home remedies.
1. If your microwave is crusty and feral with baked/dried on food, apparently a large bowl half-filled with water, and the juice from a lemon should soften it all up if microwave on high for a minimum of five minutes. I think vinegar would probably subsitute well enough...it's still an acid...but the lemon probably smells a lot better! You should be able to just wipe the interior afterwards rather than scrubbing for ages and risking the finish being damaged.
2. Calcium-infested kettle element? Boil a mix of vinegar and water with 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water, about half a kettle full. Once boiled, place in an empty sink and add around 1/4 cup of bicarbonate soda. You'll know why it has to be in the sink once you do it...but it does work quite well.
3. Sometimes you walk into the kitchen hours after dinner and you can still smell the food. This annoys the crap out of me, so if you're the same, try this. Place 2-3cups of water in a saucepan. Add any of the following: vanilla essence, cloves, citrus peels (good if you used the juice for something else and have empty skins), cinnamon scrolls (a little expensive, but would probably smell delicious!) or even a teaspoon of eucalyptus oil. Simmer on very low for a while and you'll find your kitchen smelling much better.
4. Particular cupboards that seem to always smell: place a dish or two of bicarbonate soda uncovered in the back of the cupboard, it absorbs most smells.
5. Wipe down anything shiny (such as stainless finished anything, ceramic cooktops, high gloss benchtops, glass or even the plastic doors of microwaves etc) with white vinegar to get a lovely sheen happening. Don't use too much obviously or you'll have to trot out remedy number 3 just to get rid of the smell.
Wow, FIVE in one go! Amazing! I didn't even have to look them up! Woohoo me. Okay, now for a lovely recipe...I will pick another tried and tested favourite for you...hold tight.
Sweet Soy and Ginger Fishserved with....
Sesame Longevity NoodlesAll of my family liked this one, me especially (how surprising) and the cool thing is that the noodles have so many potential subsitutions where you may not have one or two ingredients...even the noodles can be substituted with different types of noodles depending what you have on hand. I love flexible recipes!
Okay, just a teeny weeny wish list today (I have to break them down or I'd write a novel about all the shit I want but don't actually need).
totally unnecessary but soooo cool teapot - it's RED!
I don't even know if I CAN buy this jar, but I love it so much I had to put it here even if it's just as part of a vintage wank! Oh dear...I said something rude...oh well.
Oh my, these really are just sooooo beautiful. I love teacups (I'll be blaming my dear mother for that) and even though I never actually drink out of them, I think I'd make a point of it if I had these lovelies! I found this picture at http://dartyandpike.blogspot.com but I think you can buy them from Shopadilly UK. This is a site similar to ebay I think, so I'm assuming they aren't in production anymore. Reasonably affordable though, yay! Anyone needing ideas for wedding gifts?? Anyone?
This will be for when I'm 'ye olde Anji' with time to kill.....i.e. not going to be forgetting about the cute copper kettle boiling itself dry while I'm hanging out clothes or something else equally as mundane....
Alrighty then, that will do for now...I do have to make lunches after all....boo. Besides, I could go on all night (already have in fact!) Right-o then. Done.
Anji
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