• 13 Posts
  • 22 Comments
Joined 3 years ago
Cake day: July 27th, 2023
  • melbaboutown@aussie.zonetoFood Australia@aussie.zone•Help me choose a Mortar and Pestle Please!
    2·
    6 months ago

    It depends on what she’s using it for.

    I’m not experienced in using them but I have a smallish metal mortar and pestle from an Asian shop that is traditionally used to bruise fresh herbs for cooking or mint leaves for cocktails, and would probably crush garlic. I chose it because it wouldn’t leave gritty residue in crushed pills and would wash clean. Both the mortar and pestle are very smooth so it would take longer or be more difficult to finely grind anything hard or dried.

    The first link shows garlic and soft leaves (basil?) so that might be a similar use.

    Rougher stone options like the granite are good for harder things but the size depends on whether she’s grinding a small amount of dried spices, or larger amounts of stuff like dried chillies or rice and lentils for dosa. They may also leave a bit of grit behind until they’ve been used enough to wear most of that off.

    Ceramic might leave dust behind for a while unless the inside is sealed with glaze, in which case it’d probably be good for the softer things.

    High narrow walls contain small amounts in one spot and prevent them getting kicked out the sides, but for heavier grinding lower walls allow more circular movement. Somewhere in the middle might be more versatile.

    But if it’s on either end it’s definitely annoying to properly grind an amount that’s too large for the mortar and also to chase a too small amount around the inside (and have to make sure you don’t leave half behind as residue) so I’m no help here…

    Maybe just show her pics without the prices and ask her what would suit. Or take her out to lunch near one of the places (not necessarily on the day) and have a look together. Or gift card

  • melbaboutown@aussie.zoneOPtoFood Australia@aussie.zone•Supercook: recipe search by ingredients you have at home
    2·
    7 months ago

    These sites would be really good for using up what you have in your cupboards, or finding recipes for foods that are currently cheap, on special or heavily discounted. Buying short dated items or searching low-high on the Aldi site for main ingredients are good moves. (You can always freeze perishables or portions of the cooked meal.) If you have access to a market or random stuff from NQR or Cheaper Buy Miles so much the better.

    Just a few caveats -

    Supercook uses pounds and ounces so you might want to use an Aussie site or have to convert measurements.

    It also plays a bit loose, I put down stewing meat (tough chunks) and it’s suggested recipes that don’t really work for that like roasts and chops.

    And yeah you might want to have your adblockers on.

  • melbaboutown@aussie.zonetoFood Australia@aussie.zone•Beans and rice - how would you spice it up?
    17·
    1 year ago

    If you have anything other than water use it. Cooking the rice in chicken stock and/or fruit or vegetable juice will always put you ahead in flavour. The stock can be made from cube.

    A lot of Middle Eastern dishes use rice and pulses. Try a pilaf style dish like this or this minus the meat and then add cooked or canned pulses at the end. Here’s a vegan one with very simple ingredients.

    You can also consider something like dahl and rice or lentil stew. (Other pulses like lentils and chick peas work as well as beans.) Lentil/bean+rice dosa or idli are another choice.

    Adzuki beans sound like a pain to cook from fresh but if you can find tinned here’s a Japanese recipe.

    Red beans and rice usually requires Andouille sausage and bones but here’s a simpler version without the more expensive ingredients. You can make a small amount of your own spice mix if that’s cheaper than buying the seasoning or you don’t use Creole a lot.

    Gallo pinto can use up leftover cooked rice.

    Mexican food also uses beans and rice a lot. Consider a bean and cheese burrito. These are freezer burritos so you have a few backup dinners.

    Grains can combine with pulses or legumes too:

    Hummus is very simple to make, blitzing canned chick peas garlic tahini and olive oil with a stick mixer. Just use it up fast, like 2 days. You can add that to wholemeal bread or pita.

    And for a quick snack, peanut butter sandwich on wholemeal bread is also a complete protein. Nuts or beans also work with wholemeal grains.

    Corn too. Soup beans on cornbread is another option. I’m not sure if you can get a few of the fussy ingredients for corn bread in Aus but you can possibly substitute polenta as it can be subbed for grits.

    One last tip: You can caramelise onions in bulk (a pinch of baking soda speeds the process) and they freeze well for whenever they’re needed. Freeze in portions for a topping or to add to whatever for flavour.

    (Disclaimer: I haven’t personally tested all of these out due to being unable to eat them now. They’re just some ideas. Also don’t beat yourself up if you can’t live perfectly frugal on rice and beans, as soaking and cooking is labour and legumes/pulses can be rough on even normal healthy stomachs.)