The Everyday Kitchen

A blog about food, healthy eating, seasonal ingredients and how to eat well in a busy life.

Food advice for a busy life

Posts with Tag: food storage

18 March 2013 ,07:57 2 simple ways to use up a bunch of herbs

I love using fresh herbs in cooking. They add flavour, together with a freshness you don't get from many other ingredients. However they often don't last and there is something depressing about seeing your beautiful fresh herbs wilting, drooping and turning gooey in the bottom of the fridge.

To prevent this I tend to think of fresh herbs as being another green vegetable. So if I'm cooking anything with spinach or silverbeet, or simply making a salad with leafy greens, then I'll add some of my leftover herbs into the mix. This works best with the 'soft' herbs like basil, parsley, coriander and mint, which tend to be the ones which go off more quickly. I've done this in the photo below, where my salad includes a handful of basil leaves.

My second strategy, I learnt from Ganga of A Life (Time) of Cooking and this is to dry out the more hardy herbs, like rosemary and thyme. I separate the sprigs out and then leave them on a clean tea towel for a few days. Once they are dried they can be smashed up in a mortar and pestle, food processor, or even chopped up with a knife. The exact proportions of different herbs doesn't really matter, so my mixture changes over time. I sprinkle the dried herbs into tomato based sauces, soups and salad dressings. They can also be mixed with a small amount of olive oil and rubbed into meat, chicken or slices of tofu.

How do you use up fresh herbs?

Share it

Print it | Email it

13 September 2012 ,14:59 How to choose and store an avocado

By Kathryn Elliott

Rich and melt-in-your-mouth, avocadoes are deliciously creamy and have a slightly sweet, almost buttery flavour. While many people worry about the fat content, they're low in saturated fat, containing mostly mono- and poly-unsaturated fats.

Avocadoes are also full of a surprising amount of other nutrients including vitamins C, E and K, folate, together with potassium and copper. Which means avocadoes are beneficial to your health, as long as you don't eat too many.

How to Choose an Avocado

Avoid fruit with dark patches or blemishes on the skin.
To test if an avocado is ready gently squeeze it at the top, by the stem. If it gives slightly, your avocado is ripe.

How to Store an Avocado

To encourage an avocado to ripen place it in a paper bag and store at room temperature. Add an apple or a banana to the bag to further speed up the ripening.
When your avocado is ripe, store it for two to three days in the fridge.
Once an avocado is cut the flesh will start to brown. Squeezing over some lemon or lime juice, or sprinkling with a bit of white vinegar will help to cut down on the browning.
Store cut avocado in an air-tight container in the fridge for one – two days.

For more about choosing and storing an avocado click here.

Photograph by Amanda Govaert.

Share it

Print it | Email it

16 April 2012 ,07:27 Buying vegetables to last a week

By Kathryn Elliott

Some vegetables are long lasters, while others wilt and start looking tired within a couple of days.

If you shop once a week and want to buy vegetables to last, then it's a good idea to buy a combination of long lasters and early wilters. You'll then have a variety of vegetables, some to use in the first couple of days, and others to keep you going until you next go shopping.

My basic rule of thumb is:

Use the greenery first. Spinach, watercress, mixed salad leaves, Asian greens, fresh herbs, anything with a soft green leaf will start to look quite sorry after a couple of days. So use these in your meals first.
Always choose some long lasters. Potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin, onions, garlic, leeks, cabbage, even beetroot and sometimes carrots will all survive a week. Some will be good for longer than that. So I always buy a couple of these and plan to use them at the end of the week.
Use your judgement with the rest. The longevity of everything else lies somewhere between these two extremes, so plan to use them mid week, once the greens have gone.
It helps to be a bit flexible. If something in you fridge is starting to lose freshness then use it up.

Share it

Print it | Email it

02 April 2012 ,07:56 Should you store eggs in the fridge?

By Kathryn Elliott

I've written before about how much I love eggs. Many fridges have a built-in egg tray, usually in the door. It seems this would be the best place to store eggs, but is that true?

To keep eggs fresh it's definitely best to store them in the fridge. They will last longer and stay fresher when kept cold. Egg cartons are stamped or labelled with a 'Best Before' date and this date assumes you are keeping them in the fridge. According to the Australian Egg Industry, eggs will age seven times faster out of the fridge.

However, don't put your eggs in the fridge egg tray. The shells are porous and they can absorb and be affected by strong smells. Instead keep eggs in their original carton. This means you can keep an eye on the 'Best Before' date, while also protecting them from any strong smelling foods that may be in your fridge.

For a delicious, vegetable packed supper, try Monica Shaw's superb looking Cauliflower and Broccoli Omelette with Feta and Parsley.

Share it

Print it | Email it

Recent Blog Posts

May 20, 2013, 9:24 am
Tiredness OR hunger - what causes your mid afternoon energy slump?
If you experience an energy slump mid afternoon have you considered that you may actually be hungry? Hunger doesn't always show itself as a rumbling stomach, instead for some people tiredness and feeling irritable are their version of hunger.Read More...

'Be the first comment!'

May 20, 2013, 9:18 am
Learning to love Brussels sprouts
When I was little I hated Brussels sprouts. They always seemed to be boiled, a method of cooking which brings out all their smelly, horrible tasting qualities.Read More...

'Be the first comment!'

May 13, 2013, 8:10 am
3 recipes for the timid fish eater
In my latest Reader's Digest column I've written a piece called Tips for the Timid Fish Eater. There are many, many reasons to include more fish in your weekly meals, however I find a lot of people are uncertain about how to cook fish or find the flavour and smell too strong.Read More...

'Be the first comment!'

1	Instant Noodles(52)
2	Education(39)
3	Unscrambling Rabbits(26)
4	Should you worry about which foods contain the most antioxidants?(15)
5	Egg-citing Taxi Ride(12)

Blog Archive

Blog Roll

Have You Seen...

5 easy ways to cut your fuel bills Lifestyle Finishing touches for furniture Paro Taktsang in Bhutan 7 lost cities of the world	Amazing medical mysteries solved Health & Wellbeing 14 Reasons to get to Emergency 53 secrets the Emergency Department staff won’t tell you 7 Secrets the Weight Loss Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know	Nectarine and currant tarts recipe Food & Recipes Cajun-Style Catfish Carrot-zucchini souffle Reader Recipe: Dried Mango Tea Muffins	5 easy ways to cut your fuel bills Home & Garden Finishing touches for furniture 5 Rules for Fixing Furniture Overhaul a wobbly chair:	The stranger who changed my life Stories & Interviews 12 Festivals and Traditions that Offer Important Life Lessons All's Fare Surf Break
More in Lifestyle	More in Health	More in Food & Recipes	More in Home & Garden	More in Stories & Interviews