Homemade Dried Chilli Flakes

I love having a selection of fresh herbs and other edible plants in my kitchen and garden and, in the main, most of them get used. If they don't, I use one of my two methods for preserving them - found here and here. However, there always seems to be the humble chilli plant that I may use one or two chillis from and then the plant gets ignored and fades away. The following year, I buy another - they are so pretty and I am convinced that this time, I will use it more often!

So how can I get my money's worth and make sure that the poor plant isn't going to waste? I can dry the chillis! First of all, chop them in half. For extra spice, keep the seeds or remove them if you want less. Place on an ungreased baking tray and pop in the oven at the 'warm' setting (80° C - 100°C) or several hours, until they are completely dried out or dehydrated. This will be a number of hours - 5 or 6 at a shot - and to be extra crispy, I would turn off the oven and leave them overnight.

Pop the lot into a plastic bag and crumble (or if you're lazy so inclined, a food processor is good). But make sure you don't get any in your eyes! Place the lot in a jar or pot and there you have it, homemade dried chilli flakes and a plant that hasn't gone to waste. And wash your hands really, really well when you're done.

Bonus top tip - plastic gloves are always good when working with chillis!

Separating Egg Whites & Yolk

It's quite a faff to separate egg whites from the yolk when cooking or baking.  I've always done it using what I suspect is a traditional method - by cracking the egg and alternating the yolk between the two halves of the shell, letting the whites fall into the bowl.  The trouble with this method is that much of the time, some - if not all - of the yolk escapes and I have to start again.

However, I have spotted a genius idea.  Yes, you can purchase a specialist egg separator.  But a cheaper, more savvy method is to use a simple plastic bottle - it does exactly the same! Just crack the whole egg into a bowl and use the bottle to scoop up the yolk.

Easy, quick and cheap! I wish I'd seen this a long time ago - it would have saved a lot of frustration on my part!

Alternative use for a Lazy Susan

A few days ago, I posted about an alternative use for cake stands.  Another item I own, but hardly use, is a Lazy Susan.  It just doesn't work on my largish, rectangular kitchen table so takes up space in the cupboard and never sees the light of day.

An idea I have spotted for the kitchen is to use one as a holder for bottles and jars such as vinegars, oils, sauces - or even alcohol!

You could use this either on the kitchen counter if you have pretty bottles to display or in a cupboard for storage, both providing easy access to all your culinary essentials.

Alternative use for a cake stand

I've got a couple of cake stands now which are brilliant when I am having friends over for cake and cupcakes.  They look lovely and make me seem like a real domestic goddess!  However, the frequency of such an event is... hmmm... rarely.  In reality, my cake stands are packed away in the cupboard and if I make cake, it gets eaten off the plate!

So why not find an alternative use for the humble cake stand?  A nice idea is to use it to hold bits and bobs on the dressing table.  So it could be used for perfume bottles, jewellery, make-up - anything really - but it will keep it all together and look pretty.

Preserving Fresh Herbs II

So I've just said how you can preserve fresh herbs so that they aren't wasted once you've opened the packet, but there are other ways that they can be used and saved too, which I think are brilliant!  These involve creating herb oils or butters and freezing.

For herb oil, all you have to do is chop the fresh herbs very finely, put in an ice cube tray and add olive oil.  Mix a little. Pop in the freezer, then, once they're frozen, place in a sealable plastic bag, label and use when needed.

For the herb butter, chop the herbs and add garlic for a bit of a kick!  Mix with room-temperature butter to taste and then wrap, sausage-like, in some greaseproof paper.

Place in the freezer for up to an hour so it firms up and then chop into slices about 1cm thick.  Re-wrap in the paper, ready to use when needed.  I'm planning on making some garlic bread with this - chop a baguette, add some ready-made butter to each slice and bake.  Yum and quick!

I have to say, this and the previous post of drying herbs is something that I do already but thanks to Jamie Oliver's new series 'Save with Jamie' for reminding me!

Preserving Fresh Herbs

If you're anything like me with herbs, you've got the best intentions when you buy those little bags of fresh ones from the supermarket - lots of plans to cook gorgeously flavoured and seasoned recipes from scratch.  But what inevitably happens is that I use about 1/4 of the packet, throw the rest into the fridge and forget about it until it's gone off.  So what to do with the remainder, so you're not wasting it and wasting money?  It's simple!

All you have to do it bunch them up with a bit of string and hang them somewhere fairly warm, like an airing cupboard or larder.  I've got some sage and some bay leaves on the go at the moment, and have attached them to a cooling rack by the oven.  Leave to dry out for a while - at least 12 hours - until they are crisp and then store in a jar or Tupperware and use as you would dry herbs.  They will last for ages this way.

Click here for another way of preserving those fresh herbs!