The Occasional Tip: Peeling Peppers

Red peppers, Capsicums, Bell Peppers ....

These are such interesting vegetables, in that they taste so different when eaten raw and when roasted. Personally, I can live without them raw but roasted with the outer layer discarded ..... Oh be still my quivering tastebuds!! ... Sweet, Luscious, Silky Smooth, Smokey Sultriness .... gosh, this is getting .... uh, non-foodlike.

Meanwhile, back on earth ... and in the kitchen ....

An easy way to roast and to peel off the skins to get to the lusciousness inside .... Focus, people!

Wash and dry peppers.

Cut into quarters and discard seeds and membranes. (You can roast them whole as well but in this case, you don't have to bother about turning them)

Lightly spritz some oil to coat.

Place in a single layer, skin side up on a lined baking tray.

Roast 40-50 mins or until skin turns blackish.

Remove and place in a heatproof baggy, seal and leave to sweat for about 15-20 mins. Alternatively, place in a heatproof bowl, cover tightly with cling film and leave to sweat.

Peel off skin.

What you can do with it:

Slice (or not) and place in a clean jar and drown them in some good quality olive oil or grapeseed oil.

Keep refrigerated.

Or mush it up and make Ajvar!

Or put it in a lovely stew.

Or use as a pizza base.

Or make bruschetta.

Or just as a dip.

Or ... or ....

So many possibilities!

The Occasional Tip: Melting Chocolate the Easy Way

Find melting chocolate over a water bath or microwave a tad messy?

This quick, no mess and no frills way is so very practical but only if you want to use just plain melted chocolate. If you're preparing a ganache or frosting, umm, sorry, some mixing and stirring is required and this method may not be the best.

Just bring a pot of water to a warm temperature ... not boiling. Place the amount of chocolate you need in a heatproof resealable / ziplock / freezer bag. Seal and place bag into pot.

Wait a few moments, hum a tune, feed your cat, and you'll have melted chocolate ready for piping and decorating.

Leave the bag sealed. Just snip off a corner and use it as a piping bag to decorate your favorite dessert. When you're done, toss it in the bin! ... the bag, not the dessert.

The Occasional Tip: Marshmallow Plug

Ever had an ice cream cone leak onto your favorite shirt?

Here's an easy and delicious way to stop all that mess. Place a marshmallow at the bottom of the cone before you top it off with ice cream. Eat your way through, plug and all!

Yummers!

The Occasional Tip: Weatherproof Labels

This is just one of the many tips I've received from all the aunties, uncles, grandmas and grandpas, collected and stored in some dark recess of my cluttered brain. Every now and again, I find I need to dig some of this information out and use them....cobwebs and all. Some of them are quite the common knowledge and some can be just so simple. Take this one for example...

I like to label and date my raw or leftover foodstuff before keeping them in the refrigerator or freezer. And sometimes I run out of those waterproof felt pens and proper freezer labels.

So here's the tip : Just rub a white candle over the writing on your label. And that should prevent them from getting smeared.

Happy storing and freezing!