Loose ends
- rosemary
- Mar 15
- 6 min read
Loose ends: things that still need to be done or explained" Cambridge Dictionary
At loose ends: Unfinished details, incomplete business" Merriam-Webster Dictionary
It's the weekend after a busy and up and down week, so time to just do a bit of this and that in terms of this blog. Tie up some loose ends, if only in the sense of clearing some of the items on my oddments list. And also that does not involve a great deal of thought. One of the Urban Dictionary's definitions of 'loose ends' was "Something that's not important to you anymore." Which is probably not quite appropriate as the things I am about to write about were never important. They were just bits and pieces that caught my attention for long enough to write them down in my Oddments list. Things that might be worth a few words. So I shall take the scissors to them - well I shall cross them off my list. Beginning with:
Storing things in glass jars
Recently I read Nigel Slater rhapsodising about storing things in glass jars - I think it was in his latest book A Thousand Feasts, but of course I cannot find it now. Never mind - he wasn't really saying anything amazing, so I shall put it all in my own words. Above is a part of one of the shelves in my pantry - the nuts and dried fruit section. As you can see almost everything is in a glass jar. They are almost all in the same kind of jar. Actually they are from long, long ago in my life when I used to drink instant coffee. Well the jars were just the right size in which to store stuff and they have stayed with me as I travelled from one side of the world to another and from one house to another. Why glass jars? Well it's obvious really. At a glance you can see what's in them and even more importantly how much there is left. And you can wash them easily too. Occasionally - as with the ground almonds above the contents of the packet won't quite fit in the jar, and so I have to leave the packet resting on top. I don't like doing this because of the danger of attracting creatures who shouldn't be there, but mostly they don't appear as the remains get used up pretty quickly.
So I suppose what I am saying is keep your groceries in glass jars, and they don't have to be fancy, or matching ones. Witness the two non-instant coffee jars you can see there. And there are plenty more. I have occasionally bought fancy ones - like the one holding the rolled oats, but not many.
Grape ideas from Woollies
We are in full grape season at the moment. And mostly we just scoff them as they are, because they are a wonderful tasty and moreover healthy snack. As long as you don't eat too many of them that is, as my youngest grandson apparently does if he is not watched carefully.
A recent Woolworths Fresh Ideas magazine had three interesting ways with them the first being Grape Dutch baby, although I have to say I don't really understand this one, or the current craze with the Dutch baby - a kind of Yorkshire pudding. Fundamentally when you pour the batter for the Dutch baby into it's tin with its heated olive oil, you just throw in some grapes as well, which have been tossed with thyme and oil. Finish off with parsley and serve wiith ricotta. It looks pretty I however. I suppose it's a bit like a clafoutis which has never been my favourite thing either. Though I do love real Yorkshire pudding with roast beef.
Then there are also Quick pickled grapes - interesting - might try a jar of those. Pickles are indeed so quick and easy and Grilled grape skewers - an easy entrée for an autumn barbecue I guess.
How to soften butter quickly
This is a TikTok lifehack as they call them. If you need some soft butter to cook with in some way but the only butter you have is hard, stand it up on end in a shallow dish or even just on a plate. Pour some hot water into a glass that will fit over the butter. Leave the glass to warm for a moment or two. Pour out the water and place the glass over the butter. Leave for a while to soften. The bigger the piece of butter, the bigger the glass, or bowl - but it needs to fit fairly snugly.
Or you could just microwave it a bit I guess.
Tomato stalks
The smell of tomato leaves as stalks as you brush against them is rather wonderful. Perfumers sometimes use them. Well it seems we should also use them. So many of our tomatoes come with their stalks attached these days - they look pretty and weigh more - so when you've used the tomatoes don't throw out the stalks, keep them and throw them into stews and the like. Waste not want not. Add a new flavour.
That tip on the tomato stalks came from an article in The Guardian - well The Observer really published an article on 37 brilliant recipe hacks. And some of them were. The one shown here is adding pickle brine to cocktails, although I guess that one is pretty well known. Some of the others are not - e.g.
"Freeze cream if it’s going out of date, then defrost it and shake it vigorously in the container for 20-30 seconds to make homemade butter."
There are lots more, some useful some not, but definitely worth a look.
Acharuli khachapuri
This is a recipe from Honey & Co - that is Itamar Srulovich and his wife Sarit Packer, whose recipes The Guardian publishes now and then and which almost always catch my eye. I should look out for a cookbook. This one sounds Indian, but it's not. It's from Georgia and is pretty simple although it's a yeast dough so you need to leave it to prove for around 40 minutes. The filling is mixed mozzarella and feta which is topped with an egg and then baked. Of course this won't ever happen in our house because David hates fried eggs. Yes I know they are baked but it's sort of the same thing. He also hates the chilli which you are supposed to sprinkle on top.
Almost the same ingredients really but somewhat different although they could also be served for breakfast or brunch. This time we are with Ottolenghi in Venezuela. The pancakes are corn pancakes made with fresh or canned kernels, stuffed with the cheese and jalapeños, coriander seeds and spring onions, and finished with honey, lime juice and olive oil. Sounds pretty yummy. It's street food in Venezuela.
Ottolenghi again. In a recent newsletter he posted a fairly lengthy but immensely useful piece about how to make a broth. A broth not a stock :
"A stock is made by simmering bones (and sometimes veggies) for hours, leaving you with a rich, gelatinous liquid. Broth, though, tends to be lighter and more seasoned, perfect for sipping on its own. The lines blur in home kitchens, though—any broth can easily double as stock."
"At its core, broth is simple—just water, ingredients, and time. But making a great broth isn’t just about tossing everything into a pot. It’s about layering, coaxing ingredients to unlock their best selves. Whether it’s the earthiness of a mushroom broth or the richness of chicken, it’s all about care. The right pot, the right base, and a little patience—those are the building blocks for something that tastes special."
The article has a recipe for a mushroom broth and a chicken stock - the later being the base of the chicken and sweetcorn egg drop soup shown above, although the recipe for that is behind a pay wall. There are three recipes for different kinds of chicken broths and stocks and also a recipe for a mushroom broth and a Mushroom risotto with crispy mushrooms and kecap manis drizzle. It's all very clear with lots of useful information especially when it comes to the chicken stock, which was tested to the 'nth degree by the Test Kitchen team.
I'm guessing that the recipes you can't access in the free version of his newsletter are going to appear in the next cookbook.
Time to stop and go and think about dinner - something made from my own batch of loose ends - a chicken breast, some carrots, the remains of a yoghurt pot, a bunch of coriander ... Maybe something vaguely Middle Eastern with rice. And I might poach some pears in the remains of a bottle of wine. The pears are currently perfect. Tomorrow they won't be.
"loose ends can never be properly tied, one is always producing new ones." Iris Murdoch
YEARS GONE BY
March 15
2020 - Deleted
2019 - The many faces of shiraz
Tieing up loose ends (nearly a haiku), and the prize goes to Acharuli khachapuri