Essential Elements for Composting

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These essential elements for composting must be present if you are to be successful.
 
There are four essential ingredients necessary for composting, that is to say four main elements, which are crucial if the  process of aerobic composting is to take place.
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Essential Elements for Composting

http://clevercomposting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/03-windfall-266888_1920-e1407446374713.jpg -  

These essential elements for composting must be present if you are to be successful.

 

There are four essential ingredients necessary for composting, that is to say four main elements, which are crucial if the  process of aerobic composting is to take place.

             Read more...

All About Momos.

Our recent stay in Australia gave us several opportunities to taste the local cuisine, mainly cafe food, and we found it a delight.  The ingredients are always fresh and have wonderful flavour. The breads are crisp and light - no doughy white sandwiches where we ate - just Turkish bread, thinner that ours here in NZ and covered in sesame seeds that positively crackle with flavour when toasted.

Where ever we chose to eat, in a shopping mall, or in a little sea-side bar, the standard was the same - generous portions,  fresh flavours and a minimum of mayo - just enough to add  interest  and to hold the ingredients together.  In the Robina Shopping Mall near Burleigh Heads, we had lunch at one of those cafes that are sited in the middle of the concourse.  The noise was abysmal and the crowds were huge, but we decided to eat there anyway.  We were so glad that we had done so.  We each ordered a "melt",  one with grilled chicken and basil pesto, one with chorizo, red onion and tomato and one with bacon, tomato and onion.  Naturally, each came with a topping of melted cheese and a small salad garnish.  Each was delicious,  with plenty of well-cooked topping and just the right amount of soft, tasty cheese oozing over it all.  Accompanied by a reasonable coffee, they were just right for a light lunch and in fact, we returned for the same a few days later.  So - hats off to Australian casual eateries.  They are great!

Making momos at Eumundi Markets in Queensland, Australia.

One of the most interesting new tastes for me was that of momos -  the dumplings of Tibet and Nepal.  We ate these at a large and extremely interesting  market we visited while up in North Queensland.  This market comes highly recommended and is held twice weekly in a small town called Eumundi.   This new food experience consisted of a  plate of Tibetan dumplings, stuffed with, among other things, organic tofu, carrot and cabbage. (You can see the complete list of ingredients on the board in the photograph.)  They were steamed or deep-fried (no residual oil, either) and were bursting with clean, uncomplicated flavours.


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Try making momos using the ingredients above.
They taste great!


Served with thick slices of crisp cucumber, soy,  and chilli dipping sauce they struck just the right note, in the heat,  for a casual lunch under the trees.  These are basically quite simple to put together and are a lot of fun make with your family. They can be made with any meat or as a vegetarian dish and each has its own charm. So suit your momos to your audience!  The video below, shows the basic method of making these tasty treats.

Seasonal Change

London. Hyde Park "Winter Wonderland. Jamie Oliver's
tent cafe.  The best mince pies ever

With the Northern Hemisphere in the grip of winter,  I guess you who live there are enjoying the richer, heavier foods that help to insulate against the colder days.  At least, that would be my excuse!  How about you?

Quiet times on the beach North of Auckland, NZ

Down here in the South, we are coming into Spring and starting to welcome the lighter foods of summer - strawberries, salads and asparagus.  We are appreciating the shedding of winter kilos.  At least that's my story!  How about you?

 "Bring on the Hollandaise", I say.

Seriously, the change of seasons really means something when food is a personal pleasure and when you tend to eat seasonally as our family tries to do.  Imported fruit out of season is often rubbish! Witness the peaches and nectarines imported from California. I am sure these are wonderful on their native soil, but picking early and shipping do little or nothing for their taste or texture. Much better to indulge in our local apples and citrus, (when we really need the extra Vitamin C) and wait for our summer and our own summer  fruits.  I know I am on rocky ground here, as some fruits and vegetables, such as kiwifruit, do manage the trip with correct handling, although I do remember, in the early days of export to the UK, friends and relatives moaning on about the "green bullets" they were being sold in the shops. I used to get very defensive, trying to describe the beautiful soft, lush greenness that was a kiwifruit "at home". The difference between a pineapple grown and eaten in Hawaii, still warm from the sun which nurtured it and one sold in a supermarket half a world away and out of a chiller is not hard to appreciate and I guess we could all add to the list.

On the whole, for best condition and flavour, buy local produce in season, thus: 

• supporting local suppliers, 
• maintaining a smaller carbon footprint and 
• enhancing your own taste experience.

Measuring Up!

M has decided he is going to take up baking! 

His expertise is in other areas of cooking, so I think that the precision needed is going to be a bit of a culture shock for him! No matter what, successful baking is reliant on chemical reactions as is a lab experiment and, generally speaking, your Average Joe needs to measure  ingredients exactly and follow directions precisely,  at least until the recipe is understood and under control.  Expert cooks who have spent a life-time making endless batches of Scones and Victoria Sponges till they are coming out of their ears ( like my grandmother, rest her soul,) could afford to take a 'handful' of this or a  'dash', 'pinch', or 'cup' (tea or breakfast - who knows?) of that.  But as an amateur, I reckon, safe is better than sorry and even when I cooked in the cafe, I left nothing to chance when I was baking.  A reliable set of scales, measuring spoons,  jugs  and cups are always a necessity in my kitchen and always will be.

Anyway, will let you know what how it went later, when his first effort is out of the oven!