Huey's blog

Drying chillies

Thread the chillies onto a length of strong, white string using a large needle, pushing the needle through the stem of the chillies,  not the flesh. Then hang the string of chillies in a dry, hot room or on the side of a building in the sun.

Raw onions

Lemongrass

To prepare lemongrass, remove the rough outer leaves and give the bulb a good whack with the flat side of a meat mallet or large knife to break up the fibres. Then slice it as finely as you can.

Lemon zest

Before juicing a lemon, remove the zest with a small zester, put it in plastic freezer bags and use it in sauces, etc., still in it's frozen state.

Leftover boiled vegies

Use leftover boiled vegies in your next soup - either puree and add or throw in just before the soup is finished to heat through.

Knead to know

To knead the dough, place it on a floured bench and push away from you with palm and heel of your hand until smooth and elastic. And punching down is not a boxing term, but the process of pressing the dough down firmly to deflate the yeast's gases and allowing fermentation to begin again.

Kidneys

Kidneys to be tender should be cooked no more than medium. So, pink in the centre.

How to peel and seed tomatoes

1. Remove cores from ripe tomatoes, put in boiling water and count to 10.

2. Remove tomatoes and plunge into a bowl of iced water. Leave until cool.

3. Peel and cut tomatoes lengthways into quarters. Put each quarter down on a board and cut out pulp.

NB. Reserve pulp for another use.

How to clarify butter

Here is a simple way to clarify butter from English food writer Prue Leith.

Briefly boil a new Chux to remove the dye and 'dressing'. Double the cloth over and hold it firmly over a jug or basin. Then pour in the melted, foaming butter.

All froth and milk particles will be caught in the cloth, resulting in crystal-clear liquid underneath.

Honey

When using honey, run the spoon under very hot water first.