What's Cooking Dad?

Basil

Mostly known for its extensive use in Italian cuisine, this herb originally comes from tropical Asia, where it has been cultivated for over 5,000 years. Basil is best used fresh. You can also buy dried basil leaves, but basil looses a lot of its aroma when dried, so fresh basil leaves should be preferred.

Basil is a herb that goes very well with tomatoes, either in a salad or in tomato sauces with pasta or pizza sauce. When adding basil to a pasta sauce, it’s best to add the basil at the very end, just before serving. The basil does not have to be cooked.

Basil plants can be bought in most supermarkets and they do well in a sunny spot on your kitchens window sill. When growing basil in your kitchen and the plant starts to flower, you should shake the stem a little each day to help with pollination. Each flower bud produces 4 seeds, that can clearly be seen when the flowers drop. They are green at first, but will gradually darken until they are black. Cut off the stem when the seeds have turned black and leave to dry. A single stem can produce over a hundred seeds, so you will never have to buy another plant again.

Another way to propagate a basil plant is by cuttings. When the main stem grows side branches, let them grow until they have 3 or 4 pairs of leaves. Cut the side branch close to the main stem and put it in clean water. Change the water every couple of days until roots start to grow. You can now plant the cutting into soil. I like this method better than growing from seeds, because it is a lot faster.

Eating with chopsticks

The most creative cooks are probably the Japanese. Japanese cuisine is characterized by sheer simplicity and pure tastes. The way Japanese chefs present their food is a real form of art. Eating the food, with chopsticks, is an art form in itself. It is, however, a part of the whole experience, a part that should not be left out!

I have no problem handling my chopsticks, the kids however, have not used them often enough to get used to them. But there is no way I can get them to eat with a fork, when mom and dad are using chopsticks.

If you have problems eating with chopsticks, you could buy some that are attached. Kind of like chopsticks with training wheels! There are various types available.
I think these could also make for a great gift! Have a look: Easy to use chopsticks

Freezing Turkey Fillet

Turkey breast is a very nice, low-fat, meat that can be cooked in many ways. I often buy whole turkey breast filet and cut it into portion sized pieces. A whole turkey breast is usually about one kilo, so it is way more then our family of four needs for a single meal.

I like variation in my meals, so eating the same meat a few days in a row is not really an option for me. You can, however, freeze the part that you don’t need right away. Let me show you how I prepare turkey breast fillet for freezing.

The way I cut the fillet, depends on the shape of the whole breast I purchased. The other day I thought I had picked up a very nice looking turkey breast, but after unpacking it, it didn’t look so good. The shape was not ideal to cut a lot of portion sized pieces, but I did manage to cut 8 decent ones. The rest of the fillet has been cut into smaller chunks to use in a stir fry.
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One eyed monster breakfast

There are various names for this dish: egg in the basket, egg in a window, egg in the hole, pirates eye, birds nest, hobo toast, eggy toast, o’johnnies, egg in the middle, one eyed Joe, toad in the hole, one eyed Jack, did I forget one?

I call them one eyed monsters and the kids love them!

Ingredients
Bread
Eggs
Bacon (this is optional, but everything is better with bacon!)

You start by cutting a round hole in the middle of a slice of bread. This can easily be done with a glass or cup. Fry one side in a frying pan with a little butter. When the first side has been toasted, flip it over and break an egg into the hole. Cook on low heat until the egg is done. That’s your basic egg in the basket, pretty boring. So, let’s make it a bit more interesting!

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Homemade Pizza

We eat pizza about once a week. It’s one of my favorite foods and the variations are really endless. Don’t tell me that you don’t like pizza, because you can put anything on there that you like, the rest is just bread.

When I make pizza, I make pizza. No store bought dough or pizza sauce. I make everything from scratch, the whole 8.2296 meters (we don’t do yards here!)

Let’s start with the dough. Pizza dough is really simple to make and only requires a few ingredients. The amounts stated here are for 3 medium sized pizzas, enough to feed our family of four and have a little left over for a midnight snack!

Ingredients
500 gr. flower
250 ml. water
1 packet of dry yeast
Olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

Dump the flower onto your kitchen counter top and press a little depression into the middle. Add water, yeast, salt, sugar and a splash of olive oil and start mixing from the middle with a fork. When the water and flower start to bond, use your hands to knead until you have a smooth dough. The dough should not be sticky, add some flower if it is.
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Black Pepper

Pepper is one of the most used spices in European cuisine. Being a native plant to India, this spice has not always been as readily available to us as it is today. Due to its high demand, black pepper has been commonly used as a trading currency and it is still the most widely traded spice in the world.

You can use black pepper in almost any kind of dish, have you ever tried strawberries with pepper? When using pepper in hot dishes, you should add it at the end of the cooking process, because its aroma weakens when heated.

Black pepper is best purchased as whole peppercorns and freshly ground in a peppermill when needed. The whole peppercorns will keep their flavor for a very long time, but when ground it will quickly lessen. Whole peppercorns should be stored in an airtight container away from direct sunlight.

Sweet Omelet

Let me show you a quick and easy, yet very tasty, omelet. All you need for this recipe is a couple of eggs, sugar and a splash of milk.

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tbsp. Sugar
A little milk

Break the eggs into a glass and add the sugar and a splash of milk.
Beat with a fork until smooth.
Pour into a hot frying pan and bake on both sides until browned.
Sprinkle with a little sugar and serve with a slice of bread.

Together with a cup of coffee, this makes an awesome breakfast and will give you more than enough energy to work until lunch. Kids also love eggs cooked like this!

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