Singapore Coffee Made Easy

Recently there has been a campaign in Singapore Kopi education to reduce ignorance among tourists and business travelers by Coffee Toast, Ya kun Coffee and others. I must admit that this campaigning is really good and even myself discovered that there is much more than Kopi C or Kopi O in Singapore Coffee.

I should actually include Malaysia as well, although not sure if the names of Kopi are the same or not. To order kopi like a pro in Singapore is not easy if the pronunciation in hokkien dialect is not accurate. The best ever experience for me is to learn pronunciation skills from local colleagues in Singapore. Even my dearest friend from Switzerland can speak hokkien better than I do, simply because he has been living in this city since quite sometime and he counts as very experienced kopi drinker..

I guess that celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Olivier never heard of anything like this in the UK before and discovered kopi on their first visit to Malaysia and Singapore many years ago. The love affair with kopi o and kopi peng went on till Jamie launched his first restaurant at Vivo City in Singapore. Surely not for long and Gordon Ramsay will follow Jamies footsteps and launch his own Restaurant somewhere in Katong area where he did learn lots of skill and secrets in making Laksa and Chicken Rice.


Western coffee expressions such as “black”, ”cream and sugar”, “flat white” or just plain “coffee” will likely gain you little more than a confused look and unwelcomed libation at a hawker center in Singapore. These are just expressions of headless tourists not informing themselves before stepping foot in south east asia. Hello, south east asia is not all about surfing in Bali or snorkeling in Tioman ok!

Singapore Kopi Owl Brand since 1956

So take a moment to learn the lingo with our quick guide - starting with the four basics:

kopi = coffee with condensed milk

kopi-c = coffee with evaporated milk (sweetened)

kopi-o = black coffee with sugar 

kopi-o kosong = plain black coffee (unsweetened)

And then add additional expressions to adjust for your preference:

kosong = no sugar

ga dai = extra sugar

siu dai = just a little sugar

po = weakened with water

di lo = strong; no water added

peng = iced coffee

dai bao = take away

All that’s left to do now is slurp away (although take the first sip with caution – it can take a few attempts to find the perfect kopi for you!)

Wild Kopi Luwak from Indonesia

How to keep birds out of your garden

Growing tomatoes ? So you are growing your own food and wonder why birds fly in and eat your plants ? Especially the ripe ones are target of mocking birds, crows and other kinda birds! Many people believe that by hanging out CD's you could scare away unwanted visitors. Wrong! all you will achieve is even more birds, simply because they like to look at themselves in mirrors to see how pretty they are..

Ever had a parrot before ? They love to play with small and shiny mirrors, so don't get this type of crap ideas that by hanging CD's will ensure to be safe from birds and other predators. Five good old ways have always been proven to be right! This is a simple recipe on how you could keep unwanted birds away from your fruits or veggie plants away. This blog is about finding ways to grow your own, cook your own cheap and good food.. its about poor man kitchen recipes and not stupid men growing techniques. So here the ideas..

Use netting for trees. You drape it over the tree, and birds don’t want to tangle with it theoretically. (However, at a farm in Malaysia I went to last year, birds were INSIDE the net – not a pretty situation. They were scared AND eating the fruit. So use with caution.)

Make somewhere else more worth their while. Put bird seed in an area far from your garden. So that will distract and attract the birds to eat somewhere else other than your plants..

If you’re growing seed plants, like sunflowers, try covering the head with an old pantyhose so it can grow or dry, but birds can’t feast.

Get a dog or cat. It’s not THE reason to get a pet, but if you are considering it already, add it to your arsenal of reasons why. Our dog tears out toward the garden and scares the birds away, and between him and the neighborhood cat contingent, squirrels never venture onto the ground away from a tree out there.

And if all this still doesn't work, then buy some chickens and let them roam freely around your garden. And if that still doesn't work then your fruits and veggies must be super good and you should invite me to visit your garden..

The super italian dish called Friselle

Guess what, Friselle is unknown to 99% of worlds population because it's non-commercial and the dish is not rocket science. I can bet with you that Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Olivier and many more celebrity chefs never came across this type of dish before. Friselle is a perfect and valid alternative to bread, it can be produced easily. I happen to make some in Singapore few days ago, it works simply because the ingredients are more or less the same. 

It is oven baked , then cut in half horizontally and it's then baked again in the oven. The looks of the frisella is with one smooth and one rough surface. Friselle are a staple food that was produced and acclaimed for its long conservation period and was therefore a valid alternative to bread, especially in those periods when flour was scarce.

The name with which friselle are also know in Apulia is “Pane dei Crociati” (Crusaders' bread) as it was certainly used to equip the Christian expeditions in their long travellings. A tradition for its consumption, from times past, was to dip friselle directly with sea water and with pure fresh tomato, which was squeezed to let the juices out. If you're wondering why the circular shape, it was not for the aesthetics: the hole at their center, allowed the friselle to be practically transported with a cord that was passed through them to form a sort of collier : that way they could either be hung for conservation or for comfortable transportation. Friselle were a typical travel-bread: that's why sea water was often used, or it was used as bottom for the fish soups, which were usually consumed during the days-long fishing expeditions in the open sea.

How they look like

Friselle have a characteristic shape, derived from their production process: they are typically circular and with a hole at their center. Oven baked twice and cut after the first baking, they always come in pairs as they are nothing else that the two halves of the same form. Characteristic is also the surface, rough where it's cut after the first baking, smooth where it's remaining form the original manual shaping of the dough. Sizes are variable: friselle's diameter and their holes' diameter can vary from 5-10 centimeters to 20 or more. 

The color depends on both the baking time and the flour composition (more or less wheat/barley flour): color can then range from light to (very) dark brown. I have checked a number of cookbooks and online sources, and friselle are made from just durum wheat flour, salt, live yeast cake and water. Another recipe that yields more calls for:

1 k (2.2 pounds, or about 8 1/3 cups) flour, ideally durum wheat flour

1 3/4 ounces (50 g) live yeast cake

1 cup of Water

A pinch of salt

In this case, begin by combining the yeast with a 1 2/3 cups (about 200 g) flour, warm water, and a pinch of salt, to make smooth soft starter loaf. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place for a half hour.

After a half hour, make a well of the rest of your flour on your work surface, and work the starter loaf into it, adding enough water to make a dough. Roll the dough into finger-thick 8-inch long (20 cm) snakes, make them into rings and set them to rise on a baking tin. Let them rise for 2 hours, and then bake them in a 400 degree (200C) oven for about a half hour. Remove them from the oven, Split them down the middle to obtain 2 rings from each frisella, and return them to the baking tin cut side up. Bake them for another 20-30 minutes, or until they are quite dry.

Bringing the Country to the City

In the middle of the city a small farm revolutionized the idea of what can be done in an very unlikely place! 63 years old self reliant J. Dervaes started his own farm ten years ago, Jules and his children grow all the food they need in the middle of the city. Their produce is organic and their ducks and chickens lay thousands of eggs a year, on their 4000 sqf backyard they raise 400 varieties of vegetable and fruits.

It all started as an experiment, from 1/10th of an acre, four people manage to get over 90% of their daily food and the family reports earnings of $20,000 per year (AFTER they eat from what is produced). This is done without the use of the expensive & destructive synthetic chemicals associated with industrial mono-cropping, while simultaneously improving the fertility and overall condition of the land being used to grow this food on. Scaled up to an acre, that would equal $200,000 per year! 

One of the main reasons why I would not mind to start growing my own food, perhaps not today but down the road for sure..

1. GET THE NUTRITION YOU NEED & ENJOY TASTIER FOOD!
Many studies have shown that organically grown food has more minerals and nutrients that we need than food grown with synthetic pesticides. There’s a good reason why many chefs use organic foods in their recipes—they taste better. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately our bodies.

2. SAVE MONEY
Growing your own food can help cut the cost of the grocery bill. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars and month at the grocery store on foods that don’t really nourish you, spend time in the garden, outside, exercising, learning to grow your own food.

3. PROTECT FUTURE GENERATIONS
The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. Food choices you make now will impact your child’s future health.

I also know that not everyone can become like Mr. Dervaes due to lack of space but at least the video documentary inspires people and opens up horizons to those unfortunate that are left behind by consuming a daily dose of MSG and pesticide.. I can also tell you that I am one of it as well!

So, lets jointly hope for the best and a self sufficient thought is a good start for the day! 

Durian Forever!

Durian forever! I don't know you guys but this fruit rocks! Durian is nicknamed ''the king of fruits'' for a reason! In addition, it's astonishing that half of worlds population never came across to try this amazing fruit at least once in their lifetime. I can't even detect Durian in official translation books except Wikipedia which is by far the best encyclopedia. 

I went for a Durian feast trip out of Singapore to Malaysia two weeks ago, the trip took us straight to Desaru Fruit Farm in Johor. Thankfully the weather was just right as I hadn't brought my umbrella and despite my fears of being bitten by mosquitoes, I survived the entire and pleasant day tour. The tour guide at the fruit farm was a generous local lady who looked to have helped herself to the farms produce and she spoke really good english. 

We had the opportunity to help ourselves in all you can eat Durian buffet during that special day. Although we didn't get the best type of Durians, it was really nice to have enjoyed the atmosphere together with wife and friends. All in all, a trip to Desaru Fruit farm is worth time and money. 

But this story isn't about my trip now, its sort of introduction of this marvelous fruit that remains unknown to many folks that either aren't living in the tropics or have never seen one. 

Losing your durian virginity is a private moment, so nobody can tell you what works best for you.

However, in general, there are two ways that people choose to do it. You could start off by acquainting yourself with the mildest dose possible of durian scent.

This usually comes in the form of durian-flavored cakes and cookies, wherein the taste and scent of durian can barely be detected, or durian chips which are made from under-ripe durians.

Once you think you can handle it, move up to durian desserts that are closer to the real thing in terms of both the smell and texture, e.g., durian custard, durian ice cream, durian cakes 

This should prepare you well for your first durian encounter.  The majority of durian veterans will tell you, however, that the best approach is to tackle durian head-on. Choose one that is not over-ripe and milder in both flavor and smell. Mon thong and kan yao varieties are two of the top favorites and generally milder than others such as kop or cha ni.

Don’t even consider frozen durians, as freezing changes the texture to the point of ruin.

Go for the best and the freshest possible. After all, you can only have your first durian once, so save yourself for a high-quality durian that is very, very special. So it's a must try, unfortunately it's not available all around the world, you could take a note and try it in your next trip to south east asia! 

 

Craving for Gnocchi with Sage and Butter

Gnocchi is a very simple home made dish that brings a lot of joy to cook it for our loved ones. This Italian dish joins the family of the so called ''cucina povera'' cuisine of the poor due to it's simple and low cost ingredients. Nowadays Grocery stores and middle mens earn gigantic margins on it by simply selling Gnocchi to end consumers. 

During preparation, the Gnocchi's will resemble like dead bodies lying on a plate but don't worry because it taste simple, marvelous and I am very sure that you will be preparing willing to prepare Gnocchi again and again once tasted.

Again, there are plenty Gnocchi varieties and preparation styles existing, I have chosen to follow the style of my ancestors purely out of habit. You can either add more Butter, more Sage.. base it on Salmon, Tuna or add some meat stuff to it. It's really up to your imagination.. but here is how I do it. 

What is actually Gnocchi all about ?  Little dumplings made from potatoes, flour and egg. Not very exciting, you might think, but like real pasta made in the old-fashioned way, Gnocchi have a texture and flavour of their own which can absorb and complement other flavours. This recipe is very simple, served with just butter, sage and Parmesan. Always make the amazing Gnocchi the day you are going to serve them, because they will change in colour if left overnight.

Ingredients

275 gr Potatoes - just about two

95 gr plain flour, sifted, plus a little extra rolling

1 large egg, lightly beaten

salt and milled black pepper

For the sauce

8 fresh sage leaves

50gr of butter

garlic peeled and crushed

How to do it….

First place the potatoes, with their skins on, in a suitably sized saucepan, almost cover with boiling water, add some salt, then put a lid on and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tender. Then drain well and, holding them in your hand with a tea cloth, quickly pare off the skins using a potato peeler. Then place the potatoes in a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk on a slow speed, start to break the potatoes up, then increase the speed and gradually whisk until smooth and fluffy. Now let them cool.

Next, add the sifted flour to the potatoes, along with half the beaten egg, season lightly and, using a fork, bring the mixture together. Then, using your hands, knead the mixture lightly to a soft dough – you may need to add a teaspoonful or so more of the egg if it is a little dry. Now transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and divide it into quarters. Now roll each quarter into a sausage shape approximately ½ inch (1 cm) in diameter, then cut it, on the diagonal, into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces, placing them on a tray or plate as they are cut. Cover with Clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes, but longer won't matter.

After that, using a fork with the prongs facing upwards, press the fork down on to one side of each Gnocchi so that it leaves a row of ridges on each one; at the same time, ease them into crescent shapes. The ridges are there to absorb the sauce effectively. Now cover and chill the Gnocchi again until you are ready to cook them. To cook the Gnocchi, firstly bring a large, shallow pan of approximately 6 pints (3.5 litres) of water to a simmer and put the serving dish in a low oven to warm through. Then drop the Gnocchi into the water and cook for about 3 minutes; they will start to float to the surface after about 2 minutes, but they need 3 altogether.

When they are ready, remove the Gnocchi with a draining spoon and transfer them to the warm serving dish. For the sauce, melt the butter with the garlic over a gentle heat until the garlic turns nut brown in colour – about 1 minute. Next add the sage leaves and allow the butter to froth while the sage leaves turn crisp – about 30 seconds – then spoon the butter mixture over the warm Gnocchi. Sprinkle half the Parmesan over and serve the rest separately.

The Benefits of Manuka Honey Skin Care

It's always amazing to discover that a lot of people don't know what manuka honey is all about, but yet they buy conventional honey believing that there's no difference! Well, I was told that manuka is not only food but also can be used for our skin. My friend told me that not all manuka honeys have the same effect, I then started to read more about it and learned we should pay more attention to issues such as unique manuka factor (UMF) etc. 

Then its also very interesting to know that manuka acts as a anti bacterial agent, which means that it contains a special non-peroxide activity in itself. Also interesting to know is that not all manuka honeys have the same health-giving qualities. Its important to read how many UMF the honey contains and every manuka is quite distinct from the enzyme / peroxide activity that is common to most honeys. 

Manuka honey skin care can be beneficial to the skin in many ways. Some of the ways that you can benefit from when you use honey is to use it as facial. The honey mask hydrated and soothes the skin. The vitamins, enzymes and minerals found in the honey will improve the skin texture and its vitality. It also fights off the antibacterial since it has natural antibacterial properties. Honey mask can be used for any type of skin. 

The plantogen manuka skin oil is the superb product and it is used in fighting off the aging problems. Mask is the best method used to fight off skin aging while it also hydrates the skin. The skin can be improved within 7 days after using Manuka mask. Manuka can be used with other beauty care like spots, zits and acne. It is also used with the hair conditioners. Manuka honey has natural antioxidants which gives the cells enough minerals, amino acids and vitamins. It provides the white blood cells with necessary glucose while it also destroys the bacteria. Healing a wound using manuka honey will improve on the cellular regeneration and it gives the skin smoothness while it improves its skin texture. It also works in promoting the collagen production.

Manuka honey skin care is in different ranges which include cleansers, masks and moisturizers. If you are suffering from any skin irritation problems, then you can look for Manuka skin cream. Its active ingredients are Manuka honey active with 20+ rating. It has powerful antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. It offers a relief for different skin problems. Manuka honey is a wonderful property which makes the skin care products more effective and powerful. It restores the moisture while it also restores the damaged, cracked, dehydrates and dry skin. It makes the skin to look softer, younger and it improves on the skin tone. The Manuka honey also is known to revitalize and to nourish the scalp while maintaining healthy skin and hair.

Spaghetti alle Vongole

In Italy, exact recipes for spaghetti alle vongole vary from region to region and even from market to market place. It's really all about interpretation when we get to prepare this excuisite dish. Everybody believe to master the best Spaghetti Vongole on earth. Well, here is how I see it and I let you do the rest at your home :) Remember that a good cooking will depend on your ingredients and mood! Happiness is to be found along the way and not at the end of the road! So, please enjoy the process of making Spaghetti alle Vongole with your friends and loved ones! 

Some will add chilli, dried or fresh, and occasionally you will see tomatoes added, although I prefer the purist version with no tomatoes and just a hint of dried chilli.

The clams used vary too and can be quite expensive. Always try to use smaller ones that cook quickly and stay tender. You could also use cockles, mussels or razor clams in this dish or canned clams work really well. Look for the Italian brands actually sold as Vongole. Drain and rinse well, then just add them to the softened aromatics and warm through gently.

350-400g dried Spaghetti (My favourite brand is Barilla or Colavita) 

5tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
4 garlic cloves, crushed 
2 large shallots, finely chopped 
1/2tsp dried red chilli 
800g small clams rinsed well in cold running water 
2tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 
3tbsp dry white wine 
Salt and freshly ground white pepper 
50g unsalted butter

A video of my best personal inspiration and one of the best Spaghetti Vongole makers on earth, Antonio Carluccio has it all! 

Cook the Spaghetti in boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, then drain. While the Spaghetti is cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan large enough to hold the clams and gently cook the garlic, shallots and chilli for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the clams with the parsley and white wine, season with salt and pepper, turn up the heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, giving the occasional stir, until all the clams have opened (one or two may not, so don't keep cooking just for them once most have opened). Add the butter and the drained spaghetti to the pan, stir well over a low heat for a minute and serve immediately.

Et voila! Buon appetito a tutti! 

The Basics of Natural Farming

Here is something interesting for all of you guys, a Tsunami of information to cure or at least to reduce some of our ignorance is often necessary; we don’t need millions of dollars in equipment to run a farm nor thousands of dollars to build our own Eden on earth.

Natural Farming recognizes that farmers and gardeners must first attend to nature so that they may then learn how to tend. This gentle practice turns farming from the science it has become in the West into a craft; where this craft is a focused understanding of the primacy of nature.

Temperate Natural Farming proceeds from simplification applying the ‘do-nothing’ approach from deep observation through opening ourselves to nature, which is the work of a lifetime. Curiously, as we progress along the path of Natural Farming there comes the realization this is not agriculture at all because it wants to go nowhere and seek no victory and, ultimately, it is not about the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.

Natural Farming is truly inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s practices, in 1975 he wrote a book called The One-Straw Revolution that described his journey, his philosophy, and farming techniques. The One-Straw Revolution, in short, was Fukuoka’s plea for man to reexamine his relationship with nature in its entirety. In his most utopian vision, all people would be farmers. If each family in Japan were allotted 1.25 acres of arable land and practiced natural farming, not only could each farmer support his family, he wrote, but each "would also have plenty of time for leisure and social activities within the village community. I think," he added, "this is the most direct path toward making this country a happy, pleasant land."

I would highly recommend buying and reading it again and again because it tells so many facts and common sense of agricultural practices. In other words, it idiot proof that learning the basics of Natural Farming makes it really easy.


There are five principles to Natural Farming;

No plowing – because it destroys the cycles of life in the soil,
No fertilizers – because they deplete the land from which they are taken and disrupt the balance of the soils on which they are used,
No pesticides – because there are no ‘pests’,
No wedding – because there are no ‘weeds’,
No pruning – because a tree left undisturbed knows far better how to grow.


Natural farming is founded on the laws of nature. It assumes that all that is needed to successfully produce crops can be found in the natural environment. Engaging in natural farming, therefore, is a desirable venture. I don't have the opportunity to make use of these practices in Singapore, but I have to be patient. Good things come to those who wait!

Raclette, The Cheese That Melts in Your Mouth

Raclette is a piece of wintertime Switzerland that most of the people like to have not only in winter chalets but also at home. If you ask most of the people which they prefer, fondue or raclette, most will reply raclette! The reason why is this so remains a mystery! I am a fondue monster myself, which is not to say that I don't enjoy cheesy raclette with good old friends. 

For those of you who haven't a clue, perhaps I'd better explain what it is. Raclette is essentially melted cheese, served over boiled potatoes with lots of ground black pepper, accompanied by small pickled onions and gherkins. The name comes from the French verb "racler", to scrape, because of the way the melted cheese is scraped off the block.

Like everything with a strong tradition, there are lots of very strict dos and don'ts, which don't actually matter that much. After you've had it a couple of times you'll get to know what you like and what you don't. The only thing that you need is to have a good raclette machine! 

Once you have one of those, and the following ingredients, just invite some friends round and you're all set.

Time: whatever it takes to cook the potatoes, plus as long as you want

Ingredients:

• 200 to 250g raclette cheese per person (in rectangular blocks for the first machine, or half-wheels for the second) - damage $15.00
• small firm potatoes (in Switzerland we use Bintje, Charlotte and the aptly named Raclette varieties) - damage $6.00
• pickled onions - damage $4.00
• a selection of dried meats, prosciutto, parma ham etc. - damage $10.00
• (optional) sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms
• paprika and fresh black pepper

1. Boil the potatoes in their skins until they're done.

2. Set the table with your meats, pickles, vegetables and cheese, the latter cut into thickish slices (too thick for a sandwich).

3. Put the potatoes on the table in their pan, covered, to keep warm while the cheese is cooking.

4. Each diner takes a slice of cheese and pops it into his/her individual cheese tray, tops it with a slice of tomato or other vegetable if he/she so desires and slides it under the grill. This is a good time to eat a few slices of ham and some gherkins. When the cheese is bubbling convincingly and going brown around the edges, remove the tray from under the grill, scrape the contents with a small wooden spatula on top of the potato which you have just placed on your plate, sprinkle with pepper and paprika, and eat. As it can take five minutes or so for each slice of cheese to cook, particularly before the grill has warmed up properly, it's a good idea to put a new slice of cheese in as soon as you've scraped the last one onto your potato. That way you can keep 'em coming.

And to finish off, here's the last word on "Real Raclette", taken from Sue Style's book A Taste of Switzerland: "Light a good fire. Buy yourself a half wheel of real Raclette cheese, preferably from the Valais (Gomser, Bagnes, Orsières etc.), between three and five months old. Scrape off the rind, top and bottom, so that the cheese can melt more easily. Prepare boiled potatoes in their skins and have ready a supply of gherkins or cornichons, pickled onions and black pepper. When the fire has died to a mass of glowing embers, procure yourself a large stone and put it before the fire. Set the half cheese on top, its cut surface exposed to the heat. Nearby have a supply of plates. As the cheese melts, scrape it off on to a plate and serve at once. Continue in this way until everyone is full." 

How To Make A Quick And Easy Parmigiana

The name parmigiana sounds like a dish from Parma, but you be surprised to find out that parmigiana has its origins in the south of the country. They called this dish Parmigiana due to parmigiano reggiano cheese that originates from Parma in the north of the country. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas and new ways to do old things. It can also be a good idea for new year eves or xmast dish. I was intrigued by this version. It’s actually the way my family does it since generations. Not to my surprise, parmigiana is completely unknow to my area in south east asia. It always surprises my guests when I come up with this dish, simply because they have the impression that all western foods are expensive to make. Well, partly true but here I proof them wrong… its easy and cheap to make!

The parmigiana dish is a dish that you could be prepared with spending less and not much time investment and energy. Great dish to make a change every now and then. it actually has lot's of similarities to traditional beef lasagna  parmigiana can be a good alternative solutions for vegetarians. 

Ingredients for up to 3 persons:

3 large aubergines (damage $4.00)
Olive Oil
Garlic, I prefer old garlic (peeled and finely sliced)
1 teaspoon of oregano
800 g tinned plum tomatoes (damage $6.00)
sea salt
ground black pepper
a little wine vinegar
3 large handfuls of parmesan cheese, freshly grated (damage $6.00)
2 handfuls dried breadcrumbs
150g mozzarella, optional (damage $ 5.00)

The first thing to do is to remove the stalks from the aubergines, slice them up into 1cm thick slices, and put to one side. Whether you're using a griddle pan or a barbecue, get it really hot. Meanwhile, put 2 or 3 lugs of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and dried oregano and cook for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and the garlic has a tiny bit of colour. If you're using tinned tomatoes, break them up, and if you're using fresh tomatoes (which will obviously taste sweeter and more delicious, if they're in season), very quickly prick each one and put them into a big pan of boiling water for 40 seconds.

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and put them into a bowl of cold water for 30 seconds, then remove the skins, carefully squeeze out the pips and cut up the flesh. Add the tomato flesh or tinned tomatoes to the onion, garlic and oregano. Give the mixture a good stir, then put a lid on the pan and simmer slowly for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, grill the aubergines on both sides until lightly charred – you may have to do them in batches, as they probably won't all fit into your griddle pan in one go. As each batch is finished, remove them to a tray and carry on grilling the rest until they're all nicely done. When the tomato sauce is reduced and sweet, season it carefully with salt, pepper and a tiny swig of wine vinegar, and add the basil. You can leave the sauce chunky or you can purée it.

Get yourself an earthenware type dish (25 x 12–15cm). Put in a small layer of tomato sauce, then a thin scattering of Parmesan, followed by a single layer of aubergines. Repeat these layers until you've used all the ingredients up, finishing with a little sauce and another good sprinkling of Parmesan. I like to toss the breadcrumbs in olive oil with a little freshly chopped oregano and sprinkle them on top of the Parmesan. Sometimes the dish is served with torn-up mozzarella on top, which is nice too.

Place the dish in the oven and bake at 190°C/375°F/gas five for half an hour until golden, crisp and bubbly. It's best eaten straight away, but it can also be served cold. 

The Good Old Way to Extract Honey

It's a beautiful day and you are ready to visit the bees to collect the honey, in a premature stage, some of the honey when shaking the comb might drip out which means it is not ready and the frame should be given back to the bees to ripen.

I have always been interested to find out more about how to extract honey since decades. Here I'd like to share more with you about ways to make honey production fun and easy. Although this is not a cooking recipe, nevertheless it's a way to show how you could make up something with tight budget and not too much effort. If you live in a metropolis, forget about it and go back to work! haha

So we start from when the supers are full of capped honey they are ready for extraction but before you can bring them home you must remove the bees from them. This can be done in a number of ways:

Using a bee escape of some sort - Porter, Canadian etc.
Using a 'fume' board' to drive the bees down into the brood nest
Brushing the bees from each individual comb
Using a mechanical blower to blow the bees out of the supers

BEE ESCAPES

The principle of these is to allow the bees to exit the super but not allow them to return. The board containing the escape is placed below the super/s to be cleared (no more than 2 at a time) and the supers closely covered with a crown board (without holes) or a cloth. It is most important to make sure the supers and covering are bee tight. There is nothing the bees like better than to steal back the honey you think you are stealing from them! Leave the hive for 24 hrs. (12 in the case of a Canadian bee escape board) and when you return, there will (hopefully) only be a very few bees in the supers. In some instances the bees will not leave the super. 

This is usually caused by:

a) the bee escape being blocked b) the bee escape allowing two way passage of the bees c) there being not enough room for the bees below the bee escape d) the queen having got into the supers and eggs and grubs are present. or e) the bees are getting access from the outside through a small gap!

One more technique that I can share with you is that a quantity of escape boards (at least one per colony) is taken to the apiary and they are positioned under the supers to be removed. Start at one end of the apiary and proceed to the other fitting boards as you go. When you have reached the last one. Return to the starting point and remove the supers (a blower or brush is useful here) The supers will not be entirely empty, but the majority of bees will have left.

FUME BOARDS

Fume boards use a chemical which drives the bees away from the board and thus out of the super. Two chemicals are in common use, Benzaldehyde and Butric anhydride (BE-GO). Benzaldehyde is oil of bitter almonds and used carefully is quite safe but it may cause some irritation to the skin of some people. Butric anhydride is also safe but the smell is quite objectionable to some people. A fume board is made to the dimensions of the hive top with 4" deep sides, a piece of absorbent cloth (or sacking) is pinned to the underside. This cloth is lightly doused with the chosen chemical. the crown board is removed from the hive, the bees are smoked moderately and the fume board is placed on top. The smoke makes the bees start to retreat from the supers and the fumes finish the process. It is very quick and effective and requires only one visit to an out apiary.

BRUSHING THE BEES

Take to the apiary an empty super, a crown board to keep it off the ground, and a cloth to cover it. Place the crown board on the ground beside the hive, the empty super on it and cover with the cloth. Remove the roof and crown board from the hive and smoke the bees. Remove one frame at a time from the supers, brush the bees from it onto the ground in front of the entrance, place the bee free frame into the waiting super and cover. Repeat until you have cleared all the frames, using the newly emptied super for the next box of cleared frames.

MECHANICAL BLOWER

This machine blows the bees out of the super. The supers to be cleared are first removed from the hive and the roof replaced. The supers are placed one at a time on the roof with the top bars facing the back of the hive. The blower is directed from behind the hive blowing a stiff blast through the frames. The bees will be blown to the ground in front of the hive.

EXTRACTING THE HONEY

There are two main types of extractors - the tangential and the radial. Each holds a varying number of frames and extracts by centrifugal force. The difference lies in the way the frames are held within the unit. In the radial extractor the frames are held like the spokes of a wheel on the radii of the rotor. The top bar of the frame is furthest away from the centre to take advantage of the slope of the honey cells. Honey flows from both sides of the comb at the same time.

The tangential extractor holds the frames at right angles to the radii and the honey is extracted from only one side at a time. Some of these extractors have a double sided cage and this swings through 90 degrees if the direction of the motor is reversed. Others (more commonly) are non-reversing and the frames have to be turned by hand. Extract half the honey from the first side, turn and extract all the honey from the second side, turn again and fully extract the first side. This is to prevent the combs disintegrating under the pressure of centrifugal force.

Always load extractors evenly and remember that pollen and set honey do not come out and may cause the extractor to swing about over the floor. If you are going to sell even a small amount of your honey you must use a stainless steel or food grade polythene extractor. There are many old tin extractors on t-he market but my personal view is to leave them well alone. Hire the association extractor until you can afford to buy a 'proper' one! This will also give you the experience of at least one sort of extractor which will enable you to make a more knowledgeable choice when you do buy.

THE EXTRACTING ROOM

Honey is incredibly sticky and gets into the most inaccessible place -when choosing a room in which to extract remember this!! The kitchen is the most popular place to extract honey; it has a sink and water supply and hopefully a washable floor (if not put polythene over it). Put a layer of newspaper over the floor and keep plenty handy to cover the spills as they occur. (This is not health or hygiene advice)

Remember that wax melts!

Bees away from their hive are not inclined to sting.  Bees carried into the extracting room in supers are normally extremely gentle, with no brood or queen present.  However, they are very adept at stinging the finger that accidentally crushes them while picking up a frame or super.

NEVER WASH THE EXTRACTOR OR OTHER TOOLS IN HOT WATER

You will need a knife or special de-capping fork to de-cap the honey and a container which to catch the cappings and drippings of honey. The knife can be heated knife especially for made for de-capping. The container should be big enough to catch the cappings without them dropping on the floor and ideally a strainer is in place within it to allow some of the honey to drain from the cappings. A bridge, into the centre of which a nail is driven, is placed over the container and the frame is balanced on the nail whilst de-capping. This allows the frame to be turned easily. 

Cut the cappings from the honey as close to the surface as possible leaning the comb to one side to allow the cappings to fall away from the frame. Place the de-capped frame-into the extractor and continue until it is full. Extract slowly at first and build up speed as the frames empty of honey. Continue in this way until the job is finished.

After extracting the spring flow replace the supers on the hives for the bees to clean and refill. Having extracted the summer flow the supers must be stored for next year. There are two things you can do with these 'wet' supers - that is the supers containing the newly extracted comb. Either replace them on the hives for the bees to clean up then store in a shed, outside, or on the hives over the crown board ensuring mice cannot get access to them, or store them 'wet' in a bee and mouse proof place. It is said that putting wet supers on the hives in spring encourages the bees to enter them, the down side is that the honey left in them may ferment and smell nasty.

THE HONEY

Honey should if possible be strained directly from the extractor but if it has started to granulate in the comb it will not go through a fine strainer. In this situation it may be either warmed immediately, strained and stored in buckets or it may be run straight into buckets. In this case, before it is bottled it must be warmed until it becomes liquid, and strained. Of course for your own use you do not have to strain it at all. Honey that is bottled immediately it has been extracted may set very hard in the jar and be difficult to remove. To avoid this first store it in honey buckets and when it is required warm it gently until it is runny enough to bottle.

It is easy to build a warming box for your honey and it may be warmed by two 40 watt platform to place the honey buckets, under which can be set the light bulbs. To warm crystallized honey to the point of being able to bottle it, place the buckets in the warming cabinet at a temperature of 32 C (90 F) for 3 to 5 days. When stirred this will be at a good consistency for bottling and Noll not set hard again (probably). To reduce honey to a clear liquid, you must increase the temperature to 52 C (125 F) for 2 days. This will take some experimenting with since larger containers take longer than smaller ones. Do be careful not to overheat honey or it tastes like toffee!

To bottle honey you do need a Honey Gate set into the side of a bucket at its lower edge. It is no fun to try pouring honey into jars.

Storing Vegetables to Save Food From The Refrigerator

Our generation is getting stupid ! An interesting alternative to store vegetables in refrigerators can be possible following ancient traditional methods. It is that lost knowledge about fresh food – what it should look like, how long it should last, how we should treat it. Korean designer Jihyun Ryou wanted to reintroduce in her thesis project at Design Academy Eindhoven, Save Food from the Refrigirator. Her solution is a set of ingenious, wall-mounted storage units that draw on traditional, pre-refrigeration food preservation techniques originated in Korea.

                     

Leaving aside the potential food preservation benefits and possible energy savings, perhaps the most important aspect of Ryou’s food shelves is their visibility. By putting fresh fruit and vegetables on the wall, Ryou’s design would force us to actually look at our food.

The result of this daily confrontation, she hopes, is that we would eat more healthy, wate less, and – intangibly but importantly – rebuild our relationship with these equally biological and perishable, if slightly less animate, fellow organisms.

In the current food preservation situation, we hand over the responsibility of taking care of food to the technology. We don’t observe the food anymore and don’t understand how to treat it. My design looks at re-introducing and re-evaluating traditional oral knowledge of food. Furthermore, it aims to bring back the connection between us as human beings and food ingredients as other living beings. I believe that once people are given a tool that triggers their minds and requires a mental effort to use it, new traditions and new rituals can be introduced in our culture.

Ryou doesn’t call for the complete elimination of the refrigerator, but her idea of redesigning domestic space to suit food (as opposed to redesigning food to our appliances) is pretty exciting. Unfortunately, her elegant designs are not commercially available, although they don’t look impossible to recreate with quite a basic set of carpentry skills.

I guess that everybody can understand that Food is put in refrigerator to prevent it from spoilage by the action of microbes. But this does not mean that all food must be handled equally and stored in refrigerators. It's a fact that out of our ignorance and lack of knowledge in food preservation is the main cause to blame that brought us to this point....