What is it about garlic? I just love it and I use it all the time when I’m cooking. I never, however, shared the same passion for my garlic press. Using it was the easy part, but it was the cleaning that used to drive me crazy. I couldn’t simply throw it in the dishwasher without first using something pointy to remove the leftover garlic from all those little holes before rinsing it … and that was time consuming. But I had to concede that if I wanted fresh garlic, then I’d just have to put up with it … boo hoo!   Recently though, my garlic press broke … … read more

  My family loves bananas and I use them a lot in cooking as well but occasionally I end up with too many. I don’t like throwing them out or wasting bananas that are over ripe so I simply freeze them.   Choose bananas that have completely ripened as they will be the sweetest but, having said that, I do avoid bananas that have really started to blacken substantially. Try also to avoid freezing bananas that are still partly green as freezing won’t help them to ripen or improve their flavour.   There are three different methods that work quite well so … read more

  Don’t you just hate it when you have to open a new jar of anything in the kitchen and that lid just won’t budge! Whether it’s a jar of jam or a jar of crushed ginger, here are some simple options for “popping” that lid:   Grab a butter knife and gently tap the edge of the lid a couple of times, rotating the jar as you go. The gentle tapping should loosen the lid and break the seal enough for you to open the lid.   Use a butter knife or teaspoon and slip it carefully between the glass and the lid and gently twist. The lid might give a … read more