Freezing Food

I'm going to start this post now, and update it as and when...

Avocados
Usually, I buy avocados for a recipe either too far in advance and so they go bad in the duration, or on the day and I buy them overripe and so they're also already going bad. So today I mashed 2 nice ones up with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and some mixed ground pepper, put them in small plastic bags, getting rid of all the air, and froze them. They will keep for 3-6 months in the freezer.

Creams etc
This works well for double creams, mascarpone, creme fraich etc.  Freeze in ice cube trays and use as and when.  Brandy cream only semi-freezes because of the alcohol content.

Lemons
Whenever I use a lemon for juice, I always zest it and add the zest to a freezer bag in the freezer. But, there are many times when I need lemon juice and don't have it. Freeze lemon juice as ice cubes and then put in a freezer bag.

Sausages
When you buy a pack of these, it's worth cooking them all and then freezing them individually wrapped in foil, in a freezer bag. Take them out as required the night before. I chop some of them up before I freeze them too, to make preparation of some dishes even easier.  In the UK, you can also but tubs of 50 chipolata ready-cooked sausages which are perfect for freezing.

Fig, Melon, Mozzarella and Parma Ham Salad

Ingredients
3 slices melon
1 fig, cut into 1/3s
mozarella slices
3 slices raw ham
a little maple syrup and lemon juice


Method
Arrange all the ingredients on a plate and sprinkle with a little maple syrup and lemon juice.

Poached eggs again

About a year ago, I bought a microwave egg boiler, which I thought was a fantastic idea. It boiled eggs from cold to soft-boiled in about 5 minutes from the fridge. All was fine for about 8 months of occasional use until one day it blew up in the microwave, never to be trusted again!

Now I've found that you can poach eggs really easily and incredibly quickly in the microwave. Just fill a cup with cold water to about a third to a half full, break an egg in, and microwave on high for 45 to 60 seconds depending on how you like the egg. Much better, and not at all messy!

Citrus Salmon with Strawberry and Mango Balsamic Dressing

This is a variation on my previous recipe that I tried today, all shades of pink and orange! This time the salmon is steamed and cooled rather than panfried and eaten hot.






Nutrition Data
Calories 378
Protein 30g
Carbohydrate 55g
Fat 4g
Fibre 9g

Ingredients
1 ruby grapefruit
1 orange
1 skinless fillet salmon (about 100g)
4 strawberries
about 1/8 of a mango
about 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
shredded dried chilli and lemon zest to garnish

Method

• Steam the salmon and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile peel and segment the grapefruit and orange and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle with shredded dried chilli.
• Put the cooled salmon on top of the fruit.
• Make the dressing. Put the strawberries, mango and balsamic vinegar in a blender and whizz for a few seconds.
  
• Spoon the dressing over the salmon and fruit, and sprinkle with a little lemon zest.