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	TSR : Web boards : M/s and D/s : "The Butler's Pantry - Issue 2" 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The Butler's Pantry - Issue 2 (80) Wed 14 Jan 09, 5:20 PM anjuli UK, 2 yrs And here's another that seems worth breathing some new life into. We used to have a thread for sharing household hints, tips, problems and recipes that are useful for others in service. Of course it's there in the archives but it's almost full so I thought I'd begin afresh for 2009. Here's the link to the old one for those, like me, who can't get enough of this stuff. http://www.seekdiscipline.com/posts/139393/ Enjoy! anjuli Ps. Food recipes we tend to share on strings like this on off topic... so that's where you'll find some already running on that front. Have fun. pps. LittleLinnet and others with experience had a marvellous off topic thread on soap making too btw. *** “I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.” Anais Nin *** 17 Jan 09, 5:25 PM Mistress_Tiaras_boy 3 yrs Good idea Anjuli. Maybe this thread could also be used for sharing advice/tips across the gender 'divide', to allow anyone interested to extend our service to our Owners in new ways. For example, any female slaves who want to learn to do more traditional male orientated tasks who do not currently know how, could ask and whoever knows could could assist. And in return, perhaps someone will be able to explain to me some of the hitherto mysterious ways of issues like essential oils etc when i become desperate for advice slave 890-712-189. 17 Jan 09, 8:35 PM boston UK, 9 yrs OK Essential oil: Baby oil - essential for stopping those damn finger marks on stainless steel appliances in the kitchen (and other rooms). xxx b 18 Jan 09, 3:24 PM Mistress_Tiara 3 yrs Bah! I will end up with baby oil in my bath now 'It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing of my waist, And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman, Phenomenally, Phenomenal woman - That's me'. 18 Jan 09, 3:34 PM SixThreeFive SE, 2 yrs Wiping the appliances down with a drop of undiluted dishwashing soap, also works. Smile, it confuses people. 18 Jan 09, 4:56 PM ravenkaldera US(MA), 4 yrs Absolutely no-fail pie-crust for slaves who can't get pies right: Take a stick of butter and toss it in the freezer. (Always keep at least two in there, just in case. If this is a pie with a top crust too, you'll want 2 sticks.) 15 minutes before you want to make piecrust, toss a metal or glass bowl in the freezer as well. Pull them both out and grate the hard butter with a coarse grater, just like it was hard cheese. Add 1 cup of flour, 2 cups if it's two sticks of butter. Knead with clean hands until all the flour is kneaded into the butter. The fact that it is chilled and will be warmed by your hands while being kneaded will help it "accept" the flour better than if it was soft. Now go over to the faucet and give it a "sploosh" of cold water. No more than that. Just turn the faucet on and off real fast. Knead that in. It will make the dough sticky. Now add a quarter cup more flour and knead that in. It should take care of the sticky. If it doesn't add another quarter cup flour, and possibly another. It should feel like smooth clay, not wet. Go slow and add in small amounts. If you always have a terrible time with the rolling-out part - the flour is messy and gets everywhere, the dough tears and won't transfer to the pie - do it like this: Press the piecrust in little pieces into the bottom of the pie plate, like it was modeling clay and you were just making a fine sheath of it. Putting it back in the freezer to chill helps it be better modeling consistency. Make an edge that sticks up and flute it by pressing with your fingers in a zigzag all around. If there's only one crust, fill and bake. If there's two, take a large flat platter or plate and put down a piece of wax paper. Press the pie crust mix flat in a large circle on the wax paper. Top with another sheet of wax paper and smooth gently with fingers. Stick it in the freezer until it is quite hard. Take both out, fill bottom crust. Peel one sheet of wax paper off of the top crust - it should come off easily once it's frozen. Flip it and lay it on top of the filled pie plate, and carefully peel off the other sheet of wax paper. If it starts to pull or tear, it's not frozen enough - put the whole shebang back in the freezer until you can take it out and it works. Then let it sit in a warm place for a few minutes until it softens and falls onto the filling. (This will work even for a high-domed pie.) Pinch the edges together and bake. I trained 4 subs in pie-making by this method, and they were bad cooks. Managed to make great pies from then on, though. -Raven Kaldera -If you're in charge, it's all on your head. If it's not all on your head, then you're not really in charge. 18 Jan 09, 7:46 PM thegildedlili AU, 14 mths Y! hi Raven, thanks for the recipe, i'm definitely going to try it, but would you (or anyone else in the US)mind telling me what a stick of butter translates to in grams or ounces? butter doesn't come in "sticks" over here. thanks i have no need, for such things, but to make you happy... Josh Pyke Edited 18 Jan 09, 7:53 PM by thegildedlili 18 Jan 09, 9:06 PM anjuli UK, 2 yrs I had this problem too til I lived in Canada for a bit. I think, and Raven will correct me if I'm wrong, that a stick is 1/4 of a pack or as near as damn it 2oz in old money! (Sorry I still think of butter as coming in 8oz packs even tho it actually doesn't any more <grins> and I'm not as old as that makes me sound btw.) Actually I have to say the idea is great. Instead of one large pack, you get a box the same size with four sticks in each separately wrapped - brilliant. Ready measured into more usable amounts and it keeps fresher too. Why don't we import the good ideas huh? anjuli ps. I'm happy to give you some tips on essential oil usage and handling n. There are loads of wonderful books but my favourite is actually a little cheap one by a nurse which is specifically for women. I love it. I will get the details for you. *** “I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.” Anais Nin *** Edited 18 Jan 09, 9:08 PM by anjuli 18 Jan 09, 9:33 PM thegildedlili AU, 14 mths Y! alright, so around 55 grams since we use the metric system here! though i think the UK "officially" use it too yes? thanks anjuli! i have no need, for such things, but to make you happy... Josh Pyke Edited 18 Jan 09, 9:36 PM by thegildedlili 18 Jan 09, 10:39 PM JRCs_petk HK, 2 yrs Y! A stick of butter in the metric system is 50gms. Now, given our exotic location, I've decided the best way I can contribute to the pantry is by sharing our regular asian feasts! (my asian cookery skills are a work in progress, but they will get there!) Wanting a roast with a different flair? I whipped up an Asian char sui pork loin last week on the weber. Take one lean pork loin with all fat removed. Marinate for 4-5 hours (or longer) in char sui sauce - an asian aromatic sauce with a very sticky consistency. Available at most supermarkets or your asian grocer. If you cannot source char sui, hoisin sauce is a suitable substitute. Light the charcoal in your weber (grill) and wait for flames to die out - coals will redden. Place pork loin onto the grill (not directly over the coals, to the side), close lid and allow to cook for around 45 mins. I also added baby potatoes (no oil) and carrots to roast at the same time as the pork. Finely slice the cooked pork, serve with salad or steamed rice and asian vegies. If you can't be bothered crushing all the ingredients required for an asian veg stirfry sauce, there is a simple and tasty alternative. Slice and prepare all veg, crush 2 cloves of garlic. Heat 2-3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil in your wok, add garlic once oil is sizzling. Quickly add all sliced veg, and stirfry on very high heat for 1-2 mins. Just before removing from heat, drizzle oyster sauce over the vegetables and mix through. Serve immediately. Sooo tasty! One of our favourite weekly meals is steamed fish - chinese style. You will need a very fresh whole fish (pomfrit, grouper, any white fleshed fish). Thankfully, all of our supermarkets here serve LIVE fish, simply pick your fish, they'll then gut the fish and clean it on the spot. Otherwise, a dead fresh fish will suffice. Place a sheet of aluminium foil on your kitchen bench. Place 1 teaspoon of oil in the centre of the foil and smear to coat most of the foil. Place the fish on the foil. Finely slice a 2cm piece of fresh ginger and scatter over the fish, and in it's belly. Finely slice 1 de-seeded chilli, sprinkle over the fish. Add 1 clove crushed garlic. Place 2 very thin slices of lemon on top of the fish. Now sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce over the fish, and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Fold up all sides of the foil to create a watertight parcel. Bake the parcel on your oven for around 25-30 mins at 180 degrees celcius (350 f). Serve whole fish and it's sauce on a fish platter, accompany with steamed rice and asian vegies. A meal fit for an emperor! 18 Jan 09, 11:24 PM Wilhemina 17 mths For veggies - though most may know this already :P A (rather obvious) but quick recipe for flavouring dried soya mince is: 1 - 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce 1 stock cube (veggie for preference) Pepper to taste + 1 mug of water for every portion of mince you intend to make Dark soya sauce gives the soya mince a nicer colour and a better smell. It's good to cook it for as long as possible to rehydrate the stuff, so any recipe which involves slow cooking (chilli, etc.) is great. The only problem is that it may burn nastily if left unstirred for long periods. It's not best without any stock, as the smell of the plain soya mince rehydrating is ...very unappealing. However, in its dry form it lasts for ages, so it's a good alternative to have in the store cupboard to something like Quorn. 1/3 jar of chilli con carne cooking sauce with about a small handful of dried soya mince, one small can of chopped and herbed tomatoes and a mug of water makes two portions of veggie chilli. I usually add a 1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder for an extra kick. (though I sometimes cheat and add in a little commercial chilli con carne powder as well...) 'The three most dangerous things in the world are a programmer with a soldering iron, a hardware engineer with a software patch, and a user with an idea' - Rick Cook Next page