Herbs and spices are vital to the Domestic Sluts. But there are always some that we use more than others. Some that we buy every single time we go shopping, just in case we're running low (and yes, that means we've got coriander and paprika coming out of our ears. But what are our favourite herbs and spices?
Siany: A while back, I asked Miss Cay what bay leaves really did. After all, you take them out when you're done, so they can't do much, right? She soon showed me the error of my ways! They make everything super tasty! The flavours are deeper, my dishes just taste... better. Like I know what I'm doing in the kitchen rather than making it up as I go along. There's some in with a baked chicken dish at the moment.
Gail: I use cinnamon all the time, whether in biscuits and cakes or savoury dishes like beef casseroles. And good old parsley always seems to make something taste fresher, gives some colour and happily it's available all year around.
Sam: The holy trinity of oregano, basil and rosemary. Oregano takes me into Italian signora territory pronto, basil is Mr Fresh in everything from pasta to a summery salad, and good old rosemary elevates the humble roast into a spiritual experience. Divine.
Michelle: I love anything that gives my food a bit of an extra kick. I am currently loving smoked paprika, which is technically a spice rather than a herb I know, but it adds a fabulous warm and spicy kick to our household favourite chicken with chorizo and butter beans. Yum!
Sarah: It's got to be coriander, and not just because I love hearing my Californian friend drawl 'cilantro'. Whether it's adding a certain something to my chorizo and lentil soup or taking centre stage in chunky guacamole, I just love the taste.
Abi I'm completely obsessed with Dill! It's so distinctively fresh and clean, and I think it makes almost any dish taste like summer.
Madévi: Ah, the humble parsley. Not that upstart the flat leaf parsley, no, but his more affable, nutty flavoured and slightly neglected older sibling, the curly parsley. Can't have risotto without it. And finely chopped with garlic and olive oil, it gives just the right kick to a seafood pizza.
Sel: I am lost without some form of basil loitering in my kitchen. If I could remember to look after a plant properly, I would have my windowsill full of the stuff at all times! I think mint is a bit overlooked as well - try some in your next tomato based sauce, it works well trust me!
Alex E: I am a cumin fiend, so much so that I have to buy industrial sized containers of the stuff from a local Asian supermarket. Schwartz just ain't big enough for me! Cumin's got a great, earthy, savoury flavour that gives a kick to dishes from curry to fajitas.
Flickr image from Shaun Allen's photostream.
A little while ago, the Observer Food Monthly invited me for dinner. They plied a group of food-lovers with awesome food and excellent cocktails. The Ketel One Garden cocktail was my favourite (despite not liking anything with elderflower) and they've kindly let me share the recipe with you.
As Alex mentioned earlier, discovering Vana Tallinn was one of the highlights of our trip. It's a sweet liqueur (and not nearly as traditional as those Estonians would have you believe), but it's very tasty. Rather like a sweeter version of brandy. It's strong, spicy and it'll get you quite happily merry after a couple. Or five.
I seem to remember Siany saying a while back that she wanted wallpaper printed with giraffes. At the time, I remember scoffing, thinking any wallpaper patterned with animals was certain to come in crayon-bright, child-friendly colours (probably wipe-clean, but with someone as clumsy as me around, that's not always a drawback), probably intended for brightening up a kid's bedroom.
Dear me. To safeguard myself from a poverty-stricken future, I should probably just find away to lock Etsy away from myself, ban access to it from any computer in the house, sigh sadly but then briskly move on and pretend from that day forward that it doesn't exist.
This statement necklace is like an amped-up charm bracelet, with a birdcage, Victorian locked, butterflies, Eiffel Tower, hearts and roses. It ties at the back of the neck with a thick ribbon, and will set you back $58USD.
And for anyone still missing Paris as much as us after our adventure there earlier this year, a camera necklace with honey-coloured crystal on a delicate brass chain with a hand-stamped tag reading 'vous êtes mon destin' (sighs or sickbags at the ready, that's French for 'you are my destiny'). It's $58USD. Although if I owned it I might want to run away on the Eurostar every time I wore it. So maybe it's best if I steer clear.
As you might have guessed, gin's my favourite spirit. And no, it doesn't make me weepy (let's not discuss how white wine makes me feel though). It's versatile, you can buy it anywhere, and it was very popular in my favourite cocktail drinking period, the Twenties and Thirties. Gin Turbo is one of those urban myths where recipes vary to include champagne or even, gasp, a shot of espresso for that true turbo touch, but I think the version I drank last night, by Purl owner Tristan Stephanson, is even better. Purl's recipe is top secret (but highly recommended) but here's a recipe that makes simple and frothy Gin Turbos at home.
Maybe I should see someone about my obsession, but by now my fetish for all things nautical and emblazoned with anchors is well-documented. So, predictably, I was in raptures of delight when the latest email missive from Cloth Ears landed in my inbox, announcing their Hello Sailor collection. Appliquéd, embroidered and printed with swallows, anchors and stars, stripes and polka dots aplenty, this range ticks all the right boxes for me. And it's affordable too. The compact mirror only costs a bank-balance friendly £6.99.
This wash bag is lined in ivory fabric with blue polka-dots, and the reverse features the same anchor and stars pattern design used on the large anchor on the front. It's chunky enough to fit in all your make-up, toiletries and other bits and bobs, and will set you back £19.99.
Last but not least, my personal favourite; a heart-shaped coin purse with an appliquéd floral and polka-dot swallow on one side, complete with button eye, and red with white polka-dots on the other. It's £13.99, but I fear I'll have no pennies left to put in it unless I'm forcibly restrained from snapping up the whole range.
Champagne cocktails are best when they're simple. Often, it's just a case of some very generous person bringing a bottle of bubbly with them when they come for dinner, and mixing it with whatever you fruit thing have to hand. Juice works well (some better than others - cranberry does not work). But apricot brandy is obviously going to work better. Apricot brandy is a wonderful invention.
Like the SUCK UK Teddybear Lamp we featured a while back, it seems that giving items lampshades instead of heads gives them surreal, sinister look even when the critter underneath isn't cute and cuddly. So, I'm not entirely convinced by this lamp.
Hello, I'm Michelle - new Domestic Slut reporting for duty! Right then, starting as one means to go on I have decided to share with you all my very own personal recipe for a cocktail I created last year when I was just a slight wee bit obsessed with Sailor Jerry rum. This recipe does taste best with the original recipe Sailor Jerry's so if you still have a bottle stashed away you may want to break it out and give it a go (or you could always send it to me as I am hoarding the stuff as not so keen on the new recipe). Otherwise use the new stuff or give it a go with Morgan's Spiced Rum or similar which I am sure will be just as lovely!
