Large Fierce Mammal

Our kitchen is equipped with a steadily growing library of books about food and drink. Add to that our voracious surfing of blogs and other websites on those subjects and it’s not surprising our diet is as rich and varied as it is.

But this article isn’t about anything so grand as a recipe that will rock your next dinner party. Instead, I’m going to reveal some very simple and tasty tricks Mrs. LFM uses to sex up two commonly encountered ingredients – water and ketchup. We like these ideas so much we decided they were too good to keep locked up in our fridge.

Slice half an orange.

Water is vital to all life on Earth, and Mrs. LFM and I make sure we stay hydrated. But a lot of people consider drinking their daily water requirement to be boring so they turn to prepared flavouring products that may contain questionable ingredients including but not limited to far too much sugar. This is a healthier alternative.

This picture doesn't show it but you need to cut your vanilla bean in half first before splitting one of the halves lengthwise like this and throwing it in the mix. No need to disturb the seeds - leave them where they lie.

You will need:

2 litres of water

1/2 of a medium sized orange

1/2 of a vanilla bean

Cut your orange into slices and put them in a pitcher large enough to hold your 2 litres of water. Cut a vanilla bean in half crosswise, then split one half of it lengthwise and throw it in the pitcher with the orange slices. Add the water on top of those goodies, stir gently, then cover and refrigerate. Let it steep overnight in the fridge and serve chilled.

The result is a libation with a gently refreshing flavouring of orange followed with a smooth and understated finish of vanilla. From our own experiments we have found that the jug can be replenished with water for quite a while before the ingredients lose their taste potency. Give this a go and let us know what you think.

This next idea is from Julie Van Rosendaal‘s Grazing. It creates a sauce that is intended to be used in place of straight ketchup which is loaded with sugar. Mix ketchup and salsa in equal parts until you have an amount sufficient for topping your fries or whatever else you normally eat with ketchup. Stir until blended and have at it! More flavour with less sugar is a win – win situation.