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Morbid reason why cruise ships throw "free ice cream parties" on board

Dara Starr Tucker, a former cruise ship employee has shared the morbid reason why they throw “free ice cream parties” on board. Tucker, a singer who spent six months living on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean 10 years ago, shared what life was like at sea. In one of her latest videos, she answered one of her follower's question asking whether it was true that if cruise staff started giving away ice cream, it meant that they needed more freezer space for a body. “This is unfortunately often true,” she said. “If the crew suddenly makes a bunch of ice cream available to passengers, ‘Free ice cream party’, it is often because more people have died on the ship than they have room for in the morgue.” She said that most large ships are legally required to maintain a morgue and carry body bags in the event a passenger dies mid-journey and added that she “thankfully” didn't have to deal with the "morbid stuff". “But we were friends with some crew members who did deal with it and they said maybe four to 10 people die every cruise,” she claimed. “There are a lot of older people on ships, and often (out of) a ship that carried maybe 2500 to 3000 passengers on a typical cruise, four to 10 people would die. “So the morgue, I believe they said held about seven people, and if more than seven people died on that particular ship, they would have to start moving bodies to the freezer.” She claimed that if employees would have to "make room for the extra bodies" in the freezer, they would have to take out everything including ice cream. Her video has been viewed over 2.3 million times, with many other cruise ship employees confirming her claims. “Cruise ship medic here. Can confirm the morgue and ice cream correlation,” one said. “Former sailor here — yes, it is accurate. Sometimes space needs to be made in the freezer," another added. Image: TikTok

Travel Trouble

RECALL ALERT: Two popular Woolies cheeses spark listeria concerns

Woolworths stores nationwide are issuing a recall on two popular Camembert cheese brands due to potential listeria contamination. The recall specifically pertains to two 125g Camembert cheese products that have been identified as having potential microbial contamination, specifically Listeria monocytogenes. The affected products are the Unicorn Classic Camembert from Snowbrand Australia, trading under the name Unicorn Cheese, and Community Co's French Style Camembert. Both of these cheeses carry Best Before dates of November 8, 2023. These products were available for purchase not only at Woolworths stores in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania but also at other retail outlets, including Natures Best, V & C Food Distributors, and Bills Cheese and Yoghurts in New South Wales, as well as Our United Food Co in Queensland. Select independent stores, such as IGAs in Victoria and Queensland, also stocked these cheeses. Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can pose health risks, particularly to vulnerable individuals such as pregnant women, their unborn babies, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) issued a statement warning, "Listeria may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly, and people with low immune systems." FSANZ advises any consumers who are concerned about their health in relation to these products to seek medical advice and return the items to the place of purchase for a full refund. The affected Camembert cheese products belong to Batch 123123E Est No 287. Consumers seeking more information can contact Snowbrand Australia (Unicorn Cheese) at 02 4423 1266. Images: FSANZ

Legal

Cheese and bacon muffins

A delicious savoury muffin that’s great for when the grandkids are around or an on-the-go snack. Makes: 12 Ingredients: <ul> <li>2 egg</li> <li>250g self-raising flour</li> <li>1 cup grated cheddar cheese</li> <li>3 rashers bacon, cooked and finely diced</li> <li>1 cup milk</li> <li>½ teaspoon salt</li> <li>½ teaspoon pepper</li> </ul> Method: 1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease muffin tray and set aside. 2. Combine flour, cheese, bacon, salt and pepper in bowl. 3. In separate bowl, whisk eggs and add milk. 4. Make a well in the dry ingredient and gradually add egg mixture. Gently mix until just combined. 5. Spoon mixture into muffin tray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are golden. Images: Shutterstock

Food & Wine

Lemon curd and cream sponge cake

Not only is this cake beautiful, but homemade lemon curd and cream sandwiched between lovely sponge cakes, it will exceed all expectations. Serves: 12 Ingredients: <ul> <li>350g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing <ul> <li>350g caster sugar</li> <li>4 lemons, zest only, plus juice of 2 lemons</li> <li>3 large pieces candied lemon peel, finely chopped</li> <li>6 free-range eggs</li> <li>3 teaspoon baking powder</li> <li>300g self-raising flour</li> <li>50g cornflour</li> </ul> </li> </ul> Lemon curd <ul> <li>60g butter</li> <li>225g caster sugar</li> <li>3 lemons, juice and zest</li> <li>2 free-range eggs</li> </ul> Cream <ul> <li>300ml double cream</li> <li>200g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting</li> </ul> Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line two cake tins. 2. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice and candied peel. 3. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is well combined. 4. Sift the baking powder, self-raising flour and corn flour together in a bowl and fold into the cake mixture. 5. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the two cake tins and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until risen and golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Run a round-bladed knife around the inside edge of the tins to loosen the cakes. Remove the cakes from the tins and set aside to cool completely on a rack. 6. Meanwhile, to make the lemon curd heat the butter, sugar and lemon juice and zest in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Be sure not allow the base of the bowl to touch the surface of the water. Remove from the heat. 7. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Slowly whisk the melted butter mixture into the beaten eggs until well combined. 8. Set the bowl over the pan of simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, for two to three minutes or until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. 9. Sieve the lemon curd into a clean bowl, then cover with cling film and set aside to cool. 10. For the cream, whip the cream and icing sugar together in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. 11. Place one of the cakes onto a serving plate and spread with the lemon curd. Spread over some of the whipped cream and sandwich with another cake. Drizzle the top of cake with lemon curd and let it run over the edges. Images: Shutterstock

Food & Wine

“Absolute agony”: Beauty therapist left housebound from steroid cream withdrawal

Beauty therapist and mother Karyn Flett said she has been “addicted” to steroid creams for over 40 years. In an attempt to ease her painful eczema, Flett revealed she had to wear a balaclava to contain her weeping skin. She began suffering from eczema patches on her face, hands and joints at age 11 and was prescribed topical steroid creams. Flett, 52, has used the medication for decades to soothe her itchy and inflamed skin, but she claims she decided to quit using it after experiencing sweats and rashes similar to menopause symptoms. The mum-of-three, from Fife, Scotland, said she was in “agony” when she went cold turkey and stopped using the medical cream in September 2022. She revealed she went into topical steroid withdrawal and developed a burning rash all over her body and experienced shakes and sweats. Flett was housebound for six months and unable to work due to her condition. She said water felt like acid on her skin and it was so itchy she felt like she could “tear herself to the bone”. The 52-year-old resorted to wearing a balaclava and full upper-body bandages for three months in order to keep her weeping skin from sticking to her pillow and sheets and to ease the pain of the relentless itching. She shared that at 45 she began to worry about one of the risks she knew of steroids - that they thin the skin. “I started thinking, ‘Right, I need to use these less’,” Flett said. “I was going into bouts of withdrawal and getting these severe symptoms, such as shakes and sweats. I had symptoms similar to menopause. “I went away in September and decided not to take my steroid cream, and went into full-blown withdrawal.” Flett explained she had a burning rash from her feet to her entire body. “My face was on fire, it was swollen. My eyes were really hard to open, they were swollen,” she said. ”I went off my food, and then I started going into full-blown shakes. “When I travelled home, my clothes stuck to my skin. “I blistered from my calf up to the back of my thigh and I could feel fluid running down my leg.” When she arrived home, her husband had to help her into the shower and she had to rip the clothing off her skin. “When I first got it, I couldn’t bathe all the time, it was just too painful. The water was like acid,” she said. “I’ve always been a mum who likes to do my hair, makeup, get my lashes done, nails and look my best on a night out. “That just left me. You lose all your self confidence, and you don’t know how you ever get back to the person you were.” Flett described the first four to six months of withdrawal as being the worst. “It’s been likened to being worse than a heroin addiction,” she said. “You get a deep, absolute bone itch with topical steroid withdrawal. “It’s absolute agony, you feel like you can tear yourself down to the bone.” Image credit: Facebook

Body

Broccoli and cheese pasta bake

An easy, satisfying dish that the whole family can enjoy, this cheesy, vegetarian broccoli pasta bake is sure to be a hit. Ingredients: <ul> <li>1L of milk</li> <li>2 garlic cloves, crushed</li> <li>2 bay leaves</li> <li>500g of pasta</li> <li>350 g of broccoli, cut into small florets</li> <li>75g of butter</li> <li>75g of flour</li> <li>1 teaspoon of mustard powder</li> <li>A few parsley leaves, chopped</li> <li>200g of grated Italian cheese mix</li> </ul> Method: 1. In a small saucepan, bring milk, garlic and bay leaves to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit. 2. Boil pasta until al dente. Add broccoli during the last two minutes of boiling. Drain. 3. In a pan, heat butter. Add flour, stirring for about one minute. Strain milk mixture. Add to pan in small portions at a time, stirring constantly. Let simmer for one to two minutes, forming a sauce. 4. Remove sauce from heat and stir in mustard powder and parsley as well as ¾ of the cheese. 5. Mix together with pasta and broccoli in a casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. 6. Cook under grill on high for two to three minutes or until top becomes golden. Let cool and serve. Images: Getty

Food & Wine

Don’t say cheese! Travel destinations where photos are illegal

While many happy travellers love to immortalise their holiday with a collection of photos, there are some places that don’t allow for pics to be taken. In several destinations across the globe, tourists are actually banned from taking selfies and can even get fined for breaking the rules. So before you pull out your camera and strike a pose, you might want to check if what you’re snapping a photo of is legal. Here are just a few places where taking photos isn’t allowed. The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City The use of professional cameras and phones is strictly prohibited in the Sistine Chapel so don't even think about it. According to <a href="https://www.vaticancitytours.it/blog/are-cameras-allowed-in-the-vatican-city/#:~:text=Sistine%20Chapel&text=The%20real%20reason%20for%20the,companies%20to%20fund%20the%20project.">VaticanCityTours,</a> the reason you can't take pictures dates back to 1980 when the chapel was restored due to damage caused by flash photography. Mecca Pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, it is against the law to take photos of worshippers during Hajj, otherwise known as their pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. This is due to it being disrespectful to snap people while they are on their religious journey. The Blue Mosque, Turkey Taking a photo of the outside of the iconic Blue Mosque is totally okay, but snapping any photos of the interior is a big no. Visitors also must follow strict dress codes as well as other rules and regulations. Anne Frank's House, Amsterdam Taking photos or selfies in the House of Anne Frank is not allowed inside the museum due to its serious nature. There is a very sombre mood within the historical house, making it a time for reflection, not for flash photography. Palace of Versailles, France Photos of both the Palace and the surrounding gardens are strictly prohibited for all travellers. This is due to concerns about the preservation of artwork and the safety of visitors. Garoupe Beach, France The famous Garoupe beach in southern France banned holidaymakers from taking selfies during the busy season in the middle of summer. The law was first introduced to stop people from bragging about their holiday and just enjoy the stay rather than show off on social media. Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Tips

Cheese fondue

Looking for something delicious and different to cook for dinner? Try this simple old-school favourite. Ingredients: <ul> <li>1 cup white wine</li> <li>1 garlic clove, crushed</li> <li>1 2/3 cups gruyere cheese, grated</li> <li>1 2/3 cups cheddar cheese, grated</li> <li>1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>1/2 cup mascarpone</li> <li>1 to 2 tablespoons kirsch</li> <li>Wood-fired bread, toasted or chargrilled, cut into pieces</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Place wine and garlic in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook for five to six minutes until reduced by half. Add gruyere and cheddar and melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth and combined. </li> <li>Meanwhile, brush bread with oil and chargrill until crisp and golden.</li> <li>When you're ready to serve, stir the mascarpone into the fondue, add the kirsch to taste and enough boiling water to make a loose, smooth sauce.</li> </ol> Note: As well as bread you might want to also offer other things for dipping such as prawns or broccoli. Image: Getty

Food & Wine

Doctors say cheese could be as addictive as drugs

Look, we’ve all be there: you’re enjoying a tasty cheese platter, perhaps with a glass of red, and before you know it, you’ve devoured the entire wheel of camembert. You’re not even sure how it happened; all you know is the cheese was too delicious to stop. But before you berate yourself for your lack of willpower, stop – because it may not be your willpower but that the cheese is simply too addictive. According to Thrillist, Dr Neal Barnard, founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has called cheese “dairy crack” because your brain reacts to a particular protein in it the way it would any other addictive substance. “These protein fragments can attach to the opiate receptors in your brain,” Dr Barnard says. “As the name implies, casomorphins are casein-derived morphine-like compounds.” Cheese also has high fat and salt content – two other things that our brains enjoy. However, lucky for all the cheese lovers out there, even though our brains may react to cheese similarly to morphine, it doesn’t have any brain-destroying compounds as the drug. Image: Getty

Body

Can you freeze cheese?

Dairy products are notoriously fussy when it comes to freezing. But when there’s a great sale at the supermarket, it’s hard to resist the siren call of a big discounted brick of cheese. It doesn’t last forever in the refrigerator, but can you freeze cheese? Yes – sometimes! The general rule of thumb is that freezing cheese will likely change its texture. If you do opt to freeze extra cheese, its best use after thawing is for cooking– the texture change becomes a moot point after it’s all melted. You probably don’t want to freeze the fancy stuff you bought for snacking on with homemade crackers, though. But frozen cheese, once thawed, would be perfect in a cheesy bake or casserole recipe. Can you freeze mozzarella? Blocks of mozzarella or shredded mozzarella are fine to freeze, though they tend to have a crumbly texture after freezing. Just avoid freezing fresh mozzarella, as its high water content has a likelihood of forming ice crystals. Can you freeze cottage cheese? Cottage cheese, along with ricotta cheese, can be frozen. However, upon thawing, both cheeses are likely to have a grainier texture. As with most frozen cheeses, thawed cottage and ricotta cheeses are best used in baked or cooked recipes. Can you freeze cheese slices? Yep! For prepackaged sliced cheese, just pop the package into a freezer bag and place it in the freezer. For deli-sliced cheese, place a piece of parchment paper in between each slice of cheese. Then wrap the cheese in freezer paper, tape shut and place the whole package in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Can you freeze shredded cheese? For prepackaged shredded cheese, place the package in a freezer bag before putting it in the freezer. For cheese you shred or grate yourself, place it in a freezer bag and carefully remove as much air as possible from the bag. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/kitchen-tips/can-you-freeze-cheese-yes-heres-what-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. Image: Getty

Food & Wine

Why is cheese so stinky?

For those who partake, cheese can be one of the most delicious, yet sometimes stinky, parts of a good meal. Everything from a charcutier board to a pizza becomes infinitely better with some cheese. But cheese has some deep, dark secrets in its yellow interior – and most of them involve large quantities of mould. <h3>How did we even get cheese in the first place? </h3> Researchers think that we’ve been eating cheese for a very long time. <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/study-finds-europeans-have-been-eating-cheese-for-at-least-7200-years/">In 2018,</a> archaeologists discovered pieces of ancient pottery in modern day Croatia that had fatty acid residues on it that could have been cheese. The team suggested that these early farmers could have been eating cheese from at least 7,200 years ago. To put that in perspective, that’s at least three thousand years before the first Egyptian dynasty. Unfortunately, scientists don’t know what that sort of cheese would have been like, but the evidence suggests that many early cheeses were like cottage cheese. According <a href="https://www.idfa.org/history-of-cheese" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to the International Dairy Foods Association</a>, cheese could have been an accidental discovery. Rennet – a group of enzymes located in sheep or cow stomachs – cause milk to curdle. If a cow or sheep’s stomach was used for milk transportation, the rennet will start the process of cheese-making and create curds and whey. This dairy-like substance is heading in the direction of cheese. <h3>How do we make cheese?</h3> Today’s cheese making is pretty similar to how they did it back then – but with a lot more microbes added to the process. Instead of rennet to curdle the milk, today many producers use chymosin – which is the chief enzyme in rennet. If you genetically engineer the yeast by inserting rennet genes from animals into the yeast genome they’ll happily pump out chymosin for all our cheese making needs. But be warned, you’ll need vats of the stuff. Whey is not really used in cheese making, but the curds are where the cheese process really starts. These blobs of a white, kind of squeaky substance is then processed into different forms to make different cheeses. Mozzarella is stretched and kneaded to its dough-like texture, while cheddar undergoes ‘cheddaring’ – a process where curds are stacked on top of each other to push out moisture and create a harder, denser cheese. For other cheeses, there’s a secret ingredient missing – microbes. Many different varieties need to go through a process of ‘ripening’, where microbes, like fungi and bacteria, are added to the base cheese and then left to sit. Brie and camembert get sprayed with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillium_camemberti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Penicillium camemberti</a> mould and left from four to five weeks to get their white outside and soft squishy interior. Blue cheese, on the other hand is injected with spores from Penicillium roqueforti to be able to create those blue veins of mould. But these moulds all pale in comparison to a particularly stinky type of bacteria called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevibacterium_linens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brevibacterium linens</a>. This bacterium is used to ferment particularly funky cheeses like Munster, but it’s also the bacteria which causes human foot odour. Just think about that next time you’re having some cheese on crackers! <h2>Cheese dreams?</h2> It’s a commonly-held belief that eating cheese can give you nightmares. And in fact, <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/explainer-can-cheese-make-you-have-weird-dreams/">scientists have put this to the test.</a> A 2005 study – conducted by the British Cheese Board – asked participants to eat 20 grams of cheese half an hour before going to bed every night for a week. When they woke up, they immediately wrote down any dreams. Participant were assigned a type of cheese: stilton, cheddar, red Leicester, British brie, Lancashire and Cheshire. None of the 200 volunteers reported having nightmares, but delightfully, 83 per cent of the participants that ate red Leicester had pleasant dreams. Cheddar, on the other hand, led to dreams about celebrities, while Cheshire led to no dreams more than half of the time. Although this study is heaps of fun, we can’t comment on the scientific rigor of the British Cheese Board, so you should probably take the story with a grain of salt. If you want even more cheesy facts, find out about raw cheese, and endure plenty of cheese puns, keep an ear out for a whole episode on cheese for the ‘Huh? Science Explained’ podcast on the <a href="https://www.listnr.com/podcasts/huh-science-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTNR app</a>, or anywhere you get your podcasts. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/podcast/why-is-cheese-so-stinky-huh-podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos</a>. <div id="cosmos-link-back" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: halyard-text, sans-serif; scroll-margin-top: 180px; background-color: #ffffff;"></div>

Food & Wine

Ham and cheese pinwheels

An easy snack to make for parties or when the grandchildren are over, these ham and cheese pinwheels are a delight to eat. Makes: 20 Ingredients: <ul> <li>2 sheets frozen ready-roll puff pastry, thawed</li> <li>¼ cup tomato paste</li> <li>100g sliced ham</li> <li>1 cup grated cheddar cheese</li> <li>1 egg, whisked</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Lightly flour a surface and unroll pastry. Spread a layer of tomato paste evenly over pastry, leaving a 1cm border around the edges. Arrange ham slices evenly over top. Scatter grated cheese over.</li> <li>Brush edges of pastry with egg. Roll pastry as tightly as possible. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. </li> <li>Preheat oven to 180°C Line two baking trays with baking paper.</li> <li>Using a sharp knife cut each roll into 10 slices. Place cut side up on lined trays. Brush each pinwheel with egg. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve warm or cold. </li> </ol> Image: Getty

Food & Wine

The Ultimate Mac and Cheese

The crumbly top is the perfect partner for a decadent cheese sauce. <h2 dir="ltr">Ingredients</h2> • 400g dried macaroni • Melted butter, for greasing • 1 bunch chives, chopped • Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to season • 1 thick slice sourdough • 70g cheddar, grated • 20g butter, melted Cheese sauce • 40g butter • 1 brown onion, roughly chopped • 4 rashers (250g) rindless bacon, thinly sliced • ¼ cup plain flour • 3¼ cups milk • 180g cheddar, grated <h2 dir="ltr">Method</h2> <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Cook macaroni in a large saucepan of salted boiling water following pack instructions. Drain well, then return macaroni to pan. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease an 8-cup capacity baking dish with melted butter. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> To make cheese sauce, melt butter in a large deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion and bacon and cook, stirring, for 5-10 minutes or until onion has softened. Add flour and stir until combined, then cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and gradually add milk, stirring continuously until smooth and combined. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Pour sauce over macaroni, then add chives and stir to combine. Season with salt and white pepper, then transfer macaroni and sauce mixture to prepared dish. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Process sourdough in a food processor until crumbs form. Transfer crumbs to a small bowl, then add cheddar and melted butter. Stir to combine. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Scatter crumb mixture over macaroni and bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately. </li> </ol> Cook’s tips <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Add an adequate amount of salt when to your water when boiling your pasta. Well seasoned pasta is the key to great mac and cheese. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Always opt for smaller varieties of pasta, preferably hollow to hold plenty of that irresistible cheesy sauce. Elbow pasta is the classic choice but other shapes including fusilli, conchiglie or farfalle work as well. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Perfect your bechamel. Remember to constantly stir the sauce and cook off the flour well. Making sure the milk doesn’t boil is vital, and when adding your choice of grated cheese, do it in stages ensuring it melts completely before adding more. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> If you do have some spare cream in the fridge, replace some of the milk with it for a richer and silkier bechamel. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> To elevate the flavour profile of your dish, add some spices or extra ingredients. Try mustard powder, garlic, chilli or nutmeg. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Don’t limit to yourself to one type of cheese, try adding a trio. Whether it’s gruyère, brie or even something stronger like blue or parmesan. </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> This recipe already incorporates bacon, but if you want to make it meat-free, try adding sautéed mushrooms, seasonal herbs, caramelised onions or even sundried tomatoes. </li> </ul> Image: Better Homes & Gardens

Food & Wine

From a series of recipes by Xali: Cream of mushroom soup

A simple and ultra-creamy soup that is full of flavour and will leave you satisfied. This recipe is not only great for winter but it’s also medicinal - eating at least 1 clove of garlic a day can help balance your hormones, prevent the effects of hot flushes, and enhance the body’s immunity. Serves: 2 Prep: 20 mins Cook: 45 mins Ingredients: Olive oil - 2 tbsp Onion, brown diced - 1/4 whole Garlic clove minced x 3 Thyme, fresh leaves - 1 1/2 tsp Mushrooms, brown or white sliced - 4 cup Mushrooms, Portobello or specialty, sliced - 2 whole Tamari - 1/8 cup Mustard, seeded - 1 1/2 tsp Coconut milk full fat - 200 ml Tofu, silken cut into about 12 cubes *it will be soft to handle - 150 gm Spinach, fresh - 2 cup Chives, fresh snipped - 1/8 cup Parsley, flat leaf chopped - 1/8 cup Salt to taste - 1/4 tsp Cracked black pepper to taste - 1/8 tsp Method: 1. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat olive oil, add onion, garlic and thyme until translucent and fragrant, about 12 minutes. 2. Add half of the chopped mushrooms and tamari and cook down on medium-high heat, covered for about 10 minutes. This will allow the mushrooms to release their water. 3. Add the remaining mushrooms and cook covered for another 10 minutes. 4. Remove the lid and add coconut milk, vegetable stock, cook for another 10 minutes uncovered to reduce liquid. 5. Drain the tofu while still in the pack, then cut into 12 cubes. Gently add to mushrooms and heat through for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the flavours to combine. 6. Just before serving, fold in the spinach gently until wilted. Ladle into serving bowls. 7. Serve with chives and parsley, season with salt and black pepper to taste, and serve hot. Image: Supplied

Food & Wine

10 foods you had no idea you could freeze

Who knew the coldest area of your fridge could house more than just microwavable pizza and leftover bolognaise sauce? Here are 10 surprising freezable foods that will result in a whole lot less food being wasted and a whole lot more money being saved! Egg Whites The essential ingredient behind all manner of meringue-based eats can last up to 12 months within the coldest of your kitchen’s confines. Egg experts maintain these will work the best if thawed within the fridge the night before baking. Thanks, eggsperts! Butter This kitchen staple is a great food to store in the freezer, especially if you don’t think you’ll use it all by the sell-by date. The original packaging should protect it from freezer burn, but store the butter in a freezer bag if you don’t plan on using it in the immediate future. (This will also protect it from smelly foods.) Buttermilk Pancakes’ delicious DNA lasts slightly longer in a refrigerator than it does in your mouth. Solve that by first freezing buttermilk in ice trays, and then place them in some sort of resealable food storage container. The resulting cow cubes will last for up to three months! Bread Carbs do indeed like the cold. Sliced sandwich bread can last over three months within the ol’ ice box while a baguette can maintain for a month, and subsequently be returned to its former Gallic glory via dousing it with a wee bit of water before it hits the oven. Vive la France! Potato chips & pretzels Are you both a snack enthusiast and a fan of buying in bulk? Do the latter and have no worry about the sell-buy date of the former once you pile your Smith’s and Kettle chips into our freezing friend. Not only does the chill double their sell-by date, but the cold actually adds to their crispy content. Just remember to vacuum your couch cushions when you’re done. Avocados These addictive little guacamole makers aren’t cheap. Freeze your financial addiction to “alligator pears” by, well, freezing them. Cut the fruit in half, peel, then quickly place your hors d’oeuvres ornament within the fridge’s bristly basement for best/future results. <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/conditions/osteoarthritis/18-anti-inflammatory-foods-eat-reduce-pain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Along with avocados, find out the best anti-inflammatory foods to eat to reduce pain.</a> Corn on the cob Corn on the cob is a culinary staple for summer barbecues and parties, and if you wish you could chow down year round, you’re in luck. You can stock up on fresh sweet corn just as it’s going out of season and freeze it for up to a year. Seal your corn in freezer bags, with the husks and silk still intact, and store immediately after buying it. Herbs Some gardening enthusiasts dry and store herbs until a recipe calls for them, but this method can diminish the flavour. Freezing herbs like basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, or mint (just to name a few) keeps them in prime condition to be added to a meal. Here’s how to do it, courtesy of TasteofHome.com: Chop herbs finely, place in ice cube trays, cover with water or olive oil and freeze. Once frozen, place in a freezer bag. Take out cubes as needed to add to stews, soups and casseroles. However, frozen herbs will be too limp to use as a garnish. Nuts Freezing nuts helps preserve their natural oils. Store in an air-tight container or wrap well in plastic and put in a freezer bag, and they can stay good for up to eight months. Hard Cheese Although previously frozen cheese is perfectly safe to eat, the texture changes and becomes more crumbly, so only do this if you plan on using the cheese in recipes and not as part of a cheese platter. Wrap block cheese in airtight wrapping or put it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. You can also grate the cheese in one or two cup servings and freeze in a bag. It will last for about six months. This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/kitchen-tips/10-foods-you-had-no-idea-you-could-freeze?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. Image: Getty

Food & Wine

Always got room for dessert? A new option has landed

Guzman y Gomez (GYG) have been rolling out a new soft serve dessert at select restaurants over the past few weeks, and it has now officially landed at over 50 restaurants across the country. GYG says their new soft-serve is 100% and contains no nasty additives or preservatives. The soft serve comes as a classic waffle cone or a small or large sundae. For something extra, you can also grab a Churro Sundae, complete with dulce de leche or chocolate sauce and a churro on top. The move sees GYG move into the popular take-away dessert space that has long been dominated by eateries like Maccas, who are the current king of the soft serve with the bargain buy sitting at $0.70, where as GYG's will cost you $2.50. However, the Sundaes are closer in price, with GYG charging $3.50 for a small, $4.50 for a large and $5.50 for the Churro Sundae. Pop into your local GYG today and give these new flavours a go! Image: Guzman y Gomez

Food & Wine

New Tim Tam flavour hitting the shelves

Arnotts gave Aussies the opportunity to vote for the new Tim Tam flavour and the results are in! The options were between Dark Choc Espresso Martini Tim Tam or Butterscotch and Cream Tim Tam. Voting closed on April 11, with the winning flavour announced as Butterscotch and Cream Tim Tam. The delicious, decadent flavour will hit Coles’ shelves in July. The Butterscotch and Cream Tim Tam has rich brown sugar and toffee notes paired with a creamy blend of buttery smooth butterscotch cream, also coated in delicious milk chocolate. Compared to the Dark Choc Espresso Martini which is made with roasted espresso and vodka flavoured cream sandwiched between two crunchy biscuits, all coated in decadent dark chocolate. The Butterscotch and Cream Tim Tam flavour will make a delicious addition to the pantry, alongside your other favourite Tim Tams. Rebecca Chan, Arnott's Senior Brand Manager said it’s always fun getting Aussies to vote for a new flavour, proving it successful in previous years. “We know how passionate Australians are about Tim Tams and we love giving them the opportunity to choose a new flavour each year,” she said. “The two flavour contenders are certainly our most indulgent so far, bringing an espresso martini into mouth-watering biscuit form, with the ultra decadent Butterscotch and Cream alongside as a fierce contender.” Images: Arnotts

Food & Wine

I scream, you scream we all scream for ice-cream

Peters Ice Cream has been slapped with a massive $12 million fine after it was caught preventing competitors from selling their products at petrol stations and convenience stores. The Federal Court found that Peters, from November 2014 to December 2019, made a sketchy deal with their transport partner PFD Food Services to not sell competitor’s ice cream without prior consent. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), who prosecuted Peters in court, said the deal very clearly reduced competition and reduced options for consumers. “This is an important competition law case involving products enjoyed by many Australians,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. “We took this action because we were concerned that Peters Ice Cream’s conduct could reduce competition in this market and impact on the choice of single-serve ice-creams available to consumers.” Other ice cream manufacturers who make Bulla, Gelativo and Pure Pops had approached PFD asking them to distribute their product. However, PFD said they were unable to distribute the ice creams due to its exclusive deal with Peters. "Peters Ice Cream admitted that if PFD had not been restricted from distributing other manufacturers' ice cream products, it was likely that one or more potential competitors would have entered or expanded in this market,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb continued. “This case is a reminder to all businesses of the serious and costly consequences of engaging in anti-competitive conduct. “The ACCC is targeting exclusive arrangements by firms with market power that impact competition as one of our compliance and enforcement priorities for 2022/23.” Peters Ice Cream was ordered to establish a compliance program for three years and pay a contribution to the ACCC’s legal costs. Image: Instagram

Money & Banking

Coriander and ice-cream: the cross over nobody asked for

McDonald’s in China has launched a very unusual dessert. It is safe to say fast-food fans are not convinced. The “Cilantro Sundae” is a limited-edition twist on McDonald’s popular ice cream dessert that is topped with a bright green coriander sauce and fresh “crumbs” of the distinctive herb. While it may seem like an early April fools prank, the menu item is actually very real, reportedly launching on February the 21st for a limited time until February the 25th. Coriander widely acknowledged as being super divisive with some loving it and most hating it, so it comes as no surprise social media has erupted like this. Twitter user @ZhugeEX appears to have started the debate around the unique combination after sharing a promotional photo of the McDonald’s item. “McDonald’s China launched a Cilantro Sundae special menu item today, which is interesting...” the video games expert told his 161,000 followers. Reaction came in thick and fast, with some declaring they were “desperate to try this terrible thing”. Customers have also been sharing snaps of the 6.6 Chinese Yuan dessert which is roughly $1.45 and has been grossed out in the process. “Cilantro is one of my favourite things so I would try it lol,” one stated. “Dear @Mcdonalds, when is coriander sundae ice cream coming to Singapore? Pretty pls...” one coriander fan pleaded. Others mocked the unusual colour, one even comparing it to the green of Ireland’s St Patrick’s Day. “I’m reporting this for violent and graphic content,” one user joked. Image: Instagram

Food & Wine

Popular cheese recalled due to contamination scare

A popular cheese sold in supermarkets across Australia has been recalled due to fears it has been contaminated with E.coli.The snack, “L’Artisan Organic Marcel”, which is manufactured by Mortlake Organic Dairy, has been available in supermarkets in Victoria and Queensland, including IGA, along with independent grocers in South Australia. It was also for sale at select Coles Local stores in Victoria.E.coli contamination is believed to be the reason for the recall, according to Food Standards Australia.“Food products contaminated with E.coli may cause illness if consumed,” Food Standards Australia has advised. “Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.”

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