Today I'm going to share a few things with you that I've learnt over the last few weeks at the restaurant. These things you can implement when cooking in the kitchen at home, as well as in the workplace.

First there's how to tell how cooked a steak is (or any piece of meat really). Hold the tip of your pointer finger to the tip of your thumb (on the same hand). Be gentle, don't press hard, just so that the fingertips are touching. Now feel the padding of the base of your thumb. That, my friend, is rare. Do the same thing with your middle finger, again touching the base of your thumb to feel how taut the skin has become instead of with the pointer finger. It should be a little tighter, and this is medium rare. Wash, rinse and repeat with your ring finger. You now have medium well done. Lastly do the same with your little finger, and, you guessed it, you've got well done. Cool, huh!

Ok, next target is your veggies. Most people know how to pick their veggies, and not to sound sexist or ageist, but if you're not sure, ask your mum or grandma. They'll be able to tell you how to pick a good rockmelon (give them a good sniff, and press the top lightly to check firmness), watermelon (knock on the middle of the side of the melon), avocado (run a finger over the skin, if it moves over the flesh of the avocado, it's ready. If it holds firm against the flesh, it's not quite ripe). Get to know your green grocer, ask him what's in season, what's going to be in season, and what's in short supply. You can plan cheaper dinners at home when you know what's happening in the marketplace.

Another thing with veggies, is as long as you're going to use them in a week, you can prepare them as soon as you get home from the shops. Peel and top and tail your root veggies, and keep them steeped in water in the fridge. You can also peel and top and tail your beans and peas, keeping them in airtight containers in the fridge. Don't freeze potatoes or onions, but peas, beans, capsicum, cauliflower, broccoli and carrot are ok to keep in the freezer, as long as the containers they're in are airtight, you don't want freezer burn!

That's it for today. I'm getting better at doing the double-shifts at work, and my apprenticeship company called today to let me know I'd be receiving a $500 wage top-up in the next few weeks. Oh, and it was my birthday on Sunday!! Back on the sauce on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights, and I'll probably be on it again tonight.