First off here are some pictures of the banana cake I made today.

And today my tips are going to be just basic cooking tips that I've acquired:

Basil does not like the cold, put it in some water and keep it in the sun. When cooking with mussels, first off only buy them when there is an R in the month, but keep them in a shallow bowl of water with some porridge oats, BUT NO LONGER THAN OVERNIGHT. The porridge acts like plankton and the mussels feed on it expelling all the sand from inside them out. Shellfish stock is not as strong as fish stock so it's best for things such as fish soup. Use lotus leaves to cook in instead of banana leaves. Lobsters need to die instantly, if they are killed slowly they'll release adrenaline throughout their body causing the meat to become tough. When cooking with powdered gelatin, allow it just to sit in the water first so that it resembles wall paper paste before you stir it, and try really hard to get any on the sides of the pan. Mushrooms that are few days old have much more flavour than perfect white mushrooms. Egg amounts for pastries vary on the size of the egg. When making choux pastry, the kind for profiteroles, if the batter is too runny you cannot add more flour to it, you must start again. Yolks of an egg do not last, so never crack into an egg just for white. When cooking recipes that only call for yolks, freeze your egg-whites for later use. When making caramel, just melt the sugar, with no water, until it is a woody brown colour, and avoid stirring so that the sugar doesn't get stuck to the side of the pans - also only stir with a wooden spoon. Do not put salt or pepper into stocks when making them homemade, instead infuse the stock with whole peppercorns. Green bacon = unsmoked. Don't brown meat that has come straight from the fridge all at once, it's best to let it come to room temperature. Extra virgin olive oil doesn't go to high heats, instead use light oil or sunflower oil. Cook with chocolates with a 48% coco percentage and up, in the summer use 50% and in the winter use 70%, but always think about what else you're serving for your dinner, if it's heavy don't use a very high coco. Do not melt chocolate in the microwave, it can cause hotspots. Typically one egg white = 1 fluid oz. When cooking meat, the more you touch it , the firmer it will get, and do not poke meat with forks, all the juices will escaping making it dry. When cooking mussels, they must be closed, if it is slightly open give it a light tap to check if it's alive and it will close up, if not throw it out! IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT! You will get sick from bad mussels. Just ask my sister ;) If you're cooking bread, it should sound hallow when you tap it, then it's done. When you're melting chocolate for things such as mousse, try to avoid stirring the chocolate, it's called tempering, and it will cause a grainy texture with the chocolate. And always bake your pastry blind from frozen. I hope these will help you out!