Question of the Week - What are some of your cooking tips?

September 10, 2008

Great question of the week Judy!

I have a little clay bear, you soak it and toss in with the brown sugar and it

prevents the sugar from getting hard. I found it for $1.,59 at the cooking

store. It looks like this

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ZFRBQPAAL._SS500_.jpg

To prevent pie crust from getting too brown on the edges, I usually wet the

edges of the crust and place foil around edges.

If there is too much salt in lentils, stews or soups I add potato, it seems to

do the trick.

I freeze green tea in ice cube trays and use the cubes for a minor kitchen burn

or insect bite.

I freeze rose petals in ice cube trays and toss in my tea, they look pretty

floating around in the glass.

I bake cookies and biscotti on a silpat. No more parchment paper for me and it

wipes clean in a second.

Looks like this

http://www.e-gourmetessentials.com/silpat.jpg

I'm certain I will think of many more tips later today.

Donna

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier

Spare a thought for his back breaking work

Say a prayer for his wife and his children

Who burn the fires and who still till the earth

SOURCE: Stones - Salt of the Earth

--- On Wed, 9/10/08, wwjd <jtwigg wrote:

wwjd <jtwigg

Question of the Week - What are some of your cooking

tips?

" vegetarian_ group "

Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 5:42 AM

Hi Everyone,

Time for another Question of the Week -

What are some of your cooking tips? Example - how to correct something

with to much salt, acidity or spice, soften hardened brown sugar, how do you

get rid of fruit flies, how do you get rid of strong smells in the kitchen,

how to make flaky biscuit and pie crust, getting the perfect boiled egg that

peels easily, perfectly steamed veggies, cutting up veggies, decorating a

cake, etc........ Let us all learn from tips that you know. Please share.

Look forward to your tips.

Judy

September 10, 2008

Hi All,

Ok, fruit flies.... They lay eggs in your houseplants. Cover the top of the

soil of your houseplants with a layer of sand. It won't hurt the plant, but it

will prevent any new eggs from hatching. Catch adult fruit flies with those

hanging things, put apple cider vinegar in there.

How to get smells out of the kitchen.... cut an apple in half and put it in a

baking dish with some water, top it with cinnamon, and even cardamom is good

too, and let it bake a bit. This is a good idea if you are selling your home to

do before people come to see the house. )

hugs,

Chanda

-

wwjd

vegetarian_ group

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:42 AM

Question of the Week - What are some of your

cooking tips?

Hi Everyone,

Time for another Question of the Week -

What are some of your cooking tips? Example - how to correct something

with to much salt, acidity or spice, soften hardened brown sugar, how do you

get rid of fruit flies, how do you get rid of strong smells in the kitchen,

how to make flaky biscuit and pie crust, getting the perfect boiled egg that

peels easily, perfectly steamed veggies, cutting up veggies, decorating a

cake, etc........ Let us all learn from tips that you know. Please share.

Look forward to your tips.

Judy

September 10, 2008

Here is a great site with lots of tips on common issues in cooking/baking. I

learned a lot from reading it.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/FAQ/2654

Here are some of my tips,

Use a mandolin to quickly chop and slice up veggies to desires size,

buy peeled garlic cloves(they come in large tubs at Sam's Club),

rinse rice, to clean and remove excess starch,

add a whole peeled potato to a dish if it is to salty and the potato will take

up the excess salt

saute fresh chopped cabbage in a small amount of Smart Balance Light, in a

covered frying pan and stir often. Add salt to taste and things like Ms. Dash.

This makes the cabbage taste wonderful and not like water logged tasteless

cabbage

add some diced collard greens to soup, in the last 10 minutes of cooking

to get garlic and onion smells off your hands, rug them on a stainless steel

spoon.

add salt to boiling water, before adding eggs and if an egg happens to crack in

the boiling process, the egg will immediately stop leaking out egg from the

shell. Boil eggs for 10 minutes and then put in ice water. Egg will peel

easily and be done.

if adding spinach to a recipe, add it only in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking

and remove from heat.

Add frozen peas and corn in the last 4 minutes of cooking, in soups, so they

won't be starchy or overcooking and will retain their bright color and

sweetness.

To make the house smell wonderful, add a cup of very hot water to a small

potpourri crockpot, and then stir in cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, a drop of

vanilla flavoring and dried apple slices.

Ok that is what has popped into my mind at the moment.

Judy

-

wwjd

vegetarian_ group

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 7:42 AM

Question of the Week - What are some of your

cooking tips?

Hi Everyone,

Time for another Question of the Week -

What are some of your cooking tips? Example - how to correct something

with to much salt, acidity or spice, soften hardened brown sugar, how do you

get rid of fruit flies, how do you get rid of strong smells in the kitchen,

how to make flaky biscuit and pie crust, getting the perfect boiled egg that

peels easily, perfectly steamed veggies, cutting up veggies, decorating a

cake, etc........ Let us all learn from tips that you know. Please share.

Look forward to your tips.

Judy

September 10, 2008

Question of the Week.

When making anything with chopped vegetables, make plenty of extra and you

will have them ready for soups and stews. It is getting close to that time

of the year.

M

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 8:42 AM, wwjd <jtwigg wrote:

> Hi Everyone,

> Time for another Question of the Week -

>

> What are some of your cooking tips? Example - how to correct something

> with to much salt, acidity or spice, soften hardened brown sugar, how do

> you

> get rid of fruit flies, how do you get rid of strong smells in the

> kitchen,

> how to make flaky biscuit and pie crust, getting the perfect boiled egg

> that

> peels easily, perfectly steamed veggies, cutting up veggies, decorating a

> cake, etc........ Let us all learn from tips that you know. Please share.

>

> Look forward to your tips.

>

> Judy

>

> ---

>

September 10, 2008

At the end of the week I make vegetable soup when I clean out the

crisper.

I line the cookie sheet with foil before I roast my vegetables for easy

clean up

I put powder inside my rubber gloves so they come off easily

I grind up a little lemon or orange peel to freshen the garbage disposer

September 10, 2008

, " wwjd " <jtwigg wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone,

> Time for another Question of the Week -

>

> What are some of your cooking tips?

Smash (whack) a garlic clove with the flat part of a chef's knife, it

is then much easier to peel, the peel falls right off.

When I rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms I save the tough stems in

the freezer. I also save the corn cobs when I take the grains out in

a cut corn recipe. Both make great additions to veggie stock for

soups and it is something that you would toss or compost anyway...

I sure wish someone knew of a flaky pie crust without using

Crisco....but here is a tip for a savoury pie crust: Grate any type

of potato, squeeze to remove juice (use in soup), add a little salt

and chopped chives or scallions. Oil a pie pan and spread the grated

potato to cover. Bake in oven at 30 for 7-8 minutes and use as a

lower fat-lower calorie pie crust for savory pies.

September 10, 2008

I always keep a large bag of diced carrots, celery and onions in the

freezer. It comes in handy for a quick soup or stew. I even add them

to spaghetti sauce.

Zena

September 10, 2008

Good idea. I'm a lazy cook and I'd rather dice up a bunch at one time

to use in the near future.

Gene

, " zenbakerwoman "

<zenbakerwoman wrote:

>

> I always keep a large bag of diced carrots, celery and onions in the

> freezer. It comes in handy for a quick soup or stew. I even add

them

> to spaghetti sauce.

>

> Zena

>

September 10, 2008

We had a bad infestation of fruit flies this year, to remedy the

problem I poured bleach down the drains in the kitchen and my husband

hung a fly strip.

To make the best flakiest pie crust, use very cold margarine and mix

it as quickly as possible into your flour, then use ice water. Add a

tablespoon of Cider Vinegar, also. Handle the dough as little as

possible. The colder you keep it the better it will be.

To get those burned on messes out of the bottom of your pans without

scrubbing fill pot with a little water and a drop of dish detergent

and and bring to a boil. The stuck on yuck should come right off.

Ok thats all I have for now.

Cherie

:

>

> Hi Everyone,

> Time for another Question of the Week -

>

> What are some of your cooking tips? Example - how to correct

something

> with to much salt, acidity or spice, soften hardened brown sugar,

how do you

> get rid of fruit flies, how do you get rid of strong smells in the

kitchen,

> how to make flaky biscuit and pie crust, getting the perfect boiled

egg that

> peels easily, perfectly steamed veggies, cutting up veggies,

decorating a

> cake, etc........ Let us all learn from tips that you know.

Please share.

>

> Look forward to your tips.

>

> Judy

>

September 10, 2008

The best pie crust I ever made was in the food processor. It's been years

though and I don't remember exactly what to do.

Seems like you just put in your ingredients and let it go for just a few

seconds.

Sam

Confidentiality Notice

This email message, including any and all attachments, is for the sole use of

the intended recipient and may contain individually identifiable patient health

information. The use and disclosure of any personal health information

contained in this email by the recipient is restricted by Federal regulations

governing Confidentiality and Drug Abuse Patient Records, 42 C.F.R. Part 2, and

the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 &

164, and must be deleted appropriately when its use is no longer required. Any

unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution of this email is prohibited

and may violate Federal laws, including the Privacy Act. A general

authorization for the release of medical or other information is NOT sufficient

for this purpose. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact Samantha

Lea or Adapt at (541) 672-2691, and destroy all copies of the original message.

10/9/2008

September 10, 2008

I make my pie crust in the food processor always. I put in the flour and

butter/marg and pulse a couple of seconds til I have pea size pieces of

the fat, then add liquid and pulse just til it comes together. I think

by doing it this way, it doesn't have a chance to get tough from

over-handling it.

, " Samantha Lea " <saml

wrote:

>

> The best pie crust I ever made was in the food processor. It's been

years

> though and I don't remember exactly what to do.

>

> Seems like you just put in your ingredients and let it go for just a

few

> seconds.

>

> Sam

Confidentiality Notice

> This email message, including any and all attachments, is for the sole

use of the intended recipient and may contain individually identifiable

patient health information. The use and disclosure of any personal

health information contained in this email by the recipient is

restricted by Federal regulations governing Confidentiality and Drug

Abuse Patient Records, 42 C.F.R. Part 2, and the Health Insurance

Portability and Accountability Act, 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 & 164, and must

be deleted appropriately when its use is no longer required. Any

unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution of this email is

prohibited and may violate Federal laws, including the Privacy Act. A

general authorization for the release of medical or other information is

NOT sufficient for this purpose. If you are not the intended recipient,

please contact Samantha Lea or Adapt at (541) 672-2691, and destroy all

copies of the original message. 10/9/2008

>

September 10, 2008

I saw Alton Brown do this on Food Network. He said the same thing. The less

you hand it the better it turns out.

Donna

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

" Carol " <cazmccririe

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:28:08

Re: Question of the Week - What are some of your