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

[Guest guest]

What a neat question, Judy!

 

I second Donna's clay disk for brown sugar. Mine is a fairy

 

When I make something too hot, a bit of citrus juice or tomatoes usually

cools it down.

 

My newest discovery: There's no need to de-stem strawberries if you're

freezing them. If you're using them for smoothies, the stems are edible

and tasteless. If you're using them for something else, the stems pop

off 100x more easily once they're frozen.

[Guest guest]

Fry an egg (runny yolk) without ending up with a greasy fried egg: use

non-stick spray in the bottom of the frying pay, fry the egg over medium

heat until the white is set, then pour into pan 2 tbsp water and cover for

one minute exactly -- it's done!

 

Audrey S.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

On the topic of cleaning the garbage disposal I have used ice in the past if I

don't have any lemons around.

[Guest guest]

Yes the plumber told me ice cubes clean the blades and also sharpen them.  I do

this too.

Donna

 

http://www.facebook.com/thelilacflower

Through violence, you may 'solve' one problem, but you sow the seeds for

another. Dalai Lama

 

--- On Tue, 6/23/09, keria_jones <keria_jones wrote:

 

 

keria_jones <keria_jones

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

cooking tips?

 

Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 3:42 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the topic of cleaning the garbage disposal I have used ice in the past if I

don't have any lemons around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Here is my tip. Freeze tomatoes directly. This means you just put the tomato,

whole, with the stem and all if you want, directly in the freezer without using

a bag even. To use, take a frozen tomato out, run it under hot water and the

skin will peel right off. Then you can chop it and add it to soups or sauces.

Believe me it really works and saves the trouble of blanching and bagging. It

also helps when tomato abundance hits and you want to go camping (instead of

starting the pressure canner...) Also, you just take as many or as few tomatoes

as you need. Does not work for salads, but the flavor is preserved really well

when making pizza sauce and this type of things.

 

Oh, yes, careful if they do roll out some of them big tomatoes can cause harm to

toes.....(I keep mine in the deep freezer rather than the upright freezer on top

of the fridge)

 

 

, " wwjd " <jtwigg wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone,

> Time for another Question of the Week -

>

> What are some of your cooking tips?

[Guest guest]

My husband taught me that if your brown sugar does get hard, say your 12 year

old daughter put it back in the cupboard open and you didnt find it for a week

or so, to resoften it, add an orange peel. It worked like magic.

 

I also freeze tomatoes whole and when defrosted a bit the skins slide right off,

no boiling water to deal with.

 

To get the smell of onion off of my hands I rub them on a stainless steel pan,

the smell disapears.

 

~Cherie

 

 

, Maureen <ailanthus wrote:

>

> What a neat question, Judy!

>

> I second Donna's clay disk for brown sugar. Mine is a fairy

>

> When I make something too hot, a bit of citrus juice or tomatoes usually

> cools it down.

>

> My newest discovery: There's no need to de-stem strawberries if you're

> freezing them. If you're using them for smoothies, the stems are edible

> and tasteless. If you're using them for something else, the stems pop

> off 100x more easily once they're frozen.

>

[Guest guest]

Plan ahead.

Be flexible, have a back up meal plan.

Make intentional leftovers and freeze them. You'll be glad to have that Eggplant

Parmesan casserole in the freezer when you don't feel like cooking, have

surprise guests or need to take a covered dish someplace.

Take advantage of great deals; freeze, can or dehydrate.

 

Number 1 tip. Clean as you go.

Jeanne in GA

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

We have a large family and both my husband and I come from large families so

these tips come from our experiences:

 

Make it fun. Cook as a family whenever possible and include the kids- even if

they just wash the vegetables- give them praise and thank them for helping to

feed the family.

 

Mix your own seasoning blends. There are lots of online places that you can buy

herbs in bulk- atlanticspice.com and herbalcom.com are two that we use

frequently. You can buy ready made in bulk or mix your own. I like to mix my

own so I can control the amount of salt and other ingredients. But the savings

add up quickly (plus they make great gifts).

 

When boiling eggs add the eggs to cold water, put in some salt and bring to a

boil. Quickly cool them under cold running water and crack the shell at the

same time. The shell usually comes off in one piece.

 

Grapes freeze well and are a great snack for older kids (they are a choke hazard

for small children) they go well in smoothies and make really neat ice cubes.

Plus they add a nice hint of sweetness to soup, just toss a handful into the

soup pot to balance out salty or hot flavors.

 

Remember- hot pan+cold oil=food won't stick

 

Ande

[Guest guest]

When you buy fresh herbs, put them in ice cube trays, and add water and

freeze. Then when you need a certain herb, just pop out a cube and throw

it in the pot. you can do this with leftover wine also.

hugs,

Chanda