Cooking Tips

• Always cook with a sink of hot soapy water at the ready. It makes for easier cleanup.

• Write the date and your opinion along with any adjustments on your recipes. I also make a note in the index i.e. VG (very good), etc. for future reference.

Meats

• Don’t flour meat before you brown it. All you’re browning is the flour and the meat is not sealed to hold in its juices.

• Always allow roasts, steaks, etc. to sit on a cutting board for 10 minutes, with a foil tent over, before you carve it. This allows the juices to sink back into the meat.

Fruits

Bananas

• To unpeel bananas the easiest way, start from the bottom.

Vegetables

Garlic

• Use a garlic press instead of chopping. It will bring out more of the flavor and you’ll use less garlic.

Lettuce

• All types need moisture to stay fresh. When buying head lettuce, look for the longest stem. Scratch the nub with your nail and place a damp paper towel over the end. Store in the fridge, preferably the crisper drawer.

• Leaf lettuces should be rinsed in cool water, wrapped in a dish towel or other cloth, and store in the crisper drawer of your fridge.

• Remoisten the lettuce after each use to retain freshness.

Onions

• Cut the root end off onions first. It allows the crying gas to escape.

• When cleaning green onions use a piece of paper towel to pull off the slippery end and not have your fingers reek.

• When the recipe calls for a small amount go ahead and sauté the entire chopped onion. Divide out what you need at that time then freeze the remainder in small containers until needed.

Celery

• What to do with those extra stalks that you don’t need but don’t want to throw out at today’s prices? Chop and sauté in a mix of olive oil and butter then freeze in small containers until needed.

Salads

• Make your salad early in the day and never worry about it turning brown or mushy. Use a good size plastic bag to toss your salad less the dressing. Gently shake the bag until well mixed. Store the bagged salad upside in the serving bowl. Pop it into the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Pull the bag from the bowl and you’re good to go.

Tomatoes

• Unripe tomatoes should be placed in a brown paper bag and stored in a cool dark spot. This is also great for all the green tomatoes you rescue at the end of summer.

Beans

• When cooking beans for soup, stews, and the like, add a teaspoon or so of baking soda to the mixture. For some reason the baking soda cuts the negative intestinal reactions to beans and does not affect the flavor or cooking.

Cheese

• Spray your cheese grater with a little Pam. The cheese won’t stick and cleanup is a breeze.

• Grate your own Parmesan, Asiago, Swiss, etc. fresh when you need it. The blocks will keep in your fridge for months if you cover tightly with cling wrap then store in a plastic bag.

Herbs

• To make chopping fresh herb leaves easier, drop them into a cup and snip with scissors.

Dairy

Eggs

Peeling hard boiled eggs is easy. Crack the shells a bit against your sink bottom then peel them under cold running water. A light flow is all that’s needed. The water also releases that pesky membrane.

Store peeled hard boiled eggs for up to a week in a glass container covered with water.

Etc.

Brown Sugar

If either light or dark brown sugar has gone hard dump it into a Ziploc bag and add a slice of white bread. Within a day or so the sugar is back to its usable softness.