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Kitchen Tips
your 'information highway' to a whole bunch of nifty kitchen tips - tips which make life in the kitchen a lot easier in beautiful Greater Victoria, BC
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| Kitchen Tips III in beautiful Victoria BC |
Better Cooking Spray. Buy a cheap plastic spray bottle, wash and dry it, and put your favorite oil into it. Use it instead of commercial "Pam". Not only is it cheaper but it's also the oil of your choice!--------
Shredding Cheese. If you have trouble shredding cheese (you save a ton of money grating it yourself), put the block of cheese in the freezer for 15 minutes before shredding it. This makes the grating process MUCH easier, especially on soft cheeses like mozzarella.
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Storing Brown Sugar. Put your brown sugar in a gallon size Ziploc bag. That way, it keeps the air out and stays nice and fresh, and it makes for a no mess measure. All you have to do is keep the measuring cup in the bag, and pack the sugar with your hand on the outside of the bag.--------
Better Tasting Nuts. All nuts taste better when they're toasted, whether the recipe calls for it or not. I take a handful (Julia Child style) and toss them on a tray in the toaster oven - turn the oven to 300F and set timer for 10 - 15 minutes. Check after 10 minutes. Different nuts toast faster than others.--------
Crushing Garlic. Take a large piece of waxed paper and fold it in half. On top of the folded paper place your peeled garlic cloves (sliced crosswise makes this work even better). Then fold the waxed paper over it so that you have two layers of waxed paper on top of the garlic. Now take your meat mallet or crab mallet or rolling pin and smash away until the garlic is as crushed as you like. Open out the waxed paper, scrape the crushed garlic into whatever you are making, and throw away the paper! No garlic press to clean, no chopping board to clean, and it's very quick.--------
Basting Meat. This is a suggestion for basting when grilling or roasting meat. Instead of a brush, use a sprig of rosemary when basting. It will add a subtle flavor to meat or chicken. Dill is best for fish.--------
Keeping Hollandaise. If you want to keep a sauce like hollandaise from breaking, just make the sauce and pour it into a thermos that has had some boiling water sitting in it. Empty the water out first, and pour the hot fresh sauce into it. This keeps the sauce hot and from breaking.--------
Vegetable Leftovers. Whenever I have a spoonful of any vegetable left over after a meal that's too small an amount to save for another meal, I drain the vegetable and put it in a plastic container in the freezer. When the container is full, I have the makings for a pot of soup. I bring water to a boil, add tomatoes, sliced carrots, onion, and potato, beef cubes, salt and pepper, and my container of vegetables. Cook for about 20 minutes. Now you have a pot of homemade vegetable soup!--------
Keeping Flower, Pasta. Lemon tree or bay leaves placed in the containers with flour, powdered sugar, rice, pasta, or anything else that gets weevils in, keeps them out completely.--------
Buttering A Pan. Whenever I use a stick of butter or margarine, instead of throwing the wrapper away, I fold it (butter side together) and put it in a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. When a recipe calls for greasing a pan or bowl, I just grab a couple of these wrappers and use them for that purpose. It is not only economical, it also keeps your hands from getting all greasy!--------
Cleaning Pots & Pans. The easiest way to clean any stuck on foods from pots and pans (when not using non stick type pot/pan) is to fill empty pot or pan with about one inch of water and return to stove top and bring to boil for a couple of minutes. Return pot to sink, empty water out and it's amazing how easy the pot is to clean! Your time spent soaking overnight or endless time scouring and scraping are over!
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Removing Hard Water Stains. When you have baked-on grease on dishes and pans, use a paste of baking soda and water to remove it. I also use baking soda to clean my stove; sprinkle on and wipe off with a wet cloth.--------
Hard Water Stains. We have hard water here, and when I boil water in my Corning Ware teapot, I have brown mineral deposits that look awful. I've found that if I boil a few eggs from time to time in the teapot, the calcium in the egg shells bleaches out the discoloration (it doesn't go any deeper than the eggshells), so I have both a clean pot and boiled eggs.--------
Lime In Dishwasher. I live in an area where we have hard water. My dishwasher builds up lime deposits. I put a cup of white vinegar in the last rinse cycle, this not only cuts the lime deposits but also makes the glasses and silverware sparkle.--------
Kool Aid Stains. I had a big problem with the kids leaving Kool-Aid and ice tea stains on my kitchen counter top. I have found that the only thing that will take the stains completely away is baking soda. I make a paste of baking soda and water and work it into the stain with the rough side of the sponge and it comes completely clean.--------
Unclogging Sinks. A safe remedy for clogged sinks in old plumbing. If the sink is draining slowly, let the water drain out. When the sink is empty pour 1 box of baking soda down the drain. Then pour 1 quart of white vinegar down the drain. It will foam a lot (which is the fun part... watching it foam). Let it work over night and then run hot water down the drain in the morning. You may have to plunge a little but not much. It really works!--------
Freshening The Garburator. To freshen a garbage disposal (and sometimes they do get smelly), run rinds of a citrus fruit through them while running hot water. The hot water helps release the oils in the rinds. (Oranges work the best.)--------
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meanwhile we most cordially invite the good people of Greater Victoria BC who have discovered a nifty way of doing things in the kitchen to
send in their kitchen tips and share them with us here.
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