The Quintessential eG Kitchen Tips/Trucs

[annecros]

Along these lines of reusing this sort of detritus, I once saw a braided/woven quilt hanging in someone's living room that had been made by their grandmother from old colorful plastic bread wrappers. Incredible. (In all ways.  )

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I have a quilt top that my Grandmother pieced from old flour sacks, after the flour sacks had been recycled into clothing.

Sour cream containers, Cool Whip containers, sauce jars. They get washed and reused for storage containers.

I also freeze the ginger and microplane frozen. There are just two of us here, and using up a hand of ginger takes some time.

Whole chickens get butchered and frozen into two person portions, and the backs and giblets and wing tips make chicken soup later.

[Carrot Top]

Make extra basic tomato sauce and freeze it then add to it to change its personality when utilized.

Ground beef browned and added with a quick toss of cinnamon, thyme, cayenne and ground cumin is one of my favorites, to make pastisio with - for the personality/flavor is quite different than the usual.

During times when I hated to cook (which have been more often than one would imagine and have lasted longer than one would guess but that is because the idea of cooking somehow was tied into a deep betrayal that had occured in my life, one which the taste could not be easily spit out) yet had to cook day after day for my children, I would take this "trick" one step further and use Ragu meat sauce as the base for the extra seasonings to make pastisio.

Pastisio is almost a truc in and of itself, really. So easy yet so savory and warming.

[Dejah]

When I have too many fresh tomatoes (is that possible? ), I wash then put them in freezer bags. Frozen whole, they add such a bright spash of colour to the freezer on a dreary winter's day.

When I need tomatoes for sauces, soups, lasagne, I just thaw and smush. The skin comes off very easily if you need to peel them.

Most of the time, they just decorate my freezer.

[Carrot Top]

Use your oven effectively. If you are going to cook one thing, add more things that can be used later.

Here's a rather extreme example:

Roast chicken, smoked ham, and beef all at the same time on one level; with potatoes, acorn squash and beets on the other level.

A three and a half pound chicken usually takes about one and a half hours. Same with the other meats (if prepared to do so) and the veggies will take one hour up to one and a half hours (depending on size). Nothing here is terribly fussy in terms of timing, so nothing will be terribly off except for the chicken so that is the thing that must be watched and timed best.

Chicken can be seasoned with herbs, lemon, garlic, whatever. Smoked ham can be put in a pan with a handful of mixed dried fruits and a bit of wine or ginger ale or broth or water. Beef can be bought cubed small for "stew" and mixed with whatever one wants to braise it with or if one is not aiming for haute cuisine but just wants a quick easy home meal, Lipton onion soup mix and Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup can be blended and poured over it.

Potatoes simply scrubbed and poked. Acorn squash washed, cut in half, a bit of butter and maple syrup inside it. Beets washed and wrapped in foil.

Pull the veggies out after an hour if they are ready. If they aren't then leave them in for the full hour and a half.

Pull all the meats out after an hour and a half.

First night's dinner can be the chicken with baked potatoes and acorn squash.

Next night's dinner can be the ham with fruit, briefly reheated or even microwaved.

Next night's dinner can be the braised beef (always better after allowing the flavors to meld, anyway!) with some noodles or served over extra baked potatoes, with a salad made from the beets.

Extra chicken can of course be used for chicken sandwiches or even crepes or whatever, during the week.

Extra ham the same, or devilled ham.

Extra braised beef makes great sandwiches or it can used as a base for shepherd's pie.

If you put in extra veggies they can be made into other things also. Potatoes = Twice Baked Stuffed Potatoes or Home Fries. Acorn Squash = Roast Acorn Squash Bisque. Beets = Pickled Beets.

So from one oven at one time comes three dinners plus, basically.

(Veggie-watchers who measure meals as written, please know that of course any other veggie can be added to the meals when served, of course. A simple salad, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, whatever. I'm not advising avoidance of veggies with this simplistic written menu. )

Edited August 26, 2007 by Carrot Top (log)

[Carrot Top]

Mmm. Edging away from the oven that does it all, there are several more tips.

Store your truffles with unshelled eggs in a closed container in the fridge. The eggs will absorb the aroma.

If you have to hold your truffles for longer than a week, put them in brandy to cover. The brandy will also absorb the truffle aroma.

One last one from my daughter. You can use cut celery stalks, the end, to create a leopard-patterned tint in your hair using whatever color hairdye you prefer. I haven't seen this yet, but sooner or later, who knows. It may happen. Apparently she thinks it would be a nice touch to have leopard-printed hair as a design accessory to the truffles she intends to learn to cook with soon afterwards.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Carrot Top (log)

[feedmec00kies]

We save the bags from cereal boxes and use them to put chicken or veal cutlets in to pound them for flattening.

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She also saved the styrofoam trays from the bottom of meat packages and would use them for almost anything....

The thing I do save and wash are the sushi containers (decorated plastic bottom with clear lid) from the grocery store.

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(etc etc about recycling...)

Oh god, I know all too well about that. My mom is a severe packrat, and she has piles upon piles of washed and saved take-out food containers (all possible varieties - flat round dish types, the old-school pints, metal trays, paper chinese food cartons, etc) styrofoam trays from meat or "reduced for quick sale" veggies, the plastic wrap from the aforementioned veggies, cereal bags, plain yogurt/cottage cheese/otherwise refrigerated food plastic containers, glass jars, bottles, etc etc etc.

These range from good ideas to ridiculous and not worth it at all. She hasn't used a garlic press in who-knows-how-long; instead, she pounds garlic in an old heavy plastic bag (like a cereal bag, the baggies that some particular fresh refrigerated asian noodles come in especially) using her kitchen mallet - that's a good one, especially if you need a ton of garlic in as little time as possible.

She always has containers to transport food in (to an unnecessary degree) of all sorts of quantities/volumes. This one, would be great, if only she were willing to part with them a little sooner and cycle through the piles faster (especially since she just took 10 more home today from my grandmother's apartment!) ::cries::

She reuses the plastic wrap from those on-sale veggies instead of using /new/ plastic wrap or dirtying another dish to cover it. She also tried to train my sister and I in the fine art of pulling that plastic off in as whole a condition as possible, but it failed. If it wasn't such a pain in the *(&% it would be a great idea, but often times it seems they use a little heat to keep the plastic wrap shut the long way.

She also uses those styrofoam trays as cutting boards way too often, and I remember quite a few times when she reused them a few too many times and we found oddly green or blue specks in our food.

However, her much better disposable cutting board idea is to open up those paper chinese food containers by removing the metal handle and spreading it out, leaving her with a nice large surface to work on. She does this a lot for meat so she can just throw it out afterwards and avoid spreading the germs.

At least she doesn't wrap everything (including the clocks) in plastic wrap like my grandmother. She even has 2-inch-cube clocks in little plastic sandwich bags!

Anyway, on a different note, rarerollingobject, I tried the tea bag thing today, and to my amazement it worked! I couldn't believe it! Something about it just seemed so counterintuitive for some reason...

[Qwerty]

Its the same phenomena that we use in the pro kitchen for ladles and the like--give it a quick dip back in the liquid before ladling...catches most of the drips.

[Dianabanana]

I never--meaning not ever, no matter what--put an already-cut onion in the refrigerator. I put it cut-side down on a saucer and leave it on the counter; if it hasn't gotten used by the next day, then I toss it. Yes, it is galling to throw out half of a perfectly good onion, but not nearly as galling as it is to toss out half of the food in the refrigerator because a forgotten onion went toxic in there.

[BetD]

In the spirit of creative usage, I use the "disposable" showers caps from hotel rooms to cover my bread bowl while the dough is rising... they have a stretchy elastic edge that handles BIG bowls and keeps the dough all humid and happy

[kbjesq]

In the summer, I use enameled cast iron (LC, Staub, etc) dutch ovens to store and serve cold salads and soups. Out of the fridge, the salads will stay cool much longer than in a plastic bowl. And if you are transporting the salad to a picnic or such, you don't have to worry about a glass or ceramic bowl getting broken.

Also, I put a paper towel over the top of the salad before I put the lid on. That way any condensation that collects on the inside of the lid does not drip back down onto the salad when you remove the lid to serve it.

On the conservation side, my latest find has been those "green bags". It is amazing how long vegetables will last in a green bag.

I'm looking forward to trying the aluminum foil trick.

[dockhl]

kbjesq~

are the "green bags" like those wonderful ziplock ones that used to be available that had the microscopic holes in them? I LOVED those !

[annecros]

kbjesq~

are the "green bags" like those wonderful ziplock ones that used to be available that had the microscopic holes in them? I LOVED those !

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Tell me about the "green bags" please. They seem sort of pricey. So they work?

[kbjesq]

I agree that they seem pricey, but remember that they can be used over and over again. I am still on my first order from probably 9 months ago. I ordered them online, and I found that the cheapest price (at that time) was from "Lucky Vitamin". They were around $3 - $6 for a set of 10 bags (depending on size - S-M-L). Standard shipping was $5.95 no matter how many I ordered, so I ordered quite a few and gave some to friends.

I find that the medium size are the most useful in my fridge. The large is really rather large, and unless you are looking to store a whole mess of collards or something like that, most everything in the average person's fridge would fit into a medium (for example, a head of iceberg lettuce).

The small is handy for herbs.

The reason that I purchased these initially was because I was finding it impossible to store cilantro for more than 48 hours. It would promptly turn into goop no matter what I did. Right now, I have a bunch of cilantro that has been in my fridge for more than 1 week and it looks just as good as the day that I brought it home. With wet herbs like cilantro, basil, parsley, etc. I will wrap them loosely with a paper towel and then insert into the green bag, and not close the bag tightly. This seems to work quite well.

I also found some beautiful, huge red peppers on sale for only $1 each (that is a great price around here). So I bought a dozen and put them in the large green bag. Nearly one month later, the ones that were left still looked perfectly fine, as in, good enough to use in a salad. Likewise, lettuces, cucumbers, zucchini, grapes, etc. will all last for weeks and look quite nice and edible. I have no idea why these bags work, but they do!

ETA: These green bags do not have ziplock tops. They are just like ordinary produce bags from the grocery store, but they are green and they have kind of a weird texture, almost kind of like sandpaper (but flexible like plastic).

Edited August 27, 2007 by kbjesq (log)

[annecros]

Thanks. I grow herbs, and storing them for an extended time would help.

I guess I have to seek them out, and take one (or a dozen) home with me!

[Lindacakes]

I use one of those green bags for my ice cream maker bowl in the freezer. I use one bag all summer.

I also like the green bags for vegetables.

If anyone's interested, I have a Martha Stewart recipe for cleaning silver instantly at home. Involves baking soda and boiling water.

Use your baking ramekins for mise en place or condiment bowls at the table.

Keep carrots and celery longer by cutting them into finger long pieces, placing in a bowl covered with water. Change the water every couple of days.

Use your cherry pitter to pit olives.

[Smithy]

I use one of those green bags for my ice cream maker bowl in the freezer.  I use one bag all summer.

I also like the green bags for vegetables.

If anyone's interested, I have a Martha Stewart recipe for cleaning silver instantly at home.  Involves baking soda and boiling water.

Use your baking ramekins for mise en place or condiment bowls at the table.

Keep carrots and celery longer by cutting them into finger long pieces, placing in a bowl covered with water.  Change the water every couple of days.

Use your cherry pitter to pit olives.

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Yes, I'd like to know that silver cleaning tip, please.

I don't understand about the ice cream maker bowl. Do you mean you're storing the empty bowl in the bag in the freezer? Why use a bag?

For myself, I can't stand to see that ice cream maker bowl take up space in the freezer without being useful. I puree whatever fruit looks good, with a touch of lemon usually, then put it in a plastic tub (formerly purchased with potato salad) that just fits inside.

Not my original idea, but I put leftover broth or tomato paste or roasted red pepper puree or lemon juice in an ice cube tray and freeze it that way. Then I have 1.5T cubes of whatever, ready for a sauce or stock at a later time. I also whirr up basil, parsley or other selected herbs with olive oil and garlic, and freeze that in the ice tray for a bit of winter brightness.

[Carrot Top]

Keep carrots and celery longer by cutting them into finger long pieces, placing in a bowl covered with water.  Change the water every couple of days.

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This is also helpful in terms of actually getting carrot and celery sticks nibbled on rather than not, for they're always ready.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I love all these tips!!! I have issue with celery octopus's all the time so that foil thing I will try!

so here is my favorite tip and I am sorry I can not remember what food mag I read this in so I can give credit but it was almost a year ago I think ...

if you want to peel lots of garlic all at one time ..break up the cloves put them in a pot with lid (I use my cast aluminium rice pot) then shake it hard for a several loud and sometimes annoying (only to other people I think it is musical and fun!) shakes

just grab the pot hold the lid and shake away!

in just a minute or so...

voila!

all the skins are apart from all the cloves just pick them out and they are ready to use!

good excercise and I have not found a limit to how many cloves you can do at one time!

[scubadoo97]

I keep all my shrimp shells from peeling raw shrimp in a bag in the freezer.  A five minute simmer in white wine and water and you have a lovely delicate shrimp stock.

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I do this too. A lot of times I will make a shrimp stock the same day I peel the shrimp but if not the shells go into a bag in the freezer. I do the same with bones for other stocks.

Yes, I'd like to know that silver cleaning tip, please.

Use a sheet of aluminum foil to line the bottom of your sink or any other large vessel that you want to dip your silver into. Add hot water and baking soda. When you dip your silver item into the water and it touches the aluminum foil the tarnish will be liberated from the silver. The baking soda/aluminum combo pulls sulfur off the silver by a small electrolytic current set up through the "salt bridge". The heat of the water is just a catalyst and makes the reaction occur faster

[Kerry Beal]

I buy Donvier or similar ice cream makers for a couple of dollars at thrift stores or garage sales. I keep one of the canisters in the freezer and when I need to transport homemade ice cream on a hot day I put it in a 1 quart plastic container such as a yogurt or cottage cheese container, slip it into the canister which I have placed back in it's plastic cover. The lid goes on, a towel over the top and your ice cream remains frozen for hours in the warmest weather.

[monavano]

Want to get that ground beef into small, fine little chunks, like when you make it for tacos?

Start by placing the ground beef into a pan over medium heat. You dont want the protien to cook too quickly, as it will get tougher and tougher to break it up. Work the meat with the masher, then stir, work it again. This manages to get your ground beef fine ,without jabbing a wooden spoon over and over again.

edit to clarify medium heat under pan, not medium pan.

Edited August 28, 2007 by monavano (log)

[Toliver]

Want to get that ground beef into small, fine  little chunks, like when you make it for tacos?

Start by placing the ground beef into a medium pan.  You dont want the protien to cook too quickly, as it will get tougher and tougher to break it up. Work the meat with the masher, then stir, work it again. This manages to get your ground beef fine ,without jabbing a wooden spoon over and over again.

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When cooking hamburger in a cast iron skillet, I've used my pastry cutter to chop the hamburger up into fine bits. Of course, you wouldn't want to do this in a non-stick skillet.

[maggiethecat]

In the spirit of creative usage, I use the "disposable" showers caps from hotel rooms to cover my bread bowl while the dough is rising... they have a stretchy elastic edge that handles BIG bowls

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Me too. I have a drawer half-filled with wee boxes of hotel shower caps. I'll leave the unopened body lotion or hair conditioner, but the shower cap travels home every time.

[llc45]

Want to get that ground beef into small, fine  little chunks, like when you make it for tacos?

Start by placing the ground beef into a medium pan.  You dont want the protien to cook too quickly, as it will get tougher and tougher to break it up. Work the meat with the masher, then stir, work it again. This manages to get your ground beef fine ,without jabbing a wooden spoon over and over again.

Thank you thank you thank you!!! This is a problem I always have. I did not realize it was because I was cooking it too quickly. Is there a point to the medium pan?

[Kouign Aman]

My dad always did that by cooking the ground beef from a frozen block of it. He'd use a spatula to scrape away the cooked layer over and over.

Probably took a lot longer than the masher method, but he didnt have to remember to thaw the meat in advance (pre microwave. No one has to remember anymore!).