Food Lush

Cooking tips and tricks

by Elsha

Just wanted to share some of my favorite cooking tips!

1) You can test if an egg is still good by putting it in a pan of cold water. If the egg sinks it's good, if it floats it's not.

2) Learn your oven's hot spots by filling a cookie sheet (or two if your oven will hold two side by side) with bread slices. Bake the bread for a few minutes at 350^o and then see which pieces are darker than the others. Most ovens are hotter toward the back, but the difference is more prounounced in some.

3) It's easier to slice meat if it's still partially frozen.

4) Add a splash of vinegar to your water before poaching eggs. It will help the eggs hold their shape while they cook.

5) A slice of bread placed in a package of hardened brown sugar will soften it again. 

Do you have any favorite tricks?

My Five Favorite Kitchen Tricks

by Jen L.

A good kitchen trick is worth its weight in gold.  Some of my favorites are things I've picked up from friends or family members, others are stuff I've pinned onto my "Stuff I Wish I'd Thought Of" board on Pinterest.  Regardless of where they came from, here are my five favorite time-and-sanity-savers for the kitchen.

1.  Ice Cream Scoop For Batter.  I think everyone pretty much knows about this one, but in case you don't, a traditional ice cream scoop holds the perfect amount of cake batter to fill a standard-size muffin cup 2/3 of the way full.  Your muffins and cupcakes will all be uniform in size and shape and you won't have those pesky batter drippings all over your counter.

2.  Muffin Tin As Taco Shell Holder.  How brilliant is this?

If you use heat-and-serve taco shells, you can just toss them in the oven like this.  If you fry your own like we do at our house, you can slip them into the overturned muffin tin for easy transporting to the table! Also works great for re-heating them in the oven.

3.  Melon Baller as Cake Pop Scoop.  Y'all.  SO much easier than wadding up crumbled cake mixed with frosting by hand.  Mix your cake pop base like you usually would, then scoop it out with a melon baller. I go ahead and spear mine onto the stick, then dunk it in the chocolate. Much less messy, much more uniform shape.

4.  Wooden Spoon Over Boiling Pot.  Does your pasta pot boil over every single time?  Mine does.  Know what will keep it from doing that?  Put a wooden spoon across the top like this:

Works like a charm.

5.  Toothbrush Holder as Straw Holder.  So this really doesn't happen in the kitchen, but I use a travel toothbrush holder to carry bendable straws for my preschooler.  It keeps them clean in my bag and keeps him from stabbing himself up the nose with a regular straw when we're out and about.

What are your favorite kitchen tricks?  Tell me so I can use them!

(Photos from:  Organize With Sandy, A Small Snippet, Chica And Jo)

Grocery lists

by Elsha

I don't know about you, but unless I'm only picking up one or two things, I need a grocery list. I'm useless without one. Even when I write a list, I tend to run straight down it, instead of picking up items by section. This usually results in me running back and forth to the same areas of the store over and over because I didn't pick up everything while I was there the first time. Enter a pre-written grocery list like this one:

{photo credit: amazon.com}

A couple years ago for Christmas my sister-in-law gave me a set of list pads as a stocking stuffer and one of them was something like this. Now I can't live without it. The foods are already grouped for you! Reading through it reminds you of things! It's easy to mark things you need when you walk by, instead of waiting to write it all down. I'm certain my pre-written grocery list has saved me much grocery store wandering, and I'm pretty sure everyone needs one.

Do you use a list like this or do you prefer to write your own?

Cleaning Your Stovetop

by Elsha

The last time my mom was cleaning her stovetop I was in the kitchen with her, and I was surprised to watch her lift up the entire top to clean under it. Like so:

(Do you like the Harvest Gold cabinets, by the way? My parents are redoing their kitchen this summer.)

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had no idea you could do that. In both the houses I've owned, we've had a ceramic cooktop. I'd like to blame that fact for my ignorance here, but sadly I don't think I can since this stove is the one we had while I was growing up. I guess my mom always cleaned the stove while we were in school?

Anyway, I'm curious: Does your stovetop do this? Did you know that stovetops could do this? Am I the only oblivious one out there?

Last Minute Substitute: Baked Tortilla Chips

By Julie

Last week, I had a potluck to attend, and I forgot about the potluck part until the day before. I had no desire to go to the store, so I determined I’d make something from the odds and ends I had in the house. My observant husband suggested I make white bean dip, and by golly, I did have everything I would need. Excellent, case closed. Until I realized I had no tortilla chips with which to serve it. I’m pretty sure offering spoonfuls of dips wouldn’t be party proper.

However, I did have some flour tortillas hanging around, and in just a few minutes, I had a solution – homemade baked tortilla chips. Now, I realize that many of you are rolling your eyes at my Master of the Obvious status, but I was fairly thrilled with my ingenuity. Plus, these chips looked so much fancier than any bagged chip would. Next time, I’ll try to ramp up the fun factor with herbs and spices.

Baked Tortilla Chips

Cast of Characters:

Tortillas – I used flour, but whatever you have on hand will be just fine

Cooking Spray or Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

The How-to:

Cut tortillas into wedges, 6-8 per tortilla. Spread wedges out over a baking sheet and sprits with cooking spray / brush lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown at the edges.

Simple. Effective. Delicious.

Just to gild the lily, here's a picture of the chips as before they went into the oven:

{Photo Credit: me}

Trying recipes

by Elsha

When I'm looking for a recipe I mostly look online. It's the easiest way for me to find a recipe that only requires ingredients I already have. However, sometimes I find recipes on the sides of pasta boxes, or soup cans, or frozen veggie packages that look good. 

I've tried several over the years with WILDLY varying results. Some of them have made it into our rotation of favorites, others were so bland we might as well have been eating cardboard. Despite some serious misses, I'm sure I'll continue trying them, looking for more recipes to add to my collection. 

I'm curious: do you try recipes from product packaging, or do you like to stick to looking in the traditional places?

How to Keep the Fizz in Your Drink When Pouring Over Ice

by Caitlin

My husband has said that living with me is like living with a G-rated drug addict (an analogy that I hope you'll forgive and that I promise is tongue-in-cheek): He finds paraphernalia all over the house and I have nearly uncontrollable cravings that should be addressed quickly before things get ugly. But it's not white powder I crave: It's fizz.

Fizzy, clear, bubbly, cold, delicious sparkling water.

There are often several bottles in our fridge, but in a pinch I might have to grab a warm one out of the pack. I hate to do this, though, because as soon as the drink goes over the ice it starts to fizz like mad and by the time it settles down it's flat. By then, why bother?

My husband has saved the day (as he is wont to do), though, and my addiction to The Juice shall live on, un-threatened by a lack of pre-chilled bottles! So, how to keep your fizzy drinks from out-fizzing themselves over ice?

Wet the cubes first.

Have you noticed that the fizz stays for a second round of drink if you refill your glass? That's because the beverage has smoothed out the microscopic surface of the ice, which means there are fewer nucleation sites. In other words, there are fewer places for the CO2 to cling and make bubbles. Or something something blah blah science.

So! Rinse your ice cubes with cold water, drain the water out (stick your hand over the top of the glass and strain it loosely through your fingers. No need to get fancy. Just don't let your company see), and then pour your beverage over those beautiful, cold cubes while preserving every last thirst-quenching bubble. Voila!

(Pretend this glass has ice in it. THAT'S what your drink will look like. QUENCHING!)

 Photo from wisegeek.com.

DIY Garlic Bread

By Julie

I have watched countless TV chefs teach me how to make garlic bread, and their methods usually involve some alchemy divining fresh garlic paste or rubbing bread with whole cloves to impart the essence of the bulb. It all looks like hocus pocus to me. But I’ve found a method and a product that will satisfy any garlic bread craving or save the day with an otherwise ordinary spaghetti dinner.

Enter Johnny’s garlic spread and seasoning.

 

{Photo Credit: Costco.com}

Here’s how to make garlic bread: get some bread, spread on a little butter, sprinkle on the seasoning, and stick in a toaster oven or under the broiler for a few minutes to toast the bread. That’s it. And it is delicious.

I’ve also tossed this stuff into noodles and rice to fancy up my starchy side dishes, and I’ll bet it tastes great as a pizza topper. It’s available in many grocery stores, but I got mine at Costco. I can see myself using this in so many different ways, and I can’t wait to try.

Ingredient shortcuts: confession of a supposed purist

by Katie

I love to cook, and have occasionally been accused of being a purist. I’m all for doing things the right way, and I do truly believe that in most cases, doing something yourself is not that much harder than buying a convenience product. So, for example, I make my own pizza dough. I chop my own vegetables instead of opting for the pre-cut ones in the plastic clamshells at the grocery store. And I always, always grate my own cheese. Pre-grated cheese is just wrong, y’all.

That said, there are some kitchen tasks that represent such drudgery, are so time-consuming, and where the convenience option is so close to the real thing that I unapologetically opt for the pre-fab stuff. My “eh, I’m too lazy to do this myself” list includes:

Image: theperfectpantry.com

- Canned beans. People, I have tried every tutorial out there about how to make perfectly tender beans at home (boiling low and slow! Slow cooker! In the oven! Pre soak! Salt! No salt! Baking soda! Shooooot meeeeee) and I always end up with unevenly cooked beans with an unsettling crunchy texture. Unless I’m doing a bean soup, I use canned.

Image: gingerpeople.com

- Pre-minced/grated ginger. Fresh ginger is so important to so many foods (Indian in particular) and it is such a tremendous pain in the rear to grate it fresh in any kind of meaningful volume. I am very particular about what I will use, though: this Ginger People minced ginger in a jar is, in my view, the only acceptable substitute for fresh. It has the right almost-liquid texture, with no chunks. Do not use dried, do not use that weird stuff in a tube they sell next to the herbs. For around $2 a jar it’s so, so worth it to not have to deal with peeling and painstakingly Microplaning fibrous fresh ginger. Plus it lasts a LONG time in the fridge.

Image: cheesyrice.com

- Stock. Oh man, people are so zealous about homemade stock. And they’re not wrong! It’s delicious! And sure, when I have a whole chicken carcass around I’ll make some and freeze it, but that doesn’t really happen very often, and freezer space is at a premium in my house, and these little chicken stock packets are so easy, and low-sodium, and they add great flavor and take up no space in my pantry. So yeah, I use those.

Image: TJ's delivery service

- Crushed garlic. Oh, friends. I am so ashamed. But I just do not use enough fresh garlic to ensure that I always have it in the house, so I keep this on hand. Again, I’m picky: this one from TJs is great; the weird minced garlic floating in juice in jars in the produce section is not. Also acceptable: Dorot frozen crushed garlic.

What about you? What shortcut or convenience ingredients have a permanent place in your pantry?

The Dollar Store: Saving in Surprising Ways

By Julie

If you haven’t been to a dollar store lately, you might want to take a look. There are lots of great foodie finds, and I don’t mean off-brand cheeses doodles. I routinely buy roasted red peppers, olives, Dijon mustard, spices, and dry goods like beans for so much less than I’d spend in the regular grocery store. And I occasionally pick up some snack treats for the family because when animal crackers and pretzels only cost a buck? I can definitely handle that.

Now, merchandise can vary widely from store to store, but some even carry produce. I once walked out with 6 heads of garlic for a measely dollar, which would have cost at least double elsewhere. The bottom line is the dollar store is a great way to stretch your food budget. Give it a try.