Food Lush

Kitchen Trick: An Easy Way To Store Rice, Quinoa, and Other Grains with Instructions

by Caitlin

You cut open the bag of rice and as you scramble with your other hand to grab the measuring cup you stupidly left just out of reach, you try to keep the bag level but it starts wobbling and some spills out. You finally get the cup and try to pour the rice into it without it sprinkling all over the counter and floor. Which is silly, really, as you know you'll inevitably be sweeping up rice later, after it's stabbed the bottom of your feet on the way to the stove. When it's all over you're left with an open, partially used bag that you stuff into a ziploc, or tie a rubber band around, only to repeat the whole process next time. 

Sound familiar?

Allow me to help. 

I would also like to state for the record that I did not even get this idea from Pinterest, the appeal of which I'm still uncertain about. I'm pretty sure I got it from my Mom. You can be certain I didn't get it from Pinterest because it doesn't involve any chalkboard paint or burlap, although it does involve a mason jar, though that's not strictly necessary.

It's right up there with my saute pan draining tip, which is another trick I didn't come up with on my own. And as with that previous tip, it's not rocket science, and I feel certain others must know about it, yet I feel I'd be doing a disservice not to share it with you.

So:

Photo by me. I hope you appreciate the time I took to Pinterest-up this picture, what with the clutter of a mixing bowl, Lowe's coupon, mesh bag of limes, and the hand lotion lurking in the distance. 

Tear, cut, or otherwise remove the instructions from your bag of rice/quinoa/whatever. Pour contents of the bag into a handy container (I always have extra mason jars lying around my house leftover from canning, but you can use whatever you've got. Tupperware works.), and throw in the instructions. Voila. Display on your counter for that extra Pinterest-y touch. 

Next time you go to cook your grains, you can dip your measuring cup right in the container, while performing nary a circus act. Victory!

How do you store your grains? Are you obsessed with Pinterest? If so, please help me understand why. 

Swedish dish cloths

By Katie

A few weeks ago I was strolling through a little resort town in southwest Michigan with some friends, poking in and out of gift shops, when we encountered a bin full of something labelled "Swedish Dishcloths."

They sheets, about 6 inches by 8 inches, were stiff and looked almost like notecards, but the explanatory label pretty much promised that they were some kind of miracle kitchen product- a cross between a sponge and a dishcloth, made of a mix of cellulose and cotton that cleaned surfaces with or without spray cleaners, buffed stainless to a streak-free shine, and cooked dinner for you. (Okay, not that last one.) 

Plus, they were cute. So I bought one.

And you know what? They ARE awesome! They apparently last forever (mine is still like new after more than a month) because you can wash them in the dishwasher or washing machine, and in a pinch they can be sterilized by microwaving for a minute while damp. They dry to a stiff sheet but soften immediately in water. As promised, they do a great job shining countertops and even stainless steel appliances with just water, no drying needed.

Ever since I was reminded how gross kitchen sinks and surfaces are (more germs than your toilet! Yummy!) I've been looking for a way to keep my counter sponge and my dishes sponge clearly and obviously separate so people don't mix them up- these make it easy!

Plus, look, a ton of cute designs:

These are all from Scandanavian Stitches (and there are dozens more designs on that site, including a bunch of cute holiday ones) but a quick google search of "Sweedish Dishcloths" shows dozens of places to buy them. I think they'd make a really great, low-key hostess gift (cute and practical! Win and win!) I paid about $6 for mine -- more than your average sponge, for sure, but given how much longer it lasts than a typical sponge, definitely worth it.

(All pictures from: scandanavianstitches.com)

Adorable Aprons

By A'Dell

I know wearing an apron is super June Cleaver/Betty Draper and can look out of place in today's busy schedules, but I've figured out that aprons are actually super PRACTICAL. I am a messy chef and if there is something to be glopped or slopped out of a bowl, it will end up on my shirt every time. I can't even tell you how many shirts I've ruined by a few random oil spatters or a spoonful of tomato sauce. (BRAND NEW SHIRTS, even!)

I like to wear an apron when doing dishes or any kind of general housework. The water, food, and/or cleaning product stays off my clothes and when I'm finished I feel less like I've done a big chore that I need to change clothes from, and more like, "Woo! Done!" It's so much easier to wash an apron than an entire outfit and they totally make me more likely to tackle little, semi-messy, projects with my pockets of time.

And even though I have five aprons? I want these too.

Tea-and-Crumpets Apron, $32

Oh my hell, I want this apron SO BADLY. It's so cute! See, this is what I'm talking about - this apron would make a cute dress, right? But since it's an APRON you can wear it while doing something not dress-worthy and if you spill on it? THAT'S OKAY! It only $32 and machine washable. (Show me the dress at Anthropologie that does THAT.)

Aprons tend to be a very affordable bit of cute style. (See? I'm telling you, aprons are awesome.)

 And just look at the detail! So cute.

Trousseau Apron, $38

Put some sleeves on this (and, a back I suppose) and isn't this the cutest dress EVER? But for only $38 you can put it on over gym clothes and LOOK HOW FANCY YOU ARE, NOW!

Nautique Vintage-Inspried Apron, $17

EVA-Coated Retro Cherries Apron, $34

I actually bought this one on a recent trip to New Orleans and the bows on mine aren't as big as these. I super love this apron. The material is kind of like oilcloth and I think it's going to be AWESOME for washing dishes and not ruining my clothes. This site (jessiesteele.com) has a LOT of very cute fabrics and styles.

(Photos from: the websites linked above)

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?

Awesome Kitchen Faucet: Kohler Bellera

By A'Dell

One of the things I said when we first looked at this house was something along the lines of, "If we buy this house, that faucet is going to be the first thing we replace." We bought the house and (of course) almost two years later that faucet was still in my kitchen, driving me insane on a daily basis.

It wasn't such a terrible faucet, it's just that in our previous home I had a beauty of a faucet, a Kohler Fairfax. I loved it because the pullout spray design meant there wasn't an extra implement at my sink (raise your hand if you hate the standalone sprayer thingy), which visually cleared up the space. The vintagey style on the handle was so adorable and it just worked so freaking GREAT goshdarnit. It looked like this:

In this new(ish) house I wanted a faucet with a higher clearance. I settled on another Kohler product: the Bellera. 

It has the same pullout spray (LOVE, makes it easy to clean up the sink or fill a container) and a really nifty "pause" function, which is super handy when I'm watering plants (you turn on the tap, push the button and you can carry the sprayer across the counter to a plant or a pitcher or whatever, without having to go back and turn the tap on). The single control makes it really easy to wash my hands when they're covered in salmonella-laden gunk.

It also freed up a pre-drilled hole in my countertop where a sprayer used to be, so I stuck a soap dispenser in there, which let me get rid of the freestanding pump I'd been keeping on the counter.

And, guess what? I LOVE THAT TOO.

A new faucet and soap dispenser wasn't cheap (but it WAS my birthday present!). It also had the really unexpected result of making me feel like I'd done a mini makeover in my kitchen. It's just a faucet and soap dispenser, I KNOW, but it did! They're high-touch items I look at and use ten or fifty times a day and I just love how they both look and how much simpler, well-designed, and efficient they are.

 

 

 

Stuff I love: Mrs Meyer's Basil Countertop Spray

By A'Dell

I'm not really into cleaning products that smell like cleaning products. Does this make sense? A fakey lemon scent is probably my top offender, but I also dislike cleaning products that smell like pine trees, apple pie, the beach, or any one of a hundred things my home shouldn't smell like.

But, then again, I don't enjoy the smell of bleach wafting through my kitchen or being overpowered with the sting of vinegar as I approach a bathroom. This is why I'm totally in love with Mrs Meyer's Basil Countertop Spray. It's a subtle scent, almost sweet, and it smells like no other cleaning product I've ever owned, which makes it a fresh choice for me, blissfully free from powerful olfactory memory associations.

(Watch out for the Lavender scent because it does not smell like lavender and I think it kind of smells like pot roast with flowers in it, which is not pleasant. At all. Meaty-floral. AVOID THE LAVENDER AT ALL COSTS.)

It's kind of pricey (about $4 for a miniature bottle at my Walmart) but it actually does a fair job at cleaning surfaces and, well, I like what I like.

The Best Thing To Happen To Queso

By Jessica

I'm pretty sure it's well documented that we love our queso around here. I'm fairly certain one of the main goals of The Blathering was to injest as much queso as possible, which amuses me since I live in Texas and I can eat it whenever the mood strikes but I NEVER say no to queso. I also make my own version for large get togethers, game nights and holidays but I hate cleaning it up. I hate soaking the dish for hours on end only to then scrub off whatever caked on cheese remained.

Enter my savior:

That's right, CROCKPOT (or slow cooker YMMV) LINERS!

These things are amazing! You just line your cooking vessel, add your ingredients and cook away. Once everything is done, and you are done eating, you pick up the mess with the liner and toss it out. TOSS IT OUT. Genius!

Obviously, given the picture, you could use it for other things but I really think it's made for baked-on, caked-on queso-y goodness and now that I've found them, there will be more made in my kitchen.

{Photo credit: Reynolds}

Get Rid Of Food Odors In Your House

By Kristin

One of the down sides of living in a small condo is that when I cook, sometimes the smells linger. It's not as bad in the summer when I have the windows open and can easily get some fresh air in to help take the odors away. But there are some foods (BACON) that just linger and won't go away, no matter how much fresh air and scented candles you burn.

Well, I have found the solution! And it's in your crock pot!

All you need to do is fill your crock pot with water, add some baking soda and then turn it on low, uncovered, and let the odors disappear!

This should come in handy now that the holidays are upon us and our kitchens are going non-stop.

{Photo: via A Year of Slow Cooking}

How To Clean Your Slow Kitchen Drain

By Kristin 

I had recently noticed that my kitchen sink drain was rather slow. I figured it was all the gunk that I put down there for the garbage disposal to eat up. But I realized I had no idea how to make the drain not slow. 

So I went to Twitter. It is so much better than Google. Because people KNOW things and they share it with you and they know what works and what doesn’t! It’s magical. 

The verdict was a combination of baking soda and boiling water. Apparently the baking soda works to loosen all the gunk and then the boiling water flushes it all away. Voila! 

And it worked! My drain was not slow anymore and it was clean and shiny and not gross smelling! I even followed it up with disposing of some lemon down there, which freshened the disposal right up. 

Do you have any tips for unclogging a slow kitchen drain? How about any tips to make your disposal not smell like a rotting cat carcass?

{Photo credit: overstock.com}

Using The Oven Self-Cleaner

By Kristie

This is a public service announcement along with my story:

The other day my teenage son discovered that we have an oven that's not just for looks and he wanted to start using it immediately to make all sorts of things. (I think I fail in the teaching-him-to-cook department but we're working on it!) He made a few batches of potato chips and then got a wild hair up his you-know-what and wanted to use the oven's self-cleaning feature. A male! That wants to clean something!

I've lived in my home for nearly 6 years and I've never used the self-clean feature and NOW I KNOW WHY. You guys, the smell that emits from the oven is the worst smell I've ever smelled in my home. My eyes were burning, I struggled to breathe without gagging and 2 days later my house still smells faintly of whatever my oven secreted.

If I ever use the self-cleaning option again I'll definitely do it when I'll be away from my house for a day or two. It's the worst to wake up in the middle of the night smelling that smell.

Have you had a better experience using your self-clean feature on your oven? Did I do something wrong?