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In the
Kitchen.. |
Use your electric kettles to boil water.
It consumes half the energy you would need to boil water on the stove. Keep your kettle running efficiently by cleaning it on a regular basis. Simply add vinegar and water to your kettle and let boil. Rinse your kettle thoroughly afterwards.
Whenever I use steel wool pads (ie. S.O.S pads) for scrubbing, while doing the dishes, I find they often rust and making a mess. One way I have found to extend their life is by placing them into a zip lock bag, removing the air and putting them into the freezer. This seems to stop them from rusting between uses.
An easy way to chop up eggs next time you are making egg salad, is to use a potato masher rather than cutting up each egg with a knife.
If while you are cooking you burn the pan place 1/2 cup of baking soda into the pan and fill it half way up with water. Place the pan onto the stove on high and let it boil until the food particles float up to the top.
If you have ever tried cutting beets you will know what a mess it can make of your hands. Using an egg slicer for cutting small cooked or pickled beets is a quick and easy alternative.
To disinfect your plastic cutting board wash it well, then rub the cut side of a lemon over the board and microwave the board on high for 1 minute.
To keep your lettuce fresh, wrap the head in paper towels then place in a plastic zip lock bag or airtight container.
—Submitted by Ruth C. of Oakville
Before chopping onions when cooking, microwave your unpeeled onion for one minute, this should stop those unwanted tears.
To help extend the life of your lettuce, wrap clean, dry paper towels around your head of lettuce then place it in your plastic bag or container this will help keep your lettuce crisp and fresh longer.
For a healthy alternative replace one cup sour cream with one cup plain yogurt in recipes.
To soften hard butter, heat up a pan and place it over the butter dish for a few minutes.
Always use large or extra large eggs for baking.
To peel tomatoes place them in a bowl of boiling water for about a minute and the skins will peel off quite easily.
Don’t wash your strawberries until you are going to use them, they will keep better.
When adding sticky ingredients such as honey or syrup, coat your measuring cup in flour first, they should slide out quite easily.
A great way to keep those summer drinks cool without watering them down is to freeze individual grapes and use them in place of ice cubes. Freeze the grapes on a tray and then place into a freezer bag till needed. Works great in any fruity drinks or even in a glass of wine.
To make ice cubes that are clear and not cloudy, simply boil the water then let it cool a bit, pour into the tray and freeze.
When baking cookies especially delicate shortbread and sugar cookies, let your cookie sheet cool down in
between batches to keep them from burning.
If you want to make a recipe, which calls for unsweetened chocolate, but you don’t have any on hand you can
substitute 3 tbsp. cocoa powder and 1 tbsp. butter or margarine for 1 oz. (28 grams) of unsweetened chocolate.
Disclaimer: These are suggestions only. Any decisions as to whether these are valid and might work for your purposes must be made by you. It is sad but in this day and age such statements must be made.
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