Cooking and Household Tips
Baking Soda Test baking soda for freshness by pouring 1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice over the baking soda. If doesn't actively bubble, it's too old to be effective. Pour it down the drain and buy a new box! *

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Baking Tips
Unless a recipe specifies otherwise, allow refrigerated ingredients to come to room temperature before you begin. Remove butter and eggs one hour in advance.
Stick margarine may be used in place of butter in most cases. Bust insure good results, stay away from soft spreads or reduced-fat versions.
If dough gets gluey, resist the impulse to add extra flour or cookies will be tough. Cool in fridge until firm, or roll out in between two pieces of waxed paper.
To curtail spreading, set dough on cool sheet and bake immediately.
Minutes count. Start checking cookies at soonest time given.

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Beets
Adding a little lemon juice to beets before cooking will allow them to maintain their color. *

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Bread Bread stores best in a cool, dry place. It may be kept in the refrigerator but will get stale more quickly. It will keep in the freezer for as long as three months if tightly wrapped. Press out as much air as possible. *
To better slice hot bread, place a knife in boiling water for about 10 seconds before slicing. *

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Brown Sugar Keep brown sugar wrapped in another plastic bag in the freezer to make it last longer without hardening. Take it out to thaw about 15 minutes before you need to use it, then return the remaining portion to the freezer. *

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Burn on skin
An old Italian remedy from my grandfather. I was burned with hot butter over most of my hand and he immediately cut a russet potato in slices, placed them over the burn and wrapped them tight with a kitchen towel. The starch in the potato stopped most of the blistering and eased the pain. *


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Cakes When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead-no white mess on the outside of the cake. *


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Carrots Always REMOVE the tops of carrots before storing. Tops drain the carrots' moisture, making them dry and limp. *

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Celery Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator - it will keep for weeks. *
To keep celery crisp, stand it up in a pitcher of cold, salted water. Then refrigerate. *
Celery will keep longer if stored in brown paper bags instead of cellophane. *
A better way to keep celery fresh (and it works for Romaine lettuce as well) is to wrap it with a damp paper towel and then put it in a plastic bag with as little air as possible and refrigerate. *


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Cheese Cheese won't harden when refrigerated if the ends are lightly buttered before storing. *
Cleaning: getting the cheese off the Grater
To get the residual cheese film off of your grater, just scrape a raw potato and a little raw onion over the soiled surface before it goes into the dishwasher. Add a little egg to the grated potato and onion and have a potato pancake for lunch. *
Bulk cheese will keep longer when it's wrapped in a paper towel dampened with vinegar and placed in a sealed plastic bag. The vinegar will inhibit mold growth. Re-moisten the paper towel every few days, as needed. *


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Cookies, Drop When making drop cookies, make a large batch, form into balls and freeze on cookie sheet. When frozen put into zip lock bags and store in freezer. Later, just remove amount needed from freezer, place on cookie sheets and bake while still frozen. This way you will always have a variety of cookies on hand. *

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Cole Slaw For a crunchy cole slaw, cut the cabbage in half and soak in salted water for an hour. Drain well and then make the slaw. *

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Corn on the Cob To remove corn silk from corn on the cob, dampen a paper towel or terry cloth and brush downward on the cob. Every bit of corn silk should come off. *
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness. *

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Eggs To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh-if it rises to the surface, throw it away. *
Getting egg off of your silverware and plates: Wash them with cold water first. *
Egg whites will not run while boiling or poaching if a little vinegar is added to the water. *
Always store eggs in their carton because eggs can absorb refrigerator odors.*
To separate a lot of eggs at once, break them carefully into a big bowl and then (with your impeccably clean hands) simply scoop out the yolks. *


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Eggplant Why do you need to salt an eggplant before cooking it?
Salt large mature eggplants, to leach out excess water or bitterness. To salt an eggplant, cut it crosswise into quarter-inch- thick slices. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Liberally salt the slices and allow them to drain for one to two hours. Before cooking, press the eggplant slices between paper towels to remove the excess water and salt.
When purchasing an eggplant, look for firm, heavy fruit with smooth and evenly colored skin. To check for ripeness, press lightly on the skin with your fingers—if the imprint remains visible, the eggplant is ripe; if the flesh springs back, it is not yet ready to eat.

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Garlic Chop garlic in a small amount of salt to prevent pieces from sticking to the knife and chopping board. Then, pulverize pieces with the tip of the knife. *
Dealing with the garlic press...Everyone knows that cleaning a garlic press can be tiresome and most chefs won't even use one because of this fact. Try pressing the cloves through your garlic press unpeeled. You will get a finer profile, but just reach in and pull out the husk and see if that doesn't change your mind about the garlic press. (I do this all of the time - it works well). *
How to obtain a mild or stronger flavor from the same clove or bulb of garlic:
Garlic's flavor comes from sulfur compounds that are exposed when the membranes of the individual cells are severed or broken and come in contact with the air. So...understanding this we can assume that a clove of garlic that is run through a garlic press or smashed under your chefs knife will offer your dish a stronger flavor then will garlic that has been sliced or quartered. A roasted or simmered bulb will be even milder. *


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Hamburgers When preparing hamburger patties, make a hole in the center with your finger. The hamburgers will cook faster and more evenly.


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Jars, Opening If you have problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy. *

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Lettuce, Wilted To freshen slightly wilted lettuce, sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice in a bowl of ice water. Place the lettuce in the water and let it stand for ten minutes. *
Lettuce will keep better if you store it in the refrigerator without washing it first. Wash it the day you use it. *
Lettuce will keep longer if stored in brown paper bags instead of cellophane. *

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Pine Nuts For most recipes and when used as a garnish, they should be lightly toasted. Heat a dry, heavy frying pan, put in the pine nuts and toss quickly until they turn pale golden. Do not allow them to brown, or they will taste unpleasant.

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Popcorn Popcorn will keep longer if stored in the freezer. *

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Odors, eliminating Fill a small sauce pan with water, add half a lemon sliced, and 4-5 whole cloves. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer. Your whole house will smell great!

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Onions Once an onion has been cut in half, rub the leftover side with butter and it will stay fresh longer. *

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Olive Oil Olive oil can be heated to very high temperatures without burning or smoking, which makes it ideal for frying, sauce making and other cooking. Extra virgin olive oil should be saved for dressing fish, vegetables and salads.

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Onions Once an onion has been cut in half, rub the leftover side with butter and it will stay fresh longer. *

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Plastic Container Saver Spray your plastic container (Tupperware) with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces - no more stains. *

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Potatoes To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes. *
When making mashed potatoes, melt the butter and warm up the milk in the microwave before adding to potatoes.
To prevent cut potatoes from turning brown, place in a bowl of cool water until ready to cook. *
A few drops of lemon juice in the water will whiten boiling potatoes. *
The fastest way to bake a Potato! Wash the potato, coat it with butter. Stick a nail into the center and bake on a sheet pan so that the potatoes do not touch each other. This should reduce cooking time by at least 20 minutes. The butter will keep the skins from cracking and add flavor. *


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Rice Krispie Treats Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan-the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers. *
When mixing the rice krispies with the marshmallows, leave the pan on the stove on low. This will keep the marshmallow soft for a longer time and give you more time to mix it properly and without panic!

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Spaghetti Squash Cooking Spaghetti Squash in the microwave: Pierce the squash with a big kitchen fork or a skewer in many places. Put the squash on a plate and "nuke" it until it gets soft to the touch. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing in half. Remove center and scrape out the spaghetti from the sides of the squash.

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