Healthy cooking tips, recipes, food facts and more from a Registered Dietitian!
L. – Cooking Basics -
The Art of Candy Making
Oct 24th
I have not had much experience in the field of candy making. My delicious marshmallow experience this past weekend has, however, now gotten me very excited about the thought of doing more candy making over the next few months – what a perfect time of year.
So, while making my marshmallows I did some research and ran across this very interesting web page with information on candy making and the different stages. I was unfamiliar with the stages but have since learned that dropping the mixture into cold water will reveal what stage it is in and that making candy takes much time and patience (It will take longer for the marshmallows to reach soft ball stage than you think!).
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...Q & A – How to Crush Garlic
Feb 23rd
Question: What’s the best way to crush garlic?
– Martha Harpole, Port Gibson, Mississippi
Taking a bulb of garlic and mincing it up can be a challenge, so that is why many time we will simply buy our garlic minced already. But, having freshly minced garlic is so delicious!
If you don’t have a handy garlic crushing tool (can be found in the “kitchen gadgets” section of the store), you can still buy regular garlic bulbs to crush.
I found a youtube video that explains how to cut your garlic very similar to the way I learned. The video is not that great in production but the information provided is wonderful. Enjoy!
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Cookie Roll-Out Delima – New Ways to Use Your Cans
Jan 23rd
Being a newlywed, I have tons of new cool kitchen utensils and gadgets! On the other hand, however, there are a few key kitchen components that are M. I. A. in my kitchen, thanks to being a new wife. A rolling pin was one of these small holes!
I made the above cookies for my husband, along with pizza crusts, homemade tortillas, etc and constantly ran into a need for a rolling pin. On Saturday, I bought a really cool marble rolling pin very similar to the one to the right but until then I became very creative and found that canned veggies and fruits work really well for rolling out cookie dough, pizza dough, and a host of other kitchen creations! While the cans do get slightly greasy, they work wonders!
Cans of vegetables are also just right for small hands when rolling out dough (you probably have enough cans for everyone to have “their own” can) and are less dangerous for kiddos than a rolling pin as well.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Tips & Tricks
Nov 20th
Today I have some tips and tricks from various websites and internet sources related to everything from food to gift wrapping, to construction! Hope you find these helpful!
~ Save On Christmas Wrapping - To save time, money, and create less waste, make fabric Christmas bags for giving gifts. They can be made in the shape and approximate size of pillowcases out of a yard of Christmas fabric. Buy Christmas fabric (great idea to find fabric on sale right after Christmas this year to use for next year). Add a ribbon around the “hem” of the bags and a pleat at the bottom (optional) and they’re done. You can rotate the bags every year. They are made from different fabrics, so no one knows which bag is “theirs” until it’s time to open them. If you are sewing-challenged, you could simply buy pillowcases in Christmas colors and add a ribbon!
~ Hammering Small Nails – To avoid dropping a small nail when hammering it into a wall or in an awkward position, put the nail through an index card and then hold the card while hammering. The card holds the nail in place.
~ Free Green Onions – Never buy green onions again! You
can always have fresh organic green onions if you simply take the bulb part of the onions with a tiny bit of green attached and plant them in a flower pot in a sunny window. It is amazing how quickly they grow. Whenever I need green onion, just snip what you need with shears!
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Tips & Tricks
Nov 8th
~ To help get rid of annoying kitchen smells, or just to give your kitchen a fresh new aroma, place a pot of boiling water on the stove. Add to it some vanilla (a teaspoon or two) and some lime slices. Bring to a simmer – Tip from: Amanda Criss, Slate Spring, Mississippi
~ Party Idea: Have guests write their name on a quart-size resealable freezer bag with permanent marker. Crack two eggs into the bag (not more than two) and shake to
combine them. Put out a variety of ingredients such as
cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, etc. Let each guest add ingredients of choice to their bag and
shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13
minutes. You can usually cook six to eight in a large pot. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. This is
nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffeecake. Enjoy!
Note: I haven’t tried this but it really sounds like fun!
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
