Tips

Random tips and hacks I learn about will go here, in reverse chronological order. Mix of stuff from my blog and other resources.

  • Reuse your butter wrappers for separating hamburger patties and more! 12.30.11
  • Freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays then transfer to freezer bags for upping the flavor in soups / stews, says Costco member Karen Verdura, in “Home Cooking the Costco way.” 11.28.09
  • Make your own spreadable butter says The Original Soupwoman. 11.11.09
  • The always-brilliant Frugal Cuisine says to use chicken fat in lieu of expensive, fancy butters. 10.13.09
  • OpenOffice is extremely helpful – and free! One of my friends told me to get it.  And, it works great!Also, The Simple Dollar identifies 30 reliable freeware applications for Windows machines. 06.28.08.
  • Chile Chews has a fabulous post on making stock veganly, and with meat. The list of veggies to avoid is priceless! 06.22.08.
  • Consumer Reports has a handy chart for figuring out the mercury levels in seafood, i.e., how frequently can you safely eat salmon etc. 05.17.08.
  • Actual definitions from the FDA as to what “low calorie” or “lean” meats, etc., all mean on the nutrition labels: “The New Food Label: Making it Easier to Shed Pounds.” 05.12.08.
  • Liven up a flat vanilla ice cream with cinnamon! (totally forgot about this posting from April last year “mini-post-cinnamon-ice-cream-joy“). 05.10.08.
  • Spot organic fruit by stickers. Skrewtips says numbers on fruit stickers that are: five digits long that start with “9” stand for organic; that start with “8” stand for genetically modified; and numbers that are four digits long and are not “9” are conventionally grown. 05.05.08.
  • Big, big list of expiration dates! From AlgerWiki. Everything from apples to Worchestershire sauce! I like the fact that this list includes pantry / freezer and refrigerator timelines. 05.04.08
  • If you need to chop a lot of hard-boiled eggs for something and wish to avoid peeling eggshells for the rest of your life, just poach the eggs until they are hard, then draining, and chopping. (egg-poaching instructions discussed in my post – Poached Eggs: Luxurious, Lazy, and Cheap) 05.03.08.
  • Tipnut.com has a fabulous list of 45 baking and cooking tips from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Quelle vintage!!! Added here on 04.30.08. I like this tip in particular:

For crisper salads: Place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.

  • Soaking potatoes in water with vinegar prevents discoloration. (discussed in my post, which includes a recipe for Oven Fried Potatoes) 04.27.08
  • Use a potato peeler to cut cheese – easier than using a knife. Great for tortillas, etc. (contributed by one of my loved ones ) 04.24.08

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