Helpful Hints Kitchen/Cooking version

Do you have some helpful hints for using in the kitchen?

I found these in the Readers Digest:

Replace rice with cauliflower rice. It cooks in minutes and is a veggie rather than empty carbs.

Add 1/4 cup of powdered milk to a pot before you boil the water for corn on the cob to sweeten your sweet corn. It will add to the corn's richness and natural sweetness.

What are your helpful hints for cooking?

When my herbs are abundant over summer, my plan is to make tea/infusions with them to replace the water in oatmeal and pasta. I expect some of the sweeter herbs like lemon balm or chocolate mint will pair well with sweetened oatmeal (I used homemade broth when I want savory oatmeal), and thyme, rosemary, chives, etc. sound like they would be great in pasta water.

I can't remember which cookbook I got this from, and I haven't tried it yet: If you have a garlic clove that's slightly past its prime, stick it on the end of a fork and use it in place of a spatula. It's great for pushing sauteed greens around, and you'll infuse them with a hint of garlic.

Nikki, you have just blown my mind! That is genious with a side of ”of course, how didn’t I think of that!”.

I cant wait for the spring to come, I’m really excited about herbs. Last summer I got gifted some herbs in way too small pots, and I didn’t have the time or energy to dive into getting them thrive, I just barely kept them alive. I’m planning a some kind of herb spiral or just a raised bed in the yard, I have a good spot reserved for it already!

To keep bacon from splattering in the frying pan, toss in some salt and if wound splatter nearly as much.

It is not very useful in a normal kitchen, be being off-grid on small scale system, i discover that i can use my rice instant cooker element to make espresso with an stovetop espresso maker.! Mine is stainless, so i don't know if aluminium ones would work.

Raphaël Blais wrote:It is not very useful in a normal kitchen, be being off-grid on small scale system, i discover that i can use my rice instant cooker element to make espresso with an stovetop espresso maker.! Mine is stainless, so i don't know if aluminium ones would work.

That is really handy to know - some of those electrical cooker gadgets use very little electricity, so this could be a good option for people wanting to heat small amounts of water with off-grid solar.

Many recipes reheat well, especially soups, stews, and slow cooked meats. It uses only slightly more time and slightly more energy than cooking a single meal at once, so cooking more than one meal at once means having extra time for other things on days when the meal is reheated leftovers.

Meal planning!

This helps me so much in the kitchen. I sometimes ask the family what they would like, but often I just look back at previous meal plans and cookbooks, pick out a mix of meals to make depending on what we have on hand (or what is in season). I choose a mix of meat meals, veg meals, make-ahead meals, bone broth meals, aiming to get lots of homegrown, frugal, nourishing, tasty, family friendly meals.

What is a pizza cutter for?

It is good for cutting up microgreens.