Just A Couple Of Kitchen Tips

Here are a few tips that can make cooking and storage a little easier.

-If you're cooking something that shouldn't touch and/or is prone to stick to your pot, line the bottom with slices of a peeled potato. This way, delicate foods such as Greek dolmas (grape leaves wrapped around rice) or other things that can easily fall apart are less likely to unravel. The flavor of potatoes is usually subtle enough not to clash with your dish.

-Stainless steel helps take onion and garlic smells off of your hands. You can buy 'bars of soap' at most stores that sell home goods, but your spoon and knife handles work just as well.

-Keep an aloe vera plant in your kitchen.. They're pretty and are great for burns and scrapes.

-Have you ever seen rice in a salt shaker when eating out? This absorbs moisture and prevents clumping.

-To minimize the eye irritation when slicing onions, cut the 'core' in the same way you'd do a tomato or head of cabbage. This part is where most of the irritating gasses come from. Peeling off the outer layers helps too. I usually take off my glasses because the gasses tend to get stuck behind the lenses and make things worse.

-Instead of dicing garlic, cover peeled cloves with wax paper and dash it with a round, smooth-surfaced rock or paperweight. You can also use the flat side of a knife or spoon.

Many of us have a habit of putting everything we get in the produce section in the refrigerator. This makes sense, especially when you consider that grocery stores tend to keep such things in cool 'storage'. However, this isn't necessary or recommended for all items. For instance:

-This might seem obvious, but do not keep starches such as potatoes in the refrigerator. They will lose their flavor and turn into sugar.

-Putting tomatoes and other citrus fruits in the refrigerator.can cause them to lose some of their flavor.

-The only fruits that should be kept in the refrigerator are of the 'berry' variety-strawberries, blueberries, etc. Other fruits should be kept at room temperature.

-On the 'berry' tip above, do not put sliced or washed berries in the refrigerator. Ditto grapes, because they will become sour.

-Don't do what I did once and keep garlic cloves in the refrigerator. They last longer when kept in a cool, dark pantry. Ditto onions.