Bananas can be refrigerated for several days to slow down the ripening process. Make sure the bananas are ripe before you refrigerate them. The skin will quickly turn black, but the fruit will remain firm and tasty for up to five days. If it starts to get soft, just freeze it, and it will be perfect for making smoothies or, when defrosted, Killer Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
Instead of using layers of paper towels to absorb grease from fried foods, take a few pages of newspaper and top that with one paper towel. Then put the bacon, or whatever you want to degrease, on top of the paper towel. The towel absorbs the grease, which is then sucked down and absorbed by the underlying newspaper. This not only conserves paper towels (newspapers are a lot cheaper), but it’s also is a great way to repurpose old newspaper…Eat bacon, Save a Tree!
You know when you look in your freezer and see a UFO (Unidentified Frozen Object), and you have no idea what it is or how long it’s been in there? Here is a simple little tip to remedy that situation. When you freeze something (and if it’s pork or chicken, you should definitely brine it first) just cut the label from the package it came in and stick it in the freezer bag…now you can see what it is, when you bought it and even what you paid for it (check it out…$1.99/lb for center cut pork chops…what a deal!).
Don’t you just hate to open an entire bottle of wine when you only need a cup or so for a recipe? Next time you have any left over wine (as unlikely as that may be) freeze it in ice cube trays. When frozen, put the cubes in a freezer bag, and the next time you have a recipe that calls for wine, just grab as many cubes as you need and add them to your dish.
Undercook your pasta for about a minute less then the box directions state and drain, reserving a little of the pasta water. Heat your sauce in the pan and then dump the pasta into the sauce (add a little of the pasta water to achieve the right consistency) and it will finish cooking in about a minute or two, absorbing all the great flavors in the sauce…top with a little Parmesan and you’re ready to go!
When you need to juice a lemon or lime, place it on a hard surface and roll it back and forth under your palm, applying pressure, for about a minute before juicing. The helps break down the cells and will result in more juice with less effort.
Click on photo for a closer look
We have previously discussed how important a sharp knife is, and the best and cheapest way to sharpen your knives (with the Accusharp Knife and Tool Sharpener)…now here is the best and cheapest way to keep them sharp. Every time you put an unprotected knife in a drawer you run the risk of ruining the edge. It just takes a little bump to bend or roll the delicate edge of a sharp knife, and although honing can straighten it out, it doesn’t sharpen the edge, and over time the knife will start to dull, until one day it slips off the food and slices off your thumb (ok…that’s a little dramatic, but I’m trying to make a point here). Of course, you can buy knife guards, but it’s exceptionally easy to make them at home. All you do is take some cardboard (the thin kind from a gift box works great, but any cardboard will do), cut a long strip that’s the length of the knife’s blade and a little more then twice as wide as the blade, fold it in half length-wise to fit the knife, and just staple evenly down the open edge. Slip this on whenever you store your knives, and they’ll stay sharp no matter how much they rattle around in that overstuffed drawer.
For perfect hard boiled eggs, poke a small hole in the large end of each egg with a pin (to prevent cracking), place in a pan and cover the eggs with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a full boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cover and let it sit for 10 minutes. Drain the water and place the eggs in ice water to stop the cooking process…perfect eggs every time!
To slice meat into thin strips for a stir fry, partially freeze the meat for about 20-30 minutes, and then you’ll be able to easily slice it into thin uniform strips. Also, be sure cut it on a bias across the grain to ensure maximum tenderness.
Never use detergent to clean a cast iron pan…it will remove the seasoning. Just sprinkle on some salt and rub with a dry paper towel and when the grime is loosened and the pan is clean, just rinse with hot water.
