Jalapeno Peppers are hot and it’s the seeds inside them that give them their “heat”!! Removing their seeds make them more enjoyable to eat or cook with as seen by my video. REMEMBER….GLOVES!! Click on link below to see video!!
Category: Hints from the Habit by Sister D2
Published November 1, 2004. From Cook’s Illustrated.
How do I refresh tired herbs?
If your bunch of parsley, cilantro, or mint is looking a little weary, there’s an easy way to refresh it (and, in the process, wash it). Lop off the stems, submerge the leaves in a bowl of ice water, then swish them around to loosen any dirt and grit. Let them stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until they perk up and regain their lost vitality.
To drain, instead of pouring the whole lot into a colander or salad spinner basket, which will upset the grit settled in the bottom of the bowl, lift the greens out of the water using your hands, leaving the dirt behind. If your parsley or cilantro is utterly limp and lifeless, it is probably beyond resurrection
- When making soup, choose a strong deep pan with a tight fitting lid. (a dutch oven is perfect)
- Chop your vegies finely and saute in a little butter first (or bacon grease…yum!)
- Use “COLD” water to draw out the full goodness of your ingredients
- Cook the soup S L O W L Y and simmer…DO NOT BOIL!!
- You can make soup out of “any” vegetable if you follow these rules
- ****Vegetable stock ALWAYS tastes best if you include “CELERY”****!!!
"Say Cheese
First off, AIR is cheese’s worst enemy. When cheese is exposed to air, mold forms.
DOUBLE WRAP IT To keep cheese moist—but not mold-prone—first wrap it tightly in waxed or parchment paper and then loosely in aluminum foil. Or, take the cheese wrapped in waxed or parchment paper and store with other wrapped cheeses in an airtight container!And, PLEASE….even tho buying in “bulk” at Costco seems like such a deal…when you bring it home, cut it in half and freeze one half and then use the other.
It’s one of my favorite times of the year…the time of the year when corn is plentiful!! I LOVE sweet corn and I never put anything on it…it’s “virginal”, if you will!
Unfortunately, the season is a small one…we wait and wait and next thing you know, they are using the old corn as decorations for Halloween…sooooooo, what can we do?????
Well, my bloggers, there is an answer…YOU CAN FREEZE fresh corn!!!
All you need is a BIG pot of boiling water, and then another BIG pot of cold water WITH ice… in the cooking world this process is called “blanching”…it’s like going from a hot jacuzzi into a cold plunge!!! bbrrrrrr….but what it does is it stops the cooking process!
So, take the husks off the corn and take away those silky hairs. Clean it of with a vegetable brush if you like and then, when the water is boiling in a BIG pot, put in the corn and keep them in the boiling water for about 5-7 mins. Then take them out and immediately plunge them into the BIG pot with the cold water and ice and keep them in there for the same amount of time!
Once you have done that, the BEST product to use is a “food saver with vacuum sealing!!! I LOVE this product, but if you don’t have one than a freezer Ziploc bag will work fine. The most important thing about Ziploc is that you have to make sure you get ALL the air out of it, otherwise you can get freezer burn. Get a straw and suck the air out of it…that does work!!
Once this is done, then label the corn and into the freezer it goes. When the time comes and you are hankering for fresh corn, just take it out and put it into boiling water for about 5 minutes and you will be as happy as a pig in…well, you know!!!!
Don’t throw away that bacon grease…there are many differnt ways to reuse it…and the taste…it never leaves!!! YUM!!!
Yes, my friends, like us…everything needs to be cleaned!!!! The refrigerator is the MOST used appliance in your house and it works harder than anything else!!! So why not give it the respect it is due……CLEAN IT!!!!!!! It will thank you tenfold!!!!
What is the dirtiest room in your house…you will be surprised!!!!
Thanks for following!
Sister D2
Chef Boy-R-D2
Chef-Boy-R-D2 