Question for Mom

Where does powdered sugar come from?—Eli B.

Powdered sugar (also called confectioners sugar) is crushed white sugar with some cornstarch added to keep it from clumping..  It is often used to make icings or is sprinkled onto cakes, cookies and other pastries as decoration.  In England it’s called icing sugar.  Substituting regular white sugar is not recommended as the taste and texture of what you’re making may be affected. 

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Looks Can Be Deceiving

Throughout my adult life I have made strong efforts to cook from scratch, rather than buy frozen dinners or prepared meals.  I made an exception the other day when I saw these prepared but uncooked chicken legs at my grocery store's meat counter.

Mom Cooking Tip 170

Put an upside-down colander over the frying pan when making French Fries to help keep the spatter down.

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Side Dish or Pasta Sauce – You Choose!

I was making Shakshuka for dinner the other night and miscalculated how many vegetables I needed.

Discovering How Good Tomatoes Can Taste After 5 Hours in the Oven

When I forgot to take the sliced tomatoes out of the oven the other night, it was not on purpose.  I had turned the oven off right before dinner, and I removed the buns I had been heating up.  But somehow I totally forgot I was also heating up sliced Roma tomatoes as a side dish.

Mom Cooking Tip 169

When you don't have quite enough food to feed your guests, serve smaller portions.  I was making turkey burgers for 4 and 2 extra people turned up at the last minute.  Luckily I had a package of 12 small buns in the freezer.  Somehow I made 20 mini-burgers out of 20 ounces of ground turkey.  Everyone seemed thrilled with 2 burgers plus a burger without a bun.

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Enjoy Summer’s Last Tomatoes

I think I remember what a real tomato tastes like.  However, it’s been so long since I had one that maybe it’s a dream.  My father occasionally came home from work with a bag of freshly picked tomatoes he’d bought at a roadside stand.  We would eat them like apples.  But those days are long gone.

The Biggest Vegetarian Sandwich Ever

The Joeyburger

Just how big is your mouth, Joey?  He laughed and said, “Big enough.”  And that’s how the Joeyburger came into existence.

Joey is the only young family member who has stayed vegetarian (except for pepperoni on his pizza) since he was a toddler.  He may be the only one at our table willing to eat any vegetable put in front of him.