Mom Cooking Tip 95

(Left) Smooth, Shiny Skin  (Right) Thick, Bumpy Skin

If you juice oranges, choose oranges with smooth, shiny skins.  These oranges tend to have more juice than ones with thick, bumpy skins.

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Emergency: Bring on the Ground Turkey

I try to make a list before I go get groceries, although sometimes I leave the list on the counter.  Other times I’m in the store looking at the list and somehow failing to see one of the items I’ve written down.  I have yet to understand why that happens.  I’ve just been to the eye doctor, and I am not going blind.

Maybe to compensate, I always buy a package of ground turkey when it’s on sale—even if it’s not on my list.  I probably just forgot to write it down.

Mom Cooking Tip 94

If garlic tends to burn when you add it to hot oil—a direction often given in recipes--add it later, after you’ve added some liquid or other ingredients..  Any raw garlic taste will disappear during cooking. 

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Mom Money-Saving Tip 76

Be sure to label any foods that you store in the freezer. It seems obvious, but many’s the time I’ve said to myself, ‘Oh, I’ll serve that soup next week.’ And then I forget it’s there. Six months later I’m wondering, ‘What is in that storage container?’ At least half of the time it ends up uneaten.

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Question for Mom

What is a microplane?  Edie N.

A microplane is a very handy kitchen device that takes up almost no space in your gadget drawer.  Used for grating lemon, tangerine or orange peels, hard cheeses and garlic, it produces delicate shavings (called zest) with little chance of injuring yourself.  The microplane started out as a woodworking tool, but cooks quickly realized how useful it could be in the kitchen.

To Grate Lemon Peel, Push Lemon up the Microplane to Create Zest

Underside of Microplane to Show Lemon Zest

      For easy recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

Mom Cooking Tip 93

(Left) Dried Cilantro  (Right) Fresh Cilantro

1 teaspoon dried herbs equals 1 tablespoon fresh herbs. 

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Welcome Home, Real Tomatoes

Basil and Tomato Soup

I just read that tomatoes may be getting their flavor back!  This probably sounds odd to anyone under 30, who may well assume that tomatoes are used in salads and sandwiches mostly for their color.

Those who’ve eaten “heirloom tomatoes” may have some idea of the way this fruit—yes, tomatoes are a fruit--used to taste.  But even heirloom tomatoes—the name refers to tomatoes eaten in the good old days—don’t always taste very good.