How many times have you dreaded going into the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You might need a new perspective. Cooking can be enjoyable and relaxing if you try to see it in another way. Here are a few cooking tips that are sure to get your taste buds tingling and entice your inner chef to come out.
Some pungent ingredients, like garlic, onions, or fish, can stick to your hands and transfer to foods you don’t want them on. You can stop this process by rubbing your hands on stainless steel before you give them a wash. You can do this on the side of a sink or use a stainless steel soap bar and it will lift the odors from your hands, leaving them fresh.
Before you start cooking, all your ingredients should be prepared so it isn’t as stressful. This method will prevent you from not having something ready when you need it. It doesn’t take longer to prepare beforehand, but it can certainly save time as you go.
If you know the next day is going to be hectic, work to prepare some of your meal ahead of time. Try chopping of veggies for a quick and easy stir fry, or putting together a lasagna or storing it in your fridge. This will allow you to serve a home cooked meal without a lot of time or effort.
Don’t use any wine in your meals that you wouldn’t drink. Using a wine that you are not familiar with in your food can cause you not to like the flavor that’s produced. When in doubt, use a wine designed for cooking.
Grilled fruit is surprisingly delicious. Slice peaches, melon or nectarines and place them on skewers. Cook them until you see grill marks. You can then serve them over ice cream or on top of grilled pound cake.
Using fat-free broth in your stew can really help to reduce calories, and make a healthier soup. Keep your soups low-fat by using plenty of veggies and lean meats. Let the soup rest in the refrigerator for a spell once it is fully cooked; you want it quite chilled. This will cause the fat to congeal and rise to the top. You can then easily pluck the fat from your soup and discard it prior to eating. For each tablespoon of fat that you remove from the soup, you will save roughly 100 calories.
When chopping fresh herbs, try sprinkling a bit of salt over the cutting board before you begin. The salt helps to keep the herbs on the cutting board during chopping and also adds some extra flavor. Do not over-salt by making sure you don’t directly add any extra salt to the foods you’re preparing. The salt that is used on this board gives your herbs some extra flavor because it sticks to them.
Create flavored butter to add complexity and pizazz to breads, dinner rolls and corn. Bring the butter to room temperature, or put it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it soft. Then mix in herbs, spices or sauces to add an extra burst of flavor. You can dabble in any sort of taste from hot peppers to acidic citrus, or even the sweetness of honey.
Eat some winter greens. Nutrient-rich green vegetables are sweeter at the beginning of the winter season. Select greens that have a bright color. Never choose any greens that are yellowing or limp. Wash your greens with lots of care because there could be a large amount of dirt on them. Try dunking them first in cold water and then rinsing for a few minutes until the dirt is no longer evident in the flow of water.
Use these tips when you make your next meal. The delicious results will be well worth the effort of learning to cook. Actually, you might like it enough to make a hobby out of it, and find yourself making all sorts of new dishes. Consider trying your hand at cooking.