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.
Layer your salad wisely if you are going to serve it later. Place juicy ingredients and the bottom and place the lettuce at the top.
If you are cooking dried beans, add salt and garlic once the beans are soft. Salt and garlic in particular can hinder softening while cooking, particularly if the beans had been sitting on the shelf for a long while. Wait until the beans are half way done before you add the seasonings.
Start out with fat-free stock in order to make a low-fat soup or stew. Soup is also lower in fat when it includes veggies and lean meat. When your soup is done cooking, put it in the refrigerator to chill. This will cause the remainder of the fat to rise to the top and congeal. Once this happens you can easily remove the fat that has hardened and discard. For each tablespoon of fat that you remove, you will save about 100 calories.
Grilled fruit is a particularly savory treat. Consider grilling a skewer of fresh, sliced melons, peaches or other juicy fruits. Place them on a grill that is clean, and cook until you see grill marks on the fruit. They are yummy over ice cream or angel food cake.
You should only buy meat and fish that are still on the bone. Place the bones you have gotten out of your meat into durable zip bags, whether cooked or raw, then freeze them until a date when you want to use them.
When you prepare a simple dish, be sure to use herbs and seasoning that are fresh. Dried herbs lose flavor as they cook and are fine to use in recipes that are filled with a variety of flavors. However, using fresh herbs adds a fresher, stronger taste that improves the overall quality of the dish’s flavor. You could start your own herb garden to always have fresh products.
Do you regret having to throw out old fruit? You may have wondered whether you should just cut out the part that had mold and use the rest. Fruit that is rotting cannot be safely eaten. In fact it is best to throw away the fruit. Mold can grow much deeper than the eye can see, and eating it could potentially make you very ill.
Ice cube trays are fabulous for freezing and storing leftover sauce. You can easily take them from the freezer when needed for a meal, and quickly reheat in a saute pan. This process doesn’t cause the sauce to go bad, so reheat with confidence!
Many popular veggies and herbs have a strong residual odor that can remain on cutting boards well after use. This can save you from eating garlic strawberries.
Do you enjoy flavoring your food with fresh basil? Place fresh basil into a glass. The stems will then need to be covered with water. Put the basil on your counter and it will remain fresh for up to seven days! Change the water regularly and roots will grow. Occasionally trim the basil in order to promote more growth so that you can have fresh basil for a while.
Use these tips for your next meal. Once you taste them, you’ll be convinced that maybe cooking isn’t so bad after all! Consequently, you may wind up craving it and, eventually, you might enjoy experimenting with a variety of recipes and foods. Try having fun with cooking today!