Tuesday's Tip: Reheating rice or pasta

If you are reheating in the microwave, place a wet paper towel on top to keep it moist.

(I learned this from my best friend, Melissa and my mother swears by it.)

In the kitchen on Thursday...Buying in bulk

A few months back I made my fist trip to a bulk store. I was so excited to get large packages of items that were gigantic sized or multiples of a smaller size. Friends and family had raved and my mother, who I went with, was dying to check it out. She liked  it and I didn't. Why? She is one and I am three in my household. Whatever she buy is just for her. My daughter was with us, so we bought some snacks for her and I still have some left and she is tired of them. The cleaning products were a steal, the food items not so much. I am glad that my local grocery store is still in business and won't be folding anytime soon. Just my thoughts.

Tuesday's Tip: Cleaning the refrigerator

To clean refrigerator drawers—like mine where forgotten food rots and smells, try this from Real Simple Magazine....

Refrigerator drawers: Remove them and soak for 15 minutes in hot, soapy water in the sink. Drain, sprinkle the insides with baking soda, and wipe clean with a sponge. Still smell something? Use this age-old trick: Wipe down drawers with a cloth dipped in undiluted tomato juice, rinse with warm water, and dry.

Real Simple Magazine

In the kitchen on Thursday: The Caterer

In anticipation of my wrist surgery, my mother hired her friend, a caterer to make some dinners so no one has to cook, while I am in the beginning stages of recovery and all I can say is "Thanks, Mom!"

Tuesday's Tip: L for leftovers, L for lunch

Make double of your dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day— I love this homemade healthy cheap lunch.

This just in...a cook book for FREE

All the recipes from the blog last year are available in one Pdf, so you can make them throughout the year (healthy waffles, sweet sugar cookies, baked tofu and Bok Choy, etc.) and store on your bookshelf. I have one on my shelf despite it being over crowded with books from my antique cookbook collection (I have one from 1851).

So click the link below.....
http://www.scribd.com/doc/197791528/From-My-Blog-In-the-Kitchen-on-Thursday-Recipes-2013

Happy cooking and eat-up!

In the Kitchen on Thursday: Leftover Cranberry Sauce Syrup

I make flavored simple syrups for my daughter to mix with seltzer so she can have "soda." She loves my cranberry version made with leftover sauce.

3/4 C. Water
3 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Cranberry sauce (I make it from scratch with orange juice and zest)

Heat all ingredients in a pot until the sugar is dissolved and just boiling. Turn off heat and cool. Pour into a glass jar. If you used a chuck sauce, strain it first. It will keep for 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for later use.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Meal Planning

Every week I plan out what's for dinner by a single main ingredient on each cooking night and rotating certain recipes (you can see this weeks dinners above), so I can tell you what we are eating on Friday October 18th and I love doing this because it simplifies my life and my cooking.

(In the next issue of my newsletter, the lead article is on meal planning and goes in depth on the main ingredient and rotation methods and how to combine them as I do. Subscribe on my website. Website link, click subscribe button on lower left)

Tuesday's Tip

Clean out your refrigerator once a week to avoid food spoiling and/or molding. (I cleaned the fridge today and found gone bad leftover Sushi rolls—what a waste!)

In the kitchen on Thursday: An easy dinner

Once a week, Thursday  night to be exact, we have OYO for dinner. That is "on your own." This means that we all get our dinner—take out, left overs or cobbled together from what is in the fridge. The benefit is that food does not go to waste and we can make a meal suited to our individual tastes (I don't like spciy and my daughter does). I wonder what I am having for dinner tonight.

Leftovers on Monday and I don't mean dinner

Tonight I am making Chinese chicken and sugar snap peas for dinner and today I finished projects from the weekend—watering plants, ordering my daughter a new baby doll and catching up on paperwork and in the end I feel I need another Monday before Tuesday comes at 12 AM.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Vegetable Risotto

2 Tbsp. Oil (Sunflower, Grape Seed or Safflower)
1 medium Onion
2 cloves Garlic
1 C. Aborio rice
4 C. vegetable broth
3/4 C. Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 C. white wine
10-12 Asparagus stalks

Heat oil in 10-12" skillet. Chop onion and garlic and add to skillet. "Stir fry" until Onion is just brown, add rice and toast for two minutes. Add broth in 1/2 cup increments and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, 5-7 minutes. With the last 1/2 C. add the cheese and stir well. Then add the wine and Asparagus. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Kid Friendly Variation: Remove 1/2 -3/4 C. before adding the wine and Aparagus. Place in a small pot and add 1/4 C. thawed mixed frozen vegetables. Heat on low setting until veggies are warmed through. Makes 1 serving.

(Left: Asparagus, Right: Mixed Veggie)

(P.S. My daughter cleaned her plate last night and asked to have the same dinner tonight.)

Tuesday's Tip: Fluffy rice

When cooking any rice, place a folded dish towel under the lid to absorb the steam (this way it does not drip back into the pot).

How to cook white rice

In the kitchen on Thursday: Leftovers make a meal

Fried Rice

Heat 2-3 Tbsp. Sunflower oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot add leftover rice, chopped up leftover meat, diced leftover veggies (and or a frozen veggie mix). Saute until heated through. Pour on 1-2 Tbsp. of Soy Sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm. If you want, you can scramble 1-2 eggs in the oil before adding the rice.