I thought I might take a
break from all the serious topics of the past few months and write
about some fun and interesting information that I've learned along
the way. Some of this may be obvious to you, so please bear with
those who are just in on the beginning of learning how to cook and
bake.
Scallions/ Spring
Onions
Many of us may cut off
the green tops and simply use the white, “onion,” portion. The
green tops are very tasty, contain most of the nutrients and add
lovely color to the dish. I first learned about this from an
exchange student from Kuwait when I was in high school who was,
frankly, astonished that my mother was throwing the tops away.
Celery
Normally, I would never
have thought about how the thickness of slicing this vegetable could
negatively affect people's opinion as to its use. When making
chicken salad, in addition to a number of different herbs, I always
add finely chopped celery. One day, I had a guest over to whom I
offered my salad. After a bite or two, she stopped and asked if
there was celery in it. After answering affirmatively, she told me
she really didn't like celery and normally didn't eat it. But, she
liked it very much, finely chopped, in the salad. My guess is that
her mother always coarsely chopped it as my guest was growing up. I
wonder, how many times do we simply follow our mother's lead on how
we prepare foods?
Baking Pie Crust
Here's
a tip I learned from watching America's Test Kitchen and now wonder
why in the world I hadn't figured it out for myself, years ago. How
many of us end up with slightly under cooked and/or a trifle soggy
bottomed pie crusts when baking with wet ingredients? Flaky
pumpkin, berry or apple pie crust doesn't always happen....especially
when baking the pie for less than an hour. Pre-heat the oven to 50
degrees hotter than the desired temperature and adjust the cooking
rack to the lowest rung. When it's time to put the pie into the
oven, turn down the temperature. You'll never again have to deal
with soggy pie crusts.
A More 'Chocolatey'
Flavor
Whenever
you're baking with chocolate, always add a pinch of cinnamon powder
and coffee to the batter. You can add the finely ground coffee
powder, directly, or mix it with boiling water, then cool.
I'll
continue with a few more tips in my next blog. If any of you have
tips you'd like to share, I encourage you to post them on my Facebook
page. It's always great to learn from others' experiences.
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