KITCHEN TIPS!
PLASTIC: BROWNING: PEEKING!!!
By Rev. Gillian V Harris, M.S.P.
Posted Wednesday, January 24, 2018
I’ve never considered myself a very Betty Crocker kinda chick! Intrigued when I have to buy odd things like …PARCHMENT paper! I learned of and used this magical heat-resistant paper for the first time at the tender age of 51! Just a minute ago! Just finding it in the grocery store was a journey! But I will say, I’m glad I found the stuff! Needed it for my ‘Cauliflower Pizza’. Needed it again for my ‘Chicken Crusted Pizza’ as well! – Yeah, I’ve got a thing for carb-free pizza! Said all that to say, I really appreciate new kitchen tips!
THAT CONTAINER! Yo, have you heard about the problems with plastic containers?! It’s a bummer. So, there’s BPA which is an industrial chemical used to make epoxy resins and is put on the inner liner of canned food containers to keep the metal from rotting or breaking. It’s good for plastic but it’s not good for humans! Unfortunately, it’s found in water bottles, baby bottles, and other plastic containers. Tupperware has made sure to advertise the fact they no longer use plastic with BPA. But even WITHOUT the BPA, we need to be cautious in our use of basic plastic. Definitely don’t microwave it. Notice how your water tastes different in a plastic bottle that has been sitting in the heat! There are still chemicals suspected of being carcinogenic. And you probably know we should stay away from Styrofoam altogether! Glass & Pyrex win!!!
CHILL IT FAST!!! I have always allowed my hot food to cool before putting it in the refrigerator!!!
I just learned that’s not what you’re supposed to do! Better Homes and Gardens did a little piece on slow cooking and good slow is for us! If you cook in a slow cooker fine. But don’t let the food cool down in the slow cooker before you put it in the fridge! Instead, take it out of that cooker, put it into a storage container, and put it right into the fridge! The same article advises we not REHEAT leftovers in the slow cooker!! I didn’t know THAT either! Lol!
ICE ON THE STOVE!
Ever been in a hurry and put frozen food on the skillet?! Argh! That’s not the way. Thaw the food first! You can even use your Microwave to thaw it first. BUT I caution you not to let your microwave do the cooking! Pay attention and get your food out of the microwave when it is just barely thawed. Nothing worse than accidentally letting the microwave cook the food; no seasoning or anything. Ew! AND the microwave has a way of changing the texture in a way that if you’re like me, you won’t be happy with!
DON’T CHEAT ON BROWNING!!! There are no short cuts on this. If your recipe calls for you to brown the meat before the next step or before putting it into a cooker – Brown it! When you brown it you’re not only adding color but flavor! Use a non-stick skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray and you won’t need any oil.
WATCH POT NEVAH COOK!
In Jamaica they say “Watch pot nevah cookl”! An American translation originates in the 1700s! Benjamin Franklin did a report on mesmerism and said “the watched pot is slow to boil”. Funny that the report was on mesmerism! Lol! It IS kind of mesmerizing to watch food bubble and simmer when you lift the lid and the most wonderful aromatic steam billows from the pot. But guess what?! If it’s going to take 30 minutes to cook, lifting the lid isn’t helping! Benjamin did NOT say it would never cook, he said the watched pot is SLOW to cook and that apparently is very accurate! According to a little report I found on-line every single time we lift the lid on a cooking pot of nyumnyum we literally add 30 minutes to the cooking time?! Did you KNOW that?! O M G! True story!! So, if you need to stir – don’t dilly-dally! Lift the lid, stir, and RAPIDLY re-cover!
If you have any kitchen tips that you’d like us to share, please email them to us and we’ll credit you for this wonderful information! Lifedesignwithgillian@gmail.com Thank you so much!