Do you have a secret trick?

maman

I cook brown rice in my largest saucepan, drain and cool quickly. Then I portion into freezer bags. From frozen, they take a couple of minutes to microwave when needed. Vastly more mse than buying microwave pouches. I make my own pilau pouches too. 

YorksLass

herebeme said:

My jars of pesto always used to go mouldy before I remembered to use them up, but I was told to smooth out the top of the pesto left in the jar and then add olive oil to generously cover it. Works very well, and if you ever need a teaspoon of basil flavour oil you can just lift it off, and then top it up again. 

The inside of cooked and cooled jacket potatoes are the best thing for making fish cakes or similar things that require potato as a binding agent. They have much less water than boiled potatoes so hold shape better. 

I'll be trying both of these so thanks for the tips.  

Katiehound

YoungBlueEyes said:

Talking of cooking then cooling and reheating, I remember watching something that said it was better for you to eat pre-cooked reheated pasta. Something to do with how the gut deals with gluten. Dr Michael Mosley iirc…. 

cooked & reheated pasta creates resistant starch -

'It's called "resistant starch" because once pasta, potatoes or any starchy food is cooked and cooled it becomes resistant to the normal enzymes in our gut that break carbohydrates down and releases glucose that then causes the familiar blood sugar surge.

What are examples of resistant starches?

Foods that contain resistant starch include:

• Plantains and green bananas (as a banana ripens the starch changes to a regular starch)
• Beans, peas, and lentils (white beans and lentils are the highest in resistant starch)
• Whole grains including oats and barley.
• Cooked and cooled rice.'

so yes, better for you

Rosa_Damascena

snowbird20 said:

Brie said:

Best line I ever heard was "always close the cutlery drawer before you slice the bread".  It is very helpful as it's a way to prevent breadcrumbs getting into the drawer meaning you need to clean it out often.  But I think of it too every time I look to see what's the most efficient way of doing things.  It's why I put garbage in the bin as I'm prepping dinner whereas the OH leaves what is referred to as debris everywhere.  He seems to think I find it endearing.  I don't!!

could you compromise on him using the 'Rachael Ray' method?  RR puts a mixing bowl on the counter where she's working and throws all of her debris in there and it's supereasy to clean up after.  I mean, it's not THAT hard.  (i did not add in the 'man' factor on that judgement, tho.    )

I always bag kitchen ends up in an empty food packet - eg crisp packet - and keep it upright when throwing it away so nothing leaks in the bin bag. 

Longwalker

YoungBlueEyes said:

Ohh I didn’t know brown rice/pasta takes longer to cook. We don’t eat white rice/pasta/bread. 

Whole meal bread is a bar-steward to get to rise, needs to be mixed with a bit of strong white unless you like to chew bread = same with pasta and rice

Working with food, cooking professionally , the golden rule is get it cold ASAP. Unfortunately bacillus cereus  just cant be cooked out or washed out. Its there, it will multiply really quickly, hence when working in a kitchen, it was a case of cook and plunge into iced water and in the fridge or freezer within the hour and whilst the FSA give 72 hrs on cooked/chilled rice, a good place will only keep for 24 hrs 

Green_hopeful

Keep you fridge smelling nice with a couple of unused teabags. They suck up any yucky smells. Don’t use them to make tea afterwards. There was a thing on TV about cleaning carpets with tea so maybe it is well known. 

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks @Green_hopeful, I’ll try that. I have a lot of cheese in my fridge and it’d be nice if it didn’t smell like it ha haa! 

-taff

My mother used to water her house plants with any cold tea left in the pot. They never died on her...mine however....

YoungBlueEyes

Someone needs to write a book about all the things you can do with tea, like the vinegar and baking soda ones…. 

My mum (and her mum) always added a good slug of lemonade and a 2p to flower water, for the sugar and minerals etc. Works for me but some of my friends don’t do it and their flowers are all lovely looking and long lasting 🤷‍♀️

Longwalker

YoungBlueEyes said:

Someone needs to write a book about all the things you can do with tea, like the vinegar and baking soda ones…. 

My mum (and her mum) always added a good slug of lemonade and a 2p to flower water, for the sugar and minerals etc. Works for me but some of my friends don’t do it and their flowers are all lovely looking and long lasting 🤷‍♀️

Lemonade or an aspirin here

Plus a sterident tablet to clean a vase or flask, but false teeth arent so common now