 This section contains articles on various cooking, preparation, measuring and storage techniques.
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| Written by Julie | | Monday, 22 February 2010 22:22 | The water displacement method is used to measure shortening, butter or margarine acurately. I find it cheaper to purchase shortening in a large can instead of the pre-measured sticks. Sometimes I buy margarine in a larger tub, from the warehouse stores so I don't have the convience of cutting off a pre-measured amount.
Say we want to measure 1/2 cup of shortening. Take a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, place it on a level surface and fill it to the 1 cup mark with cold water. Gently drop spoonfuls of shortening into the water until the water level reaches the 1½ cup mark on the liquid measuring cup. Make sure that you bend down to eye level as you measure. Once you reach the 1½ cup mark pour off the water, holding the shortening in the cup with a spoon, then add the shortening to your recipe.
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| Written by Julie | | Monday, 28 September 2009 21:25 | White Button Mushrooms are readily available at grocery stores and add a delicious flavor to foods whether cooked or eaten raw. They come whole or pre-sliced, but I prefer to buy the whole, unsliced mushrooms. They stay fresh longer and I like to make sure they are cleaned properly.
When purchasing White Button Mushrooms look for clean, fresh looking, plump not wrinkled mushrooms. The whiter the mushrooms the better.
I've tried many times to store mushrooms in brown paper bags, as recommended, but they always shrivel up within a couple of hours. Recently, I found a way to  keep the mushrooms fresh, lasting longer than a week.
I buy the mushrooms that are packed in a paper or foam container and are covered with plastic wrap. If you look very closely the plastic wrap has holes to allow the mushrooms to breath and not build up moisture. When I use the mushrooms I carefully peel back the plastic, remove what I need and then stretch the plastic back in place. If the plastic tears or is the kind that is vacuum-sealed and you have to break it to get in, then cover the opening with your own piece of plastic wrap. If you cover the whole top with plastic then carefully make holes in the plastic with a paring knife or punch. The paper or foam container also has slits in the sides that help the mushrooms breath.
I've stored the mushrooms, with the plastic cover, in the main refrigerator and the vegetable drawer and have not seen any difference in length of freshness.
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| Written by Julie | | Friday, 26 June 2009 23:04 | We love ice tea and have it several times each day. I know green tea has the most antioxidants but I really love Lipton's black tea for making iced tea. I use the regular sized tea bags, but the iced tea size works also.
I've made sun tea, used a machine to make iced tea and tried many different methods. Most of them have made excellent tea but I've found a much easier method.
Turn on the kitchen faucet until the water is as hot as it can be. Never boil the water for cold or hot tea because the tealeaves are easily burnt which causes a bitter flavored tea.
Fill a 2 quart pitcher three quarters full, with the hot tap water. Unwrap 4 regular sized Lipton tea bags and dunk them into the water until they're wet. Don't let go of the strings. Drape the strings over the edge of the pitcher, with the tea bags submerged, then put the lid on to hold the bags in place. | | Read more... |
| Written by Julie | | Sunday, 22 March 2009 10:18 | Blueberries are delicious added to muffins, cakes and pancakes. I also like to make cobblers, tortes, pies and jelly. They provide vitamins A, C, E and folic acid. That little blue fruit is packed with a higher level of antioxidants than most other fruits.
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| Written by Julie | | Monday, 09 February 2009 00:00 | It's important to use the right measuring techniques and utensils to ensure delicious, consistent results for your recipes. There are specific cups designed for liquid and dry measuring and most of the time they're not interchangeable.
Measuring spoons are used for both liquid and dry ingredients and come in ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon.
Never measure the ingredients over the main bowl as some may spill into the mix and ruin the finished product
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