Pancakes

Do you know you can make very tasteful pancakes with.....coffee?

Just add some coffee you've left. You'll love it.

To make a pancake a real surprise add some chocolate. You can smash the eastereggs and add the little pieces. Yummy!

Scissors in the kitchen

My grandmom always had a pair od scissors in the ktichen to use when preparing food.
She used them to get rid of the fat on meat.

My kids found out that those very same scissors are also perfect to cut a thin pizza in pieces. It's a lot easier than using a knife.

Peel a tomatoe

Some people take a lot of effort to peel a tomatoe.
All they get is a mess.

You can keep things clean by using the next tip:

Put the tomatoe in boiling water for about 10 seconds. Then put it in cold water.
You can peel it without any effort and without getting a mess.

Carrots

Do you know you can peel carrots with a cheese slicer?
It's a very fast way of dealing with the peeling. ofcourse you'll lose a bit more of the carrot than in the regular way, but it's handy for older people.

No spilling when boiling

Are you a messy cook?

Do you know what to do when the water boils and you don't want it to spill over?

Just add some butter to the water.
That's all.

Burned potatoes

When your potatoes are beyond normality and start smelling when on the fire, put the lid well on and switch the flame off.

Then put the pan in water, so the sissling stops.

Then pour the potatoes in another pan and you'll realise they don't smell and can be eaten.

Unless they're black as charcoal. LOL!

Iron containing foods

Upon request here a list with foods that contain iren.
When you take vitamin c with them, the iron is absorbed better.
broccoli,
raisins,
prunes,
figs,
dates,
lean beef,
lean pork,
skinned poultry,
shellfish,
fish,
liver,
organ meats,
egg yolks,
pinto,
kidney,
lima,
navy,
chick peas,
black-eyed peas,
lentils,
split peas,
green peas,
spinach,
kale,
collards,
beet greens,
chard,
dried peaches,
dried apricots,
nuts,
peanut butter,
whole grain breads.

Tablecloth

It looks so very mice: a table cloth.
Especially at a christmasdinner.

But with a large group accidents are about to happen, and spilled wine, fruitjuice or freasy food can make a wonderful tablecloth look like it's pulled from underneath a mountain of junk.

Take your plain tablecloth and put it on the table.

Then take either homemade or bought small pieces of tablecloth and put them at the places where you want the plates.
It should be wide enought to cover the border of the table to slightly above the top glass. Long enough the cover the whole lenth of the table.

Make or buy a second set and buy plastic tablecloth of the same size.

Put the pastic under the long small pieces.

And keep the second set as a reserve,

Plastic throw-away containers

Don't throw away the plastic containers of cookies, muffins, deserts, etc etc.

They can be used again.

When you need to freeze in vegetables or other food, you can do it in a way that you need lots of time to defrost one big lump of it, or you can freeze it in one person portions, needing little time to defrost.

I love the packages of cookies, because the portions are flat and can be put in a larger box when froozen. But the muffin packages are great too, because the froozen portions won't stick as much to each other as the flat ones.

What do you use?

Peanutbutter extra

We're not living in a country of peanutbutter eaters, but there's always a jar in the house. Grwing old and grumpy.

A friend shared a tip she heard in Amwerica during her holiday there.

When the kids have eaten a good layer out of the jar, pour the rest in a bowl and a few tablespoons of honey.
Stir well and put it back.

When the peanutbutter becomes too thin and liquid, save it in the fridge.

Yummy!

Chestnuts

It's time to harvest the chestnuts.

Kids love to do that.

Tradition says one should keep one chestnut in the pocket against rheumatism.

We used to keep a large wild one in our pocket to get warm hands in the winter.
When you rub it against your trousers it get's shiny, but warm too.
You can even rub it too long and burn your hand when you're not carefull.

My kids like to do what I did when I was young: take a handful of chestnuts to school.
When you're hungry they're good food.

mushrooms

Some people like to pick them theirselves.
I think it's too much of a risk.
Each year many people get ill because they didn't know the difference well enough between good and bad mushrooms.

Mushroom poisoning can cause suymptoms which range from relatively mild (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) to death.

It's interesting, and dangerous, that mushrooms that are non-toxic and thus edible in one area, might be toxic in another area.
So always use someone with thorough knowledge of the local varieties.

chicken

Today someone died as the result of an infection with a bacteria which is found in chickens. The bacteria are resistant against the best antibiotics.

Because many people have attracted the bacteria and thus the resistance against antibiotics more deaths are expected.

So be very very careful when preparing chicken. Work as hygienic as possible. And cook or bake it well.

Interesting pineapple

Do you know the peel of the pineapple contains ingredients that can cause inflammation in the mouth.

So you shouldn't use the same knife to slice the pineapple after you've peeled it.

Be careful with fresh pineapple.
Some people are hypersensitive or allergic for pineapple and this results in aching gums as one of the first symptoms.
The allergy will develop further and may cause a dangerous situation.

When you cook pineapple the enzymes that cause an allergic reaction are destroyed. That's why allergic people often (but not always) are able to eat preheated pineapple.

Take a plastic bag with you.

Never leave your house without taking a plastic bag with you.

During this time of year it comes in handy for... fruit.

Take a walk in the woods and look around. You'll be able to find brambles and blueberries.

Don't take them from plants near the highway or near streets.
Walk a bit further into the wood, so the fruit won't contain pollution.

Almost too late for potatoes?

Ugh... I almost forgot to boil the potatoes for dinner.
The vegetables were almost ready, but the potatoes... they were forgotten.

I feel lucky that someone gave me the tip to add a bit of vinegar to the water and boil them.
Less time needed.

No mess when cooking milk

Hot milk is a good ingredient of hot chocolate, but boiling or cooking milk can be a messy event when you're not in time to switch the flame off.

When you rub some butter around the pan the milk won't boil over.

Are you just entering the kitchen when the bubbly boiling milk has reached the rim and is going to make a mess of your furnace.
Pour a spoonful of sugar on it.


Good luck!

Making simple Jam

To make jam that lasts a long time more ingredients are necessary than for jam which you want to eat immediately.

Jam that can be kept for a few days in the fridge is easy to make.

Take lots of fruit, clean it and boil it with a little water.
When you want to yelly it a bit add apple and red berries.

Good luck!

no tomato stains in boxes

I'm sure you have been bothered by red stained boxes too after tomato sauce was kept in them.

Next time spray non-stick cooking spray in the box............

Use the fridge

When you have to make a meal for yourself each time, you probably eat less or always the same.

You can solve this by cooking more for a meal and freezing part if it in small boxes or bags.

Keep track of them, so you can find something when you need it.

Making a meal with several tastes and dishes is easy. Just defrost.