Cooking Tip: Saucy Solutions for Tomatoes

How to use tomatoes from the garden you ask and not waste your precious bounty?  This is an easy cooking tip...Make sauce!  I am so happy...my garden is incredible this year.  I have a plethora of tomatoes, with more coming every day. Aside from setting up a produce stand (not a bad idea...my daughter would love that), and giving to neighbors, I am freezing for a later date...to make tomato sauce.  

My mother used to can vegetables when I was younger.  Some swear by this practice, but I have yet to tackle this lost art (I promise I will...that would be a nice family activity...I could just see my pre-teen and teens canning with me in canning bliss...ha!).  

To freeze the tomatoes, simply wash and dry the tomatoes (the riper the better) and place in a resealable plastic bag and place in the freezer for a later date (for when your family wants to help you can).  When you are ready to use your wonderful summer tomatoes, pull them out of the freezer, run them under warm water to easily remove the skins, and starts "saucing" :)

Cooking Tip: How to Cook with Kale

Cooking Tip! How to Cook with Kale

Kale, the new mega vitamin-rich superfood.  It's the talk of the town.  I've used Kale in my smoothies for years, but I always purchased it from local Farmer's Markets.  We moved into our new home around Thanksgiving of last year.  In the spring, we perused our property and found an array of lovely perennials and a kale plant that was growing from last year's garden...crazy!  I did not realize that Kale was a perennial plant, but apparently, according to my sources, this was an anomaly.  That being said,  with my plethora of Kale in my garden, I decided to find other uses for this nutritional powerhouse beyond the traditional smoothie, that I could sneak into my kid's meals (I love being sneaky).

Here are some uses for Kale:

• Soups-  Rinse and finely chop the Kale, removing and discarding the stems.  Add Kale to soups during the last few minutes of cooking.  
• Egg dishes-  Add chopped Kale to your favorite Quiche or Frittata.
• Salads- Either use solely in a salad, or mix with other greens
• Chips-  The newest diet snack craze.  Simply rinse and dry kale, coat with olive oil, and season with your favorite seasonings.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, and you have a delightful healthy snack.
• Coleslaw- Combine Kale with Cabbage and Carrots, and toss with your favorite Cole Slaw dressing.
• Pasta dishes-  Use Kale in place of spinach (or along with) in your favorite lasagna, casserole, or pasta dish.
• Sauteed- Combine Kale with Garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar, and cook for about five minutes or until just soft, not mushy.

Cooking Tip: Too Much Salt? No problem!

Cooking Tip! How to dilute an over salted meal

Added too much salt to your soup, stew, or sauce?  No problem!

It's an old myth that adding a peeled potato to the soup or sauce will absorb the salt in a dish. Although it may draw some salt out, it is better to add a little sugar or acid, such as a lemon juice, and taste as you go.  

Another option is to add more water and dilute the dish if it is a soup or stew.  

Look at that mess!  Now I need to throw some salt over my shoulder;)

Happy cooking!

Cooking Tip: How to Prevent Potatoes from Oxidizing (Turning Brown)

Cooking Tip! How to prevent potatoes from turning brown

Luckily my family was very supportive one Christmas when I served them "au grey potatoes" (That's au gratin potatoes that had turned grey...I was mortified!)  I had to really push my kids for the "one bite rule", but luckily, the potatoes tasted yummy, and their noses unwrinkled.

I have learned a lot of cooking lessons along the way, usually the hard way, so I thought I'd pass this onto you.  I love when a recipe indicates you can "make the dish ahead".  I made this dish ahead since I was planning for a Christmas crowd, but I wanted to cook the potatoes day of.  The recipe left out one crucial step...to soak the potatoes!

My dear folks, the lesson here is if you don't plan to cook your potatoes right away, soak the potatoes in cold water until ready to cook.  The result, beautiful white potatoes...not shades of grey;)