Don’t throw the rind away of the cheese you just grated for a dish!

The rind can be used to make a stock that can be used in risottos, soups, etc.

The rind of hard cheeses like parmesan reggiano are perfect for making stocks.

Enjoy

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Ever wonder what someone means by a “dash” of salt or a “dash” of cinnamon?

For those of you who prefer technical recipes….

A ”dash” is 1/16th of a teaspoon, so just about the amount you would squeeze between your fingers for a “pinch”

Wow…and I can’t believe it, but I just found a measuring spoon set for a smidgen, a dash, a pinch, a drop…

Click here to be directed to amazon.com for your own “dash, drop, smidgen, pinch, tad measuring spoon set”

(image below from above source)

So this is not really a cooking tip per-say…

but something I really recommend is shopping at ethnic grocery stores in your neighborhood.  Indian, Mexican, Chinese, etc…

Generally you can find cheaper spices, condiments….you can even find good quality produce and meat/fish as well.  With some of your purchases you might need to do a little research, because often times these items are not common items in “American” grocery store, but give them a try, you never know what interesting, exciting flavors you might discover…or flavors that are very similiar to a meat/vegetable/fruit/fish that you have cooked with before.

Today Michael and I purchased “fuzzy squash” which looks much like a gigantic, fuzzy, green cucumber/squash.  I am curious to see how this tastes, I will post the results in a few days

Anyways, I recommend you check out these stores, because you will be surprised at what you find and you will generally save money on most things.

I live in Clintonville, which is absolutely full of little ethnic stores and eateries.  We have visited two chinese grocery stores this week on high street.  Some of our great discoveries…

-gigantic bags of spices (hot pepper flakes, star anise, cumin, cloves…etc) for a few dollars (mini bags for just over 50 cents)

-frozen pot stickers, dumplings, steamed buns… so tasty, and so cheap! 3 dollars for a large bag!

-wonderful sauces to eat with the dumplings we purchased (hoisen sauce, soy sauce, sirachi.…)

-pots, pans, cooking equipment, plates… very good price

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Enjoy we are enjoying our steamed buns and pot-stickers as I am typing this post!

A little something about shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, etc…)…

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Never eat a shellfish if the shell is already open, this means that they have gone bad.  The open ones can make you sick…so pick carefully.  Only pick ones with shells that are closed tightly–they must be difficult to open.

Store them on ice to preserve them until the time you cook them.

When preparing oysters to be eaten raw…it’s best to use a special shucking tool, like the one pictured below…

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…but I find that a screw driver (that you sterilize before use) works quite well

…I also suggest wearing thick gloves or holding the oyster in a kitchen towel while shucking…

enjoy

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When boiling potatoes…don’t fill the cooking pot with hot water, fill with cold water, and then let come to a boil.

…This allows for the potato to cook evenly inside and outside.

If you immerse potatoes in hot water before letting the water come to a boil, the potato will start cooking from the outside and it will not be evenly cooked in the end

How to make fresh herbs last longer….

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basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, dill…

So you just bought a few bundles of fresh herbs from a local farmers market, grocery store…or maybe you picked them from your own backyard or window pot…

Don’t let them simply sit in a ziplock bag…

Instead, put them in a vase/glass with water enough to touch only the stems and not the leaves.  This will allow herbs to last for weeks! …you might even get them to sprout roots and you can try planting these herbs to grow more herbs in your window sill.

Winter shouldn’t stop you from planting and growing herbs.  Window light should do just fine for most herbs.

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Did you know there is a whole world of unique pasta flavors? Not only are there endless varieties of pasta sauces and pasta noodle shapes…but there are many flavors added to the pasta dough directly that you can experiment with!

Making your own unique pasta…

A basic pasta dough recipe…

• 2 cups flour (all-purpose works, but semolina is best)
• 2 – 4 tbs water or as needed
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs (it is very important to get good quality eggs with lots of flavor…I recommend getting them from your neighborhood natural market or farmers market)
• Herbs or vegetables…etc to flavor dough

It is best to use a pasta maker like the one below…

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or…you can use a pasta maker attachment for your mixer

What you can use to flavor your dough…

-Spinach

-Basil

-Artichoke

-Beet (this adds beautiful color as well)

-Olive

-Curry

-Chocolate (yes, chocolate! I purchased some in Italy)

-Garlic

-Lemon

-Red Pepper

-Tomato

-Squid Ink (The type of pasta that Michael has made on a few occasions–picture above)

-Wine

-Wasabi

-Mushrooms

…the list goes on

…be creative.  Combine different flavors, try something unique and different.

How to do it:

When adding vegetables, mushrooms, fruit…to the pasta dough, the vegetable must be cooked first and finely diced.  Then put through a food processor.  Before mixing into your pasta dough, dry thoroughly.

When adding herbs, simply chop fresh herbs (fresh is best, but dried works as well.  Fresh has the most flavor) and  incorporate into dough.

Enjoy!

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When baking biscuits, scones, pie crust…any dough that calls for “cold butter to be cut into small cubes” and “mix the cubed butter into the dough until a course bread-crumb-like mixture is formed” make your life easier…

…and use a cheese grater to grate the cold butter into the flour mixture.  This is perfect, because the butter will be in small pieces that will easily incorporate into a dough.  My grandmother taught me this when baking biscuits together, and I try to make use of it whenever I can.  It makes baking certain doughs faster and easier.

Last night, I made homemade pop tarts, they were amazing! Everyone has eaten them already…I should have taken pictures when I had the chance.  Click the link below to try the recipe yourself!

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/04/strawberry_pop_tarts

(I recommend making a chocolate marshmallow filling)

…hot pepper flakes (we couldn’t stop sneezing after this shoot)

…lavender

…lentils

(image from howstuffworks.com)

-When cooking pasta…never add olive oil to the cooking water; Nothing should be added at this stage but salt.

-For perfect, “al dente” pasta, cut the noodles in half and when there is a small white center, it is ready to take out of the water

-Put noodles in a strainer and pour cold water over them to stop them from cooking further