Cheaper, Better, Faster (8 page)

Cheese—grater care

Spray the cheese grater with cooking spray to speed up
grating and to avoid cheese buildup.

Cheese—Parmesan cheese

To quickly shave or shred fresh Parmesan cheese, use a vegetable peeler or a zester.

Cheese—
soft cream cheese

Make your own soft cream cheese. Combine one room-temperature, 8-ounce package of regular cream cheese with 2 tablespoons milk, or one 3-ounce package of regular cream cheese and 1
½
teaspoons milk. Store in the refrigerator.

Chip clips—substitute

Instead of purchasing plastic “chip clips,” keep a supply of sturdy clothespins on hand. Clothespins work great for keeping bags of chips, cookies, rice, flour, and coffee closed tightly.

Chocolate—melting

Before melting chocolate, spray the container with cooking spray, and the melted chocolate will slip right out.

Cleanup made easy—broiler

Make cleanup easy by spraying the clean broiler pan with nonstick vegetable spray before beginning to cook.

Cleanup made easy—graters, blades, and beaters

For easy cleanup, coat the grater, the knife blade of a food processor, and the beaters of an electric mixer with cooking spray before using.

Cleanup made easy—measuring cup
, molasses or honey

Dust your measuring cup with flour before measuring molasses or honey for your next cookie recipe. The molasses or honey will pour from the cup easily, and cleanup will be a snap.

Cleanup made easy—oatmeal pot

Love hot cereal but hate the mess? Coat the pot with
cooking spray first. Cleanup will be a breeze.

Coconut
—preparation

Pierce the eyes of a coconut with an ice pick and drain the liquid. Wrap the coconut in plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes or until fragrant and very hot. Let it stand 15 minutes. Wrap the coconut in a kitchen towel and split it with a hammer or mallet. Pry out the meat with a sturdy knife.

Coffee—bitterness

Put a pinch of salt into dry coffee grounds to remove any bitterness.

Coffee—café mocha

Company's coming, and you're nearly out of coffee. Make this café mocha, and you can serve six people with just 2 cups of coffee. Add
⅓
cup cocoa and 3 cups warmed milk to 2 cups of coffee. Sweeten to taste, or add about
¼
cup sugar.

Coffee
—cappuccino

To make four cappuccinos, place 2 cups of milk in a glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until hot, about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Place hot milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a blender. Cover with a vented lid and blend until frothy, about 1 minute. To serve, divide 2 cups strong coffee among four coffee cups. Top each with frothy milk. Sprinkle with cinnamon or grated chocolate (optional).

Coffee—European light

To make European-style “light” coffee, purchase coffee beans—half decaf and half regular—and have them poured into the same container. To use, set the grinder at the finest setting, which produces European-style ground coffee. Use a much smaller amount of grounds than you are accustomed to because of the fine grind. Store ground coffee and coffee beans in the freezer to keep them fresher longer.

Coffee—filters

Unbleached tan coffee filters last longer and are stronger than the bleached white type. They can be rinsed out and reused several times before discarding.

Coffee—for later

Don't leave the coffeepot warming for hours on end. Instead, transfer the brewed coffee to a thermos and turn that energy-sucker off.

Coffee—gourmet

Break up a cinnamon stick or sprinkle ground cinnamon into coffee grounds before brewing. Or add a drop of vanilla to the coffee once it's brewed.

Coffee—made ahead

Instead of making a half pot of coffee each morning, brew a whole pot every other day. Drink half and store half in a Mason jar that has a screw-on lid. When you pour hot coffee into the glass jar and tighten the lid, you will find the jar actually seals as it would in the canning process. Store in the refrigerator. The next day the coffee tastes great, and you can microwave a cup whenever you want.

Cook topside
whenever possible

Your oven uses a lot more energy than the stove burners.

Cooking surface

When cooking, keep as much of the surface-unit heat as possible from escaping. Use pots and pans with flat bottoms, and always use a pan that is the same size or larger than the burner.

Corn—kernel removal

Use a new, clean metal shoehorn to scrape kernels off an ear of corn. It's the perfect shape for the job.

Corn—silk removal

Keep it cool. Don't pack fresh corn on the cob in a hot trunk
after you leave the store. Be sure to put it in the refrigerator immediately when you get home. To get the silk off the corn quickly, put on a pair of rubber gloves and rub the cob. The silk will come off easily. When boiling corn, add sugar to the water instead of salt. Salt will toughen the corn.

Cornstarch—substitute

Substitute 2 tablespoons of flour for every tablespoon of cornstarch.

Cracker crumbs—substitute

Substitute 1 cup fine, dry bread crumbs for
¼
cup fine cracker crumbs.

Croutons—easy bake

Cut 4 slices of bread (stale is fine) into
¼
-inch cubes. Toss the cubes with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning,
¼
teaspoon garlic salt, and 2 tablespoons canola oil. Bake at 300°F for about 20 minutes, or sauté in hot olive oil.

Crumbs—make with rolling pin

A rolling pin makes crumbs without the mess. Place dried-out bread in a large, sealed plastic bag and roll away.

Cutting—dental floss

In the kitchen, dental floss can do the job of a sharp, serrated knife—and with better results. Stretched taut between your hands, a length of floss can split a cake into layers without a turntable and with a minimum of crumbs. It will also slice a log of soft fresh cheese into rounds that stay intact, instead of crumbling into bits. Cut creamy cheesecake with dental floss. Stretch a length of floss over the top of the cake and, holding it taut, bring it down top to bottom through the cake to cut it into halves. Repeat until you have the desired number of pieces.

Dessert—mousse

For a quick, cheap, and low-fat chocolate mousse, mix cocoa powder into Cool Whip. Add
as little or as much cocoa powder as your palate dictates. Stir well and serve. You can also use this to frost cakes.

Dessert—thawing

Thaw bread, desserts, and baked goods at room temperature in their original wrapping to avoid moisture loss.

Dip—green peppers for
bowls

Use green peppers with the tops cut off and seeds removed as dip dishes. You'll have fewer items to wash later.

Double boiler or steamer

Here's a way to save a little money on your electricity or gas bill: Cook with a double boiler or steamer. For example, boil pasta in the boiler's bottom pot and steam vegetables in the top section.

Drinking straws—sanitary

Flexible drinking straws always seem to come in a cellophane bag or box that opens at the top. This represents a sanitation problem if every member of the family reaches in to get a straw. It's impossible not to touch the top of all the straws. Here's the solution: Empty the entire box of drinking straws into a gallon-size food storage bag, placing the straws horizontally in the bag. Now when you reach in to get one, you are not touching the drinking end but rather grabbing one from the middle.

Drinks—Crystal Light, homemade

Make your own product like Crystal Light with these ingredients: 1 cup lemon or lime juice, 5 cups cold water, and five packets sweetener (Sweet'N Low or Equal). Mix in pitcher, serve over ice, and enjoy!

Drinks—for school lunches

Pop-up, screw-on plastic tops that come on syrup bottles and sport-water bottles fit perfectly onto 1-pint plastic soda bottles. For a cheap alternative to individually packaged drinks, fill these small plastic
bottles with water, milk, or 100 percent fruit juice for school lunch boxes.

Drinks—orange drink, homemade

Ingredients: 2 cups orange juice,
½
cup powdered coffee creamer,
½
teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons sugar, 5 large ice cubes. Place ingredients in a blender, and add ice cubes one at a time. Blend until frothy. Yield: 1 or 2 servings.

Drinks—orange juice, squeezing

Before squeezing oranges for fresh juice, heat two oranges in a microwave on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute until slightly soft and just warm to the touch. Squeezing will be easier, and you'll get twice the juice because the fibers will have broken down a bit.

Drinks—punch cubes

Freeze whatever drink you are serving in an ice cube tray ahead of time. If serving tea, make tea cubes; if punch, punch cubes. Drinks will stay chilled and won't get all watered down.

Drinks—soda quick chill

Chill a warm can of soda fast. Swirl the can in ice water for 5 minutes.

Drinks—tea

Give tea a zingy twist by adding an orange peel to the teapot a few minutes before serving.

Dry staples—protect from bugs

To protect dry staples such as flour, meal, grits, pastas, and rice from contamination, pop in a couple of bay leaves. This won't affect the taste, but it will prevent pesky bugs from ruining these products.

Duck—no stuffing

Unlike turkeys, chicken, and game hens, you don't want to stuff a duck. The bread in the stuffing absorbs so much fat that the stuffing becomes inedible.

Egg—quick salad

For quick egg salad, break 1 large egg into a custard cup. Puncture the yolk with a knife. Cover with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave on medium (50 percent power) for 2 minutes. Chop and use in your favorite egg-salad recipe.

Egg
test—cooked or uncooked?

When you hard-cook eggs that you plan to save for a few days, put a tea bag in the water. The shells will turn slightly beige, and you'll be able to distinguish them from uncooked eggs.

Egg test—fresh?

Place an egg in cool, salted water to determine its freshness. If it sinks, it's fresh. If it floats, throw it out.

Egg whites
—beating tricks

Separate whites from yolks as soon as you remove eggs from the refrigerator. Cold yolks are firmer and less likely to break. Do not pierce yolks. One speck will keep whites from beating properly. To get the greatest volume, bring egg whites to room temperature before beating. Use a small, deep bowl so beaters are immersed and mixture is thoroughly aerated.

Egg whites—clean equipment

Whenever you are working with egg whites, it is important that your beating equipment be impeccably clean and free from oil or grease, which will prevent the eggs from creating the greatest volume possible. A copper or stainless steel bowl is ideal.

Egg
whites—separate with a funnel

Separate egg whites from the yolk by breaking eggs, one at a time, into a narrow-necked funnel. The whites will pass through, leaving the yolk in the funnel.

Egg whites—through your fingers

Crack the eggshell and pour its contents into your clean hand
held over a small bowl. Allow the white to drip between your fingers into the bowl.

Egg whites—use acidic
mix

When beating egg whites, add
⅛
teaspoon acid (cream of tartar, lemon juice, or vinegar) per white just as they begin to become frothy during beating. This stabilizes egg whites and allows them to reach their full volume and stiffness. This is not necessary if using a copper bowl, as the natural acid on the surface achieves the same result.

Eggs—easy peel

Eggs can be shelled easily if you bring them to a boil in a covered pan, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour off the hot water, shake the eggs in the pan until they're well cracked, then add cold water. The shells will come right off.

Eggs—from refrigerator
to room temp

If a recipe calls for room-temperature eggs and yours are straight from the refrigerator, immerse them in very warm water for a few minutes.

Eggs—half
of three

To halve a recipe calling for three eggs, use two eggs and decrease the recipe's liquid by 2 to 3 tablespoons.

Eggs—omelet fluff

Add a pinch of cornstarch to beaten eggs to make a much fluffier omelet.

Eggs—poaching

Put a few drops of white vinegar in the water to help poached eggs hold their shape.

Eggs—reducing cholesterol

When making scrambled eggs, use the yolks from only half of the eggs to cut cholesterol by 50 percent without affecting taste.

Eggs—storage

Always store eggs large end up. This keeps them fresher
and helps keep the yolk centered. Never store eggs near pungent foods like onions because they easily absorb odors right through their shells.

Eggs—substitute

Out of eggs? Use 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise for each egg required in your baking recipe.

Equivalents—one
pound

The following amounts are equal to 1 pound: 2 cups butter; 2
⅓
cups white granulated sugar; 2 cups packed brown sugar; 3
¾
cups confectioners' sugar; 3
½
cups all-purpose flour; 4 cups cake flour; 3
¾
cups whole wheat flour; 4 cups cocoa; 3 cups loosely packed raisins; 2
¾
cups sliced apples; 2 cups fresh pitted cherries; 5 cups sliced, fresh mushrooms; 3 cups sliced white potatoes; 4
½
cups coarsely sliced cabbage.