The Frugal Gourmet: how to use, re-use, recycle and recondition your ktchen staples...
So this is coming out of people asking questions such as: How do I turn my hardened cache of honey into a silky smooth delight once again? (Put it in a bain-marie - hot water bath - and it will return to its primal state) or....My vinegar is cloudy, should I throw it away? (no, just filter and keep the mother of vinegar and you will never need buy another bottle!).
Do you have a kitchen dilemma? have you invented a nifty solution to a kitchen problem that was plaguing you? This thread is for you! Are you the keeper of some incredible "old wife's" remedy or down to earth bit of folklore which you have experienced works like a charm? This thread is for you! My name is not Heloïse, just Elle*, but I want to compile the all-time wise femme/butch kitchen almanach! So, to start: did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! It is used in restaurant kitchens in Europe and really really works, although I have freaked out chefs in American kitchens with that! Your frugal gourmet queen, Elle* |
Quote:
Elle* |
Tis the season
Great thread!!!
When stuffing poultry...use a cheesecloth bag that has been greased to put the stuffing into and place it into the bird...you won't lose any stuffing that way and the bird still gets the juice and stuffing interaction!!! Nice and clean!!! |
A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.
|
Quote:
Thank you for my 'learn something new everyday' moment! |
Not having had nearly enough coffee to be able to brain properly yet, the only one I can think of right now is if your brown sugar has hardened, put a slice of bread (I hear an apple slice works too) in with it and by the next day it will be as good as new.
|
Quote:
Elle* |
I love vanilla sugar!
A friend gave me homemade vanilla for the holidays... really cheap vodka and some vanilla beans--no corn syrup! Y'all might already know this one, but if you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, you can use it twice--save the bones, skin, and liquid, put them in a pot with 2 to 4 cups of water, and boil them thoroughly (most rotisserie chickens around here don't seem like they're done all the way to the bone when you buy them, so they do need boiled). Let it cool for a while, then strain the broth into a clean peanut butter jar or a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours, skim off the hardened fat, and voila! Fat free chicken broth! If you like, you can throw in onions, carrots, celery and spices while you're cooking it, but I've found that most of the seasoned chickens don't need it. Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more? |
Quote:
|
Quote:
The word vinegar comes from the French words "vin aigre" which mean soured wine. Elle* |
Quote:
Propolis does amazing things. This is in honey. |
what about apple cider vinegar? I mean this shit is amazing for humans and animals. Also I spend huge amounts of money on electric and humane mouse and rat traps for years. Little did i know that the big bottle of peppermint i use for everything also keeps them away. I put a few oz in a bottle of warm water, spray it around my house and barn and they hate that shit. It works great.
|
I make sachets against moths (I knit and spin and weave so my house is full of wool) with lavender blossoms, cloves, mint, lemon peel and cedar chips and leave them among the yarn and in my sweaters drawers. You can also use eucalyptus (I used to live in Northern California and had a large eucalyptus tree in my yard).
None of my herbs winter well, they stay on my deck, right now under 30 inches of snow, and in the spring I have to replant most of them. Most often my mint, tarragon, various thymes, rosemary and lavender will survive, sometimes sage too. Nothing kills mint! I have dried all my herbs at the end of fall, and I use them through the winter in cooking, vinegars, teas, and sachets. Elle* |
Old wife remedies, huh?
Let's see.....if you put a few squirts of lemon juice in a bottle of water, drinking it will help decrease bloating associated with salt intake. Also, injesting a little bit of local, unprocessed honey from your region daily will help reduce allergies. And cider vinegar will bring down the glycemic index of potatoes and potato dishes if added to it, which can be helpful for those eating low carb meals and/or diabetics. |
I have two bags of regular sugar, unopened, that are solid as a rock. Is there any way I can soften them?
|
Quote:
Elle* |
Quote:
Elle* |
Quote:
Elle* |
That remedy is good for those with days to wait... one method for immediate use is break a chunk of it off (using an ordinary dinner knife, nothing fancy or too sharp in case it goes sideways against my hand) then place it in a large freezer ziploc bag. Zip it, but don't leave too much air in it. Then take a hammer and lightly break it up. Don't pulverize it. If you leave too much air it's like hammering a balloon and can have disastrous results, or may be funny depending on your sense of humor :)
Then just keep it zipped until it's used up. Might be too cave-man/womanish for some but works for me! Quote:
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:30 AM. |
ButchFemmePlanet.com
All information copyright of BFP 2018