The Frugal Gourmet: how to use, re-use, recycle and recondition your ktchen staples...

[Jesse]

The story goes that if you soak popcorn in water for ten or fifteen minutes, then drain well and pop, the popped corn will be much fluffier and with less kernels unpopped.

[WhiteTigress]

When making mashed potatoes, I cook them in chicken broth or chicken stock. It gives them much more flavor. When I drain my potatoes, I save the broth, and put it in the fridge to make soup in a day or two. Consider your leftover turkey on day 3 becoming a beautiful soup, when you combine it with your leftover cooking broth, some celery and carrots (perhaps leftover from your crudite tray), and some egg noodles. The fact that you initially cooked potatoes in the broth also adds a little built-in thickener, so your soup won't be too watery.

Of course, another use for the leftover broth is to make a pot of potato soup, since you probably didn't use your entire bag of potatoes in the first place.

WT

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by Jesse

The story goes that if you soak popcorn in water for ten or fifteen minutes, then drain well and pop, the popped corn will be much fluffier and with less kernels unpopped.

But have you tried it? (I don't eat popcorn, being from a region of France where corn -maize- is for poultry only)
Inquiring minds and all!

Elle*

[Jesse]

I have not tried it myself. I do not eat popcorn, in fact I do not eat corn period unless it is ground into meal and even then only rarely.

Originally Posted by femmennoir

But have you tried it? (I don't eat popcorn, being from a region of France where corn -maize- is for poultry only)
Inquiring minds and all!

Elle*

[blush]

Hydrogen peroxide will take blood stains out of cloth

[citybutch]

OMGoodness... I LOVE this thread! I am going to try that mashed potato idea... amoung others! I have little to share... but much to learn!

[iamkeri1]

Regarding honey ... I had to look up what a "bain-marie - hot water bath" is, but I have discovered that you can return honey to it's liquid state by
microwaving it for 15 seconds at a time, then stirring and repeating till it liquifies. Usually only takes three rounds of 15 seconds - you can do it in the original container if it's glass - no mess no fuss.

I envy all you folks who have home grown herbs. my "green thumb" does not include this particular skill.
Smooches,
Keri

[Chancie]

I am my father's daughter, apparently, so

I want to remind everyone not to use homemade vinegar to can because

You can not be sure of its acidity.

[girl_dee]

Honey can also be brought back to life by dropping the bottle in hot water.. (I don't do microwaves so this has always been my method)

[Miss Scarlett]

My doctor has me on a low glycemic index diet so I eat a lot of rotisserie chicken (I swear I'm gonna grow pin feathers any day now...) mostly for work lunches. I save everything - bones, etc. - and stick it in the freezer. When I have a few I will use them to make chicken stock or soup. Hint - if there is any liquid in the container let it gel and collect that with the bones. Lots of flavour in that stuff.

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by Miss Scarlett

My doctor has me on a low glycemic index diet so I eat a lot of rotisserie chicken (I swear I'm gonna grow pin feathers any day now...) mostly for work lunches. I save everything - bones, etc. - and stick it in the freezer. When I have a few I will use them to make chicken stock or soup. Hint - if there is any liquid in the container let it gel and collect that with the bones. Lots of flavour in that stuff.

I'm so glad you posted this! I always make stock from leftover chicken or turkey carcasses, but have periodically had to throw them out when I've been extra busy. Why did it never occur to me to freeze them?

[Miss Scarlett]

Originally Posted by JustJo

I'm so glad you posted this! I always make stock from leftover chicken or turkey carcasses, but have periodically had to throw them out when I've been extra busy. Why did it never occur to me to freeze them?

I learned that from my Mom who used to freeze turkey carcasses. Left over hambones too; I've got one in my freezer now for either beans or some type of soup - pea, bean or lentil.

[femmennoir]

Even though I live in a NYC apartment with a small kitchen, and a small fridge, I always freeze chicken bones (since I live alone I usually only get chicken breast with bones in) and occasionally a ham or leg of lamb bone, or a whole duck or chicken carcass, as well as vegetable trimmings, to make broth. When it looks like there is enough, I make broth and after de-fattening it, freeze the broth in small plastic containers, so I can grab one whenever I need broth in a recipe. I never buy broth! I usually add carrots, celeri, garlic and leeks when I make the broth, as well as herbs, unless I have enough vegetable trimmings.
What are vegetable trimmings, might you ask? Well, mushroom stems and peelings, potato and carrot peelings, carrot tops (I buy the organic carrots with tops on whenever possible), the very dark green part of leeks, which are tough, the stems of artichokes, also any vegetable I know I won't use before it spoils (I go crazy at the farmer's market and forget I usually cook only for one), and of course the stems of fresh herbs or if I have too much parsley or basil at hand, I freeze them and use some in broths.
There is for me something very satisfying in making broth and stashing it away in the freezer!
When (so rarely) I don't have any broth on hand, I use tea in place of broth. Different teas will give different flavour to what I am preparing: if I need a smoky flavour I use Lapsang Souchong tea, if I want a floral note I use either a flower tea (lavender, chamomile) or a flavoured tea (apricot, rose, ginger/peach)....These really add a depth of flavour to any recipe!
Elle*

[Bit]

I never thought of using tea--that's a GREAT idea!

[Venus007]

A easy thing to do with the broth is to freeze it in ice cube trays then put the broth ice cubes in a big plastic freezer bag so all you have to do is pull out a few or many to have broth. It works with sauce, pesto, and other such liquid tastiness.

[Jesse]

I do that with bacon grease as well. Works out nicely.

Originally Posted by Venus007

A easy thing to do with the broth is to freeze it in ice cube trays then put the broth ice cubes in a big plastic freezer bag so all you have to do is pull out a few or many to have broth. It works with sauce, pesto, and other such liquid tastiness.

[femmennoir]

Originally Posted by Jesse

I do that with bacon grease as well. Works out nicely.

I do save duck fat and freeze it, and use it in particular to sauté potatoes (yum), also bacon fat, separately, which adds a nice bite of smokiness to stews and soups.

Elle*

[Venus007]

I make my own vanilla extract, it is very easy and you will make some of the finest vanilla you ever had. . . .

-Take a quantity of unflavored vodka (I use a 1/2 pint) you can do more or less
-3 vanilla beans split down the middle (again more or less as needed)

Put the vanilla beans in the 1/2 pint, put it in your pantry or some dark place and let it sit for about 2 months (shake it occasionally) until it turns a nice dark color and smells strongly of vanilla when you open and sniff.

You can add more vodka as you use it and you will virtually never be without vanilla again.

I keep an old regular vanilla bottle and fill it from the vanilla booze bottle for ease of handling.

[Miss Scarlett]

Originally Posted by Venus007

I make my own vanilla extract, it is very easy and you will make some of the finest vanilla you ever had. . . .

-Take a quantity of unflavored vodka (I use a 1/2 pint) you can do more or less
-3 vanilla beans split down the middle (again more or less as needed)

Put the vanilla beans in the 1/2 pint, put it in your pantry or some dark place and let it sit for about 2 months (shake it occasionally) until it turns a nice dark color and smells strongly of vanilla when you open and sniff.

You can add more vodka as you use it and you will virtually never be without vanilla again.

I keep an old regular vanilla bottle and fill it from the vanilla booze bottle for ease of handling.

I started a bottle back in the 90s using a fifth of not too expensive 100 proof vodka and about 6 or split vanilla beans. It's amazing stuff.

[Bit]

Well, I procrastinated a while, but I finally got a turkey in the oven tonight. I made my own bread for the dressing--from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day recipe, SO easy--and broke it up a couple-three days ago, so it was good and dry. I sauteed the celery and spices with butter and then added broth from the last turkey (I had frozen the broth in peanut butter jars), to get the dressing moist enough. It smelled really good in the skillet; hope it tastes as good in the finished dressing! If it does, I'll just do that from now on.