These are just some quick tips and tricks to make your life easier in the kitchen! That way you have more energy to focus on the cooking.
Produce Wash
Use a Produce Wash to remove waxes, pesticides, bacteria, fungus, or any other things you don’t want to eat! It works well for eggs, too!
Garlic
Peeling: To make it easier to peel garlic, cut off the root end first. Use a flat, wide knife (side of knife) and hit garlic clove. This will release the juices and the peel will come right off. You can also use a Garlic Peeler.
Mincing: Use a Garlic Press. It is SO much easier! Just make sure you clean it right after each use.
Roasting: See Recipe under Miscellaneous.
Onions
Peeling: Leave the root end in tact. Cut off the other end and peel back leaving the skin attached to the root end. Hold the peel while chopping to keep your fingers out of the way! Another method is to cut off both ends, peel onion, and cut it in half. Place down on the flat cut edge to chop each half, or to slice thin pieces.
Saving unused onion: Don’t bother saving onion to be re-used for food. Even if you put it in Tupperware and in the fridge, it will not last one day. You can use it for the purpose of cleaning the air, though! Onions absorb all the toxins, bacteria, etc…in the air (another reason you wouldn’t want to eat it!).
Spinach (and other greens)
Washing: Many people don’t use fresh spinach because it’s hard to clean and leaves a grittiness on the leaves. Try filling your sink with cold water (clean your sink first!). Put the spinach in (untie it if it has a tie) and swish it around in the cold water to loosen up any dirt. Let the spinach soak in the cold water while you prep the rest of your food (at least 15-20 minutes). Then lightly swish as you pull each piece out and remove stem. Put in strainer to drain. Once it’s all done, either use a salad spinner or paper towels to remove excess water. You now have clean spinach with no grit! Soaking allows the dirt to sink to the bottom while the spinach floats!
Cooking: Spinach is very versatile. You can steam it, you can sauté it, or you can eat it raw. Try different methods for variety. I love a light sauté with garlic! Yum!
Avocados
Cutting: Cut Avocado in half lengthwise. Twist slowly until pit loosens and one half can be removed. Use a large sharp knife and hit pit until it sticks in knife (careful of fingers!). Twist pit until it is removed from avocado. Gently use knife to cut avocado in skin without penetrating skin. Slice to thickness you want (or slice both directions for square pieces). Use a large spoon to remove avocado pieces from skin.
Prevent browning: Use lime juice with avocado dishes to help prevent it from turning brown.
Berries
Preventing Mold: We’ve all had the moment where we pull out the package of strawberries or raspberries and they are already covered in mold even though we just bought them. Create a mixture using 1 part apple cider vinegar to 10 parts water. Put berries in mixture and lightly swish them around. Drain, rinse, allow to dry or gently pat dry, and refrigerate. This kills all bacteria and fungus on the fruit without leaving a residue on the berries. Not only will it help them last longer, but then you aren’t eating fungus which can cause problems with Candida!
Tomato Paste
To conserve Tomato Paste: With unused portion from can of Tomato Paste, use 1 Tbsp. and drop on wax paper. Roll waxpaper and freeze. When you need some tomato paste for a recipe, simply take one portion from waxpaper for each Tbsp. that you need.
Stock Cubes
To conserve Stock: Pour unused portion of soup stock into ice cube trays. Once frozen, remove and place in Ziploc freezer bags. Whenever you need stock for a recipe pull out however many stock cubes you need and heat.