Sunday, July 29, 2012

A Dozen Kitchen Tips

by Lois Breneman - Heart to Heart - Copyright July, 2012

What About Eating Cantaloupe after Listeria Deaths?
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/07/case-count-from-cantaloupe-outbreak-officially-rises -to-147/
Last year we heard about people falling ill and dying from listeria infection in 28 states after eating cantaloupe.  I asked my holistic doctor how we can protect ourselves if we continue to eat cantaloupe.  She said hydrogen peroxide can prevent listeria infections by saturating the outside of the cantaloupe with hydrogen peroxide before cutting it.  Set the cantaloupe in a large mixing bowl, pour 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide over the fruit.  Then using a dishcloth, soak up the liquid and wipe over the the outside of the fruit.  Let set 5 minutes and rinse thoroughly before cutting.

Learn the Codes for Produce ~ Read the label. Fruits and vegetables typically contain stickers that contain a product look up (PLU) code to help identify how the food was produced. Organic produce has a 5-digit code that begins with a 9, conventional produce has a 4-digit code that begins with a 3 or 4, and genetically modified produce has a 5-digit code that begins with an 8."  Thanks to Linda Bahn in Pennsylvania for this information!

For the Freshest Produce grown your own, or buy from a local farm, farmers' market or community supported agriculture (CSA).

You Can Freeze Avocados!  That's right.  You can take advantage of good sales this way.

 How to Keep Parsley and Cilantro Longer ~ When you come home with your produce, wrap two paper towels around your parsley (do the same with cilantro), and store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.  Leafy produce will keep longer when kept dry.

Tried and True Method of Keeping Celery Fresh Longer
~ Wrap celery in aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator.  Wash just before ready to use.  This works!

Kill Mold Spores and Keep Berries Fresh Longer ~ When purchasing strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, use 1 part white vinegar to 10 parts water to soak the berries for a few minutes.  Drain in a colander until they are completely dry.  Store in an uncovered bowl in the refrigerator. The vinegar mixture kills mold spores on the berries and helps them keep longer, but doesn't affect the flavor. Read more: http://thefrugalgirls.com/2012/04/how-to-keep-strawberries-fresh.html#ixzz216k8IQ4o

Lemon Refresher ~ Place a lemon slice in the bottom of each space of a muffin tin.  Pour a little water over the slices and freeze.  Pop them out and store in a freezer bag to refresh a glass or pitcher of water or ice tea.

Orange Air Freshener ~ For fragrance in your home, simmer water with orange peels and 1/2 each of teaspoon of nutmeg and cinnamon.  Of course, if you have an electric simmering potpourri pot, that would be perfect.

Vanilla Air Freshener ~ Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (or any essential oil) to a pan of water and simmer.  A trick of many realtors is to put vanilla in a coffee cup and heat it in the oven for Open House.  A simmering potpourri pot would work as well.

Essential Oils can be poured into empty plugins for a natural and healthy air freshener.  No chemicals, as other plugins consist of totally.

Kitchen Cabinet Bulletin Board ~ Cork board (from a hardware store) can be glued inside cabinets for an instant bulletin board to keep lots of good information at your fingertips.

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