Cooking tips to make your life easier

I have never been one to cook much. It’s a lot like work. Especially the cleaning part. But lately I find myself bored with eating out. Mostly bored with spending my money. So, I’ve been making an effort to cook more at home. I cook, hubby cleans. It makes us both happy. But I have found there are ways to do things that make life just a little easier. So, I am sharing them with you.

If you decided to try my tuna steak recipe, you bought some fresh ginger. What you found was that you had to buy a bigger piece than you really needed. So, what do you do with the rest of it? Freeze it. Cut it into smaller pieces and place in a ziploc baggie or plastic container. When you need some, pull a piece out and place on the counter for 15- 20 minutes. Ta-da you’ve got nice, fresh ginger.

Also, if you read my tuna recipe, you noticed something about using a hand grater for the ginger and garlic. Yes, you can cut it into small pieces with a knife. But some people don’t like the larger chunks. Plus, I am not a great wielder of the knife. So with the idea of keeping my fingers intact, a hand grater works wonders. Just grate your ginger or garlic straight into the mixing bowl. If it sticks to the grater, use a spoon to get it off. Compared to garlic mashers, it’s easier to get the maximum amount of garlic and easier to clean. I just put it in the dishwasher.

Fresh lemons go a long way. You can use the juice to flavor your food or beverages. But what do you do when you have sucked all the juice you can out of it? If you were chopping or grating garlic, you have it all over your hands now. That smell is going to stick with you if you just wash your hands with soap. Personally, I don’t mind it. But some find it offensive. So, when you wash your hands, use the leftover lemon rind like you would soap. No more garlic smell. Then, you can put the rind in the in-sink aerator (garbage disposal). It’ll help keep your blades in shape and keep it smelling nice and fresh.