Put squeezed-out lemon or lime halves/quarters in a bowl in the fridge until they shrivel - not only is it a pleasant smell in its own right; the acid neutralizes some unpleasant smells (notably those of the Brassica family, of which cabbage is a member!)

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Caramelized onions!  It's time-consuming, but NOT difficult...

• If you're adding onions to a roast, caramelized is the way to go.  Smooth, sweet, toasty flavor, and no extra water to drown your roast and suck all the flavor out.
  
• Don't use butter.  The milk proteins in butter scorch at a much lower temperature than the sugar in ions browns.  Use oil.
  
• CHEAT.  Add a bit of sugar at the outset - it gets the temp up quicker so you can turn the heat down and get into the "home stretch" quicker.
• A little bit of cider vinegar drizzled in carefully just as the onions really start to pick up some color brings out the caramel flavor nicely!
• Caution is of the essence.  Caramelizing onions involves some very high temperatures, no matter what the stove burner setting - remember, you're talking essentially melted sugar that's beginning to carbonize here.
• Yeah, it takes forever - but caramelized onions freeze very nicely!  Wouldn't it be nice to have some handy for your next recipe?

Love, Columbine (doing one of those "250 F until it completely disintegrates" roasted-BBQ dealies)

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Here's an AWESOME baking cheat...  Add a sprinkle of sweet paprika to the dry ingredients next time you bake bread.  It gives the whole loaf a gorgeous sunny yellow color!

Love, Columbine 

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If your family loves sausage, but you're minding your health, get some smoke flavoring - there's smoke salt out there, but I like smoke flavoring from Spices Etc.  It looks really expensive, but it's really concentrated and will last you forever.

I bought some hot ham on sale today at the deli, and I'm going to layer it with eggplant and Yukon Gold potatoes with Romano cheese.  I tossed the spuds with olive oil, smoke flavor, anise, paprika, rosemary, sage, basil, and oregano, and they're in the microwave now, doing a tempting imitation of first-rate sausage.  The whole thing is going to strrrrretch into a reasonably healthy dish that tastes just like capicola, at a price that would put a twinkle in Grandmamma Rose's eye!

Love, Columbine (who thinks everybody's got a bit of Italian grandmamma in them) 

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Col..I think I want to come live with you. Your recipes and cooking tips are amazing.

Be warned - I don't post the ones that don't work out...

Love, Columbine 

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Hey quick question... I made home made pizza dough for pizza's last night.. can any one tell me how I can make a thin crust pizza dough... this one rose so high?? it was good.. but can I eliminate all the yeast???

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~Is a downtown girl cuz I like waking up with my hair messed up!!!

I'm not a baker Lisa but I seem to remember my neighbor (who baked bread and focaccia daily) would let the dough rise several times and punch it down.  Then when she put it on the pan, she punctured it all over so that the air had places to escape instead of puffing up.  I have no idea how much yeast she did or didn't use... but aren't there different kinds?  Isn't there a low-rise option out there?

 

I saw this in a magazine and thought it sounded smart.  To keep your turkey or roast or whatever from sticking to the bottom of the pan, line up celery stalks and set the turkey (or roast, or whatever) on top of them.  Not only will your turkey (or roast, or whatever) come out easily, it will have a lovely aroma and taste thanks to the celery it's been roasting on top of.

 

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~Kes

Desperate times call for desperate measures
Open your mind to all life's little pleasures
The hole in this world could be healed if by chance
everyone just stood up, took their pants off and danced

~Bruce Guthro

Lisa - maybe use half whole wheat flour?  I know it's a sure cure for "overly fluffy" bread!

Love, Columbine (who discovered that healthy wheat bricks can still be thin sliced and dried as crackers) 

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Lisa If you remove the yeast you will have a large cracker under your pizza toppings you need to let it rise punch it down give it a 5 min rest then stretch it out as thin as you can on your pan. I actually like to make pizza from scratch because of the thick crust! Whole wheat flour is a heavier flour than all purpose so it will not rise as well, but it will be more dense, You need to increase your yeast when using whole grain flours, for lighter bread.

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~The mind is like a parachute, It always works best when it's open~Edna Buchanan~

~Northern Spy~The Apple of my Pie~

~Audrey~

Thanks ladies... I shall try all the tricks of the trade here... and next time I make it I shall let you know what works... =D

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~Is a downtown girl cuz I like waking up with my hair messed up!!!

Here's a baking question:  I've recently switched from using margarine in my baking to using butter.  And now my chocolate chip cookies are insanely flat!

Would this switch cause this phenomenon, or am I doing something different that i don't realize? 

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--Tina

Come on, now. Let's lock the world outside! Hang your jacket from the door...grab a chair and raise a jar!

raiseajar:

Here's a baking question:  I've recently switched from using margarine in my baking to using butter.  And now my chocolate chip cookies are insanely flat!

Would this switch cause this phenomenon, or am I doing something different that i don't realize?

Yes, that would definitely make your cookies flat.  Try using a bit less and see if they stand back up.

Love, Columbine 

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Thanks, Col!  I had a feeling that was the problem, given that it was about the only thing I'd changed!   I'll try cutting back on the next batch and see if that helps the problem.  If not, then maybe I'll just go back to using margarine.

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--Tina

Come on, now. Let's lock the world outside! Hang your jacket from the door...grab a chair and raise a jar!

This Star Wars parody is hilarious! It falls into the humour category as much as food, however, if you're into organic food you'll get a huge kick out of Grocery Store Wars on YouTube -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E

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