Making Meals with Makela: Quick Tips

Came across a list including some cooking/kitchen tips, so posting them here to try out (tried two today--boiling and dunking potatoes in cool water to peel and wooden spoon over pan to prevent boiling over--and they worked!)...

The simplest way to slice a bunch of cherry tomatoes is to sandwich them between two plastic lids and run a long knife through all of them at once!

Keep brown sugar soft by storing with a couple of marshmallows.

Deodorize sponges in the microwave. Soak in water spiked with white vinegar or lemon juice and put on fill power for one minute. Use tongs to remove as it will be hot!

Repurpose an old picture frame as a serving tray

Boil orange peel and cloves to get rid of unpleasant smells in the kitchen.

Fill an old box with skewers to make an all-purpose knife block

Hang onions in cut-up tights or old stockings to make them last for months!

Use a paper plate to prevent splatters when using an electric whisk.

Water straight from the tap becomes cloudy when frozen. To make ice cubes crystal clear, allow a kettle of boiled water to cool slightly and use this to fill your ice cube trays.

Use a large muffin tin to cook stuffed peppers in the oven - it will help keep them upright.

To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag.

Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off.

To tell if eggs are fresh, immerse them in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will lie on the bottom, while stale eggs will float to the surface.

To clean a wooden chopping board, sprinkle on a handful of Kosher salt and rub with half a lemon. Rinse with clean water and dry to ensure it is clean and germ-free.

To easily peel potatoes, boil with the skins on them immerse in cold water for 5 seconds. Then twist the potatoes between your hands and the skin will peel right off!

To prevent your eyes watering while chopping onions, wipe the chopping board with white vinegar (which won't affect the taste of the onions)

Take a bunch of bananas apart to prevent them from ripening too quickly

Store cut lettuce in mason jars and refrigerate to make it last much longer

Use cupcake cases to cover drinks glasses in the summer and prevent flies from dropping in

Line salad drawers with newspaper to absorb bad odours in the fridge

Use binder clips to keep stacked bottles in place in the fridge

Another way to clean a chopping board is to cover liberally with Kosher salt and leave overnight. Scrape off with a cloth in the morning to find the salt has absorbed all moisture to leave your board clean and dry.