Cooking Tips

The best way to prevent over-seasoning is to add salt and pepper a little at a time over different stages. Then, taste and adjust the seasoning at the end. When cooking leafy greens, less is more because leaves shrink to about 1/3 of their original volume.

Place a damp paper towel under the cutting board to prevent it from moving while you cut your veggies. Disinfect cutting boards with liquid soap and vinegar or lemon.

Prevent tears by soaking the onions in water for a while. Or cut the root off before slicing the onion.

1. You can wear gloves (when I decorated cakes, that’s what I did every time I worked with garlic and ginger.
2. Rub your hands with vinegar and lemon before peeling garlic.
3. To remove the sell after – rub your fingers on stainless steel like the inside of the sink, or wash your hands with toothpaste or olive oil and dishwashing liquid.

Ideally, a little oil added along with the butter prevents it from getting brown. A squeeze of lemon juice will prevent it from over-browning.

Mark an X on the bottom of the tomato and drop them in hot water for 30 seconds. Leave to cool and skill is easier to peel. Alternatively, mark an X and roast the tomatoes on an open flame. the skin will peel from the cuts and start to bun giving a nice smoky flavor to your recipe.

Do you know how cheese gets all clunky around the grater holes when you grate cheese? Well, rub oil on the grater before you grate the cheese. This will help the cheese glide smoothly for a while. Then do it again if necessary. Freezing the cheese for 30 minutes before grating or slicing.

Shallots from the onion family with a hint of garlic so if you can’t find shallots substitute them with onion and garlic.

Soak the skewers in water for 30 minutes. Once soaked these do not burn on the open flame.

Use two instead of one skewer. This way the food remains at the same angle and all you have to do is turn the skewers around to cook evenly.

In most cases, these cooking times are just guides and are subjective to the amount of heat, size of food, and size of the cooking pan. So the best way is to use your own senses such as smell, taste, and touch. Some foods will give an aromatic smell when ready, some will need to be tasted to check for doneness while some will change in texture or tenderness.

Add a tsp of white vinegar to the poaching liquid. This keeps the egg protein from spreading too much and prevents the yolk from breaking.

Add the eggs to a large pot of boiling water and turn the heat off. Leave the eggs for 8 to 12 minutes depending on doneness (8 mins for soft-boiled and 12 for hard-boiled eggs)
then transfer to a pot of cold water for 5 minutes before peeling.

Add a slice of lemon to the water when cooking the eggs. Crack them on a paper towel and rub them to easily peel the skin. Throw the paper towel for easy clean-up.

Mayer lemons are sweeter so if a recipe calls for Mayer lemons use equal parts of lemon and orange juice.

You can prepare salads ahead of time by simply layering the ingredients in the bowl rather than mixing them up. Do not add the dressing until you are ready to serve.

Always store spices away from heat sources like stoves and ovens. Heat can cause spices and herbs to lose their flavor and aroma. It is best to store these in glass containers, not plastic or metal.

The best way to stir fry food is in a wok that is made of material that can withstand high heat. Do not overcrowd the pans when stir-frying. Stir-frying needs high heat. Keep stirring the food at all times adding a few drops of water as necessary to prevent them from burning.

Do not overcrowd the pan when sauteing. It is important to heat the pan on medium-high heat first then add the ingredients to saute otherwise they will stick to the pan. It is important to leave the food to for

Greek yogurt can be used as a substitute for many high-fat ingredients such as mayo, sour cream, heavy cream, and more.

You can check for doneness in steak without any special tools but just the feel of your own hands.
When the steaks are almost close to done gently press in the center to see how soft it feels.
Gently press the tip of your pinky and your thumb together. Feel the palm area below the thumb, it will feel quite firm. This is what a well-done steak feels like.
Gently press the tip of your ring finger and your thumb together. Feel the palm below the thumb. This is what a medium-done steak feels like.
Gently press the tip of your middle finger and your thumb together. Feel the palm below the thumb. This is what a medium-rare steak feels like.
Gently press the tip of your index finger and your thumb together. Feel the palm below the thumb. This is what a rare steak feels like.

Leave them to dry on the counter then pulse in the food processor until breadcrumb consistency. Store in the freezer for months. You can even add dried parsley, garlic salt, garlic flakes, onion flakes, or other herbs for seasoning.

Celery tends to go floppy in the fridge over time. To prevent that wrap it in foil before storing it in the refrigerator.

Leftover cut avocado can oxidize over time but you can prevent or reduce that by simply keeping the seed intact with the unused half, wrap well in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator.

Avocados do not ripen on the tree. You can help them ripen quickly by placing the avocado in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana. Usually takes about 2 to 3 days.

Always store garlic at room temperature. Never store them in the fridge as that dries them out. Cleaned garlic can be stored in the freezer for months.

Put veggies in ice-cold water after blanching them to keep them greener. When sauteeing do not cover the veggies for more than 3 minutes or they start to lose color.

Brown sugar tends to cake up over time. To prevent this add a slice of bread to the jar before storing. The bread absorbs excess moisture and keeps the sugar dry.

To rehydrate sun-dried tomatoes, soak them in hot water or stock for about 15 to 20 minutes.

To moisturize dried coconut sprinkle some milk over the coconut. Leave to sit for 10 minutes, or microwave for 30 seconds.

Use gloves when working with chili peppers. Deseed them to reduce the spiciness of the peppers. In some chilies, you can also avoid the top half of the chili closer to the head.

Make sure the fish does not smell overwhelmingly fishly. The eyes should be clear and shiny. The skin should be firm with red gills with no discoloration.

Mushrooms should be left to breathe wrapped in paper towels instead of wrapped in plastic bags. If they dry out you can rehydrate them with a little water.