Who doesn't like the taste of a hot meal made at home by someone we love? Everyone loves food, and someone who can create a delicious meal is someone that everyone wants to have around. If you want to improve your cooking skills, have a look at these great cooking tips.
Make sure you are storing your herbs and spices in a cool, dark space. Many factors can cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor. Light, humidity, and heat can all cause them to lose some of their flare. To avoid this, make sure you are storing your herbs somewhere like a cool cabinet. By visiting this website http://www.shopsweetlulublog.com you can get cooking tips.
Do not keep your herbs or spices in a place that is not cool and dark. Storing spices in lighted areas or warm areas can reduce their length of freshness. Storing your spices in a dark location with a lower temperature will help preserve them longer. Keeping your spices fresh can improve the taste of every recipe you prepare.
Use a collapsible steamer basket to make the best steamed vegetables. These devices are available widely and cheaply. They can slip into almost any pot you already have and can be used for almost any vegetable you would like to enjoy. Be sure to watch your cook time to avoid getting mushy vegetables.
When your pasta is done and you are finished draining, pour some Parmesan cheese on top, which will give your sauce something to latch on to. This will make things much easier for you when you are creating your meal and allow you to layer the levels of your pasta.
Keep a few cut up, washed, and prepared vegetables in your freezer. This will reduce your prep time when you're cooking a recipe. Onions and peppers are great to freeze. Just buy them fresh, wash and cut them when you have time, and store them in individual zip lock bags.
Always have a lot of napkins handy when you are cooking in the kitchen. You never know when a spill will occur, so always prepare for the worst. Purchase thick napkins that can hold a lot of liquid if you want to get the most absorption when cleaning up a mess.
Add chicken broth to vegetables when you cook them. Add extra flavor to your vegetables and keep them from sticking by using chicken broth instead of water. Chicken broth can be bought at almost any grocery store, and is so inexpensive.
Beans or tofu are excellent sources of protein that you may not have yet considered adding to your diet. Both can be found at any grocery store. You can fry tofu or add it to soups, seasoned well, for a yummy protein alternative. Beans can be used in vegetarian chili, added to baked goods, or just boiled with herbs and vegetables.
Drinks are an essential part of every meal as you will want to have the appropriate wine with your dish if you are eating meat. Make sure that you choose a fine red wine if you are having a quality meat, and this is sure to maximize the quality of your experience with friends and family.
Here is a great cooking tip to use when you are handling smelly garlic. After handling garlic, simply rub your hands with a piece of stainless steel for 30 seconds. This could be your sink or a doorknob. After doing this, wash your hands with soap as your normally would. The stainless steel helps to remove the odor from your hands.
Have you ever had to eat a cauliflower that was more off white then actually white? It can make people turn away from this wonderful vegetable. To keep that white color in your produce, add some milk to the water when cooking. This will not change the taste, just the look.
Try making your own dried tomatoes. Prepare by cutting ripe tomatoes into half-inch-thick slices or slicing Roma tomatoes in half down their long axis. Place the resulting tomato pieces on a rack, then salt their exposed flesh lightly. Heat your oven to 190 degrees and put the cooling rack with the tomatoes directly onto a cookie sheet, baking for no more than ten hours. Put the bags of tomatoes in your freezer. For flavored olive oil add some dried tomatoes and fresh herbs in a good quality extra virgin olive oil and store out of direct sunlight. Dried tomatoes should be stored within the refrigerator and used within two weeks.
Use these tips, but don't be limited by them. As you do more cooking, you will put your own touch on different dishes and make them uniquely yours. The important thing to remember with cooking is to continue to do it. The more you cook, the better of a cook you'll be.