Cheaper, Better, Faster (12 page)

Salad—make ahead of time

Here's how to prepare a green salad ahead of time without the greens getting soggy. Place dressing in the bottom of the bowl. Add cucumbers and other ingredients that marinate well. Then add greens. Cover with a damp towel and refrigerate. Toss just before serving.

Salad greens—outside spinner

Wash salad greens thoroughly and load them into a clean, cotton pillowcase. Step outdoors. Grasp the end of the case in one hand, then spin the case in a windmill motion next to your body. In about 30 seconds—just before your arm gets tired—the greens will be dry and the pillowcase damp. Bonus: You got some exercise and your neighbors got some great entertainment. If you are not making a salad right away, just fold the damp pillowcase loosely, greens and all, and store in the refrigerator.

Salad
greens—washing machine spinner

Wash fresh greens thoroughly and load them into a clean lingerie laundry bag
or pillowcase. Close the bag securely and throw it in the empty washing machine. Run the spin cycle for 2 to 3 minutes. The case will be damp; the greens will be dry.

Sautéing—with less fat

For less fat in a meal, sauté meat and vegetables in fruit juice or Worcestershire sauce instead of oil.

Skewers—natural and safe

If you have an abundant supply of strong, woody rosemary sprigs, pull off the leaves and use the stems as skewers for tiny potatoes. Just make a hole in the potatoes with a real skewer first, thread the potatoes onto the rosemary stems, then grill. Never use twigs or sticks from bushes or trees for skewers. Many plants are toxic, and you could inadvertently poison your guests.

Soup—cover or not?

The general rule is that soup should be cooked in a covered pot to help retain nutrients and flavor. However, when a very thin soup needs to reduce, the pot should be only partially covered to allow for evaporation of the water and to intensify the flavors.

Soup—getting rid of fat
in cans

Store cans of condensed soup upside down in the refrigerator for a while. The excess fat will rise and then stick in the bottom of the can when it is turned upright and opened. It's an easy way to get some of the fat out.

Soups and
stew grease

To degrease cooled meat soups and stews, put a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap directly on top of the liquid before refrigerating. Before reheating, peel off the waxed paper and the fat will come with it.

Special
occasion ingredients

Keep all the items you buy for special occasions, such as a
dinner party or holiday baking, in a grocery bag that you store in the refrigerator or the basement so you can just grab the bag when you're ready to start cooking.

Spices—in baby food jars

Attach tops of empty baby food jars to the underside of shelves. Fill the bottles with spices or small objects and screw them into their tops.

Spices—in drawers

Fill a drawer near your food preparation area with spices. This is an excellent way to use drawer space. Label the jar tops for easy identification.

Spices—in the summer

If the summer heat and high humidity sap your powdered spices and seasonings, store the closed bottles in the door of the freezer compartment or your refrigerator. They'll be handy and fresh when you need to use them.

Splatters—bowl in sink

When mixing batter, cookie dough, or pudding mix, place the bowl in the sink before mixing. No more messes on the wall or window.

Splatters—paper plate guard

To prevent splatters from an electric mixer, cut a hole in the middle of a paper plate and put the beaters through it while mixing.

Squash—scooping out

To remove cooked squash from its shell, use an ice cream scoop. No mess, no fuss!

Stew—
salt substitute

If your soup or stew seems flat, don't automatically go for the salt. Add a little red wine vinegar or lemon juice instead.

Stew—tenderize meat, with
wine corks

Here's a great way to tenderize stew meat: Add at least three wine corks to the pot. Corks
release enzymes and reduce the cooking time by as much as half. Be sure to remove corks before serving!

Stew—tenderize meat, with black tea

Tea can be used as a meat tenderizer, particularly for stew meat. In a Dutch oven, sear chunks of stew meat in fat or oil until very well browned. Add 2 cups strong black tea, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add stock and continue to cook stew as usual with additional ingredients.

Stew—with pumpkin pieces

After carving jack-o'-lanterns, add the cut-out pumpkin pieces, with the outside shell removed, to beef and vegetable stews for a terrific fall flavor.

Sticky
stuff—candied and dried fruit

It's much easier to chop candied or dried fruit if you freeze it first for 1 hour. And dip the knife into hot water before cutting.

Sticky stuff—dates and marshmallows

Before halving dates or marshmallows with your kitchen shears, coat them with cooking spray to help keep them goo-free.

Stock—freeze scraps to make later

Keep a container in the freezer specifically for the collection of fresh scraps, juices, and bones that might otherwise land in the garbage. When the supply becomes sufficient, make stock. If you don't need the stock immediately, freeze it.

Stock—substitute

One cup of beef or chicken stock can be replaced with 1 cup boiling water plus 1 bouillon cube or 1 envelope of instant broth granules.

Sugar—brown sugar, homemade

If you use brown sugar so infrequently that it turns rock-hard between uses, stop
buying the stuff and make your own as needed. Measure out granulated sugar in the amount of brown sugar required. Stir in enough molasses to make either light or dark brown sugar. Color is the key.

Sugar—brown sugar, soften

Lumpy, old brown sugar can be made usable again by running it over a cheese grater, which softens the sugar.

Sugar—brown sugar, without lumps

Freezing brown and powdered sugars will prevent lumps.

Swizzle sticks—
for chocolate drinks

Use a peppermint stick to stir hot chocolate and make a minty chocolate drink.

Swizzle sticks—for
fruit kabobs

Thread raspberries or strawberries on a straw or swizzle stick to dress up summer drinks quickly.

Syrup—catching
drips

Before placing an opened bottle of pancake syrup or honey on your pantry or kitchen cabinet shelf, place a cupcake baking cup under the bottle to catch the drips. This will keep surfaces clean.

Syrup—corn, homemade

Mix together 1 cup sugar and
¼
cup water.

Syrup—for pancakes

Mix
½
tablespoons cornstarch into 1 cup cold fruit juice. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Or stir a cup of corn syrup and 4 tablespoons of your favorite jam or preserves in a saucepan over low heat.

Tomatoes—from the
can

When fresh tomatoes are high priced or poor quality, use canned tomatoes for salads. Drain well, and save the liquid to dilute condensed soup.

Tomatoes—puree

Purchase a huge can of tomato puree from your local grocery warehouse club. Divide it into small amounts by filling small resealable plastic bags and placing them in the freezer until needed. After one portion is thawed, add water to make it the consistency of tomato sauce, then add salt and spices for flavor. Tomato puree contains no additives or preservatives.

Tomatoes—slicing
for sandwiches

Slice tomatoes from top (bud end) to bottom. They'll lose less juice, and sandwiches won't get so wet and soggy.

Vegetables—blanching green vegetables

Here's how to cook green vegetables to retain their color and crispness: Plunge them into boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, then immediately turn them into a bowl of ice water. Let them stand in the water only until cool, then drain. The veggies can be reheated quickly by returning them to boiling water right before serving.

Vegetables—cooking with
lemon rind

Brighten the flavor of frozen or canned peas, carrots, green beans, broccoli, or cauliflower by dropping a piece of lemon rind into the cooking water.

Vegetables—cooking with
sugar

Add
½
to 1 teaspoon sugar to cooked vegetables such as carrots, corn, or peas. This reduces the starchy flavors and highlights natural sweetness.

Vegetables—keeping green

To keep green beans, fresh spinach, asparagus, and peas green, add a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water.

Vegetables—limp
to crisp

If vegetables such as raw carrots and potatoes go limp, they'll regain much of their
crisp texture if soaked in ice water for at least 1 hour.

Vegetables—root veggies, boiling

To cook root vegetables (such as potatoes, carrots, beets, and turnips), place them in cold water and bring the water to a boil. Add non-root vegetables (such as corn, peas, beans) to water that's already boiling.

Vegetables—root veggies, with leaves

If you buy root vegetables like beets and carrots with their leaves attached, remove them as soon as you get home. These greens leach the moisture from the vegetables.

Vinegar—strain

Strain fruit-flavored or herb vinegars through cheesecloth to remove the sediment. Stretch the cheesecloth over the bottle top, then secure with a rubber band before pouring.

Vinegar—substitute

Use 2 teaspoons lemon juice for every teaspoon of vinegar needed.

Whipping cream—
everything must be cold

Cream will whip more quickly and have greater volume if you first chill the cream, bowl, and beaters in the refrigerator. Chill the cream too.

Whipping
cream—forget the blender

Don't try to beat cream or egg whites in a blender. It won't work because the action is different. Fold in flavorings after the cream is whipped.

Basket—blueberry theme

Fill a blue basket with a variety of blueberry products such as jam, muffin and pancake mix, syrup, blueberry-scented candle, bath salts, room freshener, and blue notepaper. Or make strawberry, lavender, peppermint, or other flavored variations.

Basket—for someone who seems
to have everything

Don't know what to give someone—especially a senior citizen—who seems to have everything they need and then some? Put together a basket filled with consumable goodies such as teas, coffees, cookies and biscuits, chocolates, and special baked and canned delicacies. Think about enclosing some snack foods unavailable at most local grocery stores. These are especially appreciated.

Basket—for the breakfast lover

Fill a basket with homemade jelly, pancake mix, muffin mix, biscuit cutter, honey, cinnamon sugar, mugs, gourmet coffee, crepe pan, favorite recipes, and tea.

Basket—for the kitchen gourmet

Fill a basket with fresh herbs tied in a bundle, fresh spices, unique kitchen tools, recipe cards, and jars of gourmet mustards and salsas.

Basket—for the letter writer

Fill a basket with an assortment of greeting cards, stamped postcards, stationery, postage stamps, pens, pencils, return address labels, and a small calendar with clever notations of significant dates.

Basket—for the mother of preschoolers

Fill a basket with activities (books and games) for the kids, coping manuals, babysitting coupons for a night or weekend away from it all, bubble bath liquid, and romantic novels.

Basket—for a picnic lover

Fill a basket with a tablecloth, napkins, plastic plates, utensils, wineglasses, corkscrew, candleholders, candles, salt- and pepper shakers, plastic bags, and bug spray.

Basket—for
a pizza lover

Fill a basket with checkered napkins, a pizza stone, pizza recipes, special flour, spices, a jar of pizza sauce, cheese, and a pizza cutter.

Bistro tray—from
a cookie sheet

To turn a plain cookie sheet into a fancy bistro tray, glue on canceled foreign stamps and/or domestic commemorative stamps. Add some unique food labels or vintage recipe cards, if you can find them. Cover the entire tray, then apply several coats of polyurethane varnish.

Books
—new and used

Books make great gifts. But don't limit yourself to shopping in the big bookstore chains. Secondhand bookstores are less expensive and often have out-of-print titles that can't be found in the big chains. Also, these stores may
sell old prints or maps that you could frame for your family members or friends.

Boxes
—as part of the gift

Cover gift boxes with appliqués, needlework, quilts, or embroidery with the recipient's name. These kinds of containers are especially appreciated because they become part of the gift itself. Wrap the box and the lid separately, and the gift box becomes an heirloom to be cherished for years to come.

Breakfast in bed

Purchase or find a wicker bed tray or other container to fill with fixings for breakfast in bed—muffin mix, jams or jellies, coffee beans, and a copy of a newspaper like the
New
York
Times
.

Calendar—with family photos

To make a calendar with special meaning for a family member, start with a fun wall calendar from your local bank or another business. Select twelve family photos, preferably ones commemorating such special occasions as birthdays, a christening, or wedding. Make a color photocopy of each photo, the same size as the illustrations on the calendar. Paste the photos on the month in which the pictured occasion took place.

Calendar—with
kids' artwork

For all parents who collect hundreds of artwork papers every school year and hate to throw them out, here's an excellent gift suggestion: Select twelve of the most precious pieces of your child's artwork. You can either create your own calendars by making color photocopies and putting together calendars, or scanning the artwork and using websites like
www.Snapfish.com
or
www.shutterfly.com
. This really makes a practical gift that is even more special because of its sentiment. Grandparents, godparents, aunts, and uncles are always delighted; the child is ecstatic with the gift, and the cost is
minimal. Finish off the calendar by attaching the child's photograph and autograph.

Cards sent to hospitals

You never know for sure when someone will be going home from the hospital. So if you send get-well cards to friends and family members who are hospitalized, instead of placing your return address in the upper left-hand corner, write the patient's home address there. Then if the card must be returned to sender from the hospital, the patient will still get it.

Chauffer or errand service

Set aside 2 hours a week to serve as chauffeur, escort, or errand runner for a special person who doesn't drive or doesn't have time to get to the library, grocery store, pharmacy, dry cleaner, post office.

Christmas—Angel
Tree program

Participate in an Angel Tree program at a local mall or church. Many charitable organizations decorate a tree with slips of paper, each listing the name, age, sex, and wish list of an underprivileged child. You select a name, purchase the gift, and bring it back to the tree to be distributed in time for Christmas.

Christmas—cards
as gifts

Make your holiday card the gift. Include a family picture, poem, story, original song, or painting—anything of lasting significance.

Christmas—cookie-of-the-month club

Start your own Cookie-of-the-Month club (or Quarter for the less ambitious). Bake one dozen cookies to include in the holiday gift, along with a card announcing that your recipient will receive a dozen each month all year long. This can be one of those gifts that's easy to give but more difficult when it comes to following through, so give cautiously.

Christmas—easy bath salts for kids to
make

Kids can make bath salts as presents for a favorite teacher, a grandparent, or friend. Mix 3 cups Epsom salts, 1 tablespoon glycerin (from the drugstore), a few drops of food coloring, and a bit of cologne for scent. Put the salts in a sealed container, such as a small jar with a screw top, and paint a holiday message on the lid.

Christmas—gift tags from Christmas cards

Use Christmas cards from previous years to make gift tags. One side has the design; the other side is blank. The same idea works nicely for children's birthday gift tags, using greeting cards recycled from previous occasions.

Christmas—inexpensive
wrapping paper

Instead of buying expensive holiday wrapping paper, purchase a large roll of white butcher paper and a bolt of red plaid ribbon from a florist supply store.

Christmas—
multiple gifts from one candy recipe batch

A single recipe can be divided into several gifts. Simply arrange pieces of fudge or toffee on pretty Christmas plates (paper is fine), and wrap them in plastic wrap topped off with a pretty ribbon or embellishment.

Christmas—Santa Sacks

Make a Santa Sack for each of your children, or all members of the family for that matter. Sew together two large panels of Christmas fabric (approximately 1 yard each) on three sides, add a drawstring to the top, and then attach a name tag. Drop in the gifts from Santa, and place the sack under the tree. You can explain that the elves are much too tired for wrapping after making all those toys. These Santa Sacks can be reused every year, which will create a new family tradition.

Claim check—for
large or late items

If the gift is too cumbersome to wrap, didn't show up in time, or didn't quite get finished, wrap a smaller box containing some kind of clue about the gift to come, plus a claim check for redeeming it.

Coupons—IOU gifts

IOU gifts are often the most valuable and appreciated of all. Make up a coupon that is redeemable for something you do well, and tuck it inside a meaningful card. Examples: shuttle service to and from an airport, babysitting the kids so Mom and Dad can have a day of fun, a day of general repair. Give what you do best, and you will have given the best gift of all.

Coupons
—IOU gifts and more suggestions

Here are some IOU gift suggestions . . . but the possibilities are endless!

• •
  Two hours of silver polishing
  
• •
  Six 1-hour computer lessons (great for a teen to give to a parent or grandparent)
  
• •
  The making and delivery of a dessert the next time you have company (24-hour notice, please)
  
• •
  One pair of mittens—you pick the yarn
  
• •
  One complete car wash, wax, and thorough cleaning inside and out
  
• •
  Total care and appropriate spoiling of your children for a whole weekend so you can get away
  
• •
  One I'll-Teach-for-a-Day coupon to a homeschool mom, with a lesson centered around your special talent or expertise
  

Coupons—organized as gifts

Don't know what to do with all the coupons you can't use? Clip neatly and categorize them with gifts in mind. For instance, for the next baby shower, make up a clever holder full of coupons for diapers, baby food, and other items for the expectant mom.
Provide a great coupon assortment for the newly married couple to assist them in stocking their pantry. Have a friend or relative with a pet? Enclose some good coupons for pet food or supplies in their next birthday card. Always make sure the coupons haven't expired.

Decorating gifts—candy topper

Tie a couple of pieces of a child's favorite candy (wrapped in colored plastic wrap) to the outside of a gift.

Decorating
gifts—sponge painting

Snip sponges into fun shapes, then dab in poster paint and press in a decorative pattern on the insides of those brown paper grocery bags, which you've cut open to use as wrapping paper. This also works well for decorating cards and invitations.

Donate—old eyeglasses

Your old eyeglasses will put the world in focus for a person living in a developing country. Don't throw away someone's chance for a clearer tomorrow. Contact a local club to find a drop-off point. Or you can ship eyeglasses to Lions Clubs International Headquarters, 300 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Read more about the need for eyeglasses at
www.LionsClubs.org
.

Donate—to food
banks

When a local merchant has a two-for-one special on canned or other nonperishable foods you intend to purchase, keep one of the items for yourself and give the free one to a food bank or charitable organization. Passing this kind of savings to someone else in need is an effective way you can give back even if you are on a limited income.

Flowers—forcing narcissus paperwhites
bulbs

Force bulbs so you can give a beautiful blooming plant of narcissus paperwhites. Fill a shallow container with
rocks or decorative pebbles and add water until it reaches just below the surface. Set the bulbs on the rocks, adding more to hold the bulbs upright. Set the container next to a window away from direct heat. As the leaves appear, rotate the container so the bulbs will grow evenly. The flowers will bloom in 4 to 6 weeks and will last 2 weeks at room temperature. (The bulbs can't be repotted.)

Flowers—order directly and locally

Before you call a local florist or a national floral-delivery company to arrange for an out-of-area delivery, think about this: These services end up involving all kinds of middlemen, which means extra fees and surcharges for phone calls and delivery. They usually have minimums of about $40, and you're never sure what your recipient will get because you don't speak with the person who will actually create the arrangement. You can skip past all of these extra people by making one call to a florist in the neighborhood where your recipient lives. You'll get three times the bouquet and service for the money by dealing directly.

Food—presented in special containers

Present your edibles in special containers: an interesting bottle, a nostalgic candy box, a pretty jar.

Food—repackaged in unique containers

Even if you don't cook or bake, you can still give wonderful, inexpensive gifts of food. Buy quantities of nuts, fancy cookies, fresh coffee blends, candies, and dried fruits. Repackage these into small, unique containers you've been collecting all year.

Food—snacks
in inexpensive containers

Snack foods can be presented in a small tin or Chinese take-out container. If you don't tell, no one will have to know
just how easy and inexpensive these delicious gifts really are.

Food—sweets
from your kitchen

• •
  Cinnamon crunch.
  Ingredients:
  1
  ⁄
  3
  cup granulated white sugar, 1
  ¼
  teaspoon cinnamon,
  ¼
  cup (4 tablespoons) butter or margarine, 4 cups Corn Chex, Rice Chex, or Crispix cereal or 3 cups bran or Wheat Chex. Mix sugar and cinnamon, and set aside. Melt butter or margarine in large skillet. Add cereal and mix well. Heat over medium heat, stirring until coated (5 to 6 minutes). Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the cereal, and continue stirring until well coated. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture and heat several more minutes. Spread on a layer of paper towels to cool. Yield: 3 to 4 cups. This recipe multiplies well if you have a large enough skillet.
  
• •
  Holiday
  fudge.
  Combine in a large mixing bowl and set aside: 1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate morsels, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 teaspoon vanilla,
  ½
  cup (1 stick) butter or margarine. Combine in a saucepan: 12 large marshmallows, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 6-ounce can evaporated milk. Bring ingredients in saucepan to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil exactly 6 minutes (time this carefully) and remove from stove. Immediately pour this hot mixture over ingredients in the bowl. Stir to combine, and then beat by hand for exactly 20 minutes. (I cheat and use my electric mixer at the lowest setting.) Pour into a lightly buttered 8-inch square glass dish. Sprinkle a few ground nuts on top and refrigerate to harden. Cut into squares.
  
• •
  Homemade English toffee.
  Ingredients: 2 cups sliced almonds, 2 cups milk chocolate morsels, 1 cup butter chilled and cut into bits, 1
  ½
  cups light brown sugar, firmly
  packed. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Spread almonds on baking sheet and toast in preheated oven, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool (and I mean very cool—even cold so the nuts don't melt the chocolate). Chop the chocolate morsels by hand or in a food processor, pulsing on and off until they are coarse. Transfer to a medium-size mixing bowl. In the same processor bowl, coarsely chop the toasted almonds. Add to chocolate morsels. Toss to combine. Spread half of mixture evenly over bottom of a well-greased 13- by 9-inch baking pan. In a heavy medium saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until syrup is light golden-brown and just reaches the hard-crack stage (300ºF on a candy thermometer). At that point, a bit of syrup when dropped into a bowl of ice water should separate into hard, brittle threads. Pour hot syrup evenly over nut mixture. Top with remaining nut mixture, smoothing and pressing down gently with a spatula. Refrigerate until toffee is set and chocolate is firm, about 1
  ½
  hours. Cut into squares or break into irregularly shaped pieces. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Yield: 20 large pieces.