Mint Knife

How To Store Eggplant – Yesterday’s Discoveries

Vegetable shopping: Vegetables should be firm and have a nice appearance. The color should be rich. Vegetables are like men, if they’re wilted and flabby, leave them in the store. Go for the young and firm. (This could possibly be the cause that I’m back sitting on the shelf.)

Asparagus

Use asparagus within each day or two following purchasing for best flavor. Store inside the refrigerator using the ends wrapped in a damp paper towel, and be sure to place the asparagus within the back of the refrigerator away from any light.

IDEA – sauté asparagus with garlic, shiitake mushrooms and chicken.

IDEA – Toss freshly cooked pasta with asparagus, olive oil and thyme, tarragon and rosemary.

IDEA – Steam asparagus and serve having a light lemon vinaigrette.

TIP – If your recipe calls for cold asparagus, plunge the stalks into cold water immediately after cooking, then remove them quickly: letting them soak too long can cause them to grow to be soggy.

Beets

If the beets still have the tops attached, you can tell from the appearance of the leaves if they are fresh. They need to be firm and round with a slender tap root (the main root).

Broccoli

Choose broccoli with floret clusters that are compact and not bruised. They ought to be uniformly colored, either dark green, sage or purple-green, depending upon variety, and with no yellowing. In addition, they will need to not have any yellow flowers blossoming. The stalk and stems must be firm.

Brussels Sprouts

They appear like little bright green cabbages. Stored in a plastic bag, they is often kept for 10 days.

IDEA – Combine quartered cooked Brussels sprouts with sliced red onions, walnuts and your favorite mild tasting cheese such as a goat cheese or feta; toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Cabbage

There are 3 primary groups of cabbage: green smooth-leaved cabbage, crinkly-leaved green Savoy cabbage and red cabbage. The red cabbage looks genuinely good in coleslaw. The heads must be firm and heavy without having too a lot of loose outer leaves. Keeping cabbage cold will keep it fresh and assist it retain its vitamin C content. Put the whole head in a plastic bag in the crisper of the refrigerator. Red and green cabbage will keep this way for about two weeks although Savoy cabbage will keep for about 1 week.

IDEA – Combine shredded red and white cabbage with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings like turmeric, cumin, coriander and black pepper to create coleslaw with an Indian twist.

Carrots

They should be properly formed, smooth, nicely colored and firm.

The trick to preserving the freshness of carrot roots is to decrease the quantity of moisture they lose. To do this, make sure to store them inside the coolest component of the refrigerator in a plastic bag or wrapped in a paper towel, which will decrease the quantity of condensation that’s able to form. They need to be able to keep fresh for about two weeks. Carrots need to also be stored away from apples, pears, potatoes along with other fruits and vegetables that generate ethylene gas because it is going to cause them to grow to be bitter.

Cauliflower

The outer green leaves are named the jacket leaves. Sometimes the white portion has a speckled look, this just isn’t good.

IDEA – sauté cauliflower with garlic, minced ginger and tamari.

Celery

Look for crisp stalks. The stalks should have a solid really feel and also the leaflets must look fresh. Just in case, you bought the celery when it was fresh and somehow it got lost in the refrigerator; it is possible to attempt putting the finish of the celery (the aspect that’s attached) in ice water. If it isn’t too far gone, that will freshen it.

IDEA – Add chopped celery to your preferred tuna fish or chicken salad recipe.

Corn

Yellow-kernel corn is the most popular, but some have white kernels.

Corn must be refrigerated quickly following becoming picked. Corn will retain relatively superior top quality for several days, if it has been kept cold and moist since harvesting. The silk-ends must not be dried out.

One of the most terrific issues about sustaining your personal garden at dwelling is that it is entirely self-renewing. Here is your guide to harvesting and storing seeds from your garden to plant the subsequent year:

Cucumbers

Cucumbers need to have a great green color and be firm over their whole length. Keep away from cucumbers which have a dull color with shriveled ends.
Thinner cucumbers will typically have less seeds than those that are thicker.

Cucumbers will need to be stored in the refrigerator exactly where they are going to keep for quite a few days. If you do not use the complete cucumber throughout 1 meal, wrap the remainder tightly in plastic or place it in a sealed container to ensure that it doesn’t come to be dried out. For maximum quality, cucumber must be utilized inside 1 or two days. Cucumbers should not be left out at room temperature for too extended as this will trigger them to wilt and grow to be limp.

IDEA – Mix diced cucumbers with sugar snap peas and mint leaves and toss with rice wine vinaigrette.

They really should be firm and ought to not have any brown spots. Place uncut and unwashed eggplant in a plastic bag and retailer inside the refrigerator crisper exactly where it’ll maintain for a number of days.

Wash the eggplant very first after which cut off the ends.

Garlic

Purchase garlic which is plump and has unbroken skin.

TIP – Store fresh garlic in either an uncovered or a loosely covered container in a cool, dark location away from exposure to heat and sunlight. It is not important to refrigerate garlic.

Depending upon its age and variety, complete garlic bulbs will maintain fresh from two weeks to two months. Once you break the head of garlic, it significantly reduces its shelf life to just a few days.

TIP – Tips for Preparing Garlic:

However, you must begin somewhere, right? It is integral that when you purchase seeds for the 1st time, you get top quality heirloom open pollinated seeds. The reason this is so vital is since most seeds which you get from a seed catalog or inside your local garden retailer have been hybridized. Hybrid seeds are prevalent for the reason that they’ve been bred as a way to possess specific qualities, including frost resistance in tomatoes. However, when you harvest seeds from the hybrid tomatoes, then plant these seeds, you truly do not know what you’ll get. Seeds harvested from hybrid tomatoes may perhaps grow tomatoes that possess qualities from either parent plant. It is rather unlikely that your second year tomatoes will likely be the exact same as the 1st ones. You may finish up having a plant that’s undesirable, or does not even bear fruit. This is why it can be imperative that you simply commence with heirloom seeds if you intend to harvest seeds from your garden. Seeds from heirloom fruits and vegetables are the only ones worth saving and planting since it will be the only way you’ll finish up with plants that are the exact same as the parent plant.

An straightforward way to complete this would be to place the bulb on a cutting board or tough surface and gently, but firmly, apply pressure with the palm of your hand at an angle. This will trigger the layers of skin that hold the bulb together to separate.

To separate the skin from the individual cloves, spot a clove with the smooth side down on a cutting board and gently tap it using the flat side of a wide knife.

IDEA – Marinate pressed garlic in olive oil and use this flavored oil in dressings and marinades.

(2) Harvest seeds from the healthiest plants- When selecting fruits and vegetables from which you’ll harvest your seeds, usually pick ones from the healthiest plants. Choose plants which are strong, vibrant, and full of vigor.

IDEA – Purée fresh garlic, canned garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice to make quick and uncomplicated hummus dip.

IDEA – Add garlic to sauces and soups.

IDEA – Purée roasted garlic, cooked potatoes and olive oil together to create delicious garlic mashed potatoes. Season to taste.

(3) Keep a close eye in your plants- Timeliness is key when harvesting seeds from your garden, so you’ll would like to maintain a close eye in your plants. With flowers, annuals are the easiest wide variety from which to gather seeds given that they flower and go to seed in just 1 year. Seeds are ready to be picked as soon as the seed pods have turned brown and dried up on the plant. To catch them, you’ll be able to tie a smaller paper or cloth bag over the seed pods when they appear like they are about to burst. For vegetables, it can be most effective to harvest seeds when the veggie is practically overripe but prior to it begins to rot, as this enables the seeds to fully mature. For example, a tomato need to be left on the vine until it really is large, overripe, and incredibly soft. An eggplant ought to be left to fully mature and fall towards the ground.

Green Beans

Purchase beans which have smooth feel and an excellent green color, and that are cost-free from brown spots or bruises. They must have a firm texture and “snap” when broken.
Store unwashed fresh bean pods in a plastic bag kept within the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should maintain for about seven days.

IDEA – roast green beans, red peppers and garlic and combine with olive oil and seasonings to make a delicious salad.

Lettuce

There are a superior deal of different varieties. The heads are large, round and solid with medium green outer leaves and lighter green inner leaves. The leaves will need to look fresh and crisp. Stay away from heads with irregular shapes.
Butter-head lettuce (Big Boston and Bibb varieties) have a smaller head than iceberg lettuce.

Leaf lettuce usually do not are available in the type of a compact head. Leaves are broad, tender, smooth, and they vary in color according to variety.

Romaine and leaf lettuce should be washed and dried prior to storing in the refrigerator to remove their excess moisture, whilst Boston lettuce want not be washed before storing. These lettuces need to be either stored in a plastic bag or wrapped in a damp cloth and stored inside the refrigerator crisper.

I would suggest you check out more information about How To Store Eggplant as well as Recipes For Corn On The Cob.

Xena’s Franklin MInt Edition Knife.