A Few Secrets From The Kitchen

Hello - hope you are having a great Wednesday!  We're heading downhill to the weekend, thankfully.

It's been awhile since we had some around-the-house hints, so here are a few - I hope you will be able to use some of them.....

1.  Cottage cheese will stay fresh longer if you turn it upside-down in the fridge.

2.  Crisp up limp celery by dunking it in ice water for a few minutes.

3.  A pinch of salt with the coffee in the coffee-maker basket will make it taste less acidic.

4.  Freeze cookie dough by shaping into cookie-sized pieces and placing on a cookie sheet as though you were going to bake them.  Instead, put the sheet into the freezer until dough is solid, then transfer them to a freezer zip-lock type bag and store in the freezer until ready to bake.

5.  Give your cake frosting that glossy, smooth look of a professional baker by applying frosting as you usually do, then running hot water over a metal spatula and run it over the cake.

6.  Soften hardened brown sugar in a microwave, or use a cheese grater on it.

7.  Your baking soda and baking powder can get stale and no longer be active.  To test, put a teaspoon of baking powder in a half cup of water - it should fizz immediately if not stale.  To test baking soda, add 1/4 t. soda to 2 t. vinegar.  It should fizz immediately if active.

Happy cooking!