Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About
    • Start Here
    • Relishments Around the Web
    • Flexitarianism
      • Cookbooks
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Reviews
  • The Berkshires
    • Boothbay, Midcoast Maine and More
    • Adventures in Other Places
  • Contact
    • Sponsor

Kitchen Tricks and Tips

Published on August 29, 2011 By Emily. Updated on July 7, 2013

Thanks to all of you who emailed and tweeted me yesterday to see how Brian and I were weathering the storm.  Though Irene did less damage than anticipated in coastal areas, we got hit pretty hard in the Berkshires.  While I know it could’ve been worse, it certainly wasn’t good.  Having all of our town’s roads closed, seeing photos of my friends’ streets washed out and yards filled with water and watching the street by our apartment turned into a river isn’t something I’d like to experience again.  But today is warm and sunny and most things are back to normal.  People are still pumping out their basements and the roads that washed out are still closed, but Brian and I are fine. 

Since it’s Monday, and school is starting again soon, and I’m still recovering from the surreal day that was yesterday, I thought I’d just offer a few of my favorite kitchen tips to help your day go a little easier.

IMG_5539

Buy spices in bulk

Spices are expensive.  They also have the ability to make a meal.  So, whenever possible (and I can only think of one instance in the past couple years where this didn’t work), I buy our spices from the bulk jars at our local food co-op.  I’ve bought a jars worth of herbs for 17 cents, which is a vast improvement over the 4 or 5 dollars you’ll pay at the supermarket.  And you don’t need to buy new spice jars either, we just refill our supermarket jars.

Freeze fresh ginger

This tip is from my mother-in-law and it’s served us well.  Don’t be afraid of buying a big piece of fresh ginger at the supermarket because your recipe only calls for an inch (or, worse yet, avoid the recipe entirely).  Buy it, use what you need and then store the rest of the ginger in a sealed plastic bag in your freezer.  Next time you need ginger, just take it out.  I don’t even defrost it before grating it.

…and nuts

Maybe everyone else already knew this, but it was a long time before I discovered that nuts can go bad.  So now, any nuts I’m not using live in our freezer.  Even better, we can buy nuts when they’re cheap (or we’re at Trader Joe’s) and then use them when we need them.  I generally don’t defrost them before use either.

Use yogurt

I don’t think I’m going to buy sour cream anymore.  Why? Because I’ve realized that the plain Greek yogurt that’s almost always in our fridge is practically the same thing.  What’s the point of that?  Next time, I’m just using the yogurt.

I don’t usually ask, but does anyone have a favorite kitchen tip or trick they’d like to share?

Related Posts

Eating Healthy on a Budget {Guest Post}
My New Favorite Spice
#63: Observations On Buying a House
Making My Menu Plans More Efficient
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: advice

« Highlights: Irene
Thoughts on “168 Hours” »

Comments

  1. Cynthia (It All Changes) says

    August 29, 2011 at 8:34 pm

    If you are freezing extra portions of meals: use ziplock and freeze them flat. Then you can stack them for easy storage until you need them. Bonus they defrost well in warm water.

    • Heather says

      August 31, 2011 at 4:34 pm

      this is a great tip!

  2. Heather says

    August 31, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    you are brilliant times one million.

Welcome!

photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

The Berkshires
Recipe Index
CSA Menu Plan
First Time?
 

Support Relishments on Patreon

Just so you know…

I’m just a girl who loves to cook and eat. This site is not a source for nutritional information.

Relishments is affiliated with various sponsors. Some product links on this site are affiliates; I may get portion of the sale. All opinions on this site are honest, regardless of revenue opportunities. Find out more about my policies here

relishments

Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

.
.
.
#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
.
.
.
#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
.
.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
.
#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
.
.
.
Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
.
.
.
#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
.
.
.
#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
.
#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in