JUST A TIP | Cheap + Easy Flavored Water

An outtake from this cocktail, er, drink shoot led to a wonderful discovery: It doesn't take more than a few scraps to make infused water. 

We are all so accustomed to seeing photos of fresh sliced fruit in frosty pitchers - that we think we need the freshest, most delicious fruit to make something refreshing. Nah - just throw your citrus ends, strawberry tops, heck even cucumber peel into water and let them infuse for a few hours. Cheap and easy flavored water - ok that might not be pinterest worthy but will keep you hydrated this summer. 

just a tip | baked farro

Just dropping in for a quick farro cooking lesson this week. I've mentioned in our last real family food post that I'm trying to swap some go-to carbs (like white rice and pasta) for more whole grains. Farro is a really great example of an often overlooked grain that is packed with flavor and nutrients. 

Farro is a wheat grain of ancient Mediterranean origin that is still quite popular in Italy. Farro actually consists of three different grain farro medio begin the most common in the US. Look for pearled or semi-pearled farro, which has had some of its tough outer layer removed to make it cook faster. Its high in fiber, zinc and vitamin B! 

Until recently I had tried the traditional (i.e. I read it on the bag) cooking directions of boiling the farro in salted water I found that it either took forever or I ended up with mushy farro! Recently I tried baking it - which is both faster than boiling AND produces perfect fluffy farro every time.

Baked Faro

1 ½ cups faro

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups boiling water*

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Combine the faro, butter, and salt in a 2-quart glass-baking dish. Add the boiling water, cover (with the dish’s lid or aluminum foil) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest covered for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the faro with a fork.

* I typically bring the 3 cups of water to a boiling in the microwave - use a microwave safe measuring cup and try 3 minutes on high heat. Use caution (and an oven mitt) when removing from the microwave! 

just a tip | quick chop spinach

The original title of this post was "Spinach: I put that shit in everything". But that's not really a tip. I'm not trying to be one of those sneaky moms and feeding my family brownies that are secretly full of green beans. I just literally find a way to put a handful of spinach into every meal - its a really simple way to get some extra nutrition each day. 

Mostly I throw some finely chopped spinach into our stir fries, pasta sauces, or soups. By chance I found a way to have finely chopped spinach on hand all the time without chopping my life away: freeze it. 

Yup - freezing fresh spinach makes it incredibly brittle and then you can simple crush it with your hands and sprinkle it into whatever you're cooking. I literally just throw the whole bag of spinach into the freezer until I need it, then take out and crush what I need as I need it. 

just a tip | roast extra garlic

Hiya! Here it is the first "just a tip" of 2014 and its my new favorite. Next time you roast potatoes, squash, a chicken, whatever you might roast - throw a few whole cloves of garlic on the pan. They'll roast too - getting all mild and sweet - and then you can save them for later use. 

Roasted garlic is delicious whipped into butter, smeared on garlic bread, but its also really love in a vinaigrette or in pesto. For all you mamas - roasting garlic makes it much more mellow - so you can add it to pasta and your toddler might still approve* and you'll enjoy the extra flavor. 

*(I make no guarantees when it come to toddler and food: My pancake loving toddler turned them down this morning, sigh.) 

just a tip | use a cocktail strainer

I'm not usually a fan of tools that do double duty, most things that have more than one function do all those functions poorly. I am however a huge fan of finding new uses for tools I already have: case in point, the cocktail strainer. 

Somehow I am the own of three (three!) Hawthorne-style cocktail strainers which don't see a ton of use. I had a "a-ha!" this weekend while trying to drain a can of black beans without getting out my large colander - a cocktail strainer fit perfectly over a 16 ounce can and keeps all the beans in! 

You could also use this trick to pour some pickle juice out of the jar, without dumping all the pickles. Bonus - most cocktail strainers are dishwasher safe! 

For more on Hawthorne vs Julep Strainers: 
Cocktail 101: How to Use a Cocktail Strainer | Serious Eats 

{Just A Tip} Double the Vanilla

So we already know that I'm kind of obsessed with vanilla as evidenced by the fact that I once wrote a haiku about it. Vanilla bean paste was my go-to-ingredient until last December. I discovered I could buy vanilla beans in bulk on E-Bay. Yes, I know you are questioning the quality of e-bay vanilla beans, because I did too. I took a chance so you don't have to, but enough about how sweet I am to you guys. 

Simple Gifts: Cookies and Milk

Boy-howdy! Are there a lot of gift guides out there or what?! They're on my bloglovin', on pinterest, even in my inbox daily - every corner of the webernet has a guide for what you should buy this holiday season. It sort of makes me sweat and itch and my heart pounds a little. There are so many wonderful ideas and so many people I'd love to find just-the-prefect-gift for.

Just a Tip

You never leave your whipping cream unattended in the mixer, do you? So you never come back to said mixer to find over-whipped cream, right? Me either!

Ok, except maybe this one time when I wanted to show you how to fix it. Add a few tablespoons heavy cream to the whipped cream and whisk in slowly by hand. It won't help you if you've made butter from your cream and it might not be quite as silky, but at least dessert won't be ruined. I mean could you imagine?!

Just a Tip

You know how recipe writers are always asking you to use "fresh homemade breadcrumbs" and you're always rolling your eyes and huffing "yah right, like I'm going to buy a loaf for that..."?

Here's my solution: I keep a gallon size zip-top bag in the freezer and every time I have a leftover piece of baguette or that weird little end thingy from a sliced loaf, I chuck it in there. When the bag gets full, I thaw it, throw the bread in the food processor and then dry in a 300˚F oven (takes about 10 minutes for most batches). Store in an airtight container in the pantry - and quit rolling your eyes 'cause they might stick back there. Just saying.

Just a Tip

I've said it before I will say it again: drawer liner is a cook's best friend. Put it under blows for mixing, bowls for dipping, bowls for kneading and it won't wiggle around while you work.

Just a Tip

I am, like, the world's worst garlic mincer. It's a task I do not enjoy, maybe because I am lazy about it, or maybe because I grew up with a jar of the chopped kind in our fridge. My mince is more like a chop anyway - big and inconsistent. For work, I will sometimes toss a whole heads worth of peeled cloves in a small food processor. But at home I won't use it up fast enough.

So the tip - right - and less of the type that is keeping you from the tip. Was the picture not obvious enough? Use your micro-grater when a recipe calls for minced garlic. Takes approximately 1/8th of the time.