Just a Few Cooking Tips

COOKING TIPS

EATING HEALTHY – Fat Reduction:

1. Eating healthy doesn’t have to taste bland or bad. Using the right equipment can make a world of difference in the healthy dishes you prepare. For example, using a simple grill pan provides you with a lot of flexibility in your meals. You can grill everything from fruits and vegetables to meats, while the fat just drips away.

2. To cut fat from a brownie recipe, you may cut the butter back from 8 TBSP. to 3 TBSP. and add 5 TBSP. of fat-free sour cream to the batter to make up the difference.

3. When making up a cake from a cake mix, do not add the ½ cup of oil the recipe calls for. Instead add ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce to the batter for a moist healthier cake.

4. Substitute Egg Beaters for half of the eggs in mostly egg dishes (use 1/4 cup of Egg Beaters substitute per egg).

5. Use less oil or butter for frying than the recipe calls for. Using about a tsp. of olive or canola oil can usually suffice. Using olive or canola oil instead of fat, butter or shortening for most recipes is a healthier choice.

USE RUBS OR MARINADES TO GRILLED FOODS TO ADD FLAVOUR.

1. Rubs are dry spice blends and usually include both salt and sugar. They are rubbed directly on and into the meat before cooking. They add a mild flavour, but if you add the rub a day or so in advance the flavour of the spices will penetrate more into the meat.

2. Marinades are liquid and can be made from a variety of ingredients, but most importantly include something acidic (like lemon or lime juice, vinegar, yoghurt or fruit like papayas, pineapple or kiwis). This adds enzymes to the meat which tenderize it. Use caution in the amount of time you marinade meat to avoid the meat becoming “mushy”. A general rule is, for seafood as little as 15 minutes, 4-6 hours for thin cuts of meat and up to 12 hours for larger cuts.

3. Use a re-sealable plastic bag to marinate meats. Add the marinade and meat into the bag, seal, and shake or mush together to combine. Then let sit in the fridge for the required amount of time.

4. Never re-use marinades. If you wish to make a sauce or gravy from the marinade the meat has been in, boil the marinade for at least two minutes.

5. Brush the extra marinade onto the meat before grilling for extra flavour. Use it like a barbeque sauce, but be sure to let it cook through

PLANTAINS: Plantains are a bland starchier variety of banana, and are most often cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Plantains are often used in many African and West Indian dishes and can be boiled, baked, fried, broiled, microwaved or mashed. They are rarely eaten raw, unless they have ripened to a point where the skins are completely black.

PINEAPPLE: Pineapple can be purchased in many forms – fresh, canned, dried or crystallized. When selecting a fresh pineapple, choose one that feels heavy for its size with a rind that is dark green, yellow or reddish yellow, but that does not contain any bruises or brown spots. The leaves should appear fresh and green – avoid pineapples that appear withered and have leaves that are turning brown. The pineapple should have a fragrant scent.

CLEANING MUSSELS: Most mussels that have been purchased from a supermarket have been purged of sand, but if you have dug the mussels yourself here is how to clean them: The best way is to soak them in a bucket of sea water. (Do not use fresh water as this will kill the mussels.) If you do not have access to sea water, use 1 cup of salt per 3 quarts of water, with a handful of cornmeal added to the water. The cornmeal will clean the mussels stomach, purging them of sand. Let the mussels soak in the refrigerator overnight or for at least several hours, changing the water at least once. Clean the shells with a stiff kitchen brush under cool running water and remove the beard before using. If you are cooking mussels and the shells do not open, discard immediately and DO NOT USE.

PREPARING SHRIMP: If you are using frozen shrimp, refresh the shrimp by soaking them in salted water (1-2 TBSP. of salt to 1 quart of water). Keep shrimp in ice water to keep them fresh while preparing them. Pat the shrimp with a paper towel to dry before cooking. Leaving the shell on while boiling or steaming shrimp helps to preserve the juices and natural flavours. You can either remove or leave the digestive tract on the shrimp as a matter of personal preference. There is seldom a flavour difference unless the vein is large and contains a high volume or grit and digested material.