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Did You Know?

Source of Recipe

Miscellaneous Resources
• Salsa storage … Store fresh salsas, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for no more than 5 days. Bottled, opened salsas can be stored for one month in the refrigerator.

• Sour sub … For a low-calorie sour cream substitute, put some cottage cheese and a little milk into a blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

• Peppercorny … Green, black and white peppercorns are all the same, except they are harvested at different times. The green peppercorns are harvested before they are ripe, preserved, and used in pickling or in dishes that don’t require a strong peppery flavor. The black, wrinkled peppercorns are just slightly immature and are what most households use. The white peppercorns are fully mature, smooth and are used in dishes where black flecks would detract from a finished dish.


• Lima explosion ... You’ll be seeing Lima beans in the store from June through September. Cook in a little water until just al dente. These are great when cooled, dressed with vinaigrette and served as a salad.

. When steaming food, it should be placed on a rack no less than an inch above the boiling water. If the food touches the water, nutrients can leach out.

• Wait, wait, wait ...: If you’re adding cooked lobster or any cooked seafood to a dish, do so at the last moment so that it doesn’t get tough.

• Hot syrup: Heat a glass bottle of syrup by placing it in a pan of hot water over low heat.

• Heavy nuts: When buying unshelled nuts in bulk, choose those that are heavy for their size with solid shells sans cracks or holes.

• Cool it crusty: Always cool pies on racks to encourage air circulation to the bottom crust.

• Coffee time … Did you know … in the U.S., coffee is only grown on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano at elevations of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The volcanic soil keeps all diseases away from the coffee trees, the only place in the world this is known to occur.

• Stinky shrimp? … From the U.S. Fisheries Association … If shrimp develops a strong odor, it’s probably started to deteriorate and should not be eaten. Shrimp cannot be refrozen and almost all shrimp you buy has been frozen. Use it the same day you buy it, or the next day, or throw it out.

• Big BBQ crowd pleaser … From Dr. Myles Bader: When you need to barbeque for a large crowd and your grill isn’t so large, you can put hamburgers between two sheets of foil on a cookie sheet. Bake for 350 degrees for 25 minutes, then finish on the grill in only 5-10 minutes.

• Did you know … the color of an egg’s yolk depends entirely on the hen’s diet. Hens fed on alfalfa, grass and yellow corn lay eggs with darker yolks than wheat-fed hens. The nutritional value of the yolk is the same, no matter the color.

. According to the USDA, smaller hams are usually made from bits and pieces and glued together with gelatin. To me this means buy the largest ham you can afford or make sure there’s a bone in it.