Living It With Lisa

First DON”T boil your egg!  You will have rubbery whites with dry yolks that have a gray/blue edge around the yolk.  That is your clue you have overcooked the egg.  See the post on how to make a Perfect Hard-cooked Eggs or the blog post on how long you can keep eggs.

After  your eggs are done, drain the hot water from the pot used to cook the eggs and shake the pot back and forth to crack the shells. Then plunge them in enough cold water to cover the eggs until they cool down. The water seeps under the broken shells, allowing them to be peeled without a struggle.  Start peeling from the large end of the egg, which has an air pocket. This lets you get under the membrane without digging into the white.

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog & provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent Undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the Collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential Nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won’t leave streaks and won’t harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

The incredible edible egg!  The simple and classic boiled egg, is one of the finest and easiest edible delights known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature’s most perfect form of protein.

According to the American Egg Board, the terms “hard” and “soft-boiled” eggs are really misnomers, because boiling eggs makes them tough and rubbery. Instead, these eggs should be “hard” or “soft-cooked” in hot (still) water, better known as coddling.

To create your perfect Hard-Cooked (Boiled) Eggs:

How many times have you had a rubbery egg? Boiling an egg should be simple and it is!  After reading different opinions I have discovered, through trial and error the following easy method that yields great results. Boiling an egg toughens the whites whereas coddling does not and it also gives the yolk a lighter texture.

1. Start with eggs that don’t have any visible cracks.
2. Do not add salt to the water.  Salt raised the boiling point of the water making the egg whites rubbery.
3. Use Eggs that are 3-5 days old.  Fresh eggs are too hard to peel.  The fresher the eggs, the harder it will be to peel because the white membrane will not release as easily from the shell.
   1. Check the sell-by-date on the carton to find out how fresh they are.
   2. Still not sure?  A simple water test will answer the freshness question for you. Place the egg in a bowl of water; if it sinks to the bottom,  it is very fresh. As it ages, the air pocket inside the egg grows, which buoys the egg up so it stands on one end. If the egg floats to the top and lays on its side, it is ready for the trash.
   3. The eggs that ‘stand up’ because of the extra air on one end.  That is a better egg of boiling and for peeling.
   4. If you know you are going to boil eggs, buy them several days ahead of time.
   5. Now that you have the best eggs selected, place them in one layer in your pan and cover them completely (about 1 inch) with cold water from the tap.
   6. Turn burner on to HIGH heat, bring water to a rapid boil.
   7. As soon as the water reached a rapid boil, remove the pan from the heat and cover it tightly with a lid.
   8. Set a timer for 13 minutes for large eggs.
   9. After 13 minutes, remove the lid and drain off the water.  This will stop the cooking process.  Shake the pot back and forth to crack the egg shells.
   10. Then plunge them in enough cold water to cover the eggs until they cool down.  The water will seep under the broken shells, allowing them to be slipped off without a struggle.

10.Let the eggs cool for at least 5 minutes in cold water, then drain.

11.To peel the egg start from the large end of the egg, which has an air pocket.  This lets you get under the membrane without digging into the white.

NOTE:  Remember to watch the cooking time carefully.  Overcooking causes that ugly greenish gray layer to form around the yolk.

Check out my other blog post if you are not sure how long to keep eggs.

On the counter?  In the refrigerator?  What is the best way to store Basil?  If you keep in on the counter it will wilt … sometimes even if you have the cut ends in in a glass of water.  However the refrigerator can turn basil black if you just toss it in.  That is due to build up of moisture.  The best way to store basil is in an unsealed zip-lock bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.  You will have fresh basil for 3-4 days.   If you need the basil to last longer you should get some Green Bags.  They will keep herbs and vegetables fresh for weeks.  I have found them at some local supermarkets, including Wal-Mart and Target.

But with any herb that I purchase, I plan my menus around utilizing the herb in my meals during that week. Otherwise I only cut from my garden what I am going to use. If your basil starts flowering, pinch it off and save the flower.  Let it dry out and then sprinkle it on your salad for a wonderful addition.

As I have read more about diabetes, obesity and food related diseases it is important that we identify the food that make a difference in everyday health along with the superfoods.

Making those foods a staple in our pantry will make a difference in not only a change in what we reach for but the quality of our life now and 25 years from now.  So what are you going to tweak in your diet this week?

Tweak of the Week:  Foods to Eat Every Day

Tomato Sauce Decorative Art Poster Print by Lauren Hamilton

Have you ever opened a can of tomato sauce, tomatoes or tomato paste and the recipe didn’t use all the can? Well don’t waste it … Save it … and NOT in the refrigerator. You may not find it and use it before you end up throwing it away.

Take what’s left and pour it into ice cube trays, cover and freeze. Once it is frozen, place the individual cubes in a zip top bag and label it. Now you will have little cubes on hand to pop into future dishes.

When I have 1-2 tablespoons left of tomato paste, I have also taken a snack size plastic bags and place the leftovers inside and freeze.  I also put all those little bags in one place in the freezer so that I can find them easily when needed.

Now that is being a Conscious Cook!

Have you ever tried to get candle wax off of a table, carpet or fabric?  Get an iron and some newspaper.  Heat to a safe temperature for the type of item.  Place the newspaper on top of the wax, then place the iron on top of the paper for 5 to 10 seconds.  It wicks the wax right up into the paper.   Replace the newspaper as needed.  You might need to repeat a few times. 

How about candle stuck in your votive holders?  To remove it, place the votive holder into the freezer for several hours until it is really cold.  Take it out, turn upside down and the candle should come out.  You can use a plastic knife to coax it out. 

It works!   

I have tried just about everything to get my garbage bins not to stink so bad.  In my kitchen on Lake Santa Fe I decided to do the “two bins under the counter” garbage receptacle instead of my Simple Human trash can, (which I love).  No matter if I wash them each time, wipe down the back of the door it always smelled.  I am convinced that it is because there is no circulation.  

So here is my new trick.  I put a dryer sheet in each bin before I put the trash liner in.  It works!  The odor is almost non-existent and every so often I get a whiff of the dryer sheet.  What an improvement.

When tossing pasta, use silicone coated tongs to prevent tearing the pasta.

Do you ever wonder how you are going to use that BIG bag of nuts from Sam’s or Costco’s before they turn rancid in the pantry?  To increase the shelf life of nuts, store them in the freezer.  

Oils have a shorter shelf life.  Everyday oils you will use rather quickly.  However If you use a special oil for drizzling and adding that extra layer of flavor, store them in the refrigerator.  You can bring them to room temperature before using.