Useful Kitchen Hints

  1. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh.  If it rises to the surface, throw it away.
  2. Keep the linings from cereal boxes~they make great substitutes for waxed paper!
  3. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes!
  4. Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle.
  5. Use lifesavers candy to hold candles in place on your next birthday cake! Kids love 'em!
  6. Poke an egg with a small sewing needle before hard-boiling, and the egg will peel with ease! And hold that needle in place with a magnet refrigerator clip!
  7. Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips!
  8. Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins slip right off!
  9. To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling!
  10. Use a pastry blender to cut ground beef into small pieces after browning!
  11. Sweeten whipped cream with confectioners' sugar instead of granulated sugar~it will stay fluffy and hold it's shape better!
  12. To easily remove honey from a measuring spoon, first coat the spoon with nonstick cooking spray!Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan~the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers!
  13. To quickly use that frozen juice concentrate, simply mash it with a potato masher - no need to wait for it to thaw!
  14. To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing!
  15. Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle~no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing!
  16. Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator it will keep for weeks!
  17. Slicing meat when partially frozen makes it easier to get thin slices.
  18. Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful, glossy finish!
  19. Place a slice of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up!
  20. Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
  21. Potato chip bag open again and they're all stale and yucky?? Pop them in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, let stand for two minutes and they'll be crispy again.
  22. To get cookie dough to drop without sticking dip the spoon in milk first.
  23. If you store half and apple in the container which you are storing a cake, the cake will retain its freshness.
  24. To substitute honey for sugar in recipes, start by substituting up to half of the sugar called for. With a little experimentation, honey can replace all the sugar in some recipes.
  25. When baking with honey, remember the following: Reduce any liquid called for by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used. Add l/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used. Reduce oven temperature by 25 F to prevent over-browning.
Any more I missed?  Leave them in the comments for everyone.
Place a slice of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up!

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Clean Up FaceBook in Firefox

Use Facebook, but tired of all the apps, quizes, and other clutter that's been filling up the feed lately?  A GREAT Greasemonkey script called FaceBook Purity removes all those items from the feed so you're left with a much cleaner and quicker to read/load feed.   It tells you what it blocked in the upper-right, where you can also click to see what  wasn't in your feed if you're curious or afraid you missed something. For people who only use Facebook to keep in touch with friends/family, and not an all-encompassing entertainment stop, Facebook Purity can be a lifesaver. Easiest way to install it is to 1) Install the GreaseMonkey Addon.  (Follow the link and click Add to Firefox) 2) It will make you restart Firefox 3) Goto the Facebook Purity site. 4) Click the Install button on the page 5) Click Accept 6) Reload Facebook That's it.   Enjoy a cleaner, faster Facebook experience.

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How-To Scrobble Pandora and Other Web-based Music Services With Last.FM

Many people love Last.FM's music tracking services, but don't really care for their music streaming service.   Many people prefer services such as Pandora or Slacker, but then can't keep track of what they listen to in Last.fm. Well for Firefox users, there is a way. An Add-on for Firefox allows you to listen to music in many web-based streaming services, and scrobble that music to your Last.FM account.  It sits in your status bar at the bottom of the browser with Love and Tag buttons for Last.FM use.  Everything sent by this extension goes directly to the Last.fm servers and nowhere else.   Love and Tag songs for Last.FM use. You can find the addon's website at http://code.yerblog.com/lastfm/ .

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Plants In A Bottle

2009 03 14 140240 Plants In A BottleA use for clear bottles besides recycling, and getting some easy to take care of indoor plants at the same time.  Some people have begun growing small plants and moss inside bottles for a little art and green in their homes.
I first added dirt to the bottle. Then I ripped off chunks of moss, compressed them and shoved them through the wine bottle’s neck with a chop stick leftover from a previous takeout. A few pokes and prods later, I had them all lined up. The only problem was a bit of schmutz and condensation on the upper part of the glass; I’ll have to drop by Paula’s studio and ask for tips on terrarium schmutz removal. But now at least all the moss pieces have actually grown together to form a rich green carpet. And there you have it: mossage in a bottle.
2009 03 14 140615 Plants In A BottleTerrarium in a Bottle

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