Sweet Kitchen Tips 20

I learn this one recently, I usually weigh my baking ingredients in different bowls or pieces of parchment paper.. but then I have to clean up those bowls.  I found this tip genius!  Use a small brown paper bag (you can score a couple of them for free at your local supermarket) to hold the flour while measuring it on the scale. The bag stands open the scale, is deep enough to hold a lot with no overflow.  And the best part? Pours neatly into your mixer.

How about when you need to dust the cake pan (if you are not using spray) or the work surface… I store my flour in a big 5 gallon container, so hauling it out just to use a little is a pain in the you know what.  Instead I use a salt shaker that I got on the cheap at the dollar store and use to to fill it with flour (mine hols about 1/2 cup) store it in my pantry and when I need a little it’s great to have at hand without needed heavy lifting.

Another great tip is when you need to add flour to your food processor in small increments. You need to unlock and lock the lid a couple of time again loosing time if you ask me.  So before adding any flour (or other dry ingredient), I shape a double piece of parchment or waxed paper into a funnel and slide it into the feed tube of the food processor.  Now your dry ingredients can be added as needed to the funnel and it will flow slowly, evenly and steadily into the work bowl.

Sweet Kitchen Tips 19

Here are a couple of tips when dealing with soups.

To avoid curdling when adding yogurt or sour cream, use low heat only.  Never raise the heat beyond a simmer once you have added yogurt or sour cream.

How about avoiding rice or pasta to overcook in your soup? Simply cook the pasta or rice separately and add it to the soup shortly before serving, to rewarm it.

And if you don’t have time to make soup and are using can but you don’t care for that canned taste? By adding a splash of wine or dry sherry, or even a bit of brandy and some chopped herbs on top, you can mask that taste and bring the soup to a whole other level.

I think the hardest part of a fatty soup is drawing out the fat out of the soup.  Here are some tips.  Place the soup in the freezer for 30 minutes, the fat will congeal on top making it easier to skim off and discard with a spoon or spatula.  You can also place a couple of ice cubes in a slotted spoon or in cheesecloth and drag it over the top of the soup.  The fat will cling to it.