Conference turris::cooks

    You can make fine breadcrumbs in a blender.  Mix in  some spices or
    herbs, and store the crumbs in a jar in your freezer.  Use them to
    make baked or fried foods, like fish or chicken, or as an addition
    to stuffing.  By the way, let the bread dry out before using the
    blender on it.  If you really powder the dried bread, you can use
    the flour-like result to thicken gravy, or use it in bread or muffin
    recipes.  Again, powder it and store it in the freezer in a jar.
    
    I save hard rolls, like the ones our closest chinese takeout insists
    on including with our order, and chop them into cubes for stuffing.
    I've made bread pudding with them too.
    
    If you REALLY want to be frugal, save veggie peelings and chicken
    and meat bones (fish does not seem to work well) in a large
    (gallon) zip-lock in the freezer.  When the bag is full, put all
    the stuff in a big pot, cover with water, add a bay leaf and some 
    herbs, and cook for a few hours.  Strain, and you now have a nice
    broth to use for a soup base or in sauces and gravy.  For the latter,
    freeze the broth in an ice-cube tray.  Then you can take out just what
    you want.  For soup, either use fresh or freeze in 1-2 cup containers
    that you've frugally saved from yoghurt/cottagecheese/ricotta.
    
    I know what you mean about needing to be frugal with the food bill.
    EVERYTHING seems to be sky-high these days.  The corn crop did not
    do well and therefore corn products and meat and milk have gone way
    up.  A 10 oz piece of medium cheddar, store brand, used to be 1.49 
    and now is 1.89.  1/2 gallon of 2% milk used to be ~1.05 and is now
    ~1.25.  ACK!
    
    --Louise

    If you dry the bread before you make breadcrumbs (in a blender or food
    processor) you can store them in a tightly closed jar on your shelf.  I
    have done that for years.  I'm too scotch to buy bread crumbs.
    
    I don't grind anything up with the bread, however.
    
    Mary Lou

    Pickle juice is also great for "deodorizing" a sour smelling sink drain
    or garbage disposal. Not really recycling it, but another use.
    
    For the bread crusts.... toast them, then make crumbs. they keep quite
    a long time.!
    
    Bob Grover
    

using the pickle juice:

blanch firm vegetables in boiling water for approx. 1 - 3 minutes, depending
on the veggies and how crisp you want them:

	broccoli florets	- 3 mins - plunge into ice water immediately
	cauliflower florets	- 3 mins - plunge into ice water immediately
	green bean segments	- 2 mins - plunge into ice water immediately
	green/red pepper strips - 0 mins - use raw

when veggies are cooled well, drain and pat dry.  drop into pickle juice
and store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.  you can add zip to this by adding
either dried hot pepper seeds or a diced jalepeno pepper.  I prefer dill
pickle juice for my veggies, but sweet juice can be good - or you can
pickle cooked beets and eggs in sweet pickle juice:

drain canned beets (whole or slices) or use baked, peeled, fresh beets (cut
into chunks).  Add beets and enough beet juice to give nice color to pickle 
juice and store for at least 2 days before eating.  Hard boil eggs/peel/cool.
Add whole eggs to pickle juice and refrigerate for at least 2 days before
eating.  Slice and use as garnish for salads.  You can add eggs and beets
at the same time and get red eggs for garnish on pasta and potato salad.

My Dad uses pickle juice for making pickled eggs.  Just hard boil some eggs
peel and drop in the juice.  I a couple of weeks enjoy.

Steve

    One my auntie use to do is.... slice cucumbers and drop into dill or
    sour pickle juice and refrig. for about one week (or more).
    
    Bob G.
    

    i've only used good french or italian bread but croutons aren't such a
    bad idea.  make sure that you slice the bread in larger chunks then,
    in a skillet (with some butter, fruity olive oil, a couple minced
    garlic cloves and herbs/freshly ground pepper) and saute them.  the
    bread absorbs the butter/olive oil - plus, these are the most flavorful
    croutons that i've ever had.  i add them to all sorts of dishes.  they
    taste elegant too!  add one part butter to one part olive oil and saute
    the herbs and garlic a bit first.  the heat should me high to medium
    when you add the bread then continually turn the bread over, either
    with the pan/wrist or with a wooden utensil.  after the butter/oil is
    absorbed the cubes will become crunchy.  place them on a clean white
    towel (or paper) to absorb the access and then add freshly ground pepper
    and a little salt - whatever you prefer.
    
    i don't have measurements since it's only by sight.
    
    
    /gail 

    Food you can recycle:
    ---------------------
    
    sour milk - use for baking, especially good in pancakes, biscuits,
    or any quick bread raised with baking powder.  (if you have a glut
    of milk and intend on baking to use it up leave it on the counter
    overnight to sour a bit before baking with it.. the results are
    so much lighter)
    
    Bits of dried cheese or the leftovers from the cheese board.. save
    in a plastic bag in the freezer and grate later for quiches, eggs
    and sauces.
    
    Left over bread or stale bread - I save them up in batches in the
    freezer and run it all through the food processor when I've got
    a big bag full.  Uses are many from coating veggies for frying to
    making burgers, rissoles, nut cutlets or vegetable bakes.. don't forget
    you can season the bread crumbs and use on casseroles, baked macaroni
    and cheese etc.  Not too long ago I had a large loaf of garlic bread
    left over.. I dried it in a warm oven and whizzed it into delicious
    Italian flavoured bread crumbs that I used to bread egg plant with!
    Store all breadcrumbs made at home in bags in the freezer to ensure
    they do not mold.
    
    Vegetable peel, left over bits of onion, pepper etc.  As mentioned
    earlier store in a bag and later make stock.  I make vegetable stock
    by simmering all the left over peel (including potato peel for a
    really rich brown stock!!) with a little olive oil, some herbs and
    a bit of garlic.  Flavour strained stock with a pinch of cinnamon
    and use for delicious French Onion Soup!
    
    Leathery old apples - cook peel and all with a bit of water, lemon
    juice and sugar.. whizz in blender, press through a sieve and enjoy
    homemade apple sauce!
    
    dried out old oranges - grate the peel finely and use to flavour
    pancakes, cakes or cookies.. Buckwheat pancakes are especially good
    flavoured with orange peel.. You can always spread the peel out
    and dry it and store in air tight bottles or freeze in a little
    zip lock bag.  If the oranges have any juice in them, juice and add to 
    salad dressing for a little zest.  Equal parts orange juice and peanut
    butter make a wonderful quick salad dressing for tossed mixed salad.
    
    brown bananas - banana bread or banana cake.  A chocolate and banana
    drink in the blender is always a well received treat as well!
    
    Stale cake crumbs - whizz in blender until you have fine crumbs..
    mix with a little soft butter or margarine, dampen a little with
    orange juice or your favourite fruit liqueur and press into a pie
    plate.. bake for a few minutes until set and fill with cream, custard
    or fruits for a trifle tart.. you can also use the same method
    for a cheesecake crust.  Another wonderful cake from stale cake
    crumbs, is to mix two cups of cake crumbs with 1/2 cup of apple mincemeat
    or orange marmalade and 2 TBS carob or coco powder.. Form into a 
    "log shape", dust with powered sugar and chill.. slice into little 
    rounds and serve with pouring cream.

    Stale corn bread - use to make stuffing with an egg, chopped onion,
    peppers, mushrooms, grated carrot, herbs and spices moistened with
    a little stock.. stuff into hollowed peppers or large mushrooms
    caps, sprinkle with cheese and bake.
    
    Left over pie crust trimmings.. brush with melted butter, sprinkle
    with cinnamon and sugar and bake.. they'll be all sorts of strange
    shapes and sizes but kids love 'em!
    
    Left over pickle juices can be used in place of vinegar in salad
    dressings and mayonnaise sauces.
    
    Left over potatoes - make hash or grate cooked potatoes and form
    into cakes with chopped onion, chive, seasoning, egg and breadcrumbs..
    coat in breadcrumbs and fry into potato burgers..
    
    Left over chili - layer into a casserole with thawed frozen sweet
    corn, shredded cheese, corn chips or tortilla chips and bake into 
    a casserole.  Serve with shredded lettuce and sour cream.
    
    gailann

    
>    brown bananas - banana bread or banana cake.  A chocolate and banana
>    drink in the blender is always a well received treat as well!

Could you go into more detail on how to make a chocolate and banana drink?
I'm a real fan of bananas and chocolate!!

--Sharon

    re: .10
    
    1 cup of very cold cow's milk or soya milk
    1 ripe banana
    2 TBS sweetened chocolate powder or 1 tsp unsweetend coco powder
    and sweetener of your choice, eg., honey, sugar, etc..
    4 ice cubes.
    dash of vanilla
    
    Place all ingredients in blender jar and whizz for a couple of minutes
    until you have a thick, chocolate drink.. pour into long chilled
    milk shake glass, sprinkle with chocolate shavings if you are being
    really naughty and enjoy.
    
    

    Let's share ideas to save money by more fully using what we buy.

    A few examples:

       Save the end slices of bread (nobody likes the end piece) in the
     freezer. When you need bread crumbs, put a slice in the food processor.
     Makes great fresh crumbs. If you need dry crumbs, put on a cookie sheet
     under the broiler for a few minutes. Result: I get about a half cup of
     dry bread crumbs per loaf of bread (2 end slices per loaf).


       We buy bone-in chicken breasts. I debone them and save the carcasses 
     to make a chicken stock then make soup. Result:  I get one or two 'free' 
     meals instead of throwing the bones away.     
 

    Waste not, want not - always a good idea.  
    
    Like Bob, I save old bread for crumbs.  Sometimes I freeze the bread
    before making the crumbs, but it can become soggy.  So lately, what
    I have been doing is making the crumbs first, then freezing.
    
    Also, when I do not need all the onion I have chopped, I put the
    remaining chopped onion in a margarine tub in the freezer.  That way,
    when I only want a small quantity of onion, I just retrieve it from
    the freezer allready chopped and straight into the dish.  Same with
    chopped pepper.   
    
    When mushrooms are on special, I slice and saute what I don't user
    immediately, and freeze.  Again, all set to go when I do want them.
    
    Sometimes a recipe calls for a tablespoon of tomato paste.  The 
    remainder gets frozen in an ice cube tray and then put in a plastic
    bag so I can take out as many cubes as I need (same with canned tomato
    sauce).
    
    Buying hamburg in the larger packages is usually cheaper.  I make
    a basic meatbball recipe, cook in the oven then freeze.  When a
    quick meal is needed, take out the number of meatballs required, 
    defrost and add to whatever type of sauce you want:  sweet and sour,
    BBQ, mushroom, etc.
    
    I usually make much more rice than I need for any one meal.  I serve
    it plain with whatever dish I have made the first time, but a day
    or two later it goes into fried rice or a heat it up with veggies
    such as chopped celery, peppers, onions, carrots, whatever.  Maybe add
    a little white wine, depending on what you may have added for veggies,
    and you have a different rice dish than earlier in the week. The veggies
    can be of the leftover variety too.
    
    As for veggies, leftovers can go in the freeer.  Mashed potatoes, as
    we all know, turn into potato pancakes or use as the topping for
    shepard's pie.
    
    In somecases, leftover veggies can go into a casserole or soup.  If
    you don't have to worry about weight or cholesterol, leftover veggies 
    can get topped with a white or cheese sauce.
    
    As you can see, I try to use leftovers or freeze them.  Thank heaven
    for plastic bags and the microwave.  Not only do they help me use
    what I buy, but they allow me to save my time also by cooking for
    more than one meal whenever possible.
    
    The ideas are endless and these are only those that seem to immediately
    spring to mind.
    

    Good idea for a topic.  
    
    Another way to save money in the kitchen is thrifty (frugal) purchases
    of equipment.  
    
    I have bought so many neat, as well as necessary, gadgets for the
    kitchen (and dining room) at yard sales, flea markets and auctions.
    I picked up a fabulous restaurant pepper mill (about 2 feet high)
    for $3.00 at a local auction house.  I bought a punch bowl and
    20 glasses for $2.00 at a yard sale.  Also, a bean pot at the
    Salvation Army warehouse (for $5.00), a cast-iron skillet (#8) in
    perfect condition at antique place (for $4.00), a beautiful green
    shaker (glass) that I keep my paprika in (for $1.00), salt and
    pepper shakers, dishes, depression ware (cups and saucers), and
    the list goes on.
    
    I can't wait for Spring...so that I can see what other fabulous
    buys I get.
    
    

    When I have leftovers I make my own frozen dinners and freeze for a
    later date.  Saves cooking days you don't feel like it.  Usually, I
    only cook what can be eaten up that meal... no leftovers at all.  If I
    want some I will cook double so we can all eat the item again.

    
    - buy spices in bulk; use refillable bottles.
    
    - in Canada milk is available in bags (in sets of 3 bags totalling
      4 litres) when milk bag is used, the top is cut off, and the bag
      is washed. They are WONDERFUL for freezing meat because they are
      thick and conveniently shaped.
    
    - buy 10 lbs of ground beef on special, weigh them out in 1 lb sized
      portions, shape into elongated egg-shape and put into the milk
      bags described above. Freeze until needed.
    
    - old bread-ends (or those found at the bottom of the freezer a year
      old) go into a paper bag atop the fridge for drying. When bag gets
      full, use food processor to make into crumbs and store in tupperware
      until needed.
    
    - buy mozzarella in bulk (LARGE portions). Grate it all, and put it
      in a bag or plastic container in the freezer. Keeps a long time and
      great when you need just a little melted over a dish.
    
    - buy big turkeys, and after defrosting, do not cook, but debone.
      have several dishes to make lined up and freeze outcome. Great for
      Stew, curry dishes, poached breast meat, turkey cordon-bleu, etc.
      This is definitely a weekend project.
    
    - being the only one of the two of us that enjoys fresh vegetables,
      I often have the depressing problem of them going bad before I
      get to finish them. Sometimes, when I know the tomatoes or peppers
      (shalots, etc) will not last another 2 days, I wash and cut 'em
      all, throw them in the blender, into a container and into a freezer.
      When I have time to make spagetti sauce, I thaw the concoction out
      and toss it in.
    
    - Garbage: vegetable matter into compost pile, all other "smelly"
      garbage (meat bones, skin, etc) put into a designated grocery
      bag and placed in the fridge freezer (and added to when necessary)
      until garbage day, where it is put out to the curb. Great way
      of reducing the smell!
    
    - freeze coffee (ground or unground) seems to last forever that way,
      also preserves the taste. I do the same for baking chocolate squares,
      since I don't use them that often (I remember my mother's used to
      get stale in the cupboard).
    
    - Husband often is very picky about cereal. I've bought a few types
      for him thinking that he likes this type, only to have him eat one
      bowl then forget the box. He also does not like the last 1/2 bowl
      (the one with all the crumbs) of the box. I have a large container
      in which I dump all cereal (non-sweetened, like special K, bran
      cereal, shreddies, muslix, etc). There is a type of Bran muffin
      I make that requires the cereal portion to be dissolved in boiling
      water before the rest of the batter is created. I use the required
      amount from this vat of miscellaneous cereal I have collected. The
      results are ALWAYS great, and I've wasted no cereal at all!
    
    - every year my friend goes to florida to where his parents have a
      cottage. He always brings me back a couple of over-sized fresh
      lemons that have not been sprayed (from the back yard). I grate
      all the zest off of them, and freeze it in little wax-paper packets.
      The white get peeled off, and the rest goes through the juicer to
      be frozen in ice-cube trays.
    
    Monica
    (that's all I can think of at the moment)
    
    

    oh yeah, and back on the topic of garbage; I save all egg shells,
    put into blender (not a great smell, I admit) and use resulting
    powder for plant food. 

    Buying spices in bulk is not really a money saver. Most spices lose
    their freshenss and flavor relatively quickly. Unless you *use* all the
    large quantity rapidly, you will end up with less flavorful spices
    which I would throw out.

    re: .4  Could you please post the muffin recipe (in the appropriate
    note)? I love this idea for using cereal (we have the same problem!)

    Some ideas that we use ...
    
    Does anyone store their flour in the freezer? This helps keep ours
    fresh, since we don't bake very often.
    
    Always make a double recipe. Buy lots of tupperware and freeze
    individual & family portions. Saves time and energy.
    
    Use odds and end of vegetables to make a soup stock. Simmer in a quart
    of water with some bay leaves, etc. Freeze in small portions. Also, save 
    the water from boiling dried beans,etc. for soup stock.
                  
    
    

Can't spices be stored in the freezer to preserve freshness?

I hope so else I have a pound of cumin seeds and a half pound of black
mustard seeds that are just gathering frost!  :-)

D!

    Whole Spices last much longer than dried herbs.  And freezing in
    airtight containers helps.  Zipper seal bags with as much air squeezed
    out as possible is best.  By whole spices, I mean whole seeds or whole
    roots.  For herbs, whole leaves is better than rubbed, which is better
    than minced.  Powdered is the worst.

    
    I keep reading in this notesfile about all you feeze-a-holics.  If it
    exists, it gets frozen and thawed out at some later date; but, I can't
    help but wonder if your freezers are the size of my entire kitchen? :)
    
    I have started to follow the methods of these madnesses and I have
    completely run out of tupperware and freezer room with a couple of
    days of saving things that could be tossed or saved to be be used again.
    
    So how do you do it?
    
    If I were to buy a real freezer (as opposed to the small box ontop of
    my fridge), I feel almost certain that it would takes years to recupe
    the cost in stale breadends and vegetable skins.
    
	So tell me, what's the deal?
    
    		aud...

    Depends on your lifestyle really; my husband is a BIG meat eater --
    I bought a small chest freezer (one size larger than the ones with
    the square lids -- I forgot the capacity)  when he moved out of his
    parents' home. THEY had a chest freezer to end all chest freezers --
    Dad goes out a shoots a deer, and they have 200lbs of meat!.
    When we bought our home we upgraded to the next largest (and sold
    the smaller one to my buddy at here at work who is single). Yes,
    the darned thing is always full, and hubby is starting to get
    aggrevated when I want him to grab something out of the bottom. We also
    have a second fridge (Mom-in-law's old old one) in the basement beside
    the freezer, and its full of beverages, it's freezer full of little
    things.
    Both our parents had this same set up, so for us, this is a lifestyle
    we are used to. 
    Yes, we also have to perform "freezer-inventory" every so often
    so as not to get crazed with all the stuff we have lying around.
    
    Monica

    Unless this is considered pathologically thrifty, I wash out my 
    Ziploc bags in soap and water and use them again.  Please do not
    have me committed, I know someone who puts her aluminum foil in the
    dishwasher to reuse it.  :)
    
    Peigi

    you have made my day - i just sat here laughing when i read your note.
    enuf is enuf.   i try to be very thrifty, - that is buying in bulk on
    sale, and not wasting.....but moderation is the key.  imagine if the
    power went out for a couple of days!

re .13

I used to laugh at my mom for washing and reusing her plastic bags.  It used to
be thrifty... now it's called recylcling, and we do it, too.  And mom has the 
last laugh.

    I wash out ziploc bags and reuse them too.  I also, don't laugh,
    reuse paper towels.  When I wash my hands and dry them with a
    paper towel (Bounty), I'll set it by the unused paper towels and use
    it to either dry my hands again or mop up something off the counter,
    or anywhere else or use as a container for the peelings, etc.
    from vegetables. 
    
    Flo

    Why don't you just use a towel to dry your hands, or am I
    missing here? The most convenient for me is to have a towel
    (one of those little ones with the button on top that forms a loop)
    on the oven handle where I can get to it fast between rinsings.
    Great when you are involved doing a lot of kitchen work, 
    

re:freezers...

Hey, my father has a full-size upright freezer, and is really in to
freezing. He *never* makes a single batch of anything - he makes
double batches and freezes it.  Standard stuff he keeps in the
freezer are: par-boiled fresh mushrooms in 2 oz packets, chicken
and beef stock in ice cubes, various soups (freeze before adding
cream/milk), cooked bulk poultry, not to mention buying meat, butter,
etc in bulk.

What's more, he keeps an inventory list on the front of the freezer,
checking things off as he uses them, so he always know how much 
there is of whatever.

Does anyone know what the *smallest* (also cheapest) freezer I can buy
is?  I'm moving to a new apartment and I might like one if I can get it
up there and also afford it.

D!

re: buying a freezer...

	I've seen them this month advertised in the Classified Notes file.

	Karen

    I wish my husband could see this note.  He is a "use it once and throw
    it away" type.  I admit, I haven't gone so far as to wash and reuse
    plastic baggies and aluminum foil.  I stop just short of that.
    
    I will set aside a baggie that was used but is "clean" and put things
    like bones or fat in it before it goes into the wastebasket.  And I
    will reuse aluminum foil on the same or another dish when cleaning
    up after a meal, or set a small unused piece aside for future use, but
    put it in the dishwasher?  Nope.  I'd be afraid of it getting lose and
    into the mechanism.
    
    I will even save "clean" paper napkins after a meal to wipe out the
    cat's bowl, etc.
    
    As for the person who wondered about a freezer full of tupperware, I 
    use margarine tubs, marshmallow fluff containers or containers from
    the deli, cool-whip contaiers, plastic bags,  etc.  I have VERY FEW 
    store bought freezer containers.
    
    Last summer, Eidelweis was having a special on a bushel of
    strawberries.  That is when all those containers really come in handy.
    I have tasty fresh strawberries just waiting for me along with
    soup stock, prepared breadcrumbs, frozen meals (from leftovers or
    deliberately double sized meals), etc.
    
    I would be lost without my big freezer.  Where would I go for those
    fast "I don't feel like cooking/shopping" or "time is of a premium 
    tonight" meals?
    
    And having raised 3 sons, cultivated a vegetable garden, and been
    limited to available time, I learned early to use everything -
    including time and energy. :^) 

    re .14.
    
    My grandparents had a large chest freezer filled with produce from
    there extensive garden.  It's wonderful having corn on the cob for
    Christmas dinner.  They lost power during a hurricane one year.  The
    rest of the town was back on within a day, but a tree had fallen and
    ripped the wires right out of their house.  Papa bought a bag (or more)
    of dry ice, layered it on top of the frozen food, and four days later
    when it was turned on again, everything was still frozen solid. 
    They're gone now, but my mother lives in that house and uses that same
    freezer.  I was asked to pick up the Digital turkeys for two co-workers
    and all three fit nicely with plenty of room to spare.
    
    I have an upright freezer; I believe is easier to keep track of
    what's in it.  I bought it on sale the week before the sales tax went
    into effect here in Mass.  I go into the Haymarket every so often and
    take advantage of sales there.
    
    My best friend has a husband and two sons.  She wouldn't have a freezer if
    you gave it to her.  Her reasoning (valid):  if any one of the men knew
    there was food, they wouldn't stop until it was gone.  Instead of saving
    money, it would cost her a fortune.
    

    
    >>>My best friend has a husband and two sons.  She wouldn't have a freezer if
    >>>you gave it to her.  Her reasoning (valid):  if any one of the men knew
    >>>there was food, they wouldn't stop until it was gone.  Instead of saving
    >>>money, it would cost her a fortune.
    
       Aha! the solution. Sell the freezer behind hubbie's back.
       8-) 8-)
       (don't think it would work - we'd just end up going out more
       often.....)
    
    Monica
    
    
    

    Freezers are great! I got a great deal on mine it was free. My 87
    year old neighbor decided she no longer needed 2 chest freezers.
    If I had to buy a replacement it would be an upright freezer. If your
    short and try to something on the bottom of the freezer it can be quite
    a bummer. It's evan worse if one of the cats gets too curious and jumps
    in while  I have the lid open.
    
    I never buy meat unless it is on sale. I stock up when a good sale
    comes buy. At Thanksgiving this year I bought 3 turkeys. I freeze
    stewed tomatos, strawberries, apple pies, apple crisps, blueberries,
    pepper. The only think I haven't had much luck with is corn on hte 
    cob. It tends to get mushy on me.

  Anybody know how to dehydrate fruit using the oven instead of buying a
 dehydrator?

  - Bob

I've dried tomatoes and zucchini.  It requires wire racks.  I have a couple that
are for grilling fish.  The holes are small enough to prevent the dried stuff 
from falling thru.

I slice plum tomatoes in half, or slice small zukes in 1/4" thick slices.  I put
as many as I can on each tray, and put them in the oven on a very low setting
(150-175).  I happen to have a convection oven, and the convection setting dries
food faster, because it circulates the air better.  It takes between 24 and 48 
hours to dry the food, but this is not a hard and fast range.  I usually 
consolidate the two racks on to one as the food shrinks.  Then add more food
to the empty rack.  You want the food leathery, not soft, and not brittle.

Yields:  5 pounds of tomatoes fit in a 1 quart ziploc.  
	10 pounds of zukes fit in a 1 quart ziploc.

The zukes are great chewy snacks.  They taste real buttery.  I've partially 
rehydrated both and marinated them in olive oil with basil onion and garlic for
addition to salads and the like.  Also, I use them in soups and sauces.

Price?  It's probably as cheap to buy sun dried tomatoes from the store, but
not as much fun!

Saw this on one of the TV cooking shows:

	For those of you who have pot covers that use a metal strap for the
handle (al la Calphalon) you can use wine bottle corks under the strap as
an insulator so you don't burn your fingers when pulling the lid off a hot
pot.  We use 2 or 3 corks on each lid.  They keep you from having to reach
for a pot holder or towel.  They are inexpensive (i.e. come free with the
wine), they hold up well, are always there when you need them, and are easy
to replace when you lose one...

Al

    
    Re .26 on the subject of corks, how do you keep the corks in place
    around the handle ?   Do they just slide under ?
    
    I can imagine weird things with baggie ties and such, but they 
    don't seem too secure.
    
    BTW -- corks are the great insulating bonus free in the kitchen.
    I have even made hot mats (cf. trivets) by wiring them together, but
    that's another story.

<    Re .26 on the subject of corks, how do you keep the corks in place
<    around the handle ?   Do they just slide under ?
    
That's the beauty of it all, the corks are just the right size to be held in
place by pressure.  The corks compress ever so slightly and hold in place just
fine.  Of the 8 or so lids I have, only one is too big for the corks to work.
I guess I'll just have to find a bigger wine bottle;-);-)