Better Home Cooking Basics: #63 Store Cucumbers at Room Temperature

Today's tip is to store cucumbers at room temperature. I never knew this. I always kept mine in the fridge but apparently I'm doing it all wrong (according to Cooking Light magazine). Evidently  cucumbers develop pits outside & wateriness inside when chilled below 50 degrees. To prevent this from happening store your cucumbers in a cool place on your kitchen counter. Also, be mindful & store them away from tomatoes, melons & bananas. Turns out cukes are sensitive to the ethylene gas these fruits & veggies emit.

I learned so many life lessons today.  Is anyone else running out of counter space these days?

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Green Pea & Asparagus Soup with Poached Eggs & Toast

I love a flavorful soup that isn’t full of cream (although cream based soups are delicious too). This soup that I found while skimming the pages of Cooking Light magazine called out to me. It’s vegetable based & only has a little bit of butter. Plus, they recommend serving it with a poached egg & toast which is a no brainer for me that I was automatically going to love this recipe. I did. Chris did. You will. It’s a perfectly green & light enough for warm spring days or nights yet satisfying soup!