Better Home Cooking Basics: #48 Make your Lettuce Last Longer in a Container with a Paper Towel.

Every week I buy a large container of organic baby lettuces. On a good week I’ll finish the whole package spread out between meals. On a bad week I’ll scrunch up my nose & throw away my greens (& hard earned cash with it) because the tender baby lettuce leaves have wilted & worse have become mushy & have started to ooze some weird liquid that forms a nice sludge at the bottom of the container.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #2 Use a Garbage Bowl

I remember when I was in my mid-twenties one of my best friends (& also roommate at the time), Dawn, & I would come home after work & turn on Rachael Ray & watch her make 30 minute meals on the Food Network.  Then we would go into the kitchen & make the same pasta nearly every night regardless of what we just (thought) we learned in the half hour of Rachael Ray's cooking lesson.  The one thing I always remembered her talking about was a "garbage bowl." I remember smirking & thinking Rachael needs a garbage bowl - I don't. (WRONG young Heather - you do & did.)

Fast forward & I'm taking a cooking lesson with Chris & the instructor tells us to basically establish a garbage bowl - because my friends & fellow food loving cooks you always should.

I usually use a large mixing bowl for my garbage bowl but you could use a plastic grocery bag too or whatever you have on hand. You just put it on your counter right next to your cutting board & it's like the sous chef you've always wanted.

It really saves so much time & keeps your work space & you cleaner. By using a garbage bowl you don't have to open & close the trash & worry about cross contaminating your food (like when you don't know how to open the garbage when you have chicken juice on your hands without washing the garbage too).  If you are peeling veggies you can peel them right into the bowl. If you're cracking eggs, you can throw the shells in there too. It's just a great way to corral all that trash you'd be running back & forth to the garbage can with. Then when you're finished prepping or if the bowl gets full (whichever comes first) you simply toss all of it in the trash. This has honestly saved me hours on my life.  Try it, you may be surprised about your new free time you just gained.

Thanks for reading my better home cooking basics. I'll be posting them every Tuesday so come back for a visit or read more of them here.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #1 Keep Your Work Space Clean

I'm not a chef (although my husband flatters me by saying so). I'm not classically trained in cooking or baking, either. I do enjoy eating & cooking & that's what I document here. I take mental notes when things work well & when they're disasters.

I thought we could all learn from my successes & failures in the kitchen, so I bring you the first installment of Tip Tuesday, where I'll share with you easy ways to be a better home cook. Don't worry they'll be short & to the point & more importantly easy to remember.

Today's tip is: keep your work space clean. It may sound obvious but it's essential. First & foremost give yourself space to cook (mentally & physcially).  If your kitchen table doubles as a counter top & a place where things collect like mine does take the time to clear it off before your hands get dirty.  Then, continue to keep it clean while you're cooking (like someone is photographing your space for blog photos).  So, if you're cutting garlic, for example, make sure you discard any of the thin sticky peel. Sometimes that peel is so stubborn you have to wipe your cutting board down with a wet rag or sponge, once you've done that you can cut whatever is next on the list. Plus, if you keep cleaning as you go - less to clean after. Win. Win.

Avocado Trick

When Chris & I took our Cuban cooking class our instructor gave us a great tip on how to keep avocados from turning brown while still prepping them for use.  I've heard you should squeeze lemon on them and things of that sort but this trick requires no extra ingredients, just a knife and some precision.

Check out how after the jump!

 PS: Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Eileen :) xo!