Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

If you make meals all of the time, it can be boring. Try spicing things up with a couple cooking lessons. Think about it, it not only feeds you, but it might also be something to entertain you and others. Below, you will see some great tips that will make cooking fun and exciting for you.

There is a trick to save your hard work and be able to use it instantly. In a small bowl, combine two tablespoons of water and 3 teaspoons of corn starch. Stir it into your sauce as it simmers and it will get thicker. To keep from over-thickening the sauce, stir it constantly and add the starch mixture gradually.

Cooking vegetables for a long time in a boiling liquid will remove nutrients that are found in them. Quick cooking methods like steaming and sauteing will retail flavor and nutrients better. You can also enjoy vegetables in their raw state to get a boost of natural energy!

Have you ever needed to throw away moldy fruit and felt guilty about it? Ever thought if you could just pick out the mold and salvage the fruit? You should never eat or keep a piece of fruit that has any mold on it. Toss it in the trash; you may not be able to see all of the areas that are affected by the mold, and if you eat any of it, you can become very ill.

temp chef jobs

Make your meal preparation go more quickly by preparing some of the ingredients ahead of time. Look at your recipe ahead of time and draft up a list of what you can do to get ready, but don't risk spoiling any ingredients. You can make a lot of your preparations a day or more in advance. Completing half the work ahead of time makes cooking time quicker and more enjoyable.

They will act somewhat like a sponge that soaks up all the water. A better option is to use a clean, damp cloth to hand-wipe each mushroom.

Try lowering the amount of oil you cook with if you are trying to lose weight and eat healthier. There is a lot of fat that are not needed in butter and oil. Using a nonstick spray is a good alternative as it has the same effects without all the calories.

It's important to include beans and tofu in your diet if you're trying to increase your protein intake. Both can be found at any grocery store. Pan fried tofu, lightly sprinkled with your favorite seasonings, is a delicious substitute to meat. You can boil the beans with a bit of herbs to give the protein more flavor.

To prepare pumpkins for baking, cut the standing pumpkin in half through the center. Take both halves with the cut sides down and place on different baking sheets to bake. Put a little water on the sheet and then bake the pumpkin halves for about an hour at 350 degrees.

Measure the amount of cooking oil you are using! If you want to lower the fat in your home cooked meals, you need to carefully measure any oil that you are going to use rather then just guessing. This will give you the ability to know exactly how much oil you are using.

Many strongly-scented vegetables and herbs will leave an odor on your cutting board, even if you clean it. Label the ending of your chopping board by marking it with ink. This will help you to identify the different sides of the board.

After purchasing unripened fruits, you should put them into a plastic bag with perforations. As a fruit ripens, it produces ethylene gas. When you keep these fruits in aerated bags, the gas that might normally build up and be trapped is released and allows the fruit to maintain freshness longer.

These are great tips that will transform your cooking from boring to fun. Cooking is the best way to have fun and have a delicious experience while you learn about food. You will also learn more about yourself as in learning what you like to cook. When cooking becomes less of a chore and more of an adventure, your meals will be tastier.