Almanac for Homemakers

Cooking Fresh Vegetables "Remove bruised, wilted, yellowed, or tough portions from fresh vegetables. Trim sparingly to avoid excessive loss of food and nutrients." It's summer time! That means that a lot of fresh produce is in season. You should be able to buy and keep fresh produce now for cooking rather than getting items canned. You might even save money on buying fresh now! Save getting canned items for fall and winter time. Try to buy veggies that you are planning to cook within a few days. Don't leave them to rot on your countertop or in your fridge. Here are some cooking tips from our Almanac: 1. Wash all vegetables before cooking. Especially leafy greens. They grow in the dirt so chances are you are going to find dirt. You can see in our Homemaker Heroine in the picture of the day! She is washing in a colander and lifting from the water, letting the dirty water to pour out. 2. To ensure the best flavor and textur...

Pointers on Judging Freshness of Fish "Certain varieties of fresh fish are most abundant at certain seasons." We talked about fish before. This March Post was about shopping for fish cuts. We also talked about what fresh fish looks like at the beginning of May. Like canned food, this almanac likes to touch on subjects more than once. I guess just in case you forget not buy fish that is slimey or smelly.  I always hear people say that they don't like fish because it smells like fish. Well bravo. You can smell. It's fish. It smells. The smell shouldn't be off putting! Have you been to a lake, river, or ocean? Most fish you catch will have a hint of the water it came from. That really strong fish smell is caused by a bacteria. It is more common to have a "fishy" smell in salt water fish than fresh water. This reason is because fish that live in salt water have to counter their environment by crea...

How Long Can You Keep Fresh Fruits? "Before storing fruits, sort them and either use or discard damaged fruits immediately." Fresh fruit is great until it isn't. Here are some tips from our Almanac to keep fruit fresh: 1. Unripe fruits should be left to ripen in open air at room temp. 2. Melons can be stored at room temp for a few days. 3. Fresh fruits can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. 4. Leave stems on fruit to help keep fresher 5. Citrus fruit will keep better in the refrigerator You can find more tips on how to store fruits and veggies in this article from The Kitchn . (I didn't spell that wrong, that's the name of the site) I know I store my fruits and veg wrong. Part of me just doesn't care ok. There I said it! I'll wash it and put it away, but after that I'm not losing sleep if my bananas are next to the apples. I do feel bad when something goes bad in the fridge. That...

Guidelines for Buying Fresh Fruit "Fresh fruits are available in fairly good supply in our stores through most of the year, but quality is usually higher and prices more reasonable if you make it a point to buy a particular fruit in its most abundant season." Buying fruit when it is in season is always best. You want to get produce at it's peak for optimum flavor and quality. The USDA has a Seasonal Produce Guide. Our Almanac even suggests reading the newspaper for clues to see when fruits will be available in which season. Here are some tips on buying fresh fruits: Low Prices Low prices means that the item is in abundance. Don't go too crazy when prices drop! You could end up throwing out food you didn't eat. So don't waste your money when the sales come. Don't Buy by Size Alone Large-sized fruit doesn't really meant that it is the best quality. Select fruit that is best suited for your needs. Appearances can b...