This can only be a good thing although it is a shame that it took an international financial crisis to make us remember the lesson. These days, waste of any kind is greeted with public disapproval and so it is at home too. Most people spend a very high percentage of their outgoings on food and so anyone who wants to cut back, has to first look to this quarter to make a saving.

However, saving does not inevitably mean ‘not buying’, it can and should mean ‘not throwing away’. In other words, prepare your food and do not let your food go off. Preparation and storage are the key words. With that thought in mind, here are a few of my tips for preparing and storing food correctly.

Bread – tons of bread is thrown away every day, because it has gone stale or mouldy and yet it is totally needless. Store your bread in the deep freezer and not in the bread bin. A whole loaf will slice frozen with the proper knife and sliced bread will come away slice by slice. There is no need to defrost as it only takes a minute or two at room temperature.

Bananas – most people understand that banana skins go black if stored in the fridge, but most people do not know that bananas can be frozen solid. Yes, the skins will still turn black, but the fruit will be unharmed.

Cake – to prevent cake from going fusty, store it in a tin with an apple. The moisture in the apple will prevent the cake from going hard.

Watercress – to prevent watercress from wilting, store it upside down in water, that is stalks up.

Salt – salt often gets damp, particularly if stored in a steamy kitchen without sufficient ventilation, but you do not have to worry about that if you put two or three grains of rice in the salt cellar. They will soak up the moisture before the salt.

Cereal – prevent cereal from going soft by resealing the bag with a few clothes pegs. Your cereal will last weeks longer.

Jam – boiling jam makes a scum which has to be skimmed off and thrown away. This wastes jam, goodness and flavour. However, if you whisk a knob of butter into the mixture at the last minute the scum will not appear, saving time and goodness.

Funnel – you always seem to need a funnel when you do not have one. Then you vow to get a funnel for the next time. Do not bother. Just cut the top nine inches off a plastic bottle of cola. It makes an ideal throw-away funnel. Some of the larger bottles even have a handle on them which is even better.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

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Regrettably, that appetizing food cannot be eaten unless someone goes to the trouble of actually cooking it. If you are looking for some delicious treats to do with the Hanukkah celebrations or simply want to get a taste of what other cultures do during their religious or cultural festivities there are a lot of appetizing foods you could be cooking for this particular holiday.

Oil is important in the celebration of Hanukkah and, as a result, many of the foods that are to do with Hanukkah celebrations are prepared in oil. One well-liked favorite is Latkes, which are a kind of potato pancake that is deep-fried. Another general favorite is fried lamb chops. The lamb is breaded and then fried much like many Americans fry chicken. Once again oil is used in the preparation of the meal.

If you are looking for something more like finger food or a snack, you might consider deep-fried ricotta balls, fried zucchini, fried onion rings and fried mozzarella are good savory fried tid-bits for the season of light. Of course, fried food is not the only thing that is eaten during this 8-day celebration, but it does play a vital role in the menu and in the celebrations.

Even the sweet treats for this festival include a few fried goodies. There are apple fritters and raspberry dough nuts and lots of other luscious fried foods for you to snack on. If you like something a little wicked to eat during this delightful celebration you might like to try blintzes in your favorite flavor. There are many to choose from and their recipes can be found freely online.

If you would like to provide something a little healthier in your cuisine, then you might like to include an Israeli salad, stewed white beans, and baked eggplant and peppers. These dishes provide the opportunity to have something that is not either fried or sweet to help weight watchers, who always have a problem during festive seasons no matter which religion they practice.

Other Hanukkah favorites include delectable dishes like cheese gelt coins, loukoumades, vegetable kugel, and brisket. Once again the recipes for these dishes are very extensively accessible online and in books on Jewish cooking and traditions.

To make things go a little more efficiently prepare as much food as possible well ahead and store items away quickly in order to stop them going stale. Enlist the help of children and other family members when required to move things along by taking turns preparing food.

You should also make an effort to keep the preparations as straightforward as possible to avoid delays and stress. This is a time of the year that is supposed to be dedicated to celebration not to struggling to cook tons of food. The good news is that with all that deep fried food, it is unlikely that you will find these dishes too difficult to prepare. Good luck and have fun exploring the world of cooking for Hanukkah.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

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After all, most people realize that a good meal does not consist of eating as many chips as possible in fifteen minutes, so why should that principle not apply to consuming a drink too? You will get far more pleasure from a bottle of wine, if you spend an extra dollar on it and drink it slowly with a friend and some appropriate food than if you swill down a cheap bottle of plonk on your own. It makes evident sense, but not everyone sees it.

So, with that thought in mind, I have put together a few tips on how to get more enjoyment from your alcoholic drinks, if you are old enough and of that turn of mind.

Gin and Vodka – if these white spirits are your favourite snifter, always keep the bottle in the fridge, not the drinks cupboard. Keep the mixers in the fridge too. That way the ice will last longer and you will not be tempted to have to gulp it down before the ice melts. If you are having friends around, go one step farther and put the bottle in the freezer. It will not go solid. You can even cut the top off a plastic cola bottle, put the bottle of gin or vodka in that, fill it with water and then freeze it. Remove the plastic bottle and you have an attractive “collar of ice” around your bottle.

The Last Tot – five minutes or so after finishing a bottle of spirits, tip it out one more time and the bottle that you thought was drained will deliver one more tot of contents. It is not a lot, but it is a pleasant free surprise. The same works for many alcohol based items including underarm roll-on and perfume.

White Wine – white wines taste best when they have been gently chilled over a prolonged length of time, but if you get caught out by surprise visitors, put the bottle of wine in a container of ice and cold water. Try not to have to place it in the deep freeze, it is too harsh, but if you have to, then ten minutes is all that it takes.

Port – it is always better to decant port and older, heavier red wines, because of the sediment that may be in the bottom of the bottle, which tastes awful and because it assists the aeration of the wine. However, it is not always easy to see when the lees are coming. The books say to use a candle, but they were written a hundred years ago. The concentrated beam from a torch is far better. Try using a Durabeam because its swivel head allows it to be aimed more accurately.

Decanters – sometimes the stopper becomes stuck fast. Tap it with another glass item and it should come loose. If not, run the neck of the decanter under hot water for a few seconds and it will come out.

Labels – if you store your wine in a damp place where the labels are likely to rot or fall off, spray them with hair lacquer beforehand.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

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