The use of a bowl to avoid mess.

(Em português)

This is a very simple and useful hint.

I saw it in Jamie Oliver's website, where you can find many good ideas.
The deal is: before you start cooking, put an empty bowl on the counter to collect peels, seeds, etc.
In the end, all you have to do is toss them in the trash can. This way it's really quick to clean up the counter, and you avoid the inconvenience of having the trash can nearby.
There, that's it.
It might seem silly, but this makes cooking a lot more agile.

By the way.

(Em português)

Today, no recipe for you.

Instead, there's an idea. I'm starting this tag named "by the way", which I intend to post monthly (every first friday of the month) talking about small measures I take in my kitchen to make things easier.

This tip here is to help avoid waste.
Basically, it's about having a board where you can list the ingredients you don't want to forget to use.
Every once in a while we buy unusual things for a specific recipe, or to experiment, and then the ingredient is left lying around in the pantry (caham, buckwheat, rice flour...).
It's also helpful to remember the things you have on hand, so that you won't buy again ingredients you already have.
I found it nice to update the list when the week starts, specially the perishable goods, and try to use them instead of getting fresh stuff.

Homemade everlasting vanilla extract.

(Em português)

Curious about how to make my own vanilla extract from some beans I got as a gift,

I found this site.

Why use essence? Enjoying an orange to the peel.

(Em português)

It's been quite a while since I read this post at the kitchn, and I liked the idea.

These are suggestions of what to do with citrus peels, instead of throwing them in the garbage.

The one I liked best was the idea of letting the peel dry, so that I can use it later (in teas, risottos, meat, baking, roasted vegetables, and everything else I can imagine).

My method is to use a vegetable peeler before I squeeze or actually peel the fruit,

because that way I will only take the aromatic part of it, and the white part won't come along.

Generally I will let it air dry in a dish for one or two days.

If the air is too humid, then I can help it with a little bit of oven heat.

When the peel becomes very dry and breakable, I store it in ziplock bags or glass jars.

Grinding it with a pestle and mortar is a good way to free the fruit's aroma.

Seed paper.

(In Portuguese)

The great leap.



(In Portuguese)

Flora of the green thumbs (trial version).

(In Portuguese)


Do you remember my beloved tomato plant, that cute one, with cherry tomatoes?
Well...
while on vacation I spent two weeks at my mother's, and I forgot to take the tomato plant
to my boyfriend's place. Mening: I killed the poor thing.
But we can find a way around for almost anything.
In my case, the way was found with the help of this lady called Juliana [she writes in Portuguese].
She's got many hints for people interested in apartment vegetable gardens,
and some other issues.
When I got back from vacation, I still had two tomatoes from that plant
in the fridge, so I decided to plant them.