Funkies Tips - August 2016

At the end of July I asked in Funkies to let's all share any kitchen tips with one another.  They could be cleaning tips, cost saving tips, time saving tips etc etc :).So here they all are collated into one blog post.   If you have any more to add please feel free to comment below.  :)Leonie

: DON'T go food shopping when hungry!!! :)

Leonie: I have an 'over flow' big container in my garage for surplus pantry ingredients. I would often forget what I have in there and for example end up with multiple bottles of soy sauce! A few months ago I made up a system that is working brilliantly thus far! If for example I have a new soy sauce in the container I put a big black dot using a texta on the lid of the current soy sauce I am using. So if there is no black dot on whatever I'm nearly at the end of I add it to my shopping list.

Leonie: Often supermarkets have shortcut bacon in their Deli at half price. When this special is on I buy 2 kilos and chop the rashers in the Thermomix and then freeze. It is very handy to always have diced bacon on hand.

Leonie: As anal as it may sound, I also have my spice jars in my pantry in alphabetical order. Makes it a lot quicker to find what I want! :)

Elizabeth: I have sticky tape and a sharpie in the kitchen to label containers for the fridge or freezer, no mystery items and it comes off fairly easily when you're done.

Jenny: I store ho hum veggies from the bottom of my veggie crisper in a zip lock bag in the freezer for when I want to make stock. I just put it in the fridge the night before to defrost. Especially if I use the TM5 as its too cold from the freezer and it won't heat up.

Elizabeth: If you have an oversupply of fresh lemons they will keep really well in a large snaplock bag in the crisper drawer for about a month.

Lisa: I purchase meat now through a direct supplier from the farmers. Much better quality and sometimes cheaper depending on the type of meat.

Lisa: Instead of using wine in cooking I use verjuice. It lasts longer (as I won't drink the remainder) and it keeps well in the fridge on opening.

Toni: When I buy vegies, etc with the roots still attached, I cut them off & put them in water and allow to re-shoot for a couple of days. I then plant in garden. Not all work ... my coriander didn't, but it's temperamental at the best of times! But it has worked with other things such as spring onions, frilly lettuce, etc.

Joanna: Seems to be working for my celery too.

Judy: spring onions, leeks, lettuce, celery and a few others can all be re-grown.

Toni: I place a wet & wrung out tea towel flat in crisper drawers under fruit & vegies. They seem to stay fresh and last much longer this way.

Toni: When you use those tetra packs, i.e. UHT milk, etc, turn the pourer the opposite way to what you think, i.e. have it pouring from the top.  It pours evenly rather than those burst pours that go everywhere.

Merin: I use onion infused oil and garlic infused oil. I started doing it for FODMAP reasons, but it really is just easier!

Merin: I also love the wire shelf things from Kmart for extra storage.

Leonie: At the end of glad wrap and alfoil boxes is a tab you can push in to stop the roll leaping out of the box!

Merin: Have your TM on a chopping board or tile thing to make it easy to move under the exhaust fan when needed.

Kirrilly: Have a chopping board over your stove (coz you rarely use it anymore!) and you have more bench space.

Belinda: I buy bulk premium beef mince meat from my butcher i.e 2 kilos for $18, I also grab a kilo of chicken, lamb, pork and when I get home I weigh out 500gms of each and place in ziplock bags and flatten and label and date.  This allows me to stock 5 or 6 kilos of variety of mince in one shelf of my freezer.  I have a quick go to, to defrost and make up a speedy nutritious meal.

Ros: When I buy flours, nuts, seeds etc I place the bag in the freezer for 48hours to kill any weevils - after 6 months of doing this I have finally broken the cycle and my house is now weevil free.

Marianne: I always bulk buy my chicken and then I work out how I need the chicken cut for each meal during the fortnight pre chop it in advance and then freeze. Saves me time chopping it when I get home from work.

Amanda: A bulldog clip makes the best (and cheapest) food clip for opened frozen vegetable bags - and doesn't go brittle in the freezer. :-)

Amanda: I use a multi-plate display rack to vertically store my large serving plates in the pantry - makes it so much easier to select the one you want without having to move any other plate.

Looks similar to this:

Judy Ikea sells a version of that - I use one for my baking trays

Amanda: yes, I forgot I have one for them too - but they are up on the top shelf of the pantry and are the least used trays - the most used trays get stored in the main oven while the others are stored in the drawers below the ovens with other baking equipment.

Jenny: When I meal plan (and sadly this doesn't happen as often as I'd like it to, need to get into a better routine of sitting there once a week!) I write out a shopping list at the same time so I don't forget anything and I try and stick to my list when shopping to not waste and stick to a budget.

Jenny: I try and cook from 1 source for a whole week eg: from ThermoFun or from a cookbook.

Joanna: Wrap fresh herbs in a wet paper towel and then in a plastic bag (or the sleeve they came in). Helps them last a lot longer in the fridge.

Jill: Whenever you finish with a butter wrapper, put it in the freezer. Then when you need to grease a pan, use that instead. There's usually enough butter stuck to the wrapper to grease the pan with.

Amanda: wrap your celery in alfoil for long-lasting freshness.

Kylie: I buy the bulk bags of peeled garlic and mince them up in the thermi and then make "sausage roll" shapes out of it and then freeze. Once frozen pop into a ziplock bag or 2 and when garlic is needed I just slice off thin slices and use.

Esther: I buy staples and things I use a lot when they're on special... If I can freeze it, I divide it up into amounts I normally use and freeze it. Things like paper towels and toilet paper that don't expire I stockpile when it's cheap

Sarah: Cut up the veggies first then give the board a quick rinse before cutting up meat. If you do meat first then you need to wash the board well or use a new one for veggies.

Tania: This should be tip number 1. Teach your partner/husband how to use and clean the Thermomix! J

Joanne: Have Thermalina bake cakes for you and when anyone enters the kitchen throw some flour on your face and say you have been slaving ALL DAY to bake them a cake that can be made in seconds and cooked in minutes, but you don't have to tell them THAT!

Sarah: I heard a similar tip - leave the vacuum cleaner out and then if someone drops in you can say you were just about to clean!

Joanne: The BEST one is to put up GET WELL CARDS on the mantel or table so when UNEXPECTED (pet peeve) guests show up, you can an excuse why the house is untidy lol and looks like WWIII after cooking or baking!

Tania: I buy a netted bag of onions and peel them all at once and keep well sealed in fridge along with a cleaned up bulb of garlic. This job is a pet hate of mine so not having to do it for the rest of the week makes me happy.

Sue: If you soak the onions in water (bag and all) they are SO much easier to peel.

Tania: I buy most of my Asian sauces, bean curd, green leafy veg, noodles, fresh herbs and spices etc from a busy Asian grocer. The stock is fresh and prices better then from the supermarket. Can find lots of treasures there.

Lisa: If you work in Brisbane city and get to the Wed markets at the end of the day they discount produce heavily. Loads of vege cheap when they don't want to pack it to take back with them.

Elizabeth: I freeze chopped up chives (cut with scissors) and shallots (Qld definition of shallot :P ) and add them to all sorts of things eg mash, muffins, soups, salads, zoodles, very yum and one less process.

Sharon: I find I actually STICK to my menu plan if it's in plain sight ON THE FRIDGE. I always had plans - in a folder, on a shelf.... I've stuck self adhesive chalkboard paper onto the fridge door. Have a cup of chalk on the top of the fridge. And with the freezer right in between the fridge and pantry, it is quite easy to control.

Sharon: I have a chalkboard frame hanging on the door of the pantry for a shopping list. I take a photo of it before I go shopping. I am notorious for leaving the shipping list at home, but never my phone!

Elizabeth: I have labelled things "eat this and die" too

Katrina: I write up all leftovers on a whiteboard on the fridge, as this saves us forgetting that something is in there and then having to throw it out. Eat the leftovers, wipe it off.

Katrina: Kikki K sell great meal planners that I use. They have a 7 day view (so really only dinners) but when I am on a diet I use the 3 meals a day ones to help keep me on track. This helps keep me organised and I plan my meals and take my lists to the farmers markets etc to then only buy what I need.

Katrina: I prep many things for the weekday lunches on a weekend. Mainly salad in summer, but this includes steaming and shredding chicken, cutting up lots of veggies, steaming or roasting veggies (eg beetroot, pumpkin etc). That way I can throw together a quick, healthy lunch the day of with little fuss.

Katrina: Teach your children to cook from an early age, little miss 5 loves to help us cook and is learning lots about food and what is good for her. She is also working out that some things are necessary (like onion) in a meal but that doesn't mean you would eat that ingredient on its own. Of course she still doesn't eat half the meals ;-) but we are getting there in terms of learning to cook and recognise food stuff.

Melanie: I recently read in an Asian cookbook that you can peel ginger best with a teaspoon - works great! Ginger freezes well, so I buy it when it's cheap.

Melanie: For ecological reasons I always try to buy whole chicken instead of chicken breasts only (too much is thrown away in Germany). I freeze the "carcass" until I have three or four and then make a broth when I have the time.

Darra: Something that I've always done, and now teaching Mr 12, is get out all ingredients for a recipe and line them up in the order you need (already measured out is easiest), then as you use an ingredient you place it in a row on your bench against the pantry wall out of your way, and ready to be put away as soon as you’re done cooking. A tidy organised kitchen equals a tidy mind!

Darra: if you're using the oven to cook something then you may as well make a cake or dessert at the same time. If you are saving time and electricity by making things at the same time then the calories don't count lol!

Kellie: Use a cookie scoop to make meatballs from mince, clean hands and portion controlled.

Sarah: I have a separate freezer and try to keep each shelf for a different type of item so I know where to find them. eg bread, meat, pre cooked meals and lunchbox snacks. I used to have a list on a whiteboard but it got messy!

Deb: pad slow cooked meals, soups or salads out with lentils. If you haven’t tried pearl barley, red lentils or black beans go out and try being meat free for a meal!

Deb: Eat through your freezer!

Deb: Tupperware veggie savers! OMG! Amazeballs! Just don’t wash before you store fruit!

Sue: Thermoserver is the best for 'sweating' charred/roasted capsicums.

Pat: Spray pan before making jam or sauce I spray with cooking oil and find I have less 'sticking' when making sauce. I make 5 kilo at a time so prep in Thermie but cook on stove.

Sarah: Make double of things where you can and freeze. Not necessarily a whole meal but other things that can help you on busier days eg today I made a honey soy sauce for stir fry, made two batches and put one away for another night. Or cook extra rice and freeze some.

Judy: instead of using and throwing away baking paper, I cut black bbq liners to fit my baking trays & the cake tins I use the most, then cut the leftover bits to fit my loaf tins. I've used the same sheet to bake many many loaves of bread at 220 - 250°C, and it's still in excellent condition.

Sarah: I buy bread rolls for school lunches (of course everyone else here makes their own!)- I cut them in half and freeze. In the morning I can open it up and put on the filling more easily than if the whole roll was frozen.

 

Many thanks to all of you that have shared your tips.

If you have any more to add please comment below as the more tips the merrier to help us all with our organisation!  :)