Kitchen Tips 101

My Mom was a whiz in the kitchen. My sister was her best pupil. I was always outside... getting filthy... playing with the boys in the dirt... I laugh thinking of it now, but i was terrified the first time I had to prepare a meal on my own. My mom was the one laughing then. She says, "I tried to teach you, but you never wanted to stay in the kitchen and learn". And she was correct of course. The only time I ever spent in the kitchen was when it was my turn to wash the dishes. Which it seemed to be often because I was forever trading turns with my sister in exchange for something or another.

Now in my thirties with two kids of my own and both too young to care about kitchen tips, I think it's time to log my tips and tricks for you to pick up and share. And maybe one day they'll look back on these posts and sigh with relief. I know my stand-by is calling Mom with even the simplest of questions. My favorite to date was probably, "Mom I'm making soup and it's too thin, how do I thicken it a bit?".

So here is my first post of Kitchen tips I have picked up either from searching or from trial and error.

My all time favorite TIP:

When boiling pasta of any kind (Mac N Cheese to Ziti) add a teaspoon or splash of olive oil, or your favorite oil, to the water. Add it after filling with water and place on the stove.

If you like to add salt to your boiling water like me, add the salt when the water starts to boil, before adding the pasta.

Once you drop in your pasta, swish with a spoon.

Cook as usual. You should notice that it sticks less, esp when draining!

If you have trouble with pasta sticking to the bottom of your pan, spray with pam (or other brand) before adding water and/or stir more often.

Hope this helps! And YES, it really does work! (That's why my olive oil is next to the stove always!!)