How Tos

In general, substituting honey for sugar seems to be a matter of taste. Some people use it cup for cup, others prefer 1/2 cup – 2/3 cup of honey per cup of white sugar. Reduce the amount of other liquids by 1/4 cup for every cup of honey used.

However, you might need to experience with different amounts of honey depending on the recipe.  For example, I used honey instead of sugar for a toffee bar recipe which involved boiling a sugar mixture.  Honey does not boil the same way and when I poured it over the crackers it was super thin and slid right through.  I was able to save the toffee bars by freezing them immediately but the toffee was on the bottom of the bar and not the middle.  The next time I made the recipe I used much less honey and a little bit of sugar to get the consistency I needed up boil.  I also selected a darker honey.

Sites on how to Substitute Honey for Sugar:  Cooks.com, LiveStrong.com, and WholeNewMom.com

For the freshest Ginger only peel off what you need for your recipe.  You can store unpeeled Ginger in the fridge in a tightly sealed plastic bag.  You can also store it in a paper towel then place in a paper bag.  There are other methods for freezing it as well.

My preferred way to store ginger is to wrap it in a dry paper towel then place into a sealed plastic bag, then place it into a green veggie bag and store in your veggie drawer of your fridge.  I still have some left over from Thanksgiving that is fresh.

See more ways to store and freeze ginger at wikiHow.

I picked all of these lovely hot peppers from my Gardens last October and then cut them up.  I handled all of them with bare hands and after I was done I felt like I had a horrible chemical burn that just stung very badly.

I tried Aloe Vera, several creams, cold water, ice, etc but got the most relief from soaking my hands in whole milk!

More Tips: use veggie oil, rubbing alcohol (or vodka), or a baking soda paste

Better Tip: wear food gloves when handling a massive quantity of hot peppers!

Whole Eggs: Mix the yolks and egg whites together. Then, pour the egg mixture into an ice cube tray, and freeze. Two cubes is the equivalent of one whole egg.

Egg Yolks: To prevent thickening, stir in half a teaspoon of salt (or one and a half tablespoons of sugar, if the eggs will be used in desserts) for every one cup of yolks. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. One cube is the equivalent of two egg yolks.

Egg Whites: No special prep is required. Just pour the whites into an ice cube tray, and freeze. One cube is the equivalent of one egg white.

More Cube Equivalents: 
2 cubes = 1/4 cup
4 cubes = 1/2 cup
6 cubes = 3/4 cup
8 cubes =1 cup

Using Frozen Eggs: Allow eggs to thaw in the refrigerator for a day before using.

Eggs will keep in the freezer for up to a year.

Tip 1: Place unripe avocados in a brown paper bag to ripen. This traps the ethylene gas they produce and helps them to ripen. A firm avocado placed in a paper bag will ripen at room temperature in about three to six days. As the fruit ripens, the skin color will darken.

Tip 2: Place avocados in a brown paper bag with a banana, (an apple or tomato works too), then leave the bag on a sunny windowsill for 18 to 24 hours.

Tip 3: Place 2 peeled, pitted avocados in a blender with 1 cup peas (fresh, or frozen and thawed); pulse until smooth. The peas will help soften the consistency of the unripe avocados but won’t affect the flavor.

Chart by CaliforniaAvocado.com blog site on the Five Stages that an avocado goes through as it is ripening.

Have you ever wondered what parts of a Scallion (aka Green Onion) that you can eat? The green or white parts? Well, the answer is both but they are used differently depending on your recipe.

The white parts are firmer and can be used in a pan sooner but the green parts have a different texture and can get slimy if used too early in a recipe that involves pan frying.  Most recipes will tell you which part to use.

Generally though the Green Parts are used for more of a garnish and are diced.  The White Parts taste more onion like.

You can freeze Green Onions/Scallions but it will change the texture so its best to use them in stews, sauces or crock pot meals if they were frozen.  I like to freeze the Green and White parts separately since some recipes call for only one or the other.

More Information on What Parts of a green onion can you eat by eHow and Healthy Eating.

How to freeze Green Onions by HGTV Gardens.

Do you have a hard time figuring out whether you have Cilantro or Parsley growing in your Garden?

Memorize this and you’ll never make a mistake again:

P is for Parsley and the leaves are Pointy

C is for Cilantro and the leaves are Curved

That’s easy to remember!

This is my preferred way to freeze unused ripe Mangos!

I either use it later in a smoothie shake or for my Cranberry Sauce Recipe.