Thursday, January 24, 2013

Caramel Apple Crumble

This is a fabulous recipe from How Sweet It Is


serves 4-6
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 large apples, cut into chunks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
topping
2/3 cup oats
2/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Toss apple chunks with salt and cinnamon.
In the bottom of your slow-cooker [mine is 7 quarts], mix brown and granulated sugars, then spread evenly to cover. Layer apples on top, keeping them in a single layer as much as possible, then adding the rest of top.
Mix the crumble topping together in a bowl, using your fingers to distribute the butter evenly and thoroughly and clump it together. Sprinkle it over top of the apples. Cook apples on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Turn off heat, unplug, and let sit, covered, for one hour. During this time the caramel will thicken a bit more. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Note: this “caramel” sauce is not your typical thick and gooey caramel – it does thicken in the crockpot once cooled.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Keeping food fresh longer


27 Ways To Make Your Groceries Last As Long As Possible

by Peggy Wang at BuzzFeed Food

If you love cooking but are tortured by the cruel, limited shelf life of fresh foods, these tips are for you.
 
 

1. Onions stored in pantyhose will last as long as 8 months.

Onions stored in pantyhose will last as long as 8 months.
Put onions in pantyhose, and tie knots between onion. Plus it makes a freaky wall art installation!
Source: seriouseats.com

2. Freeze green onions in a plastic bottle.

Freeze green onions in a plastic bottle.
Make sure the green onions are completely dry before storing or they'll get freezer burn.
Source: lunchinabox.net

3. Get an ethylene gas absorber for the fridge.

Get an ethylene gas absorber for the fridge.
A set of 3 costs $16. These little pods absorb the ethylene emitted by fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh up to 3x longer. Here's a handy list of ethylene-producing and ethylene-sensitive foods.
Source: savvysugar.com

4. Store delicate herbs like flowers, then cover with plastic, secure with a rubberband, and refrigerate.

Store delicate herbs like flowers, then cover with plastic, secure with a rubberband, and refrigerate.
This is the best way to keep delicate herbs like parsley, basil, cilantro, and chives fresh the longest.

keep reading.....


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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Be careful what you put in your refrigerator


Tomatoes:
OK, a tomato is technically a fruit, but taste-wise, it’s closer to a vegetable. The fridge is not the ideal place to store tomatoes. Store them there and your perfect tomatoes turn into a mealy disappointment. They’ll still be good for cooking, but not the best for eating fresh. Instead store them on your counter (not in direct sunlight) and enjoy them when they’re ripe.

Basil:
Tomatoes and basil go well together on your plate and it turns out they have similar needs in the storage department too. Basil will do best if it’s stored on your counter and treated as you would fresh cut-flowers. A fresh bunch of basil can be stored for a week or two in a cup of water (change it every day or two) away from direct sunlight. Covering it loosely with a plastic bag will help keep it moist (but make sure the bag has an opening to allow for some fresh air to seep in).

Potatoes:
Potatoes like cool, not cold temperatures. They do best at around 45 degrees F, which is about 10 degrees warmer than the average refrigerator. Most of us don’t have a root cellar (a cool, dark place to store root vegetables like potatoes), so keeping them in a paper bag in a coolish spot (like a pantry) is best. Why paper? It’s more breathable then plastic so potatoes won’t succumb to rot as easily.

Onions:
Onions don’t come out of the ground with that protective papery skin. To develop and keep that dry outer layer, they need to be "cured" and kept in a dry environment like a pantry, which is not as damp as the refrigerator. Also, lack of air circulation will cause onions to spoil, as will storing them near potatoes, which give off moisture and gas that can cause onions to spoil quickly.
 
Avocados:
Avocados don’t start to ripen until after they’re picked from the tree. If you’re buying a rock-hard avocado, don’t store it in your refrigerator, as it slows the ripening process. On the other hand, if you have a perfectly ripe avocado that you’re not ready to use, storing it in the refrigerator may work to your advantage by prolonging your window of opportunity to use it before it becomes overripe.

( Courtesy of Kitchen Daily:  Eating Well article by: Hilary Meyer)


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Saturday, January 5, 2013

New Bridge for Louisville and Indiana over the Ohio River

"The new eastern bridge is getting a new look. With Indiana’s approval, the companies in charge of designing and building the span rejected the style that a committee of elected and community leaders selected more than six years ago.Instead of the needle-like towers originally proposed to support cables carrying the bridge deck, the cables now connect to two bulkier arches above the road.

Indiana finalized its contract last week. Construction on both portions of the project is expected to start later this summer.Building the eastern span and the roads leading to it would cost roughly $763 million, down from what Indiana officials said was an earlier estimate of about $987 million. Indiana’s section would be essentially done by Nov. 1, 2016, about eight months ahead of the required completion date.

Kentucky has selected Walsh Construction to build the downtown span, the roads leading to it on both sides of the river and reconstruct the Spaghetti Junction interchange near downtown.Walsh’s completion date of Dec. 10, 2016, is more than 11/2 years earlier than Kentucky’s requirement of June 30, 2018." (courtesy of the Courier- Journal, Louisville, KY, Jan., 2013)
Read full article.....

  

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