Week of April 29, 2007

How Long will Fresh Veggies Keep?

Wonder how long fresh vegetables will keep? Use the following guidelines for storage length and location. Place unwashed vegetables in perforated or regular vegetable bags before storing. Vegetables keep as follows:

Refrigerate 2 to 4 days: Asparagus, beet greens, chard, collard greens, green peas, green onions, fresh lima beans, mushrooms, mustard greens, spinach and turnip greens. Leave sweet corn in husks and refrigerate uncovered.

Refrigerate 3 to 5 days: Bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, green beans, lettuce, okra and summer squash.

Refrigerate 1 to 2 weeks: Beets, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, radishes and turnips.

Store in a dark, dry, well-ventilated place between 45ºF and 60ºF for 2 weeks: Garlic, onions, potatoes, uncut winter squash with hard rinds. Store onions and potatoes separately to reduce spoiling.

Store at room temperature: Tomatoes (they’ll ripen). Keep tomatoes away from direct sunlight, which can make them mushy and pulpy.

Week of April 22, 2007

The Joys of Fresh Ginger

Fresh ginger root is a very popular ingredient in many cuisines and can easily be found in most grocery stores in the produce section. When shopping for ginger, look for firm ginger with a smooth skin. Fresh ginger has a characteristic, bitingly pungent, slightly sweetish and aromatic flavor, which is more intense than is the case with dried ginger.

Look for ginger with a thin skin that's smooth, unblemished, and almost translucent. If you break off a knob, the texture should be firm, crisp, and not overly fibrous (making it easier to slice). It should have a fresh, spicy fragrance. Keep in mind that, like many spices, ginger's flavor fades as it cooks. So for more gingery oomph, add some or all of the ginger at the end of cooking.

So what is the easiest way to peel and clean these gnarly little roots?

First break off just the amount of ginger root that you will need for your recipe.

Peeling or scraping ginger with a spoon is one of the most common ways to peel ginger. The skin is thin and scrapes off easily. Scrape the ginger with the inside of a spoon, getting the edge of the spoon into the crevices of the ginger.

The skin will come off with a gentle scrape. It takes a bit more effort than a paring knife or a peeler, but it's less wasteful and lets you maneuver around the knobs and gnarls.

Now the ginger can be sliced into planks or matchsticks, chopped, grated, puréed, and minced, depending on its final destination.

Week of April 15, 2007

The Goodness and Health Benefits of Berries

Berries have long been known to be rich sources of nutrients -- from B vitamins to C -- and packed with fiber. But it's their phytochemical content that seems to have intrigued scientists lately. These disease-fighting compounds appear to offer a defence against a range of illnesses including heart disease and stroke, certain cancers and even cognitive decline.

Considering the accumulating evidence on the health benefits of berries, it's wise to enjoy them all year long. When fresh ones aren't available or the price is out of sight, go for frozen. Try our berry sauce on top of angel food cake, pancakes or fat free frozen yogurt for a real berry treat.

Berry Berry Sauce
Makes 4 cups

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 pints fresh blueberries
12 ounces fresh blackberries
1 teaspoon cornstarch

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, stir together sugar, lemon juice, and half the blueberries and blackberries. Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until blueberries burst and release juices, about 3 minutes.
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 1 teaspoon cold water. Stir into sauce.

Simmer, stirring, about 1 minute more, until sauce thickens slightly. Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining berries. Transfer sauce to a serving bowl. Chill until cold; stir before serving with pie.

COOKS NOTE: If you are watching sugars or calories, use sugar substitute to replace sugar.

Week of April 08, 2007

When to Choose Organic Produce?

When faced with lesser choices and higher prices of organic produce, remember to consider the pesticide factor. Tests conducted by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that certain types of produce consistently contain higher traces of agricultural chemicals than others.

Use this list to make wise decisions on whether to choose organic produce and stick with conventional produce.Find more facts at foodnews.org .

The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2004. For more information please visit www.ewg.org.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	89
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	82
7	Cherries	75
8	Pears	65
9	Grapes - Imported	65
10	Spinach	60
11	Lettuce	59
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	53
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	45
19	Grapes - Domestic	43
20	Oranges	42
21	Grapefruit	40
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Honeydew Melon	31
26	Tomatoes	30
27	Sweet Potatoes	30
28	Watermelon	28
29	Winter Squash	27
30	Cauliflower	27
31	Blueberries	24
32	Papaya	21
33	Broccoli	18
34	Cabbage	17
35	Bananas	16
36	Kiwi	14
37	Sweet peas - frozen	11
38	Asparagus	11
39	Mango	9
40	Pineapples	7
41	Sweet Corn - frozen	2
42	Avocado	1
43 (best)	Onions	1 (lowest pesticide load)

Note: Grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

Week of April 01, 2007

Using an Immersion Blender

One of the handiest tools you can have in your kitchen is an immersion blender, also known as a hand blender. Immersion blenders can do almost everything that a regular blender does.

To mix, blend or puree, all you have to do is literally immerse the blade in your pot, cup or bowl and push the button. The blade must remain fully immersed or you’ll splatter yourself a bit.

Cleanup is a snap and if you have your choice of models and a great range in prices.

A quick tip: When you are pureeing, be sure to keep the base of the blender at an angle to the base of the pot. If the blender is touching the bottom of the pot, the food won’t circulate, and the machine can’t do its job. You need to keep it angled to allow the food to move through the mechanism. Depending on the depth of what you are blending you should keep the blade about an inch above the bottom of the pot, and you should move the unit through the liquid as if you were gently stirring it.

The appliance is extremely versatile and can be used for milk shakes, smoothies and pureeing soup, it is also wonderful for making homemade refried beans and Hummus.