Boots and Barefeet: Top Ten Tricks of the Trade (in the kitchen)

If you've ever looked through an old cook book, you may have found that at the end of each recipe there is an extra note. Sometimes it is just a light hearted quote like.."I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden."- John Erskine
Sometimes it gives you a tip in the kitchen like "Remember not to refrigerate fresh tomatoes...they'll keep their just picked taste longer when stored on your cupboard shelf or counter."
Others give you ideas for crafts or decorating such as "Instead of one large flower bouquet centerpiece, set a single zinnia flower bloom in white milk glass cups for each place setting."

Let me tell you a few of the other ideas that I have come across that I found particularly helpful.

1. No more tears when peeling.cutting onions if you place them in the freezer for 5 minutes first. -This really works! I was stoked about this one after cutting many an onion while buckets of tears ran down my face.
2. If a recipe calls for buttermilk and you do not have any, you can stir one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into one cup of milk and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. To remove stains from a favorite table cloth, kitchen towel, cloth napkins, etc.- Combine half a teaspoon of salt with a tablespoon of water. Wet the stain and lay cloth in the sun. After sitting table cloth in sun for hour(smaller cloths need less time), gently rinse the cloth with cold water.
4. After enjoying an orange or grapefruit for breakfast, don't toss the hollowed out fruit halves. Filled with potting soil, seeds and a nice drink of water, these clever little starter pots can be planted directly in your garden. I look forward to trying this one!
5. To keep just-cut fruit slices looking fresh, dip them into lemon-lime soda before serving.
6. For baking, it's best to use medium to large eggs; extra large eggs may cause cakes to fall when cooled. I've learned this lesson the hard way.
7. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it into a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh - if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
8. A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.
9. To soften up brown sugar that has hardened, throw an apple slice in the bag.
10. Rubbing the inside of the cooking pot with vegetable oil will prevent noodles, spaghetti and similar starches from boiling over.

I found a few of these tips in a cookbook that I recently purchase called "Farmers' Market Favorites," and it has become on of my favorite cookbooks. Since we always have a plethora of vegetables each summer, I am always looking for new recipes. In this book you will find homegrown recipes, crafty ideas for vintage finds and tips for market shopping. You can visit their website at http://www.gooseberrypatch.com/ They have more more great books to choose from. You can find this cook book at Cracker Barrel as well.

I hope to try many recipes and tips from this book, and I will share them with you as I do.

And now, just a few pictures from Labor Day.

I got this for Adeline, but every time I turn around- Campbell is rolling around in it.

Our nephew, Houston came for a visit this weekend, and he did a lot of this.

And when Sissy came, she brought Campbell a NEW back pack.

She carried it around ALL weekend long. She could hardly wait to show it off at school this morning. I actually found it with her in the bed this morning!