Cool Peanut Butter Trick
After stirring in the oil on top of the jar, natural peanut butter should be stored in the refrigerator to avoid rancidity. But of course, it promptly gets hard and difficult to spread. Here's what to do: Soften it by heating the jar in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. When it's refrigerated again, the peanut butter left in the jar doesn't harden for several days and continues to spread evenly-even when cold. We're not sure why this works, but…smart, huh?
An Alternative to Strainers
Straining soups, stocks and sauces is one way to remove solid ingredients. But it's not the only way. Instead of carrying large pots over to the sink, we often wrap herbs (and sometimes vegetables) in cheesecloth. When the dish is done, we simply lift out and discard the cheesecloth, along with its contents, which have given up their flavor to the liquid. Smart, huh?
Make Your Own Heart-Shaped Muffin Pan
Wouldn't it be fun to serve heart-shaped muffins for a special Valentine's Day breakfast? You don't need to buy a heart-shaped muffin pan to be able to have this special shaped muffin. All you need are paper muffin pan liners (cupcake papers) and marbles. Place cupcake liners in all the muffin holders, then place a glass marble on the OUTSIDE of each liner, sitting it on the bottom of each muffin cup.
This creates a depression in the paper liner that results in a heart-shape. Fill each liner 2/3 full with muffin batter and bake as usual. Voila! Heart muffins to delight the sweethearts surrounding your breakfast table!
(If YOU have a smart idea, won't you share it? Life is so much easier and we accomplish so much more when we pool our resources. And after all, we're all in this together. So email
patty@dvo.com or
alice@dvo.com with YOUR smart ideas!)
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