Preparation tips- vegetables

• Potatoes will cook faster if they are soaked in salty water before they are baked.
• Potatoes can be peeled a day ahead of cooking and then stored in the refrigerator. Place the peeled potatoes in a bowl of cold water that has had a few drops of vinegar added. Be sure potatoes are covered with water and then place in the refrigerator.
• When cooking potatoes to use in potato salad, add a little vinegar to the water when boiling the potatoes. The vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust, which helps them hold their shape.
• Do not overcook potatoes that will be used for potato salad. Overcooked potatoes will turn the salad into mush.
• Boiled potatoes can be easily sliced in even thicknesses to use for potato salad or for frying by using a metal egg slicer.
• Slice mushrooms using a metal egg slicer.
• Do not peel mushrooms because the outer layer contains most of its flavor.
• To produce good tasting, crisp onions, slice or chop onions and place them in a bowl. Cover the onions with water and then add some ice to the water. Let the onions soak for 15 minutes to an hour and then drain before serving.
• For crispier fried onions, soak the sliced or chopped onions in milk before frying.
• To seed a tomato, cut it in half crosswise and squeeze to remove the seeds and excess juice.
• If you need to peel tomatoes before adding them to a recipe in which they will be cooked, cut them in half and place them face down on a microwave safe plate. Microwave the tomatoes for approximately 5 minutes and the skins should peel off easily.
• Tomatoes that have become too ripe and soft to use for sandwiches or salads can be chopped up with a little garlic added and then boiled for three minutes in the microwave. They can then be stored in the freezer to use later in casseroles, soups, stews or sauces.
• If you have a large crop of bell peppers or purchase more than you can use at one time, you can freeze them to use for future recipes. Slice, remove seeds, and chop into desired size pieces. Place them single layered on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can place them in a freezer proof sealable bag and store them in the freezer. When you are ready to use, remove the desired amount from the bag.
• Sautéing vegetables in oil or butter before adding them to a soup will seal in their flavor and help keep them firm after they are added to the soup.
• When peeling vegetables, peel over an open plastic bag and allow the peelings to fall into the bag. Clean up will be much easier.
• Use an ice cream scoop to remove the seeds from a squash.
• Do not cut salad greens with a knife because it may cause the greens to become discolored. It is best to gently tear the greens into pieces the size you desire.
• Dry lettuce and other salad greens before adding dressing by tossing a couple of paper towels with the greens in a large bowl. Once the towels have picked up the excess moisture, pull them out and throw them away.

regards
vidya