Storage Tips

 

BREAD

Stale bread, crumbed in your food processor makes for great breading for your tilapia. But, before it’s stale, how do you keep it the freshest possible?

If unsliced, keep the bread in a paper bag at room temperature. _Once the bread is cut, place the sliced side down on a flat surface to retain moisture.

To keep it fresher longer (up to 2 months,) we recommend freezing in a plastic bag (with as much air squeezed out of it as possible) within 24 hours. When ready to eat, thaw in the unopened plastic bag at room temperature (bread will reabsorb the ice crystals.) If the crust is soggy, re-crisp your bread by removing it from the plastic bag and placing it in a 350º oven for 10 minutes.
Bread, too old to be re-purposed in a recipe, can be added to your compost bin.

GARLIC

Gives any recipe, including our Chicken Spaghetti pizzazz! But, how does one keep it fresh?

Whole bulbs of store-bought garlic will keep for several months or more when stored at room temperature in a dry, dark place that has ample air circulation. (A wire-mesh basket in your cupboard, a paper bag, egg carton, mesh bag, or beneath a small overturned clay pot works great.)

To avoid mold, do not refrigerate or store garlic in plastic bags.

BASIL

Yummed our noodle cake…but, is fresh basil hard to keep fresh?

 

When purchasing basil, look for evenly colored, bright green leaves with no sign of wilting or dark spots.

Store fresh basil leaves in the refrigerator, wrapped in barely damp paper towels and then in a plastic bag, for up to four days. Or, store a bunch of basil, stems down, in a glass of water with a plastic bag over the leaves. Secure the plastic bag to the glass with a rubber band. It will keep up to a week, if the water is changed every other day.

To freeze, puree basil leaves with a little water and put into ice-cube trays. When frozen, store cubes in the freezer in a plastic bag with the air pushed out. Or, rinse herbs and let drain until dry. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet, keeping pieces slightly apart. Freeze on the baking sheet just until herbs are rigid, about one hour. Then, place frozen herbs into a small freezer plastic bag, press out air, seal, and return to the freezer.

To use, take out of the bag what you need, reseal, and immediately return it to the freezer.

Frozen herbs will retain flavor up to one year.

Fresh Mushrooms

I know, I know, they come pre-sliced and packaged…but, if you’ve got them whole…Use an egg slicer to slice them! It also works great on slicing kiwi, strawberries, and bananas. Then you can easily sauté them into your spaghetti!

Spaghetti Leftovers

Store noodles and sauce separately in re-usable airtight containers. Sauce will keep for 6-7 days, refrigerated, or 2-3 months frozen. Unsauced noodles will keep 3-4 days refrigerated, but 2-3 months frozen.

Uncooked spaghetti noodles can be kept for up to 2 years in your cabinet.

Sauce can also be divided into ice cube trays and frozen that way. Once frozen into marinara cubes, place cubes into a plastic freezer bag, squeezing out the excess air. When ready to use, remove one cube at a time, and defrost.

To reheat your noodles, rinse them in hot water, until they are the temperature you desire. (Be aware that some of their starchiness will be lost, and sauce won’t stick as well.) Be sure to capture the water, and, once cooled, use it to water your plants.

A microwave may also be used to reheat noodles. Be sure to add a few drops of some moisture, either water, or oil before nuking your noodles, covered.

Reheat your noodles on your stovetop by boiling water and dumping them in until they reach the temperature you like. Reserve the strained water for your garden.

Sauce can be reheated on your stovetop or microwave, covered.

Spaghetti facts:

1 cup dry pasta = 2 cups cooked pasta

1 typical box of dry spaghetti = 8 servings

1 serving of spaghetti = 4 oz. uncooked or _ cup cooked spaghetti, 32 strands (about the size of a tennis ball)

A typical portion of spaghetti consumed in one sitting is 2 cups, that’s 4 servings!

7.5-11 grain servings are recommended each day, dependent on gender, age, and activity level.

 

Perfectly cooked pasta is called "al dente," which in Italian means "to the tooth." Al dente pasta is cooked just enough to retain a firm texture while being fully pliable. If the pasta is mildly chewy but doesn't stick in your teeth, it is done. If the pasta seems a little hard or sticks to your teeth, cook it 1 minute longer and test it again. Avoid overcooking your pasta.

If you don't relish tasting hot pasta, cut a piece in half, and look at the cross-section of the pasta. If you can see a difference between the very center and the outer ring of the pasta, it's not done. If the pasta is one continuous shade and texture, it's done. Remove the pasta the moment you discover it to be "al dente.”

Pasta will continue to cook after having been drained. That "flinging the pasta against the wall" method might be fun, but it's not reliable, because overdone pasta sticks too. Rinsing it with cold water will stop the cooking, but will also uncoat it of it’s starchiness…which helps the sauce stick.

Undercooking pasta will yield the best results if you know that you will be reheating it at a later date. (As reheating will make the pasta even tenderer.) If cooking for multiple meals, undercook half of your pasta, remove it from your pot, and refrigerate or freeze. Let the remainder continue to cook until it is al dente, or to the texture you prefer.