Cooking with Chef Mark: How to Cut Potatoes Using Bridge Grip

Chef Mark is here today to teach you how to cut potatoes with his bridge grip knife tip. Make sure to bridge over your rounded vegetables like potatoes. Once you have cut the potato in half, use the flat side on the cutting board and use the forward rocking motion with your guide hand. Slice forward and make sure to make your cuts about the same length for even cooking times. You can use this method with other rounded or awkward shaped vegetables and fruit.

Leave a knife cutting question in the comments section to improve your knife skills.

Freezer Needs for Storing Your Home Garden Harvest

So, it’s that time of year again….you home garden needs to be harvested, you’re planning your fall hunting trip, you need to stock up at the grocery store….and you need a new freezer! 

  There are a few things to consider when purchasing your new freezer.  Here are a few questions to answer to help you decide what your freezer needs are:

1. What types of foods are we putting in this freezer?
2. How long will the food be in the freezer?
3. Where will the freezer be located in the home?
4. Should we get an upright, or a chest freezer?
5. Frost-free, or manual-defrost?
6. What size should we get?

    If you are looking for a freezer to use for your regular day-to-day grocery needs, then a frost-free upright unit might be good for you.  These units do not build-up with ice and are best served for the foods that your family will go through on a regular basis. If you are looking for more long-term storage, then a manual-defrost chest type freezer would be best.  These units keep your food deep-frozen, while the unit may build up with ice, your food will not get freezer burned.  When you open a chest freezer, the cold air stays down in the freezer.  When you open an upright freezer, the cold air tends to escape.  Chest freezers can hold a lot of food; however, some may find that keeping an upright freezer makes it easier to organize your groceries.

    If you are going to put your freezer in the garage, make sure that where you put it doesn’t reach below -5 degrees F or above 110 degrees F.  Put it along a joining wall with your home.

A freezer will hold approx 35 lbs of food per cu. Ft., so a 15 cu. ft. chest freezer should store approximately 525 lbs of food.

Chest freezers come in a variety of sizes from 5 cu. ft. all the way up to 25 cu. ft., and range anywhere from $145-$799.

Upright Freezers are usually in the 14-21 cu. ft. size and range between $399 & $899.

Come see your home-town appliance team today so that we can help you pick out the right freezer for your family.  We have standard sizes available, but can special order any size freezer that suits your needs.

Let us know if you have any questions about freezers and storing your food. Leave it in the comments section.

Gardening 101: Start a Garden this Spring

Spring is a time of growth and renewal: following a long, harsh winter, blades of grass are beginning to shoot up from the ground, buds are bursting out on tree branches, and birds are busily constructing nests for their soon-to-be-laid eggs. Everywhere you look, life is starting fresh. Why not be part of it this spring with your very own vegetable garden? Even if you’ve never planted a seed in your life, this how-to can help you plan and grow your very first vegetable garden.

Start Small

It can be tempting to want a vegetable garden that takes up your entire backyard, but if you’re just beginning to garden, it’s best to keep your garden small until you know how to control it. Planting too much too soon is a common mistake made by new gardeners, and can become problematic when harvest time comes and you have way more veggies than you’ll ever be able to use!

Sunny Side Up

Plan your garden in a sunny location, so that your vegetables can get the 6 hours minimum direct sunlight per day that they need. More sun equals a more bountiful harvest and better-tasting vegetables!

Mind the Soil

Good, loamy soil is ideal for planting your vegetable garden. Making sure the soil is properly drained and enriching it with compost will help provide exactly the right amount of water and nutrients to your plants.

Space Out

Pay attention to the directions on your seed packets for spacing requirements. If you plant your vegetables too close together, they won’t get enough sunlight, water or soil nutrients to properly thrive.

Packet Up

Make sure to purchase high-quality seed packets from reputable companies. Also, pay attention to the expiration date on the packets and make sure the seeds are from this year. Seeds that are past their prime are unlikely to germinate, wasting your time and money.

Any gardening tips for newbies? Please share in our comments section.

Keep Fruits and Veggies Fresh Longer With These Handy Tips

Keeping fresh produce in the house for meals and snacking is a great way to stay healthy, but it can be hard to use them before they lose their freshness. Storing your fruits and vegetables properly can help to increase their freshness and taste, not to mention help you save money. Here are a few helpful hints for properly storing your fruits and veggies to get the most life out of them!

Bananas- Nothing like a delicious, potassium-rich banana for a healthy, easy snack! Keep your bananas fresh longer by wrapping the stems in plastic wrap. This prevents the ethylene gas that is naturally produced from the banana stems in the ripening process from reaching the fruits and making them prematurely ripe.

Lettuce- Rather than keeping your lettuce head intact, remove the leaves from the core when you purchase it, wrap them in paper towels, and store in a plastic container in your crisper drawer.

Apples- Unlike some fruits and veggies on this list, apples are one of the fruits that keep best under refrigeration, yet most people do not store their apples in the fridge. To keep your apples at the optimal temperature of 30-35 degrees Fahrenheit, place them under a damp paper towel in the crisper drawer. This will keep them nice and crunchy for weeks!

Carrots- Keeping your carrots in a large glass or plastic container full of water in the fridge will secure their freshness, keeping them deliciously crunchy for much longer. Be sure to cover the top of the container with plastic wrap or a lid, and change the water once per day.

Strawberries- The first step to preserving your strawberries is to throw away any moldy ones you find in the container right away. Then, store the berries in the fridge in an airtight container (not the one that they came in at the store) and take care not to wash them until just before you intend to eat them.

Understanding each fruit and vegetable and knowing how to best preserve them for maximum freshness will save you a lot of money and time while keeping your kitchen stocked with healthy, delicious foods. Enjoy!

Do you have a food preservation tip for your produce items? Let us know in the comments section.