Welcome to the Kitchen!
Grab an apron and a spoon and let's get to work!
In this section we'll share some our favorite recipes and food preservation tips. We also invite our readers to pass along your favorites, too. Got a favorite cookbook? Send along the appropriate information and why you can't live without it and we'll add it to the bookshelf.
In this section we'll share some our favorite recipes and food preservation tips. We also invite our readers to pass along your favorites, too. Got a favorite cookbook? Send along the appropriate information and why you can't live without it and we'll add it to the bookshelf.
How to Read Labels
Reading labels is skill we've had to work on developing over many years. And yes it is a skill. At this point we can pick up a few containers of the same item and almost instantly known which one is the best and least processed. But it took us a while to get to this point. Many people who shop at the store for preserved items, things that have labels, just pick up one. It may be the cheapest or the most expensive or just the one they always get. But a lot of times they don't read the labels. If you don't read labels yourself, I'm not saying you don't know anything and should be punished for it. We haven't read labels our entire life either. It's just a good practice to get into.
But what exactly can a label tell you about the product inside? A lot actually. It gives you serving sizes, nutrition information, ingredient lists, and sometimes more than that.
Let's start with serving sizes. They're usually at the top right under where it says "Nutrition Information". The main piece of information to be gleaned here is the serving size (obviously), although it also tells you how many servings are in a container. With some things, the serving size isn't really practical, even though they do think, for whatever reason, that that's as much of the item you should have at one time. But most of the time, the serving sizes shouldn't be ignored. They're there for a reason. Often times it's based so that you don't get too much of one type of thing whether that be a vitamin or carbs or sugar.
Next on the list is nutrition information. With this one, it's easy to ignore it or be too focused on only that one piece of information. It probably doesn't need a lot of explaining, but basically, it says how much of different food groups as well as vitamins are in a certain serving. Really the only piece we look at in the store when comparing brands is the sodium amount. Because we try to limit our sodium intake, especially that from processed foods, if a brand has significantly higher sodium than another, we'll probably opt for the one with less sodium. However, there are some types of food where it's extremely hard to find brand without an exorbitant amount of sodium, no matter the brand. If this is the case, look for a low sodium version or make your own. With everything here, making your own is always the best option, no matter how good something might look coming off the shelves.
The last thing is the ingredient list. When we read labels, this is the main piece of information we're looking at. There's a few things that we try to steer clear from in any kind of product: a really long list of ingredients, several items we can't pronounce, high fructose corn syrup, MSG (which can be hidden under natural flavors), sugar as the one of the first three ingredients (unless it's supposed to be sweet), and salt as one of the first three ingredients (unless it's something like cured meat). Other than that we really just look to see what's in it and what the product is. If here are ingredients that shouldn't be in there based on what the product is, we try to steer clear of those as well.
When you're reading labels, the best thing to do is use your own best judgement. If it looks alright to you, then get it. These are just the things we look for and that we try to keep out of our pantry. Hopefully you got something out of this, but please don't think that this is exactly what you have to do when reading labels.
But what exactly can a label tell you about the product inside? A lot actually. It gives you serving sizes, nutrition information, ingredient lists, and sometimes more than that.
Let's start with serving sizes. They're usually at the top right under where it says "Nutrition Information". The main piece of information to be gleaned here is the serving size (obviously), although it also tells you how many servings are in a container. With some things, the serving size isn't really practical, even though they do think, for whatever reason, that that's as much of the item you should have at one time. But most of the time, the serving sizes shouldn't be ignored. They're there for a reason. Often times it's based so that you don't get too much of one type of thing whether that be a vitamin or carbs or sugar.
Next on the list is nutrition information. With this one, it's easy to ignore it or be too focused on only that one piece of information. It probably doesn't need a lot of explaining, but basically, it says how much of different food groups as well as vitamins are in a certain serving. Really the only piece we look at in the store when comparing brands is the sodium amount. Because we try to limit our sodium intake, especially that from processed foods, if a brand has significantly higher sodium than another, we'll probably opt for the one with less sodium. However, there are some types of food where it's extremely hard to find brand without an exorbitant amount of sodium, no matter the brand. If this is the case, look for a low sodium version or make your own. With everything here, making your own is always the best option, no matter how good something might look coming off the shelves.
The last thing is the ingredient list. When we read labels, this is the main piece of information we're looking at. There's a few things that we try to steer clear from in any kind of product: a really long list of ingredients, several items we can't pronounce, high fructose corn syrup, MSG (which can be hidden under natural flavors), sugar as the one of the first three ingredients (unless it's supposed to be sweet), and salt as one of the first three ingredients (unless it's something like cured meat). Other than that we really just look to see what's in it and what the product is. If here are ingredients that shouldn't be in there based on what the product is, we try to steer clear of those as well.
When you're reading labels, the best thing to do is use your own best judgement. If it looks alright to you, then get it. These are just the things we look for and that we try to keep out of our pantry. Hopefully you got something out of this, but please don't think that this is exactly what you have to do when reading labels.
How to Keep from Getting Sick or Food Safety
Ew. What a boring sounding topic. "Food Safety". Sounds like the low attendance seminar at a chef's convention. But with food-borne illnesses that get everyone up in a tizzy, it's a topic that anyone who eats should find interesting. I'll try to keep from being gross. Or boring.
Disclaimer: none of us have a degree in nutrition or food safety, nor has anything or anyone, except our dairy, passed a test or inspection. If you walked into our kitchen, most of the time you'd realize why we've never made the cover of Better Homes and Gardens - more often than not it looks more like a tornado went through. But we like to eat good food and we're vitally concerned with our health. We think a lot of the rules are the overblown result of marketing and that the reason there is so much food related illness is because 1) people don't know where they're food originates and 2) people don't properly care for the ingredients that will become their food.
Our practices are very simple. I hope everyone takes them with a grain of salt because, like I said above, none of us have a degree in anything. This is just we believe and what works for us. If what you're doing works for you and you're happy with it, then by all means keep doing what you're doing. We know where the majority of our food comes from, and therefore also know if it's been sprayed with chemicals at any point in it's journey.
* We make sure to wash all of our fruits and vegetables before consuming them, even if it came right from our own garden. (Gail always says that you never know who may have picked their nose right before picking your produce.)
* If something has mold on it, we just cut off the moldy piece and eat the rest. For the most part, mold won't hurt you. The spores are already on the food before they can be seen anyway. Once there's a lot of it on there, it just doesn't taste real great.
* Everything that should be cooked thoroughly, such as eggs and meat, are.
* Anything that has to do with food preparation, no matter the kind of food, goes in our dishwasher to be sterilized before it's next use.
If you have any questions about food safety in general or our specific practices, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always willing to answer questions.
Disclaimer: none of us have a degree in nutrition or food safety, nor has anything or anyone, except our dairy, passed a test or inspection. If you walked into our kitchen, most of the time you'd realize why we've never made the cover of Better Homes and Gardens - more often than not it looks more like a tornado went through. But we like to eat good food and we're vitally concerned with our health. We think a lot of the rules are the overblown result of marketing and that the reason there is so much food related illness is because 1) people don't know where they're food originates and 2) people don't properly care for the ingredients that will become their food.
Our practices are very simple. I hope everyone takes them with a grain of salt because, like I said above, none of us have a degree in anything. This is just we believe and what works for us. If what you're doing works for you and you're happy with it, then by all means keep doing what you're doing. We know where the majority of our food comes from, and therefore also know if it's been sprayed with chemicals at any point in it's journey.
* We make sure to wash all of our fruits and vegetables before consuming them, even if it came right from our own garden. (Gail always says that you never know who may have picked their nose right before picking your produce.)
* If something has mold on it, we just cut off the moldy piece and eat the rest. For the most part, mold won't hurt you. The spores are already on the food before they can be seen anyway. Once there's a lot of it on there, it just doesn't taste real great.
* Everything that should be cooked thoroughly, such as eggs and meat, are.
* Anything that has to do with food preparation, no matter the kind of food, goes in our dishwasher to be sterilized before it's next use.
If you have any questions about food safety in general or our specific practices, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always willing to answer questions.