Cooking & Baking Tips
Posted by humboldt_honey on Sep 06, 2009 · Member since Feb 2007 · 12529 posts
I can't believe that there's not already a thread like this. Or that I missed it if there is.
Tip #1: According to The Splendid Table today, let your chocolate chip cookie dough sit for 36 hours before baking it so that the flour can absorb some of the moisture. I want to try that with brownies to see if they're less oily.
Tip #2: A coffee frother is the best thing ever for mixing EnerG egg replacer into a froth.
http://babyccinoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/aerolatte.jpg
I can't believe that there's not already a thread like this. Or that I missed it if there is.
Tip #1: According to The Splendid Table today, let your chocolate chip cookie dough sit for 36 hours before baking it so that the flour can absorb some of the moisture. I want to try that with brownies to see if they're less oily.
Tip #2: A coffee frother is the best thing ever for mixing EnerG egg replacer into a froth.
http://babyccinoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/aerolatte.jpg
Great idea, humboldt_honey. This has become one of my newest and well-used baking gadgets to froth my lattes. I didn't even think to use it for whipping Ener-G, but that's just perfect. Thank you!
Well, there's the FAQ thread: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=18229.0 That has some good tips.
Yeah. I think of that thread as different, in that it's supposed to be things commonly questioned by the masses. This thread is more about what people do that works for them that maybe the masses hadn't considered - like EnerG frothing methods - but work really well.
brush olive oil over "cheese" to make it melt on pizza
To improvise a double boiler, place a canning ring in the larger pot.
http://www.alanskitchen.com/Terms/Images/Double_Boiler.jpg + http://z.about.com/d/frugalliving/1/0/a/6/-/-/canningring.jpg
I've recently discovered that the George Foreman grill is a great way to prepare marinated tofu (I imagine similar contact grills would also work - I just don't have any other brand to test on)! Gives a chewy texture similar to baked, but only takes about 5 - 10 minutes! Yum!
Good idea! My tricks:
--When making bread, I turn on the oven and put the bread ontop of the warm oven to rise. Somewhere in the process I usually turn the oven off, let it cool, and put the bread inside, if it's not the last rise. If it's the last rise I just leave the oven on because it takes more gas to heat up the oven than to keep it hot.
--dental floss: I use for cutting delicate things that are easy to tear or crunch with bread or other knives--like cinnamon rolls.
--If a recipe calls for something sticky (like peanut butter or maple syrup, etc) and something oily (oil, margarine, etc) I always measure out the oil first... because it greases my measuring cup, and then the maple syrup (or what have you) just slides right on out! If your recipe doesn't call for oil/margerine, rinsing the cup with water first and then measuring out the sticky stuff works, but not as well as oil/margarine.
--like humboldt honey said: refrigerating cookie batter before you bake it... but I do this because otherwise my cookie batter spreads out on the sheet too fast and the edges sear/crisp.
--If you get those sticks of margarine.. I keep the paper that comes with them and put them in the freezer. Then, the next time I need to grease a baking dish, I take the paper out and use the little margarine bits left on it... learned this trick when I desperately needed to save money!
--You can make rice in the microwave! I'm never patient enough for rice to cook, and if you're only cooking for one or two people, this isn't bad. Put desired rice in a bowl (be careful not to overfill, it expands a lot!), cover with water, put some covering (I use a saucer) over the bowl and stick in the microwave. Cook for three minutes, take out (careful, mine are always super hot and I have to use oven mits) stir and add extra water if necessary. Cook for another three minutes, stir, and add water if necessary. Repeat until done. it usually onyl takes me 6-9 minutes. I've never done this with brown rice, only white or sticky rice, but I imagine it would work but take longer.
Hmmmm... that's all I can think of right now!
someone posted to boil ground flax seeds for egg replacer. best. idea. ever. works every time. thanks to who posted that.
also...
...use the boiled flax goo water to soak matzoh balls in before cooking them in the soup to keep them from falling apart
...use the boiled flax goo water to soak falafel in before frying
...coconut milk= awesome, sweet glaze and soup base
...butternut squash soups= great casserole base
Vexierspieg, you are my hero. Those are some fine tips!
:) Glad it helped, secondbase.
Pasta rollers are about $60. I used a 50% off coupon for a craft store and got a kid's clay rolling machine for $12. It's metal and has nine width settings.
If you over bake muffins, place them in your lettuce container. It will help keep your greens dry and rehydrate your muffins.
This isn't really a tip, just common sense. But anytime I have to turn on the big oven (as opposed to the toasted oven) I pack it full of things. If I'm making bread in there or muffins, I'll throw in a couple of potatoes to bake, marinated tofu, or a casserole I made the night before (that takes a lot more planning than I usually do!).
Great idea for a thread, I love seeing what other peoples little tricks are ;)b
When flouring pans or moulds for chocolate items (brownies, chocolate cqkes, muffins, etc) use cocoa powder instead of flour. Works just as well but doesnt show up on the finished product, and certainly tastes better :)
This might not be the most eco-friendly tip, and everyone probably knows it anyways, but it saves a ton of effort. If you know you're making something thats sticky or prone to burning, line your pan with aluminum foil. It can be cleaned and reused, and has saved my sanity on a number of occasions (ever tried to clean spilled and burnt sugar pie filling off a baking sheet? that little bit of foil is beyond worth it)
As previous posters have mentioned, egg replacer can generally be substituted wih flax seed and water. I'm usually too lazy to boil it and wash another pot, so I usually just combine the flax meal with warm water in a bowl a couple minutes before I need to use it. (or, when super lazy just throw everything in with the rest of the ingredients). The usual ratio is 1TBS flax meal plus 3TBS water equals one egg.
I've also found that to keep veggie burgers from falling apart as you try to fry them, refrigerate them for at least 20 mins after theyre assembled. This lets the oatmeal (or breadcrumbs) hydrate and helps them set up a bit.
im pretty sure ive mentioned this before but just so it's in this thread:
if im making pasta to be eaten with broccoli or asparagus, instead cooking the veggies separately i just wash them in the collander and leave them in there. when the pasta is ready to drain i dump the noodles and water out into the collander on top of the veggies and it sorta blanches them in a backwards way. also, the hot pasta keeps cooking them for a bit. it keeps the veggies from getting overcooked and totally saves a step.
;)b I've always wondered how people get veggie burgers and not veggie-burger-crumbles-that-you-squish-back-together-into-burgers. Can't wait to try this!
im pretty sure ive mentioned this before but just so it's in this thread:
if im making pasta to be eaten with broccoli or asparagus, instead cooking the veggies separately i just wash them in the collander and leave them in there. when the pasta is ready to drain i dump the noodles and water out into the collander on top of the veggies and it sorta blanches them in a backwards way. also, the hot pasta keeps cooking them for a bit. it keeps the veggies from getting overcooked and totally saves a step.
I had a dream about this after I read it. Weird.