tuesday morning

It's an ongoing love affair ~ me and onion, garlic and celery! Along with red, yellow and green bell peppers, I put them in some combination or other in practically every dish I make....a must in stew, soup, gumbo, bisque and quiche recipes.  So, here are my store-and-save solutions: 

of course, the most obvious thing to do is chop and store in freezer bags to use as needed.  And that's okay for most recipes....just pull from the freezer and saute for some recipes and just use as is for others...but sometimes, fresh celery is needed.

So.....when I bring celery home from the market, I chop off the heart....and munch down on the sweetest part of the celery immediately!  Wash and store the stalks standing on end in cold water. I don't skin my celery....I think that only encourages faster decomposition at this point.  Try it....

 it's amazing how long the stalks will stay fresh with this feet-in-water trick. 

Garlic.....storing garlic is easy when you purchase jars of minced or crushed garlic stored in oil.  I just store in the refrig and spoon out as needed.  When I need to roast garlic for a recipe, I just buy a pod, roast and use and don't worry about storage.  Life can be too short. 

Onions and bell peppers don't normally last long enough in my kitchen to worry about storing.....but should I have any part of them not used, I just put in zippered bag and store in refrig crisper for tomorrow! 

But, for now....it's time for breakfast.  I think I'll have a banana smeared with peanut butter and a glass of milk ~

It's nice to have computer issues resolved and have my light-hearted self back!