How to Blanch, Roast and Peel Hazelnuts

One of my favorite types of nuts are hazelnuts, but a lot of recipes call for peeled hazelnuts. Such hard work! I found a way that is very simple and the skins are literally falling off after you are done. 

How to Roast Garlic

Are you a garlic lover? I can't get enough of it. I cook with it on a regular basis, and go through about a bulb a week. Yes, my hands smell like garlic most of the time, but I don't mind. :)

How to roast nuts

Roasting...that one word brings to mind wonderful memories of sitting under the Eifel Tower eating Roasted Chestnuts with my husband, watching people gaze at the magnificent structure in front of us, and just being in perfect bliss and contentment. It also reminds me of the Autumn season and that I can turn my oven on after a long summer hiatus. Whoohoo! 

How to: Make your own beans

  
When I first made stove-top beans, I was so surprised how easy it was and I haven't turned back to canned since. You will save a ton of $ making your own and you won't have any extra sodium or preservatives that you find in canned goods. With these super duper easy steps, you will find the benefit of making your own.  

1 pound of beans equals about 5-6 cups of cooked beans, which is the equivalent of about 3 cans of beans. 1 pound of beans usually costs me around 80 cents. Pretty good deal, eh? 

Now you are thinking to yourself, there is NO way we are going to eat a pound of beans in one sitting. You're right, that would be intense! There's a simple solution. Freeze your beans in quart size freezer bags. Measure 2 cups of beans per bag (that's how much is in a can) and freeze them. Then when you are ready to use them in a recipe,  just defrost them the night before in the fridge or nuke them in the microwave and Voila! Simple isn't it?  

There are 2 methods of soaking your beans. 

1. The longer method (I prefer this one), is by soaking your beans overnight. It slows down the cooking time and removes indigestible complex sugars from the outer coating of the beans. In other words, you won't be having as much "gas" after eating them. 

2. The shorter method does a "rapid" soak, and I usually do this if I forgot to soak the beans overnight. 


Long Method

Serves:5-6 cups Prep: overnight Cooking Time: depends on bean

1 lb of beans
water
 
1. Rinse and pick through beans. Throw away any shriveled ones.
2. Add 8 cups of water to a soup pan, and let beans sit overnight (8-12 hours) in the water.
3. The next morning, rinse out the beans. Add 12-16 cups of water to soup pan and bring beans to a boil then a simmer. Time will vary on the type of bean. I usually check and taste them after the first 30 minutes and then every 10 minutes after that. You don't want the beans to get mushy. You can add salt 5 minutes before the beans are done, but I usually don't to reduce on the sodium.

Note: If you are making Split Peas, Lentils or Butter beans, you do NOT need to soak them.

Short Method
Serves:5-6 cups Prep: 1 hour Cooking Time: depends on bean
  
1 lb of beans
water

   1. Rinse and pick through beans. Throw away any shriveled ones.
2. Add 12-16 cups of water to a soup pan, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and remove pan from heat. Let sit covered for 1 hour.
3. Rinse beans. Add 12-16 cups of water to soup pan and bring beans to a boil then a simmer. Time will vary on the type of bean. I usually check and taste them after the first 30 minutes and then every 10 minutes after that. You don't want the beans to get mushy. You can add salt 5 minutes before the beans are done, but I usually don't to reduce on the sodium.

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Types of Beans and Cooking Times

Black and White Beans - 30 minutes
Kidney and Pinto Beans - 30-45 minutes
Garbonzo Beans - 30-45 minutes
Lentils and Split Peas - 20-30 minutes


Note: If you have any questions just comment on this page and I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability. Hope this information is helpful to you!

How to: Clean Leeks

Leeks can be tricky things to wash if you don't do it correctly, because the dirt gets everywhere! Here's a simple technique that you can use whenever you have a recipe that asks for leeks.

 1. First you are going to chop off the roots and throw them away.

2. Next you are going to cut off the rough dark green leaves of the leek. Most recipe don't use that part, but you can save it to make vegetable or chicken stocks. 

3.Now with a sharp knife, you will cut a slit down the middle of the leek. At this step you can either rinse them off really well in a colander and make sure you get all the dirt out, or go to Steps 4 and 5. 

 4. Cut the leek into quarters. 

 5. Add them to a bowl full of water and rinse them repeatedly until there is no more dirt left.