Kitchen Tips

How to Organize the Pantry
Care of Cast Iron Cookware
Holiday Spices
Windowsill Herb Garden



Take a look at your pantry shelves. Is everything jumbled up and stuck anywhere it will fit? Can you easily find what you need? You need to organize your pantry!

1. The first thing to do is take everything out. While you are unloading onto the counter, try to place like things together.

2. Make sure to check dates on your food and throw out what has gone bad or past freshness date.

3. Clean and scrub pantry shelves. Replace shelf paper.

Restocking Your Pantry:

When organizing your pantry it is a good idea to always keep like items / food together. For instance:

* all canned vegetables together
* all canned meats, chili, soups together
* all box mixes together - mac and cheese, hamburger helper, rice and noodle mixes, etc
* all breakfast items together - cereal, cooked cereal, granola bars, etc...
* all canned fruit together
* all dry goods together - rice, flour, macaroni, etc
* all baking items together - cake mixes, icing, etc..
* all snack items together - popcorn, nuts, chips, fruit rolls, etc..


1. Place things you rarely use on the top shelf. (or taller items)

2. Place the items you use the most at eye level.

3. Place items that you use less frequently at the bottom

4. We place extra items that we keep on store such as catsup, salad dressing, salt, jams, peanut butter, etc on the bottom shelves. Then when we run out, we know just where to look.

5. Keep a pad and paper in the pantry to mark when you get something out of your stored items or are running low on something - if you keep track, you will have a ready made grocery list.

6. If you have room on the inside of your pantry door - install coated wire shelves. These small shelves are great storing for soup mixes, spices, extracts, candy sprinkles for cakes, etc.

Remember that everyone places different things in their pantry - place your grouped items in a way that makes sense to you and how you live.

When you unload your grocery sacks, remember to put things together and back in the right place - then it will be easy to keep your pantry organized all of the time!!




Cast Iron Cookware
tips for caring for your cast iron
Seasoning Cast Iron Skillets and Cookware:

You should always "season" your cast iron cookware before using for the first time.

1. Wash your cast iron in warm sudsy water and rinse well.

2. Make sure to dry the cast iron very well.

3. Take a paper towel and coat the entire skillet or pan with lard. (inside and out) It is best not to use vegatble oil as that will make your cast iron sticky.

4. Place in a preheated oven at 300° oven for one hour.

5. Remove and wipe off any excess grease with a new paper towel. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another hour.

Washing Cast Iron Cookware:

Never wash you cast iron in the dishwasher!

After cooking in your cast iron, rinse in warm water. You may use a small amount of soap but harsh scrubbing and detergents will remove the seasoning. If for any reason your food is sticking to the pan and you have to scrub or you have rust in your cookware, re-season your pan.

After you have rinsed the skillet or pan well, set on a hot burner for a minute to make sure all water is gone. Let cool on burner and store as usual.

Cooking with Cast Iron:

After many uses, you cast iron skillet or pans will turn black. This is a good thing! This means you will now have a non-stick surface to cook in.




Holiday Spices in the Pantry



Fall is the time when we do a lot of baking. This is a great time to clean out and organize your Spice Cabinet and Pantry.

What is the shelf life of spices?

Spices that are stored in airtight containers can last for a long time but they do lose their strength over time.

Whole Spices such as cloves, allspice, cumin, and cardamom can last up to 4 years.

Ground Spices can last up to 3 years.

Herbs can last for approx 1 year.

Seasoning Blends can last for approx 1 year.

Extracts can last for up to 3 years.

A good way to tell if your ground spices, herbs and seasoning blends are still in full flavor is to smell them - if they have little smell, it is time to replace them.

It is best not to store your spices near the stove (heat) or close to your sink/dishwasher (humidity) - herbs and spices should be stored in a cool, dark place in your kitchen or pantry.

Be sure to check the dates on your baking powder, baking soda, yeast, bouillon cubes, cornstarch, cocoa powder, chocolate pieces, etc.

When in doubt - throw it out!



Holiday Spices:

Common spices and ingredients used in fall cooking and holiday baking: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, almond extract, brown sugar, molasses.

Spices for Holiday Turkey: sage, thyme, poultry seasoning

Spices for Holiday Goose: sage, poultry seasoning

Spices for Holiday Duck: dill, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon, poultry seasoning

If you get your spices and pantry in order now, you will be ready for all the Holiday baking ahead!



A Windowsill Herb Garden




Growing Herbs in the Kitchen

You can easily grow herbs on the kitchen windowsill and enjoy the fragrance and flavors of herbs in your country cooking!

Starting herb seeds - plant your seeds in potting soil and keep moist until they sprout. The top of the refrigerator is a nice warm spot to sprout seedlings. Once they have sprouted, place on a sunny windowsill and water as needed. Once they are well established, you can cut back a bit on the water. Herbs tend to like their soil a little dry.

(tip - you can use many cute containers for your herbs - a cracked teapot or cup, pretty jars, an old gravy boat, etc..)

Choosing Savory Herbs for your windowsill garden:

Dill - One of the all time most popular herbs. Both seeds and leaves of dill have have sharp, slightly bitter taste. The aromatic young branches are used to flavor salads, pickles, vinegar, sauces, soups, stews, and chicken, lamb and fish dishes.

Cooking: Use dried or fresh leaves, known as dill weed, to make dill butter, flavor broiled fish, soups, salads, meats, poultry, omelets, and potatoes.

Coriander - (Also called Cilantro) This easy to grow herb is similar in appearance to parsley. Young leaves taste like dried orange peel. Coriander is rich in vitamins A & B, calcium, riboflavin, and niacin. Used frequently in Latin American cooking.

Cooking: Use fresh or dried leaves in salads and soups, serve chopped with avocados. Great for spicy meat dishes. As seeds ripen, gather them and use them whole or crushed on pastry, French dressing, beans, stew, sausage, and fish.

Sweet Basil - Basil's aromatic leaves have a warm and spicy flavor. A must have for Italian cooking and Thai Cuisine. Basil is known to fight toxins and aids the digestion.

Cooking: Use sparingly in tomato dishes and sauces, green salads, omelets, cucumbers, and with meat, poultry, fish and Stir Fry dishes.

Parsley - Everyone knows parsley as a garnish, but it also has a wonderful flavor. Great for almost everything from sauces to gourmet fish dishes. It'll make an attractive, deep green, frilly plant on your windowsill, but if you set some of the root outside, you'll have it every year.

Cooking: Mix parsley leaves into salads, soups, stews, casseroles, and omelets. Serve fresh as garnish with meat, fish and onion dishes.

Chives - An all-time favorite, this relative of the onion is great for flavoring any dish that needs a "zing." They improve almost any dish. The plants also reward you with lovely purplish flowers, which are also edible!

Cooking: Chop chives and add to salads, egg and cheese dishes, cream cheese, mashed potatoes, hamburgers, sandwich spreads, and sauces.