Tag: microwave

Crystallized Honey 101: It’s Actually a Good Thing …

If you use local honey, you may find that it has crystallized and that is a good thing. It's proof that the honey has had minimal processing.

Some people even wonder if the honey is safe to eat. It is. Crystallization is a sign that your honey is not only safe, but also has not had some of its flavor and goodness removed.

Wired Magazine ran an article, What Do You Do With Crystallized Honey? that defends crystallized honey and explains why this happens. I agree with them when they tell you not to microwave an entire jar of honey. In addition to degrading the product, there are horror stories of melting plastic honey bears and tales of clean ups after honey was overheated.

This is the same advice I've had from beekeepers. I do as little as possible to this pure product after I buy it.

Making Crystallized Honey Easier to Use

When I bring home a still liquid jar of my favorite honey from Foppema's Farm, I transfer its contents into canning jars. If I get lazy and the honey crystallizes before I rejar it, I use a spoon and a silicone spatula to scrape it into a wide-mouth canning jar where it's easy to use by the spoonful. This jar becomes my honey supply for hot beverages and cooking. If I need a more liquid form of honey, it's easier to heat as much as I need.

Since honey is our primary sweetener, we normally buy it in large, tall jars which make it difficult to retrieve every last sweet bottom bit. But, if you only use a little, consider buying smaller jars. Then you can reach in with a butter spreader or dinner knife and gather what you need.

Your solid honey will quickly turn liquid when you spread it on toast or spoon it into a hot cup of tea. If you're mixing it into a cold drink, just melt it in a bit of hot water or microwave just as much as you plan to use. But, leave your main supply in its unadulterated crystallized form.

Want more kitchen tips like this one? Check these posts:

Sweet additions for your stews and soups

A great tip for fish chowder

Variations on a soup theme

How to keep artisan bread fresh

Begin all your Amazon shopping at BostonZest to support the site and keep information like this coming your way.

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Writer: Penny Cherubino

Photos: © 2010 Penny Cherubino

July 20, 2015
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: Hotel Rooms Too!

We like to have some kitchen access even when we stay in hotels. And, with more hotels offering a tiny kitchen with refrigerator, coffemaker, and microwave, we travel with the gear to take advantage of this.

This is our full kitchen bag unpacked in a Provincetown apartment. While some of these items are duplicated in a furnished apartment, they are all needed in a hotel room.

We admit to being wine glass brats so we like to have a nice glass to enjoy a sip of wine in our own quarters. We pack champagne flutes because they're trim and can be used for any wine. They also give us an excuse to opt for sparkling wine on vacation.

We pack a couple of plates and bowls, along with a cutting board, when we're headed to a hotel. With this we can make a late night supper of cheese, wine, and fruit or a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit if one of us is sleeping late.

That small bottle wrapped in plastic (far left center, above) is dish washing soap. We always have a few paper towels with us and two dish towels that can double as napkins and backdrops for food photos.

Since the trip to Provincetown when this was photographed was not for weeks, we included a bit of olive oil and vinegar from home. For a longer stay, we'd buy some on location.

Here's an example of a tiny kitchen area at the Garden Hilton in Portland, Maine. You can find a bit more equipment in extended stay hotels. But, with this set up, we're able to finish the leftovers from a restaurant meal or stay in after a long day of exploring. We can also enjoy shopping food stores and farmers' markets in a new area and making a lunch or dinner from what we find.

In an upcoming post in this series, we'll tell you how we make great coffee in hotel rooms.

Related Posts:

Portland, Maine Get Away

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2009-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

March 25, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: Hotel Rooms Too!

We like to have some kitchen access even when we stay in hotels. And, with more hotels offering a tiny kitchen with refrigerator, coffemaker, and microwave, we travel with the gear to take advantage of this.

This is our full kitchen bag unpacked in a Provincetown apartment. While some of these items are duplicated in a furnished apartment, they are all needed in a hotel room.

We admit to being wine glass brats so we like to have a nice glass to enjoy a sip of wine in our own quarters. We pack champagne flutes because they're trim and can be used for any wine. They also give us an excuse to opt for sparkling wine on vacation.

We pack a couple of plates and bowls, along with a cutting board, when we're headed to a hotel. With this we can make a late night supper of cheese, wine, and fruit or a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit if one of us is sleeping late.

That small bottle wrapped in plastic (far left center, above) is dish washing soap. We always have a few paper towels with us and two dish towels that can double as napkins and backdrops for food photos.

Since the trip to Provincetown when this was photographed was not for weeks, we included a bit of olive oil and vinegar from home. For a longer stay, we'd buy some on location.

Here's an example of a tiny kitchen area at the Garden Hilton in Portland, Maine. You can find a bit more equipment in extended stay hotels. But, with this set up, we're able to finish the leftovers from a restaurant meal or stay in after a long day of exploring. We can also enjoy shopping food stores and farmers' markets in a new area and making a lunch or dinner from what we find.

In an upcoming post in this series, we'll tell you how we make great coffee in hotel rooms.

Related Posts:

Portland, Maine Get Away

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2009-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

March 25, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: Hotel Rooms Too!

We like to have some kitchen access even when we stay in hotels. And, with more hotels offering a tiny kitchen with refrigerator, coffemaker, and microwave, we travel with the gear to take advantage of this.

This is our full kitchen bag unpacked in a Provincetown apartment. While some of these items are duplicated in a furnished apartment, they are all needed in a hotel room.

We admit to being wine glass brats so we like to have a nice glass to enjoy a sip of wine in our own quarters. We pack champagne flutes because they're trim and can be used for any wine. They also give us an excuse to opt for sparkling wine on vacation.

We pack a couple of plates and bowls, along with a cutting board, when we're headed to a hotel. With this we can make a late night supper of cheese, wine, and fruit or a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit if one of us is sleeping late.

That small bottle wrapped in plastic (far left center, above) is dish washing soap. We always have a few paper towels with us and two dish towels that can double as napkins and backdrops for food photos.

Since the trip to Provincetown when this was photographed was not for weeks, we included a bit of olive oil and vinegar from home. For a longer stay, we'd buy some on location.

Here's an example of a tiny kitchen area at the Garden Hilton in Portland, Maine. You can find a bit more equipment in extended stay hotels. But, with this set up, we're able to finish the leftovers from a restaurant meal or stay in after a long day of exploring. We can also enjoy shopping food stores and farmers' markets in a new area and making a lunch or dinner from what we find.

In an upcoming post in this series, we'll tell you how we make great coffee in hotel rooms.

Related Posts:

Portland, Maine Get Away

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2009-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

March 25, 2013
American Chop Suey, a New England Tradition

This is a traditional time of year, so why not make a big pot of this area's American Chop Suey. I like to have old fashioned, comfort food around when life gets busy. This is also a great dish to feed a crowd or to bring to a pot luck.

If you follow the tips you've learned from watching food shows, you can add a note of refinement – a je ne sais quoi – to your version of this hearty dish.

For example, I started this batch with this recipe from Saveur Magazine. I love their addition of crushed, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Neither one of those was in my family's version.

I used red pepper instead of green. And, after I browned the beef, I used some white wine to deglaze the pan and capture all that lovely caramelization. For macaroni, I did use elbows but I selected the elbows with ridges and a bit of a twist because they seem to hold on to the sauce and meat better than smooth ones.

When we have a stock of something like this in our refrigerator, we are most likely to pop some into a bowl and microwave individual portions. This is a great option if you have a bunch of different schedules to accomodate or some big appetites home for the holidays. A meal for some of us can be a between meal snack for others.

But, if you're feeding holiday guests and want a different look for this dish on day two, put a twist on tradition. Bake this pasta under a blanket of cheese and breadcrumbs and present it with a golden, cripsy top and a melty, cheesy layer.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

Scared of Celeriac?

Focaccia Croutons Are Tops

Fartootempting Baked Beans From Breakwind Farm

December 3, 2012
American Chop Suey, a New England Tradition

This is a traditional time of year, so why not make a big pot of this area's American Chop Suey. I like to have old fashioned, comfort food around when life gets busy. This is also a great dish to feed a crowd or to bring to a pot luck.

If you follow the tips you've learned from watching food shows, you can add a note of refinement – a je ne sais quoi – to your version of this hearty dish.

For example, I started this batch with this recipe from Saveur Magazine. I love their addition of crushed, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Neither one of those was in my family's version.

I used red pepper instead of green. And, after I browned the beef, I used some white wine to deglaze the pan and capture all that lovely caramelization. For macaroni, I did use elbows but I selected the elbows with ridges and a bit of a twist because they seem to hold on to the sauce and meat better than smooth ones.

When we have a stock of something like this in our refrigerator, we are most likely to pop some into a bowl and microwave individual portions. This is a great option if you have a bunch of different schedules to accomodate or some big appetites home for the holidays. A meal for some of us can be a between meal snack for others.

But, if you're feeding holiday guests and want a different look for this dish on day two, put a twist on tradition. Bake this pasta under a blanket of cheese and breadcrumbs and present it with a golden, cripsy top and a melty, cheesy layer.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

Scared of Celeriac?

Focaccia Croutons Are Tops

Fartootempting Baked Beans From Breakwind Farm

December 3, 2012
American Chop Suey, a New England Tradition

This is a traditional time of year, so why not make a big pot of this area's American Chop Suey. I like to have old fashioned, comfort food around when life gets busy. This is also a great dish to feed a crowd or to bring to a pot luck.

If you follow the tips you've learned from watching food shows, you can add a note of refinement – a je ne sais quoi – to your version of this hearty dish.

For example, I started this batch with this recipe from Saveur Magazine. I love their addition of crushed, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Neither one of those was in my family's version.

I used red pepper instead of green. And, after I browned the beef, I used some white wine to deglaze the pan and capture all that lovely caramelization. For macaroni, I did use elbows but I selected the elbows with ridges and a bit of a twist because they seem to hold on to the sauce and meat better than smooth ones.

When we have a stock of something like this in our refrigerator, we are most likely to pop some into a bowl and microwave individual portions. This is a great option if you have a bunch of different schedules to accomodate or some big appetites home for the holidays. A meal for some of us can be a between meal snack for others.

But, if you're feeding holiday guests and want a different look for this dish on day two, put a twist on tradition. Bake this pasta under a blanket of cheese and breadcrumbs and present it with a golden, cripsy top and a melty, cheesy layer.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

Scared of Celeriac?

Focaccia Croutons Are Tops

Fartootempting Baked Beans From Breakwind Farm

December 3, 2012
Cooking Sweet Corn: Microwave, Grilling, and Elote!

If you’re still tossing your sweet corn into a pot of boiling water, you may want to consider the alternatives.

For years, I’ve been steaming our corn. I want all that flavor on our plates not tossed away in the cooking water! But recently, I saw an America’s Test Kitchen video on how to microwave corn “in the husk” that results in perfectly silk-free ears on the plate

When I told friends, they laughed because most of them had been microwaving corn for years. (As you can see, I don’t think microwave when it comes to cooking.) But most of them had also been husking the corn before they cooked it, so they did find the video helpful.

Grilled Corn & Elote

If the resident grill master is making supper, you can toss the corn (husk and all) right on the grill and get some of that lovely pop-corney caramelization going. We don’t have a safe grill space so I used a combo method to make the elote in the photo.

Elote is a favorite Mexican street food that has been showing up in Boston restaurants. A very popular version is served at Toro in the South End. There, it’s called “Maiz Asado con Alioli y queso Cotija.”

To make my version, I microwaved the corn for 2 minutes an ear (following the method in the video) and then popped the cleaned ears into a cast iron skillet to give them some color. I cut the ears in half for easier eating and stuck each half with a wooden chopstick.

Then come the toppings. Around here, most places seem to slather the corn in mayonnaise and then season. But in different Mexican cultural regions you might use butter, sour cream, crema, or citrus juice to moisten the ear.

Once you have a wet surface, you can add a Mexican cheese like crumbly Cotija Anejo, or substitute your favorite grated cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a nice salty feta. Seasoning is the final step and that can include anything from salt to chili powder. I love a bit of smoky ancho chili powder on mine! Lime wedges, served on the side, are traditional.

If you’re having a party, you might set up all the toppings, salad-bar style, pass the cooked corn to your guests, and let them create their own version of elote.

What’s on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

Something to Cook: Grilled Mexican Street Corn

The Seafood Grille at The Waterford Inn, Provincetown

Vella Dry Jack Cheese: an American Treasure

Cook Fresh Corn on the Cob in Your Microwave [Video]

August 13, 2012
Cooking Sweet Corn: Microwave, Grilling, and Elote!

If you’re still tossing your sweet corn into a pot of boiling water, you may want to consider the alternatives.

For years, I’ve been steaming our corn. I want all that flavor on our plates not tossed away in the cooking water! But recently, I saw an America’s Test Kitchen video on how to microwave corn “in the husk” that results in perfectly silk-free ears on the plate

When I told friends, they laughed because most of them had been microwaving corn for years. (As you can see, I don’t think microwave when it comes to cooking.) But most of them had also been husking the corn before they cooked it, so they did find the video helpful.

Grilled Corn & Elote

If the resident grill master is making supper, you can toss the corn (husk and all) right on the grill and get some of that lovely pop-corney caramelization going. We don’t have a safe grill space so I used a combo method to make the elote in the photo.

Elote is a favorite Mexican street food that has been showing up in Boston restaurants. A very popular version is served at Toro in the South End. There, it’s called “Maiz Asado con Alioli y queso Cotija.”

To make my version, I microwaved the corn for 2 minutes an ear (following the method in the video) and then popped the cleaned ears into a cast iron skillet to give them some color. I cut the ears in half for easier eating and stuck each half with a wooden chopstick.

Then come the toppings. Around here, most places seem to slather the corn in mayonnaise and then season. But in different Mexican cultural regions you might use butter, sour cream, crema, or citrus juice to moisten the ear.

Once you have a wet surface, you can add a Mexican cheese like crumbly Cotija Anejo, or substitute your favorite grated cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a nice salty feta. Seasoning is the final step and that can include anything from salt to chili powder. I love a bit of smoky ancho chili powder on mine! Lime wedges, served on the side, are traditional.

If you’re having a party, you might set up all the toppings, salad-bar style, pass the cooked corn to your guests, and let them create their own version of elote.

What’s on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

Something to Cook: Grilled Mexican Street Corn

The Seafood Grille at The Waterford Inn, Provincetown

Vella Dry Jack Cheese: an American Treasure

Cook Fresh Corn on the Cob in Your Microwave [Video]

August 13, 2012
Cooking Sweet Corn: Microwave, Grilling, and Elote!

If you’re still tossing your sweet corn into a pot of boiling water, you may want to consider the alternatives.

For years, I’ve been steaming our corn. I want all that flavor on our plates not tossed away in the cooking water! But recently, I saw an America’s Test Kitchen video on how to microwave corn “in the husk” that results in perfectly silk-free ears on the plate

When I told friends, they laughed because most of them had been microwaving corn for years. (As you can see, I don’t think microwave when it comes to cooking.) But most of them had also been husking the corn before they cooked it, so they did find the video helpful.

Grilled Corn & Elote

If the resident grill master is making supper, you can toss the corn (husk and all) right on the grill and get some of that lovely pop-corney caramelization going. We don’t have a safe grill space so I used a combo method to make the elote in the photo.

Elote is a favorite Mexican street food that has been showing up in Boston restaurants. A very popular version is served at Toro in the South End. There, it’s called “Maiz Asado con Alioli y queso Cotija.”

To make my version, I microwaved the corn for 2 minutes an ear (following the method in the video) and then popped the cleaned ears into a cast iron skillet to give them some color. I cut the ears in half for easier eating and stuck each half with a wooden chopstick.

Then come the toppings. Around here, most places seem to slather the corn in mayonnaise and then season. But in different Mexican cultural regions you might use butter, sour cream, crema, or citrus juice to moisten the ear.

Once you have a wet surface, you can add a Mexican cheese like crumbly Cotija Anejo, or substitute your favorite grated cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a nice salty feta. Seasoning is the final step and that can include anything from salt to chili powder. I love a bit of smoky ancho chili powder on mine! Lime wedges, served on the side, are traditional.

If you’re having a party, you might set up all the toppings, salad-bar style, pass the cooked corn to your guests, and let them create their own version of elote.

What’s on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

Something to Cook: Grilled Mexican Street Corn

The Seafood Grille at The Waterford Inn, Provincetown

Vella Dry Jack Cheese: an American Treasure

Cook Fresh Corn on the Cob in Your Microwave [Video]

August 13, 2012