Holiday cooking is coming…

Here is a couple of a little, but helpful “food” tricks…

A great way to keep your fruit and veggies fresh… Just wrap them in a paper towel before storing them in the bottom of your fridge. (Well, a true Ukrainian recipe would be using a newspaper, not paper towel.)

Cake frosting savior… To keep your cake frosting moist, just add a pinch of baking soda to the recipe. It will stop the frosting from cracking.

Your kitchen appliances “trick”… (I know, it is not food, but… it IS cooking related, plus… it can be used with anything that requires an electric outlet.) If an electric plug on an appliance fits too snugly and it is difficult to pull out, rub its prongs with a soft lead pencil and it will start”behaving” much better moving in and out easily.

Cooking a roast… in a Dutch oven? Here is a “Russian” way to avoid using a separate pot for your veggies: just invert the Dutch oven’s lead, line it in foil, and roast your veggies on top. It saves cleanup and space too!

Another “appliances” related tip… To remove annoying tough food stains from cutting boards, cut a lemon in half; squeeze the juice onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes. Rinse with water. It works on both plastic and wooden boards.