Thursday, July 31, 2014

Pickled Red Onions


If you've never had pickled onions, you're seriously missing out. We're not sure if there's anything better to put on a taco. This recipe is extremely simple, which instantly made it a favorite of ours.

Here's what you need:
3/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tbsp white sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Bay leaf
5 allspice berries
5 whole peppercorns
1 large onion

Here's what you do:
Peel you onion and cut in half. Cut into half-moons and put into a canning jar.

In a small saucepan, heat the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, pour into the jar with the onions. You might want to use a funnel.

Pop on the lid and put in the refrigerator to cool. 

Enjoy!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Knife Care



We've discussed the need for having a good set of knives in your kitchen. Now, let's discuss how to properly take care of them.


1. DON'T PUT THEM IN THE DISHWASHER! Wash your knives by hand, making sure that the blade is away from you at all times. And, please don't toss them in the dish water so that you then have to root around in soapy water to find them, all the while cutting yourself in the process.


2. Wash and dry your knives immediately after use. It will maybe take you 2 minutes to clean and dry your knives right away. First of all, you don't want anything to get stuck to them. The likelihood of you cutting yourself goes up with the amount of stuck on food. Also, don't leave your knives in a dish drainer to dry. Dry them with a towel and put them away. You have less chance of accidentally cutting yourself.


3. Sharpen them! Before you start your chopping, swipe the knife a couple times over the sharpener. You want to make sure your blade is up to the task. Be sure to always sharpen with the blade away from you. Our block has a sharpener built into the block, so there's no chance of cutting yourself. You don't look as cool when you're using it as you would with a traditional sharpener though. 

We also just purchased the Wusthof Precision Edge 2-Stage Knife sharpener and have been pleased with it. We just run the knives through it a couple of times before we get started and things are much easier!