Preventing Weevils in your Rice Container

I remember growing up that I hated to start baking only to realize that the bag of flour had weevils in it. So now my eggs are ready, so is the sugar, vanilla and what have you...but flour??? Nope...the flour had become a casualty of the food war. It really is a constant battle to keep pest out of your kitchen and pantry...you have to strategize and know how to store each item accordingly. Flour for one is something that you need to keep in a cool dry place...I don't know why this was common place growing up? Maybe the way flour was processed was different in the 90's or my home was more humid back then..I don't know but currently flour weevils are a thing of the past for me now. As for rice we never had weevils in their compared to the flour. I always remembered my mom putting fresh bay leaves in the rice container and one day out of curiosity I asked her why? After my mom with her story telling self took me "back in the day" and around the bend she finally got to the point of having bay leaf in the rice container....It prevents weevils! I'm not sure if this is a tip exclusive to the Caribbean or if its practiced elsewhere but I can say that I have never noticed weevils or any other pest in our rice container so it must be working and maybe it can work for you.

Here Are a Few More Kitchen Tips

- Store flour in storage containers in a cool dry place.

- Store food in boxes and bags on the highest shelves away from most pest.

- When storing food use a rotation system where you bring the older products to the front so that they will be used first and store newer products in the back.

- Place food to be frozen in freezer specific ziploc bags to prevent freezer burn.

- Write the date on foods to be stored in the freezer so that you have an idea of how long its been in there.

- Store vegetables in the fridge with paper towel on the bottom to absorb moisture and prevent them from rotting to quickly.

- Keep citrus away from your bananas since they cause your bananas to rotten.

- Keep your potatoes in a cool, dark, and dry place.

- If you have a fruit fly/gnat invasion a small bowl or cup of apple cider vinegar near the infestation should help the problem. 

- Never place hot food in the fridge. It raises the temperature of the refrigerator and compromises the quality of the other food inside. Can you say rotten milk?!

Quick Tips - Reconstituting Bread

You ever buy or bake a loaf of bread and have it for a day or two and it gets aerated and hard? Sometimes  that happens to me and I used to microwave it for a few seconds but I decided that there must be a way to get it as soft as the day it was baked. When I bought a sourdough loaf to make tuna sandwiches last week from trader joes it got a bit hard after a few days but I didn't want to throw it out so i decided to soften it a bit and get a toasty crust at the same time. Heres how I did it:

1- I took a skillet pan and set it over low heat. Then I took my slices of bread and drizzled a mix of grapeseed oil and water onto one side. You don't need to drench it just sprinkle about a tablespoon amount of water/oil mix for each slice. Also If you don't have Grapeseed or olive oil you can spray the slices with cooking spray and drizzle on the water.

Bread on the pan.

2 - While the bread is in the skillet the low heat will and the water in the bread will create steam to soften the bread. The oil will give your toasted bread a nice crust and additional flavor. Touch the bread and if the softness is to your liking you can raise the heat to allow the bread to toast. Flip you bread to toast the other side if desired and remove from heat. Enjoy!

Yum!

Repurposing For A Better Planet

Repurposing means to give an already used product a new life by finding another use for it. Repurposing is nothing new within the green movement but it is now building momentum among regular joes. Repurposing can mean planting a garden in an old childhood wagon, making a patchwork throw out of old pieces of clothing, using plastic bags as packing sponge, pieces of scrap wood being turned into a dog/bird house, or turning old cans and boxes into pieces of art. With repurposing the possibilities are infinite! The most unique I have seen thus far would be flowers planted within an old tube television and a garden planted in the cups of and old bra. Giving old products a new life gives you a creative outlet and a activity to bring together friends, family, and the community. Also just think that every product you reuse means one less product in a landfill and that is is great news for our earth. Growing up in a Caribbean household I never thought of reusing something as repurposing...it was just a way of life. When candles in glass jars finished we stored thing is them, when biscuit tins were empty recipes were kept in them, and old bottles were kept through the year to store punche creme or sorrel for Christmas.

 Here are a few things that have been repurposed in the kitchen:

An old pie weight jar used for homemade peppersauce.

Hot Chocolate Tins...I love the retro look!

Now they hold homemade vanilla sugar and Canella Cinnamon my mom brought from Trinidad.

Along with these I have old jars holding various spices, an old pitcher as a pot spoon holder, and a old cracker tin to plant my flowers.
Here are some other cool examples of repurposing I found online:

lampsplus.com

poetichome.com

Huzzahvintage.blogspot.com

I hope you all take a moment to see if something in your home can be given a new life before you throw it away so that along with saving yourself money you help preserve our planet.