Food:

A lot of old recipes did not give exact quantities but relied on everyone knowing what a pinch, smidgeon and dollop were. It was also assumed that everyone knew what a hot oven or moderate oven meant.

I will try to explain the vague references in the recipes where I can.

For some new recipes, see Janelle Seavey's Companion Planting articles

Kitchen Tips

Here is a tip from an old New England family:
"If the vegetable grows above the ground, do not cover the pot when cooking them."
(Vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, beans or peas.)
Conversely,
"If the vegetable grows under the ground, cover the pot when cooking them."
(Potatoes, beets, parsnips or onions.)

Anyone know why?

Bacon:
When you buy bacon and only plan to use 2 or 3 slices at a time, roll them together and fasten with a tooth pick and put in Zip Lock bag in freezer, then you only take out one roll. We don't use a whole lot of bacon, but this is nice when you need 2 or 3 slices to top baked beans or spinach.

Lettuce:
Lettuce will keep 3-4 times longer in the refrigerator if you will wrap it in paper towels and then put it into a plastic produce bag. If your grocer has paper towels available, wrap it at the grocery store. This also helps other vegetables such as green onions, cucumbers, etc.

Cheese:
Remove outer plastic wrapper. Wrap cheese completely in paper towel. Store in zip-lock type bag. Separating the cheese from the plastic helps keep it free of mold longer.

Corn:
After removing husk and as many silks as you can, twist cob gently in your hands under cold running water. This will remove almost all the remaining silk.

Onions:
If you are only going to use part of an onion, cut off what you want to use from the top stem portion and peel just this part. Leave the skin and root end attached to the piece you want to store. Store in zip-lock type bag or glass jar in refrigerator. This keeps the onion from drying out although you may need to remove a very thin slice from the cut surface before using if it is stored for several days.

Boiled Eggs:
When eggs are cooked, remove from hot water, crack and let them sit in cold water for a few minutes. Gently rub egg between your hands to finish cracking. Shell should come off easily. (I just dump the eggs out of the hot water into the sink then throw them back into the pan hard enough to crack them and run cold water over them.)