Washing Lettuce

posted in Vegetables and Beans by Kathy Maister

When making a salad, lettuce is usually one of the main ingredients.

What you need to know about lettuce is mostly how to wash it and to make sure that it’s edible and attractive.

If you are unsure what type of lettuce to buy, check out my post “Salad Greens From A to Z”.

The lettuce you buy from the supermarket may or not be packaged in some way, but it came from the ground and you can’t just start eating it, unless you’ve bought the pre-washed kind.

When grocery stores started selling pre-washed lettuce I thought it was brilliant, until I bought a bag. I discovered that if I didn’t use it within a day or two it was history (with a bit of a slimy edge). Granted, when I used it immediately, it was a huge time-saver. But, if you know how, it really only takes about 4 minutes to wash, dry and store lettuce.

Knowing how to wash and store lettuce (and other “salad greens”) is not that big of a mystery, particularly if you have a salad spinner. And I do recommend that you get one. They are relatively cheap and they make washing lettuce a snap.

Salad spinners cost about $25. If you eat a lot of salad it is well worth the investment.

However, let’s begin with the “but I don’t have a salad spinner” approach.

First, cut the head of lettuce away from its root with a knife. (You can also just do this with your hands – the root should break off easily.) Then, separate the leaves.

To wash iceberg lettuce first remove the core with a paring knife.

Then break it apart with your hands. (Some heads of iceberg are much firmer than others!)

Fill a large bowl with cool water and gently place the lettuce leaves in the bowl giving them a gentle swish as you drop them in the bowl.

After about 30 seconds of floating in the water the sand or dirt will sink to the bottom. Gently shake the water off each leaf and place them one at a time on paper towels or a clean dish towel. Blot the lettuce dry with some more paper towels.

OK, that’s the manual way. Now let’s use the salad spinner.

A salad spinner is a great little tool for both washing the lettuce and getting the excess water off. It comes in three parts – the bowl, the colander (the bowl with the holes in it) and the lid.

You begin the same way by cutting off the root and separating the leaves. But now, you place the leaves inside the colander, which is sitting inside the bowl.

Fill the spinner with water. All the sand on the lettuce leaves should sink to the bottom.

imgp1535_305

Lift the colander (with the lettuce in it) out of the bowl, pour away the water, and then replace the colander in the bowl. Finally, put the lid on.

Now you can spin the lettuce by turning the handle. The spinning action will force the water off the lettuce, and help it to dry.

imgp1542_400

Storing lettuce

If you’re not going to use the whole head of lettuce, then lay out the washed leaves on paper towels…

… and roll them up and put them in a plastic bag.

To save money, you can use the plastic bags from the produce section of the grocery store.

When lettuce is washed and properly stored, it stays fresh in the refrigerator for about 5 to 6 days. However, note that lettuce that you’ve washed yourself and stored properly will last longer then pre-washed lettuce.

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

subscribe | 41 Comments

How to Cook Potatoes in a Microwave

posted in Soups, Salads, Sides and Sauces, Vegetables and Beans by Kathy Maister

I love baked potatoes, and have already written about how to bake them in the oven. Unfortunately, I often don’t have the time to wait for up to an hour for my baked potato to cook in the oven, even though they definitely taste better that way.

So, like lot of people, I often zap potatoes in the microwave. In less then 10 minutes, they get cooked, covered with sour cream and bacon, and I’m ready to turn on the TV.

Here’s how to cook a potato in the microwave oven.

First, wash the potato under running water (no soap!). You can scrub it with a vegetable brush or just rub it with your hands. Then pat it dry with a paper towel.

Puncture about four holes in the potato, with the tip of a sharp knife or a fork. This is important, as it allows the steam to escape. Otherwise the potato may explode when you cook it. (Seriously! If you don’t puncture it, the potato will go SPLAT all over the inside of you microwave!)

If you are baking potatoes in the oven, you can rub a small amount of oil on them so that the skin gets nice and crispy. It is not necessary to rub oil on potatoes you are cooking in the microwave oven.

Place the potato on a microwave-safe dish. Check the small print on the back of the dish to be sure. Then place it in the microwave oven. (By the way, microwave ovens do not have to be preheated.)

Many microwaves have moisture sensors inside so that all you need to do is press the button that says ‘potato’ and just wait for the microwave to beep at you.

If your microwave doesn’t have a potato button, a general rule is that one 7-to-8 ounce Idaho potato takes about 7 minutes to cook. 2 will take about 11 minutes.

The microwave will often say REST. That means the potato, not you! You need to just let it sit for a couple of minutes, for it to actually finish cooking.

But remember, each microwave oven is different, so you need to stick a knife in the potato to see if it is done. The knife should slide in easily and you should be able to squeeze the potato without too much resistance.

To open a microwave ‘spud’, it needs a bit of a bash first to break the fibers apart.

First, slice the top with a knife.

Then place a folded paper towel over the microwave potato. Using the bottom part of your fist, give it a bash. Be really careful as the potato will be very hot.

Now if you give it a squeeze it should be nice and fluffy.

You can now top it with your favorite topping.

As my Irish grandfather used to say, “I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like!”

Here are a few more startcooking.com potato posts:

Baked Potato Toppings

Baked Potato with Salsa

Mashed Potatoes

Oven Baked Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole

How to Choose and Use Potatoes

Enjoy!

Microwave Potatoes Ingredients:

(4 Servings)

4 medium baking potatoes

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

subscribe | 37 Comments

How To Make Pasta Salad

print recipe card
posted in Soups, Salads, Sides and Sauces by Kathy Maister

Difficulty:

Everyone loves pasta salad!

The great thing about pasta salad is that you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it. Then when you get home in the evening your dinner is all ready!

Depending on what you have put in it, pasta salad will usually stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 2 days. Like any salad, add what YOU like and omit what you don’t!

I’ve already shown you how to cook pasta. For this dish, you really can use any shape pasta that you like. I think these bow ties (farfalle) are fun!

So let’s startcooking!

After you have cooked and drained 1 pound of pasta put it into a large mixing bowl.

Cut the rind off about 6 ounces of sliced hard salami, then cut the salami into thin strips. You might see these referred to as julienne strips, but that just means long thin strips like this.

Add the salami to the bow ties. (Wait until the end to mix everything together. Sometimes too much stirring turns a recipe to mush!)

Drain 1 small can of pitted olives and add them to the bow-tie pasta as well. You could use fresh pitted olives instead of the canned ones.

I love olives, but my husband hates them, so I usually skip putting the olives in this salad. It works just fine without them.

3 green onions, sometimes called scallions, need to be sliced.

Cut off the hairy root end, and trim the top as well. The green part has a milder taste than the white part. Cut the green onion into about ¼ inch thick slices…

…and add that to the pasta.

One pint of cherry tomatoes needs to get cut in half. Otherwise they always go flying across the plate when you try to stab them with your fork!

Now add 4-6 ounces of crumbled feta or goat cheese

GENTLY mix everything together. This salad is looking really good! When you are ready to serve this beautiful salad pour 8 ounces of Italian dressing over the pasta.

I like using a rubber spatula for this. You can also use a big spoon. If I had some fresh basil, that would be a nice addition to this salad.

Fresh Thyme, Rosemary and Basil

Mixing bowls are great for mixing things but not so great for serving. If you have a nice bowl be sure dig it out of the cupboard and use it. Also fresh parsley always makes a great garnish.

Enjoy!

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

subscribe | 5 Comments

previous entries next entries

Get startcooking for Free

Are you a busy person who just never got around to learning the basics of cooking? We built startcooking.com just for you. You'll learn how to make quick and tasty meals, plus learn the basic cooking skills you'll need. Get ready to start cooking!

using iTunes (windows & mac) using RSS for HD (appleTV or other HD-enabled) using RSS (windows & mac)

how do I use this?