Cooking Without Power, Using a Charcoal Grill

This post is part of the Home Ec 101 series on emergency preparedness. Heather says: Keep a charcoal grill for emergencies. Sounds simple enough, but what if you’ve never used one? A charcoal grill is for outdoor use only. Got that? Outdoor only. Every time there is a hurricane or ice storm, someone hurts themselves or …

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Kitchen Serendipity

Heather says: One of the best things about summer is my stepdaughter gets to spend more than a quick visit. Aside from all the other positive things, it’s nice to have a willing sous chef. Last week a miscommunication on my part lead to an unexpected, but excellent new salad. In addition to the fried …

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Pork Spare Ribs, Memphis Dry Rub Style

Heather says: I found this a few months ago via Andre Pope. South Carolina’s youngest Certified Senior BBQ Judge, naturally. It’s quite silly, but gives a good overview of the many kinds of BBQ out there. I will admit to never having been brave enough to try it Alabama style and yes, when I’m through, …

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How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken, a Knife Skills Tutorial

Heather says:

Why would anyone want to cut up a whole chicken? It’s a useful skill to have, I tend to buy whatever is on sale and if whole chickens are on sale that week, then I load up. By buying a whole chicken, I have not restricted myself to one form of cooking or another. Additionally some people in this house are white meat fans, while others prefer the dark and good luck finding chicken breasts at a reasonable price on their own.

If you purchase whole chickens, come home and cut them up, they can be frozen in pieces. However, do not thaw the chicken, cut it up, and refreeze. That’s a big no on the safety meter.

As some readers of Home Ec 101 are vegetarian and others read their feeds first thing in the morning, I’m putting a cut, just so no one is surprised with pictures of raw chicken. You’re welcome.

Also, give my stepdaughter a big round of applause, she was a trooper and helped me take the pictures for this tutorial. It’s not every teen who’s willing to hang out with their stepmother over a chicken carcass, you know.

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Tuna Salad, a Variation

Heather says: I’m usually pretty plain Jane when it comes to tuna salad, a little mayo or cream cheese -or both if I’m really pushing the envelope. Dill weed1, salt, pepper, and some celery finish it off. Everything’s nice, everything’s beautiful, everyone wins. Then, one afternoon I was poking around my friend Linda’s site and …

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Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe

Heather says: Looking for a tomato side dish? How about one with bacon? This easy recipe for stuffed tomatoes comes together very quickly, is company-worthy, can be made the night before, and could even be baked in a toaster oven -I don’t have one, but I plan to remedy that. I want to put it …

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How to Dice a Tomato

Heather says: Today we’re continuing with our knife skills series with how to dice a tomato. Since I don’t have a photographer or an extra set of hands at my disposal -the latter would totally ruin my frequent “I only have two hands, wait a minute” excuse- the reader should know that during the actual …

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