Alternate Uses For Plain White Sugar

I ran across these uses for plain white sugar in the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine (which I really love because it delves deep into the how and why of cooking food – almost like a science lesson in the kitchen!). In addition to the facial scrub recipe I shared with you (which actually uses brown sugar), these are great ways to use a common household item to solve a common household problem!

As an extra bonus, do you know how to keep or make brown sugar soft again? You can either store it in a terra cotta container, add an apple slice to the bag, simply microwave it for about 30 seconds, or bake on a sheet in the oven at 250 degrees for a few minutes. Any or all of these methods work nicely.

Keep Cookies Soft

Sugar absorbs moisture, so adding several cubes of sugar (or a little pill bottle filled with sugar to your cookie jar will keep them moist, soft and chewy. This is perfect for cookies like snicker doodles or chewy chocolate chip.

Make Your Hands Smell Good

After you’ve chopped pungent ingredients such as onions or garlic, scrub your moistened hands with a bit of sugar. You may have to leave the sugar on your hands for a minute or two in order to totally get rid of the smell.

Relieve Burns

We’ve all burned our tongues on a hot food or liquid before; next time try placing your tongue on a spoonful of sugar. When the sugar crystals hit your tongue, they will begin to dissolve right away and pull out the heat.

February 2, 2012: Coconut Poached Cod Recipe

My husband and I love eating cod. Although neither of us are big fish eaters, we find the firm white flesh of cod or similar fish (such as halibut) delicious. Of course, my husband prefers it deep fried like he gets at the Fish Fry every Friday night at Torreon but now that I’ve lost 5 pounds, I’m not going backward by indulging in fried food. Instead, I came up with this recipe that turned out incredibly flavorful, tender and delicious. Try it and see what you think!

Coconut Poached Cod over a bed of couscous and served with Cremini Salad

Coconut Poached Cod

1 pound cod fillets, cut into four pieces of similar size

One half lime

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

½ cup coconut milk

1 ancho chile in adobo sauce, minced

Seeds of 1 cardamom pod

½ t. fennel seed

½ t. dried cilantro (or 1 T. fresh)

1 t. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sprinkle both sides of cod fillets with juice from half lime and salt and pepper, to taste.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Add coconut milk and remaining ingredients; stir to combine. Place cod fillets on top. Cover pan with a piece of foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 – 25 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets) until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serves 4

January 22, 2012: Thai Style Green Beans Recipe

At my house we eat a lot of Asian food and I’m always looking for new and creative side dishes. Thai food, in particular, is a favorite of mine so when I across a recipe for a “Wing Bean Salad”, I took the items I had on hand to turn it into this side dish perfect to go with any type of Asian food main dish.

Thai Style Green Beans served with pork stir fry and brown rice cooked in chicken broth.

Thai Style Green Beans

1 cup fresh green beans

1 shallot, minced

½ cup coconut milk

1 T. lime juice

1 T. peanut butter

2 t. fish sauce

2 t. Asian chili sauce

Pinch of brown sugar

1 can water chestnuts, drained

Clean green beans and snap into 2 – 3 pieces each. Place the coconut milk in a saucepan and add green beans and shallots. Cook over medium low until beans are softened, about 15 – 20 minutes (or less time for crisper beans).

Meanwhile, combine lime juice, peanut butter, fish sacue, chile sauce and brown sugar. When beans are done to your preference, add the sauce and the water chestnuts. Heat through.

Serves 3 – 4

January 9, 2012: Honey Nut Cereal Bars Recipe

Here’s a recipe I devised use several others as a base. I wanted something somewhat nutritious to serve to my women’s Bible study group as well as have a bit left over that I could contribute to the kids in the Good News Club (an after school program to teach kids about the Bible and Christianity), for which my pastor and his wife are teachers. I used what I had on hand to come up with this yummy recipe.

Honey Nut Cereal Bars fresh out of the oven and waiting to be cut.

Honey Nut Cereal Bars

¼ cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

2 T. vegetable oil

2 T. vanilla extract

2 T. plain Greek yogurt

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup sweetened coconut

¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds

½ cup pomegranate flavored craisins (or any flavor of your choice)

½ cup blueberry flavored craisins (or any flavor of your choice)

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups honey nut Cheerios

In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, honey, and vegetable oil. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, or until the peanut butter is softened enough to easily blend with the other ingredients. Add vanilla and yogurt and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and stir together just until combined. Press into bottom of greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely and stand for several hours before cutting into bars and serving.

Makes 32 bars with about 100 calories in each bar, 3.3 grams total fat and 29.6 mg sodium (as calculated on SparkRecipes.com).

January 1, 2012: Homemade Scrub Recipes

Happy New Year!

Here we are, in a completely new year. And if you believe some theories, the whole world is going to end in December, per the Mayan calendar. Personally, I don’t believe that (as my pastor says, the Bible doesn’t give a date!).

To ring in the new year, why not slough off some of your old, dead skin? These simple recipes, printed in The Arizona Republic, use ingredients you can easily find around the house. Have a spa day at home and be ready to face the new work week in this new year with a fresh and glowing complexion.

Tea Bags

If you’re like me, this is the time of year when you drink a lot of hot tea. But rather than throw away those used tea bags, why not use them to refresh yourself? Cooled, caffeinated tea bags are great to place over your eyelids while lying down and help reduce swelling and dark circles (which you might have if you partied too much the night before).

Use cooled green tea as a facial toner. Simply wipe it on your face with a cotton ball after cleansing.

Coffee Grounds

Use the leftover grounds from your morning pot of coffee to gently scrub your face and body; they exfoliate nicely but be careful not to use too much force and irritate your skin.

Honey and Brown Sugar

Forget those expensive facial scrubs you find in the bed and bath stores. Combine one part brown sugar with two parts honey and a vanilla bean pod broken in half (optional). Gently rub the mixture over your facial skin and rinse away to reveal glowing skin.