Tuesday Tips

I try to be frugal in the kitchen.  While I don't spare on quality ingredients, I try not throw anything away.  Leftover wine goes into the vinegar crock.  (If you've never had homemade red wine vinegar, you don't know what you've missed.) Stale bread becomes breadcrumbs in the freezer before it goes bad.  And cherry tomatoes just past their prime get roasted and tossed in pasta for a light dinner.

Here are a couple more thrifty ideas that I was reminded of by a perusal of a recent issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine.

• If you've clipped too much of a woody herb like rosemary or thyme, tie it with twine and hang upside down for a week or so.  Transfer to a jar and use as dried herbs.
• Keep a large zip-loc bag in the freezer. Dump veggie trimmings (onion peels, carrot tops, wilted celery) in and use to make stock periodically.  (The stock can be frozen too.  If you put into an ice cube tray, freeze and then store in another plastic bag, you can add to sauces and pasta dishes for an extra kick of flavor.)
• And this one my grandmother would appreciate.  Strain sediment out of bacon grease after you've fried up a batch and keep in a jar in the refrigerator for up to six months.  Just a little (only half a teaspoon or so) adds a lot of flavor when you are frying an egg or sauteing greens.