Kitchen Scoop Blog

Happy Labor Day! We’ve put our heads together to come up with our favorite “labor-saving” ingredients and plan to employ as many as we can to keep the day easy and restful.

In no particular order, here are some favorites:

Already-boiled eggs (Saves time on homemade potato salad and deviled eggs – find them in packages in the deli, refrigerated section of the supermarket or on the salad bar.)

Now that you've seen our blog on how to make simple syrup, we wanted to share this terrific trio of Citrus “ades.” Whipping up a soda-fountain quality Limeade or Lemonade takes only 2 minutes when using simple syrup.

From there, let your imagination soar. (Although the recipes are written to serve one, they can easily be multiplied to fit your entertaining needs.)

Whether you’re having a Labor Day picnic, cookout or potluck, frosty, fruity “ades” will be a welcome addition. Enjoy!

Simple syrup is pretty much liquid sugar and can be a busy bartender’s best friend. With a batch of simple syrup on hand, drinks don’t need a lot of stirring or shaking. You can easily produce a minty Mojito or a myriad of other cocktails -- with or without alcohol.

All you have to do is combine equal parts of granulated sugar and water in a saucepan, (we usually do one cup of each), bring it just to a boil, and then simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then remove the pan from the heat, cool the syrup, and refrigerate in a covered jar. It should keep for about two weeks -- if it lasts that long!

For a slightly different take on simple syrups, here is the link to a great story in The Miami Herald click here.

I went out to a really nice restaurant that I heard a lot about here in Raleigh with my friend Scott last night, and we had the worst service either of us had ever had at an upscale restaurant. The restaurant described itself as serving "Global Street Food," and we were both excited to try it out.

The waiter seemed nice and attentive, but was possibly the most clueless individual I have ever encountered, especially since the waiter at a restaurant at that price level is supposed to be more than clued in and be your guide for the evening.

So here’s what happened:

1. Bags of already-shredded cheese. Keeps mold at bay and works wonderfully with no compromise in flavor or texture in baked dishes, as stir-ins for pasta or even as a topper for casseroles.

2. Leftover cooked rice. Make extra and freeze for another meal. Defrost in the microwave.

3. Meats we bought on sale. Always buy extra for later for a significant expense cut!

4. Ice cube trays full of pesto. Once frozen, pop out the cubes, store in a plastic freezer bag and pull out just what you need later on. (Each cube is 2 tablespoons.)

5. Desserts. Cut your calories -- banish leftover cake, brownies and cookies to the freezer. Portion into servings for one or two, wrap securely and pull out when you deserve a treat.

That’s our list. What are your favs?

When summer starts to wane the truly lazy days begin. Everybody’s feeling a bit sluggish, and it may surprise you to know that we think this is an excellent time to entertain! Expectations aren’t so high -- you can serve a glass of wine and perhaps a pre-restaurant nibble, and your guests are grateful just to get out of the house.

This works best if you do the inviting on the spur of the moment. (Let’s keep those expectations low!) Say something like: Why don’t you stop by here for drinks before we head out to dinner? You get credit for hosting without stressing out.

Mini Feta and Artichoke Tarts is a great recipe for these impromptu gatherings. The ingredients are exotic, there’s almost no preparation, and after a quick run in the oven, these yummy nibbles are done.

I’m hoping you all can help me with a disagreement. Should your home office go in your bedroom?

I, unequivocally, say No! Your bedroom should be a place of retreat and rejuvenation. I work from home, so if I brought my work into my bedroom, I’d never have any place other than the bathroom that my work didn’t invade.

A friend (who has an office at work) has set up his home office in a corner of his bedroom. While the space is more than efficient for his desk, a few files and books, (and it aesthetically looks perfectly fine), I think it is a bad idea.

What say you? Should your home office be in your bedroom or not? Let us know what you think in the comments section following this post. Or email us at tellus@KitchenScoop.com.

I love my family and I love my life, but suddenly I have the urge for a sabbatical: One week at my parent’s beach house in North Carolina, no hubby, no kids, no dog, no relatives. Is this too much to ask?

For starters, I wouldn’t “cook” anything. Eastern peaches sliced for breakfast; PBJ’s on the beach for lunch; dinner could be steamed shrimp or crabs right out of the bay. Nobody needs anything. No sink full of dishes.

By day, I‘d walk. There’s a mile-long stretch of beach here that’s practically deserted, and ever since I was a teenager, this is where I've done my best thinking. And my best NOT thinking. Topsail Island is technically part of the Outer Banks, and although it’s too far south to be part of the National Seashore, the air smells like salt, the waves crash on cue and it completely clears your head. Like you get a fresh start. Clean slate. Clean heart.

All of that.

A cookbook called “Everything Tastes Better with Bacon” intrigues me but I dare not buy it for fear that I’d start eating bacon at every meal. It’s one of my favorite foods, but now I’m on a quest to slim down my favorite recipes for bacon.

A couple of summers ago my brother-in-law Umit introduced me to turkey bacon during our annual family reunion in The Berkshires. It was just okay, something to more or less pacify my cravings, but nothing more. And then -- ureka! -- I discovered some really wonderful turkey bacon at Whole Foods made by Applegate Farms.

With the last of the heirloom tomatoes ripening now in the cooler parts of the country, Alicia and I decided to make over one of our favorite bacon dishes: The simple, sublime – BLT sandwich. We headed to the test kitchen with a mission – make a bacon-lettuce-tomato combo that’s light, yet just as wonderful as you’d expect. And that’s just what emerged!

As I’m painting my daughter’s new house before move-in day, just weeks after painting my own new digs and moving in, I am pondering how people set up their houses. I downsized to less than half the square footage and Hannah is spreading out after moving from a dorm room to a 5-room house she’ll be sharing with just one other person. Needless to say, they feel as if they’ve hit the jackpot. I’m still feeling a bit disoriented and trying to find a flow. My girls are home so infrequently, the space is more than efficient for me and my two dogs, but I’m still working out what goes where.

My friend, Scott, also sold his larger house and has moved to a smaller space. I’m thinking men don’t ponder and second-guess themselves as much as women do. Before he moved in, he told me in detail where everything was going to go and what space would be for what. I’m a bit envious that he had it all planned out.

But as Hannah and I wandered around her empty little house, we discussed so many possibilities, we started to have to take notes on what we thought was best. Once her furniture is moved in, though, I’m sure she’ll change it around a hundred times. Like mother, like daughter.

Do you rearrange your furniture? Is it once and you’re done after you moved in, or do you switch things up every once in a while?