A top question in the produce department is how to store each of the fruits and veggies we eat so they stay fresher longer. Here in TupperLand, we use the quip "dry, naked and dirty" as a mantra for long lasting produce storage.

 Cheri Semple, menu planning strategist, says this in her recent ezine:

·    Wash your vegetables before you use them, not before you store them - they need to be stored nice and dry.

·    Freeze certain fresh vegetables, but remember to blanch them first. Cut them up, drop them in boiling water for a minute or so, then plunge them into an ice bath. Dry them and [then freeze].

·    Dice and freeze onions, celery and bell peppers. Veggies like these that will be cooked thoroughly in the course of meal preparation don't need to be blanched first.

·    Root crops, such as potatos and yams, should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place.

It is recommended to use FridgeSmart to keep your produce fresher for longer. Make sure to keep seeded and non-seeded veggies away from each other.

Wondering what to do with the crispers now that you don't use them for produce anymore. Well, you can take them out of the firdge completely, if you'd like. Make more room for other things. Or you can use the crispers for something else - like storing pop cans, or bottles of water or bags of milk. You'll find something. I'm sure of it.

Cheri Semple from ezmeals4u.com has a fantastic ezine called "Feeding Frenzy". One of her recent emails featured a great article on how to choose the best produce and I thought it would be great to share - especially now that I've shown you FridgeSmart!

Selecting the Best Produce (by Cheri Semple)

·  Look for the brightest colored vegetables, with clean, blemish free skins

·    Choose in season vegetables - you'll get the best quality and best quality.

·    Buy only what you plan to eat in the next few days - since most Farmers Markets are weekly events, just plan on enough to keep until next weeks market

·    Don't buy items even with small nicks and blemishes. This bit of damage can attract mold and contaminate a whole batch of vegetables when storing. You can make an exception if you know you will be eating the blemished item in the next day or freezing it.

·    Look for greens that are fresh and not wilted.

·        Please bear in mind that organic fruits and vegetables may not look as colorful or smooth as inorganically grown ones but they often taste better. As a general rule, try to avoid those that have any blemishes in them.

Given below are some of the common fruits and vegetables you use every day and the tips to ensure that you are picking up the good ones.

Broccoli
They should have dark green florets and should be crisp. There should be no yellow flowers.

Carrots
Always choose well-shaped, smooth, firm and bright. Don't pick up the ones with splits or wilting.

Cauliflower
Check whether there are any dark spots. If they have black spots then avoid those cauliflowers. Try to pick the ones with firm white heads.

Celery
Pick up the celery with light green crisp leaves.

Cherries
Dark sweet cherries are deep red and some are almost black. One of the bad things about cherries is that they bruise easily. Because of this you should ensure that you should consume it as quickly as possible. The fresh varieties comes to the market in May to August time period.

Corn
Choose the one with fresh husks, bright color and silk ends. They should be plump but not mature.

Cucumbers
Cucumbers will be having green to white green color when ripe. Shriveled ends yield bitter, tough taste and texture.  Place cucumbers on the top shelf of the refrigerator to keep them from partially freezing. Wrap fresh corn in a damp cloth and store it still in its husk on a shelf.

Garlic
Select the Plump ones with firm bulbs.  Onions, potatoes and garlic should be stored in a basket or wire bin in a dark place

Lemons and limes
For more juice, choose smooth skin and a thin peel that gives easily to hand pressure. For zest or slicing, choose firm, rough skinned fruit. Avoid the limes with yellow spots.

Onions
Choose brittle paper skin. There should not be any soft or moldy spots. Sprouting or woody center indicates spoilage. Onions should be stored in a dry place at room temperature other wise there is a chance of them getting spoiled fast.  Onions, potatoes and garlic should be stored in a basket or wire bin in a dark place

Parsley
Choose the ones that are fresh looking and not wilted. Trim and inch of the stem bottoms and store the bunched parsley in a glass of water in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.

Peas
Always remember that the peas are sweetest when plump. Choose full pods and pale green color. Fresh peas are available from February to September period.

Raspberries
Berries mold rapidly and crush easily. Prepare and use within a 24-hour period. Fresh raspberries are available from May to January.

Strawberries
Select the ones that have a deep bright color with full green caps.

Tomatoes
Color can vary depending on variety. Choose tomatoes that appear firm, plump, well shaped and smooth. They should not have any blemishes. To ripen them evenly, place in a closed paper bag.  Remember that a tomato is actually a berry. It should be stored on the countertop, stem side down and away from direct sunlight.

Ok. Show of hands. How many people throw away produce that's gone bad? How much do you think you throw away?

Apparently, an average Canadian tosses approximately $700 worth of produce out a year. $700 a YEAR. That's a lot!

But what can you do about it?

::enter stage left - FridgeSmart::

 Let me introduce you to FridgeSmart -the product designed to help you keep your produce fresher, longer.

These are amazing containers. Remember the old green celery keepers that mom used to have? The one with the pull out insert? What about the lettuce keeper with the domed top and the spike? Fridgesmart are the new and improved versions of these.

See the little white ovals on the front? These are actually air vents. Research has shown that fruits and vegetables actually require different amounts of air circulation in order to last longer. For example, carrots don't need much air so, keeping them in a sealed container will help them stay fresh. Broccoli on the other hand needs a lot of air, so you'd want to make sure both of the front vents are open.

Other features include a rippled bottom. You know that condensation build up that you get when you leave them in the plastic store bags? Instead of sitting in a puddle of water which leads to rotting, the ridges on the bottom actually pool the water away from the produce, helping them keep their freshness.

Would you believe that my roommate used to keep romaine lettuce in a FridgeSmart for 3 weeks - and the middle would still be crunchy and fresh (the outside leaves would just be starting to wilt). That's crazy!

They come in different sizes too - small, medium and long as well as a round one for lettuce, cabbage, watermelon etc.

Here's another important tip: Store your veggies dry, naked and dirty. Adding moisture when washing them makes them go bad faster. Unless, of course, you are trying to or will be eating them super quickly!

Ok, so … in case you are wondering where my posts have been, I'm sorry! I was working hard to be efficient with my time and wrote a whole bunch of posts and pre-dated them for posting. Apparently, though, I need to get my head screwed on straight and remember that it's 2008 NOT 2009! Silly me.

 Watch for posts coming soon!

Carolyn Dodson, from www.goodnuke.com, provides a handy way to figure out the wattage of your microwave.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAT DOES MICROWAVE WATTAGE MEAN?

Microwave oven power is measured in watts and indicates the cooking power of your oven. Generally, ovens labeled with more watts of power will cook food faster than ones with lower wattage. Recently most manufacturers have started using a standard test formulated in Europe. For this reason, some ovens rated by this procedure have earned higher wattage numbers than by U.S. test standards without actually cooking faster. Although foods will cook in any oven, to cook properly it is necessary to determine the wattage of your oven. I have used the following basic test over the years to help determine oven wattage output. It may help you also.

One cup (8 oz.) of room temperature water (approximately 75 degrees) will boil at High power (100%) in:

A. High wattage oven (850-1000 watts) in less than 2 minutes.

B. Full power oven (650-850 watt) in 2-3 minutes.

C. Lower power oven (400-650 watt) in 3-4 minutes.

When using recipes and package directions, set a "High Power" microwave oven for less than minimum time recommended. If your oven is "Low Power", it will possibly take longer than times recommended.

I was looking through some of my 1,000,000 bookmarks and re-found a site which I thought was super handy that first time I found it. www.goodnuke.com It's a site devoted to microwave cooking and it has a lot of great ideas, recipes and, more importantly, neat tips of ways you can use your microwave. The site belongs to Carolyn Dodson, who has been learning, teaching and cooking with microwaves since 1957.

Here are a few of her basic tips for the microwave:

• For quicker, tastier outdoor barbecuing, start your food in the microwave and finish on the grill. Cook meats 3-4 minutes per pound at 100% power in your microwave. Immediately place on the grill to finish. Regular grill time will be reduced by at least half. Remember to place food onto the grill IMMEDIATELY. Do not let food cool off as this will not allow proper internal temperatures to be reached to deplete bacteria.
• To peel onions more easily, place them in a covered container and microwave for 1-2 minutes at 100% power. This will also help remove the "hot" flavor from the onions you wish to serve uncooked. For example, slices you may wish to use on hamburgers.
• Freshen chips and crackers by microwaving 2 cups for 1 minute at 100% power, uncovered
• Dry or crisp older bread for croutons. Microwave 4 cups for 5-7 minutes at 100% power, stirring several times.
• To make ice cream easier to scoop, soften by microwaving for 30 seconds at 100% power. For a special treat, place a scoop of ice cream on "yesterday’s pie." Heat for 10-15 seconds. The pie will be "fresh and warm" and the ice cream will not be melted.
• Fresh vegetables may be blanched in the microwave. Prepare the vegetables as desired (whole, chopped, etc.) and place in microwave casserole. Microwave on High power (100%) for 3-4 minutes per pound, covered, stirring or rearranging halfway through the time. Plunge immediately into ice cold water to cool. Drain, pack and freeze. Microwaved vegetables are HEALTHIER! More nutrients, especially Vitamin C, are retained when microwaved than when conventionally blanched or cooked.
• Soften one stick of refrigerated butter or margarine by heating for 30 seconds at 100% power. To melt butter, heat for 1 minute at 100% power. Clarify butter by melting 6-8 ounces in a 2 cup microwave-safe container on Low power (30%) for 2-3 minutes or until completely melted. Let stand for 3-4 minutes, remove the foam and slowly pour off the yellow oil or clarified butter. Remember higher wattage ovens may need shorter cooking times than these.
• Every other day, place your damp kitchen sponge in the microwave for 2 minutes and 'presto'…the germs are gone!"

One of my favourite cookbooks is actually one of those booklets you pick up at the grocery store, looking for coupons. It was from Campbell's soup and it has some of the easiest but tastiest recipes I've ever cooked.

I'm a huge fan of trying to make meals quickly and with relatively little stress. I don't mind making the full out, multi-course, holiday-style meal once in a while, but I prefer slap-'em together kind of meals that don't require me to be in the kitchen for hours at a time.

The tuna casserole recipe in this booklet is one of my favourite meals to make, not only because it's easy and cheap (an added bonus) but also because it's one meal that my boys will actually EAT! I've also found it to be the kind of comfort food that I feel good to take to my friends when they need meals - like right after a new baby or when someone gets sick.

1. Boil 3 cups of water in a pot then add 3 cups of bitesized pasta like rotina, shells, or the like. When pasta is tender, do not drain.
2. Add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Pour into a 2qt(2L) casserole dish. Stir in a can of drained flaked tuna. Top with 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese.
3. Melt 1 Tbsp butter and mix in 3 tbsp of Italian seasoned bread crumbs, then sprinkle on top.
4. Pop into the oven at 375ºF (190ºC) for 20 minutes.

Serves 4. To see the nutritional facts, etc - visit the Campbell's website.