Tip To Elevate Your Cooking Game

I hope the start of 2023 has been filled with positivity and you’ve created some tasty meals filled with delicious, fresh ingredients, emoting mouth-watering smells.

I know it’s tough to enjoy cooking in the kitchen everyday – especially after a month of Christmas holiday cooking and baking. So, I have a suggestion.

Find a new(ish) kitchen tool to elevate your cooking game.

You don’t have to go online to hunt down the perfect tool, all you need to do is clean out your kitchen utensils drawer!

Let me explain. I recently tidied up the messiest drawer in our kitchen. You know, the one that is filled with gadgets and stuff you’ve acquired over the years and have forgotten about.

It’s the drawer you open and can’t find anything because it’s so disorganized. Everyone has one of these, right?

Anyways, I found about half a dozen gadgets that stumped me as to what their purpose was. One looked like something you would clip a doll’s fingernails with, another was a useless tiny bristle brush, and one, I can’t even guess what it does.

But, I did find one cool tool.

It’s a ginger grater. It looks like a small silver ice scooper, but with rows of thin jagged little claws. How fun!

It grates ginger into a liquid and is perfect for adding ginger to a fruit smoothie, a healthy drink, or to a cup of hot water with lemon and honey. I created a little video here to show you.

This new found gizmo was the spark I needed to energize myself in my kitchen (it doesn’t take much!) and I’m sure it will do the same for you.  

Aren’t you curious to see what you’ll find in your messy kitchen drawer? I’m convinced that there is a special something just waiting to be found that will light up your home cooking. 

 I wish you luck in finding that special something in your messy kitchen drawer and hope it turns your daily cooking into delight!

And to help you with your cooking here's a delicious recipe to try.

Squash with Lentils, Rice and Veggies

This is a yummy meal to make on a winter night. Feel free to add more vegetable or swap some out for others that you have in your refrigerator crisper.

Serves 6

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, diced small
1 clove garlic, minced
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1” cubes (about 3 cups)
1 cup carrots, sliced 1/4" thick
1 small zucchini, diced small
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced small
1 can (14 fl oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dried red lentils, rinsed well
1/2 cup brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 can garbanzo beans (14 oz), drained and rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a big pot, add oil and heat on medium-high. When hot, add the onions, garlic and squash. Sauté all until onions begin to soften, about 6 minutes.  

Add all the other ingredients except salt and pepper and mix well.

Bring to a boil. Lower temperature and simmer covered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.