photo by seattle municipal archives
DEAR SARA: Do you store your flour in the refrigerator? I have been keeping my bread flour in the refrigerator, in the original bag within a plastic bag. I would like to get my refrigerator back, but with a good sale on whole-wheat flour recently, I now have three bags in the refrigerator. Do you have a good way to store flour? I only make bread about once a month, so I don’t use it up quickly. — Rainey D., Ohio
DEAR RAINEY D.: I store my flour in the freezer. It keeps for up to six months, but I use it up faster than that. I keep mine in the original package and then place it inside of a freezer-storage bag. I remove as much air as possible. If I had a larger amount that I wanted to store, I’d separate the amount that I thought I would use up in the short term and wrap in a freezer-storage bag, and I would wrap the rest in plastic and wrap foil around the plastic. With your whole-wheat flour, keep some in your freezer to free up room in your refrigerator. Don’t put it in your pantry because, at the rate you’re using it, it would go rancid.
DEAR SARA: I’m wondering how you store potatoes in your kitchen. While I’m asking, what do you do with your onions? I don’t have a walk-in pantry; otherwise, I would just stick them in there. I thought about one of those cheapish Sterlite plastic-drawer containers, but since potatoes need to have the air circulating around them, that’s out of the question. Right now, the bags are just placed on the floor underneath our kitchen bar, but, as you can guess, they are really in the way. — Chele, Tennessee
DEAR CHELE: I have cabinet space, so I put my potatoes in the cabinet. We go through them quickly, so I’m not concerned about air circulation. If they are in a paper bag, I leave them in it, but if they are in a plastic bag, I remove them and place them in a paper bag. I keep my onions in a wire-mesh container. If you like the plastic Sterlite container and air circulation is the only issue, look into stackable plastic open bins. If you have a lot of potatoes, you could move the stackable bins to your basement if you have one. Ideally, you want a cool, dark place with air circulation.
DEAR SARA: I’ve been looking for a peanut-butter no-bake cookie recipe. If you can help, I’d appreciate it very much. — Helen C., Michigan
DEAR HELEN C.: Here’s one for you to try:
Peanut-Butter No-Bake Cookies
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups rolled oats
In a saucepan, mix sugar, margarine and milk. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a full boil over medium heat. Remove from heat immediately when it comes to a boil, and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until peanut butter melts. Stir in oats. Place into a greased pan, and cut into squares or quickly spoon onto wax paper for individual cookies.
译文:
长期保存，请把面粉存储在冰箱里
摄影：西雅图市政档案馆
SARA，你好: 你把面粉放在冰箱里吗？我一直把做面包的面粉保存在冰箱里，在它的原始袋子外面再套一个塑料袋。我也想把冰箱的空间腾出来，但是最近全麦面粉非常畅销，现在冰箱里已经有３袋面粉了。你有什么储藏面粉的好方法吗？我一个月仅做一次面包，因此无法很快用完面粉。——Rainey D., 俄亥俄州
RAINEY D.，你好: 我用冰柜储藏面粉。这样能保存六个月之久，但是我用很快，往往没到六个月就用完了。我把面粉保留在原始的包装中，然后再把它放在冰柜存储袋里，尽可能排空袋子里的空气。如果我想存储更多的面粉，我会把在短期要用的面粉量同其他区分开来保存。用冰柜存储袋装好短期用的面粉；用塑料袋装好剩下的面粉，并在塑料袋的外面裹上锡纸。至于全麦面粉，我把其中的一些放在冰柜里，那么就能省下冰箱里的空间了。不要把它放在食品室里，因为以你用面粉的速度，没等你用完，它就已经变质了。
SARA，你好：我在想你是怎样在厨房里保存土豆的。当我在问这个问题时，我还想到你是怎样处理洋葱的？我没有步入式食品室，否则，我会把它们放在那里。我考虑到可以使用那些便宜的Sterlite塑料抽屉储藏柜，可是土豆的保存毫无疑问需要良好的通风，那样就行不通了。现在在我们的厨房吧台下的地面上有一些袋子，就如你的猜测，它们正好用上。——Chele，田纳西州
CHELE，你好:在橱柜中有些空间，因此我就把土豆放在橱柜里。我们吃土豆很快，所以我不担心空气流通问题。如果土豆在纸袋里，我就让它们呆在那里，但是要是它们在塑料袋里，我会把它们从塑料袋里取出来，然后放入纸袋中。我把洋葱放在金属丝网眼容器里。如果你喜欢Sterlite塑料储藏柜，缺乏空气流通是唯一存在的问题，那么你可以尝试一下开口的多层塑料柜。如果你有很多土豆，要是有一个多层的柜子，你就可以把它移到地下室。比较理想的存储环境是阴凉、避光且空气流通。
SARA，你好: 我正在寻找一种无需烘焙的花生酱饼干制作方法。如果你能提供帮助，那么非常感谢。——Helen C.，密西根州
HELEN C.，你好：这里有一个可供你尝试的方法：
无需烘焙花生酱饼干
2杯砂糖
1/4杯人造黄油或者黄油
1/2杯牛奶
1杯花生酱
1茶匙香草
3杯压过的燕麦
在炖锅中混合糖、人造黄油和牛奶，然后不断地搅拌，用中火完全将它们完全烧开。沸腾时，马上把它们从灶上移开。接着搅拌花生酱和香草，直到花生酱熔化为止，再搅拌燕麦。把这些东西放在加了油的平底锅内，切成正方形，或者快速涂到每块饼干的蜡纸上。