Tips, tips, tips, and more tips. (cont'd part 7)

1. To easily remove pumpkin peels, cut a hole on top and remove the seeds and pulp. Then set the pumpkin in a pan of water and bake at 300 degrees for about an hour. The rind will peel right off without wasting any meat.
2. Use nonstick cooking spray to spray the inside of your pot before cooking pasta, to prevent pasta water from bubbling over.
3. To remove the fat from gravy, remove the meat and add a small piece of ice. The fat will harden and adhere to the ice.
4. If you're in a hurry for more ice cubes, leave three or four cubes in the tray when you refill it. The 'old' cubes will chill the water faster and you'll have new cubes ready quicker.
5. Wrap a rubber band around the handle of your mixing spoon if you have trouble with it falling into the gravy or whatever you're cooking. The rubber band will keep the spoon from sliding into the pan.
6. To keep rolls warm longer, place a sheet of tinfoil under the napkin in the bun basket,
7. To keep water from leaving a lime deposit at the bottom of a double boiler or steamer, add about 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water.
8. When celery loses its crispness, place it in a pan of cold water along with a sliced raw potato. Let it stand for a while and the celery will again be crunchy.
9. For volume in beaten egg whites, let stand to room temperature before beating. Use a glass or metal bowl (not plastic) with a tapered bottom and a wide top.
10. When mashing potatoes, use hot milk. If you have been using cold milk, you'll be amazed at the difference in lightness of the potatoes.
11. Pancakes will brown just beautiful if you add 1 Tbsp. of molasses to your batter.
12. Potato salad is much simpler to prepare if you peel and dice the potatoes before cooking. No more waiting for the potatoes to cool or burning your fingers on hot potatoes. P.S. The potatoes might not have so many nutrients if you cook them without the skins.
13. To keep fruit pies from bubbling over, cut small vents in the top of the pie and place a macaroni piece upright in each vent. The juice will boil up inside the macaroni and won't boil over in your oven.
14.The seeds from grapefruits or lemons can be planted and will grow into pretty green plants that are nice for the kitchen windowsill.
15. To prepare perfect whipped cream, chill cream, bowl, and beaters before whipping.
16. To keep rabbits out or your garden, place dried sulfur around the edge of your garden, You can get sulfur at just about any farm or garden supply store.
17. Use ice cubes to water indoor plants. The ice cubes melt slowly and won't spill over.
18. If you cut the bottoms out of gallon sized milk jugs, they make excellent covers for garden plants. Just remove the caps to let in fresh air. They are transparent enough to admit sunlight.
19. Start seeds indoors with a small amount of dirt, gradually adding more as the plants grow. This makes plants stronger after you set them outside.
20. If you have a large garden, but don't have a lot of time to weed, put two layers of newspaper between your rows. This keeps the weeds down which saves you a lot of time. Weigh it down with rocks.