When I first arrived in the US.. little did I know that the glamor of the Big Apple wears off fast enough for people who are pampered at home with moms cooking, help in the kitchen etc etc etc.. I quite literally did not know how to boil an egg.

Fast forward 12 yrs and counting, I know how to work my way around the kitchen. I have experimented with spices, followed YouTube videos half way through (and then decided that my Cooking Math/Science is essentially a perfect Art!) and basically won some and lost some. My biggest woe was and still is that I need to do grocery maybe once a week due to my work schedule and life in general and as a result need to ensure that the veggies and fruits we buy remain fresh for a week.

Towards this objective, some hacks have helped me which I want to share with you.

- Cilantro or dhania patta looks fantastic on cooked food. But retaining them for a week with care in the refrigerator is something only my Mom can do. I have learnt that to prolong the freshness of this herb without too much effort, all you need to do is to keep it in a vase or glass bottle with a bit of water ( Just the way you would keep flowers). Then pluck them whenever you need it and wash under cold water.

- Green chillies similarly turn mushy if kept in the green veggie bags that you buy them in. Store them in Tupperware containers that keep the air out to an extent.

- A half cut Avocado starts turning dark if left outside for over an hour but sometimes all you need is just one half.. Some folks recommended putting a couple of drops of vegetable or olive oil over the cut half (fleshy side) and then storing in the fridge. It works well for me!

AND MY MOST FAVORITE....

- Onions start turning bad if left in the plastic bags. One way to prolong their life is to grind them into a paste and then freeze that paste in ice cube holders. Pop a cube out and use it in sauteed curries whenever you need fresh onion paste. To reduce prep time, you could do the same with  ginger and make frozen cubes out of its paste. I have maintained a stock of onion paste for 1-2 months at a time! Really cuts cooking time in half.
 

:) Whats your best hack?? Share in the comments below.