Place the flour and half a teaspoon baking soda in a plastic food bag. Put in the fish or the squid in portions and shake vigorously. The fish and the squid are floured uniformly and do not “spatter” in the frying pan.

Some times cauliflower and broccoli have insects that cannot be seen, especially when boiled whole. Before boiling, leave them for half an hour in water with a few spoonfuls of vinegar, salt or lemon juice so if there is an insect it will come out. Rinse well and boil normally.

You may add a little more water while mixing.

Add a little vinegar in the boiling pan. Also, for all vegetables to maintain their colour, boil without the lid on.

Remove the leaves and stipes as they incommode the fruit in their effort to remain “fresh”.

Small fish usually have to be consumed immediately. If you want to preserve them for later you must clean them and remove their head and place them in a bowl with water in the freezer.  When you want to cook them, defreeze the whole bowl.

Add 2-3 slices of raw potato in the boiling pan and remove towards the end of the cooking time.

If you have an excess of lemons or if it is the lemon season and they are cheap and are found in abundance in the market, squeeze them and place in ice-cube bags. Every time you need lemon juice, use your "lemon cubes".

Put them in salted water

They must remain at room temperature for half an hour before boiling. Then, place them in water which has the same temperature and turn on the heat.

Add a little bit of butter or oil to the boiling water.

Dip the tomato into boiling water and then into cold water. If you do not have the time to do so you may scrape the tomato with a knife and then skin.

Before squeezing dip into hot water.

Before placing in the oven sink a wet knife in the mixture and form a circle.

Swirl them on a smooth surface. If they revolve slowly and irregularly they are raw. If they revolve fast and steady then they are boiled,

Make sure the temperature is low because it burns and spatters very quickly.

For them to have a nice shape, you can first dip the spoon in cold water and then into the batter.

When you boil cauliflower or cabbage or broccoli, to avoid unpleasant odours place the juice of half a lemon and the lemon rind in the boiling pan with the vegetables.

Sink in water. If the egg sinks it is fresh. If it floats on the surface then it is stale.

For the fresh cream not to curdle when added to food that contains tomato sauce, you may do one of the following:

Gradually add the tomato sauce in the fresh cream and not the cream into the tomato sauce.
You may add a little flour in the cold fresh cream and beat well and then pour into the food and stir well.

If you notice that the milk does not flow with ease or you notice some lumps, this is an indication that it has gone bad. If you notice any difference in taste it is better to throw it out.  When the milk carton is tumid or bulging, it is possible that the milk has not been preserved properly.

Transfer the oil from the can or the plastic packaging to a glass bottle. If you want to preserve it for a long period, place it in the refrigerator. Do not be alarmed if you notice a change in colour because as soon as you take it out of the refrigerator and leave it stand at room temperature it will regain its colour. Refined seed oils sustain special processing that is called "hydrogenation" and rarely blurs in contrast to pure olive oil.

For the tart pastry to remain crispy, brush a thick layer of egg white and then bake it. The egg white forms a protective layer and keeps the fruit juices from moistening the pastry.

Do not place in refrigerator because it crystallizes quickly. Keep in glass container, in a dark place and at room temperature. If it crystallizes, immerse in hot water until all crystals are dissolved. Be careful that the water is not boiling because all natural aromatic ingredients and enzymes are lost and its nutritional value is decreased.

If you want to maintain your fresh herbs (parsley, dill, etc.) for many days, you may put them in a vase with cold water. Change the water daily and cut off the ends of their stems,

Oranges and lemons are not always as juicy as they are supposed to be. To squeeze more juice out of them press on the kitchen counter. Immerse in hot water for two minutes or if you have a microwave, place them in it for 30 seconds at high temperature.

Apples are preserved longer if they do not touch one another and basically if they are not stacked one on top of the other.  It is preferable to keep them in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature.