What a great root ginger is! It's an inexpensive healer for stomach ills and muscle aches and a chef favorite. But storing it can be tricky—it can quickly grow moldy and withered like a vegetable. Freezing ginger is one way to keep it, but the freezing-thawing process can make the root soggy and lessen the taste. Here's a storage option that can also be quite decorative…

Store fresh, peeled ginger root in a jar of dry sherry in the refrigerator. Use a pretty jar if you wish. Keep the jar lid on, and use pieces of the ginger as needed. The ginger will not take on the taste of the sherry, but the sherry will take on a slight taste of ginger—and you can add it to recipes (such as marinades) for a unique flavor.

For more help with food storage, see…

• How to Tell Your Eggs Are Fresh
• How to Make Cheese Last Longer
• Keep Lettuce from Wilting

To peel garlic without whacking it to smithereens, immerse the clove(s) in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and the skins should fall off easily with just a gentle rub. If you're short on time, you can also drop the cloves in boiling water for 60 seconds, drain, then peel. But then you have to wait for the water to boil and then the cloves have to cool off so you can handle them. Go with whatever form of water bath works for you.

For more kitchen tricks that make great meals, see more at…

• Slick Cooking Tip
• Are You Cooking the Health Out of Your Food?
• In the Kitchen with Francis Ford Coppola

If you want to lose a few pounds for that slimmer summer look, eat foods that have a high water content. Prepare meals based on fruits and vegetables—soups, spring stews and smoothies. An apple is 84% water (almost four ounces in a typical apple). Cooked broccoli is 91% water. High water-content foods will fill you up and hydrate you at the same time.

Restaurant tip: As soon as you're served food at a restaurant, separate out half the meal and ask for a doggy bag. With today's large restaurant servings, you won't go hungry!

For extra help with weight loss:

• An Easier Road to Weight Loss
• Which Weight-Loss System Works Best?
• The Pleasurable Way to Lose Weight

When a recipe calls for unsalted nuts but the ones you have are salted, cook the salted nuts in boiling water for two minutes. Then drain them and spread them out on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake them in a 200°F oven until they're dry…no more than five minutes.

And—voila! You now have unsalted nuts and can continue on with your recipe.

Money saver: You might even want to buy salted nuts sometimes and then "unsalt" them on purpose. Salted nuts often are far less expensive than the raw, unsalted nuts found in the baking-supply section of your market. Check the snack section of your market and compare.

For more unusual cooking ideas:

• 6 Mistakes Even Good Cooks Make
• Summer Cooking That Keeps Your Kitchen Cool
• The Quickest Cooking Ever