I love my cast-iron skillet, but I never seasoned it properly. Instead, I took that sucker out of its packaging, wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove any factory dust, and started cooking with it ASAP. And you know what? It works just fine.
Instinctively, we reach for popsicles and cold drinks when the temperatures climb, but doing something counterintuitive, like going for a hot drink or eating something spicy, is actually more effective at keeping you cool.
The Spanish and Portuguese introduced many things (some desirable, some not, depending on your POV) to Mexico in the sixteenth century: Christianity, language, and lots of flora and fauna.
Like Costco's price codes or the tags on your bread, the numerical codes printed on those sticky little fruit and vegetable labels can reveal a lot of information to us consumers. Once you understand the codes, you can look at that little label (also known as PLU, or "price look up" label) and know whether the produce you're about to buy or eat was treated with pesticides, genetically modified, both, or neither. Before we go any further with deciphering the codes on these labels, let's take a...
An open bottle of wine can be dangerous. You intend to enjoy—nay, savor—a single glass, but then two episodes of Top Chef later, that sucker is empty. Now you have to go to work the next day with a wine hangover. What happened? Turns out there are some unconscious reasons you might be chugging more wine than you wanted. Never fear. Along with clenching your fists to make better food choices, there are some tricks you can use to moderate your wine intake. Researchers at Cornell University disc...
After years of making do with a cheap knife, I finally bought a really good 8" chef's knife—a Henckels, although I was also eyeing a Global santoku. It quietly but literally changed my life.
I own two aprons—a cute one for company, and another for the hard-core cooking duties, like cutting up chicken and making stock. The sad truth is that I almost never remember to wear either of them. So, much of my clothing ends up spattered with grease, liquid, and bits of fruit and vegetable. While stain-removing sprays, sticks, and pens are all effective to a certain extent, they have two drawbacks—they're expensive and sometimes I need to use them in large quantity, like when a piece of eg...
I'll be the first to admit how horrible my memory is, whether it's remembering to take out the garbage or paying a bill on time. That's why I regularly utilize the stock Reminders app on my iPhone; it's definitely compensated for my memory deficiencies.
Ever wonder why when you defrost meat, there's all that pink liquid at the bottom of the plastic bag? That liquid is called "purge," and it's not good.
Toilet paper isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you want a hot meal, but when you're camping or out in the field (i.e. military training), a little TP is the difference between cold tuna and luxury.
You probably already know that cooking involves a ton of chemistry. Bread rises because of the reaction between the flour and leavener, and the delicious crust on your steak is formed by the Maillard reaction. Understanding the chemistry going on behind the scenes is one of the best ways to improve the quality of your food—it's much easier to fix a problem when you know what's causing it.
McDonald's is probably the most recognizable fast food chain in the entire world, with over 34,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. In may not be the healthiest place to get a meal, but like millions of kids in America, I grew up on McDonald's unquestionably delicious products—and I'm still alive.
When it comes to Easter, I usually dig plastic eggs with money or chocolate inside but hard-boiled eggs shouldn't be missing from the party. And simple hard-boiled eggs won't do. You need to decorate them because we all know bunny eggs are extravagant. What's even better than bunny eggs, though? Spider-bunny eggs.
The gold standard of great foods on a stick is reserved for honey battered corn dogs and shish kabob (which is surprisingly spelled just like it sounds). But when I saw this absolutely amazing concoction of breakfast food combined with the queen of meats, I fell in love. Now, if you are looking at this picture and still don't know what it is, you are definitely not a chicken and waffles fan, otherwise you would have figured it out right away. I mean, what else goes well with syrup-drenched wa...
If you're like me (and everybody else probably), you probably have a few nights of reckless drinking that you wish your could take back, or at least turn down a notch.
Your entire life has been a lie. Mario does not hit blocks with his head, footlong subs are never really 12 inches long, and those paper ketchup cups at fast food joints aren't just little cups. And that's not the worst of it. What I'm about to tell you next is the revelation of all revelations.
If you've ever wondered what exactly goes into a McDonald's sandwich (or what the heck that secret sauce stuff is anyways), you might be a little surprised to learn that all of the ingredients are readily available at your local grocery store. In an interesting move, McDonald's has released a video featuring Executive Chef Dan Coudreaut showing, step by step, how to make your own Big Mac sandwich at home. Here is the video, and if you'd like to read along with Coudreaut's instructions, you ca...
These days, news papers, online editorials and magazines are filled with news on Iran and Syria. Of course, that is expected, as such sources need to stay current to stay in the game. My concern is that most of these articles talk about what to do about these situations.
First off—Happy Independence Day! Since it's the 4th of July, let's make this week's roundup short and sweet, so you can all get back to your holiday festivities.
Any medical student could benefit from this video lesson, whether you're training to be a doctor or a nurse. The very first step to finding out what's wrong with your patient is examining him/her for their vital signs. You must check the patient's pulse, respirations, blood pressure, and know how to use every kind of sphygmomanometer. To see the entire examination procedure, perfect for nursing students, watch the video to see how to examine a patient for vital signs, and refer to the steps b...
In this tutorial the how2heroes show us how to make pigs in a blanket from scratch. First, take 2 packages of mini cocktail franks, place them in a bowl and set aside. Now, that 2 1/3 cups of flour, pinch of salt, 1 stick of room temperature butter, 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese and mix it in a food processor until it's made a crumbled texture. Now, add 2 eggs and 2 tbsp of cold water and keep pulsing until the mixture has come together. Now you will place the dough on a counter with flour...
The Holy Grail of chicken has just been found by an unsuspecting reporter of the Chicago Tribune. Yes, that's right: The secret 11 herbs and spices in Colonel Sanders' Original Recipe chicken has finally been revealed, and it looks legit as hell.
Here you will learn how to earn FarmVille cash faster. If you want to earn extra FarmVille cash through speeding up your planting and harvesting times, follow these steps: Buy 4 fences and make a box out of them. You need to do this at the FarmVille spawn point. (dead center of your farm). You will now be able to complete actions faster because your FarmVille character won't have to move around to plant/harvest.
FarmVille hacks, cheats, glitches. How to hack Farmville. Farmville is a Zynga game you play on Facebook. Grow delicious fruits and vegetables and raise adorable animals on your very own farm!
A food waste disposer can be very helpful in preventing your kitchen sink plumbing from clogging. In this video, Joe Schmidt of YouToo Can Do shows you how easy it is to install a food waste disposal. For this installation, you'll need plumber's putty, channel locks, and a regular screwdriver.
The Improper Behavior achievement in Dead Rising 2 demands that you spraypaint all of the 33 Zombrex posters hidden in the game. This take a lot of paint and lot of observation, and some help from this video. It will show you where each poster is, and the creator wrote up a handy guide to getting enough paint.
Fromage blanc cheese is something every cook should experience in the kitchen. To consider yourself a real chef, you need to grab the cheesecloth and dip your hands in the cow's milk, because making cheese is a culinary experience like no other.
Ever wonder why Jupiter has those colored bands across its surface? Jupiter's enormous mass is made from an array of different liquids, and those fluids do not play well together because of their different makeup. All of the hydrogen- and helium-based fluids are thought not to be miscible, which means that they aren't homogeneous in nature, resulting in strikingly beautiful bands across the planet's surface. But what about viscosity and how that correlates to the development of planets? What ...
Late in the Dwarf Fortress game building machinery can allow you to pump water around the map and power mill stones to make more advanced food. This video will show you how to build and use machines safely, without destroying your fortress and the lives of your dwarves.
Kids have an infamous reputation for thinking vegetables are icky. After all, when compared to more fatty and grease-loaded foods like Hot Cheetos and french fries, it seems veggies just taste too...healthy. Which is apparently not a good thing in the eyes of a sugar and salt-obsessed child.
Do you like your guac chunky? Yes? Well, then this video is for you. Learn how to make a super delicious, chunky style, avocado guacamole, perfect for tailgating or a Super Bowl party. Before you actually get to making this chunky guacamole, there's a few tips and tricks to learn, like how to tell if the avocado is ripe enough for your dip, and how to cut it and remove the center.
To start making your tea and toast, roll about a section of white fondant about four inches by six about 1/8th inch thick. Now take a one inch circle cutter and cut out one circle. Now taking a half inch circle cutter, make an impression in the center of the first circle being careful not to go all the way through. Now you have your saucer for your toast. Next, take a one inch square cutter and cut that out of the fondant as well. Cut it in half diagonally and poke tiny little holes with a to...
Monitoring your blood glucose level is absolutely essential to your health if you suffer from diabetes. You need to keep track of your blood sugar or you could be in danger. This video tutorial will show you the proper way to use a blood glucose meter and give you helpful tips on getting the most out of them.
The secret to making a good pot roast is to start with a good organic roast. With the meat at room temperature and sprinkle both sides with salt. Next chop a whole clove of garlic, put it in a bowl, and add some oil, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Cut several slits or holes in the pot roast and poke the pieces of garlic into the holes on the top and bottom and sides. Put some of the vegetables in with the roast at the beginning of the cooking time: a leek, an onion, a carrot and a couple s...
This video shows you how to prepare Peach Cobbler. To begin, prepare the crust. Stir together flour, salt, and sugar. Add cold butter and butter flavored Crisco shortening. Mix together with a fork or a pastry blender. Add cold water. Stir with a spoon. Place dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
This video answers the question, how do you safely clean an LCD? Remember that LCD’s do not have glass so you have to be careful how much pressure you apply, as well as the kind of cloth you are using, or you can damage or scratch the screen.
Chinese food is delicious, but it isn't very healthy and can be quite expensive. In this video, Betty adds a Southern touch to a traditional Asian dish and makes vegetables with a soy sauce gravy. The veggies are good for you and filling, and the gravy gives them a nice, hearty texture. Enjoy this dish anytime, and if veggies aren't enough for you - toss in some chicken or seafood, or even noodles and create your own delicious meal!
Michelle Trap, a Certified Personal Trainer from Gold's Gym, teaches the viewers how to do barbell leg squats. First, use the Smith machine to do the leg squats. It is beneficial because the machine holds you in place. You will also need to place a bench behind you since you will use this when you lift your legs. Rack the barbell slightly lower than your shoulder and have a slight split stance with your front food centered. With this stance, take your back legs and place it on the bench behin...
Looking for a cool new party dip? Try Betty's super fast Mexican style meat and cheese dip! It goes great poured over food or with tortilla chips! No party is complete without the dip, so why not spice it up and go Mexican?
Pigs in a blanket are the perfect appetizer for any occasion. They are great snacks at Super Bowl parties, family functions or birthdays. They are easy to eat finger foods and with only 3 ingredients, require very little work or clean up! In this tutorial, Betty shows us how to make inexpensive pigs in a blanket with Vienna sausages. Enjoy!
