You can put spices in a scramble or fry an egg in bacon fat, so why poach eggs in just plain water? Water doesn't add any flavor whatsoever, so you're wasting a valuable opportunity to give your poached eggs more oomph—an extra important step if you're not frying your poached eggs afterward.
Making yogurt at home doesn't sound like an easy task at first. We initially saw it as detailed, hands-on, and precise—a process that required special equipment, specialized (and expensive) live-culture bacteria, and loads of yogurt knowledge.
I have to confess: my egg slicer has been neglected ever since I bought it. I had ambitious dreams of using it to slice perfectly symmetrical slivers of hard-boiled egg into my salads... but the truth is, once I tucked it into a kitchen drawer, I completely forgot about it. That is, until recently when I discovered that it can be used to slice way more than just eggs.
Local cafés and food bloggers are catching onto a gourmet toast trend that makes bread and butter look like movies before color TV was invented.
I remember the first time I used coconut oil; the whole kitchen was filled with a fragrant aroma that reminded me of the tropics. After learning it was a healthier alternative to traditional cooking oil—not to mention a great source of the good-for-you saturated fat—I was hooked.
Almost every bread recipe will tell you to look for a golden brown crust or to tap on the bottom of your loaf and listen for a hollow sound. That visual and sound technique will work most of the time, but it can still come up short, leaving you with a soft and gooey spot in the middle of your loaf.
Great news: you don't have to give up grains if you're avoiding gluten.
Winter and the winter holidays in general are a time of joy, laughter, and love… but not for everyone. For some, the stress of preparing for parties, hosting family, traveling long distances in bad weather, and just keeping up with your daily routine can start to bring you down.
Dinner is meant to be enjoyed after a long day away from home—it shouldn't cause stress or fuss. But for many, that's exactly what a home-cooked meal represents, especially on a work night. The prep work, the steps involved in following the recipe, the numerous amount of bowls, pots, and pans you use, and... worst of all, a sink full of dishes to clean.
One of the best things about cold weather is soup, and there's nothing more comforting than a great chicken noodle soup. But I've often grabbed a can from the grocery store and found the chicken dried out and over-processed... and the noodles soggy and tasteless. What's worse: there's never enough of the stuff you like (such as the vegetables) and too much of what you don't (the nasty stuff I mentioned above).
Here's a not-so-well-kept secret about the food industry: retailers love to take your money. And one of the ways they do that is by dividing food into smaller sizes and charging more. Have you ever noticed that a container of precut, washed broccoli costs more than a head of broccoli with the same amount of florets and stems?
Nice people finish first—or is it last? Though you may have been told throughout your life that being kind pays off, there are some obvious advantages to getting mean. So whether you're driving towards a goal at work, or need to attack a task in your personal life, acting like a jerk just might help you get what you want.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. It's a universally loved treat that seems to make everyone who eats it giddy. However, there are two downsides to ice cream, in my opinion.
A friend of mine is a classically trained chef, and she often invites me over to her house to eat whatever goodies she has concocted. A few years ago I asked her the cliché question that every chef is sick of answering: "What's your favorite food?"
Windows 10 is the most cloud-oriented version of Windows to date—yet, while this means you get some nifty new features, it also means some of your personal data is being shared with Microsoft's servers.
As much as I love eating weird foods, when it comes to my favorite food, there is only one simple choice: cheese. Since cheese is my favorite to eat, it should come as no surprise that it's one of my favorites to make as well.
For foods that encompass both tastiness and convenience, it's hard to beat boxed mac and cheese. Mac and cheese in a box takes 15 minutes to make, dirties only one dish, requires no skill, costs only two bucks, and is, despite all of the above, wildly delicious. Yet it can get even more delicious just by adding a few more ingredients.
Ask ten different people how they feel about boxed cake mixes, and you'll likely get ten different answers. Some baking purists will berate them and throw them in the same category as garlic presses and knife sets sold on infomercials. Many people will say that they prefer not to use mixes, but keep one in the pantry just in case. And I dare you to find a college student that doesn't sing their praises.
It's an unspoken rule that diseases are not things that you want to purposely consume. So if anyone ever offers to cook you something made out of a disease, just kindly say no... unless it's huitlacoche.
Confession: I love bagels. I love to make them, but above all, I love to eat them. In college I ran a mini-bagel business from my kitchen, and on bagel-making day, it wasn't uncommon for me to eat the circular goodies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yet even with my obsession I can't always eat bagels fast enough to keep them from going stale. That's why I started learning ways to use bagels even when they're a day or three past their prime. As it turns out, there are a million and one thin...
Cheese might be one of the most satisfying snacks around, whether you prefer a slice of snappy Irish cheddar or a creamy, rich portion of Brie. It's been called "dairy crack" by a respected physician and for good reason: eating cheese produces casomorphins, which effect the human body like opiates. It also contains trace amounts of actual morphine.
Enough with zoodles (zucchini noodles), spaghetti squash, and carrot 'pasta' spirals. A well-prepared dish of zoodles with sauce is beautiful and tasty, but let's get real, it doesn't fill you up. If you use it as a meal replacement, then you'll be hungry about 30 minutes later.
Cheesecake is pretty awesome. It's super versatile, allowing you to change crust bases and toppings quite dramatically and still end up with something that's elegant and delicious. Which is why it's a great dish to add to your dessert repertoire! There are a number of approaches to making a cheesecake base: classic, new york style and no-bake. Today we're going to go down the more classic route.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that food molded into fancy shapes somehow seems tastier. That's true even with chocolate, which is inherently delicious. Now, while you can buy chocolate that's been pre-molded into fancy shapes, you can have a lot of fun and save a few bucks by making your own specialty chocolate molds. All you need to get started are items you most likely already own.
Essay writing is the bane of most students' educational existence. Whether you're a college student tired of slaving away over 30-plus page research papers or a high school student just trying to get through AP Language, chances are you'd love to find a way to cut down on all the writing. Before you spend hours googling facts and figures to cram into your next paper, work smarter by cutting down on content.
Lasagna, that layered, creamy baked pasta dish, is a lovely comfort food that's great for a crowd. But if you've ever made it, then you know you're usually left with some leftover lasagna noodles. (Although that's always better than the frustration of running out of the noodles while you're still making a traditional lasagna.) Still, what do you do when you're still left with a bowlful of the wide ribbons?
There are hundreds of delicious ways to enjoy caramel, from chocolate confections to sticky caramel apples and carnival bags of caramel corn. Caramel might be the special sauce that makes every dessert taste better, but it's also surprisingly simple to make.
Soup can be one of the most finicky dishes to make. While seemingly innocuous at first, the texture of this meal can change in an instant. For example, adding too many vegetables can result in soup that's too watery, such as tomatoes, which contain a lot of liquid.
We always want to find more ways to help brilliantly lazy cooks make great-tasting food and save money and time in the process. Luckily, our Facebook fans are invaluable sources of information when it comes to getting cool tips, behind-the-scenes info, and more.
You either love kimchi or you hate it, but for those of us who love it, its salty, briny, spicy crunch is the stuff of life. Honestly, if you're not eating it regularly, you should start, since it's being studied for an amazing list of health benefits, including anti-cancer, anti-aging, and antioxidant properties; obesity and high cholesterol prevention; and promotion of immunity and skin health. The beauty of kimchi is manifold:
One of my favorite things is finding an easy way to make what is normally a complex dish. Case in point: pasta sauce. Usually its depth of flavor is the result of fresh herbs, shallots, tomatoes, seasonings, olive oil, and a touch of dairy being cooked and added in stages. Long simmering mellows out each component's inherent character and turns pasta sauce into something that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Osteoarthritis can affect every gender and at any age but it commonly occurs in women than in men. In America there are approximately 27 million Americans aged over 25 who live with osteoarthritis.
Listen, I'm not disparaging using really good knives—they can literally change your life, or at the very least, the way you work in the kitchen. However, there are many cutting and slicing tasks where you're better off using a sturdy pair of kitchen shears rather than a chef's or even a paring knife.
Broccoli is super. Not only is it jam-packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, calcium and fibre, but it's one veggie that refuses to be just a side-dish. Nobody puts broccoli in the corner.
The beauty of a grilled cheese sandwich is that even a mediocre one still tastes pretty good (I find the same is true with pizza). However, chefs and cooking pros have come up with some great tricks that will turn a regular grilled cheese sandwich into something sublime.
It's nice to have a drink on an airplane, whether you're taking a flight somewhere fun or for work. However, what's not so nice is the high prices and relatively bad quality of the liquor that's available.
Fasting—or the practice of regularly abstaining from ingesting anything except water—is a pretty drastic move. I tried to fast for two days and made it to the 12-hour mark, which is when I broke down and ate a quart of ice cream.
French fries, like mashed or roast potatoes, are the type O blood of the food world—they're compatible with just about everybody. That's why it's so sad to bring home leftover frites (that's French for French fries) and have to toss them out the next day because they don't taste as good when they're reheated. Warning: Do Not Ever, Ever Use Your Microwave
We've already taught you a few tricks for getting chilled, rock-hard butter to spread easily on toast, and some of you probably bypass that issue entirely by purchasing spreadable butter from the supermarket. But why waste your money when you can make a healthier, tastier version at home for a fraction of the cost?
Mouth burning with pain from eating too much hot sauce or some seriously "spicy" food? Well, ignore your first instinct and steer clear of that cup of cold water — it won't help. Instead, reach for a glass of milk, a lemon slice, a spoonful of sugar, or some starchy bread to dilute the painful heat on your tongue.
