Eggs are a staple food for most Americans, which is no surprise, considering how necessary they are in savory and sweet recipes alike. On their own, they're usually not too eggs-citing. However, these clever egg hacks will make your egg-making easier, more fun, and more interesting.
Summertime calls out for desserts that are easy to assemble and don't require heat. Voilà: crème de menthe grasshopper pies. They are minty, fresh, and cold, and are very easy to whip together with marshmallows and a microwave.
This easy "recipe" requires just two ingredients: popcorn and caramel bits. Caramel bits are made for melting, and they take all the work out of making caramel-based anything. If you've ever made caramel before, the result is delicious, but it's often hot and sticky work—in most cases.
Baking a cake is relatively easy... if you happen to have a cookbook or some boxed cake mix nearby. And though you can use the internet or your favorite cooking app, it can be nice to just cook without a recipe. That seems impossible with baking, which is such an exact science, but it's actually relatively easy.
As crazy as it sounds, there are times when bottles of wine go unfinished. I love a glass or three of vino, but am often guilty of not finishing the bottle. Sometimes I don't have the time to finish it, and other times I like it so much that I open bottle number two and can't finish that.
Even the most unadventurous eaters can usually be coaxed to take a bite of an exotic fruit (except, perhaps, the notoriously stinky durian). After all, fruit is sweet, juicy, and filled with natural sugars.
For the longest time, I only ever did one thing with mangoes. I would cut off a chunk of the fruit, squeeze some lime over it, and eat it straight out of my hands as though it were a watermelon slice. I didn't do this because I loved devouring mango in the messiest way possible; I did it because I had no clue how to peel a mango. As such, I never cooked with mango: I ate it directly off the peel, or didn't eat it at all.
Fruit flies are nearly as frustrating as ants and equally impossible to eradicate—but there are a few ways to get rid of them. We've already shown you that apple cider vinegar, dishwashing soap, and plastic wrap is a great way to trap and kill fruit flies, but if you just want to keep them away, there's another option—cloves. Fruit flies are attracted to ripened fruits and vegetables, but don't actually eat them. They eat the fungus or rot that grows on them, according to Todd Schlenke, assis...
I'm as adventurous an eater as just about anyone, but some foodie trends leave me scratching my head and wanting nothing more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But sometimes the trends become trends because they're, well, brilliant.
With the high rate of obesity in the United States, it's fantastic to see the massive wave of fitness tools available, even if it's just a trend. And with the companionship of your Apple Watch, keeping track of your progress or fitness goals has never been easier. As my LA Fitness intercom repeatedly announces, "What gets measured gets improved." (Corny, but very true.)
Fish is a remarkably useful ingredient, whether you eat it as is or use fish sauce to give your recipes extra depth and flavor. However, if you enjoy a glass of Guinness on occasion, you might be surprised to know that there's most likely fish in that beverage, too.
We've all been there: you're staring at a fantastic-looking salad or sandwich full of your favorite ingredients. You take a bite, and you taste only one thing—raw onion. A glass of water, a toothbrush, and an hour later, and your breath still tastes like only one thing—raw onion.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a man by the name of George Lucas wrote an amazing trilogy about a new world and the power of the Force… and then subsequently ruined the franchise 22 years after the original release date.
Mother Nature is one creative entity, especially when it comes to fruit. Let's face it: most major supermarkets stock only the most common fruits like apples, pears, and grapes, but they're so basic. Why not explore other options, from the stinky-yet delicious durian to the captivating citrus caviar that is finger limes?
Furniture gets beat up—it's a fact of life. Your beautiful tables will end up scratched, the legs of your chairs will grow nicked, and you'll find interesting dents and damage in other places around the house, too. Yet if most of your furniture is made of wood, you don't have to live with unsightly scratches. In fact, you can remove years of damage with a simple snack food: nuts.
Ah, the art of the April Fool's Day prank. It has to walk a fine line: not enough prankish flair and the joke falls flat. If it's too mean, then you've just bummed everybody out.
With platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat available for anyone to take advantage of, I'm all about differentiating from the mundane and repetitive images we see on social media everyday.
I always over-order when I call in for pizza delivery, because I love having leftover pizza. Because there's so much flavor packed into the sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you've ordered, pizza adds flavor to salads, cocktails, and can even act as the base to a quiche. Press it into a waffle iron to make a pizza panini, cut it into triangles and make the best Bloody Mary ever, or use it as the base for a lively quiche.
Lettuce is not just for salads, it's a versatile green that you can use in hundreds of different ways. So many people in America toss their lettuce when it starts to wilt, thinking that it's too far gone to make a nice, crisp salad. But you can cook with lettuce like you would any other green, and the French and Chinese have been doing it forever.
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.
Sling TV, the new over-the-top TV streaming service from DISH Network, is the first to offer live programing for cord cutters. Available for $20 a month with no contract, Sling TV is the easiest way to end the reliance on cable and satellite subscriptions for getting your content as it airs.
Instant ramen and just-add-water noodles are lifesavers because they are convenient and fast, but they are also usually chock-full of processed ingredients and unrecognizable pieces of dehydrated meat and vegetables.
I've known eaters who will fearlessly bite into the hottest peppers, but even they have quailed before durian, the fruit that hails from Southeast Asia and whose smell has been compared to garbage, rotting flesh, and the bathroom post-use. However, this hefty globe with its spiny, prickly outer covering isn't called "the king of fruits" for nothing. According to its many fans, its stench does not correlate to its taste, which has been described in extremely flattering terms. Monica Tan of The...
A little cooking mistake can lead to tough meat, spoiled food, and even a bacterial explosion in your kitchen if you're not careful. These five simple, easy-to-fix kitchen mistakes are some of the most commonly made in households around the world. Luckily, you can correct these innocent errors with just a few minor tweaks.
Like cigars and whiskey, Lapsang Souchong tea is an acquired taste. Some people never get over the pungent, tarry flavor and intense smell of the beverage, but using it as a rub, marinade, or other seasoning is totally smart. The tea adds a smoky yet not overwhelming flavor to dishes of all kinds. With it, you can easily get barbecue-like results for meats and vegetables, all without breaking out the grill. Lapsang Souchong tea smells like a dry campfire and tastes like a smoked sausage cooke...
Sitting in a cubicle and never seeing sunlight during the workday is unpleasant to even think about—and sitting in a flourescent-light cube can have terrible effects on both our work performance and overall attitude. Yet there are ways to counteract the effects of cubicle sitting, even if you can't sit in a sunny office or work from home.
Did you know that cookies are one of the most popular holiday desserts? Sugar cookies in particular are so easy to make and easy to decorate. They are the perfect treat for your office, friends, and family…or just yourself!
Herbs, both fresh and dried, can be intimidating and mysterious to cooks. Just how much is too much? How do you prepare them?
There are those who prefer Thanksgiving leftovers to the actual official meal, much like people who prefer cold pizza over hot. I'm definitely in the latter camp. There's something luxurious about enjoying your perfectly cooked turkey and stuffing while wearing sweatpants and not having to make small talk with your weird uncle who drinks too much.
We're a little butter-obsessed here, and that includes topics on why butter should always be browned, the rationale behind clarifying butter, and even how to make a DIY butter candle. And while some may consider the problem strictly one for the first world, we're always very interested in ways to spread cold butter on toast without ripping the bread to shreds. If you read that post, you know the ingenious solutions are many and range from grating your butter to buying a heated butter knife.
Fall is my favorite time of year, yet I cringe every time it begins. Why? Because it seems like every business is in a frenzy to start the Christmas shopping season the day after Halloween ends. For those of us who are fans of pumpkins, that's a buzzkill.
You can find chili peppers in practically every cuisine. From the sweet Italian variety to the spicy Thai bird's chili and the smoky Mexican chipotle, peppers are ubiquitous and universally loved. But if you find the range and scope of these little fireballs overwhelming, you're not alone.
In my opinion, the greatest food hacks are the ones that help you cut way, way down on dishwashing. That's especially true when it comes to baked goods, which usually involves dirtying up a couple of mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, some kind of stirring implement, and the baking pan itself.
In-N-Out Burgers on the West Coast is famous for their not-so-secret and secret menus, along with their cheap, no-fuss burgers. Pre-internet, you felt like you were actually part of a small, select club when you knew what secret menu items to order.
Kale is the new baby spinach: it's taken over salads everywhere, and for good reason. This nutrient-dense vegetable is a member of the brassica family, which also includes cabbage, broccoli, and watercress. Recent studies show that people who eat more brassicas tend to have less cancer. Not only that, but kale and other brassicas can actually clear air pollutants from your body.
Even the best-maintained kitchens occasionally get a fruit fly infestation. These critters descend, lay eggs (up to 500 at a time!), and then disappear usually only after extreme cleaning efforts (i.e., finally attacking that weird puddle of goo behind your refrigerator).
Every now and then, you'll bite into the end piece of a perfectly good cucumber only to get an unwelcome bitter and acrid taste. This happened to me for years, no matter how carefully I selected my cukes, although I generally had better luck with ones I got from local growers and the farmer's market.
Eggs are incredibly important to cooks, and not just because they're tasty and a complete protein (many erratic genius/artist types make a point of eating an egg or two for breakfast). Yes, they are great when perfectly poached, scrambled, hard-boiled, and even scram-boiled, but they serve literally dozens of functions when used in recipes, especially baked goods.
