One of the best qualities about fresh bread (such as sourdough) is a thick, crispy crust—which is easy to create in a commercial oven, but can be tricky for home cooks to replicate. Luckily, the the trick to baking a professional-style crust is a simple one—just bake your loaf with steam using one of these three methods to achieve the perfect, crispy crust.
Dried fruit makes a great snack or salad topping, but after a while, they tend to become fossilized, rock-hard versions of their former selves. At this point, most folks probably just toss them out, as they're unpleasant to chew on when eaten raw and even more unpleasant to eat in bread or cooked with other ingredients.
When a headache strikes, I reach for the nearest painkiller. Forget closing my eyes, laying down, or even applying an ice pack—I seek the quickest and most immediate relief possible, and normally that comes in the form of pills. However, fast relief can be found from another, more natural source: herbal beverages. So if you're tired of popping pills when you have aches and pains, try some of these herbal drinks out instead.
An accelerometer/gyro goes onto an Arduino board and transmits the angular motion of the skateboard via Bluetooth to a virtual reality game I made for Android phones and Google Cardboard.
A crick is a sudden, spasmodic pain and stiffness in the neck caused by tight muscles that can absolutely ruin your entire day. It can last for more than one day and can be triggered by the smallest movement of the neck, such as a simple pandiculation, aka a yawn-stretch. Although you can't always prevent them, there are many natural ways to lessen a painful stiff feeling in the neck.
Pop-Tarts are a pretty iconic breakfast food. And while I'm more of a bacon, eggs, and toast person myself... sometimes a sweet, gooey, artificially-flavored treat is just what you need in the morning. Yet, despite the fact that I do enjoy Pop-Tarts, I've always found them a little bit bland. Therefore I decided to make them better—by cooking with them.
My French press is one of the most important tools in my kitchen. It's indispensable, and it's no small exaggeration when I say that I use it on a daily basis thanks to my coffee addiction. However, it gets used for a lot more than just my morning cuppa (and my second morning cuppa, and my late morning cuppa, and my... well, you get the picture).
When summer rolls around, I think of two things: grilling and ice-cold beverages. To me, nothing beats loading up the grill with charcoal, letting the smell of smoke get stuck to your clothing, and imbibing the most refreshing drink you can find.
Like most food lovers, I adore sushi. And like anyone who is a living, breathing human being, I'm a pretty big fan of sriracha sauce.
It's a basic law of cooking: whenever you're really craving something, you don't have it. All you want is a glass of wine? Chances are you finished the bottle while braising meat last night. Want nothing more than a sandwich right now? Yep, you finished the bread with breakfast. You'd kill for a steak? They're all in the freezer, and you don't want to wait while they thaw; you want your steak now.
Potato peels are largely misunderstood creatures. They're shucked away from every mashed potato dish like some icky rag that has no business in your kitchen. PS: Quit it. By ditching the peels, you're not only missing out on fiber and large amounts of potassium (even more than a banana), you're tossing the potential for chewy, crunchy finger food. So the next time you're left with a plate of scraps, here are four tasty reasons to hold onto them.
Easter may have come and gone, but my love of hard-boiled eggs sure hasn't. Yet as much as I love hard-boiled eggs, I hate making them; I have to work in small batches to have consistent results, and they're always a little overdone, crumbly, and sometimes even green.
This sounds a little crazy, and it is—in a good way. Cooking food in the dishwasher while it cleans your dishes multitasks your appliance and saves time and energy. And who doesn't want to spend less time over a hot stove? How Dishwasher Cooking Works
Poaching, the cooking method that gently cooks food at the barest simmer, is awesome because it keeps in moisture and flavor. The no-cook poaching method is even better, because you don't add heat to your kitchen on hot days, and you don't have to watch the pot.
Once upon a time in America, there was coffee and there was decaf. That's it. No capuccinos. No espressos. And certainly no Starbucks. Coffee was just coffee, something that you bought at a gas station or donut shop. If you made it at home, it was either in a metal pot or instant coffee.
Are you stranded in a hotel room with no kitchen, but craving the comfort of a home-cooked meal? Fear not, I have found some interesting ways to cook food without the luxury of an oven, stove, microwave, or even a toaster!—also known as "hotel room cooking."
Connoisseurs of hard liquor always face a dilemma: how do they chill their spirits without diluting the flavors? After all, if you've shelled out big bucks for a bottle of single malt, you really don't want to mess it up with an ice cube that has freezer burn. (As for refrigerating whisky, most people recommend against doing that: it can cause the whisky to "haze," or look clouded.)
One of the golden rules to cooking a Thanksgiving turkey is to place it on a roasting rack before it goes into the oven. Missing this step and cooking it directly on the pan will burn the bottom of the bird, resulting in overcooked, dry meat.
Cold pizza is the holy grail of leftovers. That's a statement that elicits a slew of impassioned feelings. Either you love the idea of biting into soft crust and cold, fatty cheese, or scowl at the idea of pizza that isn't hot, crisp, and melty. Yet if we were to stand by the former sentiment, how would we argue on its behalf? Food Science Explains Why Cold Pizza Rules
I don't deep fry food that often, mostly because it uses a ton of oil, which is expensive, and the cleanup is a son of a mother. (That oil really splatters everywhere.) Plus, no matter how careful you are, you will get hit by hot oil at some point and it will not be pleasant.
You're in your car. You've got a bag of piping-hot French fries with you. You want those fries in your mouth ASAP, but you also want to dip them in ketchup. So what do you do?
Chances are that you've been using your microwave just to nuke leftovers, but they can do so much more than heat up last night's dinner—microwaves can help you peel garlic more quickly, get more juice out of lemons, disinfect your kitchen, dry out herbs, give beauty products new life, cause exciting explosions, and even arc weld.
To flip, or not to flip, that is the real question. When you're nervously standing over the stove or grill, what do you do with that steak before you?
Welcome back, my tenderfoot hackers! We have looked at a number of ways that we sniff traffic on the network with such tools as Wireshark, tcpdump, dnsiff, and others, but each of these tools is only capable of pulling packets off the wire.
Some food jars seem like they're actually designed to prevent you from enjoying every last bit inside. The remnants of sticky foods like Nutella and peanut butter are almost impossible to scrape out with a knife or spoon, and it's a shame to throw out something that tastes so good—especially when it's the best part. A spatula could help you get that last drop out from the walls or bottom easier, but that's just ruining your chance at maximizing the full potential of those remains into somethi...
Navigating through row after row of plants, my tiny fingers would reach into the leaves to pluck all the vile little creatures from their homes and deposit them into a can of gasoline. Potato bug duty, my least favorite gardening chore. Growing up, my family had a small garden every year. And every year, I was recruited to help plant, maintain, and eventually harvest the vegetables from it. There were some tasks I didn't mind, but the ones I hated most usually involved bugs (have you ever see...
These days, we increasingly have more and more devices in our everyday possession. While a notebook computer, a tablet, and a smartphone may seem like overkill, they do work to make our lives easier and even help reduce clutter in certain ways.
The creation of private browsing was brought upon by the backlash against ad tracking and other ways that sites and agencies take away users' privacy online. People were tired of getting spammed with ads for Vitamin C pills simply because they visited WebMD. Private browsing is now built into all of the major browsers and is used frequently. While private browsing is more infamously known as the "Porn Portal," and does prove to be a great way of keeping racy content out of the sight of others...
As the holidays approach, so does that wonderful Autumn day where loads of people happily camp out in freezing weather in front of their favorite stores to save a few bucks on their favorite electronics. And yes, that day is near... Black Friday brings the biggest markdowns of the year, and that includes slashed prices on many of our favorite touchscreen devices, including the Kindle Fire HD, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, and Nexus 7. Want to get your hands on an Android tablet for cheap? Below are a...
Of all the places you'd think to check for bed bugs, I doubt that library books would be at the top of your list. As odd as it sounds, though, libraries and library books are some of the most common places for bed bug infestations. Libraries all over the country have reported bed bug problems this summer, and some have even had to temporarily close to take care of the problem. But before you vow to never set foot inside a library again, here's a little primer on how to check your books for be...
With how quickly technology evolves in this day and age, it's only natural that people replace their computers every couple years—even sooner. It seems that right when you get a new desktop, there's always a faster model with more features released the following week.
If you're anything like me, you probably rinse your mouth out after you brush your teeth. I know technically you're supposed to not rinse your mouth out after brushing, but I just can't stand the feel of the excess toothpaste in my mouth. It's a surefire way to dry it out.
Hello! I want to share a few hints about staying literally cool when the temperature of the air outside rises incredibly. So, if you're in a very hot area, please continue reading!
There is something special about a secret knock. It gets you into secret super villain meetings and is a surefire way to test for rotating bookcase passages. Secret knocks usually work with an intimidating drug lord and for policeman listening at the door for the correct pattern of raps.
In this video tutorial Slipperypiggy5 shows an easy way to make a hot air balloon with a rubber band. Take a rubber band put one end on the thumb and the other on the little finger of left hand. With the right hand's finger (index finger) make a twist in the middle and put it on the middle finger of left. Take one part of the loop from the little finger and put it on the thumb and do vice versa. Hold the middle part with right hands index finger and release all loops of thumb and little finge...
Many people start their day with a fresh, hot cup of coffee. They purchase their coffee with care and enjoy it greatly. But what do you do with those grounds once you’ve drunk your coffee? Here are some uses for those used coffee grounds! Note: It's always easiest to handle coffee grounds when they're cool, so wait a couple of hours after you've switched off the coffee pot to try any of these!
Nachos are a great snack food but did you ever think you could eat them for dinner? Well, in this tutorial, Betty shows us how to make her chili cheese nacho casserole, and it is so tasty you may never eat 'normal' nachos again! This is a great way to get rid of that stale old bag of Tostitos in your pantry and turn it into something fantastic. Ready? Vamenos!
Watch this video tutorial from the Polish Guy to see how to polish church appointments, like a chalice and candle. In this demonstration we use a Church Polish & Cleaning Kit that includes Simichrome and Flitz to polish a brass chalice and candle stick. The tutorial includes detailed work instructions and best practices.
Watch this video tutorial from the Polish Guy to see how to clean and polish Ford Ranger alloy rims using Autosol Polish. In this polishing tip, we polish an alloy wheel on a 2004 Ford Ranger 4X4 pickup truck. The tutorial includes detailed work instructions and best practices.
Watch this video tutorial from the Polish Guy to see how to polish a chrome faucet fixture. In this demonstration we use a Faucet & Fixture Care Kit that includes Simichrome and Flitz Faucet & Fixture Wax to polish a chrome bath tub faucet spout.
