Jessica Search Results

How To: 7 Sweet & Savory Ways to Use Pancake Batter

In my household, we are frugal and somewhat picky eaters, so we have to be a little creative with the things we buy. We like to purchase items that can be used in multiple dishes to reduce cost—and because it's just more practical. Pancake mix is a favorite because it can be used in various dishes where any type of breading may be involved. To help inspire you, here are some of my favorite ways to use pancake batter at home.

How To: Everything You Need to Know About Cooking with Plantains

The produce section is full of fruits, both familiar and quite strange. Depending on the season, you may see giant, bright-green bananas on display next to the normal bananas that you know and love. No, those aren't super-unripened bananas—they're plantains, and they are definitely a different fruit altogether. However, once you get to know them a little better, you'll find that they're much more fun to cook with.

How To: 5 Reasons to Always Have Coconut Flakes in the Kitchen

For me, shredded coconut is something that is eaten several times a week in a variety of ways—and that includes in savory dishes. It can be added to just about anything, and this is a good thing if you enjoy having some variety in your diet. Because I get tired of eating the same foods all the time, over the last few weeks I've tried some pretty interesting and simple ways to use coconut flakes in order to keep my finicky palate satisfied.

News: Compound in a Frog's Defensive Slime May Treat Your Next Flu Infection

Our quest to find novel compounds in nature that we can use against human diseases —a process called bioprospecting — has led a research team to a small frog found in India. From the skin slime of the colorful Hydrophylax bahuvistara, researchers reported finding a peptide — a small piece of protein — that can destroy many strains of human flu and can even protect mice against the flu.

How To: Brew Your Own Ginger Beer Like a Boss

Step aside, ginger ale; ginger beer is here, and it's delicious. Ginger beer is made by fermenting a combination of ginger simple syrup, yeast, and water, which gives it its robust flavor and sparkling quality. It's extremely simple to make, but you do have to wait a bit for the final product. After a few days, though, your ginger beer will be sparkling and ready to drink as is, or in your favorite cocktail.

How To: Ditch the Extract & Get Serious About Baking with Vanilla Beans

Most home bakers rely on vanilla extract as a flavor component to their cakes and cookies, but little do they know what they are missing until they trade in their extract for whole vanilla beans. The rich complexity and different notes of flavor of a true vanilla bean are often washed out and distilled into a one-note sweetness, especially if the extract is cheap or imitation. If you want to get more serious about baking, you need to get serious about using vanilla beans.

How To: Are Your Gadgets Safe from Solar Storms and Nuclear Attacks?

It's September 1st, 1859, and the Earth looks more or less like something out of an apocalyptic movie or Sci-Fi novel. All communications have failed, it's so bright outside at midnight that people are getting up and making breakfast, and people all over the world are seeing auroras. The solar storm that produced the electromagnetic pulse and caused all this mayhem is known as the Carrington Event, and storms like it happen about about once every century.

How To: Prepare and Present a Panel at a Steampunk Convention

If you've been to a convention of any sort before, you know that there are good and bad panels, and that their inherent goodness or badness often has little to do with the actual content being discussed. That's because giving a panel is a skill that not everyone has. However, it is a skill that everyone could have! In this article, I'll tell you how to give a good panel on practically any subject. Image by Shannon Cottrell

How To: Do Hapkido techniques

Master Rafael Negron, 6th DAN Master Instructor, and Jessica Sherlock, 2nd Degree blackbelt. Hapkido is an eclectic Korean martial art that is literally translated as “the way of coordinating energy” or “the way of coordinated power.” Hapkido is ultimately used as self-defense and combines other skilled martial arts with common attacks. he main focus of Hapkido is footwork and body positioning used to employ leverage.

How To: Care for and store purses and accessories properly for longevity

If you have tons of purses and accessories, you want to make sure they'll last, otherwise you'll hate to part with them and you'll keep getting more, until you have no room for any of them. If you simply take care of your purses and accessories from the very start, they'll have a longer life, and you'll have a bigger wallet. Chantilliscious loves her Jessica Simpson purses, but this applies to any brand.

How To: Make delicious pork chili verde

In this video tutorial, Jessica teaches us how to make pork chile verde. The ingredients you will need are: 10 tomatillos, 5 garlic cloves, 2 jalapenos, 1 cilantro bunch, 1 pinch of oregano, 4 lbs of pork shoulder, olive oil, 1 yellow onion, 1- 1/2 cup chicken broth. First, remove the husks from the tomatillos and rinse, then cut them in half and place then on a baking sheet along with 3 garlic cloves. Next, broil in the over for 5-7 minutes and let them cool off. Now, cut your jalapenos and ...

How To: Work with frozen puff pastry

When you need pastry or pie dough in a hurry, frozen puff pastry is the king of supermarket convenience foods. It's incredibly versatile and can be used to make a huge array of hors d'oeuvre, main courses, and desserts. Frequent Fine Cooking contributor and cooking teacher Jessica Bard demonstrates some tricks for getting the best results when working with frozen puff pastry. Work with frozen puff pastry.