Protein powder is a fad in the same way that Justin Bieber's music is: you either love it, or you hate it. Everyone I know has a strong opinion about protein powder, ranging from "daily necessity" to "utterly useless."
I became a big fan of polenta while studying Italian cooking. Previously, it never occurred to me that ground corn could create a dish that could rival the best pastas or potatoes. Those rich, golden bowls of cornmeal, cooked until tender and flavored with good olive oil, butter, sea salt, and fresh herbs soon became one of my favorite things to eat.
You're in the middle of cooking and a car alarm, cute kitten, or neighborhood brawl made you step away from the stove for a few minutes longer that you should have. It happens to almost every home cook. Most of the time, nothing dramatic happens, but every now and then, you end up with something like this:
Most people give their fruits and veggies a cursory rinse under the faucet before eating or cooking them, but is that few seconds under running water really enough to remove any remaining dirt, pesticides, or wax clinging to the surface?
Food is a necessity, sure, but every now and then it's so satisfying to eat something because it is fun and delicious. While eating a whole tub of homemade ice cream might satisfy your need for gluttony, there's a way to take it even further—make your dinnerware edible.
I know Americans love to hate on the French, but from my standpoint, they've given us a lot of things we should all be thankful for, like French kissing, casual sex, Pepé le Pew, and of course, French fries. Well, maybe not...
When it comes to busted smartphones, liquid damage ranks right up there with shattered screens as one of the most common issues owners have to deal with—as well as the most embarrassing. Thankfully, though, with the rise of waterproof phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and even the iPhone 7, this is becoming less and less of a worry. But not everyone has a waterproof device.
The yogis of the internet have started a wonderful food trend that has everyone wanting to eat healthy—gorgeous buddha bowls. Okay, so maybe not everyone, but a lot of people are definitely entranced by these beautiful, multicolored meals.
One of the common complaints about dry pasta is that it lacks depth of flavor. This is why, once cooked, it often pairs best with bold and complexly flavored sauces.
Contrary to popular belief, sushi is not the raw fish that one gets at Japanese restaurants, but the rice that comes with it. It's hard to tell whether this popular misconception led to or came about because of the primary flavors that we think of in sushi are the fish. We often say a sushi restaurant has great fish, but almost never that it has great rice.
White or light-colored dinnerware is a classic: it looks crisp, clean, and elegant. The only problem is that after you've used it for a few years, the surfaces bear a lot of grey scuff marks from forks, spoons, and knives being dragged across the surface.
Summer is the best friend of poison ivy, oak, and sumac. When the weather is hot outside, people spend more time in the great outdoors, which means more people accidentally running face first into some poisonous shrubs, leaves, and vines. If that sounds like you, instead of suffering through the itch or spending money on expensive pharmaceutical solutions, try some of these home remedies out.
The rise and fall of Meta, the Silicon Valley-based augmented reality startup that looked to challenge the likes of Microsoft's HoloLens, and others, took just six years.
Eating vegetarian isn't just for vegetarians. There are plenty of reasons, health and economics-wise, to consider forgoing the meat for a meal or three. Rather than get deep into the world of fake meat (although there's many a tasty alternative to be found there, to be sure), you should consider getting to know your humble-seeming fungal friend: the mushroom. Thanks to their hearty flavor, cooks tend to treat mushrooms like meat, albeit one with its own unique characteristics. Mushrooms are e...
There's an ongoing debate about whether or not it's safe or even desirable to rinse meat before you cook it. Many fall into the anti-rinsing camp, saying that it's not effective at dislodging bacteria, especially on poultry, as we've discussed before. Meanwhile, some argue that rinsing certain meats, like bacon, could be beneficial since it possibly prevents it from shrinking.
In case you haven't heard, chia seeds are off of the novelty plant grower and in your supermarket. Why? Because they're a nutrient-dense food loaded with calcium and fiber (18% and 42% respectively of your RDA per one ounce of seeds). There are even some preliminary studies that show chia might be useful in combating diabetes.
Break out the office supplies and kitchen utensils, because improving your morning makeup routine is about to get a lot easier. Some of the things you have lying around the house can provide the perfect solution for some of the most common beauty problems. We've collected 10 of our favorites.
It's that time of year where you need to break out the grill and cook food over red-hot coals, whether it's the beginning, middle, or end of summer. Even if you're not a grill master extraordinaire, you can use these hacks to fool your friends and family into thinking that you're a barbecuing badass.
With warm weather comes bugs, and with bugs come bites, and with bites come itches. From ticks and spiders to mosquitoes and bees, insect bites come in sundry shapes and sizes, but they all commonly pull an itchy, red reaction out of our bodies.
This two-part series (second part here) will teach you literally everything you need to know in order to make pretty much anything out of leather.
There are countless methods and cleaners aimed at eliminating stubborn stains from everything to clothing, carpet, and furniture. But completely removing every last trace of a stain doesn't require an arsenal of chemical cleaners and repeated cycles in the washing machine. Most stains can disappear in a matter of minutes with a dose of alcohol.
Everyone talks about how great sliced bread is, but there's nothing better than the taste of a just-baked loaf of crusty French bread. Like most beautiful things in life, however, the beauty of the baguette doesn't last. The next day, it's rock-hard, and good for very little except for croutons or breadcrumbs. But there is a trick to make it like fresh again.
Becoming someone else for Halloween is a lot of fun, but it can take a ton of tools to accomplish. An elaborate costume can require you to slather yourself in all kinds of makeup, paints, and glues, and putting it on is only half the work. The real fun starts when the party's over, and you have to remove it all.
Sometimes I forget that I'm also a fiction writer, so I thought it might be a nice change of pace to share one of my stories with you. I wrote this piece awhile ago for an anthology that never came together and I'm tired of just sitting on it.
To clean your MacBook screen use a micro fiber cloth and some water. Before you use water on your rag use the dry micro fiber cloth to wipe down the screen and get rid of all the dust. Once you have wiped the dust off of the screen take the micro fiber cloth and dip it in some water. Make sure that the cloth is not soaking wet all you want to do is put a fine layer of water on the screen as you wipe it down. Once you have wiped it with the damp cloth take a dry cloth or the dry part of your m...
Feeding birds isn't the same as feeding ducks. Ducks are practically fearless when it comes to filling their tummies, but other birds aren't as brave, especially when it comes to baby birds. Baby birds sometimes fall from their nests, and sometimes are knocked out by storms or other natural causes. If you find a baby bird, here’s how to feed it.
Don’t wait for your next headache to pull out that bottle of aspirin. Aspirin can be used as a topical home remedy for some medical problems, and as a handy fix to remove stain, keep your flowers fresh and even start a car battery.
A butcher block table (or counter) is a solid, wooden table. Originating in butcher shops (hence the name), this has become a popular household item. Butcher block tables and counters are durable and attractive looking. The downside of butcher block is that the wood is so porous it can stain easily. Butcher block can be sanded and refinished to get rid of stains, but that drastic step isn't always necessary.
Manicures are beautiful and can add class and style to any person. Here are some step-by-step instructions for giving yourself a DIY manicure.
One of Thailand's most popular dishes is Pad Thai (or Phat Tai), which, in this case, is stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, chicken, shrimp and tons of other goodies. This is one of the most flavorful and versatile of all Thai dishes, not to mention easy to make.
This recipe will be a bit time consuming and may seem a bit lengthy—it can take up to an hour to complete depending how big of a batch you are making—but the end result is fantastic. That being said, here are the few things you will need.
Beans don't have to be boring! This recipe shows you how to make a delicious side dish using primarily navy beans and white beans. After soaking and cooking the beans, you can add herbs and pancetta and end with this palate pleaser. Make an herbed navy and white bean side dish.
Tight budgets mean cheap food, and there's nothing cheaper than beans and rice, but you don't have to sacrifice taste and quality to eat on the cheap. Adding some vegetables like onions and peppers adds a great deal to an otherwise bland dish.
Introduction Ever wished those flabs of fat would just disappear? Ever envied those models with skinny flat stomachs that no matter how hard you try, you just can't get? You've come to the right place. Even those of you who can't resist leaving a single morsel left on your plates will be forced into a skinnier, healthier shape.
What do you do when you accidentally stain your favorite article of clothing with coffee, red wine, or pasta sauce? If you aren't within immediate reach of laundry detergent or commercial stain removers, you can use many common household staples such as baking soda and white vinegar to remove the offending stains right away—sometimes even better than their commercial counterparts.
Photo Credit: TripAdvisor
We've all heard of the power that red wine holds. It can help lower risks of heart disease, boost your brain power, and can even recharge your car battery. But last year, a group of Japanese physicists made headlines when they announced that they could induce superconductivity by soaking metals in red wine. But why red wine?
If you ever find yourself with a ring that won't come off your swollen fingers, grab some Windex, lubricate the area around your ring below your knuckle, and slowly wiggle your ring around until it slides past your knuckle.
However much you love cooking fried fish for dinner, there's no need for your kitchen to smell fishy for days afterward. Keep your post-cooking funky kitchen smell to a minimum by boiling cloves in water, simmering lemon peels, oven roasting coffee beans, or leaving bowls of white vinegar on the kitchen counter overnight.
Without Richard Channing Garfield the world would be a much grayer and less interesting place today, at least for all of us. He created Magic in college, playtested it throughout, accidentally found a publisher for it, and wound up the the most well-known and successful paper game designer in the world (sorry Guygax, make something new why don't ya?). He does not seek the limelight, has not had a snappy biography written about him (or his game, amazingly enough) and I thought we should pay a ...