How to use up half-filled pantry and refrigerator items

July 31, 2012 by
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Over at The Kitchn they have a very useful blog on 21 Creative Ways to Use Up Pantry and Cooking Staples. As they write: "Do you have a few almost-empty jars in your pantry? Some half-full containers in your fridge? Curious what to do with those crumbled tortilla chips or that bowl of egg whites? What about creative ways to… read more

Which food term would you like to stomp out?

July 26, 2012 by
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We loved a recent story on Grub Street New York  discussing annoying food terms. As they state, "The time has come to publicly shame these terrible words and constructions and eliminate them from food writing forever." They proceed to list a group of words that should be expunged and ask for more suggestions. So what are these words? Here you… read more

Just for laughs: Top 10 funny food graphs

July 15, 2012 by
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The Huffington Post recently composed a list of the top ten food graphs - based on their amusement rather than scientific value - from GraphJam. Here are the chart titles; take a look for a quick laugh and maybe some food for thought: The four food groups of the recent college grad What I learned from the Food Network Probability of… read more

A hot drink like tea will actually cool you down

July 13, 2012 by
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It's fairly well known that eating spicy food actually cools you down. However, as this NPR report states, the same science works for hot beverages. Whether you're in the middle of a heat wave or experiencing cool comfort, there's no reason not to enjoy your afternoon cup of tea or morning cup of coffee. In fact, it will both heat… read more

Wine helps prevent bone loss & thank you Marion Cunningham

July 12, 2012 by
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Two news items recently caught our attention  - one good news (for many of us, at least) and one sad. On the good news front, Salt at NPR reports that drinking a moderate amount of wine helps women prevent bone loss: "A new study of women in their 50s and early 60s finds that moderate alcohol consumption may help prevent bone loss.… read more

Silicone spatulas: Should you buy one?

July 11, 2012 by
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Every cook needs a spatula for so many things - cooking, scraping out bowls, gentle folding. And this wide variety of tasks that it's called on to perform often means you need a wide variety of spatulas - a firm, heat-proof one for scraping a pan, a plastic one to use on a nonstick pan to stir eggs, a large… read more

Are you overdoing prep work in the kitchen?

July 7, 2012 by
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On Sara Moulton's website, she has an interesting article that's creating some buzz in the food world.  Whereas cookbooks, videos, and blogs have - at least for the last 10 years - argued that home cooks should always  prep and measure ingredients before starting to cook (a practice professional chefs call "mise en place"), Sara has decided this practice is… read more

Love Whole Foods or loathe it?

July 2, 2012 by
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Over at Food Republic they've reprinted an essay from the New Yorker, How Whole Foods Created A New Breed of Shopper. As Tom Roston writes,  "In my darker moments, I imagine what it might be like to live through an alien invasion. I'm not a War of the Worlds, death-and-destruction kind of guy; I am more prone to creepier visions of the Invasion… read more

When mold on food is OK

June 29, 2012 by
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We all have had that disconcerting moment - there's a bit of mold on a food item that, ordinarily, we'd be reluctant to toss. What to do...? In this article on the HuffPost, 4 Moldy Foods You Can Eat (Plus Which Foods to Toss), EatingWell gives some useful advice - we found it both interesting and ironic that you can keep… read more

Are garlic presses evil?

June 18, 2012 by
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In the world of elite cooking there is a conception that garlic presses are evil. A press supposedly crushes the garlic to mush, while using a knife keeps the garlic edges even and sharp, allowing for full flavor to come out. But over at America's Test Kitchen (aka Cook's Illustrated), they not only only disagree, but argue that a good… read more

Tomato growing styles are highly revealing

June 14, 2012 by
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The Washington Post has an amusing slide show illustrating various ways to support tomato plants and pointing out the personality types that each matches. Plus there are some good tips about techniques and types of tomatoes each approach requires. So meet the Innocent, the Gardener (who lies awake at night wondering if she missed a sucker), the Perfectionist, the Farmer,… read more

Slicing 15 cherry tomatoes in half at the same time

June 11, 2012 by
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We love cherry and grape tomatoes. But let's face it, it can be a bit laborious to slice each one in half -- an imperative step for maximizing their surface exposure to dressing, etc. So we were very impressed by this easy tip from the big girls small kitchen blog that shows how to slice 15  cherry tomatoes all at… read more

New healthy food app for kids gets over 1 million downloads

June 6, 2012 by
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As anyone with an iPhone or iPad knows, the number of available apps is staggering. So when one breaks through, it receives a lot of publicity. And recently we noticed one app that's creating quite a stir and earning rave reviews. Designed by the Fun Machine in coordination with Whole Kids, (the Whole Foods' foundation that encourages healthy eating in… read more

Don’t feel bad about hating cilantro

June 6, 2012 by
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Do you really dislike cilantro, or know of someone who does? Cilantro seems to be increasingly popular in today's recipes, not only in Tex-Mex food, but expanding across all cultural boundaries. In fact, many people love it so much they routinely substitute cilantro for parsley. Yet some people truly dislike cilantro - claiming it tastes of soap and worse. The… read more

The perfect pineapple upside-down cake, plus…

June 5, 2012 by
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Combining two blogs today, we first present America's Test Kitchen's recipe for perfect pineapple upside-down cake. Among the keys to the recipe is how to ensure perfect unmolding plus how to keep the pineapple pieces securely in place once unmolded. And the recipe comes with instructions on how to substitute peaches or nectarines for the pineapple. Our second reference is… read more

25 weird food facts about the presidents

May 31, 2012 by
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Remember Silent Cal Coolidge, that staid Vermonter? Well, according to a book by Stephen Spignese called Grover Cleveland's Rubber Jaw and Other Unusual, Unexpected, Unbelievable But All True Facts About America's Presidents, Calvin Coolidge's favorite breakfast was boiled raw wheat and rye and he liked to have his head rubbed with Vaseline while he ate it. And President Johnson? "When he… read more

Deciphering basic nutrition terms

May 21, 2012 by
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At best, nutrition labels are moderately informative, but they can also be hopelessly confusing, or, at the worst, misleading. How high is "high"? Did you know that there are no official guidelines for labeling something as "Low-Carb?" Here's a short collection from Huff Post Food of the seven most common nutritional terms that are used - high, low-carb, low-sodium, BPA-free,… read more

What the royals eat at home

May 20, 2012 by
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We wanted to honor Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in some fashion - and how better than this behind-the-scenes look at what the royal family has eaten through the most recent generations? The variety has been quite astounding, even ignoring Edward VII's gargantuan menus. As Rachel Cooke in The Observer notes, "And so it continues, the strange coupling of decadence and… read more

A potpourri of kitchen tips & recipes

May 18, 2012 by
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No matter how long you've been cooking, or how comfortable you are in the kitchen, there are a few tips that have slipped under the radar. Plus there is always a need to have some great recipes that only require a few ingredients. Here are some fun tips and a recipe collection to play with this weekend: 14 Simple Delicious… read more

Food Blogger Controversy: A Follow-up

May 17, 2012 by
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We recently took notice of a blog on the IACP site attacking food bloggers, (see our blog, Should amateur food bloggers be paid to develop recipes?) and the web has energetically picked up the argument. We wanted to follow up with a couple of items. First, the IACP has weighed in now with their entry, A Brief Bit of Context… read more

Should “amateur” food bloggers be paid to develop recipes?

May 16, 2012 by
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In an opinion column called "Faking It" at the IACP* site, Amy Reiley has stirred up quite a hornet's nest. Apparently she was unaware until the last IACP conference that, "major as well as small, well-respected organizations in the culinary business (like Kraft, the Got Milk? campaign, Kitchenaid, etc.) are contacting high profile food and lifestyle bloggers to endorse products,… read more

A Yankee finds a food paradise in Australia

May 13, 2012 by
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Over at the Salt, a visiting Yankee discovers that Australians have thrown off the remnants of bad British food, and learns that "stunningly fresh ingredients, cultural diversity, and inventive cooking are the new norms." We're sure our Australian friends will enjoy this article, as will anyone planning to visit "Oz," but even if a visit to Australia is not in… read more

Opera and food is a match made in heaven

May 12, 2012 by
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The New York Times has a delightful article, Don't Sing With Your Mouth Full, discussing how tightly entwined the worlds of opera and food are. As they write, "Opera, of all the art forms, is singularly associated with food, whether because of the appetites of well-girthed singers or the sensual pleasures celebrated in its rich ragout of music, emotion and… read more

Is it pretentious to assume that Bon Appetit is a better magazine than Paula Dean’s or Rachael Ray’s?

May 11, 2012 by
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 Anna Brones over at the Huff Post sat down and took a hard look at three magazines: Cooking with Paula Deen, Everyday with Rachael Ray, and Bon Appétít. Among her questions, if they're promoting the same food, why do we have different reactions to them? For example, "Rachael Ray gives me a handful of fried chicken recipes and I cringe, but… read more

If an oyster cannot feel pain, is it OK for a “vegan” to eat it?

May 10, 2012 by
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  Christopher Cox considers himself a vegan as he eats no meat, dairy or eggs.  But he does love a plate of cold oysters.  He puts up a fairly convincing argument on Slate.com that both in terms of its environmental impact and its own physiology, an oyster is as ethical a food item as a vegetable.  As you would expect… read more
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