This is the best smoothie I’ve made in a while! The fig seeds add a wonderful crunch to the smooth nectarine: One nectarine, minus the pit and cut into rough chunks (keep the skin on) One fig, minus the skin (it’s too tough to blend) Enough white grape juice to make your preferred texture–start with [...]
This has to be the most interesting fruit I’ve come across in a while! It’s oblong-shaped, bright-hot pink, and the skin looks a bit like scales. (Think Stephen Cosgrove’s Serendipity dragon and you’ll get the idea.) It’s indigenous to Mexico and Central and South America, where it’s called pitaya. When the tips of the “scales” [...]
Many times, recipes call for tomatoes that have been peeled and seeded. Canned diced tomatoes come in handy here, but if you want to take advantage of summer’s full-flavor fresh tomatoes, you’ll have to hone your DIY kitchen skills. It isn’t difficult, though–even if you don’t have a food mill (a device that removes the [...]
Yes, they’re blenders, but not the kind you’d use to whip up your morning smoothie. They are electrically-operated, though, and the idea behind them is the same. The main difference is their shape: they’re long, hand-held sticks with a small blade at one end. This design allows you to dunk them down into pots and [...]
I can’t remember where I got this, but my little “Kitchen Equivalent Chart” of measures and amounts is one of the most valuable things in my kitchen. It is magneted front-and-center on my fridge for easy reference. If you want to reduce or increase a recipe, you need to know how to split measurements–for example, [...]
Ah, the mango. Hailing from southeast Asia, this beta-carotene-laden fruit beats out even the banana and the apple in terms of worldwide popularity. It has an sweet exotic taste and an intriguing texture that can’t be found elsewhere. It’s in chutneys and salsas, lassis and smoothies, and it complements everything from fish to chicken. Too [...]
In “Tips for the New Cook,” I stressed the importance of keeping your knives sharp, saying that you are more likely to cut yourself with a dull blade than a sharp one. One of my readers called me out on the technicality of the statement, pointing out that a sharp edge is more likely to [...]
It’s easy to make potpourri, and I guarantee your own will smell better than the commercial, chemical-laden types. Just throw the following in a small pot of water (1-2 cups) and let it simmer on a low setting: 2 cinnamon sticks, each broken in half 6 whole cloves 8 cardamom pods, lightly smashed (you can [...]
In an earlier post (“Tips for the New Cook”), I mentioned using wooden boards for fruit and veggies and plastic for meat. A reader has asked, “Why not use plastic for produce?” You absolutely could, but for the sake of knowing which board you’re using for meat and which for produce, I recommend using the [...]
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