Food Hacks Features
How To: 10 Quick & Easy Herbal Drinks That Relieve Aches & Pains
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.
How To: Morning Coffee Not Strong Enough? Do This Instead
Like a strong-tasting cup of joe, but want more caffeine out of it? Start double brewing your coffee. To paraphrase a big fan of the double brew process on Reddit, it'll make you feel like you can throw an orange at 60 percent the speed of light. It's that strong. Really.
How To: Make Homemade Flavored Extracts for Baking & Cooking
Flavored extracts may seem like they'd be complicated to make, but there's a lot less to them than you'd think, and will cost you less in the long run.
How To: 10 Awesome Food Hacks That Every Home Cook Should Know
Every home cook has their most-hated kitchen task. For me, peeling hard-boiled eggs and garlic are pretty high up there. Actually, peeling just about anything is, but for every annoying job, there's a shortcut to make it easier.
How To: Make a No-Bake Ice Cream Sandwich Cake in 10 Minutes
Icebox cakes are some of the most satisfying, easy desserts to put together. This version made out of ice cream sandwiches takes the cake, literally, because the layers are almost pre-made for you. Simple and pretty when cut and served, it will be love at your first creamy bite. Depending on whether you want a layer of chocolate crunchies in your ice cream sandwich cake or not, this could be either a two-ingredient ice cream cake or a four-ingredient one. If you don't need the crunchy layer, ...
How To: Sharpen Kitchen Knives with a Newspaper
Just like skinning a cat, there's more than one way to sharpen a knife (disclaimer: while I advocate sharpening your knives daily, please don't ever even consider skinning a cat). There's a stone, for an uber-sharp finish; the underside of a mug, for an awesome makeshift sharpening tool; the chef's daily ritual, honing with a sharpening steel; and then there's the remarkably simple, old-school Japanese trick—using a newspaper. Step 1: Grab a Newspaper
No More PAM: How to Make Cheaper & Healthier Cooking Spray at Home
Cooking spray is super convenient to have around, but it can be expensive compared to regular old oil, and sometimes comes with some nasty sounding additives like dimethylpolysiloxane and dimethyl silicone.
How To: 5 Must-Know Kitchen Hacks for Cooking Spray
Cooking spray is something of a gross necessity. The slimy, oddly-scented grease is perfect for keeping casserole dishes crust-free, but the oil splatter does a number on clean kitchen counters, and the lecithin ingredient can ruin nonstick cookware if not careful.
News: Store-Bought Almond Milk Is Bad for You (And the Environment)
While Kobe beef cows get massaged, American dairy cows are taking a real beating. Many people are cutting back on dairy while a growing number of people are discovering that they're lactose intolerant. As the public's disdain of cow's milk grows, milk sales themselves are at a forty-year low.
How To: The Secret to Making Deliciously Soft Cookies Is Cake Mix
This is the easiest cookie batch you'll ever bake, I promise. And no, take-and-bake cookie dough doesn't count. With this recipe, it'll take you less than 20 minutes to go from your sad, cookie-less life to cookies in your absolute favorite flavor... of cake.
How To: Make Tater Tots Even More Delicious
Tater tots have a bad rap as a soggy cafeteria staple, but bake them at home and they crisp up nicely in the oven. Drain any unwanted oil from them on paper towels and they become perfectly crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
How To: 5 Non-Food Uses for Your Old Spices
After a few years, your cinnamon, paprika, and saffron begin to lose their vibrant hues, and the aromas that once filled your kitchen are barely distinguishable when you open their jars. These are telltale signs that your spices need to be replaced sooner rather than later.
Miraculous "No-Knead" Bread: Hack Yourself a Loaf in 10 Minutes
Making bread from scratch is extremely difficult. Painstakingly following instructions does not necessarily guarantee successful results. Baking delicious homemade bread takes practice, skill, and frankly, a level of real culinary artistry.
How To: The Easiest, Best Way to Keep Soft Herbs Fresh for Months
There are a lot of reasons for wanting to make sure your herbs last a long time. Maybe you know that your grocery store won't have decent parsley in the winter. Maybe you're taking a last-minute trip and don't want to throw away your perfect batch of basil. Or perhaps you're simply like me, and buy a dozen different herbs at the farmer's market, only to remember that you can't make it through all of them before they go bad.
How To: 7 Deliciously Genius Things You Can Make in Your Microwave
Most of the time we only use the microwave to reheat or defrost, but you can actually save a lot of time by using it for cooking. These genius recipes make the most of this underused appliance, and also turn out some pretty tasty dishes.
How To: The Foil Lids on Your Snack Pack Foods = Handy Makeshift Spoons
You've packed your own lunch and can't wait to get to the little vacuum-sealed cup of dessert you brought along. You keep rummaging in the bottom of the bag, searching for the spoon you're certain you packed…except you didn't. Uh-oh.
How To: 5 Unconventional Uses for Leftover Cookie Dough
While I frown upon any form of uneaten cookie, sometimes we overestimate our late-night cravings for baked goods leaving us with extra cookie dough at 4 a.m. If you're in the privileged dilemma of not having enough excess dough to make another batch of cookies but just enough left over that you can't justify tossing it, don't fret. Here are five effortless and unexpected ways to salvage it.
How To: Could This Clever Trick Really Keep Bacon from Shrinking?
Part of the reason bacon tastes so good is because of its high fat content, but that also means that it shrinks significantly when you cook it. How much it shrinks depends on how fatty it is and what method you use to cook it. Bacon cooked on the stovetop shrinks quite a bit more than bacon that's baked in the oven. DIY blog Franalan tested a Pinterest tip that claimed rinsing bacon under cold water before cooking it could reduce the shrinkage by up to 50 percent. Yes, we just wrote about how...
How To: Genius—Butter Corn on the Cob While You're Cooking It, Not After
Corn on the cob is one of the most popular accompaniments to a bountiful meal shared with a group because it's cheap, easy to prepare in a number of different ways, filling, and fun to eat. The butter is passed around the table for guests to smooth onto their own cooked ear of maize, then people dive in once everyone's corn is dripping with golden goodness.
How To: 10 Insanely Delicious Pizza Dough Hacks
If I could survive on one food for the rest of my life, it would be pizza. The irresistible smell of baking pizza instantly makes me feel both comforted... and hungry!
News: The All-Natural Secret to Turning Food Purple
Even if you haven't heard of ube (pronounced "OO-beh"), you've probably seen pictures of desserts made with this brilliant purple yam.
How To: 15 Clever Ways to Use Coffee Filters for More Than Just Java
Even if you've put aside your percolator and have gone the way of the pod coffeemaker, there are still dozens of ways to use your leftover coffee filters. Incredibly cheap, absorbent, and shaped with a ruffle, coffee filters are useful in the kitchen, garden, and around the house.
How To: The Easiest Way to Prep, Peel, & Cube a Butternut Squash for Your Favorite Fall Recipes
Fall is the season of obnoxious food trends. You can't go out to eat or to the grocery store without seeing something pumpkin spice- or candy corn-flavored. Less annoying, but equally prevalent is the butternut squash. For the next several months, we will be pelted with recipes for butternut squash soup, butternut squash risotto, stuffed butternut squash... and the list goes on. Butternut squash is everywhere. But how many people actually know how to prep the stuff?
How To: Make Homemade Nutella (That's Better Than the Real Stuff)
It is a universal truth that Nutella is the nectar of the gods. It takes the already delicious (e.g., sandwiches, cupcakes, or even bacon), and turns it into something magical. Everyone also knows homemade is always better. So if you're looking to step up your baking game, follow these instructions from Cookies, Cupcakes, and Cardio and make your very own Nutella!
How To: Kill Your Cold Naturally with These 5 Common Ingredients
Uh-oh: you wake up one morning with the telltale signs that you are coming down with something. Your throat is sore, you can barely breathe out of your nose, and you have a nagging cough.
Tastes as Amazing as It Sounds: Make Sushi with Sriracha Instead of Seaweed
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.
How To: The Quickest, Most Painless Way to Peel Peaches, Tomatoes, & Other Thin-Skinned Fruit
Peaches—to peel, or not to peel? For some, it's not a question at all. The fuzz on the outside of the fruit is enough to turn some off to it completely, even though the peel doesn't have a bitter taste. Others may not mind the peel, but don't want it in their pie or cobbler. Regardless, getting rid of it is a gigantic pain.
How To: Make an Instant Slushy
Want a to make any drink into a delicious semi-frozen drink called a slushy? Usually this means putting your desired drink in the freezer and waiting until it reaches the desired state of being frozen. However, with this awesome method you can have a frozen slushy drink in just a few minutes!
How To: 5 Baking Substitutions Every Home Cook Should Know
Few things in life are as relaxing and enjoyable as baking. When I'm having a bad day, I make cookies. When I'm stressed out, I bake a cake. When I have a free Sunday with nothing to do but listen to music and drink coffee, I bake a tart or a batch of cupcakes.
How To: 10 Reasons to Drag Your Egg Slicer Out of the Back of Your Drawer
I have to confess: my egg slicer has been neglected ever since I bought it. I had ambitious dreams of using it to slice perfectly symmetrical slivers of hard-boiled egg into my salads... but the truth is, once I tucked it into a kitchen drawer, I completely forgot about it. That is, until recently when I discovered that it can be used to slice way more than just eggs.
Kitchen First Aid: How to Treat Minor Cooking Injuries with Food
Minor mishaps occur all the time in the kitchen, whether you cut your finger while dicing an onion, scorched your hand in a grease fire, or burned the roof of your mouth because you were to eager to taste-test your killer pasta sauce.
How To: Stop Tossing Food—Expiration Dates Mean Nothing
I'll admit it: I ignore expiration dates. No matter if it's a sell-by date, "best if used before" date, or even a use-by date, I don't care. I just check for signs of food decay and keep on eating.
Pop Rocks Recipes: Add Some Fireworks to Your Food
If you're a child of the '70s, then you'll probably remember Pop Rocks, those fizzy little candies that created such a buzz. They went out of style in the States for a while, but now they're back with retro status. I was surprised to see them in my kids' Halloween bags a few years ago, and one taste brought me back to my childhood.
How To: Get Tender, Juicy Meat with This Common Kitchen Staple
Tender is the name of the game when it comes to cooking damn delicious meat, but achieving that succulent texture isn't always easy.
News: 10 More Egg Hacks That You Shouldn't Live Without
You may have caught our prior list of excellent egg hacks. Well, we've rounded up 10 more awesome tips and tricks to perfect your egg game. Check 'em out below.
How To: 10 Stuffed Avocado Recipes to Die For
A perfectly ripe avocado half is a lovely snack, and a creamy bowl of homemade guacamole can make a meal. But the following ten ideas take green-eating up a notch by stuffing avocado halves with your favorite salads and ingredients, turning them into a snack or side dish fit for a king.
How To: Why White Sugar Is the Only Type of Sugar You Need in Your Kitchen
I'll bet this scenario will sound familiar to you: you're in the middle of making a spectacular dessert that will knock the socks off of your guests, and you've almost finished gathering all of your ingredients to create your mise en place. The last ingredient listed is powdered sugar, and you reach for where it's stored, when—drat! You don't have enough for the recipe.
How To: French Fry Pizza Crust—Your Drunk Self Will Thank You Later
We've heard of putting French fries on a slice of cheese pizza; after all, two fast-food favorites together are almost always better than one by itself. But French fries used as the crust of a pizza in lieu of traditional dough? That's an entirely different ball game. Don't Miss: 9 Pizza Hacks You Need to Try Before You Die
How To: The Deliciously Lazy Way to Make Creamy Risotto at Home
Why are people so afraid of risotto? Contrary to what a lot of home cooks seem to believe, it's really not a difficult dish to make yourself. Sure, there's a lot of stirring involved, but it's not nearly the culinary beast it's made out to be. The real deterrent to making homemade risotto isn't that it's hard—it's that it requires a lot of attention. Risotto needs a lot of babying. Part of the process involves standing over it for 20 to 30 minutes at the stove, stirring almost constantly whil...
Ingredients 101: Buying, Grinding, & Tempering Spices
The world of spices can be bewildering. They promise to make your food more flavorful if you know how to make the most of them. Unless you know a couple of essential tricks, however, it just seems like you're adding bits of colored powder to your food.