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Pandemic or not, knowing useful baking substitutes is essential for any home baker. As a chef, I can tell you, the most important skill in the kitchen is adaptability. While in lockdown for the last 44 days, I can assure you, that I have run out of all sorts of pantry/baking essentials; from flour to […]

Salt is essential for life and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Such a vast topic, one can even find entire books dedicated to this very subject. One of the most well-known books is “Salt, A World History,” by Mark Kurlansky, a fascinating read, should you be interested. I am a salt fanatic. […]

This is not a typical blog post of mine, complete with recipes.  I know that it’s back-to-school time for us and a lot of other families.  The dread of packing school lunches can be a daunting task for parents, myself included.  So this is a photo post to inspire you with lunch ideas as you […]

Everyone should know how to make a great cheese board.  I love cheese, I always have and I always will.  It is my guilty pleasure.  To this day, I will order it over dessert in a heartbeat.  What can I say: we are who we are.  My older son is the same.  Even without trying, […]

My husband loves pickles; well, anything pickled actually.  I honestly think it runs in the family, his father, one of his brothers, our nephew and one of our kids are the same.  It is a deep love.  As a Father’s Day gift a few years ago, I gave my husband a “Pickle Every Month” subscription […]

Step 1: Trim, and wash chicken breast, pat dry with a paper towel. Place on a cutting board. Step 2: Place your hand (palm side down) on the chicken, slightly off center. With a sharp chefs knife, slowly and carefully entering from the top right hand corner, begin to slice through the chicken breast. Step […]

Some fruits are hard to tackle. Cutting a pineapple safely is crucial to avoid accidents and injuries. Many of the steps below can also be used when cutting other round fruits such as melons. Why the Proper Technique is Important Sharp Edges: Pineapples have tough, spiky skin and a hardcore. Without proper technique, there’s a […]

General rule, cakes need to be trimmed before frosting.  This is especially important if you are making a layer cake of any kind.  It is not your fault when you bake a cake, it does not come out of the oven with uniform height: one part may bulge, or some other part may sink, Making it […]

Since I was a young kid, I have always enjoyed artichokes.  I liked them because, unlike everything else I ate, they did not require a fork (and the melted butter too!).  Now I make artichokes often.  My kids now enjoy them for the very same reasons.   It was not until I was a grown-up that I learned […]

You know what I’m talking about right? You reach for some bananas, but in doing so, your arm grazes a vast assortment of odd-looking specialty fruit.  Brightly colored, with spikes, prickly, some even flower-like in appearance.  What are these crazy-looking fruits and what the heck do you do with them if you are adventurous enough […]