Posts in "Cooking 101"

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, we send out an email newsletter to our fans (sign-up for mor.sl to be added to our email list!). In them, we offer nerdy debates around the week’s events/news/scandals — of course, we always tie them back to food.

Most of the bloggers that I've come to adore make everything from scratch. While I'd love to follow in their footsteps, I'm just not there yet. I still use canned beans instead of cooking my own (in case you're wondering why that matters, it's because the canned ones have salt, preservatives and BPAs.

Happy election day! I wanted to share something all American today, and the latest Americana treat that I have concocted is strawberry butter. It feels a bit country, a bit state fair and a bit home on the range.

Over the summer I was not keen to spend Sundays in my kitchen, what with the beach beckoning and the temperatures sweltering. Finally this weekend we had some autumnal 70s weather with dramatic clouds on the horizon and I was inspired to make my grand reentrance to kitchen stadium.

One of my favorite kitchen quick fixes is avocado toast. Appropriate for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner, on its own or with a simple bite of soup or eggs, it is a very versatile little dish.

Chocolate lovers and PMS-victims, rejoice: your search for the world's most perfect chocolaty treat ends here. As I begin to write about said treat, my mouth is beginning to water and my tummy is beginning to rumble.

If you were not unplugged on a summer getaway, it was hard to miss the news a few weeks back that Nora Ephron had passed away. I, sheepishly, was not all that familiar with Nora and her work, but as I read her list of things she wouldn't miss (dry skin, email) and what she would (waffles, the concept of waffles), I decided to top off my summer reading list with her books.

There are different kinds of people in the world when it comes to cooking: the plan aheaders, the last minute frenzy cook, the i-don't-cook cook. I fall somewhere in between the first two.

So, remember when I said I was trying to shift towards the Hunter, Gatherer's way of eating? I really meant it. It's a slow transition and it's very imperfect, but at the very least I'm consciously buying leafy greens, sulfur-rich veggies, and bright colored produce when I'm at the supermarket.

I grew up eating Bisquick pancakes. I loved them (what kid doesn't?). But when I actually 'grew up,' I didn't buy Bisquick. Why? If I wanted brunch, I'd go out with my girlfriends to get some.

Lizzy, my grill and pizza guru, taught me my latest and greatest trick: grilled middle eastern flat bread. I never thought to try grilling dough, but oddly, it works. If you have a gas grill, I cannot recommend this kitchen hack highly enough.

New Year's day is good for a few things: hang overs, good luck beans and resolutions. So as I sat at a sunny brunch at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, haunting menus for beans, when asked what my resolution was, I made a snap decision.

Ever since the re-entrance of popovers into my life as well as a Christmas gifting of a cast iron pan, my pan favoritism has been turned upside down. I have started to select what to cook based on whether I can justify using my cast iron pan or not.

I love cooking and dinner is sacred in our house - candles, no tv, music, real conversation - but it wears me out. So this year I've resolved to spend less time on dinner. That means the following: Being more decisive when selecting what to cook (making and maintaining a want-to-cook list and selecting something when needed;

I'm clearly on some kind of deep frying kick -- between zucchini fritters and french fries, I'm draining my way through canola oil at an alarming rate. I'm all for eating healthy, but my motto (well, I stole it from my dad), is "everything in moderation.

As my bratty, younger self, I would only accept two special weekend breakfast dishes: Belgian waffles and popovers. In my mature twenties, I have welcomed farmers' market eggs and all sorts of tomfoolery into my breakfast repertoire.

Happy cyber Monday! While we don't have any deals to share, we are hard at work processing photos from the Thanksgiving smorgasbord to share with cyber space. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a quick tip that was really driven home for me at this year's feast: wash as you go.

Despite (or maybe because of) my general "foodiness", I am a pretty picky eater. I just don't see the point of eating non delicious meals. Life is too short. So, about five years, I issued a family edict.

Granted, I hadn't paid much attention to Julia Child until I watched Julie & Julia, but there after I became somewhat enamored by her. It was actually after reading My Life in Paris that I fell in love.

I've always loved giant white beans, but they alluded me for years. I didn't understand why beans in good restaurants were so superior to beans in a can. Thus began my legume quest.