Kitchen Safety

Last week, I covered what to keep in your kitchen as far as tools and staple foods. Well, that’s all fine and good, but if your kitchen’s an OSHA nightmare or a Hazmat zone, having all the right stuff isn’t going to make a difference. Today, I’d like to cover some basics of kitchen safety, particularly the stages before and after food is cooked. Though much of what follows is just common sense, not all of it is common knowledge. Take this stuff to heart, folks; it might mean your life or that of your loved ones…

Back to Basics: Broth & Stock

If you've ever wondered why restaurant soups & sauces taste so much better than most that are made at home, I got 1 word for you: stock. A lot of people don't understand the difference between broth and stock, and I don't really blame them. I didn't either, until I made some myself. The stock was soooooo much richer, and imparted an amazing flavor that I'd never been able to achieve using the canned broth I'd been buying from the store. The secret is in the bones and connective tissues; all that cartilage and bone marrow contain collagen, which turns into gelatin when heated... yeah, the stuff that Jello is made of? Beef bones. Betcha didn't see THAT coming. ;)

What To Keep in Your Cave, Part I: Tools

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed something and didn’t have it? Don’t you wish someone had told you before that you needed it so that you wouldn’t find yourself in that situation? I’m sure we all have. Today’s post is all about making sure you’ve got the right tools for the job, right when and where you need them. Though this list is pretty long, I’ll bet dollars to (gluten-free) donuts that you’ve got a good two-thirds of it in your kitchen already. The other third is stuff you probably don’t have room for, can’t afford (yet), or have never even heard of. Aren’t you glad you’ve got me to help you with this stuff? =)