Ten reads that made us think, made us giggle, or made us hungry this week, from a crazy morning TV chef to new sugar consumption guidelines (take a wild guess what they say).

• On the one hand, this video of a fake chef who made morning show hosts eat gross food is kind of sad. On the other hand, I can’t stop giggling. — Anjali
• Great idea: SipSnap, spill-proof drinking lids for kids that’ll fit any cup. – Cambria
• Gah. Are any plastics safe for food anymore? – Emma
• This it what happens when you feed Thai chiles to strangers in Times Square. – Ariel
• How Pabst Blue Ribbon became a billion-dollar beer. – Faith

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My husband and I really love our coffee. Do you? Maybe you too have a French press, an Aeropress, a Chemex, and a good burr grinder. (Oh, coffee toys; what a dangerous habit!) But there’s one sort of coffee we don’t make right now, and that’s pour over, a simple yet craftsmanlike method of slowly and meditatively soaking coffee grounds set in a filter over a cup or pitcher.

It’s one of the simplest ways to brew, but ironically it also offers some of the fanciest toys. Here are five really lovely and luxurious setups for making pour over coffee, plus a few more things that, no matter how simple or elaborate your setup, are still essential.

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I cannot tell you how many months (eight? ten?) I have been intending to get a new spatula. As you can see in the bottom of the photo, my old spatula bears stains and deep scratches, frayed edges and a large missing chunk. Replacing Dear Old Spatula was the sort of thing I’d remember in the midst of using it, then put off until “later.” Last week when another little piece broke off, I realized I couldn’t ignore the situation any longer. I stopped cooking, pulled out my phone, and ordered TWO new spatulas on the spot. Why two? Let me explain…

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I recently came across a really old recipe post that I wrote about having a sweet potato for breakfast, and I noticed the date: May, 2006, which put me at about four and a half months pregnant. My mother was in town to help me on a project, and one day, she made me breakfast out of a leftover sweet potato with yogurt.

Given my circumstances at the time — pregnant, famished, and overworked — I thought I should revisit this concoction to see if it was still as good as I remember in that unique and compromised state. Taste bud memories don’t lie.

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I secretly love those little packets of hot cocoa mix — but I recently decided to quit buying them and start making my own. The nice thing about making your own hot cocoa mix is that you have free control over what goes into it (and what stays out of it). Like yours super chocolatey? No problem. Want to take down the sugar and add a bit of cayenne and cinnamon? Do it.

Today, I’m sharing my recipe for basic hot cocoa mix, plus a few suggestions for mix-ins that I’ve been loving lately.

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Who cooks and eats here: Ivka, her husband Angelo, and Totti the dog
Where: Florence, Italy
Rent or Own? Rent

Ivka’s Florence kitchen reflects her cooking philosophy: simple, clean, and no superfluous clutter or junk. Despite being a humble rental space, Ivka frequently and enthusiastically cooks up Italian classics for a crowd! When I visited her we shared a cup of her grandmother’s herbal tea (grown in her very own garden in Croatia!) and got to talking about food, culture, tradition and home cooking…

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@shanicarola’s first and second homework assignment

Are you participating in The Cooking Cure? All month long we’re helping you take a closer look at your daily meals and set new culinary goals to get you excited about cooking. If you’re sick of winter food or just need some fresh perspective, follow along! It’s always better with company.

Yesterday our assignment was to ask three specific questions about your breakfast habits. We checked out the #cookingcure hashtag to see how Day 2’s assignment went for you — here are some highlights!

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We’re halfway through Breakfast Week and we’ve given you plenty of virtuous and make-ahead breakfast ideas, so now let’s talk about cereal. And I don’t mean oatmeal, steel-cut or otherwise. I mean that delicious crunchy stuff that comes in a box. What’s your favorite kind? And has it stayed the same since childhood or have your tastes changed? Personally, I’ve been having a serious renewal in my love for cold cereal.

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voyagedanslamoon’s homework for the first assignment of The Cooking Cure

Are you playing along at home in our Cooking Cure? We’re embarked on a month of eyeballing our daily meal routines and finding some fresh ways to cook at home. Together! Everything is better together.

So far nearly 9000 of you are signed up. We checked out the #cookingcure hashtag to see how Day 1’s assignment went for you — here are some highlights!

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What’s stashed in your freezer? Do you have bags of spinach, corn, or other goodies hiding in the back? Time to pull them out and put them to work. We’re talking about ways to shop your freezer and make good meals out of frozen foods, and this week I want to talk about potatoes — one of my all-time favorite freezer staples.

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