If you’ve ever attempted your favorite Mexican restaurant’s rice at home and failed, raise your hand. Well you can put it down now, because this one is my all-time family favorite and I think it will become yours too. To be honest, I like it so much better than the rice usually served when I dine out.
Welcome to the new year, friends! Are you feeling refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready for a new year in the kitchen? We are, too! Official “resolutions” can be weighty and intimidating; we find simpler, more accessible changes to be far more inspiring and life-changing, which is why we’ve put together this list of 10 small ways to make your kitchen just a little better, easier, and more enjoyable this year.
Until recently, I believed handcrafted soaps were best left to the artisans who make and sell them in specialty stores and boutiques. But thanks to my dear friend Donna, who makes soap every December for holiday gifts, I learned that handmade soap is easy and attainable for everyone.
Placing homemade soap by your kitchen sink is a constant reminder of care and warmth in an otherwise cold string of winter months. With only a few basic supplies and pieces of equipment, you can create enough soap to last you until spring.
There really is nothing quite like a multi-day cooking project to ease winter’s biting chill, and with the current temperatures in the single digits I’m sure we could all use an activity to bide our time indoors. These Southern-style tamales are the perfect way to get your friends and family off the couch and into the kitchen, and a batch is guaranteed to keep your minds occupied and bellies warm!
By now, we’ve all met our quota of eggnog, peppermint, and pumpkin-spice inspired hot chocolate (not to mention a lifetime supply of plain cocoa), but we still need something sweet to warm us up on a wintery night.
I’ve got a soft spot for white hot chocolate, which is as comforting as a glass of hot milk can be, but equally snooze-inducing.
Winter has certainly arrived with a vengeance! There’s only one antidote to these snowy days with their record low temperatures: a simmering pot of soup on the stove. Soups like pumpkin chili and Minnesota wild rice have a near-magical ability to warm our toes and erase the memory of shoveling out the car. We want to make sure you stay warm and nourished this cold season, so here are 10 vegetarian soups that are sure to keep the chill at bay.
Commercial baking mixes are pretty mainstream these days. What was once a novelty for our grandmothers is common place today. Some folks can’t dream of making pancakes or muffins without a box. I myself once thought that was baking “from scratch.”
Unfortunately, despite their convenience, these boxed mixes contain dubious ingredients and often lack substance or flavor. For those with nut allergies, using a boxed mix can be counterproductive when the mixes are manufactured in the same facility as nut products. Boxed mixes might be cheap with sales and coupons but they taste factory-made. There is a better way, a much better way.
A new year means new goals. And for many people that includes changing food habits, cutting down on junk, and eating better. Sounds good. In theory. But resolutions around diets tend to be tedious and limiting, and are about as exciting as a bowl of wilted Brussels sprouts. And who really wants to kick off 2014 with a list of should nots and cannots?
What if this year, instead of making a resolution to eat more healthfully, we make a promise to cook more playfully? And instead of focusing on items to cut out (chips, butter, cheese) we focus on ingredients to use in their place (kale, avocado, and butternut squash). See what I did there? I’m talking about replacements instead of restrictions. And that sounds a lot more exciting. Let’s start with broccoli.
Though it may be chilly outside, I think the beginning of the year is an excellent time for a glass of homemade grapefruit ginger soda. I came up with this recipe when my partner swore off commercial soda, and after months of holiday indulgence, the light and tangy fizz is most welcome. The soda is sweetened with honey, not sugar, and the ginger provides a note of warmth for winter.
Our kitchen is far from large. There is only enough counter space for one person; the stove and refrigerator can’t be opened at the same time; and we’ve grown accustomed to running into each other as we rush to finish a project or perform time-sensitive cooking tasks.
When pressed for space, we already use the stovetop as an impromptu counter. It seemed only natural to convert this space into something usable. If you have a tiny kitchen and covet just a little more counter space, then come along with us as we show you how we created our cozy burner covers.
