A very good pot of rice has the ability to transform a humble dinner of vegetables into a venerable feast. Rice is easy to find, inexpensive, and the perfect blank slate for the base of many classic dishes — stir-fry, butter chicken, and red beans come to mind.

A rice cooker is handy if you cook rice (and other grains) regularly and if you’ve got the space to store it, but you don’t actually need any special equipment or ingredients to cook up a pot of stunningly simple, tender, and fluffy rice.

In fact, all you really need is a cup of rice, a pot, and a stovetop. Here are the three best ways to cook long-grain white rice, brown rice, and aromatic rices — like jasmine and basmati — on the stovetop.

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One of the brutal side effects of chemotherapy is that it can dramatically change a person’s sense of taste. Previously enjoyed foods might taste bitter or unpleasant, or sometimes people report that all food suddenly seems to taste like nothing at all. This makes it more difficult for people to enjoy going out, share meals with friends and family, and keep themselves nourished while battling cancer.

Now a new food initiative wants to provide free cooking classes designed specifically for people who are living with cancer.

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The Pillsbury Bake-Off, at least in my mind, has always espoused certain values: good taste and convenience in the kitchen. This year, the Bake-Off rewarded something else: story-telling. Every recipe has a story, and those stories have inspired a now-familiar blog format. Readers are treated to a glimpse into the author’s life, followed by a recipe that ties it all together. It’s a format we love, because who doesn’t want to know what people eat? (Well, maybe a lot of people, but I want to know.)

Winning recipe developer Amy Nelson captured the taste buds and hearts of this year’s Bake-Off judges and fans with her recipe for bejeweled cranberry-orange rolls. Amy might not be classically trained, but she has a lifetime of experience that has gone into her cooking and her writing, and she cooks with a lot of heart. The Pillsbury Bake-Off rewards that experience.

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Cabbage is one of those unsung heroes in the kitchen. You might not think too much about it, but it can be one of the most versatile veggies in your arsenal. From traditional slaws and salads to Indian-inspired curries and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, we predict you’ll be eating a lot of cabbage.

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I have a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old who come home from school every day begging for snacks, no matter how hearty a lunch I pack for them. The challenge is that I don’t want to spoil their dinner appetite with a sweet treat, but I also want to give them something to fuel their afternoon play time.

While cheese and apples are one of our go-tos, and there are plenty of packaged snacks on the market, it is sometimes nice to make something more substantial that we can all enjoy.

Here are 10 of our family’s favorite after-school snack recipes for kids and grown-ups alike.

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A slow cooker can work wonders for so many ingredients, but where it really shines is with inexpensive cuts of meat. It can turn a plain pound of ground beef into something that’s moist, juicy, and extra flavorful, thanks to it’s slow and steady cook time.

These seven recipes prove you can churn out a whole lot of crowd-pleasing dinners with the help of the trusty appliance.

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As of 2016, almond milk was the most popular milk of all milks in the United States. And even with all the newcomers — cashew milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, oat milk — we’d guess it’s still the darling of the “mylks.” But does it deserve its spotlight in the non-dairy section of your supermarket?

Here are a few things you should know about almond milk.

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Let’s face it — sometimes the side dishes are just better. Yes, chicken is great, and we’ll never say no to a burger, but aren’t we really just here for the luscious steak fries, perfectly crunchy slaw, and irresistible veggie casseroles?

Today we’re celebrating the supporting cast of the dinner table with our 27 favorite scene-stealing side dishes.

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There’s so much to love about the classic Italian-American combination of pasta and meatballs — the simplicity, the ease of customization, and the absolutely delicious way it perfumes your house with cozy smells. This time around, double down on everything you love about this combo in the form of a baked casserole to serve the hungriest of crowds.

To keep things interesting we’re introducing a smoky element with the addition of canned, fire-roasted tomatoes.

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When I was growing up, I wanted nothing more than to bring a big bowl of buttery popcorn and glass of chocolate milk upstairs to my room. But there was just no way that would ever fly with my mom. She had no real issue with what I wanted to eat — it was where I wanted to eat it.

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