I usually don't change out the water entirely when I do the quick soak method for dry beans. I feel that doing that and rinsing them causes them to lose some of their flavour.

Second on the olive oil and veg/peanut oil. To add to that, sesame oil has an even lower smoking point than olive and shouldn't be used to cook with at all. Just use it as a flavour enhancer at the end of making a stir fry or something. And you don't need a ton.

This isn't much of a tip, but it is something that irks me: using the word "chili" when referring to peppers (jalepenos, Serrano, etc). The correct term is "chilEs". With an E. The term "chili" refers to the dish.

After chopping garlic, to get the smell off your hands, wipe them on the sides/bottom of your sink. The metal neneutralizes it.

When making hamburgers, use your thumb and make an indentation in the middle on one side. This will make the patty not be warped when it's cooked.

If you're baking something that isn't dessert, don't even bother with preheating the oven. Just throw your food in there and turn it on to whatever temp it's supposed to be cooked at. You'll have to pay a bit closer attention to it, but it cuts down on cook time and saves a bit on the electric/gas bill.

Heating up tortillas directly over a gas flame is pretty much the only way tortillas should ever be heated up. Yes ), I'm referring to corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are gross and should be outlawed entirely. Also good cooked directly over a gas flame? Corn on the cob. Char it a bit on all sides until it's warmer up, slather on some mayo, a squeeze of lime, and some Mexican fruit seasoning like Klass or Tajin and you've got elotes/Mexican street corn. Or you could just sling some butter on it. Whatever.

Buy meats in bulk and portion them out into 2/3 person serving sizes and freeze what you don't plan to use immediately. It might be expensive in the short term, but it actually does save a bit of moneym. Especially if you have a brony who's got a membership to Costco or Sam's Club that will take you shopping with them.

In fact, also buy snacks and things just all in one bag as opposed to those individual portions and portion them out yourself at home.

I wash and save and re-use my Ziploc bags. True story. Them trouts are kind of expensive. I also try and re-use my aluminum foil if possible. XD

A good way to tell if an avocado is ripe is to dig out that little woody bit at the end.


Want perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs without that grey color around the yolk? Put the raw eggs in a pot of COLD water, being to a rolling boil then turn the heat off and cover the pot with a lid. Let sit for 16 minutes then rinse under cold running water until they're cool enough to peel. You can also add a dash of vinegar to the pot to help with peeling them without smurfing up the egg.

I can't stand wasted food. If I'm chopping veggies for something and some parts need to be thrown out, I'll try and save those discarded parts for a veggie / chicken stock. I also save the bones from rotisserie and bone-in chicken parts for stock. It's super yummy if you roast all the bones together in the oven before boiling. Also handy: once you've made a stock, reduce it down a lot a lot a lot and then ladle it into an ice cube tray and freeze for later use! You'll have to add water back in obviously, bbut yeah.


I'm sure there's a ton more I've got. Heh..