Category Archives: Techniques

Technique: Steaming Eggs

This test of the best ways to cook ‘boiled’ eggs from Serious Eats was life changing! I now only steam my eggs, rather than boil them. It’s faster & easier. From the site: “Lower your eggs straight from the fridge into already-boiling water, or place them in a steamer insert in a covered pot steaming […]

Crispy EASY Oven roasted chicken thighs

Occasionally I run across a recipe that is so foolproof and versatile…that it’s ‘where have you been all my life?’ This is one of those recipes. I haven’t actually followed the exact recipe, but I’ve done variations on it several times — the key is the technique. I will note that if your thighs are […]

How to poach an egg

How to poach an egg. Easy step by step recipe, with all you need to know. A few things to keep in mind. 1. It is very important to use really fresh eggs. 2. You have to check the consistency of the egg after 3-5 minutes of cooking time in order to get a soft […]

Homemade Curry Powder Recipe

Curry Powder is a spice, which includes different whole spices, the word curry is an English word, because Curry Powder is a British invention; they use it for seasoning many Asian and Indian Curries. Curry Powder has many ingredients similar to Garam Masala but the purpose and taste of both is different, Garam Masala on […]

Freezing Chicken Stock (and other ingredients too!)

I was so excited to get silicone muffin pans, and muffin cups… They seemed like such a good idea. Well, I use the cups for actual muffins, on occasion, but I’ve not been happy with the muffin pans at all. But I’ve found an even better use for my silicone muffin pan, rather than baking […]

Ready to eat!
How to Make Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is a staple around our house – vanilla yogurt is one of the picky child’s favorite foods, and I’m a big fan of thick and creamy plain Greek yogurt. Yogurt is one of those foods that’s quite easy to make at home, but rarely attempted.  You don’t need a yogurt maker (although I think […]

How to make almond milk

Easy (step by step) almond milk recipe, perfect for dairy-free and vegan recipes. Get the Recipe: How to make almond milk

How to make valentine's day cupcakes by hello naomi
Top cupcakes with fondant (valentine’s version)

Many people are intimidated by fondant, but it’s really not that hard to make really lovely cupcakes with fondant and a few simple techniques.  Hello Naomi did this great tutorial on making these simple cupcake toppers, perfect for valentine’s day.  The technique could of course be used for all sorts of occasions– you’re only limited […]

How to peel ginger root

If you ever cook with ginger, you know how much of a difference it can make to use fresh ginger root instead of that dried powder stuff. The tricky part about using fresh ginger, though, is peeling it. It’s so bumpy and irregular that if you try to use a knife to cut away the […]

tamales
How to Make Tamales

Hi, I’m Emily! I’ve been inspired by Foodwhirl’s recipes so far, and am excited to contribute to it! My husband and I made tamales for Memorial Day, so I thought it would be a great recipe to share. We make tamales about once a year. They’re certainly time consuming, but making 6 dozen is as […]

Creamy Avocado Smoothie – Perfectly Paleo & Vegan

I’ve never really been a big smoothie fan. It just seemed like a quick way to drink a whole bunch of calories, and i’m not really into sweet drinks. But I’m doing a Fall fitness challenge this month at FitWit, and I’m trying to eat healthy and get all my fruits and veggies in. So […]

Baked Bacon

Easy clean up Bacon! Just as crispy as frying over the stove top! From the original site: I love bacon, and really who doesn’t! But frying it can be a bit messy and you can easily burn it. To be honest, my Grandma made the best bacon on the planet. It was in a pan […]

Pantry Friendly Tomato Sauce

Delicious Homemade Tomato Sauce! From the original site: Being Italian and married into an Italian family, sauce is a topic of much debate. Too sweet, too acidic, don’t add this, add that…so many variables and everyone has their own preference (and by preference, I mean the right way of doing things ;) ) Enter Alton […]

Taco Seasoning

DIY Taco Seasoning-Skip the Store-Bought Stuff! From the original site: I love making my own seasonings at home. You never need to worry about not having them on hand, thus avoiding running to the store like a maniac last minute :o, and they always test better in my opinion. Making your own seasonings can also […]

MAKING LIGHT BODIED APPLE WINE AT HOME

When we speak of wine, generally we think of grape wine. However, we can make wine with so many other fruits. Apples are a delightful option besides grapes. Here is a simple wine recipe made with apples. Ingredients: Apples of mixed variety 6 lbs Golden raisins ½ lb Sugar ( granulated) 3 lb Lemon 1 […]

Homemade Chai Ka Masala (Tea Spice)

This year for the first time I made Tea Masala at home luckily I had all the ingredients required in hand. A dash of Tea Masala can be used in cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, trifles or pumpkin cake, instead of opening different jars of spices it is always easy to add a teaspoon of Tea […]

Homemade Basil Pesto

If you love Italian food, you have to love the magic sauce that can take even the most mundane pasta to the level of a sublime dish. Every Italian family has their own secret recipe of Pesto, which is been passed on from generation to another as a legacy. The one rule for making this […]

Red Harissa

Harissa is a hot and explosive Moroccan Dip made of loads of variety of chilies and pepper, commonly served in Mediterranean restaurants. Harissa has its roots in Tunisia and slowly it’s popularity reached Libya, Algeria and now Morocco. Ingredients: 1 red bell pepper, whole 10-15 dried long red chilies 4 – 5 small red chilies […]

Apple Cinnamon Spread

For this Apple Cinnamon spread I chopped the apple but apples can be grated also, the texture of the spread should remain coarse and not very smooth, paste like. I have powdered cinnamon with me so I used that but while cooking apples whole cinnamon sticks can also be added and you can discard them […]

candy orange peel, how to make at foodwhirl.com
How to make candied orange peel

I used to love those candy orange slices you could get in the Brach’s candy section of most grocery stores (what ever happened to the Brach’s candy section?). You know the ones I’m talking about – the neon orange, sticky sweet, rolled in sugar, orange-segment shaped, jelly-like candies? Well, this is like the grown-up version […]

How to make Homemade Almond Butter (Recipes & Variations)

Making your own nut butters is really so fun and easy, I don’t know why I ever buy the storebought stuff.  Make your own, then you can eat it, and use it in other recipes!  And there are tons of ways to mix it up, too… read on. Here’s a recipe from Chockohlawtay on how to make your […]

How to Make Coconut Whipped Cream

Did you know you can make whipped cream out of coconut milk? This is such a neat idea for berries and cream or anything else that you’d like a tropical feeling whipped cream out of. Plus great if you have vegan or lactose intolerant friends. I found a couple of different techniques online, but mostly […]

How to pit cherries without a cherry pitter

A cherry pitter is one item that I don’t have, that I always wish I had that one time I want to make a pie or treat that requires fresh cherries.  But it’s (as Alton would say) a single tasker.  I spotted this via @craft magazine – a tutorial at Food52 on how to pit your cherries […]

How to Freeze Greens

Welcome again to Jennifer Locklin of Jane Deere!  For the second in her “Techniques” series, she brings us all the info we’d need to freeze greens for future use.  This swiss chard she’s working with here is just lovely.. she’s lucky enough to have grown her own, but you could of course use greens from […]

How to Roast Broccoli

Today’s inspiration is from @stayfordinner. I love roasted vegetables… and over at Can You Stay For Dinner, the hostess waxes poetic about the joys of broccoli, before providing a lovely tutorial on how to roast it yourself. Go see. Broccoli, all by her lonesome dove, is my favorite vegetable. She’s filling and fibrous, unfussily fancied […]