TIP OF THE DAY: Pasta & Breadcrumbs

For crunch, toss breadcrumbs on your pasta (photo © Monkey Business | Fotolia).   In southern Italy, toasted breadcrumbs, instead of grated cheese, are often sprinkled over pasta. You don’t even need a sauce for this authentic recipe—just toss the pasta in extra virgin olive oil. The custom survives in the U.S. largely as macaroni…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Pasta & Breadcrumbs”

TIP OF THE DAY: Lemon Zest

If you’re zesting lemons, limes, oranges or other citrus for a recipe, buy organic fruit if you can. Conventional citrus crops are heavily sprayed with pesticides, and a simple rinse won’t dislodge all of it from the nooks and crannies of the rind. The zest is the outermost part of the rind of citrus fruits…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Lemon Zest”

TIP OF THE DAY: The Right Cooking Oil

When you’re making a choice of cooking oil at the supermarket, do you know why you choose that particular type? Is it habit, what your mother used, whatever is on sale? There are three reasons to pick a cooking oil: 1. The first is for your health: Unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, are…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: The Right Cooking Oil”

TIP OF THE DAY: Fresh Cookies

Today’s tip is short and sweet: refreshing cookies. Whether homemade or store-bought, you can make your cookies taste like they’re fresh-baked by microwaving them for five seconds before serving. Try it: You’ll become an instant convert to this easy technique. How to store cookies. The history of cookies. The different types of cookies: our beautiful…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Fresh Cookies”