Blog Archives
Cheat Code: Garlic Oil
Whether for heating your home or cooking, oil is expensive, there’s no doubt about it. The process of making cooking oils is labor intensive and requires literally squeezing oil out of little things like olives or various seeds. And if you want a flavor infused oil? Be prepared to shell out even more money, usually for really small amounts. Luckily it’s pretty easy to make your own flavor infused oil at home!
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Cheat Codes: Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
Picture the scene: It’s midnight. An adorable mid-20s couple wanders into the kitchen in their PJs with the intent of making chocolate chip cookies. Then, disaster; they discover that they are out eggs. How this happened, no one knows. But there’s nothing that can be done about it now. What do they do? Do they give up on having cookies? Do they go to bed without dessert? No! They adapt!
“But what did they do?” asks the little bird.
Food 101: Barbecue Basics and How To Grill
It’s the first official day of Summer, and you can bet your ass there’s gonna be ton of barbecues today! The two go hand in hand, thanks to grilling being a particularly outdoorsy activity. Sure, you can barbecue food during winter, but the comic relief will be off the charts. Beside that, there’s still just something charming about seasonal cuisines, and so leaving the grilled food to summertime just seems right in a sense. Grilled foods, afterall, are one of the healthiest ways to cook. They contain less fat due to it dripping away under the high heat, and don’t need breading or extensive manipulation, meaning they’re easy to prepare gluten-free or for people with other food allergies.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Some people don’t know how to grill. What do you do if you’ve never done it before? Hell, as far as cooking methods go, grilling is potentially one of the more… not ‘dangerous’ ones per se, but rather you do need to know the proper techniques involved in grilling or you can either injure yourself or just totally ruin the food. If you’re an out and out dad and can grill in your sleep, fantastic. This post is here for everyone who’s trying it for the first time, or just wants the knowledge for future reference.
Spices 101: What is Cumin?
Cumin is an awesome spice. Cumin is by far my favorite spice. The best way I can describe it, is that it smells like an armpit and makes everything taste like a taco.
I know that sounds kinda weird but trust me, cumin is really useful. It complements other flavors really well in spice blends and despite its funky smell, it’s never overbearing when you use it in cooking. I love throwing it into everything from curries to dry rubs to breading. It’s exotic enough to be interesting, but not something you have to pay top-dollar for.
Cumin
Origin: Mediterranean / India
Appearance: Greyish-tan powder OR long, tan seeds with lines
Scent: B.O., Peppery
Taste: Warm, earthy
Foods: Indian cuisine, Latino cuisine
Rareness: Average
Spices 101: What is Turmeric?
I’m really interested in spices and seasonings. Afterall 90% of the time they’re responsible for making a dish taste like what it does. If variety is the spice of life, then spices are the spice of food. Or something. That’s why I’ve started this column to introduce exotic and interesting spices to readers unfamiliar with them. I can’t help but remember the first time I saw a bottle of cumin and asked my mother “Mom, what’s ‘cummin’?” Many years later I’d like to think I have a pretty impressive knowledge of all the different spices out there, so now it’s time to share that knowledge.
Turmeric
Origin: India
Appearance: Fine yellow powder
Scent: Earthy, woody
Taste: Mild, mustard–like
Foods: Indian cuisine, Asian cuisine, curries
Rareness: Average
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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