Dear Home Ec 101, If a recipe calls for vegetable oil, is extra virgin olive oil a suitable replacement or is there a specific reason for vegetable oil? Signed, Slick in Slatesville Heather says: It depends on the recipe in question. In baking, oils are often specified for their lack of taste, so for baking … Read more
Dear Home Ec 101, I’m a young wife who doesn’t have a lot of experience cooking. My husband’s birthday is tomorrow, and I really want to make him something nice. I tried asking him what he’d like, but he says it doesn’t matter. Well, it matters to me. I want him to have a nice … Read more
Brian says: Growing up in my house, bacon fat was practically the Salve of the kitchen. My mother, aunts, older cousins and grandmothers down the line all used bacon fat for everything. I do mean everything. For example, whenever it came to Sunday dinner ideas, mom would always make sure there was a can of … Read more
Heather says: Fearless Fridays are all about pushing boundaries in the kitchen. It’s trying new techniques, recipes, or ingredients. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. All of you are welcome to share your recent kitchen adventures either in the link list or by sharing in the comments. A lot of people forget that cooking is … Read more
Heather says: Today we’re continuing with our knife skills series with how to dice a tomato. Since I don’t have a photographer or an extra set of hands at my disposal -the latter would totally ruin my frequent “I only have two hands, wait a minute” excuse- the reader should know that during the actual … Read more
Heather says: You’ve heard that rice and beans can reduce your grocery budget. On the rare occasion, we have ham, I freeze the bone and save it for a week when I need our grocery dollars to stretch just a bit further. Cornbread rounds out the meal nicely and keeps the grand total, for us, … Read more