Stop Overvaluing Your Time

Heather says: I promise, I’m not going to wax all nostalgic and talk about how no one ever wishes they’d have swept just one more time. No, that’s not my direction at all. Yesterday, I was listening to This Week in Tech, mostly because I’m a huge geek and partly because my cabinets needed scrubbing. …

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Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day Americans remember those who have died serving their country. It also signifies the unofficial kickoff to summer. As you take advantage of this long weekend, please remember those who have helped make it possible. Many people will be firing up their grills for the first cookout of the year. Don’t …

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Bechamel, White Sauce: A How To

Dear Home Ec 101, On Sunday you mentioned you didn’t like adding Cream of Something Soup. A lot of my recipes call for Cream of Chicken or Mushroom. Am I just not supposed to make those recipes? Signed, Connie V. Nience Heather says: Not at all, there is a very easy substitute and unless you …

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Lox on Fearless Friday

Heather says: Welcome to this week’s Fearless Friday. It’s a chance to push against your usual culinary boundaries. We have nearly 2,000 readers here on Home-Ec101.com and with that audience there are cooks of every level. Did you try a new recipe, learn a new technique, or did you sample a new food? Whatever steps …

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Pineapple Grilled Chicken

Heather says: I have friends who won’t touch bone-in chicken. I’ll admit it, I’m not a huge fan of leq quarters. What I am a fan of is any marinade that makes cheap chicken enjoyable. Short and sweet, this one does the trick. Ingredients: 10oz canned pineapple in its juice (about 1/2 a can) 1/2 …

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Chicken Stock from Chicken Feet

Heather says: The point of this series is to show off our successes and failures. Please don’t be intimidated by pictures of pretty food here and on other blogs. If you go back through the archives you will see it has taken me over two years to become competent. We have just shy of 2000 …

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What is Fearless Friday?

Heather says: So, what’s the deal with this Fearless Friday series? Not everyone is adventurous in the kitchen. Many of us have a narrowly defined menu that we chose from week in and week out. The same ingredients, the same techniques, the same flavors. These ruts develop either by habit of by a distrust of …

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Scratch Cooking: The Whys

Heather says: I had totally planned on starting a new series today, Kitchen Bravery. It’s meant to be an encouragement for cooks to step outside their usual bounds and try new things, but there was a comment on How to Use Dry Beans in Recipes Bottled water for cooking? That’s pretty wasteful. Not to mention …

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