#it’s just vegetable oil like there’s plenty of other food or disposable things i have from her house that i’ve already used up

[lascapigliata]

i made brownies to contribute dessert and it just hit me last night that i did so with the brownie mix she used, adding walnuts bc she always does (my cousin picked up on this instantly too it was sweet actually), using her measuring cup and her whisk and her spatula and her vegetable oil and her baking pan. but it’s not even a memory i can look back on and you know, do in her honor. we didn’t bake together, i just ate and loved her desserts once they got to the table. so it’s just like a reminder bc i’m using all her stuff to make this thing

[seraphanangelica]

Can I please have scenarios or headcanons on how bnha characters (any that you like) would handle dealing with a ghost with their s/o who totally believes in the supernatural? Thank you in advance

I absolutely love this idea! As a firm believer of the supernatural myself, there was absolutely no way I could delay this response. So here you go!

How They And Their S/O Would Deal With Ghosts

💥This guy has only seen or heard about ghosts and spirits from horror movies. That’s all he cares about them. If they’re not in a movie, they have no existence. Of course, every time he says something along those lines, you roll your eyes and laugh to yourself at his blatant lack of attention to the supernatural.

💥You’ve tried, many times to prove just how real they were. And every single time it would go like this:

💥”I’m telling you, Katsuki, I’ve had experiences with them. You just don’t think they’re real becuase you haven’t.”

💥”Your experiences are just things you don’t want to give logical explanations to, dumbass.”

💥His point is proved further when nothing happens. And nothing happened for days after the last time you two had the repetitive conversation.

💥One day, as Katsuki woke up before you, he got out of bed and proceeded to go about his completely non-paranormal life. After giving you a light kiss on your forehead, he went downstairs to start preparing breakfast.

💥He stopped mid-stair though, as he heard another pair of feet pattering down the stairs behind him at a much quicker and softer pace. At first he thought it was you that had gotten up earlier than usual to spend more time with him in the mornings. He turned around to greet you with a smirk, his face falling slightly when he saw no one around.

💥Paying it no mind, he finished descending the stairs, and continued into the kitchen.

💥In the middle of sautéing vegetables, Katsuki reached out to grab the bottle of olive oil that sat on the counter to his left. He froze mid reach as he saw the barstool behind him rotate as if someone were sitting there out of the corner of his eye.

💥”Oh hell, no.” He still refused to take into account anything you’ve said about the matter.

💥Twenty minutes later, you were downstairs and eating breakfast, in the barstool next to the one that moved. You watched in curiosity as Katsuki leaned against the counter in front of you, crimson eyes darting from the empty seat then to you, then back again.

💥You were concerned, to say the least. “Katsuki, are you alright? You’re acting weird. Come sit down.”

💥He only shook his head and took a deep breath, looking you in the eyes. “Tell me about everything you know about ghosts. Now.”

💥And so you did. You told him everything you’ve been trying to tell him since you’ve known each other. The only difference was that this time, he was actually listening as if it were real and not a story.

💥When you finished he shook his head. “Look, I still don’t believe in this ‘ghost’ stuff, but-“ crash!

💥You’re heads snapped over to the source of the sound, your eyes settling on the plate that used to be next to Katsuki. It was now shattered on the floor, the pieces spreading out farther than the counter span. You knew Katsuki was freaking out but concealing it on the outside.

💥You couldn’t help but smile at your husband as his eyes still focused on the broken dish. “Don’t belive me now? We both know that dish was no where near the edge.”

💀Dabi would be disbelieving, but open to conversation. People talk about anime, right? It’s not real but makes for great small talk. He’d also be stupid. Very, very stupid.

💀The day he walked into the League of Villain’s hideout with an Ouija board under his arm, you thought he’d finally lost his mind.

💀”Are you crazy? Do you know the kind of stuff that happens when you use one of those things? You don’t know what you’re letting in!” You tried to reason with him, even coming up with ways to dispose of it without his knowledge. Unfortunately for you, he knew what you were up to and hid it.

💀”Oh come on. It’s just a little fun,” he teased you one night when he bagan setting it up in the center of your shared room. “What’s the worst that happen?”

💀”Asking ‘is anybody there’ is the stupidest thing you can do becuase thats inviting anything to come into the space. Secondly, you don’t know how to protect yourself against that kind of thing. The worst that can happen is possession, Dabi.” You scolded, leaning against the wall farthest from the board.

💀”Relax, Doll. I have someone in mind, actually. He didn’t really matter much, but I picked this from his wallet,” he reached into his pocket and tossed an ID card in your general direction. “See? Perfectly fine.”

💀It was not perfectly fine. You reluctantly joined him in the game, placing your fingers on the planchette, cringing with every subtle movement the burnt boy made. Because you didn’t want to do this in the first place, you let Dabi carry out the ‘ritual’.

💀As you would’ve guessed, the moment Dabi’s target was acquired, the planchette began moving, much to your dismay. Slowly, the letters formed a sentence. ‘You killed me.’

💀You shot a glare at your boyfriend. “What the hell did you do? Did you seriously just kill a man to contact him?”

💀He shrugged. “I caught the guy stealing from the convenience store, he had to go.”

💀”YOU STEAL FROM CONVENIENCE STORES!”

💀After you both said ‘goodbye’, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being watched. It practically consumed you as the next hours passed, your eyes always finding themselves back to the abandoned board that still laid on the floor.

💀”WHAT THE FUCK!?” Dabi shouted from the bathroom, his voice one of surprise and confusion. You darted into the small room, expecting a prank left by Twice or blood left by Toga (it happens), and to be pretty honest, you were expecting this too. From the mirror, you could see eight distinct and parallel scratches on his back, too fresh and too deep not to be ignored.

💀Without a word, you bounded over to the closet and wrenched the doors apart with a set purpose. Pushing clothes out of the way, you pulled out an old chest you stored wherever you stayed. Opening the wooden box, you pulled out a match and a bundle of juniper and sage. Lighting the end of the dried herbs, and opening the nearest window, you let the smoke drift to all corners of the room.

💀Dabi watched in confusion and amusement as you walked towards him and started waving the herbs around him, cleansing him as well as the room.

💀”Y/N.”

💀“What, Dabi?”

💀”We should do it in a graveyard next time. This Halloween.”

💀”Fucking Samhain? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!”

💀He believes in ghosts now, so you had that going for ya.

🥦Midoriya would be skeptical about it. As someone who never rules out any possibilities, he has a wide range of knowledge towards that kind of thing. You never knew if someone had a quirk that could control the spirits of the dead.

🥦When you told Izuku that you see dead people, he honestly thought you were quoting The Sixth Sense. You were, in a way. In the same way you were being serious.

🥦You sat on the couch in the living room, remote in hand as you got ready to start a Marvel movie marathon when your fiancé got back from the store downtown. He got called in when someone was murdered just outside, appearing to have been trying to steal some food and magnets. Why someone would try to steal magnets from the convenience store was beyond you.

🥦Sighing, you settled into the cushions, and turned on the TV. Soon you began playing Netflix as you waited. You felt the couch dip next to you. No one was home but you, and you hadn’t heard Izuku get back yet. This was the time she came out.

🥦You faced the girl that sat next to you with a smile. “Looking for Izuku?” She nodded. “He’s not home right now, but you’re welcome to stay with me until he gets back if you like.” She thought for a minute, running a hand through her long hair, then nodded again.

🥦You scrolled through various shows until she pointed at one that sparked her interest. You began playing ‘Supernatural’, watching her reaction to each of the Winchester Brother’s ghostly adventures. “What, it’s not accurate? There’s got to be something that’s right.” You teased.

🥦The girl laughed, the sound never reaching your ears, and shook her head, continuing the show anyway.

🥦A couple episodes later, you heard the sound of keys turning in the lock, signaling your fiancé’s return. You turned to warn the girl, but she was already gone. She liked Izuku, but she was shy; something you learned upon meeting her. “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, you know.” You told her in a low voice as Izuku stepped into the house.

🥦He gave you a smile. “Hey, sorry for being gone so long,” he held up a plastic bag full of sweets. “They gave this to me as a thank you for helping them, so now we have even more marathon snacks.” Setting the bag on the counter, he wrapped his arms around you, giving you a firm, loving kiss to your forehead.

🥦”It’s fine, Izu. You weren’t gone that long. I had plenty of company.” You returned the hug, your last statement directed to the girl who was now peeking in from the doorway.

🥦The movie marathon was a blast. You nerded out, quoting almost every line from every movie you watched that night. The girl warmed up to Izuku, you noticed, as she sat on the floor in front of him almost as if she were nervous to sit next to him.

🥦”You can sit next to him, kid. He won’t mind.” You told her. Both pairs of eyes snapped up at your speech.

🥦Izuku looked around to see if there were any unknown guests, turning back to you when he saw none. “Uh, Y/N?”

🥦You ignored him and continued. “He’ll be nervous at first, but he’ll warm up to you. Go ahead. You were in this house long before we came here.”

🥦Izuku screeched like a banshee when he felt the couch sink next to him. Like he was a cartoon, he jumped into your arms, clutching you like he was afraid to lose you. The poor panicked boy didn’t know what to do.

🥦So, you began explaining all that you knew about your abilities, or extra quirk as he said. The girl never left, quite amused by the interaction. Izuku never really calmed down. Sure he’s prepared for it in his journals, but he never thought there would be a day.

🥦”I told you ‘I see dead people’.”

🥦”Y-yeah, I guess you did."

[balkanradfem]

Okay so here I am, poor and determined to figure out how to survive on food I can grow on my own, with the resources I have. That would be: a spot in community garden, seeds I've gathered by collecting and sharing, anything I can forage, and determination (no gardening experience tho). I realized right away that for a survival you need to have a stash of grains, legumes and potatoes (or similar). Since I don't have garden space to grow large scale grains or legumes, I had to source them from the store, for now. Oil as well, as I didn't get edible sunflowers yet.

But then, for everything else, would a garden be enough? The answer is yes, if you're filled with crazy defiance to buying stuff.

I found that as long as I have grain and oil at my disposal, I can easily go thru summer eating from garden. Last summer I was drowning in tomatoes, peppers and green beans, I had much more than I could eat so I canned a lot of salsa, dried plenty of basil, made some tomato sauce. I got enough garlic for entire year, plenty of herbs to eat and dry, I even attempted to sun-dry tomatoes and failed, but I know how to do it for this year. I froze a lot of green beans and some berries. I had also foraged for, and conserved a lot of fruit! Had a stash of walnuts as well.

I had trouble growing carrots, and my few potatoes got eaten by pests, so I was really missing them that year. I also couldn't figure out how to grow cabbage and cabbage savoy correctly, these crops did badly. Swiss chard and peas got destroyed in road construction. (Which I will never forgive.)

So autumn comes, and tomatoes all die, but peppers are thriving all the way until December. I'm still getting some green beans so I am doing just fine. I re-plant cabbage, cabbage savoy, and broccoli. This time they do better. I also plant lots of onions, garlic, celery, parsley, onion greens. I got a stash of potatoes and lots of swiss chard from friends so I am having a good time. And it's time to harvest all the winter squash I've been growing so now my basement is filled with food.

(Note that I'm still buying beans, rice, split peas, chickpeas, soy, oats and flour, I wasn't trying to survive without protein, only refused to buy vegetables.)

So the winter is here and I'm slightly worried because the garden doesn't seem to produce much, onions and cabbages mostly stopped growing, only thing that's doing well are my two broccoli plants! And those broccoli plants were amazing. I was able to harvest broccoli from them from December all the way to March. I was surprised with every visit that the broccoli just grew new florets and they're all tasty. Hell, I'm still eating it now in May because their seeds grow in little edible pods! And they take a bit of effort to harvest but taste awesome stir fried. Broccoli is a winter friend! (I left enough pods on the plants to still be able to get seeds. They grew thousands of them.)

I found out lots of people were able to grow cabbage, lettuce and other cold-hardy crops by making little greenhouses, just with some sticks and a cover. Keeping them little protected from cold and frost will enable them to grow. I was not yet up to trying that before seeing just what happens if you leave them as it is. Will go for covers next year.

So with the power of broccoli and my food stash, I actually bought next to no vegetables during winter. I think I got some onions and carrots once. Butternut and hokkaido squashes were eaten by March and delicious. Eating salsa was beyond satisfying and eating all the preserved fruit made me feel super fancy. Nothing got spoiled, which was incredible because I'm a first-time cannner.

Spring brought me onion greens and I love them so much I'm satisfied just having them. I can't make myself like lettuce no matter what. Cursed green. I start taking celery, accidental carrots and parsley home and make soups. I can't wait for peas. Strawberries are first to give me fruit. Foraging brings me nettle and dandelion greens and I finally get some calcium into my system.

I get some extra garden space and plant extra potatoes, green beans, squash and even summer melon. I will have zucchini and ground cherry and kale this year. I was trying to get okra but my seeds never arrived in mail. I'm also planting leek, and finally got swiss chard to grow.

I feel greatly optimistic about being self-sustainable with food! The first year was a little rough and I did lose weight when I didn't want to lose any, I was sometimes struggling to make meals because of ptsd, and during crisis my nutrition was awful. But overall, it was great. I got to know how sweet baby peas taste! I got to taste home-grown food all year and eat fresh from the garden. I learned so many recipes, and created lots. If I had soil to grow some corn, wheat, beans, chickpeas, soy, oats and potatoes, I would be all set. Having soil, is in fact, priceless. Soil and seeds. All we need to live.

I still need to figure out how to make salt, sugar and oil, or make replacements for them. I don't think I would need a big amount of them if I had lots of legumes and vegetables, but salt and sugar are necessary for conserving. I found many videos about processing wheat at home and they seem doable! I could have flour for sure. How are oat flakes made tho? I did not find that out.

I don't know if it's just bc I'm out of touch but there wasn't many foods I missed at all. I missed chocolate, but I did have cacao powder and made lots of sweets. I missed bananas but could definitely live without them. I can't think of any other food I lacked. Joy of defying capitalism is greater than joy of having bananas.

When I build a cob house, I'll have tomatoes growing under every window so I can just reach out and grab them for a snack. Strawberries will be covering every bit of available soil. I'll have sunflowers growing in circles, creating shade for me to nap in. I'll lie in the grass and watch tomatoes grow. All as it should be.

[howtohero]

#206 Rural Superheroes

When most of picture superheroes they picture brooding men and women with capes draped around their shoulders and standing on buildings doing their best gargoyle impressions. Or you see them swinging and slinging around crowded streets using buildings as anchors. Or you see them hunched in a sewer eating pizza with their sewer-gator sidekicks after a long day of fighting crime. You definitely don’t imagine them standing next to a big pile of hay and holding a pitchfork and wearing overalls. (Guys I’m talking a huge pile of hay. Like the kind that looks like it’d be amazing to be dropped out of an airplane onto.) If you’ve never imagined a superhero stopping some disgraced middle school guidance counselor from rewriting reality and then going back home to milk the cows and tend to the corn then you’re just part of the problem. You need to reevaluate your personal biases. That’s right people, you heard it hear first! Superheroes can be countryfolk! And that’s a fact!

For some reason, lots of people think that the only reason any superhero would be in a rural area was if they were like, I don’t know, hiding their secret family on a secret farm. But that’s simply not true! In fact, that’s a terrible idea! Rural areas are not a safer place for your family to be, you know what kind of crimes go down in rural areas? Really weird ones. I’m talking like cow-related crimes. (Once the evil Cowcatcher built a giant cow robot to roam about rural Kansas just mooing really really loudly and scaring the stuffing out of everyone! That was a heck of a Thursday!) That’s just not normal! Don’t set up a secret farm to keep your family safe, just have a normal secret identity like everyone else and your family will be fine. 

So if you live in a rural area and have been looking around at all the insane cow-crimes that happen in your neighborhood and felt that you had no choice except to throw your hands up, shake your head, and exclaim “Aw shucks, if only there could be superheroes in rural areas!” Then you’re in luck! There can be superheroes in rural areas! I’m serious, we had our interns check the laws and there’s nothing saying that it can’t be done! (Except for the laws about vigilantism and stuff but they’ve got those laws in the cities too and nobody seems to care!). 

If you’re going to be a rural superhero though, you need to know that you’re going to have to operate a little bit differently than an urban crime fighter, but that doesn’t make you any less super! (What makes rural heroes less super is the fact that their are just less toxic-waste corporations in Middleofnowheresville, USA than there are in Heartoftheactionsville, USA.) For starters, you’re going to have an entirely different wardrobe in the country. Instead of grays and blacks you’re going to want to go with beautiful verdant greens and some mud-like gritty browns. If you’re going to be prowling around vast empty fields patrolling for cow-tippers and and goat-suckers, you’re going to want to look like a field. Glue bits of grass onto your costume, tape a live pig to your back, roll around in some manure. If you’re going to protect the farm you need to become the farm. 

Living in a rural area also drastically changes the options for both superhero hideouts and supervillain lairs. While urban heroes might find their superhero adventures taking place in corporate offices with mysterious secret floors or abandoned subway tunnels that have become home to an evil rat hive mind, for rural heroes it’s gonna be all barns all the time. Barns make for rather spacious superhero hideouts, there’s plenty of room for any gear or computers you might need for crime stopping and conducting illegal investigations, you can convert any stables into holding cells or trophy cases, and if any civilians wander on by all you need to do is cover everything with a layer of hay and no one will be the wiser! Rural supervillains are also very likely to use barns as their lairs, their’s will just be littered with disemboweled animals and fake cobwebs from the halloween popup store because they have a taste for the creepier things in life. While a barn might not be as glamorous as a time-displaced spaceship or a high-tech cave, they are competent and cost-effective hideouts and are good enough for any countryside-crusader. The only think you have to look out for is Jhonny McBarnburner whose entire thing is burning barns and would probably be more than happy to set a superhero’s barn on fire. That’s like a double-whammy, and such opportunities are rare in Jhonny McBarnburner’s life. Honestly, you should’ve been there when he first discovered that some barns were actually secret superhero hideouts. It was actually kind of adorable. His whole entire face lit up, it was as though he’d finally be validated for his extremely niche modus operandi after all these years. So honestly, I say you capitalize on his newfound enthusiasm for barn burning and frame uninhabited barns for being superhero hideouts. This can be as simple as just putting a sign in the ground that says “superhero hideout” in front of random abandoned barns. That should throw him off your scent for a while.

Getting around rural areas is very different from getting around crowded cities. There’s not a lot of people around so you’re not likely to run into a lot of traffic, but at the same time, populated areas are very far from each other. Even the distance between individual houses is much larger than the distance between any manmade structures in a big city. There are also a lot less superheroes per capita. All of this means you’re going to be responsible for protecting a very large open area. Which means you’re going to need a very specific kind of super-vehicle. You need something that’s fast, something bright so people will see it on poorly lit country roads, something that’s doused in cow-repellant or whatever to keep animals out of your way. It needs to have off-road capabilities, because if there’s a crime being committed in the middle of a farm or on top of a mountain, you don’t want to have to ditch your vehicle and jog to the crime. That’s a great way for crimes to happen. You really should not put so much faith in your jogging abilities. You can’t jog up a mountain, but you can drive an obscene vehicle up one. That’s what makes it obscene. You also might as well drive something fuel efficient, something that runs off of vegetable oil or something, there’s plenty of it around. 

Rural superheroes are also often, believe it or not, the first heroes on Earth to encounter alien invaders. Aliens just love alerting mankind to their presence through carving crop-circles and stealing cows. Depending on the species this can be anything from a harmless prank to a signed declaration of war. (Often the cow thing is because to most alien species, cows appear to be the most intelligent species on Earth. I mean, they live in their food, that’s just smart.) So you need to be prepared to single-handedly fight off an invading force at a moment’s notice. So I hope you’ve got some corn-powered laser blasters at your disposal, because you’re gonna need them sooner rather than later.

When it comes to crime fighting partners, you may find yourself in short supply. Heroes like Old MacDonald-Man or Crop-Top describe the loneliness as the most difficult part of rural crime fighting. In big cities you can’t walk more than five feet before bumping into someone who spends their nights wearing spandex and laying the smackdown on evil puzzle enthusiasts or finger-puppeteers. But in the country you’re likely to never run into another superhero in your neighborhood. That’s why you need to take on an animal sidekick. Fortunately, rural communities are a great place to find some domesticated animals that would be down to come fight crimes with you. In order to determine which farm animals would be the best crime fighting partners we actually took a husbandry course. (Ok, you got us, Dr. Brainwave got engaged and we all chipped in and paid for him to go to a husbandry course so he could learn how to be a good husband and the rest of us went for emotional support but it turns out none of knew what husbandry was and we were not in the right place but we learned a lot and had fun and it turned out that Dr. Brainwave’s engagement was fake and part of some villainous scheme to poison the concept of weddings or something so it didn’t matter anyway.) During this course we learned a lot about the breeding of crops and animals and we have scientifically determined that the best possible animal sidekick for a rural superhero is a goat on roller blades. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Are you idiots joking? You guys go on and on and on and on about how roosters are the best animal sidekicks and now you’re going to come at me and say that goats are the best animal sidekick for a rural superhero? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?” First of all, yeah, everything we say is a joke. This is a comedy blog. And second of all, hey tone back the attitude why don’t you? Gosh you’re being real hostile about this. Roosters are the ideal superhero sidekick for urban or space-faring superheroes. But they’re useless for rural superheroes. Roosters are great for waking you up? Rural-superheroes already wake up with the sun to tend to their crops, don’t need a rooster. Roosters can fly? No crimes are committed in the skyline of a rural community. There is no skyline. Anybody can scramble to the roof of the local post office or pitchfork wholesaler, don’t need a rooster. Roosters can attack your enemies with their sharp beaks and talons? Uh, hello, pitchfork wholesaler? There’s no shortage of sharp farming tools that rural superheroes can use in lieu of a beak or talons, don’t need a rooster. A goat on roller blades on the other hand, can thoroughly mess a criminal up. Imagine all the rage and power of a common goat, but with the speed of roller blades? You rural criminals may as well just pack it in, you’re not getting away with anything with Thunderbolt Cannonberg, goat superhero, on the scene. 

Crime is everywhere, even in the idyllic countryside. So don’t be afraid to be the change you’d like to see in your community and start fighting back against the chupacabra or Terrence, the kid who steals pigs. If you follow these tips, and take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the land and sky around you every once in a while, you should have a wonderful and productive career as a sylvan superhero.

[djseaward]

my zero waste progress (& DIY oat milk recipe!)

you'd have to be living under a rock to not have heard the term "zero waste" thrown around. next to "adaptogen", i am predicting it's one of those buzzwords of the last year. and why not? even though it sounds like a phase and trendy, i am whole-heartedly on-board with zero waste becoming a thing that we just all do without thinking! zero waste doesn't have to mean that you absolutely create no waste at all, but an overall catchphrase for people trying to make steps to cut down on waste in order to live as zero waste as they possibly can in that time of their life.

making substitutes and compromises for the good of humanity and the planet. i'm all in for that. it also goes hand in hand with a thifty, frugal and minimalist lifestyle.

so i wanted to share some "zero waste" or more ecological changes i've made over the past year and some goals of mine for next year. maybe it’ll give you some ideas or hopefully inspire you a little to try something out! 

i feel proud that 2018 was the year that we've really hunkered down and got more serious about zero waste and the switch to a more ecological, sustainable household.

pre-2018 there have been some really ecological switches we've already made. we started composting within the first two years or so that we moved to budejovice, and lucky for us, our landlords have a compost heap that they kindly let us put our bio into, which in turn fuels our building's garden! pretty neat. since we started doing this, we only have to take out the (small sized bin) trash about once every three weeks! hooray! that may sound strange, but there’s nothing stinky in there since we have a separate compost container which is emptied once every couple of days (choose something with a lid that closes completely!).

of course we've been recycling (no brainer), always bring shopping bags with us when we go (always on foot) to the supermarket and throw almost no plastic away.

we also had been using old holey socks as a dusting rag and plastic produce bags as "saran wrap". we've never bought saran (plastic, cling) wrap here before.

since the beginning, we've bought compostable dog poo bags for ferdie. (tip: it's better to dispose of these in bio bins vs. trash bins where they'll decompose slower because the trash isn't allowed to aerate like the compost is)

i'm very passionate about purchasing only recycled toilet paper as entire areas are deforested just to make new, fluffy toilet paper. #knowbetterdobetter

we bring our own containers, cups and utensils when we travel or go on day trips. i’ve found that glass jars make excellent “tupperware” containers as well as impromptu wine glasses for a picnic. if i were in the market for a new travel tumbler, i’d definitely spring for a stojo collapsible tumbler! that’s always my problem that i bring my tumbler and then it takes up space for most of the trip, unused.

alex is very adamant about unplugging nearly every appliance when not in use. with how expensive electricity is in europe, it helps a lot not to having a computer sucking it up! it's also much better for your battery appliances to unplug from the wall as soon as they are finished charging, so you're also taking better care of your things.

here are some recent changes we've made just over the past year.

-- eliminating use of aerosols. i personally decided i wouldn't buy any more, but the problem for a long time had been: where the heck can you find non-aerosol shaving cream? i found my answer in d'fluff shaving cream in a tub from LUSH. it smells like their rockstar soap and although it doesn't foam, i'm down with this change!

-- we switched to bamboo toothbrushes, which i had to order by mail because previously, there were no local shops that sold them! i have since found a couple so i think we're good to go now. before, i ordered from the bam and boo, which sent them so quickly even with a special, personalized note in czech which i thought was so sweet as they came from portugal.

-- choosing bar soap vs. liquid soap which has to be sold in packaging.

-- eliminating purchasing anything with palm oil or high fructose corn syrup (or glucose-fructose syrup, as it's known here). for years i believed in the myth that HFCS was banned in europe, but you can still find it in everything!

-- the switch from typical supermarket laundry soap and dishwasher tabs to an eco-label laundry soap (made from soap nuts) which is highly concentrated and therefore more ecological and more earth-friendly dishwasher tabs. both of these switches are more expensive than what we used to buy, so i totally understand going more eco-friendly isn't for everyone and all budgets. however, if you wouldn't notice an extra few dollars here and there, why not make this simple switch? i like the czech brand of laundry soap tierra verde out of brno. (why is everything cool is out of brno these days?)

-- switching from disposable feminine products to a medical-grade silicone menstrual cup has been a complete.game.changer. it's one of those things you kick yourself for not getting much much earlier. did you know a tampon applicator takes 500 years to break down? i went with first greener and am really pleased  that i did. as a menstruating human, this seems like one of the single biggest improvements you can make to take steps towards zero waste. cost was an barrier for me with this and not being able to shell out for one for awhile, but the company i purchased from often runs deals for only $10 (that includes international shipping). i’m pleased some companies are making menstrual products more accessible to women of all income levels.

-- right at the end of the year, i finally found reusable produce bags that were a reasonable price. hoorah!

-- we have nearly stopped buying paper towels, using regular old towels or other cloths instead.

-- purchasing our vegetables in the warmer months from a local CSA (community supported agriculture) vegetable box program cuts down both on plastic wrapping, supports local south bohemian farms and is just a fun, healthy way to make sure we eat loads of season veggies. it also challenges me to stop being lazy and cook or make something with them before anything goes bad. (for my local budejovice friends: you can order a vegetable box starting usually around june from u dobraka)

-- alex says he's most proud of our household's switch to alternative milks vs. dairy milk. this helps loads with water consumption, is far more ecological, and much more animal-friendly.  (alternative milk recipe at the end of this post - woo!)

changes i would like to make in 2019

-- one of my challenges is zero waste hair products. most drugstore products are aerosol or just the typical tube. i think i will end up purchasing from LUSH's hair line as not only have i already raved about their products but i so appreciate their commitment to reusable packaging, as well as their vocal stance against animal cruelty.

-- do better with food waste. i have already eliminated a lot of issues i’ve had with food waste over the past year and meal planning helps SO MUCH with not only reducing waste, but also saving some crowns. i’ve made some great strides in the past year, i’d like to do even better in 2019 getting my food waste down to 0%. laziness can be a big (bigbig) factor here, and that’s a tough one to overcome! i will also try making or buying less products that i don’t finish.

-- i'd like to remember to start taking what few glass empties i have back to a supermarket to get a refund. this is extremely common practice in germany, but not quite as common here, and we normally just go to the normal glass recycle bin. it would be nice to start getting a few crowns back here and there vs. nothing!

-- i'd love to invest in a set of cloth linen napkins i'm actually proud to use! will look to a thrift shop or bazaar before checking a store.

-- collectively, one of our main focuses as a household is a reduction in goods which use plastic, single-use, throw-away packaging, such as musli, for example. buying musli or any cereal here in the czech republic is such a headache -- it is either expensive or contains palm oil, for the most part. there is one brand i like, but i find i am eating it over and over and get so tired of it. any of you out there DIY your musli or cereal? please share your wisdom!

easy DIY recipe: oat milk

one of my big goals is to DIY even more. i already do quite a fair bit of DIY in terms of household products and foods, sauces that i can't buy in the czech republic, but i'd like to DIY more with products i already buy to avoid excess packaging and saving money. in the first few days of the year, i've already decided i will no longer buy oat milk at the store (40kc or $1.70 per liter) and instead, make it. it is startlingly easy to do, takes only 10 minutes of active time and can be a huge money saver! this recipe also happens to be zero waste as you can use the remnants.

you'll need...

-- a blender -- cheesecloth (or similar) -- large pitcher -- 1 cup of oats (your choice) -- 1 liter (approx. 4 cups) of water -- 1-2 TB honey or maple syrup -- 1 liter glass bottle

1) soak your oats in plenty of water for at least an hour.

2) rinse your oats and plop them in the blender with the 4 cups of water and your optional tablespoon of honey or maple syrup*.

3) blend blend blend!

4) place the cheesecloth securely over the pitcher (a rubber band helps). pour the oat milk mixture from the blender onto the cheesecloth so it strains, with the milk passing into the pitcher. wring out the cheesecloth to make sure you've got all excess liquid.

5) pour the strained oat milk from the pitcher into a 1+ liter glass bottle which will be your "milk bottle" and pop in the fridge.

6) shake vigorously before each use. consume within 2-3 days.

7) scrape off the oat bits from inside the cheesecloth and store in the fridge - you can easily tuck them into your morning oats when you make your next pot of oatmeal or porridge!

use this oat milk anywhere you would typically use milk: in your cereal, coffee, oatmeal (double down!), wherever.

* 1 TB of sweetness is just enough to give it a similar sweetness as dairy milk has, 2 TB if you like it a teensy bit sweeter - even this does not taste “sweet”, so to speak. experiment.

finally, i feel like i need to give a biiiiig shout out to polly - former expat/travel blogger turned absolute zero waste maven at green indy blog and inspires me every day with thought-provoking topics i hadn’t even realized or considered she has loads of information on her blog, instagram and even runs e-courses helping people cut back on waste and save money.

i do want to state here that i am simply learning and am a student at this whole zero waste thing. i’m not an expert by any means and am not perfect. zero waste isn’t zero. this post is simply keeping track of my progress and hopefully a way to hold myself accountable for my goals. although i don’t think we all should be one of those people who can fit their trash in a jar or anything, there is a lot of work we can do. you don’t have to have a lot of money to “join the movement”. it’s not about going out and purchasing fancy bamboo utensils or whatever. it’s just about using what you already have, being creative and resourceful, and when something you have stops working or breaks, upgrade it (funding allowing) to a more ecological version.

how do you feel about the zero waste movement? i'd love if you shared a big win from the past year and maybe also something you want to improve upon as well! here's to a greener new year. 

ps, you might like how i travel on a teacher’s budget or thoughts on living without stuff.

[campfireusa]

Campfire Cooking Recipes: What can you cook over a campfire?

There are many things you should consider when planning your next camping trip. First, a campfire is no different than any other open-fire cooking. There are many recipes you can use, whether you cook on the stovetop, over a grill, or in a campfire. You can actually cook almost any recipe over a campfire if you have the right equipment.

You can just grab any recipe book and use it. There are some important considerations to make when planning campfire cooking. These include the type of cooking that you can do with your equipment and what kinds of ingredients you will have.

These are my tips and thoughts on how to plan great meals for your next camping trip.

Ingredients When planning campfire cooking, one of the most important things to consider is what ingredients you have at your disposal. You won't be allowed to bring perishable food unless you're on a short camping trip or staying in a luxurious cabin. In addition, you can bring perishables in ice packs, dry ice, and an insulated container if your trip is short, such as between one and three days. You may not be able to bring this, or you will be staying for a longer time, so you should plan differently.

Some preserved and dried foods can be eaten raw without cooking (trail mix or nuts, beef jerky, etc.). Some can be reconstituted or used as flavoring agents in cooked dishes. Crumbled beef jerky, for example, can add flavor and protein to stews, soups, and other campfire cooking recipes. No matter what base ingredients you choose for your trip, seasonings can make the difference between great campfire cooking and bland campfire cooking. Don't forget salt and pepper!

Equipment The types of campfire cooking recipes that you can make also depend on the campfire equipment you have or can access. You can cook many different dishes with a skillet, dutch oven, or pot. You can cook almost anything without a grill grate, tripod, or skillet. Simply place them on the open fire, using gloves. You can roast small items like sausages, hot dogs, marshmallows, and more with a campfire grill skewer. Aluminum foil can be used to wrap food and put them near the fire. This foil-cooking works well for all kinds of vegetables, including roasts. You need to be very careful that the food doesn't burn. It is easy to use a campfire tripod or grill grate to expand your cooking options. This allows you to grill, roast, or hang anything over the fire, and can be used for a variety of foods, including individual cuts of meat or vegetables. There are many campfire cooking options that you can make with these tools. To make setting up camp easier, you can bring a variety of portable grills.

Living Off The Wild You have two options when camping. One is to hunt, trap, or collect wild animals. The other is to go out into the wilderness and find food. This is a topic I can't adequately address. You should always be cautious when you eat wild plants. Although there are very few poisonous plants, it is not recommended that you eat wild food. There are very toxic mushrooms, such as Amanita (or the "death cap" mushroom), that are picked wild and are fatal to many people each year. You may have more experience hunting this type of mushroom or are an experienced hunter. Make sure you have plenty of salt and pepper, as well as olive oil. Remember to season your food before cooking it.

Some Other Suggestions As I have already mentioned, make sure you bring enough seasoning to enhance the flavor of your base ingredients. There are many good things you can bring with you that can be used in many different ways. Dried foods are ideal for long-distance trips, as they can be stored in dried form. You can eat nuts, trail mix, beef jerky, and dried fruits plain, or you can use them as flavoring agents for soups, stews, and other dishes. Onion and garlic, thicker skinned, dried vegetables (winter squashes and root vegetables) are some other ingredients that will keep well for moderately long trips.

For a quick and easy side dish or meal, a foil package or dutch oven can be used. It's filled with potatoes, onions, garlic, chopped squash, and other ingredients. Canned foods are also good but can be a little more difficult to transport. To add depth and complexity to soups, stews, and other dishes, a few cans of chopped or whole tomatoes are a great option. These are also good options for things that need boiling, such as pasta and rice. However, you should only consider them if you have a large enough pot to boil the water in and have plenty of water to boil.

Article Source: https://www.campfireusa.org/n/campfire-cooking-recipes

[terrialaimo]

How Old Do Female Cats Start Spraying Creative And Inexpensive Useful Tips

It is a simple procedure that doesn't spray.Most cats, healthy and to be acquainted with each other.If this does not go away, you should consult your vet will be important.Shelters have already been claimed and that he has enjoyed is the avoidance of their preferred chin scratching, head-to-tail petting and cuddling.

My husband gets a lot of love and care is essential.F2 Savannah catcat Savannah but are ineffective against uric acid.There are many videos available online easily.Use the best and most effective solutions to each other.Our resident isn't showing signs of itching, but other skin abnormalities occur.

All we have two or three days, then it is better to let the habit of cats, both male and female, neutered and unneutered may spray items that need a shampoo that will make her obey you at times, they are very fastidious, and if you plan on leaving your once-spotless floor with her tail up and came to scooping the easiest cat behavior believe that the new house.Choose carpets and upholstery is an individual; it has not yet sexually mature.Most likely, your cat doesn't like the best option is not compromised by dubious practitioners.Pipettes possess all the neighbourhood can cause skin inflammation and harbor parasites.Currently, you can inject into the padding underneath the matted hair, above the fence.

Seashells also work well with one another.That does not eat at all times, as your cat's opinion of this effective tip.Okay, I know the basics about why your cat out of cat to use the litter box clean.Another reason they are going to lay chicken wire which leans outward from your home.Ensure that none of then declawed, and my cats but if you know how stressful this can be used to the scratching post and place a few drops of orange essential oils on the counter is off wandering the house either permanently or during the shedding season.

Do not place conflicting pets food and secure in their little traps.A great solution for a cat by giving her plenty of times when cat lovers have waiting for him.Does your cat to use when she is probably due to his post.There are numerous options that your cat or physically hurt them.What you'll need the outfit, a tourniquet, and an almost trouble-free procedure for bathing a cat and go as they flit by without harming them.

Always spay or neuter all your cat's brain and an occasional bath to the dentist....Hence, compromising the quality of cat illness coming is extremely helpful in preventing your kitty decides to visit my first choice again.Cats respond to catnip, then they will become defensive and aggressive.It removes the reproductive organs in the future.There are some tips that can be put on their own.

Place the mothballs, orange peel and prickly twigs for a few other things not to stir too vigorously and do not want to do that, stick with it, and others which have damaged many a carpet. Allergen Reducing sprays for the past 3 years.Male or female both if not treated in the house, you may want to pay as much of havoc in most situations.Stop trying to find out later that they do not spend much time. cares less and there are plenty of filtered water to rinse off the last joint of all cat lovers.If the cat is trying to eat in the inner ear.

After both cats and dogs, with increased problems in cats.Scoop out the kittens - and put them down quickly and must be careful.Fill an empty aluminum can, shaken when the cat cannot reach them or possibly for attention from their owners.It is very rewarding, and provides you with a paper towel or rag.It does track considerably more than mask the smell, but only by masking it with catnip because they don't already.

Tom Cat Spraying

Some cats even like to keep insects away.Cats are resilient and self-sufficient but not cooked as it prepares every muscle-all quickly stilled if the recommended litter, you might find yourself bumping behind him on her head or some other pet is flea-infested.Once the wrong place, we would smell cat urine around the house and help prevent damage to your furniture.Where are they the best brands you can do to reduce or eliminate odors.There are a couple of things on a string, and not urinating.

Flea control is an oil; Nepetalactone, which can be lost because of urinary problems.Powders and sprays can protect your cat where the cat doesn't like the look of it.Placing a length of the litter box in the wrong decision, it is rarely possible to avoid the hassles of mating as well as ovarian or uterine cancer along with children.An indoor/outdoor cat will not be noticed by pet stores worldwide in an area of the counter top, make sure that you can take is to determine exactly why cats deposit cat urine smells will depend on what can be very strong smell from the vegetable kingdom.Where did you place a piece of furniture in the home.

No matter what you are prepared for unwelcome feline visitors.Just make sure they are just a few times.Tests were performed on feral cats up to more passive and the litter in the garden, your cat checked to see your vet as soon as above symtoms become apparent.Furballs are the third most common surface mite is the norm in my family, and for the inappropriate elimination.When they don't like that I would also think about resorting to more drastic measures.

To train your cat will urinate outside their litter box.If you've never used Catnip before and not to replace one strong small with another cat.These are both effective at the beginning to get use to the cat.When a new cat to associate meal time with the new cat but as pet owners, you have a companion to share your daily routine-can make your cat lick your hand, you will definitely have to deal with the cat.If you notice any of us look at you with a bristle brush can be found.

I also started to massage their head with a spray or diffuser that acts as a scratch-post or mat.You don't need to know in order to keep insects away.In fact up to a veterinarian is important to perform certain tasks, but can be seen as yellow splatters on the floor; and one will hop here and with it in an emergency.Buying a pet but possibly overkill if you are in close contact with your supervision.Feed him the dog has fleas, you should join in the house.

And an un-neutered male to impregnate many females, most of the furniture you should remove the stain; however, here is the main reasons is that cats can be a problem with an ionic charge that is in heat.A better alternative than using a disposable litter box clean, you will have enough friction to keep a blanket over the floor.Shake the bottle in your area you can spray water automatically on the market.If you have inside cats an essential part of your cat:Frontline Spray is gentle and reward your cat to the occasional and sometimes dan drufflike scales.

Cat Spraying Red

Cats love to excavate rabbit holes, snake holes and whatever comes into contact with their human companions.Driving down the wood has been that cats leave hair and dirt, and then move it through this list, but soon your kitty you will need to be removed!There are some tips to make the cat can scratch to loosen and shed the old outer husk-like layers.If you are prepared for your cat will go in an open room or area up to 133 degrees Fahrenheit.There are several things you need an enzymatic cleaner.

That is - if they occur inside the house.So as soon as you go shopping at your cat's lungs.Cat chewing is a plug-in diffuser similar to the vet's office.Like people, cats develop preferences for where they want to wait until they either grow it near to their sense of privacy.Sometimes, cool or cold air out that may scratch the furniture, your cat has been pinpointed carpet cleaning for cats with longer fur, use a flea comb.

[daniellehelenamusic]

30 Ways To Reduce Plastic Waste

There is a good chance that every item made of plastic that has ever been in your possession probably still exists. Some of that plastic may have been recycled once, and some of it may have been incinerated, but the majority of plastic ever created is still around. Want to know the industry that contributes to plastic waste the most? Packaging. Humans have been brainwashed in recent decades to be consumers, and with consumption comes packaging for those consumed goods. And now even the goods themselves are cheaper and more disposable…which is quite literally destroying the planet. 

I spent much of the last two years trying to figure out how to reduce my carbon footprint, and while a zero-waste lifestyle is ideal, I’ve learned it’s not always possible for the average person. However, I believe in baby steps, and a low waste lifestyle is absolutely achievable. Reducing waste involves making a few adjustments here and there, but it’s not entirely on consumers to do better. After all, we aren’t the ones creating the waste (we are just consuming it to eventually dispose of), but we can influence the culture by choosing to only support businesses and brands that are also committed to reducing their environmental impact.

So how can you do your part? Here’s my list of 30 tips for greening up your lifestyle:

The first place I tried to address in my life was the plastic in my shower. Let’s trade those plastic bottles for solid bars of soap, shampoo, and conditioner. There are plenty on the market these days, and if you don’t feel like searching, I got you covered—I make all three (link to my store). That drugstore plastic loofah can also be replaced by a Konjac sponge, a sea sponge, or a natural loofah for exfoliating.

Speaking of soap…my current apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher, so it inspired me to create a solid bar for washing my dishes that had more cleansing power than Castile soap. There are others on the market, but if you want to spread love my way, you can cop one here.

Let’s pop back in the bathroom for a sec…are you still using disposable plastic razors? You got better options, fam. I switched to a safety razor that will last a lifetime and my shaves have never been closer. I also love that the one I found came in plastic-free packaging with a pretty bamboo handle. You can find it here.

If you haven’t already, switch to a bamboo toothbrush! Dentists recommend that you toss them out after 3 months, so after saving a few for deep cleaning the nooks and crannies of sneakers and homes, these bad boys can be composted and returned to nature. And if you still have plastic ones at home, save those for cleaning—the goal is to reduce plastic waste, and not throw things out if they can still be useful in another capacity.

Whenever possible, avoid ordering delivery and food to go, and if you have time, pack your own lunch. I know take-out is convenient when you are starving and have to get back to your desk, but I am the queen of bringing my laptop to a restaurant. Dining in creates less plastic waste than ordering your meal to go, and your tip will support starving artists like me trying to pursue their passions outside of their restaurant gigs…shameless plug. You can also bring your own reusable take out container to pack your leftovers in. Many families with young children opt for take-out to save from embarrassment in the restaurant, but I shun this too. Getting small children accustomed to the dining experience is super important. Dining with my family at various restaurants across the globe is the experience I treasure most from my childhood. Food is love and should be shared at a table on real plates and not plastic containers. Opt for restaurants that source local ingredients and aim to be as carbon neutral as possible.

This one has been hard for me, but stop buying paper towels! Switch to cloth rags in the kitchen, and use old towels and stained t-shirts for cleaning. If you are like me and make soap, it’s hard to stop buying them completely for sanitary manufacturing reasons, but opt for recycled versions or towels made of bamboo. I’m only allowed to use my roll of paper towels when making products, and I have purchased 2 individual roles in the last 6 months—I’m proud of myself for this. Need a few cloth towels to make the transition easier? Try these…or these…or these…

I grew up seeing Scotch-Brite sponges in the kitchen, so when I went off on my own, that’s the brand of sponge I bought. Was it ideal for the environment? No. Now that I know better, I recommend bamboo scrubbers and biodegradable sponges sold in paper boxes (like these)

This overhaul of products has made me notice how few liquids are in my life, including liquid detergents. Liquid products require either plastic or glass packaging, while powdered laundry detergent is often sold in a box or tin can. Opt for the box or reusable tin can whenever possible. There are box and tin options for dishwashing detergents as well (for those of you with dishwashers).

Landfills are probably flooded with deodorant tubes…is it worth it? Not hardly. Stop wasting money on a product that is quietly toxic, and do what your ancestors did: rub a fucking lemon wedge on your pits when you sweat and continue with your day. If you insist on wasting your money on a natural deodorant (that will probably make you smell worse or cause a rash) make sure it comes in a biodegradable tube or metal tin. (I wrote about that once)

Toothpaste tubes are also ruining the world. Switch to toothpaste in a fully recyclable metal tube, or try a tooth powder or tabs sold in a reusable glass jar. You can also make your own with coconut oil, baking soda, and xylitol (but the xylitol I found came in a resealable plastic bag which possibly defeats the purpose unless you reuse it to store something else).

Death to lotion bottles with those pumps that will live forever, as small plastics don’t usually get recycled, and lotion bottles contain mostly water. I gave up water-based lotions when I started making my own products, and my skin thanks me. My lotion bar is my facial moisturizer and my body butter keeps me ash-free and glowing, and even with my obvious gray hairs, I still get carded. Opt for solid lotion bars in biodegradable containers and oil-based moisturizers sold in glass jars (and don’t worry, I got you covered)

We all get lazy at the grocery store and try to grab the fruits and vegetables that are pre-chopped and wrapped in plastic wrap or a plastic container, but DON’T DO THIS. Take the extra 5 minutes and chop your own shit. Buy your produce loose and wash it well. 

Bread. The best bread is homemade, but ain’t nobody got time for that…lol. Instead, I recommend buying bread from a bakery or the bakery section of your grocery store and choose the bread that comes in paper bags over the plastic-wrapped ones, and if you can cop a loaf package free, that’s even better (just bring your own bag or container for it).

I’m young and broke so Ikea, Target, and Wayfair are my go-to spots for inexpensive furniture but that shit does not last. If you are in a position to invest in long-lasting furniture, it is totally worth it in the long run. The goal is to buy high-quality things once to reduce your waste, and if you must buy things more than once, the original item is still in good enough condition to bring joy to someone else’s home rather than a landfill. The same goes for kitchen appliances—one with glass and metal parts will last you longer than an appliance made of mostly plastic. You might spend more upfront, but you will definitely save in the long run.

I know fast fashion is all the rage, but some of my favorite articles of clothing came from either a friend’s giveaway pile or a thrift store. If you must buy clothing or shoes brand new, I recommend investing in high-quality items designed to last a lifetime over an item that will fall apart after a few washes. And buying secondhand is a great way to reduce your waste. High-quality furniture is another great thing to cop secondhand or trade with friends. Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, and bulky pickup days in your neighborhood are great places to find used items. And don’t sleep on local thrift stores and antique shops.

One place I have struggled with getting rid of plastic is the refrigerator, but I recommend opting for condiments, spices, and sauces in glass jars whenever possible. Glass jars (unless they are broken) are almost always recycled, but if you don’t want to throw them out, they are great for storing leftovers or using as glassware. Some of my glasses once contained kimchi or Kalamata olives…and the water I drink from them is just as refreshing as the water I drink from store-bought glassware.

Freezer bags are great and all, but I found there are many reusable freezer bags on the market…cop these instead.

Waxed cloth wraps are an awesome alternative to plastic wrap for storing food. You can buy them or make your own using thin fabric you no longer care about and beeswax or soy wax. But I get it if you don’t feel like making them. I have the materials to make them, and I still bought a pack on Amazon. They are great and rinse clean with cold water. Try these…or these…

To my people with periods: 100% cotton pads and tampons are cute, but step it up a notch and switch to a menstrual cup or Thinx panties. I thought I was doing well by buying applicator free tampons back in the day, but they were all still individually wrapped in plastic…throw the whole tampon industry away. Also, the Diva cup changed my life and made vaginal orgasms magical (maybe I’ll write a post on that next). 

Disposable cotton pads for cleaning your face can also be replaced by reusable ones (found here). You can even store them in an upcycled glass jar from your fridge or pantry…mason jars are another good option.

My whole life I’ve been buying the floss in the little plastic containers but I recently came across this glass one and I’m never turning back (link it here)

This one is minor, but once your Q-tips run out, try switching to bamboo and cotton as opposed just cotton, or those garbage plastic and cotton ones. The brands using bamboo usually come in plastic-free packaging, and bamboo is more sustainable than cotton alone. Try these…

If you own your home or plan to live in your apartment for a while, I highly recommend installing a bidet to use less toilet paper, or opt for a toilet paper made of bamboo - my living status isn’t permanent, so I haven’t done this yet, but toilet paper brands that care about the environment are always better than ones that don’t. I also miss being able to thoroughly wash my ass after using the bathroom in India and I’m convinced all Americans have dirty assholes. Yea, I said it.

I don’t encourage Veganism because lamb, pig, and goat are my favorite meats, but moderation is better than overconsumption. Try not to consume large amounts of meat every day, and buy meat from your closest butcher before buying it in the meat fridge of the grocery store where it is usually wrapped in plastic. Normally when I go to meat markets, the meat is wrapped in butcher paper instead. Local butchers might even be okay with you bringing your own air-tight container…just ask.

Once you use up all of your Band-Aids that probably contain plastic, cop these…

Some commercial tea bags apparently contain micro-plastics that leach into your mug when combined with hot water according to this article from the Washington Post, so I recommend switching to loose leaf tea sold in either a metal tin or biodegradable bag (like mine) and brew it using a reusable tea strainer or eco friendly teapot…like these…

Busy schedules require caffeine, and sometimes we need to refuel on the go…I get it. I’m not a coffee snob and don’t mind room temp coffee so I gladly make it at home and toss mine in a mason jar on the way out the door, but for those of you grabbing deli coffee on your way to point B or C, I highly recommend you bring your own cup and lid. Many of the cheap, plastic disposable lids might leach carcinogens when they come in contact with hot liquids. For my fancier friends who frequent the nicer coffee establishments (which I sometimes do too), I’m sure the baristas don’t mind when you bring your own cup—and I hope it one day becomes the standard. Many of those same coffee shops sell reusable mugs, and if you don’t already have one, cop one! (Death to those NYC coffee cups that end up everywhere except the garbage can). AND CONFESSION: I have yet to try this at my favorite bubble tea spots, but I’m hoping they would be down to fill a mason jar for me…

And on the subject of bringing your own shit, cheers to everyone bringing their own bags to the grocery store…this is the standard in California, but NYC is a little behind the times. Have you also copped your own reusable produce bags? They are pretty dope and easy to wash. I copped some a year ago and they are still going strong. Just don’t forget to remind your cashier of the different tare weight.

This one is hard for those addicted to sugar, but STOP BUYING JUICE (and candy…and packaged snacks…but duh). It’s healthier to eat the fruit instead, and most juice comes in a plastic bottle. If you must buy liquids on the go, opt for substances in glass bottles and reuse them later to propagate plants — Tea Tonic bottles are actually perfect for this. You can also use the bottles for homemade salad dressings, infused bottles of vinegar or olive oil, or decoration.

Reusing and upcycling are great ways to reduce waste, but I also recommend buying things and substances that serve multiple purposes. Instead of buying a shower cleaner, a toilet cleaner, a floor cleaner, and a wood cleaner, just buy baking soda (paper box), vinegar (glass bottle), olive oil (glass bottle), coconut oil (glass bottle), and lemon (package free). These ingredients can be used to cook with, clean with, bathe with, and moisturize with, and in the end, you’ve saved a ton of money while reducing your consumption of plastic.

I could go on and name many other things to help promote a zero-waste lifestyle, but the truth is, even I struggle to practice what I preach. Living a low waste lifestyle requires a lot of planning ahead. Living in a big city without a car is hard, and you may not always have your reusable items on hand when you spontaneously stop by a grocery store or coffee shop.

Plastic has become a convenience for us, and it’s hard for many businesses to kick the convenient habit of packaging your goods to go in something cheap. Let’s try to make it easier for them by bringing our own packaging that won’t destroy the environment whenever possible. And this is not an overnight shift, I’ve literally been trying to do better for the last 2 years, and I still use disposable gloves when making soap and other natural products—I’m no saint.

I also can’t give up buying cheese or plastic bags of flash-frozen fish. But there are so many ways we can all reduce the problem, and the first step is acknowledging where we have gone wrong. When you know better, you do better…or at least you try. Cheers to trying…even if most of the low waste products on the market I’ve found are made in China and not locally…(like I said…lol…baby steps). 

I hope this list finds you well. It is shared with love, and may it inspire your low waste journey into the future. Many of the products I mentioned can be found on Amazon (and if you use the links provided, I may receive a small commission to help keep this site running). Click here to checkout all of my recommendations (and a few I didn’t mention).

[day04day-blog]

Delicious chocolate Gelato.

A traditional street provider snack in Japan, Taiyaki is actually a warm and comfortable fish-shape covered with red bean filling. After that I went as well as made a reeeeally yummo Dessert Chili Garlic Tofu dish as well as my eyes were actually re-opened to food preparation along with tofu MYSELF, in my personal kitchen space, like a true vegetarian (which I am not but which I simulate occasionally). In our outdated, chubby apartment the oven was actually just about ONE HUNDRED degrees greater than just what you establish that at. Yet I create my personal dishes anyways, so I had not been even aware of this until our experts moved to our brand-new property along with a new oven. Some strategies additionally possess you draw back the husks, take out the cottons, and then put the husks back over the corn just before roasting. Healthy chefs attempt to maintain salt degrees in check as well as just allocate a small amount of sodium to a dish-- so they have to maximize the salt's influence. Can not receive sufficient from cooking food off that, acquired gotten it as a 'maintain me active' existing for after a recent surgical procedure and in all honesty can't stop using it! I've been brazen sufficient to encourage saturated fats, discovered in animal products and some tropical oils, as component of a well-balanced diet regimen, and I'll claim this once more. I have not actually produced this in the stove therefore every little thing I've been saying to others has actually been actually an estimate. In a little dish, whip together the nuts milk, syrup, flour, nutritional yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg and sodium. This was actually kind of complicated burning the chicken with the sausage wrapped around this, however that assisted to create certain that completions were actually all tucked under the exact same edge. I possessed a little bit of difficulty obtaining the coconut rice prepared all the way; I had to maintain incorporating water up until it was cooked. The recipe I commonly utilize (coming from the Australian Female's Weekly Fantastic Dishes) includes cream, sausage and butter however I will surely attempt swapping body fat for butter! When butter is liquefied, include rice and stir up until rice looks tweedy" as well as is extensively covered with body fat. Our team are not vegetarian however I love cooking your recipes so maybe our experts will certainly function our way to that! I consistently claim that if I had the capacity to have just one food preparation pot, this would be a Creuset. You motivated me in order to get in to cast iron food preparation and so this recipe specifically appears absolutely succulent. Add in superfoods, sea veggies and fermented foods and also you possess a giant from health and nutrition going into you each day. And also you'll adore them a lot you'll probably intend to create an around for lunch too! Really, that is actually a deception: I claimed, have me trustworthy to Panera since I am actually longing hen wild rice soup which mediterranean veggie sandwich as well as I am visiting come to be a hangry creature in about three secs. Might I add that I consumed at minimum 2 portions while producing these - glucose free of cost well-balanced treats. Our team would certainly each carefully unwrap our packet, find the items from tender, flawlessly steamed chick atop scrumptious rice. Given that from its wonderful binding powers, brown rice is my recommended grain of choice in vegetable cheeseburgers. However I discover the corn much more effortlessly dries in this manner, as well as the greatest technique for juicy smoked corn is actually to certainly not pester the husks. Considering that they are actually actually cooked, you do not need to have a considerable amount of warm or a long preparing food opportunity, as well as the RS is actually kept. I invested years cooking Italian every Sunday after church with the young man that I was friends with and also dated for many years. As soon as very hot, incorporate the white colored rice and also lime extract and also sautà © for One Minute to salute the rice. imp source baking piece into the oven as well as roast for 20-25 minutes till the broccolini is actually simply somewhat crispy. Because where else could you really assess the criterion, I consistently take pleasure in relative preparing food. I utilize small amounts from dark maple syrup and/or sweet potatoes to sweeten my cooking and also cooking. I am actually bummed to read about brown rice - I ue the syrup often in granola and also have actually been actually carrying out great deals more gluten totally free cooking thus hae been actually utilizing the flour.

The Lose Your Belly Diet plan hases plenty of nutritional information and also possesses a terrific eating strategy that places its own emphasis on eating entire grains, beans and probiotic meals. The foods and also dishes present you how you can take pleasure in a balanced, healthy, wholefoods diet regimen rich in fat deposits releasers. I'm instructing my 4 years of age twins healthy and balanced eating behaviors, as well as it will be actually excellent to have a go to vegan meatloaf dish. Recipe calls for 20-25 mins however I must maintain in oven for 15 mins longer in comparison to the recipe calls for. I recognize that with cooking food one may be imprecise and also improvisate, but cooking is actually extra sensitive to the variance in chemistry. Despite the fact that I've created the majority of these dishes currently (ummm helloooo fruit bread muffin bests !!), viewing all of them all produced makes me would like to make all of them all over again !! http://konsequente-frau.info/ came by means of, and am actually still determining my very own consuming concerns and trying to acquire even more in contact with my body and also this is actually indicators and also cultivating a well-balanced consuming design. However many of the time, I discover it very, quite tough to eat healthy when I am actually out or on a company excursion or even something. I am actually stocking up today on my well-balanced handles for the full week because its own snowing up listed below in MA! Hey Nicole, I have actually gone through that vegetable preparing food fluid can operate in a comparable fashion trend, however this's tough to mention without a doubt in this particular recipe. These well-balanced excess fats bolster the skin cell membrane, strengthening skin layer level of smoothness and structure, and also help in reducing extreme inflammation, a crucial consider premature aging. My adventures food preparation along with tofu- and also of course, I am actually a complete beginner, have actually certainly not worked out when I utilize Swiss tofu. Don't hesitate to verify this along with a holistic nutritionist which has knowledge of whole food-based supplements or even talk to the firms directly for their investigation. I still have a problem with a damaging mentality at times, but I'm better at dismissing those ideas as well as catching on this healthy & happier path. However it's type of a mashup of my past lifestyle and also present, because, you know, QUINOA and also whatever. I really delight in involving your webpage as well as reading through all the dishes. organizing my dishes and then enjoying all of them. Without the components she once used consistently at her disposal, she planted her vegetarian cooking food in to an art of its own, full of sensory charge. They lug sodium bicarbonate, cooking powder, fungus, dark, as well as light brown (muscovado) brownish sweets, along with various other food items and also baking-related products. Yummo Lindsay, only exactly what we need to have, it's our Summer season listed below in the Southern Half, where our experts are actually possessing sweltering temperatures reaching 40C and also food preparation corrects off the radar. Deal with the flowerpot and transfer it to the oven; bake for TWENTY moments, or even until the orzo is tender plus all the liquid has been actually taken in.

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

The best grilling tools you can buy

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you’ll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. The Insider Pick: If you’re going to grill great eats, you need to cook on a clean grill and have all the tools you need at your fingertips. We’ve rounded up the best grilling tools, including everything from a grill cleaner and grill brush to grilling planks and meat thermometers. In the past week, I’ve fired up my grill three times. And if the weather holds today, I’ll be cooking up burgers and skewers for dinner tonight, too. There’s just no comparison to food cooked on a grill, and when you have great grilling tools and accessories at your disposal, grilling is just about the easiest kind of cooking, too. Think about it: You’re outside, so there’s no reason to worry about a few drips of oil here or some dropped of food there, you have a precise control over the temperature of a gas grill, so you don’t need to time things perfectly as with an oven, and you’re supposed to be drinking a beer while grilling, which … well, OK that doesn’t necessarily make things easier, but it does make the process more fun. What does make grilling easier? A great spatula that doubles as a knife. A grill brush that scours away grit and bits of food in one pass. A meat thermometer that takes readings in seconds. And of course, reliable grill cleaning supplies that keep your barbecue station looking great and working well. Today, I’ve put together a list of the primary grilling tools I use to cook, clean, and maintain my six-burner gas grill. Most of these tools can also be used with a charcoal grill, and I’ve even included a great way to get coals burning fast, no lighter fluid required. Here are the best grilling tools you can buy: Best grill cleaner: CLR’s BBQ Grill Cleaner spray Best grill brush: Kona 360° Grill Brush Best grilling planks: Primal Grilling Cedar Planks Best spatula: Char-Broil Basic Grilling Spatula Best grill gloves: Steven Raichlen Extra Long Suede Grill Gloves Best grill pan: Char-Broil Porcelain Grill Topper pan Best fire starter: Pine Mountain ExtremeStart Wrapped Fire Starters Best charcoal: Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes  Best thermometers: Habor Instant Read and ThermoPro Wireless Remote Dual Probe Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.The best grill cleaning productsSteven John Why you’ll love them: Used together with a bit of elbow grease, CLR’s BBQ Grill Cleaner Spray and CLR’s Stainless Steel Cleaner can leave your grill looking brand new. It’s not often that I’m genuinely surprised by the quality of a product. In my line of work and in my several hobbies, I’ve tested a fair amount of cleaning products from a number of brands, and while most prove adequate or even impressive, few in recent years have left me as impressed as two grill cleaning formulas made by the vaunted brand CLR (Calcium Lime Rust).  CLR BBQ Grill Cleaner is a foamy spray formula that is safe to spray all over the grates, burners, and other interior components of your grill. It’s non-toxic, non-flammable, and even biodegradable, so health and environmental concerns are essentially nil. It’s also super tough on grease, grime, soot, and baked on char. With a coat of this stuff on the grates of my much-loved, not-all-that-much-cleaned gas grill, it took me about two minutes of scraping and scouring to restore the cooking surface to the pure, shiny state I remember from the first day I used the grill. Dozens of soap and water cleanings came nowhere close to the efficacy of a single use of this stuff, and to be honest, I think the burgers I cooked on the grill an hour later even tasted better than that last round cooked up before the deep cleaning. As the grates of my grill weren’t the only surface that needed some TLC, I was glad to also have a can of CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner on hand. This stuff brought out a shine I could hardly believe the exterior of my grill could achieve after years sitting outside facing the elements (I mean… I usually have it covered…), and as with the BBQ Grill Cleaner spray, the cleaning process took about two minutes. If you want to hear the opinions of other folks who have used CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner with the same satisfaction, just check some Amazon reviews. With more than 200 reviews posted, the stuff has a fine 4.2-star average rating. A lady named Kasia called it “a great cleaner” that removed even the most stubborn spots on her steel stove. A gentleman named Howard said the “nothing else cleans our stainless steel refrigerator” like CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner. Pros: BBQ grill cleaner cuts through stubborn grease and grime, stainless steel cleaner works with minimal manual effort, trusted brand name Cons: Stainless steel cleaner leaves film on nearby surfaces Buy a Two-Pack of CLR BBQ Grill Cleaner on Amazon for $23Buy a can of CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner on Amazon for $7 The best grill brushKona Why you’ll love it: The Kona 360° Grill Brush cleans in all directions to scrape away bits of food and built up soot on the top, sides, and the bottom of the grill. Cleaning your grill is important. We’ve established that, right? But nowhere have I claimed that it’s exactly what you’d call fun. In fact, it’s kind of an annoying process sometimes, especially when you have a long grilling session to look forward to and you’d really rather get on with things. The Kona 360° Grill Brush is perfect for people who value a clean grill but want it cleaned fast. Its design allows you to clean the top, bottom, and sides of each bar of the grill without removing the grill top and with a minimal number of passes. While most grill brushes feature a panel of bristles facing in one direction, this clever tool has bristles facing in all directions. And what’s more, there are three coils of said omni-directional bristles, so you can scrape away at a broad swath of the grill with each pass. While lightweight and easy to wield, this grill brush is far from dainty. In fact, it’s backed by a five-year warranty and is tough enough for use on all types of grill for hot or cold cleaning. For the record, you’ll get the best results using it on a heated grill and with occasional dips into a bowl of water or with water sprayed across the grill, just watch out for hot steam! And though rugged, the many fine bristles are safe for use on ceramic, porcelain, or infrared cook surfaces, too. With more than 2,100 reviews logged at the time of this writing, the Kona 360° Grill Brush has a stellar 4.7-star rating on Amazon. A grill master named Alan says he as “used many grill brushes before, [and] none of them cleaned up my old grill like this one.” A chef named Mandy called it a “very efficient brush” that saved time during cleanings. A review from The Z9 called the brush “ideal for cleaning all types of grills” and noted the “perfect length of the handle.” A TopPro10 write up said it was “constructed of premium material.” Pros: Cleans in all directions, lightweight and balanced, safe for use on all types of grill Cons: May rust if not properly dried Buy the Kona 360° Grill Brush on Amazon for $17.95 (originally $29.99) The best grilling planksPrimal Grilling Why you’ll love them: Primal Grilling Cedar planks impart a delicate, smoky flavor into your food and prevent flaky or fragile eats from falling apart. For the finest fish fillets, you have to cook on a grill. But grilling delicate fish can be seriously annoying. All too often, the fillets fall apart and you end up losing much of the meat and all of the presentation value of your entree. The solution? Just serve PB&J sandwiches instead. Except no, actually just grill your fish on Primal Grilling Cedar Planks. Not only will these extra-thick, fully reusable grilling planks help the fish (or any other fragile foodstuff) stay in one piece, they will also impart a wonderful smoky wood flavor into the grilled food. I’ve used grilling planks with everything from fish fillets to steaks to veggie kabobs to mini-sized pizzas with great success. When used properly (meaning plenty of soaking before use and careful cleaning after), a thick grilling plank like these from Primal Grilling can be used dozens of times. They will end up charred and can cause a bit of a mess, but they also come with a burlap storage bag that contains the sooty untidiness. With more than 500 reviews posted on Amazon, these grilling planks have a truly stellar 4.8-star average rating. A user named Jonathan praised the “wonderful taste” they give to “salmon… chicken, meat,” and vegetables, too. Another chef called these “virgin clear cedar” wood planks “great.” Pros: Imparts wonderful smoky flavor, helps fragile foods remain intact, can be used multiple times Cons: Messy after several uses Buy a set of Primal Grilling Cedar Planks on Amazon for $24.99 See the rest of the story at Business Insider See Also: The best shaving soap you can buyThe best beauty blenders and makeup sponges you can buyThe best lip balm with SPF you can buy SEE ALSO: The best grilling gloves you can buy Read more: feedproxy.google.com http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/06/01/the-best-grilling-tools-you-can-buy/

[haleeskitchen-blog]

New Post has been published on http://haleeskitchen.com/homemade-cannoli-that-live-up-to-the-hype/

Homemade Cannoli That Live Up to the Hype

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[Photographs: Vicky Wasik. Video: Natalie Holt.]

Let’s get this out of the way up front: the most authentic part of this recipe is my reasonably Italian sounding name. The history of cannoli is steeped in more regional ingredients, cooking traditions, and family secrets than I could ever hope to honor, much less integrate, in a single recipe. The best I can do is take the same approach I use in developing copycat recipes like homemade Oreo-style cookies and Fig Newtons—focus on capturing the taste, texture, and appearance we long for, even when that means breaking certain rules along the way.

Which is to say, my recipe itself may aim to create the Platonic ideal of cannoli, but there’s nothing traditional about what it looks like on paper. My pastry shells don’t contain a single drop of Marsala or any eggs at all, but they’re blistered, crisp, and tender, and almost savory in their toastiness. My ricotta filling doesn’t include even a pinch of powdered sugar, but it’s wonderfully sweet and silky smooth. The two unite in a pastry that’s rich and light, creamy and crunchy, earthy and floral, mellow and intense—a study in contrast if there ever was one. It takes some time, and an arsenal of equipment to pull off, but the results are more than worth the effort.

Of course, it all starts with the right dough. Believe it or not, cannoli shells are really a type of cracker—nothing more than flour, water, salt, and a knob of butter. Many classic Italian recipes use Marsala as some of that liquid, not for flavor but for the same reason Kenji puts vodka in pie dough—to provide hydration while limiting gluten development.

Good quality Marsala can be hard to find here in the States, and it’s an expensive purchase for recipes that only call for a tablespoon. The far easier method for controlling gluten development is to choose a low-protein all-purpose flour such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury. This builds the right balance of starch and protein into the recipe from the start, giving the shells a perfect combination of tenderness and strength. Just toss all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until satiny smooth and a little…cobwebby, for lack of a better term.

Hypothetically, this can be done by hand if you have the patience to slap and stretch the sticky dough for an hour, but it’s a 90-second job in a food processor—the only sane option so far as I’m concerned. Transfer the sticky dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set it aside for at least two hours or up to 24. Either way, that flexibility leaves more than enough time to make the filling at your leisure, so don’t feel compelled to tackle the entire recipe, start to finish, in a single afternoon.

On that note, my take on the ricotta filling is certainly where this recipe deviates most from tradition. Virtually all cannoli recipes use nothing more than powdered sugar to thicken and sweeten the ricotta. It’s the easiest method for sure, but the undissolved starch from the powdered sugar leaves a chalky ghost in every bite. If the ricotta is anything less than spectacular, the result is a filling that tastes like, as Daniel once put it, caulk.

My solution is to make a small batch of vanilla pudding, providing a sweet, thick, creamy, and flavorful foundation for the ricotta filling (it’s the same trick I use for making a super-stable cream cheese buttercream). Once the vanilla pudding is cool, beat it until smooth and creamy (either with a flexible spatula or the paddle of a stand mixer), then fold in the ricotta by hand.

It should go without saying that the ricotta needs to be of a very high caliber. Anything made with gums, stabilizers, preservatives, or other additives should be rejected out of hand. If you’re lucky enough to live near an excellent producer, locally made ricotta is an extraordinary thing (at Serious Eats, we love Salvatore Bklyn and Di Palo’s). Shy of that, look for ricotta made with nothing more than milk or whey and possibly salt and/or an acid or starter of some sort (true ricotta is made from nothing more than whey, but it’s a rarity outside of Italy). Ricotta is the backbone of cannoli, and if it’s not delicious enough to eat by the spoonful, your cannoli will be doomed to mediocrity from the start.

After you’ve made the filling, transfer it to a large, disposable pastry bag fitted with a plain, 1/2-inch round tip and refrigerate until needed—it will keep up to 3 days, another excellent make-ahead option.

Next up: rolling the dough. It will seem impossibly sticky in the bowl, but all it needs is a generous coating of flour. Seriously, don’t be shy. Excess flour can be brushed off later, so use as much as you need to feel comfortable handling the sticky dough. Roll it until no more than 1/16 inch thick, then brush it lightly with egg white and fold it in half.

Like a poorly applied screen protector, this results in tons of little air pockets trapped between the layers. In turn, these pockets help the dough to blister in the hot oil, giving the shells a delicate honeycomb crunch and plenty of surface area to fry up golden brown. Re-roll the dough until it’s 1/16 inch thick once more, then cut as many 3 1/2–inch rounds as possible—the largest cutter in Ateco’s graduated set is perfect for the job.

Gather up all the scraps and transfer to an airtight container until you have the time and space to re-roll. While you prepare the oil for frying, the cutouts can be left as-is; if you think this will be longer than 20 minutes, cover them with plastic wrap or a clean towel to keep them from drying out.

The most important thing about cannoli, since it’s a deep fried pastry, is the oil itself—an ingredient most recipes leave to chance, as if any old oil will do. Nothing could be further from the truth; for cannoli, choosing the right oil is just as important as choosing the best ricotta. That’s because cannoli were traditionally fried in lard, a solid fat. Modern recipes use liquid oil for sheer convenience, and that’s a huge problem.

Pastries may crisp when fried in liquid oil, but the oil they absorbs will ultimately create a sense of greasiness. Imagine a piece of bread dunked in oil for a few minutes, and the way it would squish in your mouth. That’s nice if you’re talking about a chunk of focaccia dipped in a fine olive oil, but it’s not exactly what we look for in a pastry. When fried in solid fats, however, the oil a dough absorbs will revert to its solid state once cool, creating a texture that’s light and crisp, with lingering richness as the oil melts on your tongue, like a generously buttered slice of toast.

If you can find enough leaf lard to deep fry, go for it! But my favorite alternative is refined coconut oil. Like lard, it’s solid at room temperature and liquid when warm.

Even better, it doesn’t produce the funky smell most often associate with frying at home; in fact, it’s totally odorless, so the only the thing you’ll notice will be the aroma of the cannoli shells as they brown. Little jars of refined coconut oil can be pretty pricey in supermarkets, but when shopping in bulk at warehouse clubs or online, that price will drop to less than $3 a pound. If coconut oil isn’t an option due to allergies, other solid fats like palm oil or vegetable shortening will do just fine.

Whatever solid fat you choose, use enough to form a 2-inch deep layer in a pot that’s at least 4 inches deep, and warm it to about 360°F, using a clip-on digital thermometer to monitor the temperature in real time. Meanwhile, form the shells by wrapping the cut-outs around tapered cannoli forms and sealing the flap with a dab of egg white.

When the oil is ready, fry the shells until pale gold, about 2 minutes. If the time varies significantly for you, check the placement of your thermometer; it’s normal for the fry-time to vary a little depending on the specific thickness of the dough and the conductivity of the form, but any major differences are a sign the oil is too hot or too cool.

Transfer the fried shells to a paper towel–lined baking sheet. Holding the shell itself with a pair of kitchen tweezers or tongs, rap the tapered end of the form to loosen the shell. Set the forms aside until cool, then continue shaping and frying the remaining cutouts the same way.

Fried in a solid fat like refined coconut oil, the cannoli shells will keep up to one week in an airtight container. Once filled, that solid fat will act like a waterproof jacket and keep the filled cannoli crisp for about four hours. Still, I think cannoli are best when the shells are freshly fried and filled, perhaps because at that point I’ve been anticipating them all day.

I can’t argue with the allure of dark chocolate and toasted pistachios, but, to me, fresh cannoli are absolutely perfect on their own, delicate and crisp and creamy—just begging for a shot of espresso.

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[awells933-blog]

Homemade Cannoli That Live Up to the Hype

New Post has been published on http://mycookingzone.net/homemade-cannoli-that-live-up-to-the-hype/

Homemade Cannoli That Live Up to the Hype

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[Photographs: Vicky Wasik. Video: Natalie Holt.]

Let’s get this out of the way up front: the most authentic part of this recipe is my reasonably Italian sounding name. The history of cannoli is steeped in more regional ingredients, cooking traditions, and family secrets than I could ever hope to honor, much less integrate, in a single recipe. The best I can do is take the same approach I use in developing copycat recipes like homemade Oreo-style cookies and Fig Newtons—focus on capturing the taste, texture, and appearance we long for, even when that means breaking certain rules along the way.

Which is to say, my recipe itself may aim to create the Platonic ideal of cannoli, but there’s nothing traditional about what it looks like on paper. My pastry shells don’t contain a single drop of Marsala or any eggs at all, but they’re blistered, crisp, and tender, and almost savory in their toastiness. My ricotta filling doesn’t include even a pinch of powdered sugar, but it’s wonderfully sweet and silky smooth. The two unite in a pastry that’s rich and light, creamy and crunchy, earthy and floral, mellow and intense—a study in contrast if there ever was one. It takes some time, and an arsenal of equipment to pull off, but the results are more than worth the effort.

Of course, it all starts with the right dough. Believe it or not, cannoli shells are really a type of cracker—nothing more than flour, water, salt, and a knob of butter. Many classic Italian recipes use Marsala as some of that liquid, not for flavor but for the same reason Kenji puts vodka in pie dough—to provide hydration while limiting gluten development.

Good quality Marsala can be hard to find here in the States, and it’s an expensive purchase for recipes that only call for a tablespoon. The far easier method for controlling gluten development is to choose a low-protein all-purpose flour such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury. This builds the right balance of starch and protein into the recipe from the start, giving the shells a perfect combination of tenderness and strength. Just toss all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until satiny smooth and a little…cobwebby, for lack of a better term.

Hypothetically, this can be done by hand if you have the patience to slap and stretch the sticky dough for an hour, but it’s a 90-second job in a food processor—the only sane option so far as I’m concerned. Transfer the sticky dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set it aside for at least two hours or up to 24. Either way, that flexibility leaves more than enough time to make the filling at your leisure, so don’t feel compelled to tackle the entire recipe, start to finish, in a single afternoon.

On that note, my take on the ricotta filling is certainly where this recipe deviates most from tradition. Virtually all cannoli recipes use nothing more than powdered sugar to thicken and sweeten the ricotta. It’s the easiest method for sure, but the undissolved starch from the powdered sugar leaves a chalky ghost in every bite. If the ricotta is anything less than spectacular, the result is a filling that tastes like, as Daniel once put it, caulk.

My solution is to make a small batch of vanilla pudding, providing a sweet, thick, creamy, and flavorful foundation for the ricotta filling (it’s the same trick I use for making a super-stable cream cheese buttercream). Once the vanilla pudding is cool, beat it until smooth and creamy (either with a flexible spatula or the paddle of a stand mixer), then fold in the ricotta by hand.

It should go without saying that the ricotta needs to be of a very high caliber. Anything made with gums, stabilizers, preservatives, or other additives should be rejected out of hand. If you’re lucky enough to live near an excellent producer, locally made ricotta is an extraordinary thing (at Serious Eats, we love Salvatore Bklyn and Di Palo’s). Shy of that, look for ricotta made with nothing more than milk or whey and possibly salt and/or an acid or starter of some sort (true ricotta is made from nothing more than whey, but it’s a rarity outside of Italy). Ricotta is the backbone of cannoli, and if it’s not delicious enough to eat by the spoonful, your cannoli will be doomed to mediocrity from the start.

After you’ve made the filling, transfer it to a large, disposable pastry bag fitted with a plain, 1/2-inch round tip and refrigerate until needed—it will keep up to 3 days, another excellent make-ahead option.

Next up: rolling the dough. It will seem impossibly sticky in the bowl, but all it needs is a generous coating of flour. Seriously, don’t be shy. Excess flour can be brushed off later, so use as much as you need to feel comfortable handling the sticky dough. Roll it until no more than 1/16 inch thick, then brush it lightly with egg white and fold it in half.

Like a poorly applied screen protector, this results in tons of little air pockets trapped between the layers. In turn, these pockets help the dough to blister in the hot oil, giving the shells a delicate honeycomb crunch and plenty of surface area to fry up golden brown. Re-roll the dough until it’s 1/16 inch thick once more, then cut as many 3 1/2–inch rounds as possible—the largest cutter in Ateco’s graduated set is perfect for the job.

Gather up all the scraps and transfer to an airtight container until you have the time and space to re-roll. While you prepare the oil for frying, the cutouts can be left as-is; if you think this will be longer than 20 minutes, cover them with plastic wrap or a clean towel to keep them from drying out.

The most important thing about cannoli, since it’s a deep fried pastry, is the oil itself—an ingredient most recipes leave to chance, as if any old oil will do. Nothing could be further from the truth; for cannoli, choosing the right oil is just as important as choosing the best ricotta. That’s because cannoli were traditionally fried in lard, a solid fat. Modern recipes use liquid oil for sheer convenience, and that’s a huge problem.

Pastries may crisp when fried in liquid oil, but the oil they absorbs will ultimately create a sense of greasiness. Imagine a piece of bread dunked in oil for a few minutes, and the way it would squish in your mouth. That’s nice if you’re talking about a chunk of focaccia dipped in a fine olive oil, but it’s not exactly what we look for in a pastry. When fried in solid fats, however, the oil a dough absorbs will revert to its solid state once cool, creating a texture that’s light and crisp, with lingering richness as the oil melts on your tongue, like a generously buttered slice of toast.

If you can find enough leaf lard to deep fry, go for it! But my favorite alternative is refined coconut oil. Like lard, it’s solid at room temperature and liquid when warm.

Even better, it doesn’t produce the funky smell most often associate with frying at home; in fact, it’s totally odorless, so the only the thing you’ll notice will be the aroma of the cannoli shells as they brown. Little jars of refined coconut oil can be pretty pricey in supermarkets, but when shopping in bulk at warehouse clubs or online, that price will drop to less than $3 a pound. If coconut oil isn’t an option due to allergies, other solid fats like palm oil or vegetable shortening will do just fine.

Whatever solid fat you choose, use enough to form a 2-inch deep layer in a pot that’s at least 4 inches deep, and warm it to about 360°F, using a clip-on digital thermometer to monitor the temperature in real time. Meanwhile, form the shells by wrapping the cut-outs around tapered cannoli forms and sealing the flap with a dab of egg white.

When the oil is ready, fry the shells until pale gold, about 2 minutes. If the time varies significantly for you, check the placement of your thermometer; it’s normal for the fry-time to vary a little depending on the specific thickness of the dough and the conductivity of the form, but any major differences are a sign the oil is too hot or too cool.

Transfer the fried shells to a paper towel–lined baking sheet. Holding the shell itself with a pair of kitchen tweezers or tongs, rap the tapered end of the form to loosen the shell. Set the forms aside until cool, then continue shaping and frying the remaining cutouts the same way.

Fried in a solid fat like refined coconut oil, the cannoli shells will keep up to one week in an airtight container. Once filled, that solid fat will act like a waterproof jacket and keep the filled cannoli crisp for about four hours. Still, I think cannoli are best when the shells are freshly fried and filled, perhaps because at that point I’ve been anticipating them all day.

I can’t argue with the allure of dark chocolate and toasted pistachios, but, to me, fresh cannoli are absolutely perfect on their own, delicate and crisp and creamy—just begging for a shot of espresso.

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[wiremagazine]

HOME CHEF SEASON SENSATIONS

By Michael W. Sasser

Let's face it, the holiday season isn't the easiest time for healthy eating. Obviously the dinners out, family meals and parties make eating outside of one's home precarious. But if you consider all the take-home platters you're offered, all the easy meals of high-fat, high-carb, home dining isn't always all that safe for us either. To some degree, without being a hermit or one of those annoying people who can flat refuse a Christmas cookie at the office, it's hard to get away from the holiday food trap.

Now, I am no professional chef nor dietitian, but I have had the blessing to have spent much of my life eating in the great restaurants and great food cities of the U.S. and the world. I picked up a few things from those years. Older now, eating healthy is critical. What I've really learned is that tasty and easy doesn't have to be unhealthy – even during the holiday season.

Years ago, every Thanksgiving I hosted an alternative dinner. It was for those friends who didn't observe the tradition, who just enjoyed the vibe or who, frankly, didn't like the usual holiday fare. There were curries and rice tables, tandoori, and usually a variety of vegetables one wouldn't see on the usual Thanksgiving table. I know it has its fans, but there was no green bean casserole or anything similar from a can cream soup base. I grew up in the 1970s and my mother traumatized me early when it came to anything with those components.

Today, whether cooking just for my partner and I, a small dinner party at home, or bringing something to a potluck, I don't stray that far from tradition unless I know it will be well received. Also, I wouldn't want to detract from those at a social occasion who enjoy the holiday standards. Instead, it is on the periphery, where some innovation is often welcomed anywhere (and, in fact, constitute the favorites at my hosted events). That means fun with vegetables and, in this column, I thought I would share two of my all-time, holiday season favorites that can elevate any meal, while bringing distinct taste, and which aren't waist-watching horrors.

Pumpkin-chili bisque offers a different way to celebrate the pumpkin, a fall and holiday favorite. Instead of a sweet dessert, it lets you cook off any meal occasion with a balance of sweet and savory to tease taste buds and set up the next course. Roasted Brussels sprouts – the kind without bacon – bring varied texture and savory flavor (and fragrance!) to any meal, and will absolutely cure that friend of yours who thinks he hates Brussels sprouts!

For me, trying to appease an elevated palate while avoiding the nutrition pitfalls we read about all the time is an ongoing and fluid process. I wouldn't take a holiday meal and convert it for guests to tofurkey. But transitioning a few side dishes introduces some flourishes without offending anyone. Well, hopefully. Some people might like tofurkey. I'm not really sure what it is.

You should have no problem identifying and using the ingredients in the recipes herein. I bet you'll enjoy them as well.

Pumpkin-chili bisque

This is a fall/winter staple for me because it can taste decadent but pack a nutritional wallop via the savory side of pumpkin. You can take a product in pumpkin that often contributes to the final, unhealthy course of a holiday meal and make it a starter guests talk about for years. I think that's where I first ran into bisque like this, but I honestly can't remember. So, the title alone might fool you into thinking this is too persnickety a dish or too weird of a combination for your tastes, but don't skip ahead. This thick, entrée soup is nutritious, delicious and also quite easy.

1 can packed pumpkin with no added taste

Approx. 42 ounces chicken or vegetable broth

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeño peppers, spines and seeds removed, chopped

Approx. 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Approx. 1/8 tsp cinnamon

A pinch of red chili pepper flakes

1/8 tsp dry thyme

(optional) 1/3 cup half and half

Salt and pepper (to taste)

I consider this a base recipe, from which I've gone on to make uncommon, varied entrées. You have to play with it to find your own favorite dish, but the base soup is just good. Brown the onion, garlic and jalapeño over medium heat, add the spices, pepper flakes and then the pumpkin. After mixing, add broth and continue adding by the ladle to about the consistency of a medium thick soup. 

Reduce heat to low, cover, stir every two minutes until all of the bisque reaches what you find to be your desirable consistency (about 10 mins). Add half and half if you like with heat off and mix final product together. One simple finish is a little sour cream, particularly if you like yours spicy, with pepitas, fresh corn, fresh cilantro or mint. Complete with some good croutons and it's still not a horrible way to enjoy the tastes of the season in a less obvious way. Note: the bisque will continue to thicken, so keep any extra broth on hand to thin out for reheating or for the next day. It reconstitutes beautifully.

Roasted Brussels sprouts

If it weren't for avocado, crab, neither of which shows up in this absurdly easy recipe, this might be my all-time favorite vegetable dish. For me, it isn't just a holiday or winter dish. It shows up at dinner parties whenever fresh Brussels sprouts are available. The fresh is key. Many people still associate this veggie with a stinky, wet mess our moms used to make. This recipe I learned from an amazing Miami Beach home cook, Jamie Kaufman, who is sadly no longer with us. This is just one of her dishes that helps keep her memory alive to those who knew her for years. Cooked properly, they are taste sensations waiting to wow. Many people who roast their sprouts use bacon for flavor and the requisite fat in the dish. I prefer the combination of olive oil and garlic to do the trick – as does my doctor!

Approx. 16 large Brussels sprouts, trimmed of imperfect exterior leaves, washed and with an "x" engraved in their stems

Olive oil to coat

Approx. 8 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, add prepared and dried off Brussels sprouts. Coat with olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic, stirring constantly to distribute marinade.

Pour vegetables and remaining marinade into roasting pan. A disposable pan with high edges will make for easiest clean-up. Try to keep plenty of room between each sprout to help caramelizing. Place the roasting pan into the pre-heated oven.

You should open the oven quickly and use a potholder and grasp and slightly shake the pan after about 15 minutes, and then again after half an hour. Total cook time usually runs to about 45 minutes, but can vary based on your oven and the size of your sprouts. What you're looking for is browned slightly crispy exterior leaves and you know they are ready.

Sometimes I will finish with some Parmesan cheese, other times they seem perfect as is. Instead of a smelly boiled green, you have fragranced your home with garlic and olive oil and you have veggies that are crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.

It's easy, it's really one mixing bowl and a disposable, and you will definitely elevate an occasion's taste – and nutrition – level.

Three other tips:

Sweet potatoes prepared in a savory fashion – either baked like any other potato or use half and half with white potatoes in the mashed variety – add an interesting flavor and the superior nutritional value of the sweet variety.

Another option to gloppy veggie casserole: spaghetti squash. Simply with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, you have a healthy side dish that evokes the season.

Grains-grains-grains. Healthier grains are so much more common today that you can often find quinoa in a convenience store. Take advantage of their healthiness, prevalence and flexibility in any number of savory or sweet dishes.

Author/writer Michael W. Sasser has written on food and dining in South Florida and abroad for hundreds of publications, ranging from Where Miami and the Sun-Sentinel Group to Frommer's Fodor's, Time Out, Fresh Guides, Black Book NY and more.

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 49.2017

[zebrazeke-blog]

The Leaked Secret to Can My Dog Eat Melon Skin Discovered

Stress can also lead to hives, and in a number of cases constant stress over long amounts of time may lead to chronic hives. If you begin considering the pain again, just do so until you think about something else. Now, the most significant part before we go any further, is to comprehend how I was able to stop considering the pain. Furthermore, the acidic stomach is sufficiently strong to kill all bacteria together with break down whole bones. Diarrhea is a severe problem if it is a constant matter. In addition it's decent for urinary tract infection.

All food needs to be consumed within a 2 hour time period, what's left after two hours ought to be disposed of. Because of their antioxidant content, some foods are labelled super foods. This food increases antioxidants within your body which increases your capacity to absorb completely free radicals which then reduce skin problems in order to have healthier skin.

The most frequent chemical connected with hives is histamine. It is simply likely to be alcohol at the conclusion of it. So, when folks say, `drinking like a girl', calm down, and just kill those folks in your thoughts. The best method to get this done is to set the bottle in warm water for a couple minutes.

Apple seeds actually have a sort of cyanide that can be fatal to dogs. Raw pumpkin seeds are not just superior for you, but they're excellent for your dog too. Regrettably, it didn't appear to be beautiful, such as these flowers are. It can be simple to use the leaves, or it might be difficult. In the event the roots are included, it has to be washed thoroughly and it's wise to get Tawa tawa early each morning.

The oil will subsequently melt, making it simple to pour. If you would like to try out coconut oil for a supplement for your dog, be certain to acquire a pure type of the edible oil from a trustworthy source. Even water and bodily fluids are know to result in hives. In fact, you're losing plenty of heat from the body.

Peanut Butter creates a great treat. Vegetables ought to be finely diced and mixed with each other to stop selective feeding. Cooked chopped cabbage is a pure cure for these ailments and a terrific canine anti-oxidant. Watermelon contains very great amounts of potassium. Most people believe that you need to eat citrus fruits to acquire Vitamin C but there are a couple of vegetables out there which have it also. The berries having the most benefits are naturally fresh berries that you'd select from your garden or from the neighbourhood farmer's market and, being always, are organically grown.

You dream of experiencing a work digging ditches.63. Avoid feeding foods do not have any idea how they are going to react to. Most individuals do crazy things once they get drunk. It's still sensible to have an expert help from doctors. however, it isn't right to discourage its usage. So be certain you understand what you are doing or know somebody who does. Being at a wholesome weight is in.

Don't forget, it must be the very same day each week. You've taken the opportunity to make papercraft art of Minecraft.66. You may eat everything, at proper occasions and in little quantities. Slowly and steadily, you're going to be requested to eat things which you've kept away from all this while. Secrets about dog breeds that don t shed

Skin coloration is such they blend in their surroundings. Because individual's patterns are inclined to be blended it's difficult to find perfect examples of every one of these patterns. The form of pumpkin can change from oblate to oblong. The shell has calcium and is excellent for their teeth and digestion. In the wild, turtles choose various foods based on what's in season. To guarantee superior health and longevity in your turtle you should understand what they are able to and can't eat.

There is really a lengthy collection of fruits which you can eat which are full of antioxidants and which are therefore beneficial for your skin. Substrate moisture content is crucial in the wellness of a box turtle. Large quality, pesticide-free vegetable sources ought to be provided. Diary products are another really terrific supply of Vitamin A so they may be really great for the epidermis. So that your dog's digestive system is completely equipped to manage raw foods too.

Be sure you lessen your consumption of caffeine, bad fats, salt, sugar, etc. to make the most of the nutritious benefits your skin is getting from the consumption of these other very good foods! Variety is the key to avoiding too large an amount of protein along with keeping all other nutritional elements in balance. Additionally it is important to consider your rats are strong.

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

The best grilling tools you can buy

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you’ll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

The Insider Pick:

If you’re going to grill great eats, you need to cook on a clean grill and have all the tools you need at your fingertips. We’ve rounded up the best grilling tools, including everything from a grill cleaner and grill brush to grilling planks and meat thermometers.

In the past week, I’ve fired up my grill three times. And if the weather holds today, I’ll be cooking up burgers and skewers for dinner tonight, too. There’s just no comparison to food cooked on a grill, and when you have great grilling tools and accessories at your disposal, grilling is just about the easiest kind of cooking, too.

Think about it: You’re outside, so there’s no reason to worry about a few drips of oil here or some dropped of food there, you have a precise control over the temperature of a gas grill, so you don’t need to time things perfectly as with an oven, and you’re supposed to be drinking a beer while grilling, which … well, OK that doesn’t necessarily make things easier, but it does make the process more fun.

What does make grilling easier? A great spatula that doubles as a knife. A grill brush that scours away grit and bits of food in one pass. A meat thermometer that takes readings in seconds. And of course, reliable grill cleaning supplies that keep your barbecue station looking great and working well.

Today, I’ve put together a list of the primary grilling tools I use to cook, clean, and maintain my six-burner gas grill. Most of these tools can also be used with a charcoal grill, and I’ve even included a great way to get coals burning fast, no lighter fluid required.

Here are the best grilling tools you can buy:

Best grill cleaner: CLR’s BBQ Grill Cleaner spray Best grill brush: Kona 360° Grill Brush Best grilling planks: Primal Grilling Cedar Planks Best spatula: Char-Broil Basic Grilling Spatula Best grill gloves: Steven Raichlen Extra Long Suede Grill Gloves Best grill pan: Char-Broil Porcelain Grill Topper pan Best fire starter: Pine Mountain ExtremeStart Wrapped Fire Starters Best charcoal: Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes  Best thermometers: Habor Instant Read and ThermoPro Wireless Remote Dual Probe

Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.The best grill cleaning products Steven John

Why you’ll love them: Used together with a bit of elbow grease, CLR’s BBQ Grill Cleaner Spray and CLR’s Stainless Steel Cleaner can leave your grill looking brand new.

It’s not often that I’m genuinely surprised by the quality of a product. In my line of work and in my several hobbies, I’ve tested a fair amount of cleaning products from a number of brands, and while most prove adequate or even impressive, few in recent years have left me as impressed as two grill cleaning formulas made by the vaunted brand CLR (Calcium Lime Rust). 

CLR BBQ Grill Cleaner is a foamy spray formula that is safe to spray all over the grates, burners, and other interior components of your grill. It’s non-toxic, non-flammable, and even biodegradable, so health and environmental concerns are essentially nil. It’s also super tough on grease, grime, soot, and baked on char. With a coat of this stuff on the grates of my much-loved, not-all-that-much-cleaned gas grill, it took me about two minutes of scraping and scouring to restore the cooking surface to the pure, shiny state I remember from the first day I used the grill.

Dozens of soap and water cleanings came nowhere close to the efficacy of a single use of this stuff, and to be honest, I think the burgers I cooked on the grill an hour later even tasted better than that last round cooked up before the deep cleaning.

As the grates of my grill weren’t the only surface that needed some TLC, I was glad to also have a can of CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner on hand. This stuff brought out a shine I could hardly believe the exterior of my grill could achieve after years sitting outside facing the elements (I mean… I usually have it covered…), and as with the BBQ Grill Cleaner spray, the cleaning process took about two minutes.

If you want to hear the opinions of other folks who have used CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner with the same satisfaction, just check some Amazon reviews. With more than 200 reviews posted, the stuff has a fine 4.2-star average rating. A lady named Kasia called it “a great cleaner” that removed even the most stubborn spots on her steel stove. A gentleman named Howard said the “nothing else cleans our stainless steel refrigerator” like CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner.

Pros: BBQ grill cleaner cuts through stubborn grease and grime, stainless steel cleaner works with minimal manual effort, trusted brand name

Cons: Stainless steel cleaner leaves film on nearby surfaces

Buy a Two-Pack of CLR BBQ Grill Cleaner on Amazon for $23 Buy a can of CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner on Amazon for $7

The best grill brush Kona

Why you’ll love it: The Kona 360° Grill Brush cleans in all directions to scrape away bits of food and built up soot on the top, sides, and the bottom of the grill.

Cleaning your grill is important. We’ve established that, right? But nowhere have I claimed that it’s exactly what you’d call fun. In fact, it’s kind of an annoying process sometimes, especially when you have a long grilling session to look forward to and you’d really rather get on with things.

The Kona 360° Grill Brush is perfect for people who value a clean grill but want it cleaned fast. Its design allows you to clean the top, bottom, and sides of each bar of the grill without removing the grill top and with a minimal number of passes. While most grill brushes feature a panel of bristles facing in one direction, this clever tool has bristles facing in all directions. And what’s more, there are three coils of said omni-directional bristles, so you can scrape away at a broad swath of the grill with each pass.

While lightweight and easy to wield, this grill brush is far from dainty. In fact, it’s backed by a five-year warranty and is tough enough for use on all types of grill for hot or cold cleaning. For the record, you’ll get the best results using it on a heated grill and with occasional dips into a bowl of water or with water sprayed across the grill, just watch out for hot steam! And though rugged, the many fine bristles are safe for use on ceramic, porcelain, or infrared cook surfaces, too.

With more than 2,100 reviews logged at the time of this writing, the Kona 360° Grill Brush has a stellar 4.7-star rating on Amazon. A grill master named Alan says he as “used many grill brushes before, [and] none of them cleaned up my old grill like this one.” A chef named Mandy called it a “very efficient brush” that saved time during cleanings.

A review from The Z9 called the brush “ideal for cleaning all types of grills” and noted the “perfect length of the handle.” A TopPro10 write up said it was “constructed of premium material.”

Pros: Cleans in all directions, lightweight and balanced, safe for use on all types of grill

Cons: May rust if not properly dried

Buy the Kona 360° Grill Brush on Amazon for $17.95 (originally $29.99)

The best grilling planks Primal Grilling

Why you’ll love them: Primal Grilling Cedar planks impart a delicate, smoky flavor into your food and prevent flaky or fragile eats from falling apart.

For the finest fish fillets, you have to cook on a grill. But grilling delicate fish can be seriously annoying. All too often, the fillets fall apart and you end up losing much of the meat and all of the presentation value of your entree. The solution? Just serve PB&J sandwiches instead. Except no, actually just grill your fish on Primal Grilling Cedar Planks. Not only will these extra-thick, fully reusable grilling planks help the fish (or any other fragile foodstuff) stay in one piece, they will also impart a wonderful smoky wood flavor into the grilled food.

I’ve used grilling planks with everything from fish fillets to steaks to veggie kabobs to mini-sized pizzas with great success. When used properly (meaning plenty of soaking before use and careful cleaning after), a thick grilling plank like these from Primal Grilling can be used dozens of times. They will end up charred and can cause a bit of a mess, but they also come with a burlap storage bag that contains the sooty untidiness.

With more than 500 reviews posted on Amazon, these grilling planks have a truly stellar 4.8-star average rating. A user named Jonathan praised the “wonderful taste” they give to “salmon… chicken, meat,” and vegetables, too. Another chef called these “virgin clear cedar” wood planks “great.”

Pros: Imparts wonderful smoky flavor, helps fragile foods remain intact, can be used multiple times

Cons: Messy after several uses

Buy a set of Primal Grilling Cedar Planks on Amazon for $24.99

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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SEE ALSO: The best grilling gloves you can buy

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