Most good cooks weren't born with smart kitchen habits. Getting comfortable in the kitchen takes time. Here are 7 smart kitchen habits that made us better cooks. If you're looking to up your kitchen game, we bet these can help. 1. Meal p…
Summer has arrived and I'm ready for a week at the beach, or in the mountains, or anywhere but here! In an ideal world, every vacation home renter would stock the kitchen with everything you need, but many of us have arrived for a week o…
With inflation and supply chain-related shortages upon us , I know a lot of us are considering CSAs for practical reasons as well as ethical ones. Plus, that fresh chard and those vine-ripened strawberries. Yum! When I first wrote about …
May might just be my favorite month of the year, because along with my birthday, and Mother's Day, it's AAPI Month, or Asian American Pacific Islander month, which gives me, a biracial Chinese American a chance to talk a little more abou…
A few years ago, I read Marie Kondo's book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and could not wait to apply it to my house. Using her mantra of only keeping things that "bring me joy," I …
Feeding a family of five during the worst of the COVID pandemic lockdown definitely made a dent in our budget, but now that things have gotten a little more normal, our spending on food is still so much higher than in pre-COVID days . Wh…
With COVID finally making its way to our household this past week, this means I placed my weekly grocery order online through Instacart for delivery this morning rather than going to wander through the store myself. When my order arrived…
This past year we all spent a good amount of time and thought into prepping our pantry for an emergency - but now as we head back to school our pantries may not be stocked very well for every day snacks and packing lunches. So we have up…
I never thought I'd be writing about packaged avocado, as a die-hard "just the fruit, ma'am" avocado shopper. However as I'm gearing up to stuff myself with as much homemade guacamole as I can fit into my belly this year on Cinco de Mayo…
Even while we're all still trying to find ways to save money on groceries , I know that there are some supermarket splurges that make me really happy. I think it's important to have some small -- and delicious -- indulgences that make al…
Anyone out there in need of suggestions for gluten-free pizza? Because yeah, we're all as tired of cooking as you are right now, and I am not at all above adding good frozen pizzas to my weekly meal plans. Well if you're looking for the …
The pandemic has really put a damper on my food tourism this year, so tracking down amazing mail order cookies from small bakeries across the country has been like...virtual travel for me. I'm so happy to recommend them, because so many …
Want to make that warm cup of cocoa even more soothing? If your answer is yes, give me all the comfort, then you might need a mug buddy , AKA, a tiny gingerbread house that perches on the lip of your mug to keep you company. And make you…
For the first time in my adult life, I will be in charge of an entire Thanksgiving dinner for my family of five thanks to COVID-19 restrictions on indoor gatherings. That means that instead of just making a few side dishes and showing up…
It's officially barbecue season! Which means that I'll be hitting my local Trader Joe's to grab some of their latest summer barbecue picks for all the outdoor meals we will be having. Because it's just too darned hot to turn on the oven,…
I can't be the only one wondering, what's with all these best buy / use by dates on my food? What's the difference? Are these dates really legit or just suggestions? I mean, these days, we're all so focused on food waste and making sure …
Everyone is asking us, "how do I cook with what I have?" I get it. We're looking at what's in our pantries, our fridges, our freezers and trying to figure out recipes. We're wondering what to do with that half-used jar of lemon preserves…
As we spring forward without that extra hour of sleep this week (oof), at least we can appreciate the extra hour of daylight that hints at warmer days ahead. And, if there's a flavor I associate with warmer and sunnier days, it's lemon. …
If you're a Trader Joe's devotee like me, you probably have a handful -- or cartful -- of must-haves that you grab every visit. Now you can see how your favorites stack up against other TJ shoppers by checking out the winners of Trader J…
I know a lot of our readers have made resolutions to commit to sharing more experiences with their kids instead of buying them stuff, and that includes travel. While we all know the many benefits of travel, you might not have considered …
I love that this time of year, I can accomplish both my food shopping and a lot of my gift shopping at at Trader Joe's, all at the same time. Lucky for me, Trader Joe's has some of my favorite affordable grab-and-go gifts that make it wo…
Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey is always a little stressful – whether this is your 23rd Thanksgiving turkey in a row or your very first. What I've learned over the years is that guests (and their dietary restrictions!) change, budgets go …
This week on the Spawned parenting podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with Suzy Chase, host of the #1 cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book . After speaking with nearly 200 cookbook authors, restauranteurs, famous chefs and skilled …
This week, Erin asked our Recipe Rescue Facebook community for ideas for mid-morning snacks for kids for when they "burn out on string cheese, and can't have nuts." The group came through big time, with lots of ideas for quick snacks to …