Brooklynnina's Profile

That jar-with-water-and-a-bag-over-it-in-the-fridge technique is amazing for cilantro, as I only very recently learned. In the last couple of years I'd all but given up on buying cilantro because it turned to slime after just a day or so in the fridge with my usual herb storage technique of wrapping in a paper towel and then sealing in a plastic bag. Then a couple months ago, after a recent Kitchn post about the the jar technique I decided to give it another try, and my cilantro lasted for nearly two weeks! Incredible and life-changing. : )

YES. Me too. I put flat-leaf parsley into just about every savory dish (usually at the end)--I think it's just neutral enough to go with nearly any flavor and adds a taste of freshness.

It also freezes very well if you don't get through a big bunch in time. Wash and dry it, pull off all the big stems, then smush the parsley into the bottom of a freezer ziploc and roll the bag up tightly, pushing out as much air as possible. You can use rubber bands initially to hold the bag in a roll. Once frozen it's easy to slice as much as you need off the end of the parsley "stick."

Just chiming in to echo the point about propane tanks--we did that in our house, and apparently just about everyone in our area does so. It's provided by the oil company that services our furnace, was an easy install by the company + our contractor, and the fuel costs are really low. If it's at all a possibility for you I'd look into it. Cooking on electric really does suck. :-(

Yes, we do this too, both in our apartment and our weekend place--but mostly because the few upper cabinets we do have are a little high to be comfortable for heavier/breakable things like dishes. I think I'd actually prefer them in a cabinet. We may be putting in a small pantry cabinet soon, and then I think I will store my dishes right in its center shelves--seems handiest to have them just about chest level, i.e., a height somewhere between lower drawers and typical upper cabinets.

(Oh, and per the weight question, ours are in drawers about half the width of the one shown above, so not that many dishes in a single drawer, and weight doesn't feel like an issue to me in that case.)

I think cardamom would be wonderful in an olive oil cake! (Although even better if combined with orange zest... : )

Check out some kosher cookbooks or online sources. They should have dessert/baking recipes that can be eaten with meat meals, and therefore do not have dairy, but won't be restricted on eggs, gluten, etc.

These are great tips and totally reflect how I eat and cook when I'm on my own. Unfortunately, my husband requires meat at dinner, which makes it hard to do totally spontaneous, just-from-the-freezer-and-pantry meals. Keeping bacon and homemade meatballs in the freezer helps, as they are pretty quick to prepare. But so often we end up ordering takeout just because, although I would be happy with something "thrown-together" as per above, there's no meat defrosted, so it won't pass muster with him. :-( I would love to see some tips for quick/easy/spontaneous meals that still satisfy a diehard carnivore...

The real question is, how "bad" is "bad" milk? I mean, do people ever get really sick (or even die) from milk that's spoiled? If not, then I would just go by how it tastes and not worry about it. I'll say that now and then I'll smell a carton of milk or half-and-half and it smells the very tiniest bit "off," but then when I taste it it taste fine--and I've always assumed the off smell was from the little bits of milk/cream that kind of clump around the opening of the carton...

Yes--I had EXACTLY the same come-to-kale moment when I made the switch from spiky curly kale to lacinato. Lunch today was the last couple handfuls sauteed with brown rice, some seasoninings, and topped with a poached egg. Last two days lunch were salad with balsamic vinaigrette (I don't bother massage, just add the dressing a few hours earlier), avocado, cucumber, mango, sliced almonds, and either tofu or shrimp. For salads, I definitely find it much more satisfying/filling than just about any other green; but also love its versatility for cooking.

I bake pretty much everything from scratch--EXCEPT croissants, which I either get from the awesome French bakery near us or make from the Trader Joe frozen (chocolate) ones (which are surprisingly great).