Slashfood

• Plagued with fruit flies? Re-Nest shows how to end the invasion
  

  Filed under: How To

  
  All summer long, I've been buying up bags of tomatoes, quarts of peaches and at least two melons a week. I can't get enough of the sweet flavors and amazing freshness of the produce from my local farms and markets. I have, however, had more than enough of the fruit flies that often tag along with my edible hauls. For the last two months, my kitchen has offered shelter to these diminutive insects and their flitting around is starting to make me feel truly crazy.
  
  Thankfully, just as I was about to round the bend and consider stripping my kitchen bare in order...
  



• Tip of the Day: Store honey appropriately
  

  Filed under: How To, Artisan Foods, Tip of the Day

  As with many other foods, we tend to refrigerate honey or incorrectly store it. One of the great things about honey is that it doesn't go bad for years. However, you'll want to store it appropriately so that it retains its unique texture and flavor.

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• Tip of the Day: Grind your coffee to maximize its flavor
  

  Filed under: Coffee, How To, Tip of the Day

  Coffee usually tastes better with freshly ground beans. But, if it's not ground appropriately the coffee will taste off. The key to understanding how to grind coffee has to do with knowing how you're going to brew it. The grinding and brewing processes are connected.

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• Poverty brings out the best in consumers...and cuisine!
  

  Filed under: Frugal Food, Vegetables, Recipes, Fruit, Pork, How To, Did you know?, Comfort Food, Retro cookery, Meat

  As the ongoing recession/inflation/credit crunch drives the cost of food higher and higher, British chain Sainsbury's has begun working to minimize food wastage. Meanwhile, ever-increasing numbers of consumers are cooking from scratch in an attempt to stretch their food budgets. Clearly, thrift is back!
  
  As you rush around in your search for cheap things to eat, it's worth remembering that, in the kitchen at least, poverty can definitely be the mother of invention. Although cheap gas, greenhouse...
  



• Cannelloni: An easy yet special dinner
  

  Filed under: On the Blogs, How To

  
  Today for lunch, my sister and I did something we don't do very often. We went to an Italian restaurant. Italian just isn't one of my favorite cuisines. After a minute of looking at the menu, she asked me what cannelloni was, at which point I realized I had no idea. Imagine my surprise when I got home and found this post from Baker's Banter. It's a how-to on Sara Moulton's (Sara's Secrets) version of cannelloni, which uses crepes rather than pasta sheets. It looks incredibly delicious, and...
  



• Tip of the Day: Know when your melon is ripe
  

  Filed under: Fruit, How To, Tip of the Day, Summer, Fall

  By this time of the year, markets and grocery stores are overflowing with a gorgeous array of melons. There are a few ways to know when your melon is ripe. They involve understanding that there are two classes of melon: the muskmelons and the watermelons.

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• Homemade Liqueurs: Preserving the taste of summer
  

  Filed under: Vegetables, Recipes, Fruit, How To, Spirits, Liquor Cabinet, Liqueurs, Summer

  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of Vlada, a New York bar that specializes in infused vodkas. As I mentioned in my post, my experiences at Vlada had made me nostalgic for the moonshine that I had once enjoyed in Southwest Virginia. Back in the day, I used to buy 'shine by the gallon and infuse it with fruits, herbs, honey, and other ingredients, producing a wide range of aperitifs. While I'm a huge fan of store-bought liqueurs, I have yet to meet the mass-produced...
  



• Tip of the Day: Keep your herbs and spices tasting fresh
  

  Filed under: How To, Spices, Tip of the Day

  I often buy more spices and herbs than I know what to do with. So, it's not surprising that after several months they begin to lose their best flavors. Fortunately, there are techniques to preserve their unique taste.

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• Prodigal Gardens: Finding food in your own backyard
  

  Filed under: Farming, Food Oddities, How To, Retro cookery, Local Eating

  When I was ten or eleven, I read an article in National Geographic World about foraging for food, and it immediately caught my attention. For several months, I made violet syrup, dandelion root "coffee," acorn muffins, and a wide variety of other bizarre concoctions from ingredients that I found in my own backyard. Some of these foods were good and others were horrific, but they taught me a few things about how to survive in the wild, not to mention the underappreciated joys of maple syrup.
  
  In the years since, I've tried cattails and...
  



• Tip of the Day: Store your extra virgin olive oil appropriately
  

  Filed under: How To, Artisan Foods, Tip of the Day

  When purchasing an artisanal extra virgin olive oil, people tell me completely different ways to store it. While some urge me to refrigerate it, others argue that refrigeration spoils the oil's flavor.

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