Cooking Tips
When it comes to Cooking, we've been there, done that, now serving 717 tips in 32 categories ranging from Beginner Cooking Techniques to Vegan Cooking.
Top 10 Apps for Kitchen Mastery and Fun
Cooking should be a fun experience, one in which you learn a lot. However, for beginners who need help, you may feel scared venturing into the kitchen. Luckily, your smartphone can give you instruction along the way, whether you want to find recipes, perform measurements or learn new techniques. Check out these top 10 apps.
1. Escoffier Cook's Companion on iPhone
This app helps you prepare a meal from beginning to end. You can convert measurements, read about ingredients, and flip through a glossary of kitchen colloquialisms. Even better, the app is free and not meant for professionals, just those that want to cook at home.
2. Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals on Android or iPhone
For just seven dollars, you can make plenty of interesting and tasty meals in just 20 minutes. You can read what ingredients you need and take the steps to cook. The price may dissuade some.
3. Appetites on iPhone
If you want to learn from the chefs but can't afford culinary school, try Appetites. Video instruction guides you along with plenty of recipes. The only con is that only certain videos are free.
4. BigOven on Android or iPhone
If you want access to over 200,000 recipes, then this app is for you. Not only that, but you can write a grocery list and even borrow recipes from your friends. The only con is that you have to have an idea of what you're doing in the kitchen to make these meals.
5. How to Cook Everything on iPhone
If you don't want any limitations to your meal plan, try this app. For five dollars, you can browse over 2,000 recipes with over 400 instruction sets. The only con is that this app only works for iPhones.
6. The Photo Cookbook on iPhone
If you learn visually, the Photo Cookbook app is perfect. Large, high-quality images teach you to prepare a variety of meals. One con is that you need to do in-app purchasing to get access to more recipes.
7. Weber's On the Grill on Android or iPhone
This app is ideal for grill lovers. You can learn all about which rubs, sauces, and marinades work best on which meats. The app cost five dollars, which may deter those looking for free recipes.
8. Perfect Produce on Android or iPhone
If you want to know when apple season is or if that cucumber went rotten, this app can tell you. This is perfect to bring on the go when grocery shopping. This app has no cons.
9. Paprika Recipe Manager on Android or iPhone
This app manages your recipes and sets up meal plans and grocery lists. However, it costs five dollars, which may be a con.
10. Slow Cooker Recipes on Android or iPhone
If you like comfort food and don't mind taking the time, slow cooker meals can be delicious. This free app can show you how to make every slow cooker meal you can imagine. It has no cons.
10 Hilariously Funny Cooking Jokes
You know you're obsessed with cooking when….
- You sleep with a spatula under your pillow.
- Your alarm clock is an egg timer.
- You take your food processor on vacation with you.
- You can read a cookbook cover to cover.
- You regret having to go to someone else's home for dinner because it's one less day of cooking.
- You carry spices in your purse.
- You begin to plan meals for OTHER families.
- All the shows recorded on your DVR are food related.
- Your response to "why did the chicken cross the road" is "to be roasted."
More hilariously funny jokes about cooking:
- How many Twitter followers does it take to change a lightbulb? We have no idea, they were all too busy telling us their hilarious #foodjokes…
- "Waiter, waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?" "I think it's the backstroke, sir."
- Two peanuts walk into a really rough bar. Unfortunately, one was a salted.
- What do you call someone with jelly in one ear and custard in the other? A trifle deaf.
- What do you call Spiritual cheese? Cheeses of Nazareth.
- What is small, red and whispers? A HOARSE RADISH.
- How can you tell that a blonde's been baking chocolate chip cookies? There's M&M shells all over the floor.
- A friend got some vinegar in his ear, now he suffers from pickled hearing.
- Overweight is something that just sort of snacks up on you.
Safe and Entertaining Cooking Games For Kids
If you are looking for safe fun and entertainment for your kids, you can look to the Internet for cooking games. Here are some free websites below that guarantee a safe platform for your kids.
1. http://www.primarygames.com/arcade/cooking.php – features the pancake game where your child will be able to decorate pancakes that are shown on the left of their screen to look exactly like the pancake on the right of the screen. The child will place the ingredients and pancake toppings on the pancake exactly as they appear on the right.
2. WebPaws carries 34 cooking game choices at http://www.webpaws.com/games.php?cid=7&s=Cooking. From ice cream to buffet dinners, your child can explore his or her creativity in a safe and unique way.
3. If you would like your child to learn about cooking, food safety and hygiene, then you will like http://www.familylearning.org.uk/food_games.html. The barbecue food game shows your child how to safely cook on a barbecue grill.
4. Online games were usually male-dominated until now. At CookingGames.net, girls from ages 4 to 14 get to decorate their own pizzas, birthday cakes, pastas and more.
5. http://www.glittergames.com/top-games/7-cooking-games is another site specifically for girls. From hamburgers to pizzas, your daughters can explore the art of cooking.
Every parent is concerned about the safety issues when their children are online, and these websites mentioned above are ideal for playing games in a safe online environment.
Just a Teaspoon of Sugar and a Whole Lot of Fun- Cooking with Kids
Since I am a teacher, I feel that everything can be a learning experience. What better way to learn and have fun then playing around in the kitchen! Here are five games for cooking, baking, and bonding with your kids:
1) Shapes. Using cookie cutters, have children choose which shapes they would like to use to make their cookies. Things to note are the number of sides and angles of each.
2) Predator vs Prey: This is a science project using skittles and m&m's. Use one color of skittles on a plate to create a "habitat." sprinkle assorted colors of m&m's in the mix. The child is the "predator" and has ten seconds to use his pointer and thumb like a beak to "catch" the m&m's within the mix. At the end of 10 seconds see how many m&ms he captured, did he accidently pick up any skittles? Discuss camouflage and how animals use it for protection. Repeat with different colored habitats. Any difference?
3) Colors: Challenge your kids to make a meal using all one color. For example: a breakfast of scrambled eggs, banana, pineapple juice, and corn tortillas. What about a rainbow meal? Since fruits and vegetables come in a variety of brililant hues, this could be a healthy adventure as well!
4) Scavenger Hunt: A great way to practice reading and following directions. Have the child look through a cook book and find something yummy and new that they would like to make. Then have them search around for all the necessary ingredients.
5) Measuring: This is a great way to learn fractions. 1/2 a cup vs 1/4. Try making several cups of kool-aid or ice tea using different measurements. How does each one taste? Which one is your favorite, the one with more or less sugar? We all know what that answer is, but it's fun to watch them look like they are actually considering both options:)
Play Cooking Games With Your Kids (Or Without!)
Cooking games are exactly what they sound like! They are various games that incorporate the element of food and cooking within them. They can either have the player simply imitate making something, or have them make it in a virtual way. Some games even allow kids to really make simple foods, giving them a tasty treat for when the cooking game is done!
These type of games have been with us for many, many years. Young adults and toddlers with a passion or interest in cooking have always tried their hand at it in an early age. A few decades ago, children would play with little make believe kitchen stoves and ovens and serve their imaginary food to their imaginary friends, often hosted as a “tea party”.
Recently, with the advancement of safe electronic, the younger generation can use specially designed, kid friendly versions of actual stoves and ovens, so that they can make real food. Various companies like Fisher-Price and Toys R Us have many different kinds of kid safe kitchen-ware.
Another advancement, in the form of video games, have also helped popularize cooking games. Children can now create virtual dishes and be awarded with more ingredients, recipes, or virtual collectibles. Platforms such as the Nintendo DS offer highly popular cooking games like Cooking Mama and Cooking Dash.
These games are fun to play and help satisfy the urge of playing cooking related games. Even adults can benefit from virtual cooking games like Personal Trainer: Cooking, which allows them to practice making new foods, without the wastage of ingredients in trial runs.
Cooking games have come a long way since the make-believe days, and these very games will inspire people around the world to create more delicious food.
Finding the right online cooking classes!
Culinary school isn't for everyone, but eating surely is. It would be terrible to live your entire life devoid of any true education in the kitchen. Not only would your palette suffer for it, but so would all of the people you ever invited over to your home for a meal. Man cannot live off take-out alone, so learning to cook is a great talent to cultivate. Fortunately you do not have to attend cooking school in person to learn the arts of the kitchen, as we can simply resort to online classes. But which online classes are best for you?
Assess your situation.
Unlike many other educational paths, cooking is not linear. You don't need to complete "Cooking 1" to attend "Cooking 2". What you need to do is assess just where you are at in the kitchen. Do you understand the basics and want to enhance more difficult techniques? Then look for online classes that are up to your skill level. Don't be a borderline professional attending a beginners class.
Degree path?
The last thing that you should really pay attention to while looking for an online cooking class is how you want it to look on your resume. Are you chasing a degree in the culinary arts? Are you simply trying to expand knowledge? Certain colleges can provide better experiences.
Is there a college near you?
I know that we are looking at online classes but it's worth noting that many brick and mortar colleges offer online courses as well. Signing up for an online program that's part of a college located near you can allow for an easy registration process and quick resolve of any problems that might come up. This way you always have somebody to talk to.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Alicia Bodine |
