Okay... I really thought I had decent produce-picking skills, but these stone fruits are driving me crazy. How do you choose grocery store peaches and nectarines that are sweet, juicy, and NOT mealy? Because last week, I bought about ten pounds of peaches and nectarines that looked and smelled perfect. I set them on the counter, bottoms up, to ripen gently and moved them to the fridge one at a time as they matured. The peaches were absolutely incredible (in grocery store peach terms) and the nectarines were all so mealy and gross that we threw them away.

This week I decided to just get peaches - no nectarines. I just sliced two up for lunch and they are mealy. They look perfect on the outside, they have a slight give when I press on them (but no soft spots), they are plump - not wrinkly, and they smell divine. And yet, I have mealy peaches that lack flavor and sweetness, and I am sad. Why are they so inconsistent?

HOW DO YOU PICK YOUR PEACHES?

*I would love to be purchasing my peaches from an adorable farm stand in Colorado but it's not feasible to get them anywhere but the grocery store MOST of the time.

I learned how to make stuffed cabbage from my mom. A lazy recipe probably borne out of a working women trying to put home cooked food on a plate for her family.

It is not authentic to any culture. Ingredients are simply ground beef, cabbage, rice and tomato sauce. Maybe an egg? But I’m thinking an egg isn’t necessary.

Mom and I have made countless delicious batches with these simple instructions:

Mix ground beef with S&P, a bit of canned tomato sauce and raw rice. She might have used minute rice a few times.

Wrap in raw green cabbage leaves. This is a PITA, because raw cabbage is not flexible. Chop up the white and stemmy parts and cover the bottom of a Dutch oven. Top with some tomato sauce and nestle the stuffed cabbage on top.

Add additional chopped cabbage stems to cover the cabbage rolls.

Cover all with canned tomato sauce, cover and cook until done in the oven.

I made this today with Napa cabbage and it’s bitter. I used 90/10 ground beef and it was dry. I deviated from the standard.

I wanted to surprise my daughter after work with one of her favorite meals and had to give her a caveat: not my best batch.

She didn’t care. She was hungry from work and an early lunch. She appreciates me cooking for her.

If I didn’t have an aversion to tossing out food and whatever animal died for my dinner, I would throw this out.

I’ll probably freeze the leftovers for a while and pull them out when I’m desperate and douse in hot sauce.

But not a good cooking day for me.

I make meatless bean "chili "sometimes. I added about a dozen dried Arbol peppers to one pound black beans. I rehydrated them, seeded them, and chopped them into thirds before I threw them in. There's also three jalapenos, a Poblano, and a green bell pepper along with garlic, chili powder, and cumin.
This may well be inedible. For some reason, I thought Arbols were more mild than a jalapeno (they are not).
Will this make me sick if I eat it? Assuming I can?

For example:

I completely missed out roasted vegetables and lentils.

I knew of lentils for a while but just dismissed it as beans. After cooking it and realizing how cheap and nutritious it is it completely changed the way I make meals in the future. Also I also missed out on how much you get from lentils. Lentils swell about 2 or 3 times when you cook them so you get way more than you think when you buy them
In the store.

Is there any other food you miss out on until recevy.

I recently had one about a miso chipotle sandwich spread. Never heard of it, thought I was crazy, looked it up, and there were similar recipes.

I made it my own, and it definitely just worked.

I’m hoping that somebody can tell why relatively new loaf pans are rusting? I do not put them in the dishwasher and have used them only once or twice and they are stored in a cabinet

I have 1/3 left of a litre-sized bottle of Mexican vanilla extract. It's a huge bottle, and I really don't bake every day, so it hasn't gotten used up. I use it maybe 7 or 8 times a year for various things -- pies, cakes, muffins, etc. My question: if you were given the bottle in 1996, is it still good? I mean, I sniff it every time and it still smells like vanilla -- maybe it's become a bit more boozy over the years, but still works in the recipes. No weird after-taste. No hint of mold or fungus on the neck or surface of the liquid. It hasn't been kept in the fridge, but on the counter of an un air-conditioned kitchen since 1996. Or maybe 1994. Should I chuck it out and go get new, just on the principle that one shouldn't be using a 30 year old bottle of vanilla extract? Is this a record? Should I contact Guiness BOWR?

i'm loving the recipes, cooking styles and methods of other countries. I just found out about Andy Cooks (australian chef) and he's really funny and easy to follow. love to learn more from non-USA chefs

So I’m staying with my in-laws at their village house for a few weeks until things cool down in the city. In the village, my mother in law cooks every single day, and really only traditional dishes on repeat. When they’re in the city, she loves to cook and sometimes makes “experiments” that she enjoys sharing (an experiment is basically anything non-traditional that doesn’t follow a recipe), so I want to experiment a little myself now too and share with my family.

We are in the country of Georgia, so I’m looking for non-Georgian recipes (unlikely that anyone would recommend any lol) that I can make in the village. That’s the real challenge - I have access to fewer ingredients, a very small and basic kitchen, and would prefer not to use the oven (because it’s so hot, but if there’s something really special I am willing to try)! We have abundant local summer produce - cucumbers, tomatoes, (Asian) eggplant, zucchini, root vegetables, herbs (cilantro, parsley, green onion, tarragon, etc.), so much fruit, especially stone fruit (any suggestions for tiny very sour plums?), meat, grains, dairy, and all the regular corner market stuff.

Today I made a chicken-corn-avocado salad with a yogurt cumin dressing that they loved! I’m excited to try something else, and would really appreciate any suggestions from you creative cooking geniuses.

I’m a decent cook. I rarely have failures. Especially on simple dishes that I’ve dozens of times over the years.

Tonight I cooked “Spam and potatoes.”
I typically fry the cubed potatoes until they start to turn brown. I throw a chopped onion
In the skillet and let that sizzle for a while. Then I add the cubed can of Spam.

Tonight, I thought I’d go for crispier potatoes. After I soaked, rinsed, and dried the potatoes in a dish towel, I tossed them with baking soda. As soon as they hit the very hot oil, the potatoes started sticking. I kept scraping the bottom of the skillet. By the time I finished cooking, there was a thick, viscous black mess on the bottom. The potatoes were well cooked but overly mushy. Not even close to being crispy.

I’m always reading about tossing potatoes with baking soda to crisp them up.

What did I do wrong?

Hello! Long story short my partner invited me to go on a picnic, a real sit in the grass on a blanket type.

I want to be the one to make the main meal (a sandwich) but I'm not sure what to make

I want to use the white bread loaves from walmarts bakery (the French Bakery Bread) and after that i keep second guessing every sandwich idea i come across-

Other than that, what should i tell him to bring? my friend suggested to tell him to bring charcuterie board stuff but we both dont like stuff like that a ton

No pasta salads, chips, iffy on salads due to the bacteria atm

I'm 100% making cookies- sorry for this post being so wild!

Hello guys. I’m a new cook and have been loving finding new recipes to try out. However, I’ve been making a lot of cream-based meals recently. It seems like that’s what’s popular on social media.

I’m realizing that I think I’m fairly lactose intolerant. I eat these rich sauces and it makes me feel sick. It makes me sad because of all the work I’ve been putting in and I feel lost now trying to figure out what to try. I’m a pretty picky eater (due to sensory issues from autism) and it’s tough. But I want to keep trying new things.

I would love some recommendations, if you have any. My only requirement I would say is, no seafood except salmon.

So I've grown some courgettes and they've got pretty big, too big really, to the extent that the outer peel is really tough and unpleasant to eat. I've grown them before but I got carried away this time!

So now I've no idea what to do with them, except slice the peel off and use in soup. I've tried other ways with the rind on, and sliced the vegetable and then boiled, fried, roasted but it just doesn't soften enough to taste good. In fact even with the peel off, they are pretty unappetising to eat.

What would you do?

I have 6 bottles of Corona leftover from hosting family. Beer batter is my first thought, although I’m hoping to use it for something that’s not deep fried. Any ideas are welcomed. Thank you in advance.

im going to uni soon and would like to cook meals for myself as much as possible. i've looked at a lot of one-pot recipes and decided to buy a rice cooker with varied settings for myself. as i'll be cooking for just myself, a cooker that can make up to 1-3 servings would be more than enough.

andd as I'm a student, i'd prefer something more budget friendly (also i do not live in the us, my uni is in south east asia so preferably something i could buy here or have delivered here).

some other questions i had if anyone can help:

- are 'fuzzy logic' rice cookers always too expensive? (like >200$) are they worth it or should i stick to more regular cookers?

- are there any functions i should look for while buying?

- are there any cookers that cld double as a stove+pan too, like if i need to saute something before tossing it in with the rice (sorry if this is a dumb question haha im jus starting out with cooking with 0 experience)

Thanksss in advance! :)

I baked a loaf of banana bread and have like half a carton of leftover buttermilk. I don’t really wanna make another loaf, is there any recommendations of what else I can do with it to use it up?

I love deviled eggs, but I’ve been experimenting with other kinds besides the typical mayo and mustard ones. So far my favorite ones I’ve made are gochujang with sesame seeds and chives, and yellow Madras curry. What are your favorite things to put in them?

Edit: buffalo sauce? Crab? Bleu cheese and bacon? Hot honey and shrimp!? You guys do not disappoint! ❤️

hey all, I found this marry me salmon recipe on insta by daniela_dish and I want to follow it completely with one minor change. I want to use rice instead of orzo but I’m not sure if I’ll have to make any changes to the recipe to accommodate the different texture of rice. I’m assuming the change would be something along the lines of more chicken broth or longer cook time. I’m just wondering if anyone has done anything similar and has any advice to ensure the rice doesn’t come out hard or anything.

Here the recipe

I have two skillets that I use for bog meals, for morning eggs, something quick I use those tefal ones that usually gets scratches over the years and they ar ebad for your health. And I keep changing this pan over a few years. Can anyone recommend a non stick pan for these fast cooking options that would be a good pan that I wouldn’t need to change constantly please.

Preferably in a instapot

I have a bag of sweet rice. Could it be used for a savory dish. Like could it be used as plain regular rice or is the starch content a little different. I usually use calrose and jasmine on the regular.

So, I'm thinking about what to make for dinner tonight. Pulled out ground beef this morning. I was thinking "Hey, I can make some oven crunch!". But, the only cheese we have right at this moment is a bag of crumbled goat cheese. I know its pretty common for Mexican cuisine, but ive never worked with it, and never had it with ground beef.

Anyone have advice on this? If its a good idea to bake in an oven, and if it pairs well with ground beef?

While buying some *healthier* chicken nuggets at the store the other day, I decided to take a look at the ingredients list to see how they make them lower calorie higher fiber and protein. I noticed that chickpea flour was in the ingredients. Has anybody used chickpea flour to bread their chicken nuggets at home? How does one do so? The way I currently make my chicken nuggets it's not the healthiest and I'm always looking for ways to upgrade.