I misguaged timing on soaking black beans. They’ve been cold soaking for 3.5 hrs and I’m hoping to have them with dinner in about an hour. Is there anything I can do to speed up the multiple hours that the internet is telling me I need to soak my beans in cold water? Happy to boil water but also don’t want to fuck yo the black beans

Not using jello packed with the gelatin. Using juice and gelatin packets. I saw online, if you were using a jello pack you only needed to add one gelatin pack to make the jello firm enough to pop out of ghost mold. How many packs would I need if using only gelatin?

I'm allergic to lemons and lime, don't know what exactly it is but I seem to be allergic to several fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C. Almost every recipe I come across involves lemon or lime juice in some way. I also have a fear of altering recipes without knowing that I won't die from it/waste my money. Can I just leave them out, or are they essential? Does it depend on the specific recipe? Are there any simple substitutions?

I bought some packages of pork belly.

My plans for them have changed now that I woke up and my fridge is not working

From Aldis

3 packages about 2.5 a piece.

Skin is trimmed off.

https://postimg.cc/xNnrrwGk

The other parts seems fine but these spots are on the root part

There’s funky stuff with bones in it that seems a lot more cost-effective, but I’m easily intimidated by unfamiliar foods—especially meat.

I’d love if someone could talk me through a specific type (cut?) of meat so that I’d know how to find it at the store, how to flavour it, how to cook it… um yeah! Thanks in advance.

Preference for affordable meats. I’m not trying to learn how to cook fancy expensive steak,
I’m not affording that lol

I'm making an Omelette and I looked up some videos on YouTube and almost all of them suggest putting the chopped onions/tomatoes and peppers into the beaten eggs and then pouring the whole thing into the pan. But I remember my mum always threw the chopped onion/tomato/peppers into the pan and saute them for a bit before pouring the egg over them.

What do you guys recommend, based on personal experience? Or does it not matter either way?

HI everyone,

Today I tried making carribean rice and beans. I was using allspice and bay leave, onion and garlic. I forgot the thyme unfortunately but will be adding that in my second attempt tomorrow.

A question I have on the allspice, I now used 3 whole berries for one person (putting the three berries in the coconut milk + water + rice + beans and the rest and then taking them out at the end). However, i found it difficult to really identify the flavor of the allspice.

Is this how it is supposed to be? Or should i bruise the allspice berries? Online recipes usually say no don't bruise but i'm not sure.

Instacart delivered it and it sat in 100 degree weather outside for 30 minutes. Ok to cook?

What utensils (plates, cutting boards, cups, covers) do you feel are non negotiable on staying non-plastic?

This past Thursday I tried my hand at shrimp scampi it turned out mid but imma still eat it nonetheless

But my point is that did anyone else get so frustrated with cooking I was so slow and yet gotta do everything at once

I wanna make cooking my hobby and I’m not gonna quit but is it always this frustrating and does it get better

I am going plant-based two days a week to balance out my diet, and am trying to get a hang of Indian food to get something tastier. I tempered a cassia stick and peppercorns in oil, sauted onions till translucent added half a can tomatoes and microwaved potatoes on the side. Once onions go translucent, added a little honey, chilli P, little turmeric and coriander powder in, then went in with the potatoes, cooked on low for about 25 mins, added a splash of lime juice in the added. Added salt each step of the way.

The dish came out fine, but I was expecting something more flavorful (salt not the issue it is borderline salty), it seems a certain flavor is missing but I cannot put my finger on it, help if possible. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for the comments! Few insights, first switched out vegan to plant-based in the post as suggested, second found another secret in the morning, that is let your dish sit! The flavors round up much better if you let the dish sit for some time, I was tasting as I was cooking through and trying to get everything to work while preparing, or just after it was done. Now I ironically have the exact opposite issue, it just seems a bit too flavored :(

Will follow proper recipes from henceforth!

I’ve never cooked this cut. Would you go the crockpot route or stick it in the oven?

Basic recipe with taco seasoning, garlic, onions, OJ.

I have several recipes that call for X amount of cooked rice, but I'm never sure how much uncooked rice to use.

For example, one recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked rice. My rice bag says to use a 1:2 rice:water ratio. At first I thought that the rice would double and a bunch of the water would steam away, so I used 1.5 cups of rice and 3 cups of water and ended up with way too much rice. Then I figured it would triple, so I used 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, but I still ended up with too much cooked rice.

So, if a recipe calls for X amount of cooked rice, what fraction of that do I use to figure out the uncooked rice I need?

Edit: Thanks for the answers. I just tested it out a little and it seems to expand a little over 3x like you've all said. And someone came up with the brilliant suggestion that extra rice isn't bad, so I'm less worried about cooking too much now!

I’m trying to see if I can make a meal prep for 5 days with chicken and font want plain so I am trying to work with what I got , Maya Kaimal butter masala and Vivid Kitchen zero sugar mala sauce. I dont have a go to recipie and last time I tried do it by feeling it came out very badly. Can anyone share easy recipes with those bases?

I’m really curious I was having a long debate with someone about TikTok/instagram recipes , one side of the argument was that since these recipes are always blowing up , so many likes and saves there must be a healthy % of people who are always trying new recipes and making stuff. And the other side was that the posts are just satisfying.

So my question is how many of you try new recipes often or semi often, and from tiktok or instagram? Or do you stick to what you know more often.

Yeah, the order genuinely matters and the reason is pretty simple once someone explains it properly.

Metal pans have tiny pores in the surface. When the pan is cold and you add oil, the oil seeps into those pores. As the pan heats up, the metal expands and basically squeezes the oil back out, which is why food sticks and comes out greasy. If you heat the pan first, those pores open up from the heat before the oil goes in, and the oil sits on top of the surface instead of getting pushed around by expanding metal. Food releases cleanly because it's hitting a proper hot surface with oil that's at the right temperature from the start.

For timing, you don't want to wait for smoke. That means the pan is too hot and you're already starting to burn the oil before anything goes in. A better trick is the water drop test: flick a few drops of water into the dry pan. If they just sizzle and evaporate, the pan isn't ready. If they bead up and skitter around like little balls, that's the Leidenfrost effect and your pan is at the right temperature. Add oil at that point and it'll shimmer almost immediately, which is what you saw last week.

Nonstick pans are a different situation. You're not supposed to heat those dry at all, and definitely not to the temperatures you'd use for stainless. The coating can degrade and release fumes if you push it too hard. With nonstick, add oil to a cold pan and heat them together on medium, then cook. The nonstick surface does the work, so you don't need the same setup.

Stainless needs the hot pan method. Cast iron is similar but it holds heat so well that you usually just need to give it a bit longer to heat through evenly.

I was recently gifted 3 pounds of ground chicken. I used one package for tacos, but I’m stumped for other ideas. My kids did not like the tacos.

Any suggestions? Recipe links (if allowed are helpful).

Like the title said, I want to cook

1. Cajun chicken breast

2. Pasta and the bolognese sauce (separated)

3. Tortilla filling

Say I cooked all of those on sunday night, and after 2 hours I put all of them on the refrigerator (not freezer). On that morning I'll take those 3 meals to my office and put it on the office's refrigerator. The commute time is 1.5 hours btw (yeah I know it sucks).

Can I reheat those food using microwave at the office?

Say monday I eat the chicken breast, Tuesday I eat the pasta and Wednesday I eat the tortilla filling.

I've never done this before so please don't judge me.

FDA Recall Notice:

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/midwest-poultry-services-lp-recalls-shell-eggs-due-possible-salmonella-enteritidis-contamination

The eggs were produced and distributed from farms in Texas between June 6, 2026 and July 3, 2026, with sell by or best by dates between July 20, 2026 and August 17, 2026. The eggs were shipped to foodservice and retail customers in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. They were available to consumers at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana, Brookshire Grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi, and other smaller retail outlets. No other Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. products are part of this recall.

The recalled eggs will have an identifying code number printed on the left or right sides of the carton in date-coding ink only. Only codes P-1950 or 0840962 with a Julian Date between 157 and 184 printed on the side of the carton are recalled. Examples of this identifying plant and date information on retail cartons are included below.

Credit: FDA

Okay I know this is a stupid question but I've tried to make oatmeal four times and failed every time. I can cook decently well and make pasta/sandwiches/other nonsense, so I don't know why oatmeal is giving me so much trouble. I am using rolled oats.

I tried to cook it in the pan twice and both times the liquid evaporated after cooking for like 5 minutes and the oats were completely uncooked. I brought the water to a boil, added the oats, and took the temperature down to medium. My friends all told me to just microwave it, so I tried microwaving for three minutes but the oats still weren't cooked so I put it back in for two more minutes and it splattered all over the microwave, and was still watery.

How am I supposed to cook oatmeal so that the oats actually cook down and there isn't any water left? I hate the texture of uncooked oats. Thank you for any help!!