Cooking For Engineers®

These days when I reach for a spatula to turn food in a pan, I've been finding myself grabbing the GastroMax Slotted Turner more often than not. Tina bought this spatula for me after months (or maybe years) of listening to me complain about our various spatulas. After buying the GastroMax Turner, my complaining has stopped.

Twelve years ago, I wrote an article comparing plastic and wood cutting boards which may be why one of the most frequent questions that I get is what cutting board do I use in my personal life. For the last six years, I have been using cutting boards made by Epicurean Cutting Surfaces and my wooden cutting boards haven't come out of storage for years. Here's why I like the Epicurean boards.

I find that whenever you're discussing a topic with or trying to explain something to others, it's best to have a common vocabulary. This is true in the kitchen as much as it is in the professional world. Here is my kitchen dictionary, compiled from the top of my head, the internet, and various cookbooks.

This is no big secret: I like food. I like to eat food, look at food, read about food, prepare food, and think about food. But, even more than food, I like beverages. More specifically - I love sweet, flavored beverages like juices, teas & tisanes, sodas, and other soft drinks. Three years ago, I published a recipe for limeade and a U.K. reader suggested using SodaStream to make it bubbly. I finally got around to trying out a SodaStream (called a Soda-Club Home Soda Maker in the United States), and it is awesome! I use the Soda-Club machine at least once a week and always keep a bottle of freshly carbonated water available at all times.