reheating samosas tip

leave samosas out to come to room temperature. 

split samosas in half. bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

we didn't have chutney so i substituted with pear jam.

bademjan

1. cut aubergine eggplant in 1.5 inch chunks. microwave with frozen onion. i microwaved for 3 minutes, flipped the eggplants over and microwaved for 3.5 minutes more. i can't remember if i microwaved it more after that. basically the eggplant gets really soft.

2. food process eggplant and 1/3 cup walnut/pecan.

3. heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan. saute 3 clove garlic MINCED for 2 minutes. 

4. add eggplant nut mixture. add 1 Tbsp dry mint, 1 tsp salt (i used seasoned salt) and 1/4 tsp turmeric. 

5. mix and cook for 10 minutes.

6. mix in 1/4 cup sour cream. serve with crackers or afghan bread. 

glutinous corn tip

boil glutinous corn for 1 hour. last time i boiled it for only 20 minutes and it wasn't cooked enough. 

cruise ship tips

waterslides have much shorter lines in the morning.

for carnival radiance you can go on the forward deck on the 6th floor and 7th floor. 

go early for buffets when things are "cleaner."

cruise ships have a weird smell indoors :o(

the availability of fatty foods at every hour is not healthy. i felt super grossed out being in that environment. 

upload podcast from laptop to smartphone tip

how to mount the phone instead of charging the phone:

1. use the black cable to connect laptop to smartphone

2. on phone, click on setting icon.

3. choose "connected devices"-->USB-->use USB for file transfer

1. go to itunes and get podcasts

     -after choosing ~10 podcasts copy/paste from laptop to smartphone.

     -continue with next ten podcasts, etc.

frozen potstickers tip

pour oil in frying pan. you need 1/8 inch or thereabouts. heat up the oil on medium high. the oil should be HOT. carefully put frozen potstickers in the frying pan. pour 1/2 cup water over potstickers. cover the frying pan. cook 10 minutes. make sure bottom of potstickers are browned. cook for longer if the bottoms aren't brown enough.

be careful. sometimes the oil splatters out when you're putting the potstickers in.

swiss miss tip

dump the powder in a bowl. add a little milk. whisk it until smooth. gradually add the rest of the milk. microwave.

the old way of dumping all the powder, then all the milk and mixing with a spoon results in clumps.

use a whisk.

cheesecake tip

cheesecake tastes good eaten with mooncake. i used lotus paste mooncake. 

sticky corn/glutinous corn tip

add some water and cook in instant pot for 15 minutes. allow natural pressure release. eat.

tofu skin tip

you have to soak tofu skin for a long while before you put it in hot pot. if you just dump hard tofu skin in hot pot it'll be raw in the middle when everything else is done cooking.

roasted broccoli tip

preheat oven to 450 degrees.

cover baking sheet in foil.

put a single layer of broccoli florets. (you can also roast shelled fava beans and baby carrots.)

drizzle 1/4 cup oil.

sprinkle trader joe's everything bagel seasoning.

bake for 15 minutes.

eat.

fava tip

you can roast shelled fava beans along with broccoli. 

hard water tip

use the flat blade of a box cutter to scrape hard water deposits off granite counters. cleans it right up!

cereal tip

eat cinnamon toast crunch with sesame sticks. add milk. salty sweet, salty sweet.

noodle tip

if you cook raw noodles directly in the broth, it'll thicken the broth. but if you cook the noodles separately in boiling water, drain the noodles and then pour the broth on top, the broth won't thicken.

tortilla tip

tostito's hint of lime is about the same price as a pack of crispy tostada shells on a per ounce comparison.

eggo tips

this is for 8 eggo mini waffles:

briefly microwave eggo minis so they're not frozen anymore.

chop up eggo minis and mix in 1 raw egg. 

cook in waffle maker. 

cake pan tip

you can double a recipe for a loaf of banana bread. pour enough batter to fill half a 10 inch bundt pan. pour the rest in a muffin tin. bundt is 325 degrees for 65 minutes. muffin is 350 for 20 minutes.

notebook tip

here's how to make your own simple, unlined notebook:

get 20 pages of 8.5 X 11 inch printer paper and fold them in half "hamburger style." open up a regular stapler and line the staple up to the notebook spine. put something underneath the notebook so you don't staple into your desk. you can use an old hardcover book, for example.

press on the stapler slightly so that the staple touches the paper. staple down. use something hard to push the staple down around the pages.

also you can use a colored page as the notebook cover.

yum tip

this is good and very easy to prepare:

bottom layer is tortilla chips.

2nd layer is scrambled eggs (about 2 per person)

3rd layer is annie's salsa.

eat with a fork.