Latest news with #kitchen
CNET
20 hours ago
- General
- CNET
My Favorite Microwave Hack Keeps Food From Drying Out
CNET The microwave isn't exactly my go-to kitchen hero. It's more like that unreliable sidekick who occasionally pulls through in a pinch. Still, it has its moments -- especially when it's the only appliance around or I'm racing against the clock and my hunger is threatening to stage a coup. In those times, I'll toss in leftover rice, pasta, and -- when I'm feeling particularly wild -- even meat, then offer a small prayer to the microwave gods that the food doesn't come out drier than my sense of humor. My secret weapon? A humble glass of water. I pop it into the microwave alongside my food -- just 2 to 3 ounces. As it turns to steam, it keeps the air nice and moist, which helps prevent your dinner from transforming into a chewy disaster that could double as shoe leather. Pro tip: if you want that steam to show up before your food finishes heating, start with hot water or give the water glass a head start -- zap it solo for 30 to 40 seconds before inviting your main dish to the party. Heat the water for 30 seconds before placing food inside. David Watsky/CNET How to keep food moist in the microwave Step 1 : Put a small cup of water in the microwave : Put a small cup of water in the microwave Step 2 : Microwave on high for 40 seconds or until water is hot : Microwave on high for 40 seconds or until water is hot Step 3: Add food and microwave as you normally would If you want food to stay even more moist during cooking, add water directly to the microwave-safe dish or bowl your food is in, cover it and heat as you normally would. This will put the food in closer contact with the vapor. This method works best with fattier meats, such as chicken thighs and ground beef. It's perfect for heating prepared and frozen meals. David Watsky/CNET Read more: I Found the Best Way to Reheat Pizza and It's Not the Air Fryer I find the water trick helps most with fattier meats such as chicken thighs, hamburgers and pork. It's also a good safeguard when reheating leftover veggies and carbs such as rice, noodles, pasta and potatoes. It's also helpful when warming frozen foods or preparing meals from your favorite subscription service. Microwave user beware: This trick works well on many foods, but don't expect miracles. Super lean or dense meat may still be prone to drying, even with help from water. Not even a shot glass of holy water will help microwave-reheated pizza taste like it did the first time.
The Sun
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Five ways to turn your kitchen leftovers into a tasty cocktail
THINKING of throwing away the last of your weekly shop? Think again, because with a little creativity, your kitchen leftovers could become your next favourite cocktail. Here's some ideas . . . EGG 'N' SIPS: Leftover egg whites are a great addition to cocktails. Whisk them up and try them as a topping to gin fizz or sours for a velvet texture. Aquafaba (chickpea water) also works just as well. GIN WIN: If you have a few peaches or plums that are too ripe, give them a new life by infusing them in alcohol which takes on subtle flavours easily. Cut up the fruit and add to a jar with your spirit, such as gin or vodka, for a hint of sweetness in your next drink. A-PEELING DRINK: Apple peels and pear cores need not be wasted. Save your peels in a tub and keep them in the fridge to use as garnishes for cocktails. For added flare, gently use a lighter on a peeling and twist it — this should stay in place and it's what top mixologists use to top fancy cocktails. Carrot or beetroot peels also make vibrantly coloured syrups which are great for adding to cocktails. BERRY NICE: Use up the last of those blueberries, raspberries and blackberries to make a fruity syrup you can use in spritzes or to flavour sparkling water. The Emily in Paris cocktail Add berries to a pan of water with a few teaspoons of sugar. Simmer for five minutes and leave to cool before pouring into a jar to use for your next cocktails. CUP OF JOY: Used coffee grounds have so many uses but did you know you can infuse spirits or make coffee liqueur with them? Put the coffee in a jar and add around four tablespoons of sugar and a cinnamon stick, a vanilla bean pod or dash of vanilla essence. Leave overnight and add boiling water to the jar, strain the mixture through coffee filter paper and add a double shot of rum. Leave to cool and then store in the fridge. It's perfect for espresso martinis. 7 All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability Deal of the day WHETHER you're hitting the wilds on a camping trip or going to a festival, the Eurohike Nepal 65L rucksack is ideal. It was £60 but is now £29 at SAVE: £31 Cheap treat 7 MAKE your manicure last longer when you use the Vaseline Hand & Nail cream, RRP £3.99, now £2 at Poundland. Top swap YOU can add a nice zesty scent to your home with the Next lemon and bergamot diffuser, £20, or check out the homeware section of Primark to get similar for £6. SAVE: £14 Shop & save GET cooking on the handy indoor and outdoor George Foreman grill, on offer at B&M. Was £89, now £69. Hot right now FOR bargain women's and men's fashion, check the outlet section at Summer wedges start at £12. PLAY NOW TO WIN £200 JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle. Every month we're giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers - whether you're saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered. Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket. The more codes you enter, the more tickets you'll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!
CNN
21 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
De'Longhi's new espresso machine makes cold brew and comes in gelato-inspired hues
If you're looking to save a couple of bucks on your morning brew, consider investing in an espresso machine. We know that coffee makers can seem expensive at first, but after you do the math, you'll end up saving hundreds of dollars per year pulling shots at home. One of our favorite brands, De'Longhi, just launched its Dedica Duo to help you skip the coffee shop with an appliance that rings in at a fraction of the cost of our best-tested pick. De'Longhi Dedica Duo Espresso Machine with Cold Brew Streamline your daily espresso-based drink or cold brew with the Dedica Duo. It has a touch display that pumps out preset beverages in minutes and a slim design that seamlessly fits into any kitchen setup. It's also $1,299 less than the splurgy De'Longhi Eletta Explore. After testing 27 espresso machines over 6 weeks, the De'Longhi La Specialista Opera with Cold Brew came out on top for our best espresso machine pick. It ended up being great for a variety of users, whether you're a beginner or more experienced barista, but it does come with a steep price tag. The new Dedica Duo, on the other hand, gives you similar features like a speedy warm-up time, Thermoblock heating system, steam wand for milk, cold brew capabilities and double-digit pump pressure, but comes in at $300 versus $800 with the La Specialista Opera. That makes this a great option for those looking to step up from a budget machine to a mid-range model. As someone who is starting a kitchen renovation in a few weeks and has been looking at small home appliances, I love the variety of gelato-inspired colors it comes in. Choose from a classic Metal finish, a pretty in pink Rosé, pale green Pistachio or a pale Vanilla. Steam milk or create foam for cappuccinos with its commercial-grade wand. Beginners will be able to make velvety lattes in no time and will get to take their skills to the next level with the included Professional Barista Kit. It ships for free since it's over $40 and has a one to two-year warranty when purchased from De'Longhi. If hot beverages aren't your thing, you'll fall in love with its customizable cold brew function that can dispense cups of crisp coffee in less than five minutes with its Cold Extraction Technology. Appliances for small spaces are always on my radar. Regardless of whether you live in a large space or a studio apartment, you should be able to create barista-level drinks in your home without taking up tons of counter space. The De'Longhi Dedica Duo's slim build is pretty enough to leave out on the counter and makes hot and cold drinks, which is a game changer for those who have a Keurig or Nespresso that requires cold pods to be brewed over ice. For those who have Father's Day on their radar, this charming machine makes a great gift if he has a DIY coffee bar or enjoys sipping on espresso martinis. Our deals team has over a decade of combined commerce journalism experience. Rikka Altland, Jacqueline Saguin and Elena Matarazzo source the deals for the day to curate one-offs and retailer-specific roundups of the best sales to shop. Searching everything from coveted home products to Walmart finds of the week, the team works across a wide variety of categories to ensure they're finding the best buys for Underscored readers.
Vogue
a day ago
- General
- Vogue
How We All Lost Our Focus—And How to Get It Back
It happened because I wasn't paying attention. Or rather, I was paying attention to too many things, which is the equivalent of heeding nothing at all: the baby on the counter; my seven-year-old 'washing' dirty dishes at the kitchen sink; the oven, which was slow to heat; the narrowing after-dinner homework window for my fifth grader's history project; the Slack notification that flashed above the recipe I was reading on my phone; and which institution was NPR reporting that Trump had just dismantled? Shouldn't I drop everything and tune into that? These were, ostensibly, my nonworking hours, but I was white-knuckling through them: Those collard greens that had been languishing in the fridge, they were going to get chopped and cooked tonight. Or maybe not, because a moment later, I was holding a dish towel tight to my hand after my knife slipped. I'd sliced the tip of my finger right off. An emergency has a way of cutting out the noise, but to a lesser extent we are all teetering on this edge, the mind pulled in so many directions it can feel as though control has vanished from our grasp. And the research tells us we are heading one way: progressively, irrefutably, whittling away how long we can focus. In 2003, before smartphones were really on the scene, the average time a person spent on any one computer-related task before switching screens was two and a half minutes. Between 2016 and 2020, that interval fell to 47 seconds. How low can it go? Five seconds? One? What even is a task in the era of the scroll, that smooth and aimless motion? Art follows culture, or vice versa: The average shot in a movie in 1930 was 12 seconds; by 2010, it was less than four. As an editor and writer I like to think I'm a focused person, professionally trained to pay close attention. And yet, I feel the pull of my phone when I'm sitting down with a novel, when I'm on a walk in the woods, when I'm trying to fly a kite with my kids. The other day, in an Uber, I watched, horrified, as the driver flicked through TikTok at a stoplight, but then, behind the wheel later that afternoon, I found myself checking my own emails in the sliver of time before the light turned from red to green. This isn't just a problem because of the potential for accidents—though mistakes can be consequential even if you're not wielding a kitchen knife or driving a car. Doctors, pilots—they're just as distracted as the rest of us. Studies have shown that multitasking physicians make more errors when writing prescriptions, as do pilots when they're interrupted. There is also what researchers call '[switch cost]( 'switch cost' is the,navigating in an unfamiliar city.)': the fact that we're less efficient at any task when we alternate between them. And then there's the fact that the constant toggle doesn't feel very good. To take just one physiological marker: Our blood pressure rises when we're pulled in multiple directions. There's a philosophical way to think about this, elegantly outlined in The Sirens' Call, a book from MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes published earlier this year: 'The defining experience of the attention age is a…feeling that our very interior life, the direction of our thoughts, is being taken against our will,' Hayes writes. Basically, we are what we notice, and as we notice less—or are coerced or cajoled into noticing less by what amounts to a thousand marketing pings—we are fundamentally reduced. As William James put it in 1890: 'My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind—without selective interest, experience is an utter chaos.' Utter chaos—that resonates as a headline floating above my domestic tableau. And it's worse for those who shoulder the bulk of household work, who are disproportionately subject to 'the psychic equivalent of smartphone notifications,' says Allison Daminger, author of the forthcoming book What's on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life. She means those mental pings—We're low on milk. Isn't summer camp sign-up coming soon? Has our car registration expired?—one can't switch off. But hope is not lost! For if we live in an era in which attention is fractured and commodified, we also live in an era in which people are beginning to bristle against unwelcome impositions. And as Hayes puts it: 'It's one of the axioms of American capitalism that where there is consumer demand, there will soon be businesses to serve it.' Spas like the renowned Lanserhof in Tegernsee, Germany, now offer 'brain health' programs that function not only 'in the context of disease prevention,' says Lanserhof's Stefan Lorenzl, a neurologist and palliative care physician, 'but also in helping individuals achieve better resilience and attention in everyday life.' At the SHA wellness clinics in Mexico and Spain, cognitive and emotional health programs are in part geared toward helping guests manage daily distractions. Kamalaya Koh Samui, the Thai wellness retreat, recently opened a 'cognitive house' that offers everything from a high-tech electroencephalogram (or EEG) to sound therapy designed to encourage restful sleep. I pay a visit to the Aman spa in New York City, where a treatment utilizes marma-point therapy (an Ayurvedic technique similar to acupressure). A skilled therapist named Lauren explains that the treatment is as much about energy work as traditional massage, an approach that manifests in a surprising choreography of touch: light strokes around the base of the big toe, a pointed pressure along the inseam of my bicep, hot stones in the cradle of the belly. 'You have a lot of warmth emanating from the top of your head,' Lauren says, 'a lot of positive energy.' I left feeling good, the deep groove between my brows a bit less brutal. I also stop by Lift, a minimalist, brick-walled flotation-therapy spot in Brooklyn, where an extremely zen attendant shows me to a giant egg-like pod containing 1,000 pounds of Epsom salts dissolved in 250 gallons of body-temp water in which I will be semi-submerged for an hour. 'What happens if I…don't like it?' I tentatively ask. 'You're required to stay,' he deadpans, then sensing my alarm, quickly switches tack: 'Nothing is mandatory!' He tells me, though, that he rarely has people emerge before their allotted time is up. First time for anything, I think to myself as I step into the saline waters. And then something happens: As I'm bobbing gently side to side, my mind clicks into a slower gear, the thoughts coming and going without their usual urgency; the minutes melt away, and when the automated message informs me that my session has finished, I am genuinely surprised. I emerge with the sensation that I've just done a satisfying round of yoga despite the fact I've barely moved.
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
I'm a cleaning pro and hate when clients have this feature in their kitchens – it never looks clean even after scrubbing
IT'S no secret that certain items in your home need cleaning more often, but one cleaner has revealed the kitchen features she hates the most. Taking to social media, cleaning whizz Kate from @cleanlikeapro_ explained why your kitchen backsplash matters more than you might think. 2 2 Although it might be tempting to go with the design and material you like the look of most, that's not always the best option, Kate explained. In a viral video, the pro explained that a glass backsplash can be more of a pain to clean than most people realise. Although it's a better option than having lots of tiny tiles and grout to scrub, it's not the best option either. "And when cleaning them you do have to clean them well, wiping over multiple times to ensure no streaks." Not only that, but according to the pro every single streak and wipe from cleaning will still be visible in certain lights, making it an annoying choice for any cleaner or homeowner. So, what should you opt for instead? Although small tiles are even worse than glass, the cleaning whizz said the best option are large tiles. They're not reflective like glass, so won't show up every little mark and there's not as much grout to scrub like smaller tiles have. More items to avoid in your home In a clip shared to TikTok (@ the cleaning whizz revealed the worst offending items that she dreads coming across on her daily job - starting with silicone toilet brushes. I tried Zoflora's new carpet cleaner - it works in just 30 seconds and leaves your home smelling super fresh (1) The cleaner explained that while they're more hygienic, she said that you can't clean with them. Instead, she pointed out that it's best to use bristle toilet brushes only. Next up, the cleaning guru urged homeowners to avoid jumping on the black tap trend. "Builds a ridiculous amount of limescale, marks easily - just a no from me," she warned. And for anyone looking to give their kitchen a glow up any time soon, then you may just want to listen up…because there's a specific colour cupboard she advised steering clear of at all costs. The cleaning whizz explained that while she loves the look of black cupboards, it's best to avoid them "unless you want to spend the rest of your life wiping them 24/7." 5 cleaning hacks Say goodbye to ironing Don't have time to smooth out the wrinkles of a shirt with an iron? Lenor 's Crease Releaser makes wrinkles vanish - simply hang up creased items, give them a quick spritz and smooth against a hard surface. Teabags for trainers When trainers smell a little squiffy, pop a used (and still moist) tea bag inside and leave for about an hour. The tannins will seep into the sole of the shoe to fight nasty-smelling odours. Remove limescale without scrubbing When bathroom taps start looking a little grimy with limescale, slice a lemon in half and sprinkle on baking soda. Rub the fruit over the taps and with a gentle clean they will come up sparkling. Use a toothbrush to get in all the nooks and crannies. Streak-free mirrors and windows White vinegar is a handy secret weapon when it comes to keeping mirrors and windows streak-free. Mix one part white vinegar with four parts water in a spray bottle. Squirt then wipe with a microfibre cloth and voilà, clean glass in an instant. Make your home smell amazing For dust-free skirting boards, pour some fabric softener onto a cloth and give them a quick wipe. It will stop dirt collecting so quickly and, as an added bonus, make your home smell amazing.
