Perhaps you've put food in a ziplok baggie. Perhaps you've tried to leave open just enough of a gap to push out almost enough air to consider it truly sealed. Perhaps, like me, you've even sucked out the last air through that gap, creating a genuine vacuum while filling your mouth with delicious, cold poultry slime. Here's how to do the same thing without risk of becoming a campylobacter campsite! All you need is a plastic tub or pot of water. Read the rest

"Think of an avocado like a banana," says Chris Notap, who has a video tutorial on how to cut an avocado and remove the pit without hurting yourself. Read the rest

Lifehacker shows you how to "avoid soft, chewy bacon that pulls out of the sandwich on the first bite." It involves baking the bacon slices between two baking sheets. Read the rest

I've been going nuts with my $22 deep fryer. The thing I don't like is having to replace the coconut oil I use. It starts to get expensive. But here is an interesting article at Serious Eats about how to clean fryer grease using gelatin. I'm going to try it!

Holy cow, this may have really worked! I was left with a solid disk of gelatin, filled with specks of burnt flour and other assorted gunk. Everything was looking great so far. Now for the true test: Could I cook in it?

I heated up the clarified oil on the stovetop and was alarmed, as it started bubbling a little while heating—an indication that there were still at least a few microscopic droplets of water in the fat—but with a little shaking, the bubbles soon completely dissipated, and the oil continued to heat up just like any fresh oil would. Once it hit the desired temperature, I fried a few pieces of green bean tempura in it, followed by a small batch of fried chicken. Both recipes came out perfect, as if they'd been cooked in not-quite-fresh-but-still-super-clean oil (bear in mind, this oil was on its last legs before I filtered it).

Now that I have mastered the art of looping earbud and charging cables, I'm ready to tackle bag resealing.

Seal that bag

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If you have gunked-up stove burner grates, this might do the trick. I wonder if it works for barbecue grills, too? Read the rest