Nov 19
If you are like millions of people, every time you go to the grocery store you are struck with the high prices of food. We all seem to have sticker shock for simplest of items, most especially fresh produce. No one wants to see a head of lettuce they paid a pretty penny for go limp or brown before they can finish using it. So today we have a great savvy secret to help you avoid wasting food…or more to the point…wasting money.
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Before we know it Thanksgiving will be here and pie baking will be in full swing. Other than the Thanksgiving classic pumpkin pie, apple pie runs a close second as many people’s favorite pie any time of year. Today we will share a new look for the ever popular two crust apple confection that just might be the star of you Thanksgiving dessert table next week.
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Whether the candidates you hoped would win yesterday were victorious or not, whether you are licking your wounds or celebrating a victory, we think we can all use a little comfort food.
Read moreOct 24
Food has always been central to human life, but our eating habits have evolved considerably over time.
Read moreOct 22
Usually the words “yummy” and “gluten free” aren’t necessary in the same description. While gluten free foods have made great strides in recent years, many gluten free breads in particular have tasted a lot like cardboard. If you’ve had any like that, you know what we mean.
Read moreSep 29
From hearty steaks to sugary snacks, the culinary preferences of U.S. presidents have always fascinated the American public. That’s perhaps no surprise, as the quirks of presidential palates offer a unique glimpse into the personalities behind the Oval Office. Here are the favorite foods of 14 U.S. presidents.
Read moreSep 27
Cotton candy consists of just two simple ingredients: air and sugar. The supersweet indulgence seems like the last thing a dental health professional would promote, but it was invented by a dentist from Tennessee in 1897.
Read moreSep 24
Today just happens to be National Horchata Day! What is horchata you ask? If you happen to be Mexican or live in a city where Mexican culture is prominent you likely already know the answer. If not, we are happy to tell you.
Read moreSep 18
If you like avocados then you’ve no doubt had the frustrating experience of getting ready to cook or make a meal and the only avocados you have on hand, or can find at the market, are unripe and rock hard. Conversely you’ve no doubt bought a bunch of avocados on sale and had them all become perfectly ripe at the same time when you only need one or two. Do we have some Avocado Savvy Secrets for you?!!!!
Read moreAug 22
Cheese, glorious cheese. One of humanity’s oldest culinary creations, cheese has been around for nearly 4,000 years and comes in more than 1,800 varieties. Here’s a sampler platter of facts about everybody’s favorite dairy product.
Read moreAug 12
If you’ve been around Two Chums for even a little while, you know how much we LOVE butter! So today we have some fun Savvy Secrets to help you use and enjoy butter as much as we do 🙂
Read moreJul 23
We think if is safe to say that most everyone has a jar of some type of mayo in their refrigerator. Today we want to share an update of some simple ways to enhance this old friend to liven up your sandwiches or meals.
Read moreJul 12
You can take a culinary trip to Greece this weekend without ever leaving home. It is a very tasty trip too!
Read moreJul 5
We are often surprised by the things we learn about the foods we eat. Today we have some surprises and happy ones at that!
Read moreJul 3
This is a favorite dessert of ours and one of Jackie’s specialties as a whole strawberry meringue pie. But we can change it up and make individual pavlovas filled with sweet whipped cream and fresh strawberries and blue berries and you’ve got the perfect red, white and blue dessert for your 4th of july party! Here’s how….
Read moreJul 2
When we’re eating casually at home, most of us don’t have a large formally set dining table complete with multiple pieces of silverware and glassware. We can stick to a few basic rules that we learned as children, like not speaking with our mouths full of food. And we do know that the Fourth of July usually tends to be a more picnic-like setting. But at a fancy event, or when we’re trying to impress someone important, the rules may seem a little more complex and overwhelming. Here are six table etiquette guidelines that you might not know.
Read moreJun 21
Everyone loves spaghetti. Now we’ve come across a method that has you making homemade spaghetti in a jiffy! And with only one pot, clean up is easy peasy too.
Read moreJun 17
Johnny Appleseed
On a family farm in Nova, Ohio, grows a very special apple tree; by some claims, the 175 year old tree is the last physical evidence of John Chapman, a prolific nurseryman who, throughout the early 1800s, planted acres upon acres of apple orchards along America’s western frontier, which at the time was anything on the other side of Pennsylvania. Today, Chapman is known by another name—Johnny Appleseed—and his story has been imbued with the saccharine tint of a fairytale.
Read moreJun 14
Yesterday we gave you some interesting info on apples. So today we will remind you some of our favorite ways to eat that popular fruit.
Read moreJun 13
Apples serve all sorts of useful purposes: They’re great for a snack, fun to pick, perfect for giving to a teacher, and ideal as a subject for a still life. They also offer an entire smorgasbord of interesting facts for those who enjoy nourishing their minds along with their bodies. Here are eight bite-sized tidbits to chew on regarding this wondrous fruit.
Read moreJun 11
You might think the science behind microwaves is relatively simple — the machine produces microwaves (as its name suggests), which in turn warm up your food. However, that’s only partially correct.
Read moreJun 7
The woody, warming spice we sprinkle with abandon on top of holiday cookies, baked goods, and seasonal coffees is native to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and India. But very few people knew where cinnamon came from when merchants first began selling spices throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa as far back as 3,000 years ago — and spice traders capitalized on that lack of knowledge to charge high prices. Harvested from the inner bark o Cinnamomum trees, cinnamon has been used for thousands of years as medicine, for religious practices and funerals, and in cuisine, but with a big price tag: It was once considered more precious than gold.
In an effort to conceal cinnamon’s origins from competitors and explain the extravagant markup to customers, spice traders of the past provided elaborate backstories.
By some fifth-century accounts, cinnamon traders asserted that collecting the spice was a dangerous task thanks to angry “winged creatures” that lived in the trees; cinnamon harvesters supposedly donned protective outerwear made of thick hides and risked their personal safety to collect a few measly pieces of cinnamon bark. Other vendors claimed cinnamon was transported from far-off lands by birds who used it as nesting material. (In this tale, harvesting cinnamon sticks from nests required a cow sacrifice to provide the birds with a meaty distraction.) Yet another story declared that cinnamon grew in dangerous, snake-infested valleys. Cinnamon’s origins remained an enigma for centuries, but luckily for chefs and bakers today, the secret eventually got out thanks to global exploration brought on by a surging interest in spices. Now, the flavoring is a low-cost mainstay in modern pantries.
Savor your cinnamon! Enjoy!
Happy weekend!
May 24
Well really a double twist…these brownies are both gluten free and flavored with Nutella!
Read moreMay 3
If you like blueberries how can you resist fresh homemade blueberry jam? This one is sooo easy to make and sooo delicious to eat!
Read moreApr 10
People seem to either be fans of foods flavored with truffles or not fans at all. Very few are neutral when it comes to this particular food item. If you fall into the “fan” category you will likely love this dish. If not, you can still give it a try and enjoy it anyway by simply omitting the truffle cheese and substituting good parmesan cheese instead.
Read moreMar 25
It’s that time of year again when there are lots of celebrations…Easter, Mother’s Day, Graduations, Showers, Birthdays…the list goes on. And what is a celebration without cake?!!! So if you are having a crowd and only have one cake, we came across a genius way to cut your cake to serve a maximum number people. Watch this video we found on social media and be amazed!
Read moreMar 12
The pickle we refer to here is dill pickle dip! If you like dill pickles this may become your new favorite dip.
Read moreFeb 13
Feb 9
This Super Bowl Sunday, everyone is looking for a good sandwich to celebrate with. It needs to be easy to prepare, with simple ingredients, and very yummy. We’ve got just the thing for you and your family or guests for your Super Bowl get together. A very juicy easy to prepare and tasty French Dip sandwich.
Read moreFeb 1
Most of us have had the experience of having milk sit in the refrigerator only to realize when it’s poured on our cereal or in our coffee or tea it has turned “sour”. That’s when it gets dumped out. But it wasn’t always like that.
Read moreJan 18
Your Two Chums absolutely LOVE egg salad! So when we came across this new version we had to give it a try.
Read moreJan 12
You don’t have to have traveled to England to know that the English love their “cuppa” or cup of tea! If tragedy strikes, you can hear someone say, “Time for a cup of tea!” If joy is in the air, the same words can be heard! If it is raining outside and a little dreary, absolutely THE SAME WORDS!
Tea, to the English, is the fix all of fixes!
And, of course, there is a tea time that is observed in most English households.
Read moreJan 10
Oh, these wonderful bees! We learned a lot by reading this and so wanted to share it with all of you.
Read moreDec 14
At least it’s not dead at one popular fast food eatery. We came across an interesting article that explains the philosophy of customer service at Chick-fil-a. You might be surprised.
Read moreDec 7
Tonight begins the 8 day Jewish Festival of Lights known as Hanukkah. One of the iconic dishes served during Hanukkah is latkes. If you are unfamiliar they are a sort of hash brown potato meets a potato pancake….yummy. or at least we think so but it turns out not everyone loves them…not even all Jews apparently. So these potato cakes are an alternative. And tasty one too!
Read moreNov 22
While apple pie may have misappropriated origins (the first recipe appeared in England around 1381, not in the U.S.), pumpkin pie deserves more credit as a purely American dessert.
Read moreOct 16
How can something be high in protein, low in sugar and still be tasty and satisfy a sweet tooth craving?
Read moreSep 29
Nutella Brownies are simple to make and simply delicious to eat! With 4 basic ingredients in less than 30 minutes you can make this yummy treat 🙂
Read moreSep 22
Etiquette is not something you learn about and act upon for no reason. It is clearly something that will keep you straight and feeling a part of things in a good way.
Read moreSep 21
If you are one off the thousands of people who don’t do well with dairy products or just want to eliminate some dairy from your diet, but hate the taste of dairy substitutes, we’ve got some great news for you!
Read moreSep 14
As Fall approaches so does soup weather. This Panera copy cake Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe from @instarecipe_lover is one we think you’ll want to have in your soup repertoire.
Read moreSep 6
Sep 1
When folks learn that one of cotton candy’s creators cleaned teeth for a living, jaws inevitably drop.
Born in 1860, dentist William J. Morrison became president of the Tennessee State Dental Association in 1894. But Morrison was something of a polymath and a dabbler, and his varied interests also included writing children’s books and designing scientific processes. He patented methods for both turning cottonseed oil into a lard substitute and purifying Nashville’s public drinking water.
In 1897, Morrison and his fellow Nashvillian — confectioner John C. Wharton — collaborated on an “electric candy machine,” which received a patent within two years. Their device melted sugar into a whirling central chamber and then used air to push the sugar through a screen into a metal bowl, where wisps of the treat accumulated.
Morrison and Wharton debuted their snack, “fairy floss” at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 (better known as the St. Louis World’s Fair). Over the seven-month event, at least 65,000 people purchased a wooden box of the stuff, netting Morrison and Wharton the modern equivalent of more than $500,000.
Whoa! That is so funny! They probably had more children needing their professional advice as well!
Enjoy your weekend!
Aug 25
This is a very versatile item to make. It can be a weekend breakfast/brunch pastry, a tea time treat, or a lovely dessert.
Aug 18
Sometimes we just need a little something sweet that isn’t heavy but is satisfying. These Nutella Swirl Meringues hit the spot!
Read moreAug 8
Boysenberries, and consequently boysenberry pie, became famous because of Knott’s Berry Farm and theme park in Buena Vista, California, literally just down the road from that other well known theme park and rival, Disneyland.
Read moreAug 4
Given that it is Friday and the weekend is upon us we thought there might possibly be some bacon in your weekend breakfast or brunch. We came across this article from americastestkitchen.com and knew we needed to share it with our chums.
Read moreJul 6
As the dog days of summer approach we all need a little break and sometimes a little treat to keep us going. Here it is…with a glass of iced tea or lemonade you have the perfect summer treat 🙂
Read moreJun 14
We don’t have to wait for the weekends to have a special breakfast. This recipe is special and comes from an unexpected source.
Read moreJun 5
It’s easy to lose track of items in the back of a dark pantry, which is why expiration dates can be so helpful in determining when to toss old foods. However, the “best by” dates we rely on aren’t always a true picture of how long a food is shelf-stable.
Food dating is mostly a voluntary process for grocery manufacturers, who often just estimate when their products will no longer be at their best quality. Luckily, there are some foods — like the six listed below — that are safe to keep using even if their expiration date has long passed.
Read moreApr 28
Apr 20
Did you know that strawberries can be dried in your oven? They are healthy, full of antioxdents and sweet as candy. Here’s how to do it:
Read moreMar 30
It’s that time of year. If you know anything about your Two Chums it’s that at this, or any time of year, we simply LOVE deviled eggs!
Read moreMar 17
It’s that time of year again when everything turns green for a day, the leprechauns reign, and there is a corned beef in every pot. Or is there?
Read moreFeb 13
Feb 9
Breakfasts seems to come in all sorts of different ways. Some people don’t have any breakfast at all; others have a quick glass of juice and a cup of coffee; still others sit down to a large breakfast that takes them through the day.
Read moreJan 26
There is no denying that honey and oatmeal make a great combination. Also no denying that everything seems to cost more these days. So making your own Honey Nut Granola is both an economical and delicious endeavor, not to mention healthy and satisfying.
Read moreJan 20
According to Interesting Facts, while many nutritionists and physicians recommend healthy eating over fad diets, some foods offer more nutritional benefits than others.
Read moreJan 12
As the New Year gets into full swing so do some of our New Years resolutions…you know the one about trying to be healthier in our choices and drinking more water? Today we share some infused water ideas for you to try.
Read moreDec 14
If you’ve been around Two Chums for more than a minute you know how much we love our butter! We have some Savvy Secrets for you today for using all that lovely butter 🙂
Read moreNov 22
As you are well aware, Thanksgiving is only couple of days away. And no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without that iconic and yummiest of sides, mashed potatoes. So today we have a Savvy Secret for making those mashed potatoes to go alongside your turkey. We came across this great idea on Instagram, gave it a try, and want to share it with you, our chums.
Read moreNov 2
It’s safe to say that Americans love pizza.
In one 2021 survey, 41% of consumers reported eating at least one slice of pizza every week. Other data indicates that around 350 slices are sold every second — and in 2021, American pizza sales topped $48 billion. But the doughy, saucy, cheesy goodness wasn’t always an American staple. In fact, pizza was around for more than a century before making its way across the Atlantic from Italy.
Read moreSep 23
It has been quite an amazing couple of weeks now beginning with the announcement of the death of The Queen. So to round out our memories and stories of Her Majesty we thought we would leave you with a treat that came directly from her … the Queen’s pancake recipe.
Read moreAug 31
Good for lunch or supper this versatile salad is a simple fix that is filling and satisfying and ever so tasty.
Read moreAug 23
Aug 3
Jul 26
If you know any Italians you know they love their salads almost as much as they love their pasta and their bread. They don’t make a fuss about it they just make it simple and delicious. It just doesn’t get much simpler (or tastier) than today’s Savvy Secret.
Read moreJul 1
Today is the 1st of July which means the 4th of July is almost here. Today we want to share two unrelated yet important ideas for having a wonderful celebration with family and friends.
Read moreJun 30
Will there be corn on the cob in your weekend BBQ plans? We’ve got a great savvy secret for you today you’ll love!
Read moreJun 28
For many of us, one of our first memories of cooking is listening to the jovial voice of a very tall woman on PBS, chuckling as she methodically deboned a chicken or loaded a dish with butter.
Read moreJun 15
May 23
Mar 9
For all kinds of reasons it is necessary from time to time to make substitution of an ingredient when you are cooking. Knowing what you can use or how you can make those substitutions work can be tricky. Today we want to share a chart that will help with one common ingredient…eggs.
Read moreMar 4
Everyone loves delicious treats. Lots of things claim to be “healthy” and some are. Many other things claim to be “tasty” and again that too is often true. But healthy AND tasty are rarely used together truthfully. Those two things (healthy and tasty) are very often mutually exclusive when it comes to treats. Not today!
Read moreFeb 17
Other than their legendary coffee and coffee drinks, the most popular beverage that you can buy at Starbucks is The Pink Drink.
Read moreJan 21
Ever have the experience of getting ready to bake something and suddenly realize you are out of vanilla? We’ve got a Savvy Secret today from Cooks Illustrated that might keep you from having to make a last minute trip to the market.
Read moreDec 30
Want a delicious and simple appetizer this New Years Eve that everyone will love? We’ve got that!
Read moreDec 21
Dec 17
With Christmas just a week away and then New Years a week later, many of us tend to do more cooking for family and friends. Onions are a staple in most everyone’s kitchen and are called for in a myriad of recipes for soups, salads, stews or as a seasoning for cooked veggies. With so many choices how do you know which onion to use for which dish?
Read moreDec 7
It’s that time of year when even those who rarely darken the door of the kitchen, sometimes feel the need to indulge in a little holiday baking. Those of us who truly enjoy cooking (and baking and eating) spend even more time creating treats and delicacies to serve our families, our guests and of course ourselves too. It would be safe to say that more baking is done this time of year than almost any other.
Read moreNov 22
Its almost time to celebrate that iconic American holiday…Thanksgiving! And what is more synonymous with a Thanksgiving meal than turkey? Still cooking a turkey strikes fear in the hearts of many, so today we have a couple of tips… aka Savvy Secrets…for cooking a delicious flavorful, juicy bird.
Read moreNov 5
The holidays are upon us. Having some delicious snacks or appetizers that can be made ahead and ready for friends or family when they drop in, or before a holiday meal, or while watching a game, can make everyone’s time together a little more enjoyable and certainly more tasty! So over the next couple of weeks we will share some simple appetizer ideas.
Read moreNov 2
The answer to why they want dinner…they’re hungry. The answer to the question “Whats for dinner?”…today it’s White Chicken Chili.
Read moreOct 29
“What is a Toaster Bag?”, you may be wondering. Well these handy dandy kitchen tools may just make your sandwiches a step above!
Read moreSep 17
If you’ve never tried making nor eating hush puppies, now is the time you can change all that!
Read moreSep 7
Sep 3
Some people call this delicacy, Neiman Marcus Dip, some call it Million Dollar Dip, some call it Almond Bacon Cheese Spread, but everybody calls it YUMMY!
Read moreAug 30
Aug 5
Remember the good ole days of summer? The ones they called the lazy, hazy days of summer? This Summer Freeze tastes like that. What’s a freeze you ask? A freeze is basically a float that has been blended. And this one is delicious!
Read moreAug 4
Jul 13
Jul 2
As you know Sunday is the day we celebrate our independence and the birth of our great nation. It’s the 4th of July! And there is hardly a food you can name that is more frequently associated with the 4th of July…more quintessentially American… than the hotdog.
Read moreJun 24
If you know anything at all about your Two Chums, you know we have an affinity for butter. Today we have some Savvy Secrets having to do with this favorite food of ours that we think you will appreciate knowing.
Read moreJun 23
Ever wonder why the tags used to seal loaves of bread come in different colors?
Read moreJun 16
Sunday is Father’s Day and we have a great idea for a treat everyone will love when you celebrate 🙂
Read moreJun 11
Need something fun to nibble on and liven up your weekend? We’ve got just the thing. Give these super easy and very yummy Salted Pretzel Bites a try. They can easily be made gluten free by simply substituting gluten free flour for regular wheat flour. Your family and your taste buds will thank you 🙂
Read moreMay 21
If you’ve been following Two Chums for a while you might have guessed that at least one of this weeks posts on some of our “favorite things” would involve food in one way or another. So today is the day 🙂
Read moreMay 6
The calendar may say Thursday but this post is about Fry-day. These buttermilk bar donuts are DELICIOUS and what’s more?…these are gluten free!
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