Food & Cooking

From soap pancakes and waffles “topped” with berries, cream, and powdered sugar, to soap cakes and pastries, they all look truly delectable.

Sure, our parents told us to never play with our food, but they never told us about not sitting on it.

It may seem convenient, but it's a very bad idea.

No need to pore over endless reviews for a solid co-sign on home goods companies that have been hiding in plain sight: the people of Reddit have already done the legwork.

Hello Alice, The problem is, my husband and I still want to spend time with my family but these occasions always focus around my mother’s cooking. My parents don’t believe in going out to eat, and we’re not sure if we can politely bring a dish or two and have my husband eat only that. It seems rude. Any good advice on how I can approach my mom about this again, or ways around this?

As much fun as shopping can be, having to buy the same item over and over again is no bueno. That’s why it pays to know which products are actually worth the investment, especially when it comes to hardworking items for the kitchen. The commenters at Reddit know all about the importance of buying quality appliances up front. They started multiple “Buy It for Life” threads for this very reason.

Financial wizards will tell you that there’s no time like the present to reign in your spending and get a grip on your budget—but it’s their job to say that! Setting a food budget (that you can stick to) isn’t exactly a cake walk. In fact, it’s kinda the opposite. To help you get on the right track, we asked 10 (super-relatable) home cooks for their best realistic food budgeting advice that you can implement right now.

When my husband came home from work and told me that the next day would be his last at his job, we went into immediate emergency cost-cutting mode. And we quickly learned that the easiest place to slash the budget, in principle, was one of the most painful in practice: our food expenses. We love food—eating it, cooking it, talking about it, sharing it. And an embarrassingly large percentage of our budget went to food—good ingredients, kitchen equipment, eating out.

10 things that say home to the blogger and Food Network star.

Grocery shopping isn’t always easy. Along with the crowds, screaming kids, and long lines, you have to successfully secure a week’s worth of foodstuff, most likely while on a budget. That’s why it pays to plan for your trip to the grocery store ahead of time, so you can avoid draining searches and high prices as much as possible. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can hack your grocery list to work for you.

The news swept the internet last week that due to their acquisition by Amazon, Whole Foods was going to start dropping prices on a variety of items as of today. Several news outlets have visited different locations of the organic grocer and are reporting on just how much savings there is to be had.

This month we’ll be sharing solutions that are so simple and easy—and at times, automated—that they feel like magic. Hocus Pocus celebrates all the small ways you can trick yourself into living a better life. There are a lot of ways to spend less money at the grocery stores. Couponing or buying cheaper food are two that come to mind, though neither are always ideal for our sanity or our health.

Ever the romantic gift-giver, I recall with utter clarity the Christmas my father gave my mother a microwave oven. The year was 1984. Its inaugural run was a bowl of water (how’s that for cautious?) How is it that thirty years later we are still sounding out all three laborious syllables: MI-CRO-WAVE? Why doesn’t this ubiquitous appliance have a shorter, widely accepted nickname? It’s time to remedy this oversight!