7 Things To Stop Doing For Better Tasting Food

PLUS: A genius tin foil hack for shinier silverware, how putting yourself last hurts everyone, and more. PLUS: A genius tin foil hack for shinier silverware, how putting yourself last hurts everyone, and more. May 2, 2022 [View Online]( Good morning! For those of us whose culinary education was anything but formal, there was a lot that we had to figure out on our own. Some of those habits aren't doing our cooking any favors, but the 7 tips in Today’s Good Thing can help you break those habits and enhance the flavor of your food. The rest of today’s newsletter is packed with good stuff, like a dishwasher hack that restores shine to silverware, a new Motivation Monday about taking time for yourself, an artist who makes beautiful vintage-inspired china, and more. Enjoy! Jillee TODAY'S GOOD THING 7 Things To Stop Doing For Better Tasting Food [Photos of various cooking hacks.]( From tough chicken to dry burgers, avoiding less-than-stellar cooking outcomes is easier than you think. 1. Cutting Veggies Unevenly. Some variation in the size of diced onions and other veggies is fine, but drastic size differences can cause some pieces to be overcooked while others are left basically raw. If your knife skills aren’t strong, using a food dicer or chopper can help. 2. Not Seasoning Cooking Water. Whether you’re cooking pasta or potatoes or blanching vegetables, by doing it in a pot of plain water you’re missing an opportunity to enhance the flavor from the get-go. Instead, season the boiling water with a tablespoon or so of salt before adding the food. 3. Not Rinsing Canned Beans. The liquid in a can of beans is full of sodium and extra starches that can make a huge difference to your finished dish (and not usually in a good way!) Unless the recipe specifically calls for undrained beans, drain and rinse them under cool water before using. 4. Cutting Into Chicken To Check Doneness. If you cut into chicken to check whether it’s done, it likely hasn’t had time to reabsorb the moisture inside, which means a lot of that moisture will run out through the cut. Instead, use an instant read thermometer to check if chicken is cooked. 5. Only Using Lean Ground Beef. Lean ground beef is fine for tacos, casseroles, and meat sauces, but it can make for dry and flavorless meatloaf or burgers. Reserve lean ground beef for recipes where beef isn’t the star of the show, and use beef with more fat for meatloaf, etc. 6. Marinating Seafood Too Long. Acidic marinades can literally cook seafood—this principle comes into play with ceviche—and it can happen quicker than you might think. While large cuts of red meat need to marinate for several hours, seafood only needs about 20 minutes or so. 7. Not Knowing Your Oven’s Quirks. Many ovens develop hot spots over time and become less consistent in holding temperatures. You can use slices of bread to find the hot spots in your oven, and adding an oven thermometer can help you monitor the temperature more accurately. [See these tips in greater detail ➜]( Related • [9 Food Safety Mistakes That Will Make Someone Sick]( • [11 Rookie Mistakes You Make In The Kitchen (And The Easy Fixes)]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • The best Mother’s Day gifts have both sentimental and practical value, like this simple DIY recipe tea towel. [Read more ➜]( • Need a meal you can get on the table fast? It doesn’t get much easier (or more tasty) than this parmesan-crusted chicken. [Read more ➜]( • If clutter always seems to come back after a while, find out how working with your clutter, not against it, can help. [Read more ➜]( CLEANING Use A Ball Of Tin Foil For Shinier Silverware [A photo of a piece of tin foil in a dishwasher..]( You may have used tin foil as an abrasive before, but this cleaning tip is all about chemicals. Have you ever noticed your silverware looking dirty and dull, even when it just came out of the dishwasher? If so, your silverware could be affected by tarnish, and I recently learned about a surprisingly simple way to remove tarnish from silverware without lifting a finger! Before you start your next load of dishes, tear a piece of aluminum foil off the roll and crumple it up into a ball. Toss the foil ball into your dishwasher's cutlery basket and run a wash cycle as usual—your silverware will come out much shinier! What I find most fascinating about this hack is how it works. It has nothing to do with the foil manually scrubbing the utensils—instead, it's a product of a reaction between the aluminum, your dishwasher detergent, and the tarnish itself. When sulfur in the air attaches to silver, it forms the dark layer of silver sulfide we call tarnish. By adding a metal that attracts sulfur more strongly than silver—aluminum—to your dishwasher along with your detergent, you can trigger a reaction that draws the sulfur off the surface of your silverware and leaves it looking much shinier. STAY SAFE OUT THERE Identifying And Avoiding Health Fraud [A stock photo of a doctor's office.]( Health fraud doesn’t just put you at risk financially—it can be harmful to your health too. While health fraud has been thriving during the pandemic, it's an issue that goes well beyond COVID-19. Health fraud comes in all shapes and sizes, from someone peddling snake oils or illegally distributing medications to someone sending phony emails as though they're from real health officials or agencies. Getting taken in by a health fraud scheme can be dangerous for both your finances and your health. So how can you avoid getting hoodwinked? First, look for two red flags common to health fraud: hyperbole and conspiracy. Scammers often insist their “miracle cure,” “scientific breakthrough,” or “new discovery” is legit, but claim the reason you haven’t heard of it is because the government or pharmaceutical companies are conspiring to keep it under wraps. Second, make sure you have a doctor or healthcare professional you trust and feel comfortable taking your questions to. If you don’t feel like your current doctor is the right one for you, it's definitely worth seeking out a new one you can build trust with. Whether you’re trying to stay healthy, manage a chronic condition, or achieve any other health goal, there's no shame in wishing it were easier. Just make sure you're not allowing that wish to override your common sense and make you an easy target for health scammers! JILLEE'S PICK The Vintage Charm Of Molly Hatch [A GIF showing Molly Hatch's ]( I’ve learned about so many talented bloggers, entertainers, and makers, and creators through Instagram over the past few months, and I recently started following a new artist that does some incredible things with paper and pottery. Her name is Molly Hatch ([@mollyhatch](), and she's an award-winning designer specializing in vintage-inspired tableware and illustrations. Not only am I utterly besotted by the mugs, cups, and plates (both the [china]( and [paper]( varieties) she sells in her shop, but I love the art she did for this adorable “[bouquet in a book](” too. Have you come across any new artists or designers you’re loving on Instagram lately? Reply to this email and tell me who’s caught your eye! MONDAY MOTIVATION Put On Your Own Mask Before Assisting Others I don’t know about you, but when I’m stressed and tired, I often have a "shorter fuse" and find the challenges of homemaking and family life even more difficult. But instead of slowing down and letting myself rest, my motherly instinct to “do it all” overrides my instinct to take care of myself, and I think many—maybe even most—mothers struggle with the same thing. But does it do anyone any good when we burn ourselves out trying to meet our own punishingly high standards? Are we better mothers or homemakers for pushing ourselves past our limits? Are our kids or spouses better off when we're tired and short-tempered? I think we all know the answer is no. In the safety video they show before takeoff on flights, it's often stated that in an emergency, you should "put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others." In the event of a crisis, putting on your own mask first will give you the oxygen necessary for quick thinking and action, making you a more effective helper for others. The same is true not just for mothers, but for anyone who regularly goes above and beyond for others at their own expense. There's nothing wrong with caring deeply about your family, career, or household, but prioritizing them at the expense of your wellbeing is unhealthy and unsustainable. By taking time for ourselves to rest, recharge, and meet our own needs, we can show up as the best version of ourselves, and that benefits everyone. This week, I encourage you to look for ways to “put on your own mask first” and take better care of yourself. A FEW MORE THINGS... Symbols Of The Month: The birthstone for the month of May is [emerald](, a green variety of beryl treasured by Cleopatra and thought to have calming and healing effects. The birth flowers for May are [lily of the valley](, symbolizing sweetness and purity, and [hawthorn](, a symbol of hope. ⚡️ A Magical Occasion: Today is International Harry Potter Day, established in 2012 by then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron to commemorate Harry’s triumph over Lord Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2, and to celebrate the hugely popular series and its author J.K. Rowling. With several devoted Potter fans on the OGT Team, you can bet we'll be celebrating in style today! Skin Cancer Awareness: Today is also Melanoma Monday, a campaign by the American Academy of Dermatology that aims to raise awareness of the causes and symptoms of the most dangerous type of skin cancer. [Check out this infographic]( for tips on checking yourself for skin cancer, or visit [SpotSkinCancer.org](. 🤔 Wordle: [Solve today's 5-letter word](. What did you think of today's email? 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