Wednesday January 25, 2012
We've been talking about muffins lately, and the other day I featured a great recipe for
chocolate chocolate muffins.

Chocolate chip muffins.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro
But what if you're looking for a muffin recipe that doesn't defy the laws of chocolate physics? For you, try this regular
chocolate chip muffins recipe.
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Monday January 23, 2012
A chocolate muffin is a wonderful thing. Even more wonderful is a chocolate chocolate muffin. The way I see it, if you're going to make chocolate muffins, you should go all out, which means adding chocolate chips to your chocolate muffins.

Chocolate chocolate muffins.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro
Sure, you could leave the chocolate chips out and just make chocolate muffins. But where's the fun in that? In fact, not only do we add chocolate chips to the muffin batter, we sprinkle more chocolate chips on top of the muffins before baking them. Here's the recipe for
chocolate chocolate muffins.
And here are a few more muffin recipes, plus more about making quickbreads:
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Tuesday January 17, 2012
So here's another question I get a lot: "What's the difference between baking powder and baking soda?" Or some variation on that, like: "Can I substitute baking soda for baking powder?" You get the idea.

Is baking soda baking powder?
Photo © Melissa Wiese
Anyway, it's a good question. You would think that two products whose names sound so similar, and look so similar, would also work similarly. And the fact is, they are similar — but not identical. (Yes, baking soda is a powder, but it's not baking powder.)
Here's an in-depth explanation of the difference between baking powder and baking soda, how they work, and whether you can substitute one for the other:
Baking Soda and Baking Powder. And also, here are a few more resources to do with baking:
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Thursday January 12, 2012
Mushroom risotto is one of the classic variations on traditional risotto, which is made by slowly stirring hot stock into a special short-grained rice called arborio rice. To really maximize the mushroom flavor, you can use mushroom stock, and then stir in the sautéed mushrooms right at the end of cooking.

Mushroom risotto.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro
Here's a video that demonstrates
How to Make Mushroom Risotto. And here's some more info on making risotto:
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