When I was a kid, my Grandfather used to tell us the story of when monosodium glutamate (MSG) became available to his Chinese restaurant.
At the time, restaurateurs heralded the arrival of MSG as a sort of culinary Gold Rush. A back-alley dealer would come through the restaurant and sell it to my grandfather by the ice cream bucket. That was until it became widely unpopular to use MSG in cooking.
MSG has gained a reputation for being unhealthy. Some people have reported that they experienced symptoms like headaches, sweats, and nausea when they eat foods containing MSG.
I say…
How many times have you tried to answer the age-old question,
“What’s for dinner, honey?”
If you don’t have a plan or time to bust out a cookbook to reverse engineer a meal, what’s a quick fix? One of my favorite time-savers consists of the most important meal of the day: breakfast.
Now, I don’t necessarily mean cereal and your choice of nut milk. The fun thing about breakfast is that it’s endlessly customizable — and these days, you may have skipped breakfast anyway (I hear the cries of 1000 intermittent fasters).
Think eggs and bacon. Pancakes or waffles. A…
Some of the tastiest food comes from charcoal BBQs and smokers because they add wood smoke. When woods like applewood, cherry, mesquite, oak, or hickory are burned, they emit flavourful smoke. And when this smoke is paired with meat and vegetables, magic happens.
But what can you do if you don’t have a charcoal BBQ or a smoker?
You cheat!
That’s right. While nothing compares to slow-smoked meat from a charcoal or pellet smoker, you can still achieve that “smoky” taste by using spices from your pantry.
Spices mixed into dry rubs can add layers of flavor to your proteins…
2020 has been a fiery crucible testing the mettle of leaders all around the globe. Nearly every industry has been affected by the spread of COVID-19.
Senior leaders shouldered with the reality of downsizing have seen individuals on their teams accept greater responsibility due to layoffs.
What impact has COVID-19 had on the workplace?
A recent study observing workplace resilience (Buckingham, Harvard Business Review, Sept 2020) found:
People’s personal level of resilience in the workplace is closely related to their immediate team leader and their organization’s senior leaders.
The study concluded only 19% of workers in the USA exhibit high…
Have you ever been to a BBQ where someone served you pink chicken? It’s more than a faux pas — it’s an insult!
Cooking on a grill isn’t rocket science, but dialing in your grilling routine will set you apart from the rest.
I have been grilling for many years, and I have made my fair share of mistakes.
The following tricks have helped me to hone my skills behind the grill.
1. Preheat your grill.
You wouldn’t run without tying your shoelaces, so why wouldn’t you preheat your grill before grilling?
Fire up your grill and keep the cover…
As a ball of dough ferments away on my counter I can’t help but imagine the taste of the soft, pillowy focaccia it is destined to become.
How can it be that mixing simple ingredients like flour, water, salt, and yeast can result in something so magical?
It’s all about time.
Time has the power to elevate and enrich recipes, but it can also spell disaster in the kitchen. Anyone who has ever tasted their mother-in-law’s dry turkey over the holidays is acutely aware of this dynamic.
In the case of a focaccia, time assists the dough to undergo fermentation…
A consummate foodie with a love for his family and interesting food experiences. Chris holds an MA in Leadership, and is an avid home cook. chriskong.ca