Daily Tip #1 Chop your onions like a pro. No more mashing, no more crying. Keep all the flavor in your onions with less mess, less trouble, and a lot less ocular agony. Use a sharp knife. Halve the onion and remove the skin. Now, lay it flat on the cutting board and slice it horizontally (once or several times, depending on desired fineness of the chop) but don't cut through the “root." Next, cut vertically (as many times as you want, again, depending). Again, leave the “root” intact. Finally, turn the knife ninety degrees and cut away the fine, perfect bits of onion, slice by slice. Each bit will be intact and juicy. That's flavor and textural integrity that will make a big difference in your food. No, not just a little difference, a BIG difference. Try it. Plus, leaving those volatile juices where they belong keeps them out of your eyes. And, you won't have bits of onion flying everywhere. And, your cutting board won't reek, nor your hands, nor your apartment. A gentle rinse of the board should do the trick. Now, if my instructions don't make sense, and they probably don't, just watch this French guy named Bruno.
Daily Tip #2: From Bill Daniel's current exhibit at SPACE Gallery in Portland, ME:
Elaboration by Chris Hedges
Daily Tip #3 When to pick berries
If you like sweet, perfumed, intensely flavored berries, as I certainly do, pick them at the end of a hot, sunny day. Do not pick them in the rain. Do not pick them in the morning. Moisture washes away flavor and plants take sugars from their fruit during the night, only to replace them over the course of long, hot days. This applies, as every vinter knows, to grapes as well, which is why wine grapes are never harvested during periods of rain but rather in the evening after a sunny day. This applies, actually, to pretty much all fruit. So, if you come across a nice berry patch during a drizzle or a morning run, leave it be, or you will be disappointed with what you pick. Come back when the time is right.
Daily Tip #4 Knives Out
Sharpening your knives is a great metaphor, but is even better for cutting things. These short videos will transform your relationship to your knives.
Daily Tip #5 Resist, Do Not Comply
