Heather says:
We all see those lists of amazing household tips that circulate via e-mail. Usually they are full of decent, useful household advice, but a few suspect bits get thrown in for good measure. I comb the Internets looking for bad advice, mostly through my own misadventure. So, here’s this week public service announcement.
Doubling up cupcake papers is NOT just as good as having enough muffin tins.
Yes, the small cakes tasted fine and were vaguely cupcake shaped; they would have made great turtles if I had planned on a turtle themed birthday party.
Here at Home-Ec 101, I strive to help people, and especially mothers,  remember that no one is perfect, not even on the web. Confession is good for the soul, but laughter is priceless. Home-Eccers, please take a moment and share one of  your favorite  household misadventures.
PS If you have seen my other muffin tin, I’d like it back, please.
*Edited to note* Ivy and I will be attending the TypeAMom conference in September. The blog hop below is a peek at who else will be there.
Dipping ice cubes into soup or sauce that has too much fat floating on the top might sound like a really good way to remove the excess fat as it freezes onto the ice cube. What it really is good for is watering down your greasy soup or sauce.
Isn’t that the truth. I’ve come to realize the only fix for that is a chill in the fridge or using a fat separator. Neither are fast, but the bread trick is too messy, as is the ice in a baggie trick. Sometimes the slow ways are best. 🙂
Port wine cheddar cheese is NOT a substitute for swiss cheese in a fondue. It doesn’t melt into that luscious, soft-stringy substance that clings to bread. It does, however, turn bubblegum pink! LOL!
Do not forget about the pasta draining in the strainer in the sink, on the off chance you have to quickly wash up a few things to complete dinner.
Blech – soapy noodles will not get unsoapy!
Well, as a new bride all enthusiastic to learn to cook the fruits of my garden, I discovered why there are no recipes for cucumber pie… Called all the old ladies in my family, looked through all my cookbooks and the ones at the library (not Google then). Finally just decided to wing it… Crust was perfect, they smelled good of spices and looked like something out of Sunset Mag. Taste and texture did leave a little something to be desired, however!
Baking soda canNOT be substituted for baking powder! Okay, it seems so obvious now, but long ago, when I first started trying to bake a bit, I didn’t know that. I made some blueberry muffins and really didn’t even realize that there were two different products–I just knew that “baking” was in the name and I had the soda, so I used it. These were not just bad muffins, they were horrible. They tasted like I’d used about half-cup of salt. Anyway, for anyone who’s new to baking out there, and I mean really new like I was (my mom never baked), just know that they are different, and you have to use the right one.
Stacy, you’re story reminds me of a misadventure with my sister, cousins, and aunt! I had this great idea to make a strawberry shortcake for my uncle one year for his birthday. I was 15 and the oldest of the bunch, but I had been baking under my mom’s supervision for about 5 years now. My youngest cousin (about 11) was getting the ingredients out of the cabinet as my aunt read them off from the cookbook. My aunt said baking powder, and my cousin pulled out the baking powder can and asked, “This one?” “No,” my aunt replied, and my cousin put it back and grabbed the baking soda box and again asked, “This one?” “Yes, that one,” my aunt replied, and we went on about our cake making. About halfways through baking my other cousin (about 14) peeks in at it and says, “It looks a little flat!” When it came out of the oven, it was veeerrry flat. It tasted waaaayyy too salty, and even the dog wouldn’t eat it!
Cindy,
Come to think of it, I’m sure the muffins were pretty flat or hard or something. I was probably in high school when this happened, so I guess that’s a little bit of an excuse–young and ignorant.
Stacy
Oh, and I meant to include:
One Size Fits All
Ha!
I realize it’s not really a “household” tip. But it’s definitely something to consider if you’re wanting to buy clothing of some sort as a gift for a person who is, let’s say, of above average size (either vertically or horizontally).
Many’s the time I’ve had to explain to A Very Thoughtful Person why their Very Thoughtful Gift did not, in fact, actually fit, despite the reasurrance of the label to the contrary.
My mom bought me a very cute nightshirt a few months ago, and it does fit, but it’s so short I can’t wear it unless I’m home alone, or if i want to give my guess a peek of something i’d rather keep private.
Gin and tonic is not meant to be drank (drunk?) at at 1:1 ratio, not even in the summertime.
And if you do, it should NOT be from pint glasses, especially on an empty stomach.
And if you do, you should not cook afterward. Or during. Order a pizza. Your family will thank you.
Anyone want half a bottle of fairly decent gin? I haven’t touched it in YEARS. . .
Send me this information follow up. Great
Foreign recipes, no matter how authentic they may be, are sometimes a total failure. Recipes rarely translate correctly.
When I was in college I tried making “Lebkuchen” for my German class. Well, I don’t know if something got lost in translation or if I lost an ingredient when I printed out the recipe. It was not like gingerbread. In fact it wasn’t like bread at all. The closest thing it resembled was a dog chew toy. It was a sweetened rock hard ‘bar’ that had the shelf life of dried beans or maybe baking soda. I finally tossed it months later when I male visitor thought it tasted good and wanted to take some home. The word ‘lebkuchen’ alone brings uncontrollable giggling to my old roommate. What can I say, that bread of life was a total flop.
You mean, like the time I made banana bread with powdered sugar? Yep, accidental substitution of ALL the flour with powdered sugar. Plus extra, because I couldn’t understand why the texture was wrong, so I added more “flour” to fix it. Also, powdered sugar doesn’t rise.
Yes, we tossed it.
And yes, all flour and sugar containers are now labeled!
Heather, is there any chance you took a picture of the turtlesque cupcakes that you’d be willing to share?
I didn’t, we set those aside, I only needed the ones that fit in the muffin tin for family / guests / photos. The others were left in the kitchen and consumed with whipped cream as a DIY Ding Dong / Ho Ho. ;P
If my muffin pan were missing, I would check in Ladybug’s toy bin. She likes to cook and bake as much as I do! Hope you find it soon!
While confectioners sugar (10x sugar) and flour look alike, they cannot be substitued for each other. My roomate made fried chicken once, and used sugar instead of flour. We couldn’t figure out why the chicken was so sticky, although it tasted good. Months later I was baking and she watched me take flour and then c-sugar, and wanted to know why i was adding flour twice.