
Stop trying to conjure Valdemort!
[rebelmouse-image 18349037 is_animated_gif=Learn cooking techniques instead of recipes.
Don't approach recipes like they're magic spells in the Harry Potter universe. If you wiggle your nose wrong or put in a spec to much of some seasoning you're not going to end up with a completely different dish.
Alton Brown does an incredible job of teaching a cooking technique and then showing you a recipe that applies that technique. If you learn a process instead of a rote recipe you will know how to cook dozens of dishes, and it's really the only way to develop skills in the kitchen.
Always start with the obvious.
[rebelmouse-image 18349038 is_animated_gif=A master chef told me this in culinary school: "you can always stop cooking." Take it off the burner or out of the oven if you need to. Surprisingly helpful tip.
COOOKIES!!!!
[rebelmouse-image 18349039 is_animated_gif=Joking aside, there are still basic (somewhat chemistry-related) baking techniques to learn. Take chocolate chip cookies, for example. If you want a thicker cookie, refrigerate your dough and make it into balls while it's still cool before putting in into the oven. For a more spread out cookie, room temperature dough works better. For a softer cookie, take it out of the oven earlier. For a crispy cookie, take it out later. Amount of butter also impacts the texture and chewiness of the cookie. So there is still a bit of improvisation that can happen if you learn the proper techniques based on your desired outcome.
Be daring! Always more than a pinch!
[rebelmouse-image 18349040 is_animated_gif=Measuring spoons are for baking, not for spices.
Don't ignore the rear.
[rebelmouse-image 18349041 is_animated_gif=Chop with the rear part of the blade, not the tip, in a rolling motion.
Is it hot in here to you?
[rebelmouse-image 18349042 is_animated_gif=Control your heat. Control everything, but mostly your heat.
Love your instruments.
[rebelmouse-image 18977922 is_animated_gif=In Portugal when we buy cast iron or clay pots, before we use them for the first time we put a piece of coal, some cabbage leaves and a bit of olive oil and let it on medium-low heat on the oven for a few hours to season it and wash away odors from the pot's making. Then those are seldom washed with soap.
Keep a breath mint nearby. Unless you're hunting for vampires.
[rebelmouse-image 18977923 is_animated_gif=Roasted garlic. Garlic is cheap and you don't even need a ceramic garlic roaster (although having one in the kitchen looks good). Just slice off the top of the bulbs and cover with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, wrap in tin foil and place in the oven at 350 (Fahrenheit!) for 50-60 minutes. You can add it to sauces, spread on bread etc. etc.
A neat feature of roasted garlic is that over time its chemical composition breaks down into more and more sugar, so any sauce you make with it will become sweeter. I make tomato sauce with it and it's delicious to begin with, but just a few days later it tastes twice as good.
Now don't get crazy!!
[rebelmouse-image 18359050 is_animated_gif=Keep it simple. Something with 3-4 ingredients that go really well together is better than something with 12 ingredients that clash with each other.
Perfect new things.
[rebelmouse-image 18977924 is_animated_gif=Learn to brown things. So many people are content with their ability to not burn things that a lot of food that could be GREAT turns out tasting no better than if they had boiled it.
Keep the flours blooming.
[rebelmouse-image 18977925 is_animated_gif=Pastry chef here, not my best tip but the only one I can think of this early on my day off... flouring pans for cakes is a step not to be skipped but when it comes to chocolate cakes, it looks awful so for dark cakes, I use cocoa powder instead.
Don't be salty!
[rebelmouse-image 18977926 is_animated_gif=If you have to keep adding salt, try adding some citric acid instead
Well aren't you sweet?
[rebelmouse-image 18977928 is_animated_gif=My wife struggles with this. Anything that calls for sugar, and I mean ANYTHING, she'll replace the sugar with either applesauce or honey.
About half the time it works. The other half the time her tomato sauces have a weird texture because a scoop of applesauce is not a replacement for a pinch of sugar.
Careful with the birthday suit.
[rebelmouse-image 18977929 is_animated_gif=Don't cook with oil while naked.
be Aggressive! Be-Be-Be Aggressive!!
[rebelmouse-image 18977930 is_animated_gif=If you're cooking with chicken or pork, season aggressively. Both meats are wonderful seasoning sponges; find a regional spice map or guide and start combining flavors.
No pets allowed.
[rebelmouse-image 18977931 is_animated_gif=There is a "No animals in the kitchen while cooking" rule in our house. Animals know the invisible border in which they can not cross during cooking time. Don't want to trip over one of them while holding boiling water or something. Would be bad for both of us.
Love your eggs.
[rebelmouse-image 18977932 is_animated_gif=Not a chef but have worked in a kitchen. Best tip I ever got was for frying eggs.
Have it on a medium temp, NOT roasting hot, and once you've cracked your egg, cover it. Use a pot lid or something. This means your egg cooks from the top and the bottom, so you get a perfect runny yolk without any undercooked white around it.
I use this every single time I fry eggs and I've never looked back.
Play a little word jumble.
[rebelmouse-image 18977933 is_animated_gif=If something burns slightly, throw BBQ sauce on it and call it "Smoked".
If something that's supposed to be smooth comes out chunky, call it "Homestyle".
Love your blades!
[rebelmouse-image 18977934 is_animated_gif=I think about 95% of homes badly need to pack their knives up and take them to a professional sharpener. And also learn how to use a honing steel. It makes such a difference!
Don't be lazy.
[rebelmouse-image 18977936 is_animated_gif=You can clean while you cook.
Be a step ahead.
[rebelmouse-image 18977937 is_animated_gif=Preparation is the key for efficient an fast cooking. Even at home I cut vegetables in advance and store them in the fridge. Not having to cut all this stuff for every meal you prepare can save a lot time.
Credit
[rebelmouse-image 18977462 is_animated_gif=H/T : Reddit
- People Share The Best Cooking Tips They Know - George Takei ›
- People Share The Things We Usually Refrigerate But Totally Don't Need To Be - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which Life Hacks Actually Became A Part Of Their Daily Routine - George Takei ›
- Chefs Divulge The Best Kitchen Tips All Home Cooks Should Know - George Takei ›
- People Break Down Which Common Cooking Tips Are Actually Completely Wrong - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which Skills Are Easier To Learn Than Anyone Thinks - George Takei ›
Rare is the person who hasn't experienced stepping on a LEGO.
The building blocks are popular around the globe so the opportunity is widespread.
The feeling is so universal it's often used to describe a level of pain—as either worse or not as bad as stepping on a LEGO.
So what about those things that we categorize as worse?
Redditor Fyre-Bringer asked:
"What's worse than stepping on a LEGO?"
Dr. Scholl's
"Dr. Scholl's wooden sandals we all wore back in the day, every so often the wooden sole would slip to the side so the tenderest, nerve-filled part of your foot would come down on the edge of the sandal."
"I swear I saw God."
- LakotaGrl
It's electric
"Stepping on upturned electrical plug."
- LucyVialli
"My freshman year of college I jumped off my half-lofted bed straight into my computer charger. I didn't make a noise because my roommate was sleeping, but it hurt so bad."
"It was a circular plug and took a giant chuck out of my skin."
"I've stepped on tacks, needles, and glass before but this was definitely the worst of all of those because of how blunt the edges are."
- eyetis
Munch
"Accidentally biting a chunk off the inside of your cheek whilst eating."
- GLucey
"Biting so hard it crunches."
- Sandpaper_Pants
"Or lower lip.. then biting the same spot multiple times while it’s swollen and trying to heal."
- Tdawwg78
Bump
"The only thing in existence that hurts more than stepping on a LEGO is getting hit in the ankle with the side of a scooter."
- Humble_Wonder937
"My little sister is a monster and bangs her stainless steel scooter into my feet on purpose because she thinks me wailing in pain is funny. I want to throw out that scooter so bad, but my parents will probably buy her another one."
- CrypticWeirdo9105
Glass
"A small thin shard of glass that breaks apart when tweezers pull on it."
- BassoHaase
"Metal in this scenario sucks too."
- RussianTanks
Man's best saboteur
"Stepping on a hard dog chew that has the ability to roll at 3 a.m on the way to the bathroom."
- notsleptyet
"My dog has a knack for chewing her hard toys into sharp little f'ked up torture devices, and likes to carry them anywhere and everywhere around the house with her.
"So anyways, I don’t flop into bed face first anymore."
- misplacedvegetation
"YES, because you can also stub your toe on it, those suckers are HARD, and THEN step on it!!"
"Adds injury to injury, instead of insult to injury 😆"
- rhendon46
Weaponized toys
"No one ever talks about stepping on Jacks. Those caltrop looking things."
- Nuclear_Mouse
"How about stepping on actual caltrops, meaning the plant? First time I ever did that it hurt so bad I broke out in a cold sweat."
- JuzoItami
Carlos. E. Serrano/Getty Images
Ewww...
"When you have socks on, go into your kitchen area, and step into 'wet'."
- CarderSC2
"I have a 2-year-old, 4-year-old, a dog and a kitten. Yup."
- p0atato
These all sound pretty painful.
Do you have anything to add to the list?
Sometimes, the most useful advice you will ever receive might come from the most unlikely of places.
Be it a random stranger you meet on the bus or in an anonymous online chat room.
Sometimes advice that might seem generic and vague on the surface might help shed light on other areas in your life you didn't even realize you needed help with.
With this in mind, Redditor gaps610 gave the Reddit community an opportunity to help out others by asking:
"What is some completely non-serious random advice you wanna give to your fellow Redditors?"
Unless you want your romance to be literally "fleeting".
"Don’t fall in love in the airport."- mdrnsavg
It goes both ways
"Definitely don't sweat the petty things and absolutely don't pet the sweaty things." - User Deleted
Can save you money on buying new dolls
"Barbie clothes will fit on bananas."- highmaintenancebunny·
Quit while you're ahead
"Don’t."
"Whatever you’re thinking, just don’t."- Hold_My_Anxiety
Same goes for your shoes.
"Don’t wear your socks in the shower, they’ll get wet."
There are no "losers" in life
"The answers are all made up and the points don't matter."- Sad_Thought_4642
It's just polite!
"Hold the door."- WaCandor
In case of the need to carbo load!
"Save time with food prep by boiling all the water you need to make pasta for the week each Sunday and freezing it."- TennisADHD
It stops being as easy as it looks
"As you get older and have to get down on your knees (gardening, etc.), Bring a 5 gallon empty bucket to help you get back up."
"If you are too proud you can pretend that you are using it to carry tools."
"Being a young punk in my youth making fun of older people has caught up with me."- charlie2135
Know when to stop...
"Delete that really long text."- The-Zesty-Man
It's easy enough to dismiss these dubious words of wisdom as nothing more than a little frivolity.
But, best to keep all of them in the back of your mind.
After all, who knows, you never know what doing something as simple as holding the door might lead to.
People Describe The Times They've Seen A Normally Calm Personal Absolutely Snap On Someone
Everyone has a breaking point.
Even the person who seems to be the calmest has that moment when their patience has run thin, and all it takes is a little more prodding and antagonizing to set them off.
Curious to hear examples of when strangers online were surprised by what they witnessed, Redditor Specktakles88 asked:
"Have you ever seen a normally calm person completely lose their sh*t? What happened?"

A triggering moment unleashed wild behavior.
The Dude Who Had It Coming
"I was chilling at a friend’s house as a kid. His dad was the chillest, nicest guy. That day, my friend’s mom (also super nice) was across the street talking to the neighbor about something that I can no longer recall. Neighbor was one of those guys who never respected common etiquette: music blaring, parking his sh**ty boat in front of other people’s house, cars parked on the lawn. The neighbor started screaming at the mom and we all went out on the stoop to see what was happening. As soon as we got outside, the guy called my friend’s mom a c*nt. Well, my friend’s dad heard that and went full Hulk mode. He ran SCREAMING across the street and just f'king decked the guy and crouched over him shouting warnings and threats. Took a while for his wife to calm him down. I don’t think any of them had ever seen him react to something in that way, maybe even the dad himself."
– Corporation_tshirt
Hot Kitchen
"I worked as a line cook with a chef who I became really good friends with. Really chill dude, easy going, and actually super fun to cook with. He taught me most of what I know about cooking and I owe him a lot for my success. Never really saw him get mad until one day, we were getting slammed during busy night and one of the servers said something that really ticked him off, not sure if I ever heard what it was, but next thing I knew he had sent the deep fryer basket flying at Mach 1 across the kitchen, nearly missing the dish kid and shattering a light bulb. He stormed off and 5 minutes later after a smoke break, came back and casually continued cooking as if nothing had happened."
"He apologized about it the next day and we never talked about it again. The restaurant industry is a stressful place."
– Nexteri
Thing About Grandpa
"When I was in my late teens I was financially irresponsible and borrowed money from my grandparents to move out of my mom's house. We made a plan on how I would pay it back in installments and I only missed two payments, with each one I called my granddad and asked if it was okay. He was always cool about it. One day I got a call from him and he was LIVID. Screaming at me on the phone and I could hear my grandmother crying in the background. He was the angriest I’ve ever heard anyone in my life and I was terrified. He wanted to know why I hadn’t made the payment that month, but I was sure I had. It turns out I had accidentally set the automated payment to be drawn from the wrong account and it hadn’t done it. It was an honest mistake on my part, and I explained that to him. I transferred the money immediately and he instantly calmed down. I later found out he had become an alcoholic after he quit smoking, and he would talk to my grandmother like that regularly when no one was around."
– kamaikaja
Awakening The Beast
"This is not my story but my dads. Growing up his best friend Leif was a quiet, shy guy that was a bit socially awkward. In school he wasn't physically bullied but this one kid teased him constantly. This would have been late 50's, early 60's so kids were expected to just tough it out. My dad would usually confront the kid but one day a girl runs up to him and says that Leif and the kid are fighting."
"My dad runs over to save Leif but when he breaks through the circle he finds the bully flat on his back, Leif sitting on his chest, holding him by the ears and smashing his head into the pavement over and over. My dad tackles him, wrestles him to the ground and screams at him, asking what he's doing. The thing that stayed with me from that story was how he described it, 'it was like there was nothing in there, I felt like I could see the back of his skull through his eyes.'"
"Luckily they were kids so the damage was serious but limited, the bully escaped with stitches and a concussion and Leif had to talk to the school psychologist. My dad and Leif stayed best friends and when I met him as an adult he was still quiet but less shy and awkward."
– Kenail_Rintoon
Work-related stresses really brought out the fury in these people.
The Beginning
"I had a friend who was in his 60's, a functioning alcoholic but he was the most calm and composed guy I have ever known. He never used to raise his voice or swear. Everything was done with meticulous precision."
"He once explained to me that if you use vulgar language and shout all the time, then you will have nowhere to go when you really do get angry."
"I had worked with him for about 3 years, never heard him raise his voice or swear before. The week before he had been shafted on his pay and the manager promised to get it sorted by Friday. Friday rolled around and it had not been sorted. So when my friend walked up to the manager in the open office and declared loudly 'Where the f'k is my money? You promised this would be resolved.' The whole office went silent and the look of dread on the manager's face was haunting. The money was in his account by the end of the day."
"That was him losing his sh*t."
– LinktoApop
Parting Words
"I used to see this woman in my building every day. Very friendly. We always checked on each other’s lives. We had lunch a few times over the years. It was friendly to a certain degree. A couple years passed. She was much older than me. One day, riding the elevator, she told me that she was saying goodbye. I said I was sorry to see her go and asked why. She said she was retiring that day. I asked if her office was throwing a party or if she was celebrated. She turned to me and her face contorted into an image of rage. She clenched her teeth and said she didn’t tell anyone in her office, including her bosses. She only told the HR person last week. This was her last day and she was never returning to see or talk to anyone in her office again."
– darthsnakeeyes
The Gentle Giant
"I used to do seasonal work sorting tax returns. Like, 500 people in a warehouse size room sorting through returns, stacking them in boxes, etc. This one guy on my team, huge dude, a gentle giant, really nice. Suddenly one day he smashes the table he's working at, then flips a big box full of paperwork. It flew over my head and twenty feet away. He threw the table out of his way them stormed out. Turns out he was getting his paycheck garnished for something or other."
– TheBelhade
Rambunctious behavior really set these people off, but it also restored peace.
The Teacher Who Had Enough
"One of my teachers in high school was THE calmest dude. Never yelled, never told kids off, would just laugh and smile and wait for us all to calm down and then continue with his teaching. One day we must have been particularly rowdy and we weren’t calming down like we usually did. He couldn’t get a word in edge ways. I could see him getting increasingly frustrated and eventually he just bellowed SHUUUUTTT UPPPPP And the entire class was shocked into silence. He never had to do it again lmao"
– shyaussiegirl26
Too Angry To Hold A Knife
"It takes a lot to make my mom yell. On the rare occasion she did yell, it still felt like she had self control. Like she yelled on purpose, because there was a reason to yell (like she needed to be that loud for us to hear us, or one of the kids needed to learn to never run into traffic again.)"
"But one morning when we were teenagers, my brother was being really, really difficult."
"And my very sweet, soft-spoken mother yelled 'GOD DAMN IT SHAWN' and threw a butter knife down so hard it stuck, 1/4 inch deep, in oak hardwood floor. Against the grain. I can still hear the noise it made."
"We were all very, very well behaved for the rest of the day."
"I did eventually ask my mom why she did that. Her explanation was that she felt she was too angry to hold a knife, even a butter knife, and was trying to get it out of her hand before she did something stupid."
– _Green_Kyanite_
Granny's Mean Streak
"Man my grandma has a similar thing. This boy was a couple years older than she was and he was constantly picking on her. He's riding his bike home from school one day and he rides past her and he's shouting at her and she knocks him right off his bike and beat the sh*t out of him. My sweet lil granny. The neighbor that saw it said he was proud as sh*t that she beat the snot out of this shitty kid lol. I think it was the start of my grandma's bad b*tch streak because not much later, she started street racing. She was allegedly a sweet little girl, but man I think she must have had a mean streak in her."
– Unsd
"Jerry Springer Christmas"
"My mom. We had what we now refer to as the 'Jerry Springer Christmas' when I was 7 or so. One aunt hated her sister in law and started screaming at her, then shoving started, husband's got involved, then it just continued to devolve from there. My mom went straight into mediator mode and tried to calm everyone down but it wasn't working. She decided to come check on us kids and found my cousin and me holding each other and sobbing because we were scared. The next thing I hear is her scary mom voice screaming over everyone 'listen here you motherf'kers. My kid is in there crying on Christmas because her family can't keep their sh*t together for one the one day a year we all see each other. You're gonna march your a**es into that room single file and apologize to each kid individually, then you're going to shut the hell up until I get them out of here. We're going to go find look at lights and this family better be the picture of goddam Christmas joy by the time we get back.' My mom never really cussed in front of me and only ever used gd when things were really bad. That side of the family didn't celebrate Christmas for a few years after that."
"Edit: thank you for the awards and kind words! Ma is tickled pink at all of the comments about how wonderful she is. I tell her every day how lucky I am to have her."
– thatspookyb*tch
Rage is something that exists in all of us.
Some people are good at letting small things run off their back, while others have no patience for the smallest of grievances.
The lesson to be learned here is, never underestimate the calmest people. They might be the ones to really look out for. You don't want to be the reason for them to break their patience streak and unleash all of their built-up fury on you.
Be kind to others, and just don't be a prick.
Songwriters base many of their songs on love because the relatable emotion makes it easier for artists to connect with their audiences.
Whether that applies or doesn't apply in our own lives, we listen to the songs conveying these experiences to take us back so we may relive these affirmative moments from the past.
Curious to hear what's on the moody playlist of strangers online, Redditor udontknowmegurl asked:
"What is the saddest song you've ever heard?"

These iconic artists really touched the hearts of many people through their music.
Dolly's Love Anthem
"I will Always Love You by Dolly Parton, you can really tell she f'king lived that song."
– scruntyboon
When Mom Went To Heaven
"The night my mama died, my dad sang Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love to her in the back seat of the car on the way to the ER. She died of fully metastitized pancreatic cancer 18 days after diagnosis."
– AmazonEllie
It Gets Deeper With Age
“'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac I find that the older I get, the more meaning this song has."
– Rare_Matter
Leave it to Disney to have us reaching for the tissue box.
Touching Score
"That song from UP makes me cry every time and it doesn’t even have lyrics."
– TheDaughterOfFlynn
When She Loved Me
"That one Jesse sings in Toy Story 2"
– TheWholeEffinJoe
And let's not forget these emotional tunes that resonated with many Redditors.
Irish Folk Song
"‘Danny boy’ at a friends funeral 10 years ago. He, his sister and his gf all passed away in a house fire all in their early 20s. It was an Irish wake and the mix of grief and whiskey joy was something else."
– Flamingoez88
When Love Moves On
"Into Dust by Mazzy Star gets me."
– d*ckem52
When You Want To "Disappear"
"How to disappear completely by Radiohead. Haunting instrumental, depression dripping through everyline of lyrics 'im not here, this isnt happening.'"
– Bradyceneme
Ray Of Light In The Darkness
"You Are My Sunshine"
"Everything but the chorus is heartbreaking. Few people know anything but the chorus though."
– lolly_lolly_lolly
From A Powerful Album
"Sylvia - The Antlers"
"Actually that whole album, Hospice, breaks me but this song in particular just leaves me in a mess every time."
– recoverelapse
When Love Fades
"The Night We Met by Lord Huron."
"No matter where I am, if I’m happy, who I’m with, etc. I’ll bawl my eyes out if that song plays. It’s so painful and true because one day they’re there and they’re your everything and then they start slipping until they’re gone and you wished you could go back to before you met them so you wouldn’t have to go through the pain of losing them. Just the lyrics 'I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you' hit this. People falling out of love in relationships, growing apart with friends, family members passing, etc. is what this hits for me and it hits hard."
– beepbeepboopbop2
One of the saddest songs I've heard is not connected to a personal experience, but the story being told is heartbreaking.
It's called "The Queen and the Soldier" by Suzanne Vega. The song is basically about a lonely, repressed virgin queen who keeps her heart closely guarded.
When a soldier enters her domain and challenges her internalized emotions, it's too much for her and has the soldier executed.
The song has continued haunting me ever since I first heard it.