It's good to have a few blank canvas dessert recipes in your repertoire. By blank canvas, I mean desserts that are easy to make, may be prepared in advance, and can be creatively added to. For example, these buttermilk puddings are delicious alone, but are effortlessly jazzed up with a caramel sauce, fresh fruit, syrups, candies, or just about anything that floats your fancy! For a perfect Halloween dessert, use melted chocolate to give these individual puddings ghost faces or spider webs. With this dessert the possibilities are endless, so get the recipe, read more

When it comes to washing veggies, most of us rely on good ol' water. Others use vinegar or soap, but are these techniques more effective? The folks at Cook's Illustrated magazine wanted to know and decided to put it all to the test.

In their test, they washed fruit with one of the following solutions:

1. Antibacterial soap (not recommended as food safety experts think soap isn't something you should eat)
2. One part vinegar and three parts water
3. Scrubbing with a brush
4. Plain water

Once they had washed their fruit, they then took a sterile cotton swab and rubbed it on the outside of the fruit. The grime collected on the swabs was then placed into Petri dishes and sat at 80F for several days.

Want to know what their results were? Find out, just read more

I love a great sushi roll, but sometimes a simple hand roll is better. If you want to learn how to do it yourself, check out these step-by-step photos - Blue Lotus

Yesterday was the first day of fall, or autumnal equinox. This means it's just about time to put away the ice cream maker and pull out the crock-pot. If this is sad news to you, you may need a drink to help you cope. If it's great news, then you may need a drink to help you celebrate. Either way, I've got the perfect one for the occasion. The drink, aptly titled Autumnal Equinox, is a perfect mix of port wine, Grand Marnier, and amaretto. To get the recipe, read more

A few weeks ago I moved into a new apartment. My parents have been extremely kind — they've moved me in, given me kitchen tools, and my dad even walked around the new neighborhood and collected takeout restaurant menus for me! — but there is one thing they have forgotten: wine glasses! They aren't big wine fans, so I asked you to help me instead. You searched for a gorgeous set of red wine glasses and bookmarked the glasses in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Red Wine Glasses.

There were a lot of interesting glasses, like the black crystal stemless glasses that glam sugar found. These are perfect for Halloween, but not for everyday.

The ones I want to get are large, round, and decadent. I have to send a special thanks to gruaig_rua for discovering these classic glasses! Browse all of the findings by scrolling below, and thanks to everyone who participated!

For more info on how to bookmark, check out geeksugar's guide.

As I've mentioned before, we've got a small candy problem here at Sugar HQ. So it should come as no surprise that at least five of my cohorts forwarded this information to me.

In the town of Barcelona, Spain, the coolest candy store has set up shop. Designed by studio m, the store — called Happy Pills — has taken the pharmacy theme and run with it. The narrow, hallway sized shop is your standard, by-the-pound candy store, except that everything is packaged in plastic medicine-style bottles. They also have pre-packed "medical kits" and "first aid" supplies.

It reminds me a bit of the emergency chocolate bar, and well you know, I guess sometimes a spoonful of sugar is the best medicine after all.

My question is, how long until someone replaces the Sugar HQ first aid kit with this one?!?

Source: Design Milk

If you are planning a party, you may run the risk of spending a lot of money. Flowers, while beautiful and fragrant, often cost a large amount of your party budget. Cut the cost by cutting the flowers. Fall is a great time to use other ingredients in the decor:

• Create tonal arrangements using fruit. Fill a bowl with red apples, purple grapes, and burgundy pears. Or do the same arrangement with green apples, emerald grapes, and yellow pears.
• Fill a large glass vase (you can find them at Michaels for super cheap) with dried, collected leaves. Place a large white pillar candle on the pillow of leaves.
• Purchase potted plants. Pansies can handle frost and come at very low prices. The day after the party, plant the flowers in your garden.



• Don't underestimate the power of pumpkins! Purchase several pumpkins in various shapes, sizes, and colors and place them in the center of your table or along your mantle. Use small ones to fill large glass containers.
• Crowd bowls with nuts in the shell. Walnuts, pecans, and almonds look festive when placed at varying heights on a table in bright glass bowls.

Got a great idea on how to create a gorgeous look without flowers? Please share it with us below!!

Image Source

Yesterday, we welcomed the fall season with a simple stuffed squash. It's a festive recipe, but one that doesn't leave much for leftovers. If you do have any leftover, you can try warming it up and serving with pasta. However, since most of us won't have anything left to work with, I thought I'd find another fall recipe for us to try tonight. This meal for Butternut Squash with Shallots and Sage looks fantastic and definitely sounds like an easy Monday meal. To get the recipe, read more