culinary resolutions

When it comes to healthy eating, what's old is new again. Case in point: cottage cheese, which is making something of a comeback these days. It's time, however, to nix that canned pineapple and update your curds with a few new stir-in combinations. Here are a few of our current savory favorites.

1. Olive oil, salt, and pepper: Give cottage cheese the Cal-Med treatment with a drizzle of peppery Tuscan olive oil, flaky sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. In Summer, during peak tomato season, insert fresh heirloom slices.
2. "Everything bagel" spices: Friendship Dairies recommends mixing cottage cheese with bagel spices like dried onion, garlic flakes, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, and sea salt. Use the seasoned cheese to flavor a toasted plain bagel or bagel chip.

For two more, keep reading.

Think all rum is sugary rubbish that practically instills a hangover just from glancing at its bottle? Think again; not only is rum one of the most diverse spirits out there — meaning there's a rum that'll please nearly any palate — but it's also cocktail-friendly and packs a lot of bang for its buck, largely due to the misguided assumption that it's all frat-boy fodder. While one could write a book on the nuances of this often overlooked spirit — the excellent Rum: A Global History ($17) comes to mind — let's start with some basics:

• During the 17th century, rum first came to fruition as an accidental byproduct of sugar processing in the West Indies. Sugar plantation slaves quickly discovered its intoxicating benefits. Since then, the production methods have been refined, leaving us with the nuanced spirit available today.
• In the US, rum is defined as a spirit, distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane, sugar cane molasses, or other sugar cane byproducts. It ranges in strength from 40 to 95 percent alcohol by volume.
• Nearly every country in the Western Hemisphere produces a brand of rum, leading to a vast diversity in both flavor profile and price point.

Keep reading for a breakdown of the most common categories of rum.

We're more than halfway through our brand-new series, Six Weeks of Culinary Resolutions, wherein we vow to tackle a different gastronomic goal each week.

Ever wish you could be better at making cocktails in the comfort of your own home? Then you're in luck, because it's week five, and we're going to show you how to master the home bar. Stay tuned all week for stories on everything from home-bar essentials to the basics of rum to essential drink recipes worth learning.

Got any special requests for us? Be sure to leave them in our comments below.

How-to
How to stock your home bar
Master 9 essential cocktail techniques

Spirits 101
Botanical beauties: gin 101
Rum 101: Why you should give the slandered spirit a chance
Cognac 101: A very special guide
Bourbon 101: regulations, varieties, and ways to imbibe
Tequila 101: a basic primer

Cocktail Recipes
7 classic rum drinks home bartendesr should master
15 gin-based cocktails that aren't a gin and tonic

Cheesecloth can be a useful item to have in the kitchen, yet it's just obscure enough to be hard to track down at times. One thing that's not hard to locate, though, is a paper coffee filter, which just so happens to make a handy cheesecloth replacement.

Coffee filters perform the same functions as cheesecloth — separating liquids from solids — and are sturdy enough to withstand heavy, wet, and hot food. These features make them the perfect solution when you're looking to strain Greek yogurt or fresh cheeses. Have you ever tried this hack?

Without getting too technical about exact temperatures — or the ripening gas known as ethylene — here's a simple chart that lays out where to store your most common produce, whether at room temperature, on a refrigerator shelf, or in the crisper (the coldest fridge drawer).

I've certainly been guilty of not storing my fruits and veggies in the right place, which can lead to wilted leaves and floppy carrots. That's no good! Keep reading to take a look at the chart

While fresh-squeezed orange juice has graced America's breakfast lineup for years, there are lots of methods for incorporating its delicious flavors and properties into other culinary traditions, too. If you need some ideas for how to make the most of a fresh squeeze, here are five ways to help bring OJ to your table.

1. Bake it into brunch. Take a twist on traditional brunch favorites with recipes that call for orange juice. Giada De Laurentiis has a recipe for a sweet berry strata that's sure to be a crowd-pleaser at any big brunch spread.
2. Construct a creative cocktail. While we love the classic mimosa, this Spring, you can get even more creative with some orange juice cocktails. We're partial to the Rossellini, which pairs fresh orange juice with white wine and vermouth, or a colorful tequila sunrise.
3. Add it to cooked vegetable. Bringing new depth of flavors to veggies like roasted beets is easy when you switch up the water and roast them in the juice. Also, there are tons of veggies that are complemented by a squeeze of citrus. For a fresh take, try a squeeze of orange instead of lemon.

Keep reading for two more fresh orange juice ideas.

Ever buy a bunch of herbs for a recipe, only to use a tablespoon and find an icky bag of dried-out leaves two weeks later? This has been a long-standing problem in my house, and I've been determined to find a fix for it.

This week, the herb of immediate concern is cilantro. As a major cilantro lover, it's a staple in my kitchen, so much that I always keep it around. I use it as a go-to for my frequent Southwest-themed meals, but there's a lot one can do with the flowery, lime-like herb; it's a fixture in Indian, Persian, and Chinese cuisines, among others. If you've got cilantro odds and ends, here's what I'd recommend.

1. Surprise your taste buds with a cilantro martini.
2. If you're a cilantro lover, make it the star of a creamy soup.

For five more suggestions, keep reading.

Ever buy a bunch of herbs for a recipe, only to use a tablespoon and find an icky bag of dried-out leaves two weeks later? This has been a long-standing problem in my house, and I've been determined to find a fix for it.

First up: dill. The delicate-looking weed is one of my favorites — I love its grassy, bright, almost lemony flavor. Because it's so zingy, dill works well with classic pairings like seafood and lemon, but there are also plenty of other ways you can use up the fronds in odds and ends. Here are some of my favorite ways.

1. Use it to create another dimension of flavor in stuffed cabbage rolls.
2. Add a few fronds at the end of cooking to brighten up chicken noodle soup.

For four more suggestions, keep reading.