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How to Conceal a Pregnancy . . . At Least Until After the Wedding

LilSugar — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:15:02 PDT

Timing is everything, and as anyone familiar with basic biology knows, marriage isn't a necessary prequel to pregnancy. While many modern parents - including plenty of celebs - eschew the traditional route of wedding bells before baby booties, there are at least as many who want to keep up appearances, at least for the sake of traditional grandparents or gossipy co-workers.

While it's impossible for expectant mamas to maintain the facade until they're full-term (with the exception of those inexplicable few who wind up on I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant), there are some ways to keep a pregnancy under wraps - at least for the first few months. Click through and check out these helpful tips that will allow you to share your baby news on your own terms.

How to Find the Best Deck Chairs For Your Home

Stylelist Home — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:00:13 PDT

We're happy to present a post from Stylelist Home!

Without a doubt, one of the most essential furniture pieces for outdoor lounging is a comfortable deck chair. And, over the years, the deck chair has come to include a wider selection of designs, from colorful slingback seats to larger adirondack styles (some even recline). Lounger-like deck chairs make relaxing seats by a pool, while foldable and stackable ones can serve as extra garden chairs in a more traditional backyard.

Although the style of your deck chair depends on your personal preference and your backyard, there are a few very general things you should keep in mind when you're shopping for one. We break down these basics for you here.

Keep reading for tips for finding the best deck chairs for your home.

3 Ways to Make the Most of Your Leftover Wine

Lizzie Fuhr — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:40:22 PDT

We've all been in this predicament: you opened a fresh bottle of wine, poured yourself a glass, then realized weeks later that you wasted tons of vino. This may have been a bummer in the past, but it's time to rethink this age-old problem. Leftover wine does not need to go to waste down the drain; it can be repurposed for sheer culinary delight. Here are three easy ways to make the most of your old wine.

Make homemade vinegar. Pour your leftover wine into a covered container (make sure it's not airtight!) and set it in a cool, dark location to allow it to ferment. The solution will start off murky, but you'll see it clarify with time. Once you see a white skin at the bottom, a bacterial culture known as the "mother," the homemade vinegar is ready to incorporate into your favorite recipes.
The first time you make wine into vinegar, you'll have to wait several months. But after the initial cultivation, you can whip up new batches of vinegar every few weeks using the original mother.
Deglaze your pan. Deglazing may seem like an intimidating term, but chances are you're deglazing your pan all the time without even knowing it - that is, adding a bit more liquid and cooking off the goodness at the bottom of the pan. If you're typically adding stock in this process, add some wine instead to bring a whole new richness and complexity of flavors to your dish.

Keep reading for the last way to make the most out of leftover wine.

Tips For Making a Scrumptious Salad

Katie Sweeney — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:55:19 PDT

Photo: Camilla Salem

When building salads, it's far too easy to get stuck in a rut. You know what works, buy the same ingredients, and inevitably eat green leaf lettuce with black olives, sliced tomatoes, and shredded carrots everyday. However, with a little creativity and an open mind at the grocery store, you can enjoy a fabulous variety of healthful and scrumptious salads on a regular basis. Since I've been making salads for lunch for the past couple of years, I'm sharing my secrets:

Think of the salad in textures. From crunchy to creamy to crispy, a good salad has an assortment of textures (and colors).
Use the season as inspiration. Incorporate produce that's at its peak now: asparagus, Spring onion, peas, and radishes, and fruits like strawberries and apricots.
On that note, don't be afraid of fruit. Berries, stone fruits, apples, citrus, melons, etc. are just as delicious in a salad as their veggie counterparts. Fruit can also provide a necessary sweetness to balance the salad.
If you have limited access to fresh, in-season fruits and veggies, turn to the canned aisle of the supermarket. Sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, garbanzo and kidney beans, and canned tuna are some of my favorite salad ingredients.

For more recommendations and to share your salad suggestions in the comments, keep reading.

5 Lesser-Known Spring Veggies and What to Make With Them

Susannah Chen — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:14:00 PDT

We're nearing the end of April, and Spring produce remains abundant at farmers markets everywhere. But don't get too used to it: these pretty green things are still shockingly fleeting, and in just a few weeks, you won't be able to locate the likes of lesser-known specimens, like Spring onions, fava beans, and freshly foraged morels. Here are five more foods you'll want to track down before the season's over, plus our best recipes for them.

5 Spring Fruits and What to Make With Them

Sara Yoo — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:45:24 PDT

Summer may be creeping around the corner, but it's still officially Spring, which means you can still enjoy the bounty of fresh fruits that sweeten up the season. Just like with peak Spring vegetables, enjoying these treats can be as easy as taking a juicy bite, but we've rallied together five recipes that highlight each fruit's delectable essence.

5 Basic Spring Vegetables and What to Cook With Them

Susannah Chen — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:30:21 PDT

With all that Spring produce popping up at farmers markets seemingly out of nowhere, it's pretty easy to get pumped about making all sorts of Spring things. But where to start? If I may, I suggest beginning with five of the season's most iconic items. Keep reading to learn more about them - and how to put them to good use.

Photo: Camilla Salem

Simple Tip: Cook Bacon in the Oven

YumSugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:37:46 PDT

Photo: Lauren Hendrickson

A couple of years ago I watched the Barefoot Contessa roast bacon in the oven. She was making a BLT and didn't need the bacon fat. I had never thought to bake bacon, and the idea has changed my life! Now, I roast bacon all the time. It's an easy, convenient, and splatter-free way to cook it. Here's what you do:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.
Place the raw bacon in a row on the parchment paper.
Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until bacon is crisp and cooked.
Remove bacon to paper towel lined plates, pat dry, and use however you want.

Do you ever cook bacon in the oven?

7 Secrets to Dining Out With Kids

Rebecca M Gruber — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:56:33 PDT

Before kids, you may have been the restaurant patron that slyly gave the stink eye to the neighboring table full of rowdy kids and parents who seemed oblivious to their lil one's behavior. But now that you're the one looking to dine somewhere that doesn't require mama to serve or clear the food, how do you avoid becoming "that family"?

While it starts with discipline and manners at home, there are some tricks that experienced mamas have up their sleeves:

Preview the Menu: These days, most restaurants have their menus online. Before heading to the restaurant, preview the menu and have a few options picked out for both you and the kids. This will eliminate any indecision that could delay ordering once the waitstaff arrive at your table.
Have an Ordering Strategy: For some families, ordering the kids' food as soon they sit down works - it means the lil ones can start eating while the parents review the menu (see above) or have their appetizers. We've found this to backfire in our family, as our tots then finish their meals before we ever start and let's just say they don't enjoy patiently waiting for us to finish up! For us, ordering an appetizer the whole family can enjoy as soon as we sit down is the way to go! Know what works for your family and stick to it!
Know Your Exit Strategy: If your lil one just won't stay in her chair, or if whining and crying start up, know which parent will be taking her outside until she calms down. Nothing's worse than two parents arguing about who will take their unruly tot out for a spell.

Keep reading for the rest of the tips!

The Right Way to Care For Stainless Steel Cookware

Susannah Chen — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:50:23 PST

I live and die by my All-Clad d5 Stainless Steel pots and pans, which I use for making just about everything. But the other day, while tackling some stuck-on food that was particularly stubborn, I consulted the computer to verify the correct way to clean my cookware. And guess what? I've been cleaning them all wrong! Cleaning stainless cookware, it turns out, involves a little extra TLC. Put that scouring pad away, and find out the right way to preserve your quality pots and pans, when you read on.