Batch of links

- I admit I often peel cloves of garlic before mincing them by hand (or grating them on a microplane), but it certainly is faster to use a garlic press, especially since you don’t need to peel the cloves first. Just be sure to rinse the press clean promptly! 

- Speaking of garlic, you can use grated apple or potato to remove the smell from a cutting board. I can confirm that this works with onion smells as well, and it works better than baking soda! However, I just don’t use this tip because it would feel like wasting food on a regular basis to me. (Like, if I happen to be making latkes, I might let some of the potato rest oxidize on the cutting board, but I’m not going to do that every week!) 

- Did you know that plant-based isn’t synonymous with vegan? In a nutshell, plant-based diets are primarily, but not exclusively, made up of plants – they *can* include animal products. As someone who avoids lactose, I know how important it is to check the label, even if the front of the package says “plant-based”! That being said, I’m not sure it’s actually a generic-specific relationship (vegan being a specific kind of plant-based). After all, an Oreo cookie is vegan, but is it really plant-based? 

- Did you know there’s a fix for “fishy” seafood? Apparently, you should soak it in milk. (I don’t like seafood in the first place, so this doesn’t make me want to salvage anything…) 

- An unexpected tip for buying soft cheeses, depending on your texture preference. 

- The top 10 baking questions people ask Claire Saffitz, answered. 

- I don’t know why I never got around to posting this – Dave Grohl is hooked on barbecuing! 

- Six facts about U.S. mothers. 

- Another pre-pandemic article… When paternity leave was introduced in Spain, men who took advantage of it were just as likely as before to remain in the workforce, but they also remained more engaged with childcare after returning to work. A surprising result, though, was that they then desired fewer children than before. Researchers think that spending more time with their kids “may have made men more acutely aware of the efforts and costs associated with childrearing.” 

- I saved the best for last! I’ve discovered a new-to-me podcast called Strange and Unexplained with Daisy Eagan. As the name suggests, it’s about events that are strange and have not been explained, even though they’re not necessarily paranormal. Episodes are roughly 30 minutes long and I’m so into them that I can use this podcast to bribe myself (as in, “Finish filing your taxes and then you can listen to one more episode”). It even had an episode about one of my favorite mysteries, the case of the Dyatlov Pass. (Warning: the subject matter and language are not appropriate for young listeners.)