The fat source in a dish plays a pivotal role in flavoring the food. When you think of something tasting beefy, chicken-y or porky, what you're often tasting is the influential taste of fat. Just think of how distinct the smell and taste of bacon grease is. 

That also means that you can bring greater variety of flavor to your food by experimenting with fats. Instead of automatically reaching for the olive oil or vegetable oil, stock your cupboard with additional fat sources so you can bring new flavors to your dish or better replicate the flavor of cuisines from around the world. 

Check out the table below from the book "Salt Fat Acid Heat" for a deep dive on the world of fat.

​Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Dish. I'm Natasha Ho. And this week I want to talk about pesto.

The other day I was inside the house. I have a little Click to Grow garden and so you can stick different plants in there. I have a basil plant and it's been growing like crazy. And there's so much basil on it. My friend he came over and saw it and he was still like: "Still not enough basil to make pesto," which I thought was hilarious because there's so much but it's so true. Because every time I make a pesto, it's always like, where'd all that basil go.

So I want to talk about that. But I also want to talk even more broadly about sauces in general. So this, I think, is going to be the beginning of a series I'm doing on sauces. And each week, over the next few weeks, I'm going to be talking about some different sauces. We're going to start off by talking about some of those herb-based sauces, like your pestos or a chimichurri.

So with pesto, what is pesto? Pesto is an Italian sauce. Usually the base for it is basil, and then that's mixed together with things like parmesan cheese, some nuts, olive oil, garlic. Those are usually the signature flavors for making a pesto.

The reason I want to talk about this, though, is because one of the things that I learned in the kitchen is being able to convert the different ingredients in your pesto based on what you have in the kitchen. And really using the idea of pesto as the basis for creativity in the kitchen and being able to turn absolutely any kind of herb into a pesto.

So if you are in the kitchen and you're like, I really want to make a sauce, and I really want to elevate what it is that I'm cooking, but I don't have the exact ingredients that you typically use for pesto. Open yourself up to the creativity of other things that you can use in the same kind of equation for pesto.

So if you don't have basil, if you have Mint, you have oregano, you have extra parsley. I always have extra parsley in the kitchen. I've even used the tops of carrots. I've used beet greens before. You can use any kind of leafy soft textured herb that's sitting in your kitchen can be transformed into a basil.

If you don't have pine nuts, you can use walnuts, you could use almonds, you could use macadamia nuts. You could use pistachios. Olive oil. Olive oil works great. But if you have another kind of oil, you can always lean into using a different kind of oil. Parmesan cheese. You could have it in or leave it out. The garlic, obviously a wonderful flavoring. But if you don't like garlic, you could swap that for something else.

So really, it's an equation that you can kind of toss things in and out of to make it work for you. And the kinds of flavors that you like.

The same thing with your chimichurri. Chimichurri is another great one. It originates in South America, very commonly used in Argentine foods, Uruguay, you may even see it sometimes in Brazil or Chile. So that's another one, it's herb based sauce. The more of a vinegary type of flavored sauce, usually red wine vinegar mixed with your parsley and cilantro red onion. With making that sauce again, you can start to swap things in and out based on what it is that you have. The exact same thing I just talked about with what you can do with a pesto. You can take that same idea and apply it to making a chimichurri.

And this is a really great way to use up, when you have extra herbs in the house, use those up by cycling them into a sauce and you can use so much of them and get rid of them really, really quickly. So like my friend was saying, even with all the basil that I have still not enough to make pesto because it goes really, really quickly when you put those into a sauce. If you ever have extra herbs laying around or can't figure out how to use them up, definitely turn them into a sauce.

You can put them on pasta, of course. You can put it on a steak. You can put it on vegetables. You can use that and mix it with mayonnaise and turn it into a spread. You can put it on top of a toast or some type of crostini, so many different ways that you can use it, and it'll be absolutely delicious elevate the flavor of your food.

And, of course, help you make sure that you use up all that produce and none of it goes to waste.

So that is what I wanted to share with you guys today on making sauces. And I'll do back here again next week with more sauce for you. I'll see you soon. Bye.

​Hello and welcome to The Dish. I'm Natasha Ho. This is your two minute tip to help you cook better food. And this week I want to talk about one of my favorite dishes. I actually got to enjoy it just last week, so I'm really excited.

I want to talk about biryani today. This is one that has come up a few times. I actually led an entire course earlier this year on making biryani from start to finish. So this is just like a super quick primer on a couple key things to keep in mind if you're going to make biryani at home and you want to get it right.

3 things to keep in mind for getting great results with your biryani

The first one is the rice. When it comes to the rice, key things to keep in mind, you want to make sure that you use the correct rice: so basmati rice. In order for it to be basmati rice, it needs to come from either India or Pakistan. Get the best quality rice that you possibly can.

And the second piece of that with the rice is don't overcook the rice. It's important that you cook the rice and the meat separately, so those are not going to be cooked together. Cook the rice about half way before it's paired with the other ingredients.

So during that first cooking, you want to make sure that you don't overcook it and then you're going to add the other ingredients and they're all going to finish cooking together. So by the end of the cooking process, your rice will be perfectly cooked when everything else is done. So that's really key. Make sure you use that basmati rice. Don't overcook it when you do the first cooking and then cook the rice and the meat ingredients separately when you start the dish.

The next key thing for making your biryani is that you want to make sure you use great spices. Spices are a key part of adding flavor to any Indian dish, but especially for your biryani. You want to keep in mind that spices are going to be what really elevate that dish. So to get the best result and the most potency from spices, you want to make sure that you use fresh spices, as fresh possible. And using whole spices is usually the best way to go, because you're going to ground those up at home and you'll make sure that you've kept all of those essential oils tucked inside of your spices right before you cook them. So all of that wonderful flavor will get directly into your food, and it won't have dissipated while it was sitting on a shelf somewhere.

So those are the first two things, and the final thing for your biryani is the fried onions. They are signature part of this dish, and they require some patience. So make sure that when you're making those fried onions that you really allow them to cook to caramelize and transform. It takes some time, but it so pays off. It's so, so delicious.

Keep an eye on those onions. I've done it many times overcook those onions. They go from being beautifully golden brown to charred and burnt in no time. If you don't keep your eye on them, so keep a watchful eye on those onions.

And that beautiful, crunchy texture and wonderful flavor will really take your biryani from okay to amazing and absolutely delicious.

So those are the three things to keep in mind when you're making biryani at home to really make sure that you come out with a masterful level dish. I'll see you guys here next time. Bye.

​Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Dish. I'm Natasha Ho, and this is your two minute tip to help you cook better food. And today we're doing another deep dive on an ingredient. We're gonna be talking about fennel.

Fennel was a mystery ingredient to me for a long time. I would see it in the grocery store, and I had no idea what it was or how to cook with it. So I thought it would be a perfect one for our deep dive; to talk about five things you should know about fennel.

So the first thing to understand about fennel is that all of it is edible. So the bulb on the bottom is edible, the stocks as well as the fronds. You can use all of that in your cooking.

Second thing to understand about fennel, it has a wonderful, crunchy texture to it that's very similar to celery. The flavor, though, is very licorice-y, kind of anise-inspired flavor that you'll get. When you cook that, that helps to bring even more of a sweet flavor to it. As those sugars inside of the fennel start to caramelize and will get a more tender texture through the cooking process as well. So if you want to transform from that crunchy, strong licorice flavor, you can cook it and you'll get more of the sweet and tender texture from a fennel.

The third thing to understand about a fennel is if you're going to serve it raw, the best thing to do is to slice it very, very thinly. This will help you to make it easier for it to be integrated into a dish. The same way as when you use onion in a raw state, you want those pieces to be very small, very thin. So the flavor is not overwhelming and that the texture is also something that's easy to integrate into the rest of your dish.

On the other hand, if you're going to cook it, for instance, you want to roast your fennel in the oven. You want to cut those into large, thick slices or wedges, are even better. This will help the bulb of the fennel to hold together much easier. And from there, you can finish it off with some olive oil, salt, pepper. Put that in the oven, it comes out. It's absolutely beautiful. I love to add a little bit of parmesan on that. I serve it as a side dish. It's wonderful with fish. Absolutely love fennel served that way.

And the final thing to understand about fennel is working with those wonderful fronds. The fronds on the fennel do not throw those away. You can use them like an herb in the kitchen, so I like to sprinkle those on top of a dish as a final touch. I've also put those into the blender and turn them into a pesto as well, which we'll be talking more about later on this month. And I'll also turn them into marinades as well for dishes because they have that wonderful licorice- anise flavor that you can allow to permit the rest of the dish.

So that is five things to know about working with fennel. If you have more questions, feel free to shoot those on over, leave them as a comment below. I would love to talk more about fennel with you. I'll see you next time. Bye.

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www.heynatashaboo.com/goyourownway

​Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Dish. I'm Natasha Ho, and this is your two minute tip to help you cook better food. And today we're doing another deep dive on an ingredient. We're gonna be talking about fennel.

Fennel was a mystery ingredient to me for a long time. I would see it in the grocery store, and I had no idea what it was or how to cook with it. So I thought it would be a perfect one for our deep dive; to talk about five things you should know about fennel.

So the first thing to understand about fennel is that all of it is edible. So the bulb on the bottom is edible, the stocks as well as the fronds. You can use all of that in your cooking.

Second thing to understand about fennel, it has a wonderful, crunchy texture to it that's very similar to celery. The flavor, though, is very licorice-y, kind of anise-inspired flavor that you'll get. When you cook that, that helps to bring even more of a sweet flavor to it. As those sugars inside of the fennel start to caramelize and will get a more tender texture through the cooking process as well. So if you want to transform from that crunchy, strong licorice flavor, you can cook it and you'll get more of the sweet and tender texture from a fennel.

The third thing to understand about a fennel is if you're going to serve it raw, the best thing to do is to slice it very, very thinly. This will help you to make it easier for it to be integrated into a dish. The same way as when you use onion in a raw state, you want those pieces to be very small, very thin. So the flavor is not overwhelming and that the texture is also something that's easy to integrate into the rest of your dish.

On the other hand, if you're going to cook it, for instance, you want to roast your fennel in the oven. You want to cut those into large, thick slices or wedges, are even better. This will help the bulb of the fennel to hold together much easier. And from there, you can finish it off with some olive oil, salt, pepper. Put that in the oven, it comes out. It's absolutely beautiful. I love to add a little bit of parmesan on that. I serve it as a side dish. It's wonderful with fish. Absolutely love fennel served that way.

And the final thing to understand about fennel is working with those wonderful fronds. The fronds on the fennel do not throw those away. You can use them like an herb in the kitchen, so I like to sprinkle those on top of a dish as a final touch. I've also put those into the blender and turn them into a pesto as well, which we'll be talking more about later on this month. And I'll also turn them into marinades as well for dishes because they have that wonderful licorice- anise flavor that you can allow to permit the rest of the dish.

So that is five things to know about working with fennel. If you have more questions, feel free to shoot those on over, leave them as a comment below. I would love to talk more about fennel with you. I'll see you next time. Bye.

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​Hello, hello, welcome to The Dish, I'm Natasha Ho, and today I want to talk about one of my absolute favorite things to eat. But one of the things that took me, a really long time to start making at home, and that is kimchi. I did not actually make kimchi for myself until just recently. I was friends with a woman who's based in Seoul, another chef in Seoul, and she encouraged me to get into the kitchen and make my own kimchi.

And so I did a private session with her. And actually that was a masterclass that I did with my private cooking group. And after that, my eyes were completely open. I realized I'd been wasting time this whole time, being intimidated by the idea of making this dish, because I thought I was going to take me a really long time. So I wrote down a couple of notes here for myself so I could actually talk to you about how what you have to do and how long each of those steps takes.

So the first thing in making your kimchi is chopping up your cabbage and the radish. That process probably going to take you about 10 minutes to chop everything up. And then you want to add salt to everything in order to help pull  the excess water, out of the cabbage and the radish. So that's step one. We're about we're up to 10 minutes.

The next step is you want to let those things rest for two to three hours and then you're going to come back intermittently to kind of toss it and make sure that the water and the salt is thoroughly covering everything, and the water is being pulled out. So another five minutes or so for each of those times you're going to come back during that two to three hour period.

Next step, you're going to blend up all of your aromatics. So your spices and your pepper, onion, all of those things, you're going to stick those in a food processor, run the food processor together. So another five minutes or so just to chop up everything so it fits in the food processor. And then you'll wiz it away which will go super, super fast. So now we're adding another five minutes.

Next thing you're going to do is you're going to make a porridge out of water and sweet rice flour. This is in order to feed the bacteria as your kimchi is fermenting, it needs something to eat. So this is going to help make sure it has something to eat. If you made sourdough you know what I'm talking about. So we're going to add another five minutes or so for making your porridge.

The second to last thing you're going to do is you're going to mix everything together. So you're going to add the aromatics, the porridge, the cabbage as well as the radish all together. So I'm going to say that takes about two and a half minutes or so to mix everything together.

And then finally, you're going to pack it into a container, a glass container, so you can store it until it is fermented and ready to eat. So another two and a half minutes for that.

So all in. We've hit about thirty minutes to make your kimchi at home.So even faster than you could probably drive to the store and pick up a fresh batch of kimchi. You can make some at home not counting the two or three hours that it's going to sit, which is in active time. So just remember, that's inactive time. And then a couple of days that we'll need to sit inside of your refrigerator to continue fermenting. And at the end of less than a week, you will have a delicious homemade kimchi sitting in your refrigerator to enjoy.

So there's not going to take as long as you may have thought. As long as I thought, definitely. So I wanted to let you know that in case you're thinking about making kimchi at home, and you wanted to know what's involved. That is what it takes to make kimchi at home. I'll see you next time, bye.

​Hello, everyone, welcome to The Dish, I'm Natasha Ho, this is your two minute tip to help you cook better food. And this week I want to talk about jackfruit. This is another question that came into the Facebook group. And so sharing it here so I can answer your questions about working with jackfruit.

I think jackfruit has come more into the Western culinary scene recently, but it originates in South Asia. It's been used in South Asian food for, obviously, since the beginning of time they've been eating it.

It's this really huge tropical fruit. And by huge, I mean super huge. Most of them are 20 to 50 pounds. They can get up to like one hundred pounds, absolutely enormous.

And it has different qualities based on when the fruit is harvested, whether you're eating it when it's young versus when it is completely ripe. The actual texture of the jackfruit, it's something kind of like chicken or pork as opposed to your normal piece of fruit.

And when it's young, it has a very neutral flavor. So it's really easy for it to take on the flavors of different spices and seasonings, and it can just be a vehicle for picking up that flavor. So you kind of think of it in the same way that tofu is really easy for it to pick up flavors and kind of carry those. And it doesn't have necessarily a lot of flavor on its own. So it works great as an alternative or a substitute for meat. If you were trying to eat meatless or reduce the amount of meat that you're eating, a great vegan or vegetable based option or plant based option.

When it's ripe, though, it does become like a fruit. It is a very sweet and it can work in dishes the same way you would use it in fruit. In desserts or smoothies, those kinds of things. It pairs really well with other fruits, especially tropical fruits. It's in the family of breadfruit and fig. You can mix it with other things like mango, pineapple, other kinds of tropical fruit.

When it's young, that young, unripe jackfruit is really what you want to pick up if you're looking for it to be more of that plant-based alternative. And you can usually find that in cans or sometimes in the frozen food section, and you'll just want to make sure, because sometimes it'll have salt on it for preservative, to clean it really well and then you can mix that with really strong flavors. So think of things that are bold, spicy, tangy flavors. Those are the things that are going to carry really well with the jackfruit and really make it kind of have that impression of being a meat alternative or kind of a meaty addition to the dish that you are making.

So that's what you need to know about jackfruit and how you can integrate that into your food, whether you want it as a savory or a sweet option. I'll see you next time, bye.

​Hello, everyone, welcome to The Dish, I'm Natasha Ho, and today I want to talk about one of my favorite foods. I'm talking about fried rice. I absolutely love fried rice. It's like the perfect comfort food. It's so delicious. There's never a time where I will turn down a good plate of fried rice.

I ate so much of it when I was pregnant with Leo. It was like the food that I always craved. It was that and chicken wings. I was always in the mood for those two things. Don't don't have any idea why. If anybody has any insights on the psychology behind cravings during pregnancy, please let me know.

But back to the point on making fried rice. I learned a lot about fried rice from eating it as well as making it for myself. And I wanted to share with you some keys for getting great results when you are making your own fried rice. So five things that you should know in order to get great results with fried rice.

The first thing is rinse your rice. Depending on the effect you're going for with rice helps determine whether you should rinse it or not. When you want sticky rice, when you want those granules, those grains to stick together, don't rinse your rice, for instance, sushi. But when you want those grains of rice to be separated, make sure to rinse all that excess starch off so that the grains will not stick together. So with fried rice, we don't want the grains to stick together. So rinse the rice.

The next thing is you want to make sure you remove all of the excess moisture on the surface of the rice when you are making fried rice. Otherwise you end up with mushy fried rice, which nobody wants to eat. Absolutely disgusting. I've been there. I did not want to eat mushy fried rice.

So removing the excess moisture, there's many ways you can do this. You can take the rice immediately after you cook it and spread it out, put a fan on it to help remove all of that surface moisture. Or a lot of times people use day old rice. Maybe you had take out and you have leftover rice that was put in the fridge, you can also use that. The key thing is that you need to remove that excess moisture from the surface. So it doesn't have to be day old rice, but it does have to be dry on the surface.

The next thing is use an extremely hot pot. You want your wok or pan or whatever it is that you're making your fried rice in to be extremely hot. At a Chinese takeout restaurant, they have very, very, very hot burners. Our burners at home don't typically get as hot as they do at the restaurant. So one of the things you can do is make sure to give your time, your pot some time to get extremely hot before you put the food in.

And also you can cook in batches. So don't crowd that pan with a whole bunch of fried rice. You might make it in two or three batches in order to make sure that all those granules get all of that attention from the surface of the pan and they heat up and they caramelize and they get that wonderful little bit of crunch. And it's called fried rice for a reason. We want a little bit of fry to the surface of those rice grains.

The next thing is to keep the mix ins relatively simple for your fried rice. You don't want to overdo it because then again, it can end up changing the texture of the fried rice. You have so much stuff going on, you don't actually get a wonderful texture to the rice. I've had this happen again with like that soupy, mushy rice. Too much stuff in there kind of ruins the party.

But you do want to make sure that you use savory and sour flavors to help accentuate the rice. So, of course, soy sauce is invited to the party, but you can get creative with this in terms of other umami or sour flavors that you like, that you want to add into your fried rice and of course, make sure there's salt in your fried rice. And I think that's it.

Those are all the things adding. So one, two, three, four, five, rinse the rice. Number two is make sure that you use rice that has completely dry on the surface. Number three is using extremely hot pot, four is to keep the mix-ins simple. And number five is to make sure to add the sour and umami flavors to your fried rice. That's it for this week. I'll see you next time. Bye.

Hello, welcome to The Dish, I'm Natasha Ho, this is your two minute tip to help you cook better food. And today I want to talk about pork chops. This was a question that was submitted from one of the members of my Facebook group so I wanted to address it here. They're asking about how to get better at cooking pork chops and get really good, consistent results with your pork chops.

First thing to understand about pork chops is to know a little bit about the cut of meat that we're working with. The pork chop cut is a very tender and quick cooking cut of meat. So that means we don't want to apply too much heat. It already is tender. We don't want to start to remove all of that tenderness from the food by overcooking it. So that's really, really key. It's the first thing that we want to understand

The next thing is how do we retain moisture in this and also make sure that it is well-cooked and tastes good. A couple of things that will help in that process.

The first thing is buying the pork chop on the bone. Buying the meat on the bone will give you less surface area for juiciness and moisture to escape out of the pork chop and also more flavor from the bone being infused into the meat.

Another thing you can do to help contribute to more flavor as well as moisture is brining your pork chop. This can be done for as little as like thirty minutes, putting it into a brining solution, which is salt and water. Now you can combine other things like spices. If you want to do like whole spices, you could toss some of those in there. Those will also infuse flavor into your pork chop.

The next thing that you want to do is make sure that you find the right cooking method. A cooking method that works really great for pork chops because they cook so quickly is doing a combination of searing on the stove top and then finishing them off in the oven.

And you'll see this done a lot on cooking shows where they'll quickly sear steaks or pork chops on the stove top over high heat. You'll do one side of the food on in a super hot pan and then you will make sure you have a warm oven ready. So usually around 325°F, 300°F, maybe up to 375°F, depending on what it is that you're cooking and how large your cuts are.

And then you will flip it over and stick it into the oven to finish off. And then you'll want to pull those out when they reach the temperature of about 140°F or so. So you'll have some carryover cooking that will get you to 145°F, which is our target for a piece of pork chop that is perfectly cooked.

It's tender and juicy as well as we don't have any pesky bacteria that we have to worry about. So that is what you should know for getting great results with your pork chops every single time, having consistent, juicy and tender results. I'll see you next time. Bye.

​Hello, hello, everyone, welcome to The Dish, I'm Natasha Ho. And today I want to talk to you about an herb: thyme. Do you have time to talk about thyme?

So thyme is a very popular and common herb, but I know some people have questions on how to use it more effectively. When do I use it? What's the best way to combine it with different flavors? So I just want to quickly give you some pointers on how to work with thyme.

First thing to understand about herbs is there is kind of two categories that you can roughly put them into. You have your hardier herbs and you have your more delicate or tender herbs. And thyme falls into the category of more of those hearty herbs.

Hearty herbs tend to do better with the drying process. So thyme is a good one to also purchase dried. It will do well, both fresh as well as dried. Hardier herbs also are able to stand up to the cooking process better. So they are the kind of herbs that do well, if you add the earlier in the cooking process. They tenderize, they infuse their flavor into the food throughout the cooking process. So that's what's to know about using thyme.

When you're adding it to food, you can use it dry and you can also add it earlier in the cooking process and then you infuse flavor throughout that entire time that it's in your food.

The other thing to understand about thyme is combining it with other flavors. It is a Mediterranean herb. So think of other things that are from the Mediterranean and that'll give you an easy way to know what to combine it with. So other flavors of the Mediterranean think of things like rosemary, oregano, bay leaves. Also your produce, you can think of things like eggplant and think of lemon. I think of figs. I think of pomegranate. All of those other things that are from the Mediterranean region will be things that will also pair  very nicely with your thyme.

Time also does well with pretty much all of your meat options. I absolutely love it on potatoes. If you're doing roasted potatoes, I love to add thyme there as well.

You can make it either a central character in your dish or you can make something in the background. It will be able to pair nicely with other flavors where it's either going to be a complement or it can also be the star of your dish. So that's what to know about working with thyme in order to get great results.

Thank you for joining me. I'll see you next time. Bye.

Welcome to The Dish, I'm Natasha, this is your two minute tip to help you cook better food. And today I want to talk about a summer favorite. One of my favorite ingredients to eat during summer time, which are tomatoes. They are in season. They're ripe, they're delicious. They're sweet. It's best time of year to enjoy tomatoes. If you're going to eat tomatoes, make sure it's a summer tomato. And one of the ways that I encourage you to try out eating tomatoes is sun drying them or dehydrating them at home.

When you dehydrate them, you really concentrate all of that flavor. So you get the sweet and the savory flavor of tomatoes packing with a really strong punch. That is absolutely delicious. It's a great addition to lots of dishes. I love it with breakfast eggs, frittatas, omelets. You can pack it into pastas. It goes great with pretty much anything you can think of. It's super, super delicious.

So what you want to do to make your own sun-dried tomatoes, it's very, very simple and easy.

You don't even actually need the sun to do this so you can do it anywhere in the world, no matter what time of year it is or what you have access to -  if you don't have a super hot place that you live in. So what you want to do is you'll get some tomatoes. It's really easy to use like a plum tomato, grape tomatoes, a cherry tomato. Those are all really great.

You're going to slice those in half and then you're going to put them in an oven. A low heat oven. So anywhere from 200, 250 degrees Fahrenheit for a couple of hours. So two to three hours it's going to sit in there. And during that time process, it will dehydrate and you'll get that nice and juicy, savory, concentrated flavor. Make sure that you've seasoned that with salt before you cook it. And then after you can also add additional herbs, you can do things like oregano or rosemary time. Those will be wonderful additions to add to your tomatoes.

And then when you're storing those, you'll just want to make sure that you add some oil. Add olive oil, if you're going to be storing these for a longer period of time. Packing it into the oil will help preserve it and keep it for much longer if you're not going to use those immediately.

So that is my two minute tip for you this week. To make some delicious sun dried tomatoes so you can enjoy tomatoes all year long. Get the good stuff in the summertime and then enjoy all year long.

That's it for this week. I'll see you next time.

​Hello, hello, everyone, I'm Natasha Ho, welcome to The Dish, this is your two minute tip to help you cook better food today. It's summertime, so I want to talk about grilling and how to get really great results from your grill. Just three really quick things that can help you get great results when you're grilling. First and foremost is making sure that you are cooking on a clean grill. This is super, super important for multiple reasons.

One, it prevents sticking. A dirty grill is the number one reason that food will stick to the grates of your grill. So make sure to clean this off. Number two, it will help with getting those signature grill marks, if that's what you're going for. From an aesthetic point of view, making sure that your grill is clean will help you with that. And also it helps for a sanitary reason. Making sure that we have a clean grill will prevent any leftover residue bacteria from being on the good, clean food that you're cooking currently.

The next thing to understand about cooking with your grill is the different areas of heat that you'll have available on your grill. So you can have direct and indirect heat. Direct heat is anytime that you're cooking directly over the heat source, that is direct heat. So you're going to be cooking with a very high temperature, if you're using a direct heat source.

If you're using indirect you're moving the food away from the heat source. So you're cooking adjacent to the heat source. So you're not going to be getting as high or intense of a temperature. You're going to allow the  food to cook more gently and slower.

And then finally, the last thing to understand is using the lid of your grill. And really, this is a key part of becoming a grill master is learning how to use that lid properly. And you can use the lid of your grill to create an environment of indirect heat, more like convection that's happening by allowing the heat to surround the food. This is really important if you're trying to smoke the food because you're going to capture that smoke and allow the smoke to permeate and add flavor to your food.

So those are three important things to understand. If you are going to be grilling and if you want to dive even deeper into how to get great results using grilling and heat in general, you have to come on over to my Facebook group, Travel and Feast, we're starting my Birthday Backyard Barbecue today to celebrate my birthday, which is this week, and I want to celebrate it with you.

So come on over to Travel and Feast. We're starting today at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time today, July 20th, and then we'll be continuing throughout the rest of this week. I'll be in the group tomorrow, Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. and Thursday, my actual birthday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time each day. So you come on over there and join me. And if you are not able to join live, you can also catch the replays. Just make sure to register on my website. www.heynatashaboo.com/BBQ to get all of the details, the recipes and the replay. So I look forward to seeing you there later on today. And until then, take care. Bye.

Hello. Hello. I'm Natasha Ho. Welcome to The Dish. And I'm just about to head out to get some knives sharpened, and it reminded me that this is a topic I wanted to talk about here with you all: Getting Knives Sharpened.

And specifically, what's the difference between sharpening a knife versus honing a knife? Now, a lot of people have a device that looks a lot like this at their house, and they will refer to it as a knife sharpener, which it usually is marketed as a knife sharpener, but it's a bit of a misnomer because what it doesn't actually sharpen your knife.

So let's talk about difference between sharpening a knife versus honing a knife. So when you are sharpening a knife, what you are doing is you're changing the actual structure of the blade.

You'll often be removing some of the metal in order to make the blade sharper on a microscopic level.

So you're trying to align all of those little metal molecules in a straight line so that the knife will become incredibly sharp and be able to slice through anything. On the other hand, when you are honing a blade, you're not going to be removing any of the metal from the blade. You're not changing the overall structure of the blade.

What you're trying to do is realign the molecules of metal into a straight line. So over time, as you're chopping and slicing and dicing, the metal will start to become misaligned.

Some of those molecules will start to kind of get pushed here and there by the impact with the food that you're cutting. And so when you hone it, you basically use pressure to push all of those molecules back into alignment so you can elongate the life of the blade, the sharpness of the blade over time by honing in between your sharpening. So using something like this, you can make the amount of time that you have between sharpenings much longer because you hone it between each of those uses.

And then when it is actually not able to be sharpened by honing anymore, when you've really lost the edge on your blade,  then you can take that to a knife sharpener. And they will sharpen it for you. Or if you feel comfortable doing it at home, you can do that as well.

​But you don't need to sharpen as frequently honing something that you would do regularly. But sharpening. Most people only need to do that a couple of times during the year in order to keep a good edge on their blade.

So I wanted to explain what the differences between those two things, because a lot of people mix those two things up. And you might think you've been sharpening your knife all this time when what you're actually doing is honing it, and your knife still needs to get a good sharpening. So make sure that you check your knives. We always want to have very sharp knives in the kitchen. I always say a sharp knife is a safe knife.

I'll see you guys here next time. Bye.

Have you ever come to a realization, and then thought:

It’s so simple, how did I not think of that before?

That was me when it came to what I’m sharing about today. It’s a simple solution for making food more desirable and delicious. 

And so simple, it’s easy to overlook it. 
 
Tune into this week’s 2-minute video to find out what you can do to make your next meal and hit, and how to appeal to the pickiest of eaters. 

​And then join me in my group Travel & Feast on Facebook, where this week we are exploring  how to introduce picky eaters to new foods -- whether that picky eater is you, your partner or a little person you love! In tomorrow’s Tasty Kitchen show at 1pm Pacific we’ll be doing some culinary masterminding and talking about the secrets and shortcuts to amazing food!
 
Join me now! www.facebook.com/groups/travelandfeast

​I HATE having to throw away moldy fruits and vegetables. 

Does this ever happen to you?

You head to the store of the farmer’s market and see beautiful fresh produce that you just have to have (for me, the strawberries always call my name!). So you buy them, bring them home, store them and in what seems like overnight…

They go from magnificent to moldy ☹️

Ugh, what a waste! 

I know you don’t like throwing good money or food in the trash so let’s talk. In The Dish this week I’ll be talking about how to best store produce to make them last. 

​And then join me in my group Travel & Feast on Facebook, where this week we are exploring all about using what you have on hand aka how to cook like a “Chopped” chef! In tomorrow’s Tasty Kitchen show at 1pm Pacific we’ll be doing some culinary masterminding and talking about the secrets and shortcuts to amazing food!
 
Join me now! www.facebook.com/groups/travelandfeast

No one likes paying more than they should for something. But, without the right strategy you’ve been overpaying for plane tickets. That could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars up in smoke.

But, you can do better!

I’ve put together four mistakes to avoid when booking a flight. This list will help you sidestep common errors that even sophisticated travelers make. Put these into action today, and you’ll stop paying more than you should. Here goes…

Mistake #1: Buying too early or too late
In may sound counterintuitive, but you can buy your flights too early and miss out on deals. Most airlines open up sales for a flight 331 days in advance, about 11 months. For the next 3–4 months the fares will remain pretty steady as the airline determines demand. If it’s selling, the prices will go up. So you want to buy rather than wait.

But if it’s not selling that’s when the prices drop, and you score a deal. This sweet spot tends to be around 55–60 days out for domestic destinations. It varies between 90–120 days out for international destinations.

No matter what, the absolute worst time to book your trip is last minute. The day before is the most expensive and you’ll be paying a premium all the way back to 13 days in advance.

It’s a total myth that there are last minute price reductions for empty seats. If you book less than two weeks out the airline knows you need the flight so they keep the prices high.

To figure out what’s early, late and juuuust right, use a monitoring service. Good options include Hopper, Airfarewatchdog or Kayak. These will tell you, based on historical data, if you should buy or wait. As soon as you know your travel plans, plug them into one of these services to start tracking and get alerts on deals.

Mistake #2: Only searching one website before booking
No matter what you’re buying, you can save by price comparing. The same is true for flights, because not every booking site is equal.

Online travel agencies, like Expedia and Priceline, are good for airline options. But, the search engines don’t all display the same information. Or prices.

To ensure you get a good deal, check a few of these sites or use an aggregator like Skyscanner or Momondo. These two are my favorite tools because they pull prices from dozens of websites. You can compare the price on the airline website with all the online travel agencies.

Before buying your ticket, at least check two sites to price compare. If you’re dead set on getting a deal, use an aggregator and check a calendar tool like Google Flights.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve found the best sites that consistently offer the best deals. Here are a few I like to check when shopping for a ticket:

• Skyscanner
• Momondo
• Google Flights
• Priceline
• Expedia
• CheapoAir
• Hopper
• Vayama
• Kayak

You can also shift things like departure city, layovers, return city and dates to lower your price.

Mistake #3: Flying on a Monday or Friday
The most common mistake people make is booking tickets when demand is at a peak.

If lots of travelers want to fly on a particular day or route, the prices should go up. That’s simple price economics.

To avoid this mistake you should book your trips for the opposite times as everyone else. Flying on Mondays and Fridays tends to be more expensive because demand is higher. Mondays are often when business travelers start their trips. And, Fridays are popular for leisure travelers who want to get out before the weekend starts.

The day of the week you leave and return is WAY more important than the day of the week you book. Sometimes changing your flight by one day can save you hundreds of dollars! The best days to fly are midweek and Saturdays.

On these “dip days” prices tend to dip, sometimes by a couple hundred dollars. For domestic US flights, the best day to leave is Wednesday. The worst days are Sundays, which on average cost $40 more. Tuesdays are best for returns and Fridays are the worst. If you’re traveling international, Wednesdays are the best day to leave and to return.

Starting your trip on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday will generally cost less. Most booking tools will also show you a fare calendar with prices for the week. Be sure to look through these to find the best day to leave or return.

Mistake #4: Not using nearby airports
Shopping around applies to both the booking site AND your airport selection. Before you book, you should explore your options.

For instance, if you’re flying out of London you have five different airports you can use. Check the pricing for each one to find the best deal.

If you live near a small airport and large airport, always check the prices for the bigger airport. In most cases, bigger airports have better deals, and it may be worth the extra effort. Be sure to factor in the cost of the extra gas and parking to know the distance is worth your time.

Your comparison can extend to airports in other cities too. If money is more important than time, consider an indirect route to your destination.

Say you want to go from Paris to Bali but the prices are too expensive for this route. You can look at other routes in the area, such as Paris to Bangkok, Paris to Kuala Lumpur or Paris to Shanghai. If you book one of these alternatives on the cheap, you can then buy a low-cost flight with a budget airline.

When I travel out of Seattle, I also check the airports for Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR for ticket prices. I’ve found many times, a three-hour road trip could save me $300-$500 on flights. At $100 an hour for my time, I’ll take that trade.

Again, the key here is to think about what you’ll need to sacrifice in time to get the cost savings. You don’t want to give up your sanity to save a few hundred dollars.
​
Save even more… now that you know the 4 airfare shopping mistakes, I’ve created a SIMPLE (free!) cheat sheet to help you book your next flight…If you’re ready to plan your next trip and get guaranteed flight deals, you’re in the right place.

I’ve been doing globetrotting for over 5 years now and I’ve made MANY mistakes along the way. You don’t need to do the same! I’ve compiled a list of 5 of my top secrets to finding the best flight prices, hands down!