Bottle Pour Spouts

These stainless steel bottle pour spouts can be used for oils, vinegars, sauces, salad dressings, wine, and other liquids. Simply replace the lids on your frequently used bottles with the pour spouts and your favorite condiments are ready for action. The bottle pour spouts feature a natural cork and stainless steel construction.

Bottle Pour Spouts from Useful Things.

The Difference Between a Sweet Potato and a Yam

Is a yam orange? Is a sweet potato white? Or are they both orange? Yellow? Pink, purple, dark brown? If you've visited a well-stocked supermarket, you've seen all of these colors. But are they sweet potatoes or yams?

A true yam is not related to the sweet potato. They are tropical tubers with crisp, bland, whitish-yellow flesh. Unless you are in the tropics, it's more than likely that what you're purchasing is a sweet potato, even if it's labeled a yam. Yes, even those cans that say Yam in big letters are sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes can be orange-fleshed, yellow-fleshed, large, small, short, long, tan-colored, brick-red, dry, moist, sweet, or bland. They are what you will find in every mainstream supermarket in the U.S., not yams.

Wall Mount Bottle Opener

Mount this bar-style Wall Mount Bottle Opener on your wall and it will always be there when you need it. At only 2.5 x 3 inches, the bottle opener will fit in small spaces and look great wherever you put it, may that be in your kitchen, game room, or garage. It costs $6.95 and comes with mounting screws.

Wall Mount Bottle Opener from Useful Things.

How-to Harvest and Dry Basil

To harvest fresh basil, wait until your plant has several pairs of leaves, approximately 2-4, and is 8 inches to 1 foot tall. If you only want a few leaves for a dish, snip off the top leaves, just above the next lower node. In a healthy plant, this can be done as often as once a week. More extensive harvesting can be done every 3-4 weeks.

After harvesting, wash your basil and spin or pat dry. If you want to use it fresh over the next couple of days, wrap the dry basil in paper towels and place it in an airtight bag in the fridge. If you wish to dry the basil, bundle the whole leaves, wrap a string or rubber band around the stems, and hang the bunch to dry. The drying process will take about a week. If you live in a humid climate, it may take longer. After the basil has dried, store it in an airtight container away from heat and light. It will last about a year.

Pour Spouts

These stainless steel pour spouts can be used for oils, vinegars, sauces, salad dressings, wine, and other liquids. Simply replace the lids on your frequently used bottles with the pour spouts and your favorite condiments are ready for action. The pour spouts feature a natural cork and stainless steel construction.

Pour Spouts from Useful Things.

Tips for Using Fresh Herbs

It is generally best to add fresh herbs to the dish right before serving to retain their flavor and appearance.

When using fresh herbs in lieu of dried, triple the amount the recipe calls for.

To clean fresh herbs, immerse them in a large bowl of cool, salted water. The salt will drive away bugs without damaging the plant.

Thoroughly dry fresh herbs before chopping, or they will bruise and become discolored.

Chop fresh herbs finely to release more oils and maximize flavor.

Wall Mounted Bottle Opener

Mount this bar-style Wall Mounted Bottle Opener on your wall and it will always be there when you need it. At only 2.5 x 3 inches, the bottle opener will fit in small spaces and look great wherever you put it, may that be in your kitchen, game room, or garage. It costs $6.95 and comes with mounting screws.

Wall Mounted Bottle Opener from Useful Things.

Making a Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Making your own salad dressings is more economical and healthful than purchasing store bought varieties. This simple balsamic vinaigrette recipe will save you money and also tastes better.

Combine equal parts balsamic vinegar with equal parts olive oil. Start with 3 tablespoons, and make more if needed. Add a teaspoon of sugar or honey for every 3 tablespoons oil/vinegar. Add ¼ teaspoon black pepper and a dash of salt. Whisk to combine.

Option: Add two cloves of peeled, crushed garlic to the dressing, and store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid overnight. Shake well before use, and discard garlic.

How-to Eat a Pomegranate

Pomegranates can be tedious to eat if you don't know how to remove the seeds all at once. While most people cut the pomegranate in half and pick the seeds out one by one, this is time-consuming and messy. The step below will guide you on how to efficiently and effectively separate the seeds from the pith.

1. Cut the stem off the pomegranate.

2. Slice the skin into segments without cutting all the way through the fruit.

3. Place the pomegranate in a bowl of water and let it soak for about ten minutes.

4. After the fruit has soaked, break open the sections and agitate the seeds. The seeds will sink to the bottom while the white pith will float.

5. Remove the pith from the bowl and send the seeds through a strainer.
Now you have a bowl full of beautiful pomegranate seeds, and nothing else.