Rather than panic or grab your coat to head out to the store, take a big breath and realize you have options. Hardened brown sugar is a common problem with an easy solution. Here’s everything you need to know about why brown sugar hardens, how to soften it, and how to prevent it from becoming an unyielding brick in the first place. Why Does Brown Sugar Dry Out? Brown sugar is made by taking refined white sugar, also known as granulated sugar, and adding back the molasses that was removed from it during the refining process....

Microwave steamed broccoli is packed with nutrients and extremely versatile, whether served alongside a main dish like roasted chicken, grilled steak, or baked salmon, used to top a baked potato, or tossed into an omelet or quiche. Steamed broccoli is also delicious in salads, atop grain bowls, in soups, and in pasta dishes (broccoli mac and cheese, anyone?). While this recipe is made in the microwave, it does not sacrifice texture or flavor....

The meat and veggies swim in a rich broth that is truly slurp-able, and the spring vegetables add a sprightly touch. The lamb cooks to tenderness in the pressure cooker, with the tender peas, asparagus, and spinach added at the very end so they are still fresh and bright. Quick Lamb Stew in the Instant Pot Tender chunks of lamb in 20 minutes? Seriously? Yes, it’s true. The whole process, including browning the meat and softening the vegetables, takes only 40 minutes!...

Sautéed onions and garlic become the base for your gravy, and the turkey breast cooks right on top. The mixture of fresh chopped sage, rosemary, oregano, and thyme fills your kitchen with the smell of the holidays. Brown the skin by placing it under an oven broiler or with the air fryer lid. Some Instant Pots come with a separate air fryer lid, and there are also air fryer lids you can buy to pair with older models....

Yay! I love it when I hear things like this. At our house a green vegetable is always served with dinner, and half the time it’s some sort of green like chard, kale, spinach, mustard greens, or collards. It’s my not-so-secret mission in my heart of hearts to convert everyone to loving their greens. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong when you mix kale with Italian sausage and white beans....

The tart lemon and the sweetness of the cake play off each other like any classic sweet-tart lemon dessert. But the subtle amount of lavender adds a whole new dimension. It’s just enough to add herbaceous hints that will transport you to blooming lavender fields, rather than an overpowering soap store. The cake is fluffy and tangy and feels as natural on a bright day as a glass of lemonade....

I would sneak them anyway, and because it never occurred to me that the box wasn’t bottomless, my father would, of course, find out. I was grounded and punished with hard labor (scrubbing the toilet and weeding the yard), but it was totally worth it. Now, as a parent myself, I make this homemade version and happily share these cookies with my kiddos. I changed the flavor from lemon to lime in my cookie version but maintained the same buttery warmth the contraband of my childhood had....

February can feel like one of the longer months in Seattle, where I live. The weather is often wet and cold, and we’re all starting to itch for signs of spring. This week, I’m trying to combat some of those winter blues with as many fresh but substantial salads and colorful ingredients I can get my hands on – essentially, trying to trick my senses into thinking perhaps warmer weather is truly on the way....

This is what they do in Memphis, Tennessee, and it’s why Memphis-style ribs are some of the best in the world. Ingredients in Memphis Rib Rub What goes into a Memphis rib rub is up to you, but most recipes rely on paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne, garlic and onion powder. All sorts of other ingredients find their way into everyone’s “secret recipe,” but the most common are cumin, dry mustard, celery salt or celery seed, dried oregano or rosemary, chili powder, ginger, allspice or even white pepper....

Related to kale, cabbage, and collard greens, they are the peppery leafy greens of the mustard plant and are used frequently in Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cooking. What Do Mustard Greens Taste Like? I find them less bitter than kale or collard greens, and more peppery, like arugula. Just one taste of a raw leaf and you’ll know it came from a mustard plant. Cooked, they taste a lot like spinach but with more body....

The idea, first developed by Jim Lahey in his Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City, is simple but beautiful. Mix up a wet dough, let it rise overnight, pop it into a very hot pot in a very hot oven, and out comes a loaf with a beautiful crust that crackles as it cools, with an airy, bubbly crumb, and a chewy texture. You’re going to pat yourself on the back so hard your whole body will hurt....

Like okra, there’s a bit of a slime factor when you cook them, but that can be easily rinsed away. The prickly pear cactus grows all over the southwestern United States and the mediterranean and the young, tender paddles are a staple in Mexican cooking. You can either buy the young paddles whole, and then prep them by wearing thick gloves and gently scraping off the sharp spines, or you can do what most of us do which is to buy them already de-prickled and chopped....

This particular one-pan meal starts with tossing chicken and vegetables in an easy sauce while the oven heats, and ends with everyone sitting down to dinner an hour later. Quick Marinade for Extra Flavor I like to give the chicken a quick marinade in the sauce – a mix of paprika, mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil – while chopping up the vegetables. It doesn’t need to marinate for long, but I find it makes the chicken just that much more flavorful and tender....

So for this dish, I decided to marry the two—chicken and chickpeas, all coated with smoked paprika (and some pepper and oregano), and bake them on a bed of sliced onions. Perfect! Especially for a no-fuss midweek meal. The chickpeas provide enough starch for the chicken, so there’s no need for rice or potatoes. The dish does need a splash of green, which is ably accomplished by the addition of either chopped cilantro or parsley....

Now, these are not heavy hitters, booze-wise—you’ll likely need to eat over half the popsicles to begin feeling the rum. I don’t add as much rum as I would in a drinkable daiquiri. Booze doesn’t freeze solid, so the amount of rum needs to stay low for the popsicles to firm up. However, even with a smaller amount of rum, you’ll enjoy its fruity, buttery, and subtly spiced flavor, which also helps balance the sweet peaches....

As I have an almost unreasonable love of homemade crusts, I make several batches of dough in advance, and just wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them in the freezer until needed. This is a simple peach galette, with fresh yellow peaches tossed with a little sugar, flour, and vanilla. You can play around with it a bit. Before laying down the peaches I dotted the bottom of the crust with a little almond paste....

I recently ventured into the world of spicy cocktails with this pineapple jalapeño margarita. Most of my experiences with spicy cocktails in the past weren’t positive ones, as I find that spicy cocktails usually turn out a little too spicy. What I want (and rarely seem to get) is something balanced; not something that’s so hot from spice that it annihilates all the other flavors in the drink. A Classic Margarita With a Spicy Twist This margarita, made for me by a friend, was her attempt to get me to change my mind....

The shrimp are sautéed in olive oil with finely diced red and green bell pepper, along with garlic and grated ginger, and then tossed with angel hair pasta. So festive! It’s as if the pasta wanted in on some holiday decoration action and the bell peppers piped up to say, “hey, we can do that!” Just like New Year’s confetti. That you eat. Made with diced bell peppers. And served with shrimp and pasta....

That simple, plain, sometimes soggy (if boiled) white vegetable that we ate because we were supposed to, now became something crunchy and nutty and crazy good that we fought over to finish. The only thing better than roasted cauliflower? Curry roasted cauliflower. Cauliflower with curry is one of those magical pairings, a classic in Indian cuisine, and for a good reason. The combo tastes fantastic. It’s easy to make. Toss florets with olive oil mixed with curry spices and lemon juice, spread them out in a large sheet pan, and roast in a hot oven until happily browned....