Leena, just put a little less water in the jar , shake and pour into the pot! No wasted sauce! Something I've learned for when opening a jar is sticking a knife point between the lid and rim of the jar and twisting a bit. That breaks the vacuum seal(you should hear a little "pop") and then the jar is super easy to open. Of course, this only applies to sealed jars. If you close them up too tightly, it's your water bottle tip that saves the day
Exactly! When I saw Leena pour the sauce water down the drain I died a little on the inside. The added water is gonna cook off as you reheat the sauce! To add to the jar opening, you can also use the useless end of a teaspoon (think it's slightly safer than knife (but I also use knife on occasion)). I doesn't work with all the spoon ends, but it's worth finding the one :D
@@anna_alexandra to open a jar safely you can use the hook-shaped end of a can opener and release the air bubble with a little bit of a "clock". don't waste a water bottle. or use a coarse rag. Also, I never heard that you HAVE TO throw away a hot water bottle, if it's damaged, I get it, but I used mine for years and it is still perfect. don't squish it or stomp on it, let the air out after you are done filling it with water and don't use water that is TOO boiling. just really hot.
another tip for opening the jar is using a spoon/teaspoon (depending on the lid) instead of a knife! it works just as well, and i consider it to be a safer option :)
Each minute of this was more chaotic than the last, but this just proves I will literally watch and love everything Leena makes even if I end up watching her pour milk through her hands into a small bowl and sell it to me as a life hack.
this is a very chaotic and alarming video Leena also quite stressed that after this video you and Craig had to eat a meal of pancakes, cous cous and cereal all together hahaa
As someone who is quite good at cooking, watching this was like watching a toddler joyously explain to you how the world works. I'm not sure I always understood your methods but I definitely had fun and learned an awful lot. Bless you and thank you for sharing your infinite wisdom
I genuinely laughed out loud at your comment! I admit, there are easier ways to chop an onion, and I find rinsing each half of an onion reduces my chance of crying better than her technique. That said, almost everything else was eye opening and admittedly quite useful! And your analogy is still hilarious!
The pancake tip seemed to over complicate it a bit. Flip with a plate! No risk of falling for big pancakes, or do small pancakes which can be flipped easily with a spatula.
@@evercuriousmichelle If I must chop much onion, I've found that swimming goggles works just fine, to cover the eyes. If not available, full face motorcycle helmets also work. Or a gas mask.
Something I learned at uni that's especially helpful for anyone with ADHD who struggles to feed themselves: Dinner doesn't have to be a 'meal'. It just has to be like two veg, something carbs and something protein. The goal is just to keep you healthy, so if you're only feeding yourself... You absolutely can eat carrots, peppers, chips and hot dogs. It literally doesn't matter. It's all going to become the same mush inside you so if eating something that looks/sounds weird means you eating what you need in as little time + minimal executive function as possible, who cares!!
absolutely love this because that is how I eat half the time! Or when I'm struggling to decide what I want but nothing sounds appealing so I just don't eat for another hour or two
I will absolutely have toast, hot veggies with a bit of melted butter, and something like tuna or a scrambled egg as a "dinner" if that's the food my stomach/brain will agree on lmao 😅 I try to make/eat meals that make sense, but sometimes covering the bases means eating toast over the bin as butter melts onto your veg while you side-eye your eggs to make sure they don't burn 🤣
Please pour the water from the jar into your food. If you only put in a splash, not fill halfway, it won't water the sauce down too much. The extra water will evaporate as it simmers away.
Love these -- one caveat, if your pancake oil/spray is a bit thick in the pan (beading), if you flip the pan over the range you can start a grease fire, so just be careful.
Exactly! Also, if you do pasta sauce, use some pasta water to clean it instead and add that to your sauce! The starch from the pasta helps binding it further!
I have to believe that she would normally take more time to get more of the sauce out of the jar before rinsing, and that she was just doing it quickly for the video.
an Australian at a RUclips gathering once told me you can use lemonade in pancakes instead of milk because it makes them inherent lemony (especially if you use the cloudy lemonade) and now I do that all the time! but I never ran into them again so they'll never know that they changed my life in regards to pancakes
I alwyas put a wet cloth next to my onions bc i read the gas that comes from the onions simply attaches to the most wet surface available. If that happens to be a cloth instead of my precious eye balls - no tears
I need to try this! I can taste and smell the eggs in baked goods and I don't like it! I do eat eggs in other forms, I just don't like my cookies/cake/pancakes to taste of eggs 🤢
I tried this, and i make my pancake batter rather thick, so all the powder stuck to the bottom and only half of the dry stuff got mixed, also the little blender ball got super stuck with the batter. I think maybe as long as you add water or milk first and then dry stuff, and make the batter a bit runnier, it might work.
I usually find those Patak curry sauces fry away super fast so actually putting a splash of water in, shaking it, and then emptying it back into your veg with the rest of the sauce makes your dish saucier and cleans out the jar at the same time 👌
Craig’s serous voice of adult concern regarding the batter on the stove. 😂😂🙈🙈 Leena continuing to move on to the next madcap hack idea. I absolutely LOVE these humans and this channel. ♥️🙏🏻
Pro tip from someone who is a halfway decent cook in their late 20s: I don't have knife skills. I can't dice or mince something to save my life because my joints get swollen and stiff. By a hand chopper or a food processor and have that do all of your dicing for you. I cut an onion in to quarters, chuck it in the food processor and bam. 20 seconds later, perfectly diced onion and nobody knows the difference. 👍 I do it for everything now: onions, garlic, carrots and celery that I'm adding to a stew. Gamechanger.
Need to chop onions into rings or half moons? Mandolin. Need to cut potatoes into discs? Mandolin. Need to finely slice garlic? Mandolin. The mandolin, folks, is the real MVP.
my biggest hack is similar to the couscous one, have food ready and available for when you're home from work or school and JUST EAT IT. No humming and hawing about what to make for dinner when you're already starving. Don't worry about spoiling your appetite. Just take a deep b, have some toast and jam, some water even, and proceed with enough energy to cook the meal you deserve. Learned from my mom who had a designated "after work cereal"
This is very much a video half of things I already thought everyone did (like how else do people make couscous) and then half of things being made more complicated than they were to start with (if I did that with a frying pan I would drop it or burn myself), but I still really enjoyed watching it. XD
Some of these really straddle the line of "is it a joke or is it serious?" 😅 Though I will forever and always continue to eat my couscous like this as well
Also, super useful tip for peeling garlic cloves: cut the tiny bit at the end where the root used to be ane with the blade of a knife parralel to the chopping board press the clove until it flattens a bit. You'll be able to just pick up the skin in one piece. Such a time saver!
I don't know if there's any secret downsides to this method but personally I just slap some boiling water on the cloves and the skin just slides off super easy
I make vegan crepes with just soy milk and flour. They're almost as good as non-vegan ones (my dad's secret to amazing crepes is a large spoonful of unsweetened yoghurt in the mix - it adds this lovely tang. You could probably easily make this vegan too if you have vegan yoghurt, I just never do)
Can't remember where I learned this hack but if you put an onion in the freezer for 10mins before chopping it, you take away its power to make you cry. Just chop quick before it returns to room temp!
I was so confused by the thinness of that pancake batter until I remembered that Americans are alone in our love for chunky pancakes. Also! if you put your onions in the fridge before you cut them they don't make you cry at all!
Leena! use the veggie scissors for the herbs! its so much easier and effective than pizza cutters haha! cut them (Scissor them? :p) straight over the pot, just how much you want!
You can also poor some hot water on top of your unopened jars! You will literally hear it ‘pop’ and then you just dry it with a tea towel and voilà!! So so easy!
I'm a chef. Happy to watch and weigh in. You have really good ideas. I'd like to kindly add some tips: For pancakes: for us griddle users, if you're scared of burning a pancake make sure to test a few on a lower heat setting and flip with a spatula each pancake at the right temp should take only 2 minutes. Another tip for grippy sauce jar opener: rubber shelf / drawer liner also works so keep the scraps. Another cereal bowl hack: start your set with a bigger bowl.
My toptip when you want a proper meal but also don't really feel like cooking, is throwing some chickpeas with onion and garlic into a pan, and then finish it with a ready-made tomato sauce. One of my favourite pasta sauces and it's so easy and so good. The other one is red pointed peppers, fried in olive oil and then add balsamic vinegar (lots of it) and soy sauce, and maybe some tomato paste. I love the sour and sweet together and it's my favourite pasta dish each pepper season ♥ Cooking can be really easy and not only fancy, hour-long cooking sessions produce great food.
I do the same with peas! And throw one or two raw eggs per person on top. The eggs cook in the sauce and you end up with runny yolks. Best weekday dinner ever.
I have different methods for two of these: 1) If I really wanna reuse a jar and am not just rinsing it before recycling it, I put it in the dishwasher (luckily my flat comes with one) 2) When cutting onions I put on swim goggles, looks a bit weird but I really never cry so it's worth it
My mom uses red wine to rinse out the spaghetti sauce and dumps it into the pot!! Makes it extra tasty and no wasted sauce, as others have said :) Thanks for these!
Just a point on cereal packaging. You can wash out the plastic bags and use them for sandwiches and other dry stuff. Learnt that off atomic shrimp on RUclips ! :)
When I first moved to the UK I was so confused by British (read English) pancakes…they’re just crepes! So many other words are borrowed from France (like courgettes) so why not this? Then I discovered Scottish pancakes and the world was right again.
This was a beautiful follow-up to the “living alone” advice video - we all take shortcuts and do things different to the “proper” way when we’re hungry and there’s no food ready. Bravo :) Will echo that for pancakes you don’t even need an egg and add that making “fancy” blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes is literally just tossing the extra ingredient into the batter when it’s in the pan so it has the exact amount that you want. Will definitely be flipping the pan from now on, thank you!
You know what cooking lie really bothers me? Prep times on recipes. Always takes me like twice as long as the recipe says to prep/actively cook. Like, no way I'm putting together all the ingredients to a whole ass apple crumble cake in TEN MINUTES. It takes at least three minutes to beat the butter and sugar together 😔
Pro tip from a cous cous addict: get a big box of plain cous cous from the supermarket, chuck it in a bowl with some herbs and spices (turmeric and coriander are my fave), cover it with boiling water and you'll have a tasty meal for super cheap! Bonus points if you add nuts or beans for quick protein, and some sort of condiment for more flavour 😋
To open jars, you can also put a rubber band around the lid (like the wide-ish ones that come with many kinds of produce) which will help add grip and friction as you twist! If it’s a jar I’ll open more than once, I just leave it on until I’m done with the jar.
My favorite way to open jars is to save a thick rubber band that often comes with broccoli, for example. It will fit around the lid and apply the 'squeeze' pressure, as well as give you grip. Works like a charm.
A cooking instrument that is like the pizza cutter but better (!) is a ‘mezze luna’. It’s a crescent shaped knife with a handle on each end and you just rock it back and forth over herbs, onion, garlic, etc. Also it’s great fun
I bloody LOVE using scissors in my kitchen, I was gifted a special pair of "kitchen scissors" which I can use for meat, veg, all sorts! I will warn you, some people use way too much oil when frying pancakes, so flipping the pan can become quite dangerous, when hot oil is involved. If you wanna beef up your couscous, add frozen peas to the boiling water, or bung a tin of chick peas or beans in, instant easy meal!
Another trick for opening jars: Get a spoon, put it under the edge of the lid and push down (like you're trying to pry it open with the spoon). You'll be able to break the seal then just twist the lid off easy
I adore how chaotic this video is. All I want to know is what is this three course meal you're making because I want in 😂 my best cooking hack is when you're making a roux (butter, milk, flour, base of most sources). To avoid lumps, mix the flour and milk together first then add gradually. Much smoother and thickens up much quicker.
my favourite cereal hack is pouring the milk in first and then popping the cereal on after: which keeps it crispier longer AND means you don't accidentally pour in too much milk!
Yay! You found your hat! 😀. I usually don’t comment but I always look forward to seeing your videos at 7am Eastern time lol. You’ve made this month a lot more bearable for me. Thank you Lena 😊
This is all great, but genuinely what is the benefit of flipping the pan? As far as I can see all that happens is that oil/butter/bits of broken pancake/the entire pancake can just easily fall onto the hob and get burned/make a mess. What am I missing?
If you put a wet paper towel on the cutting board while you chop onions, that also helps! The onion juices go to the nearest water source (aka your eyes) so this way it goes to the wet paper towel instead. (Running the sink while you chop works too)
Oh my gosh I love this video. Lost it at using a pizza cutter on herbs but I’m totally going to try it! Another tip I use to open tricky jars is to hit the side of the jar lid with the handle of a fork or butter knife. It makes a little dent which usually pops the seal!
Not gonna lie I was like NOOOOOO *insert Rachel’s voice* to some of these but if it helps some people why not 🤷🏻♀️ also to measure pasta you can use your thumb and index finger 👌🏼
it doesn't help with the tears, but when dicing an onion, if after you peel it you leave the root end (or whatever those little things are on the bottom half) on, it stays together better when chopping. You can cut the top off, cut up and down & left to right from the top down towards the bottom of the onion, then turn it onto its side and cut the onion to your desired thickness and voila! Hopefully this made sense, it's hard to explain without an onion present lol
No hot water bottle. You can give the side of the lid of the jar a firm wack on the bench or floor. If you do it right, you should hear a pop of the vacuum seal breaking
I look up the recipe for pancakes every time so knowing that it's absolutely fine to eyeball it is nice. (Also, Please wash your vegatables before you cook them!)
You can also open a jar by breaking the seal using a spoon as a lever (fit the tip of the spoon under the side of the lid and the round/convex side along the side of the jar so you can press down) - pops right open!
I ate couscous, cheese and peas so much as a kid. It's got carbs, veggies, and protein, and takes less than 10 minutes: You use the same amount of couscous and water (a bit less than half a cup). Heat the water, add the baby peas and a teaspoon of oil, then when it's boiling you throw in the couscous, take it off the stove and leave it for 4 minutes. When you serve, put half of it in the bowl, grate the cheese in, then put the other half on top to make it all melty. I recently found that peas are a horrible mushy texture while baby peas are firm and tender... So get the good ones haha
Hot water bottles expire? Why have I never been told this? I will immediately get a new one to replace the 20 year old one I currently have.. saving lives here, Leena, thank you!
With opening jars I have a different way - get a butter knife, slide it under the lid and pull away from the jar until you hear air go in and lid button pop up. Works every time and doesn't even need grip strength
putting a rubber band around the jar lid also works to get traction, and i also hit the side of the lid against a counter or table to break the seal. i avoid breathing in while i cut onions, and that usually prevents emotional displays (though i also try to keep cut sides down). if you're vegan and looking for a quick meal, i love soy curls+plain ramen+chicken-style consomme+frozen veg. it all comes together within ten minutes and you can make it progressively more fancy/healthy the more motivation you have.
Another tip. When I can't get the lid off the jam jar I just hold the lid against a radiator for a second or 2. The heat makes the lid expand making it come off super easy. No need to destroy a hot waterbottle ;)
Haha I feel like the milk problem with your cereal is more of a, your bowl is too small problem. I can put a crap ton of cereal and never have to worry about my cereal sailing away from me with my bowls. I also cannot use your pan flip hack because I always have butter in the pan and I would get it all over the stove, plus it seems more awkward to me than flipping. I am glad my my mum taught me the jar trick, and like lots of others are saying, I just pour the sauce water back into the pan.
If you don't have an old hot water bottle to cut up I recommend getting a lever action jarkey opener. It breaks the vacuum on your jar making it really easy to open. I know I can also use a spoon it just never works for me. I also like how Leena used a pizza cutter to cut her herbs, where I use a Mezzaluna- a herb knife - to cut my pizza.
Okay I’m not seeing enough awareness of this the world: hold water in your mouth while chopping onions!! I have no idea why it works and no one ever believes me but it’s SO effective and you look really silly which is fun
This is so stressful and chaotic hahahah. To open a jar just flip it upside down and bang the lid on the counter around, flip to lid up and unscrew. Works super great
i'm actually an avid and passionate cook and didnt know some of these tips. great job Leena! Also, put less water in the sauce jar and just pour it where you did the original sauce. if you cook it a couple of minutes longer, the water evaporates and no food is wasted ;)
To open jars you can also slide a knife under the lid, between the twisty ridges (forgive my un-nativeness 😆 idk how you call it) of the jar and the lid, and force it open until the vacuum seal pops. Then it's easy peasy!
Not me who eats couscous meals often (add cheese before the boiling water for a step up in taste) because she can't be bothered to cook at uni. Also for onions - turn the electric hob on and race cut the onions to beat the heat used by the hobs - not the most environmentally friendly way but really does save time and tears. Would definitely adapt the water bottle spag bol trick. Love this series, thank you, Leena!
Another jar opening tip if you don't have an expired water bottle you're looking to reuse: wrap a rubber band around the lid (usually twice to make it tight) and the jar will become way easier to open. I discovered this during my many years of being a tiny handed person who lives alone.
Leena, just put a little less water in the jar , shake and pour into the pot! No wasted sauce! Something I've learned for when opening a jar is sticking a knife point between the lid and rim of the jar and twisting a bit. That breaks the vacuum seal(you should hear a little "pop") and then the jar is super easy to open. Of course, this only applies to sealed jars. If you close them up too tightly, it's your water bottle tip that saves the day
yeah, also: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH PASTA! Leftovers, girl! lol
Exactly! When I saw Leena pour the sauce water down the drain I died a little on the inside. The added water is gonna cook off as you reheat the sauce!
To add to the jar opening, you can also use the useless end of a teaspoon (think it's slightly safer than knife (but I also use knife on occasion)). I doesn't work with all the spoon ends, but it's worth finding the one :D
@@anna_alexandra to open a jar safely you can use the hook-shaped end of a can opener and release the air bubble with a little bit of a "clock". don't waste a water bottle. or use a coarse rag. Also, I never heard that you HAVE TO throw away a hot water bottle, if it's damaged, I get it, but I used mine for years and it is still perfect. don't squish it or stomp on it, let the air out after you are done filling it with water and don't use water that is TOO boiling. just really hot.
I run the lid under hot tap for a few seconds, dry thoroughly and it will usually be loosened :)
another tip for opening the jar is using a spoon/teaspoon (depending on the lid) instead of a knife! it works just as well, and i consider it to be a safer option :)
Each minute of this was more chaotic than the last, but this just proves I will literally watch and love everything Leena makes even if I end up watching her pour milk through her hands into a small bowl and sell it to me as a life hack.
She would do well with Julia Child
this is a very chaotic and alarming video Leena also quite stressed that after this video you and Craig had to eat a meal of pancakes, cous cous and cereal all together hahaa
WE DID AND IT WAS DELISH NO REGRETS
nO RAgRetS
As someone who is quite good at cooking, watching this was like watching a toddler joyously explain to you how the world works. I'm not sure I always understood your methods but I definitely had fun and learned an awful lot. Bless you and thank you for sharing your infinite wisdom
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I genuinely laughed out loud at your comment! I admit, there are easier ways to chop an onion, and I find rinsing each half of an onion reduces my chance of crying better than her technique. That said, almost everything else was eye opening and admittedly quite useful! And your analogy is still hilarious!
The pancake tip seemed to over complicate it a bit. Flip with a plate! No risk of falling for big pancakes, or do small pancakes which can be flipped easily with a spatula.
@@evercuriousmichelle If I must chop much onion, I've found that swimming goggles works just fine, to cover the eyes. If not available, full face motorcycle helmets also work. Or a gas mask.
No no no definitely don’t flip the pan, especially if you have gas, the oil gets everywhere!!
This video feels like im watching a friend have a manic breakdown on facetime at 3am
Something I learned at uni that's especially helpful for anyone with ADHD who struggles to feed themselves: Dinner doesn't have to be a 'meal'. It just has to be like two veg, something carbs and something protein. The goal is just to keep you healthy, so if you're only feeding yourself... You absolutely can eat carrots, peppers, chips and hot dogs. It literally doesn't matter. It's all going to become the same mush inside you so if eating something that looks/sounds weird means you eating what you need in as little time + minimal executive function as possible, who cares!!
absolutely love this because that is how I eat half the time! Or when I'm struggling to decide what I want but nothing sounds appealing so I just don't eat for another hour or two
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I will absolutely have toast, hot veggies with a bit of melted butter, and something like tuna or a scrambled egg as a "dinner" if that's the food my stomach/brain will agree on lmao 😅 I try to make/eat meals that make sense, but sometimes covering the bases means eating toast over the bin as butter melts onto your veg while you side-eye your eggs to make sure they don't burn 🤣
Please pour the water from the jar into your food. If you only put in a splash, not fill halfway, it won't water the sauce down too much. The extra water will evaporate as it simmers away.
"Did you know, hot water bottles expire?!" is becoming Leena's catchphrase.
Just wait for the merch 😅
@@leenanorms here for it
To prevent tears while chopping onions, I've been wearing swimming goggles for years. Looks silly but it works like a charm.
This is the only thing that works for me! Plus it makes my boyfriend laugh every time
@@BrookeInProgress win win!
Leena, I loved this video and I'm here for the chaos, but when you diced that onion *with the skin on* I almost cried (ironically).
this video was so chaotic and the cereal hack nearly tipped me over the edge ngl... 10/10 no more miserymas
Love these -- one caveat, if your pancake oil/spray is a bit thick in the pan (beading), if you flip the pan over the range you can start a grease fire, so just be careful.
noooo why did you pour the sauce down the drain:(((( i always put the sauce with the water into the pot as well as the water will evaporate anyways
Exactly! Also, if you do pasta sauce, use some pasta water to clean it instead and add that to your sauce! The starch from the pasta helps binding it further!
Yes!!! I gasped when she poured it down the drain 😅
Yesss can't believe it went down the drain! All that goodness! You also only need a little water (not half the jar filled).
I have to believe that she would normally take more time to get more of the sauce out of the jar before rinsing, and that she was just doing it quickly for the video.
Imagine how i felt when i witnessed it live 🙃
an Australian at a RUclips gathering once told me you can use lemonade in pancakes instead of milk because it makes them inherent lemony (especially if you use the cloudy lemonade) and now I do that all the time! but I never ran into them again so they'll never know that they changed my life in regards to pancakes
Do you know if it can be diet lemonade? Super helpful tip!
@@jenniferdurrant2196 any kind works! just the liquid element innit
That sounds viscerally disgusting, I can't wait to try it :)
@@cebbi1313 I too was a non believer
So is it just the same quantity of lemonade as there is milk on the recipe?
I alwyas put a wet cloth next to my onions bc i read the gas that comes from the onions simply attaches to the most wet surface available. If that happens to be a cloth instead of my precious eye balls - no tears
And here I’ve been using my onion cutting goggles…
Running the knife under water first helps too!
another lie: you need eggs in pancakes. you just dont... you can just leave them out, instead put some baking powder, or add a banana, or both
☝🏼
Wait WHAT
I need to try this! I can taste and smell the eggs in baked goods and I don't like it! I do eat eggs in other forms, I just don't like my cookies/cake/pancakes to taste of eggs 🤢
Or a tbsp of oil works great too
yees! personally I make them every week with just flour and milk and cook them in margarine - fancy Saturday breakfast done!
For pancakes, just make them in a protein shaker! Saves the effort of whisking, you just shake it and then pour out.
Genius
I tried this, and i make my pancake batter rather thick, so all the powder stuck to the bottom and only half of the dry stuff got mixed, also the little blender ball got super stuck with the batter. I think maybe as long as you add water or milk first and then dry stuff, and make the batter a bit runnier, it might work.
Also if you have plain couscous, you can chuck a sprinkle of stock powder in with the water to make it tasty
I usually find those Patak curry sauces fry away super fast so actually putting a splash of water in, shaking it, and then emptying it back into your veg with the rest of the sauce makes your dish saucier and cleans out the jar at the same time 👌
Craig’s serous voice of adult concern regarding the batter on the stove. 😂😂🙈🙈 Leena continuing to move on to the next madcap hack idea. I absolutely LOVE these humans and this channel. ♥️🙏🏻
Pro tip from someone who is a halfway decent cook in their late 20s: I don't have knife skills. I can't dice or mince something to save my life because my joints get swollen and stiff. By a hand chopper or a food processor and have that do all of your dicing for you. I cut an onion in to quarters, chuck it in the food processor and bam. 20 seconds later, perfectly diced onion and nobody knows the difference. 👍 I do it for everything now: onions, garlic, carrots and celery that I'm adding to a stew. Gamechanger.
I love you wholeheartedly Leena, but this video has me wondering if you’re okay 😂
Need to chop onions into rings or half moons? Mandolin. Need to cut potatoes into discs? Mandolin. Need to finely slice garlic? Mandolin. The mandolin, folks, is the real MVP.
my biggest hack is similar to the couscous one, have food ready and available for when you're home from work or school and JUST EAT IT. No humming and hawing about what to make for dinner when you're already starving. Don't worry about spoiling your appetite. Just take a deep b, have some toast and jam, some water even, and proceed with enough energy to cook the meal you deserve. Learned from my mom who had a designated "after work cereal"
This is very much a video half of things I already thought everyone did (like how else do people make couscous) and then half of things being made more complicated than they were to start with (if I did that with a frying pan I would drop it or burn myself), but I still really enjoyed watching it. XD
Some of these really straddle the line of "is it a joke or is it serious?" 😅 Though I will forever and always continue to eat my couscous like this as well
Also, super useful tip for peeling garlic cloves: cut the tiny bit at the end where the root used to be ane with the blade of a knife parralel to the chopping board press the clove until it flattens a bit. You'll be able to just pick up the skin in one piece. Such a time saver!
I don't know if there's any secret downsides to this method but personally I just slap some boiling water on the cloves and the skin just slides off super easy
I've heard that if you microwave the garlic for a few seconds the skin peels right off
The couscous hack is hitting the depressed/rushed cooking problem right in the nuts. I shall be purchasing those lol
If you want to veganize the pancake, replace the egg with oil and a little bit of baking powder to combine and rise!
I make vegan crepes with just soy milk and flour. They're almost as good as non-vegan ones (my dad's secret to amazing crepes is a large spoonful of unsweetened yoghurt in the mix - it adds this lovely tang. You could probably easily make this vegan too if you have vegan yoghurt, I just never do)
Can't remember where I learned this hack but if you put an onion in the freezer for 10mins before chopping it, you take away its power to make you cry. Just chop quick before it returns to room temp!
I was so confused by the thinness of that pancake batter until I remembered that Americans are alone in our love for chunky pancakes. Also! if you put your onions in the fridge before you cut them they don't make you cry at all!
Americans and Japanese love thicc pancakes! 🙂
i love how this comment section is full of tips and tricks for easier cooking
Wholesome and helpful!
The back, grippy part of a mouse pad also works to open stubborn jars. I encounter a sticky one and stride over to my computer for help. 😂😂
a washing up glove works well too.
This video is absolutely chaotic and I love it
Leena! use the veggie scissors for the herbs! its so much easier and effective than pizza cutters haha! cut them (Scissor them? :p) straight over the pot, just how much you want!
I think the cereal hack was a sign of insanity, but I do fancy Golden Nuggets now. And Ainsley Harriott’s mushroom couscous is my lifesaver.
Why do I feel like Leena’s secret motive for this month is documenting her hot water bottle revolt 😂 I’m 100% here for it
You can also poor some hot water on top of your unopened jars! You will literally hear it ‘pop’ and then you just dry it with a tea towel and voilà!! So so easy!
I'm a chef. Happy to watch and weigh in.
You have really good ideas. I'd like to kindly add some tips:
For pancakes: for us griddle users, if you're scared of burning a pancake make sure to test a few on a lower heat setting and flip with a spatula each pancake at the right temp should take only 2 minutes.
Another tip for grippy sauce jar opener: rubber shelf / drawer liner also works so keep the scraps.
Another cereal bowl hack: start your set with a bigger bowl.
this has all the chaos of a This Morning segment and i loved it!
My toptip when you want a proper meal but also don't really feel like cooking, is throwing some chickpeas with onion and garlic into a pan, and then finish it with a ready-made tomato sauce. One of my favourite pasta sauces and it's so easy and so good.
The other one is red pointed peppers, fried in olive oil and then add balsamic vinegar (lots of it) and soy sauce, and maybe some tomato paste. I love the sour and sweet together and it's my favourite pasta dish each pepper season ♥
Cooking can be really easy and not only fancy, hour-long cooking sessions produce great food.
I do the same with peas! And throw one or two raw eggs per person on top. The eggs cook in the sauce and you end up with runny yolks. Best weekday dinner ever.
The chaotic energy was unexpected but seriously entertaining and I’m in actual tears
To stop onions making you cry, you can also put a damp cloth close to the onion so the chemicals in the onion attacks the wet cloth and not your eyes
I have different methods for two of these:
1) If I really wanna reuse a jar and am not just rinsing it before recycling it, I put it in the dishwasher (luckily my flat comes with one)
2) When cutting onions I put on swim goggles, looks a bit weird but I really never cry so it's worth it
Goggles work really well. Once on holiday I cut onions in a snorkel and mask and flippers because why not.
There’s a fantastic photo of me somewhere wearing a dressing gown and goggles while cutting onions 😂
This video is so intense and almost aggressive and I absolutely love it, it’s like you’re physically fighting the lies 😂
My mom uses red wine to rinse out the spaghetti sauce and dumps it into the pot!! Makes it extra tasty and no wasted sauce, as others have said :) Thanks for these!
Just a point on cereal packaging. You can wash out the plastic bags and use them for sandwiches and other dry stuff. Learnt that off atomic shrimp on RUclips ! :)
That water bottle tip is kind of genius!
Would love to see other ways of reusing waterbottles now we have been enlightened as to their expirey date 😆
When I first moved to the UK I was so confused by British (read English) pancakes…they’re just crepes! So many other words are borrowed from France (like courgettes) so why not this? Then I discovered Scottish pancakes and the world was right again.
This was a beautiful follow-up to the “living alone” advice video - we all take shortcuts and do things different to the “proper” way when we’re hungry and there’s no food ready. Bravo :)
Will echo that for pancakes you don’t even need an egg and add that making “fancy” blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes is literally just tossing the extra ingredient into the batter when it’s in the pan so it has the exact amount that you want. Will definitely be flipping the pan from now on, thank you!
You know what cooking lie really bothers me? Prep times on recipes. Always takes me like twice as long as the recipe says to prep/actively cook. Like, no way I'm putting together all the ingredients to a whole ass apple crumble cake in TEN MINUTES. It takes at least three minutes to beat the butter and sugar together 😔
Yes! I always felt really silly for never managing to get the recipes done in the time indicated 🥹
I'm going to miss these videos!
unfortunately the misery isn't limited to December lolol.
Pro tip from a cous cous addict: get a big box of plain cous cous from the supermarket, chuck it in a bowl with some herbs and spices (turmeric and coriander are my fave), cover it with boiling water and you'll have a tasty meal for super cheap! Bonus points if you add nuts or beans for quick protein, and some sort of condiment for more flavour 😋
To open jars you can use the tip of a knife to separate the lid from the jar a little bit so air can come in and can be opened easily.
To open jars, you can also put a rubber band around the lid (like the wide-ish ones that come with many kinds of produce) which will help add grip and friction as you twist! If it’s a jar I’ll open more than once, I just leave it on until I’m done with the jar.
I'd rather cry a bit than peel tiny bits of onion skin lol WHAT
My favorite way to open jars is to save a thick rubber band that often comes with broccoli, for example. It will fit around the lid and apply the 'squeeze' pressure, as well as give you grip. Works like a charm.
A cooking instrument that is like the pizza cutter but better (!) is a ‘mezze luna’. It’s a crescent shaped knife with a handle on each end and you just rock it back and forth over herbs, onion, garlic, etc. Also it’s great fun
I open every jar myself. The trick is to palm strike the rear end of the jar and then opening will be super easy.
What a chaotic video, I love it.
I bloody LOVE using scissors in my kitchen, I was gifted a special pair of "kitchen scissors" which I can use for meat, veg, all sorts!
I will warn you, some people use way too much oil when frying pancakes, so flipping the pan can become quite dangerous, when hot oil is involved. If you wanna beef up your couscous, add frozen peas to the boiling water, or bung a tin of chick peas or beans in, instant easy meal!
Another trick for opening jars: Get a spoon, put it under the edge of the lid and push down (like you're trying to pry it open with the spoon). You'll be able to break the seal then just twist the lid off easy
I adore how chaotic this video is. All I want to know is what is this three course meal you're making because I want in 😂 my best cooking hack is when you're making a roux (butter, milk, flour, base of most sources). To avoid lumps, mix the flour and milk together first then add gradually. Much smoother and thickens up much quicker.
my favourite cereal hack is pouring the milk in first and then popping the cereal on after: which keeps it crispier longer AND means you don't accidentally pour in too much milk!
The chaos is marvellous. LOVE THIS!
Yay! You found your hat! 😀. I usually don’t comment but I always look forward to seeing your videos at 7am Eastern time lol. You’ve made this month a lot more bearable for me. Thank you Lena 😊
This is all great, but genuinely what is the benefit of flipping the pan?
As far as I can see all that happens is that oil/butter/bits of broken pancake/the entire pancake can just easily fall onto the hob and get burned/make a mess.
What am I missing?
I don’t get it either 😅
If you put a wet paper towel on the cutting board while you chop onions, that also helps! The onion juices go to the nearest water source (aka your eyes) so this way it goes to the wet paper towel instead. (Running the sink while you chop works too)
I love the underlying chaos in this video
Oh my gosh I love this video. Lost it at using a pizza cutter on herbs but I’m totally going to try it! Another tip I use to open tricky jars is to hit the side of the jar lid with the handle of a fork or butter knife. It makes a little dent which usually pops the seal!
Not gonna lie I was like NOOOOOO *insert Rachel’s voice* to some of these but if it helps some people why not 🤷🏻♀️ also to measure pasta you can use your thumb and index finger 👌🏼
My grandfather has MASSIVE hands, so when the makes pasta he always ends up with waaaay too much, but he refuses to use any other method...
these hacks were hard to watch Leena.
Rubber gloves are great jar-opening assistants as well!
Love this video but must admit you lost me at “too much pasta” cause honestly I could eat about 4 servings in one go and be fine, bloody love pasta 😂
Love this quick chaotic energyyyyyyyy
it doesn't help with the tears, but when dicing an onion, if after you peel it you leave the root end (or whatever those little things are on the bottom half) on, it stays together better when chopping. You can cut the top off, cut up and down & left to right from the top down towards the bottom of the onion, then turn it onto its side and cut the onion to your desired thickness and voila! Hopefully this made sense, it's hard to explain without an onion present lol
my mum also taught me that mug = a portion of pasta (eg. rigatoni, fusilli etc) and it’s been a game changer
No hot water bottle. You can give the side of the lid of the jar a firm wack on the bench or floor. If you do it right, you should hear a pop of the vacuum seal breaking
And damage your worktop in the process 😂 (speaking from experience, unfortunately. I now use the knife trick for fear of further damage)
I look up the recipe for pancakes every time so knowing that it's absolutely fine to eyeball it is nice.
(Also, Please wash your vegatables before you cook them!)
You can also open a jar by breaking the seal using a spoon as a lever (fit the tip of the spoon under the side of the lid and the round/convex side along the side of the jar so you can press down) - pops right open!
This video confirms that Leena is chaotic good
I looooove the energy of this video, it's just like: I DONT F*CKING CARE ABOUT FANCY COOKING SH*T, I JUST WANT FOOD AND I WANT IT NOW!!!
You got me!
I ate couscous, cheese and peas so much as a kid. It's got carbs, veggies, and protein, and takes less than 10 minutes:
You use the same amount of couscous and water (a bit less than half a cup). Heat the water, add the baby peas and a teaspoon of oil, then when it's boiling you throw in the couscous, take it off the stove and leave it for 4 minutes. When you serve, put half of it in the bowl, grate the cheese in, then put the other half on top to make it all melty.
I recently found that peas are a horrible mushy texture while baby peas are firm and tender... So get the good ones haha
Hot water bottles expire? Why have I never been told this? I will immediately get a new one to replace the 20 year old one I currently have.. saving lives here, Leena, thank you!
With opening jars I have a different way - get a butter knife, slide it under the lid and pull away from the jar until you hear air go in and lid button pop up. Works every time and doesn't even need grip strength
putting a rubber band around the jar lid also works to get traction, and i also hit the side of the lid against a counter or table to break the seal. i avoid breathing in while i cut onions, and that usually prevents emotional displays (though i also try to keep cut sides down). if you're vegan and looking for a quick meal, i love soy curls+plain ramen+chicken-style consomme+frozen veg. it all comes together within ten minutes and you can make it progressively more fancy/healthy the more motivation you have.
Another tip. When I can't get the lid off the jam jar I just hold the lid against a radiator for a second or 2. The heat makes the lid expand making it come off super easy. No need to destroy a hot waterbottle ;)
Leena, tip the tomato juice into your pan... or keep it until you are making soup or something that needs liquid (extra flavour, less waste)
Haha I feel like the milk problem with your cereal is more of a, your bowl is too small problem. I can put a crap ton of cereal and never have to worry about my cereal sailing away from me with my bowls. I also cannot use your pan flip hack because I always have butter in the pan and I would get it all over the stove, plus it seems more awkward to me than flipping. I am glad my my mum taught me the jar trick, and like lots of others are saying, I just pour the sauce water back into the pan.
If you don't have an old hot water bottle to cut up I recommend getting a lever action jarkey opener. It breaks the vacuum on your jar making it really easy to open. I know I can also use a spoon it just never works for me.
I also like how Leena used a pizza cutter to cut her herbs, where I use a Mezzaluna- a herb knife - to cut my pizza.
Okay I’m not seeing enough awareness of this the world: hold water in your mouth while chopping onions!! I have no idea why it works and no one ever believes me but it’s SO effective and you look really silly which is fun
I would like to add use a small food processor to mince garlic and ginger. It's not perfect, but perfect food is a lie, it tastes just as good.
This was like the world's most chaotic episode of Blue Peter and I loved it
This is so stressful and chaotic hahahah. To open a jar just flip it upside down and bang the lid on the counter around, flip to lid up and unscrew. Works super great
i'm actually an avid and passionate cook and didnt know some of these tips. great job Leena! Also, put less water in the sauce jar and just pour it where you did the original sauce. if you cook it a couple of minutes longer, the water evaporates and no food is wasted ;)
To open jars you can also slide a knife under the lid, between the twisty ridges (forgive my un-nativeness 😆 idk how you call it) of the jar and the lid, and force it open until the vacuum seal pops. Then it's easy peasy!
You can cut herbs with scissors, in a smallish glass - works great!
Not me who eats couscous meals often (add cheese before the boiling water for a step up in taste) because she can't be bothered to cook at uni. Also for onions - turn the electric hob on and race cut the onions to beat the heat used by the hobs - not the most environmentally friendly way but really does save time and tears. Would definitely adapt the water bottle spag bol trick. Love this series, thank you, Leena!
This chaotic approach to cooking may actually convince me I can do it 😂
Another jar opening tip if you don't have an expired water bottle you're looking to reuse: wrap a rubber band around the lid (usually twice to make it tight) and the jar will become way easier to open. I discovered this during my many years of being a tiny handed person who lives alone.