Thanks so much for the compliments AND for the constructive criticisms you all left about my new header.
I really appreciate your honesty. Still not sure what I’m going to do; I’m definitely not permanently leaving it as is. But I especially liked Trail’s comment that content is much more important than appearance. Oh, and just because the caption says something else doesn’t mean my blog’s not called “Chocolate-Covered Katie” any more. I like being chocolate-covered and wouldn’t dream of having it any other way 
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Tricks of the Trade
Starring…
(As seen in the smash Hollywood hit, Brownie Batter Oatmeal)
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The famous (and fabulous) Blended Grains technique
Good for such things as Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Oatmeal
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(Above, with creamy polenta and Cozy Kuzu Stew)
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And the newest superstar:
The Melt-without-a-Microwave Trick
Very useful for spreading coconut butter on the likes of Carrot Cake Pizza
Question of the Day:
Do you have any “tricks of the trade”? I know someone who received $50 for sharing the idea “to cut up pizza with scissors” to Good Housekeeping!
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I always cut my pizza with scissors! In fact a few days ago I was doing that and a friend was so shocked (and a bit disgusted with me!)..The horror. It is the easiest way to cut pizza lol
LOVE the tricks!! Delicious
Mine is just to let hempmilk-drenched cereal sit for a bit – makes the cereal have a thicker consistency, which I love.
Yummy!! Love the carrot cake pizza love!!!! When i was little I used to love melted Hershey Kisses, so I would put a bunch of hershey kisses, still in the wrappers, but unfolded a little, and put them on the heating vent on the floor!!! THe heat would melt those little babies up so they would melt in my mouth!!! Hahaha!! Loved it!!!
Hope you have a great Sunday love!!!! xoxo
You will find a header or new design you love, sometimes those things take time, I know Im so picky sometimes when it comes to stuff like that, it takes me forever!!! xoxoxoxo
My friend showed me that she cut her food with scissors and I was blown away lol. Too bad I don’t have any clean scissors…
One of my “tricks” is that I freeze EVERYTHING. Tomato paste, garlic, herbs, etc. I don’t like wasting food!
LOVE the new header!!!
Don’t worry about the site, it looks great either way, and content is definitely the most important aspect, regardless of what anyone else says!;) I am pretty sure this doesn’t fall under the category of “trick” but when i am steaming baby brussels or broccoli, i drain the water after about 5-10 minutes but don’t turn the burner off for a couple to let the tips/edges crunch up!:)
I just changed my header recently too . . . it’s such a difficult decision!
I did a service project in Jamaica a few years ago, and we walked everywhere (about 6 miles a day) in the heat, so I LOVED this trick my host mom told me: fill your water bottle up halfway in the evening, and then stick it in the freezer. The next morning, fill it the rest of the way with water. You’ll have nice cold water all day long as the bottom ice half melts!
I love the melted banana trick, so perfect in oats! I’ve never attempted cookie dough oats, but now I’ll have to try. I like the way your whole site looks, but of course do whatever you like best! A tip for getting pomegranate seeds (or are the called arils?) out of the fruit: cut the pomegranate in half and submerge in a BIG bowl of water. Stick your hands in there and separate the seeds from the pith…the seeds will float to the top and everything else will sink, just scoop out your seeds and you’re ready to go!
It’s not a trick, but practicing mise en place makes cooking a zen-like experience.
On the flip side, and this is a trick, to save time when I have a lot of chopping to do, I chop things in the order of needing the most time to cook to least time, and just add the ingredients as I go along – by the time I’m done chopping one thing, the things before it have cooked long enough that everything tends to get done at the same time! I love that.
Also, smoothies are the best way to use up bananas or spinach or whatever that’s maybe a bit over-ripe or just that side of its use-by date. Healthier than banana bread, right?
Wha? I cut up salmon with a pizza cutter and didn’t get a darn thing! Plus I subscribe to GH! That’s an atrocity!
I’m gonna gripe for a second: we have a pizza place here that serves its pizza uncut. I don’t know what they expect you to do but they do have a couple pair of scissors in the place. I guess you have to wait until the scissors are available to cut your pizza. Some people think it’s quirking, but I’m in the “What a pain the b*tt” category myself.
I’ll love you’re header whatever you come up with!
A trick I like…
Fruit syrup
http://babyvanilla.wordpress.com/recipes/fruit-syrup/
I can’t believe the number of people who heat the stove, add sugar to their berries and stand 10-30min stirring, waiting…just for a simple blueberry syrup on top of their pancakes.
I love the Plump Raisin Trick. My main problem is…when you cook the raisins with the oatmeal, it’s not as pretty as if you sprinkle it on top because they all sank, lol. Dilemma, dilemma!
p.s: you use chopsticks????
xoxo
ahh carrot cake pizza/!?! sounds amazing! love the new header girl!!! keep doing what your doing
the best is when bananas get all melty in oats, they create such a natural sweetness that is to dieee for!
happy sunday!
great tricks
I need brownie batter oatmeal… yummm
and that kuzu soup looks AWESOME
LOVEEEE YOUUU
I don’t know how I would function without you and your culinary brilliance. Okay, I don’t know how I would function without you period.
*kisses!!*
Wow never heard of cutting pizza with scissors but hey, whatever works!
I don’t have a microwave so no banana tricks there.
Kozy Kuzu Soup looks tasty!
First of all, I think your candle warmer idea is brilliant, especially for the cold wintry months ahead! I don’t have any tricks, I don’t think… maybe just putting dried fruits with oatmeal pre-cooking and then cook them so they’re plump and their sweetness has permeated into the oats.
I’ve never made pizza, but I’ll try using scissors if I do?! Haha :]
The cookie recipe I made today was a melt without the microwave trick and I was SHOCKED it worked as well as it did!
I wish I had some tricks, but I just make everything hard! EEK! So I spent a week in the Big D and am trying to figure out the running scene because the roads by where I’m living are straight up concrete and not going to work out on the knees :/
katieee uve been posting up a lot of the carrot cake and im drooling just looking at it constantly…i must make them soon to satisfy my cravings
Oooh, carrot cake pizza sounds amazing. I wish I had some clever tricks of the trade to offer, but I really don’t! I’ve learned a lot of things from the blog world like the whipped banana in oats, etc.
I like that blue bowl
perfect for the oatmeals . I wish I have more colorful plates than just plain white ones 
i LOVE the new header. it’s perfect
that carrot cake pizza is calling my name! looks amazing..i would like to swim in coconut butter. with mouth wide open
hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend!
xoxox
I have no tricks, but I sure do love all the ones being shared!
LOVE the new header!
<3 jess
xoxo
OK, I’m so mad at myself. Went to Michael’s twice this weekend and did not get a candle warmer. Totally forgot. So very sad for me.
Love the looks of that carrot cake pizza. Every time I see it, I want to get in my kitchen and start baking, and I LOVE plumped us raisins – the only way to eat them!
“tricks of the trade” I love cutting up a stack of pancakes or waffles with a pizza cutter. Doesn’t work so great with scissors.
I like the new look. Is that Katie Font I spy?
If you need any help, Zesty Cook helped me out a ton. He’s great!
You have such pretty bowls!! And leave it to you to create something as decadent sounding as carrot cake pizza
All your tricks of the trade sound DELISH! My newest one was the one I just posted about melting choc chips the easier/less messier way!
My favorite trick of the trade is buy bags of spinach when it’s on sale and freezing it for green smoothies later!
My parents always cut our homemade pizzas with scissors, so I didn’t know it was ever a secret! Tricks of the trade, let’s see. I make green monster breakfast smoothies en mass to prepare for the busy work week. I use the POM tea glasses with their lids to keep it all fresh in the fridge. It helps keep me on track for the week when I don’t feel up to prepping anything in the early morning.
P.S. Thanks for the link love!