Nice DayOne Day,One Nice!!!!

Cooking vegetables
Q. What’s the best way to cook frozen and fresh vegetables? Should I put them in water and then heat it, or should I bring the water to a boil and then add the vegetables?

If you’re cooking vegetables in water, heat the water first. It’s more energy-efficient to heat water with the lid on, and you get an instant shock of heat when you add the vegetables. Frozen vegetables are already going to be a little soft from being frozen, so you don’t want to overcook them or make them soggier.

Success from scratch
(By Kathleen Purvis, kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com) Leanne Ely started with a simple message and built an empire.

Her message: Cook good food and eat it with your family.

‘I’m so cheap …’
(Roland Wilkerson, rwilkerson@charlotteobserver.com) More entries from our el-cheapo contest. The winner will be announced Sunday. Roland Wilkerson

Reusable coffee filters

Mason’s Uptown moves into former Uno’s space
Mason’s Uptown is housed in what use to be Uno’s Chicago Grill, and has yet to make the place feel like its own. Of course, it’s just been there a few months.

I kept waiting on something fabulous to come out of the kitchen. What I got – which included spicy beef nachos, a Sicilian sub, and a Margarita pizza – was just fair. Though to be fair, Mason’s seems up to speed when it comes to pricing.

Thanks to Conservatove Rumblings Blog for this update and story. Providing great iinsight at http://ianessling.com/blog/.