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Don’t you love it when you discover a new shortcut, another use for a tool, or other little tips and tricks that you can incorporate into your cooking? Take a look at my roundup of Tricks With Your Cooking Equipment for some ideas on how you can become a better, and more efficient, cook.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it’s time to think of what you’ll serve your sweetie to put you both in the romantic spirit. We’ve all heard of the many aphrodisiac foods: caviar, oysters, chocolate… but what do you do with these goodies once you’ve brought them home from the market? Take a look at Tools for Preparing Aphrodisiac Foods for must-have cooking equipment to make romantic meals, and ideas on how to incorporate the aphrodisiacs into your menu. You can thank us later.

Last weekend I attended the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Show, a showcase of new and exciting kitchen tools, tabletop items and cooking equipment. It’s always fun to walk through the showrooms and imagine the assortments retailers might be able to put together in their shops. Want a peek at some of my favorite finds at the market? Take a look at my top picks of Can’t-Miss Kitchen Products from Atlanta.

The shipping deadlines are fast approaching to get your cooking equipment holiday gifts to their destination in time for Christmas. Take a look at the shipping schedules of some of the top cooking equipment sites. Of course, if you miss the deadline, most sites will allow you to order a gift certificate and deliver it via email, right up until Christmas Day!

A bill just introduced in Congress would help cash-strapped school districts prepare and serve the healthier school meals required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in January 2011.

Since the adoption of the USDA’s updated nutrition regulations for school meals, many schools found they lacked the money needed to upgrade their cafeteria equipment and train their staff to meet the new requirement. To their possible rescue, comes U.S. Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa), whose bipartisan School Food Modernization Act would help schools replace their outdated cooking equipment and train their cafeteria staff on how to prepare meals on the USDA’s new menu, and do all that at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Part of Rep. Latham’s School Food Modernization Act (H.R. 6481), would create a competitive grant program within the USDA offering up to $10 million a year in grants to help schools obtain training and technical assistance for their cafeteria employees.

In addition, the bill would create a program under which the USDA would back low-interest loans from banks and other financial institutions to help schools purchase major equipment or make other improvements to their cafeteria facilities. According to Rep. Latham, the USDA’s experience in managing similar loan programs for farmers and ranchers would allow it to run the School Food Modernization Act’s loan program at “no cost” to taxpayers.

Also See: The US Food Safety System

“The health and safety of America’s school kids should be a vital concern for all of us,” Congressman Latham told the House. “Parents should be able to send their children to school without worrying that outdated and substandard conditions and practices could threaten their kid’s health.”

“Many school kitchens were built decades ago to simply re-heat and hold foods. As a result, many cafeteria workers don’t have the training or tools required to bake, grill and roast healthier meals,” said Jessica Donze Black, project director for the Pew Health Group’s School Foods Project in a press release. “In fact, a recent survey of school food service providers found that nearly half still rely on deep-fat fryers, and that the biggest challenge in preparing healthy meals is recruiting workers who have the necessary cooking skills.”

The School Lunch Program: Established in 1946, the USDA’s National School Lunch Program provides low-cost or free lunches and snacks to nearly 32 million children each school day in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions nationwide. In fiscal year 2011, Congress authorized $11.1 billion for funding the National School Lunch Program.

Also See:
USDA Requires Healthy Recipes for School Meals
USDA Makes ‘Pink Slime’ Optional in School Meals
Could New USDA Meat Labels Hurt Consumers?

The temperature is cooling off – bring on the apple pies, slow cooker stews, chili simmering on the stove, roast turkey and all the other favorite recipes of fall! To make sure you’re ready, take a look at the Essential Cooking Equipment for Autumn. With these tools, you’ll be ready for the season!

Image courtesy PriceGrabber.

Part of the art of getting adept with your cooking equipment is knowing how to use your pieces efficiently so that you don’t end up with a kitchen full of dirty dishes by the end of the evening. One solution: an easy, one-pan dinner like Individual Turkey Meatloaves with Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts. This dinner cooks for the same amount of time, on the same baking sheet, so there’s only one cooking dish and a couple of bowls to wash afterwards (and I’m partial to recipes like this with a long cooking time, so that I can do most of my kitchen cleanup before dinner’s even on the table!). Try this recipe this week – you’ll love how easy, convenient and satisfying it is!

I’ve recently discovered a company called Lékué, a Spanish company that specializes in really well-designed, colorful and fun cooking equipment. Most of its line comprises silicone baking pans, but it offers other products that really capitalize on the qualities of silicone, such as innovative steamers, a cool citrus press, and a mesh bag that can be used for boiling foods. Take a look at my product spotlight on Lékué to learn more about this cool company and its innovative products.

Want a single piece of cooking equipment that can help you become a better cook? Invest in an instant-read thermometer and start using it when you’re cooking fish, poultry, beef and other meats. Not only will the food you cook be safer, because you’ll be able to check that it’s cooked to the temperature recommended by the FDA, but it’ll likely taste better because you’ll be able to better avoid overcooking it. Candy and deep-fry thermometers, meanwhile, are a must if you make boiled candies or if you deep-fry foods, to ensure that the proper temperatures are being reached so you’ll get the best results. Read about cooking thermometers to learn about how to choose and use the best cooking thermometers.

As summer winds down, it’s a good time to stock up on summer-season cooking equipment. Sur La Table already has marked down prices on cooking equipment like grilling tools, and other kitchenware retailers are sure to follow suit soon. Make sure you have all of the Summer Cooking Must-Have Kitchen Tools to prepare all the summertime treats, from fresh corn to ice pops to sliced watermelon. There’s no better way to make the most of the last few days of summer than by getting your fill of all your favorite hot-weather flavors.