Stuff I've Learned from Television

[akirlu]

I watch too much television lately. I knew this would be the problem if we ever got cable, and I was so right. What's interesting to me is that there is a new reason why I'm so fascinated with the magic box: learning stuff. For all sorts of practical pursuits, watching a task-competent person do it and explain it is an excellent way for me to learn, and therein lies the fascination with all the HGTV and Food Network and Discovery programs I spend too much time on. Luckily, there are some practical benefits.

Stuff I learned from Alton Brown:

Chlorine in tap water kills yeast. If you're making bread with tap water, filter it first.

A box grater is absolutely magic for making cold butter into small enough bits for mixing easily into flour.

Pop-bottom fluted tart pans are da bomb for making fruit pies that are easy to cut cleanly.

A large, inverted terra cotta planter saucer works just as well as a custom pizza/bread stone, without the custom price tag.

Stuff I learned from Rachel Ray:

If you're cutting up a whole bunch of grape or other small tomatoes, you can cut them all with a single slice if you trap them between two plastic deli lids and simply make the slice between the two lids. Magic!

Stuff I learned from HGTV:

Rosin paper is a much easier way to tarp hardwood floors for painting than actual tarps.

If you're painting furniture, prime with gesso.

Acrylic medium or shellac painted over the edge of your painter's tape and allowed to dry will keep your taped edges sharp and prevent paint bleeding under.

It's all good, in other words, but every time I use one of my new tricks to good effect, it just feeds the compulsion to keep watching television, lest I miss learning something important.