RealSimplifier

Things Cooks Know

STRATEGIES, TECHNIQUES, AND TIPS ON SPRINGTIME COOKING & CLEANING — FROM THE REAL SIMPLE TEST KITCHEN TO YOURS

By Grace Elkus

Clean,Then Cook

Empty your fridge, freezer, and pantry. Toss anything moldy or freezer-burned. Start cooking with nearly empty packaged goods and perishable items on their last legs. A few ideas:

PANTRY-PURGE PUPPY CHOW: Place 8 cups rice cereal or corn cereal in a large bowl. Melt 1 cups chocolate chips with cup nut butter and 1 Tbsp. butter. Pour over cereal and toss to coat. Add powdered sugar, toss, and let cool. Mix with nuts, pretzels, and mini marshmallows.

FRIDGE-CLEAN QUESADILLA: Top a flour tortilla with cheese, leftover cooked veggies, lastday lunch meat, and the like. Cover with a second tortilla. Cook in oil in a large skillet, flipping once, until golden and crispy on both sides. Serve with sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, or other condiments.

FREEZER-FINDS SHRIMP STIR-FRY: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add frozen shrimp; cook until opaque, then remove. Add ginger, garlic, and frozen veggies to skillet; cook until tender. Add shrimp and soy sauce; toss. Serve over rice with sriracha. How to Deep-Clean Your Dish Towels

Towels, like sponges, often harbor microorganisms. To avoid cross-contamination and help keep bacteria at bay, reserve one towel for wiping the counter and one for drying your hands—and wash your hands often. Dry towels completely between uses. Wash towels every two or three days in hot water and avoid fabric softener, which reduces absorbency. Soak extra-stinky towels in equal parts distilled white vinegar and water before washing. The Best Tools for Spring Veggies

Y-SHAPED PEELER Great for peeling asparagus stems and broccoli stalks, transforming carrots into ribbons, shaving hunks of Parmesan, and creating strips of lemon zest for cocktails or garnishes.

FINE-MESH STRAINER Briefly cook peas, fava beans, and snap peas in boiling salted water, then transfer to a fine-mesh strainer set inside a bowl of ice water. You’ll lift out the blanched veggies with ease (no fishing them out from the cold water). You can also use the strainer to wash uncooked grains: A rinse can help prevent quinoa from tasting bitter and remove residue from grains like farro.

SALAD SPINNER This is the most effective tool for washing and drying spring greens, herbs, and sandy leeks. Dressing clings better to drier leaves.

For more ways to use up bits and pieces, go to realsimple.com/partymixes.

Real Simplifier

EditYour Photos Like an Expert

FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHY PROS FOR THE EASIEST, PRETTIEST WAYS TO FINE-TUNE YOUR SMARTPHONE SNAP.

By Yolanda Wikiel

1

CROP SKILLFULLY Eliminate anything that doesn’t help tell the story, says Tyson Wheatley, a New York City–based photographer with 623,000 followers on Instagram (@twheat). For the most graphic effect, crop the photo so your subject is in the center. Or, if there’s a lot happening in the image, try the photography rule of thirds, suggests Pei Ketron, a San Francisco–based travel photographer with 802,000 followers on Instagram (@pketron): Mentally divide an image into thirds and put your subject at the imaginary line between two of those parts. Let’s say you photographed the sun setting above the ocean. Crop the photo so the horizon line is along the top edge of the bottom third, leaving the sky to fill the top two-thirds. 2

STRAIGHTEN IT It’s the quintessential vacation shot: the fruity cocktail against a stunning vista. But if you’re worried the drink looks tippy, like it’s on the high seas, you’re probably right. “Crooked photos are incredibly common because people tend to quickly photograph one-handed,” says Wheatley. Luckily, most editing apps come with a straightener grid, which pops up to ensure that the elements in the image are in line. Just focus on the parts that should look level (the horizon, a tabletop) or vertical (a skyscraper, a tree). “It takes seconds to do and makes any photo instantly polished,” says Wheatley. 3

ADD A FILTER Looking for big punch with minimal effort? Try adding a filter with the edit tool on your smartphone or with an app like A Color Story (free; iOS and Android), says Wendy Granger, Real Simple.com’s photo editor. “The app can do a lot of things,” she says. “It’s easy to use, and the filters enhance your photo and make it a little softer or brighter.” To pick a filter, think about the effect you want your photo to have, says Granger. Often the filter’s name is a good guide. “In A Color Story, I use the Everyday filter to lightly boost a photo and the Pop filter when I want extra oomph,” she says. “The iPhone’s Dramatic filter is also great for adding depth to a flat shot.” 4

ENHANCE SUBTLY There are a ton of tools and effects available, but for everyday images, you really only need a couple. Using an app like A Color Story, pump up the contrast to lighten the lights and darken the darks, then sharpen the photo a touch. “Don’t overdo it— every adjustment should be slight,” says Wheatley. To add drama, you can play with brightness, color, and highlights. Just skip saturation or HDR adjustments, which tend to make photos look unnatural. “Compare the original image with the edited version while you’re making changes,” says Ketron. “You’ll quickly realize if the photo looks unrealistic, so you can scale back.” 5

PERFECT THE IMPERFECTIONS There may be times when you have to do more heavy lifting—to remove something marring the shot, say (like the shadow we erased from the photo above). Try an app called TouchRetouch ($2; iOS and Android). “It’s a powerful tool that can magically cut out an object you don’t want while, in most cases, keeping the background intact,” says Ketron. The app also includes a blemish remover for those extreme closeups. Hoping to salvage a shot with red-eye? Download Adobe Photoshop Express (free; iOS and Android), import the photo, and simply hit the red-eye removal button.