Victoria Brittain

Washington

Writer at 12 Tomatoes

Articles

Volkswagen Reimagines and Remakes Its Iconic “Hippy Van”

4 days ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

You know a car hits it big when it can be recognized by its silhouette. This is definitely true for cars like the Chevy Belair and the Ford Mustang, but it is also true of an unassuming underpowered bus made by Volkswagen in the mid-20th century. While it was in production in the 1950s, it hit waves literally in the US in the hippie and surfer communities, used as transporters or even makeshift mobile homes.
For Perfectly Golden And Flavorful Chicken Do This

4 days ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

Fried chicken. It’s one of the most comforting of comfort foods in not just Southern cuisine but in the broader American culinary landscape. Yet making fried chicken always feels daunting. Cooking the chicken to the right temperature is always a balancing act. Even if the outer skin has crisped up, the interior could still be raw. That is resolved here with this trick. Well, it’s not a new trick or hack, as this cooking and frying process is common in West African and some Caribbean cuisines.
Overcooked Rice? Just Add This!

2 weeks ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

Cooking rice can be finicky. Even if we portion out the right ratio of rice to liquid, it can still become a wet and gloppy mess. A quick trick can salvage overcooked wet rice, and its solution is as easy as sliced bread. Literally, a slice or two of bread is the answer to overcooked rice. TikTok user itzaliciaaa showed off one of the social media platform’s gems, a kitchen hack must. Depending on the volume of rice being made, you may need two slices of bread.
How To Reheat A Whole Rotisserie Chicken

2 weeks ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

Rotisserie chickens are a kitchen trick in and of themselves. A fully cooked whole chicken without the hassle. When these fully-roasted chickens are slashed in price for a quick sale, it’d be easy to fall for the impulse buy. The problem is that the next day, reheating an entire chicken can be a hassle. Yes, you can break down the chicken and reheat parts piece-by-piece, but reheating the chicken still on the bone leads to better reheating and an even interior temperature.
An Untraditional Way To Cut Onions Into The Perfect Size For Tex-Mex Recipes

2 weeks ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

Onions are a finicky thing. If cooked in a soup, stew, or sauce, uniformity isn’t a requirement, as the cooking process wilts and dissolves the onions’ cell walls to a degree. Yet in things like salsas, salads, and guacamole, large, uneven chunks are immediately noticed. When eating these sorts of dishes, the last thing we want to bite down on is a giant, overpowering wedge of raw onion. While there’s always the traditional way to cut onions, there’s another way to get a nice even dice as well.
Woman Thrifted A Renoir Drawing Worth A Million For Only $12

3 weeks ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

When we go antiquing nowadays, it’s hard to really get those bargains like we did in the past. But that’s not the case with Pennsylvania native Heidi Markow, who snagged a painting by the famous impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Even if you don’t know the exact details of an item, sometimes you can tell something has value, and that’s just what Markow thought. Owning an antique business herself, Markow spotted the painting at an auction in Montgomery County.
Removing An Avocado Pit Without A Knife

1 month ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

From game day dips to garnishing the tops of hamburgers, salads, and even soups, avocados have nestled their way into our kitchens becoming that oddly savory and a hundred percent satisfying fruit (yes it’s a fruit). Despite avocado’s various appearances in our recipes, it’s safe to say that prepping an avocado is more frustrating than we want to admit. It’d either rock hard or complete mush and removing the pit becomes a disaster-fest, that is until now.
It’s Fish Doorbell Season

1 month ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

Starting in early March and lasting until May, is known not just as springtime, but also known as fish doorbell season. And while you may be thinking of how a fish can be near a doorbell, let alone press one, it’s a bit different from the initial mental visualization. In the Netherlands city of Utrecht is a manually operated lock called the Weerdsluis. This lock is used by a number of fish to get from point A to point B as well a place for the fish to spawn and reproduce.
Cabot Creamery Salted Butter Recalled For Contamination

1 month ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

Butter is one of those staples we can’t substitute. Alongside milk and a loaf of bread, it’s one of those essentials that has a tenured place in the refrigerator. However, a recent recall is affecting one of the major brands of butter. Cabot Creamery issued a recall to pull their 8-ounce premium sea salt butter. The butter comes in two individually wrapped 4-ounce sticks. According to the company Agri-Mark Inc., testing of the butter revealed high levels of coliform, bacteria found in fecal matter.
Jo-Ann’s A Mainstay Fabric Retailer Is Closing All Of It’s Stores And Here’s A Big Reason Why

1 month ago | 12tomatoes.com | Victoria Brittain

One of the major, if not only, fabric supply chains in the US, Jo-Ann’s, is closing all eight hundred of its stores. While we may think that the closing of this crafting store is inevitable, with more and more merchandise being sold online, the story of shifting interests wasn’t the demise of this business. In fact, its closure has a common denominator with a lot of closed businesses — private equity firms.