Several weeks ago when I posted a question for my Ask The Readers feature about homemade vs boxed pudding mixes, I received many comments and emails from readers who said that they did not know how to make homemade pudding.

Several of you even said that you did not know that you could make homemade pudding, because you had only had the boxed kind.

I love homemade pudding and have been making it for years, and after receiving so many emails and comments, I knew that I wanted to help you learn how. It is so easy and so much better than those boxes you buy at the store.

Homemade pudding is a classic dessert. It is quick and easy to make and contains everyday ingredients that we all have in our kitchens.

I took a break from my Cooking Basics series over the last few months, but I have been wanting to start that series up again, and homemade pudding is a great place to start. It is a basic recipe that is very simple to make.

Today, I am showing you how to make a basic homemade vanilla pudding, but homemade puddings all use the same basic technique. Once you have the basic vanilla pudding down, you can easily make homemade chocolate pudding, homemade lemon pudding,  homemade butterscotch, and many more.

I decided that the best way to show you how to make pudding would be to do a video. It is a bit long, but I tried to share several tips and ideas with you as I make it. I hope it inspires those of you that have never made homemade pudding to give it a try. It really is easy.

In the video I give the recipe, except I forgot to tell you how many eggs you need, but I have posted the complete recipe for those of you that would like a printable version.

If you are interested in learning about my homemade vanilla I did a post on it last year.

What tips do you have for making homemade pudding?

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How To Make Homemade Pudding is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

This time of year many of us will be spending extra time in the kitchen baking for the holidays.

I don’t know about you, but when I spend my time and money on making special baked goods, I want to get the best results possible. And part of getting the best results is using the correct ingredients for the job.

So, today I want to talk about cocoa and using the right one for the right recipe.

Have you ever wondered what the difference between regular cocoa and dutch processed cocoa is? Or if you could substitute one for the other?

The answer is yes, there is a difference, and no you can not use one in place of the other.

Baking cocoa and dutch processed cocoa are processed differently, but for the purpose of baking the main difference is the pH.

Yes, here I go with the science of baking again, but stay with me because in this case it is really important. The science behind cocoa really does make a difference.

Dutch processed cocoa has a pH of around 7. Regular cocoa has a pH of 5-5.9. That is a big difference when it comes to baking.

The difference in the pH is the reason why you usually find dutch processed cocoa in recipes that are less acidic and that usually contain baking powder.

If you try to substitute one cocoa for the other it will give you different results. It will change the color, the texture, and the cooking time of the recipe.

If you want the best results in your recipes that call for cocoa follow the directions and use the best one for the job.

What are your thoughts on dutch processed cocoa vs regular cocoa? Do you avoid recipes that call for dutch processed cocoa?

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What Is The Difference Between Cocoa and Dutch Processed Cocoa? is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Many times recipes can seem overwhelming and difficult when they are not difficult at all. Once you know a few techniques and cooking terms cooking becomes much easier.

One cooking term that often scares people away from recipes is when it calls for you to braise the meat. Braising meat is not difficult and is actually something most of you are doing and may not realize it.

Braising is simply the process of browning meat in a fat, like oil, and then cooking it slowly in liquid for a long period of time. You usually braise roasts and other less tender cuts of meat.

Instead of using the term braise most modern recipes tell you to brown the meat, add the liquid, and then give the cooking direction, but in many older recipes you will find the term braising in the directions.

How many of you have been braising meat and did not even know it?

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How To Braise Meat is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Cooking pasta is a very basic cooking skill.

In fact it is probably one of the first things that many of us learned to cook, but it is something that many people do not cook right.

There is one simple thing that you can do that will vastly improve the results of your pasta.

Any guess what that one thing is?

No, it is not adding butter or oil to the water.

Many of us have done that. You probably grew up watching your mother or grandmother add a little butter or oil to the pot of water in order to keep to the noodles from sticking. I know my mom always did that. That is not the trick. In fact oil or butter in the water is not needed at all. I think it makes the noodles oily and the sauce less likely to stick to the noodles.

The most important thing to remember when cooking pasta is to use enough water. In fact, lots of water. Have you ever noticed that chefs on TV cook pasta in really large stock pots?  Large pots hold lots of water and pasta needs a lot of water.

For 1 pound of pasta you should use a minimum of  4 quarts (16 cups) of water. I like to use closer to 5 or 6 quarts of water. For less than 1 pound of pasta you should use a minimum of 3 quarts (12 cups) of water.

I know some of you are thinking wow that is a lot of water or that is way too much water for that amount of pasta, but really you should give it a try. Having the correct amount of water to pasta ratio allows the pasta to cook more evenly and the pasta is less likely to stick together.

So next time you are having pasta for dinner, grab your largest pot, fill it with water, bring the water to a boil, add the pasta and a little salt, and stir occasionally. Perfect pasta every time.

What are your thoughts on how much water to use when cooking pasta?

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Kitchen Basics: How To Cook Pasta is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I love to bake cakes and I have made many of them over the years.

In the directions for most cakes, it calls for you to oil and flour the cake pan. The main reason for this is to help the cake release from the pan. This works great and I recommend that you do this step. It will keep your cakes looking great.

However, have you ever made a chocolate cake and had it covered in white flour after it was baked? This really doesn’t hurt the cake, but it does not look very pretty to have the contrast of the white flour on a dark cake.

You can easily fix this though by using cocoa to coat the pan.

You do the same basic thing. You simply oil the pan, then just sprinkle in a little baking cocoa, and shake it around. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake.

You will no longer have flour coating a chocolate cake.

Is this tip new to any of you? How many of you have been doing this for years?

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Cooking Basics:Coating A Cake Pan With Cocoa is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I have found that many people find baking to be intimidating. Even those that love to cook, often stay away from making baked goods like cakes, cookies, and breads.

Baking really is not hard, but baking is more of a science. There are reasons that things are done in baking.

I love to bake. In fact, I prefer to make bread or desserts over a main dish any day, but I know many of you do not like to bake, or are afraid to try to bake.

I have received many emails, comments, and questions about the how to’s and why’s of baking.  Because of this I decided to do several vlogs on tips to help you be successful when baking.

Today is part one.

I would love to hear your ideas on what you would like me to cover in this cooking basics series. Leave me a comment if you have suggestions.

If you are reading this in a reader or by email and can not see the vlog click here.

This post linked to Tutorial Tuesday.

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Cooking Basics: Tips for Successful Baking is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I know that many of you know how to cook, but I also know many of you are new to cooking. I hope this series on Cooking Basics is something that all of you will enjoy.

My goal is to show those of you that are new to cooking, that it is really not that hard. I am hoping that these tips will help you try new things that you have been afraid to try, or that you have not known how to do.

For those of you that are more experienced cooks, I hope you might learn a new tip, or a new way to do something, along the way. I also encourage you to leave comments with tips that you use for similar things. I love hearing your ideas, so please feel free to leave them.

Today, I have another vlog for you. This vlog shows how I separate eggs. I know there are many ways to separate eggs, but this is the way that I have found to be easiest.

How do you separate eggs?

If you are reading this by RSS feed or email and cannot see the video click here.

This post linked to Tutorial Tuesday.

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How To Separate An Egg is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I mentioned earlier this year that I was planning on doing a series on kitchen terms and definitions. Well, I decided to call the series Cooking Basics. This way I can cover basics terms and definitions, but also some basic cooking how to’s.

Today I thought I would start with cooking dried beans.

Whenever I write about cooking dried beans I receive several emails and comments from people who have never cooked them. Because of this, I thought it would be a perfect place to start with my Cooking Basics Series. I also decided this would be a perfect subject to do a vlog on.

I grew up eating mainly dried beans. I don’t remember my mom buying many canned beans. The only canned beans I remember eating very often were refried beans, and that was mainly when we had tacos or other Mexican type foods. Dried beans were much cheaper to buy, so that is what we always ate.

Canned beans are so convenient that most people don’t bother with dried beans anymore. However, I prefer dried beans. Not only are they cheaper, but they do not contain the high amount of salt that most canned beans do.

I hope this vlog on cooking dried beans, will help show some of you that have never tried cooking them, how easy it really is.

One thing I will say is that the cooking times can really vary depending on your crockpot. The times do not have to be exact as long as your beans get done.

One other thing that I did not mention in the vlog is that beans that are really old can take a lot longer to cook or often do not soften at all. So, if you have had a package of beans in your cupboard for years keep that in mind.

And if you have ideas for more subjects for me to vlog on, leave me a comment. I love hearing what you would like to see.

Since posting this video I have done some research on cooking dried red beans. It seems like dried red beans need to come to a boil and need cooked for a certain amount of time. I have never had trouble with cooking dried beans in the crockpot, but if you are going to try cooking dried red beans you might want to do some research on it. I will keep you updated as I research it more.

If you are reading this in a reader or by email and cannot see the vlog click here to view it.

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Cooking Dried Beans In the Crockpot is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.