Soggy veggies? Undercooked meat? Make the perfect stir-fry every time with these tips from Chef Devan Rajkumar!

• Start with a wok pan. Make sure it is steaming hot before you put your ingredients in.
• Be organized! Have all of your vegetables cut beforehand, and separate them on the counter according to which ones will take longer to cook.
• Use vegetable oil or any oil with a high smoke point. Extra virgin olive oil will burn at a high heat.
• Add the ingredients that will take longer to cook first, such as lemongrass, beans, shredded carrots, and broccoli.
• If you're using a lot of different ingredients that need different cooking times, it's sometimes easier to cook your ingredients in batches. Chef Devan recommends cooking your protein first, separate from your veggies.
• When cutting round ingredients like mango, cut a slice off so you have a flat surface. Having a flat surface when cutting your fruits and vegetables makes things much easier.
• Always add in finishing ingredients such as green onions and bean sprouts at the very end.

For more delicious stir-fry tips, watch Devan's video below: [embed]bcid:4100797053001[/embed]

When it comes to buying new pots and pans, buy quality, not quantity! Mairlyn Smith shares some basic lessons when shopping for new cookware. What to look for in a good set:

• Choose something that is heavy, because it has to conduct heat very well. When you're shopping, pick up a pan and really get a feel for the weight!
• Don't buy an entire set -- buy each piece separately! These are investment pieces, so look at where you are in your life and how many people you are usually cooking for.

Types of pots and pans: Cast iron: Cast iron pieces are a great investment and will last very long. Non-stick: You have to take care of non-stick pans really well, or else you will ruin them and destroy the finish. When you use them, wash them in warm soapy water first, then season them by applying your cooking oil on a paper towel and rubbing it into the pan. Non-stick pans are supposed to help you use less fat, so instead of adding oil into the pan, you will season the pan and cook your food like this. Treat your non-stick pan well: never heat it above medium, and make sure you use the proper utensils made of wooden, silicone or plastic. Dutch oven: A great investment, that will last you a lifetime! Wash it with baking soda, and don't use scrubbers! For more great tips on pots & pans from Mairlyn, watch her clip below: [embed]bcid:4097438375001[/embed]  

Ever been in this situation? You're about to start cooking dinner -- you gather all of your ingredients, you begin working on the recipe, everything is going great until you try to turn your stove on, and it won't heat up. Appliances can be costly to replace, but sometimes repairing them can make nearly as big a dent in your bank account. What to do? If you aren't sure whether to repair or replace that broken-down oven or washing machine, Bruce Sellery shares some helpful tips. There are two major things to consider when making this decision: 1. Time: You should consider how long you've had the appliance for. The benchmark is four years -- older than that, and you'll want to give serious thought to replacing rather than repairing. 2. Cost: If the repair cost (including parts and labour) is going to be more than 50% of the value of your appliance, scrap it. Bruce's tips on buying an appliance:

• Go for "good enough." If you're in the market for a new stove, but you're not a huge home cook, do you really need that top-of-the-line range with all the bells and whistles? Probably not.
• Consider a floor model for appliances that do not play a significant role in the aesthetic of your home. For example, you may want to spend more on a (highly-visible) stove, however, an appliance such as a washer or dryer will most likely be behind a closet or in the basement, so a floor model would be appropriate.
• Pay more for items you will use daily; this saves time. If you're a coffee drinker, spend a bit more for a good name-brand appliance that will last you years (rather than a bargain brand that could break down within months).
• New appliances tend to be more high-tech, with intricate features that can be harder to repair. Look for items that cover the basic functions, and be wary of brands with complicated features that might break.
• Are you a confident DIYer? Try watching DIY repair videos before calling a professional -- perhaps the problem is one you can troubleshoot yourself.

When to buy appliances, if you have the luxury of time:

• September and October are the best months -- new models are released around this time, which means older models will likely be on sale.
• Holiday weekends -- these are usually when retailers put sales on.
• If you shop online, you can get deals at all different times of the year.
• When you go into stores, many sales people have maneuvering room. Don't be afraid to haggle and ask for discounts.
• Shopping on weekdays is a plus because employees have more time to help you.
• Shop toward the end of the month -- retailers want to meet their quota at this time, so you are more likely to get a discount if you ask for one.

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We’ve all done it. If a recipe calls for an ingredient we don't have at home, we tend to substitute it with a different one that we have on hand. This may work in some cases, however Mairlyn Smith says you should not do this when it comes to flour. Here's a breakdown on some of the different types of flour and related ingredients: Gluten: Gluten is the protein in flour. When you stir your ingredients, the protein makes long strings and once you add your leavener, the bubbles catch it causing it to expand. If you do not have enough gluten, your end result will be flat. Cake and pastry flour: Cake and pastry flour has less gluten than all-purpose flour. This flour is much finer and should be used for delicate recipes. Be sure to use this flour appropriately, and never use it for muffins or bread. Whole wheat flour: Whole wheat flour is all-purpose flour with bran put back into it, however, you are still not getting a whole grain, you are only getting some fibre. To get the whole grain, you can buy stone-milled whole wheat flour -- but this is easier to find in grocery stores in Western Canada. Wheat germ: To get all the benefits of a whole grain, Mairlyn likes to add wheat germ to her whole wheat flour. For every cup of whole wheat flour, Mairlyn adds a tablespoon of wheat germ. Wheat germ adds the nutrients such as Vitamin E back into the flour, however you do not want to include too much into it because it is added fat. Whole spelt flour: Whole spelt flour contains the whole grain and is similar to all-purpose flour although it does contain less gluten (but is not gluten-free). Self-raising cake and pastry flour: This flour already contains baking powder and salt, so if a recipe calls for this type of flour, be sure not to swap in all-purpose flour! You'll end up with a flat, salt-less pancake otherwise! Nutri-flour blend: With added flaxseed ground into it, this flour blend is healthier than traditional all-purpose flour. The flaxseed does make the flour denser, however, so be aware of this before you use it. Leavening agents: Baking soda: This is used to neutralize an acidic ingredient in your recipe such as yogurt or honey. Yeast: It is important to get the correct kind of yeast for your recipe. Also, do not add hot water into it or else it will kill it, not allowing it to rise. [embed]bcid:4005489222001[/embed] Courtesy Mairlyn Smith www.mairlynsmith.com @mairlynsmith

Is it possible to add too much sugar into your chocolate cake, even though you followed the recipe? Although we won’t complain if it happens, it might end up ruining your dessert! Mairlyn Smith teaches us how to measure dry and liquid ingredients correctly. How to measure dry ingredients: When measuring flour, do not scoop the cup into your bowl, instead spoon the flour in. Overfill the measuring cup with the flour, then take a straight edge and level it. Make sure you do not shake the measuring cup while filling it, because then you'll overpack the ingredient. Follow the same steps for other dry ingredients, but an exception to this rule is brown sugar. The correct way to measure brown sugar is to pat down the sugar as you go along. How to measure liquid ingredients: To measure liquid ingredients, pour it into your liquid measuring cup and eyeball it. To measure correctly be sure to do it at eye-level -- this will ensure you have an accurate or close-to-perfect measurement. Measuring scale: According to Mairlyn, chefs and U.K. residents are more likely to measure ingredients on a kitchen scale. If you have one at home be sure to use it when measuring your dry ingredients because it's a much more definitive way to measure! Herbs and spices: Herbs and spices are a great way to add flavour into your recipe. A herb is a green plant and the leaves are used either dry or fresh. Fresh herbs are added at the end of a recipe, while dry herbs are added at the beginning. A spice is a root, bark or seed that has been dried. Use measuring spoons to get an accurate amount of spice in your recipe. You want to scoop the spice into a measuring spoon and level it off. Tips: Be sure to know whether the ingredient you are using is a dry or liquid. You can always look online if you are unsure. Below are some ingredients and the category they fall under -- some of them may surprise you! Yogurt: Dry ingredient Liquid honey:  Liquid ingredient Dry creamed honey: Liquid ingredient [embed]bcid:4005465833001[/embed] Courtesy Mairlyn Smith www.mairlynsmith.com @mairlynsmith