Photo: Natasha Breen (Shutterstock)

Seasoning popcorn with dry spices is easy – you just shake it up. But there are many flavors that live outside of this range. These flavors come in the form of sauces, and some of them are pretty good for popcorn as well.

However, if you drip, drip, or otherwise pour liquid flavorings directly onto a large bowl of fresh and fluffy popcorn, it turns into a large bowl of unevenly flavored, moist popcorn, which is not what you want. To evenly and effectively distribute the delicious flavor of your choice, you need to whisk it with butter first.

By emulsifying your sauce with butter (or a vegan butter substitute) you can spread it all over the bowl without accidentally creating wet spots. We have used this technique to make it before Soy sauce butter and Fish sauce butter, but it works with pretty much any sauce or liquid flavoring. Hot sauce is a good one – there are so many hot sauces to try! – but my new favorite is maple syrup, which reads like a sweet and salty kettle corn with little effort (obviously without the kettle corn texture).

To soak in your popcorn, melt two tablespoons of butter or butter substitute in a small pan over medium heat, or microwave cut in 5-second bursts and stir in between until completely melted. Add a teaspoon of the sauce of your choice to the butter and beat in with a fork. (You can scale if needed depending on how much popcorn you’re making.) Try by dipping a piece of popcorn in your mix and adding more sauce if needed. Make sure that you whisk a homogeneous mixture with the popcorn each time you add butter. Drizzle your popcorn and toss it to coat. Then determine which sauce and butter combination you want to try next. Highly recommend the fish sauce, soy sauce, maple syrup, and hot sauce mentioned above, but heap up your spice supply and get creative. You can also combine sauces – maple butter with hot sauce sounds pretty exquisite in my not-so-humble opinion.

Photo: Pheelings media (Shutterstock)

Most importantly, know your allergies, especially the worst. If you have not already done so, make an appointment with an allergist as they can help you pinpoint the causes of your allergies and come up with a plan for treating those allergies. A diet to eliminate food can also help you narrow down what is making you sick.

Use to watch out for possible allergies while feeding a baby the 4-day waiting period rule (Only introduce one new ingredient for four days) and keep a journal so that you can locate allergy triggers, whether it is food or something in the environment.

Get retested by an allergist if your symptoms are really bothering you. Medications may not be required (they may just recommend them A neti pot for seasonal allergies), but a doctor can help you live much, much better lives.

This story was originally published in February 2016 and was updated as a slideshow with new photos and information on May 3, 2021.

Fake meat has come a long way in the past few years – unless you don’t want a vegan burger that “tastes like beef”. In this case, basically nothing has changed. It’s a shame because good veggie burgers kick ass. In terms of taste, they’re more interesting and versatile than ground beef (real or vegetable) and dirt cheap to make. Where’s the vegetable-based burger renaissance we deserve?

I think until they get a little sexy regular old veggie burger connoisseurs have to make our own. The only problem is that My favorite recipe may be a confirmed blast, but it’s kind of an obligation. Sometimes I don’t have time to soak beans overnight and spend an hour making a paste of vegetables – but I’m always ready to mash a black bean burger, so I made a version that is faster, easier, and more is just as delicious.

This recipe uses ingredients that normal people keep in their homes. No chopping or chopping is required – the most important step is drying the beans in a pan to ward off mushiness. Your food processor will take care of the rest. Best of all, these burgers are ready in about 30 minutes, which I verified by testing on a dangerously empty stomach.

You’ll take a look at these instructions and think I’ve lost them for good, but trust the process. Powdering canned oats, nuts, mayo, chili peppers, and bean juice is a kind of mortar for the burgers, so they stick together surprisingly well without eggs or other binders. Oh, and they absolutely clap: hearty, a bit spicy on the outside, crispy on the outside and almost creamy on the inside – everything you would expect from a burger with black beans.

Quick and easy black bean burgers

This recipe should make 4 thin but firm patties. Feel free to make some sensible substitutions: if you don’t have mayo, sour cream or ranch dressing will work great. A couple of large dried chilies, soaked and peeledcan easily stand for the cans. And of course, you should add or remove spices to your liking.

• 1/2 cup rolled or quick simmering oats
• 1/2 cup nuts of any kind, roasted or raw (I used roasted walnuts)
• 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
• 1 4-ounce can of roasted green chillies or 1 chipotle in adobo, drained
• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, homemade or from a 15-ounce can
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce of your choice or more as desired (my favorite is El Yucateco Black Label)
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of Adobo spice or garlic salt and more to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed
• Vegetable or olive oil for cooking
• Rolls and condiments of your choice to serve

Place the oats, nuts, mayonnaise, and drained chilies in the bowl of a food processor. Add about 2 tablespoons of liquid from the beans. Pulse until you have a coarse paste and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Let this mixture sit while you prepare the beans.

Drain the beans thoroughly and spread them in a large pan with a non-stick coating or well seasoned cast iron. Cook over medium to high heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until completely dried out and starting to split. Try one for seasoning and adjust as needed – canned beans usually need at least a little salt.

Scrape the hot beans into the food processor, add everything else but water, and process until you get a relatively smooth paste. Take a sneak peek and adjust the seasonings as needed. If it holds together when pinched, you’re ready. If it’s a dry, crumbly mess, toss in a tablespoon of water and process to combine. Wet your hands generously and shape the burger mixture into 4 patties. (A little extra surface moisture prevents cracks and crumbs.)

Wipe the bean pan and heat it with a thin layer of vegetable or olive oil on medium heat. Add as many patties as you can and let them cook until the top is dry and firm to the touch. This takes at least 4-5 minutes for thin patties and 6-8 minutes for thick ones. They will fall apart if you turn them over too soon, so don’t touch them! Use the downtime to toast buns, slice onions and tomatoes, and get your other condiments ready.

Turn the burgers over and cook until the underside is brown, another 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness. Serve on toasted buns with your favorite toppings. If you have any leftover burger mixture, shape it into patties and freeze them on a parchment-lined sheet pan so they’re ready for your next bean burger craving.

Ever had a colleague you wanted to move from the boardroom to the bedroom? Of course you have. Office novels are the juiciest forbidden tropes: you want to sleep with your coworker even more because you know you shouldn’t.

Your grandparents may have met at work and caused absolutely no problems, but things are different in the #MeToo era. Meeting up with a colleague can be awkward at best and catastrophic at worst. Plus, your company doesn’t want to solve any legal issues related to power imbalances, so you already know that your hiring officer may be less than thrilled that you even googled how to get away with it. (Hope you don’t use your work computer! You know they can monitor this, right?)

And yet, like so many office workers before you, you can persist. With that in mind, read on to learn the best way to meet up with a coworker … if you have to.

Find out if they want you back

The first step here may seem obvious, but we all know from reporting over the past few years that there is a huge difference between two equals in a company that merges and a powerful person who writes their status over an inferior to get some satisfaction. Never be that person. If you are able to have power over your working crush, don’t go after them. Don’t waste your time. It’s unethical and it’s gross. It can also sue you or cost you your job.

Conversely, if someone in a position of power over you is chasing you, don’t be afraid to let the human resources department know, especially if you are conflicted or feeling nervous, their interest could somehow affect your job. (If you actually want to try to get yourself to the top of your industry we may follow this article up in the future, but right now we’re not here to discuss it. Focus on doing your job well.)

It’s easy to tell if a colleague sees you the same way or shares your fantasy of meeting a colleague. Office Christmas parties, after work happy hour, and general jokes about Slack can give you pretty much all the pointers you need. If the object of your cross-departmental affection doesn’t seem to be in it, leave it alone. Don’t be a scare. Don’t scare them into coming to work. Find another fantasy and let it do its job in peace.

In the same way, you need to agree on when to post on Instagram or meet each other’s families. When you see a coworker, you need to work together to decide if and when you know your boss and HR

Check the company manual

Most companies have no rules against employees who date or join forces. Despite the rumors you may have heard about the water cooler, it is highly unlikely that you will be fired for perking up with the person on the other side of your cubicle, though your employer may still point out some consequences.

“I’ve fired a lot of people for many things,” said Laurie Reuttimann, a former HR manager who recently published a work culture manifesto. Bet on youand she happened to meet her current husband at work. “I’ve never fired anyone because they were with a colleague. Really never. Not even. “

It is of course different if you and your professional partner have different powers within the organization. In 2019 he was the CEO of McDonald’s pushed out of the fast food giant after announcing its amicable relationship with a subordinate. The company prohibits managers from romantic relationships with subordinates.

Jo, a 28-year-old food service worker in the Midwest, also had consequences – but also no firing – for getting engaged to a colleague in her restaurant. She told Lifehacker that once management found out, the two had different schedules.

Decide whether you want to let the boss know or not

Whether you’re just dating or going out with someone, every couple is faced with the “What are we?” Conversation at some point. In the same way, you need to agree on when to start posting yourself on Instagram or meeting each other’s families in a standard relationship. When you see a coworker, you need to work together to decide if and when to get to know your boss and HR.

Jo explained that she and the colleague she was dating decided to keep their relationship a secret from their coworkers. She still doesn’t know how to do it, but the duo’s employees found out anyway and then whistled the lovers off to a manager who confronted Jo and her new boyfriend separately.

“We said we would deny it, but under pressure I told my boss the truth. We literally didn’t tell anyone, so honestly I felt really uncomfortable that someone was so interested in what I was doing outside of work. Since we had agreed to deny it, he told her when she confronted him immediately afterwards that we weren’t together, ”she recalled.

That obviously only added more suspicion and drama to the situation. They were separated shortly afterwards, at least on schedule.

“It is so arrogant to assume that two people who have an hourly job are not trustworthy to show up and work,” said Reuttimann, criticizing this “paternalistic approach” as one of the reasons people hate their job in the first place. She said the decision to tell HR “depends on the type of relationship, the length of the relationship, and the intensity of the relationship,” and as an industry veteran, she never particularly wanted to know if employees were involved unless they could pose a legal problem.

If you give people a reason to talk, the conversation will be routed to HR and HR will start worrying …

Be an adult

Don’t get handy at work. Don’t bang at work. Don’t let your relationship or contact status distract you from your co-workers, make them jealous, or draw unwanted attention to your situation. This is not a high school. You don’t have to let everyone know you can do it, we promise, and if conquest really motivates you here please reconsider your priorities. As Jo’s experience has shown, your employees will likely find out your business anyway. So don’t give them extra reasons to make your contacts or relationship the Drama du Jour.

While Reuttimann claimed she had never fired anyone for an inter-office relationship, she said she definitely had to ask the lovers to “get [their] shit together ”and grow up a little.

“As long as there is no drama, nobody cares,” she said. “If you give people a reason to talk, the conversation goes to HR and HR starts worrying, ‘What if there is a lawsuit? I don’t know why there would be, but what if there is a lawsuit? What if people are fighting in the office? ‘”

That brings us to another important point: if you break up or stop joining, don’t let hostility interfere with your work. Don’t fight in a break room. If you don’t think you can keep your demeanor professional after a breakup, don’t pursue a work relationship at all.

Reuttimann has seen lost work “over and over again” and has found that it is particularly difficult because the parties involved still have to see each other every day during the mourning process. You may be reminded of your ex-flight every time you walk to your desk, open your email list, or get drinks with coworkers after clocking out. You could even be part of a team so close that you learn, like it or not, when they see someone new.

“But, you know what?” She offered. “What if you live in the same neighborhood with someone? [you break up with]? And you’re in the same grocery store? Breaking up is never easy. While the work increases dimensionality, it is definitely complicated. “

There’s no shame in falling in love with or just wanting to sleep with someone you already have so much in common with.

Have fun

American work experience can best be summed up with Blink-182: “Work sucks, I know.”

Work sucks. We know. Sometimes you need a distraction or something to look forward to. You need a partner who understands what you are dealing with in your stressful job or who can stick to your demanding schedule. You may not have time to meet someone outside of your company if you work overtime every week and work late at night in the office. There’s no shame in falling in love with or just wanting to sleep with someone you already have so much in common with.

Remember, when you and a co-worker are chasing each other, even for a few rampages, you should be enjoying your time together. Life is short and working hours are long.

“Even if you’re working at the intersection of purpose and meaning, there are workdays that just sucks, right? It can be a slog even if you love what you do and it really is a sign of optimism and hope that for money that isn’t always great you can go to a place and fall in love with someone even if it is only a brief brief, fleeting moment of love, ”thought Reuttimann. “I think that’s a really nice, sweet comment on the human condition, that in any setting – good, bad, indifferent – we can still make really important meaningful connections.”