This is a list of simple techniques and basilar preparations that might come useful later on in different recipes.

Soffritto: the basis of many dishes in Italian, Spanish (sofrito), Portuguese (refogado), and latin american dishes. To make a soffritto you just have to stir fry in a thin veil of oil minced vegetables that are meant to enrich the taste of the final dish, those can include: onions, garlic, carrots, celery, et cetera. Usually the final dish is cooked in the pot where the soffritto was made, so choose one that can accomodate it.

Cooking pasta: to cook pasta you have to wait for the water to start boiling, add salt, wait for it to start boiling again and only then dump the pasta into the water. Always start tasting the pasta a couple of minutes before the suggested time on the pack, and if you made the pasta yourself, you can probably already cook well enough to not need this introduction.

Separating yolk and egg white: crack an egg open in half over a bowl, instead of dropping the egg contents in the bowl, let them flow to one of the two halves. From this position start moving the egg yolk back and forth between the two halves of the shell, the white will slowly drip into the bowl underneath, leaving only the yolk in the shell. Alternatively you can suck the yolk up a plastic bottle.

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Whipping egg whites: separate the yolk from the whites. If the eggs were in a fridge, wait until the whites reach room temperature. Add a pinch of salt to the whites. Start whipping:

* By hand: I don’t recommend this to the inexperienced, but, if it’s the only option, remember to whip the eggs using a circular motion while also going up and down. You have to beat the eggs as vigorously as possible and always maintain the direction you’re whipping in.

* With an electric beater: beat the eggs at a medium speed while also doing slow circular motions around the bowl, always keeping the same direction.

Warning: it is possible to beat the eggs to much causing them to soften to the point they can’t be used anymore, or outright turn half-liquid.

Peeling tomatoes: there are two tricks to peel tomatoes easily:

* If the tomato is completely ripe: press the back of a knife against the peel and start passing it all over the tomato in downward motions, then peel it normally.

* If the tomato still has some yellow, green, or hard spots: boil some water in a pot and prepare some ice cold water in a bowl, drop the tomatoes in the boiling water for a minute or two, then move them in the cold water. The peel should come off easily after this treatment.

More tips will be added later on as the recipes come out.