Every cook needs a well-stocked kitchen. With these few essential ingredients on hand, you’ll always be able to whip up a meal quickly.

Here’s our checklist of what you should always have in your kitchen cabinet:
Olive oil

Vegetable oil

Balsamic vinegar

Red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Spices

Canned tuna

Canned beans

Chicken broth

Tomato paste

Jarred marinara sauce

Red and white wine

Rice

Pasta

All-purpose flour

Sugar

Potatoes

Garlic and onions

Click here to find out how to clean your microwave.

Use a lemon to clean your kitchen.

[From CNN Health]

Attention red wine drinkers: Drinking moderate amounts of any kind of alcohol (including wine, beer, and liquor) is associated with a slightly increased breast cancer risk — and the rosy-hued beverage is no exception.

That’s the conclusion of a new study that dashes any hope that red wine is less likely than other alcohol-containing drinks to increase breast cancer risk, or that it might even protect against the disease.

“If a woman chooses red wine, she should do so because she likes the flavor, not because she thinks doing so will reduce her breast cancer risk,” said Polly A. Newcomb of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington, who led the research. “It might be good for other things, but it definitely is not conferring any protection against breast cancer.”

There’s good evidence showing that women who consume alcohol have a slightly greater risk of breast cancer than teetotalers, and the risk is higher with heavier drinking. But research in animals and some human studies had suggested that red wine might not carry the same risks as other forms of alcohol or could even be protective.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Had TOO much wine last night? Find out how to cure a hangover here.

Love wine, but don’t know what kind to order? Become a pro by reading this article.

If you’re going out for a nice meal this Valentine’s Day, and expect to drink wine, these five tips could help you save money. And embarrassment.

(From shine.com)

1) Go for the unfamiliar. Not Chardonnay, not Cabernet Sauvignon. Those have been marked up more because more people order them. Order the Albarino, the Tempranillo, the Barbera, or the hard-to-pronounce Greek wine. It’ll be a better value.

2) Don’t order the second cheapest bottle. Obviously you’re avoiding the bottom-of-the-list option. The wine director knows this. And he’s marked it up accordingly. The least expensive bottle may actually be a better choice. If the eatery is any good, you’re safe because what self-respecting restaurant would put a bottle on a wine list that it didn’t endorse?

3) Decide what you want to eat first. This will inform your decision regarding pairings and it helps the sommelier narrow down the choices (see next tip).

4) Ask for assistance. Not even the geekiest wine lover knows the wine list as well as the sommeliers or wine directors at the restaurants you’re visiting. They know what’s drinking well in their cellars. And they’re delighted to share their thoughts, and perhaps even some impressive unlisted options if you inquire.

5) Point to a bottle in the price range that interests you, even if it’s the least expensive one, and explain that you are looking for something like that. They’ll get the message.

Well, kids, there you have it. Either Mariah Carey is proving once and for all that she’s not carrying Nick’s cannon, or she’s really putting up the ultimate front for the paparazzi.

The singer was spotted toasting to presumably the good life with hubby Nick Cannon and friends, despite a ton of pregnancy rumors going around. But we all know Mariah is all about attention, so we really wouldn’t put it past her to throw some Welch’s in a wine glass to ward off nosy gossip hounds.

Then again, they say a glass of wine won’t hurt a fetus, so maybe she’s just celebrating the new year and calling it quits on the booze after that.

What do YOU think?

This would make a nice housewarming or wedding gift.

$60.00 at www.thefusioncompany.com