TIL that old lady at the bus stop saved me $40 on dinner

So I was waiting for the 5 bus on Grand Ave last Tuesday, and this older woman named Mary sitting next to me saw my grocery bag full of sad-looking chicken thighs. She asked what I was making and I said 'I dunno, something cheap.' She laughed and told me to try braising them in leftover coffee with a bay leaf. I thought she was crazy but I tried it that night and it turned out amazing. Saved me from buying fancy sauces and made the meat super tender. Anyone else got weird tricks from strangers that actually work?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray_morgan11d ago

Oh man that's wild! I had some random guy at the park tell me to throw a cinnamon stick in my chili once and it was a game changer. I was just making regular ground beef chili and he said it brings out the sweetness without adding sugar. Totally worked, my family thought I bought it from a restaurant.

michael_green4411d agoMost Upvoted

Hasn't @gray_morgan found that's true with lots of spices, like a little nutmeg in mac and cheese?

susansingh10d ago

Oh come on, is it really that deep? It's chili, not a chemistry experiment. I've tried cinnamon in chili before and yeah it was fine, but I didn't feel like I unlocked some secret flavor code. Maybe I'm just bad at tasting things, who knows.