Tips, Tricks, Hints and Random Musings At the bottom of nearly all of my recipes, I've put a little section on "Notes and Hints and Stuff". I've brought the most common of these into this section, along with separate pages dealing with pie crusts, roasting garlic, cooking weird vegetables, and other cooking issues that aren't exactly recipes. Roasting Garlic: Roasted garlic is lovely, and a low-cal alternative to butter on your bread. And it's easy. Artichokes: Who thought up the idea of eating a giant thistle head? How does one cook and consume these weird beasts? Making a Pie Crust: It's easier than non-cooks might think. One of the best episodes of "Good Eats" was Alton Brown showing how to make a decent crust. Pureeing Pumpkin: You can buy it in a can, but if you have fresh pumpkins, it's more fun to make your own.