Tip #1: Peeling Almonds.

Peeling almonds looks tricky, because those skins grab hold of the nut like nobody’s business…

…until you boil them.

You need three times as much water as almonds. Once you’ve heated the water to a rolling boil, throw in the almonds. After 90 seconds, pick out one almond (carefully!) and squeeze it between your thumb and forefinger. If the skin starts to come off, the almonds are done (if not, leave them in there for another 20 seconds or so). Drain in a colander and immediately flood with cold water.

Once the almonds are cool enough to touch, you can squeeze them to get the skins off. Be careful, they’ll fly out of their skins if you squeeze too hard (and the cats will end up playing with peeled almonds on the kitchen floor for the next week).