experimenting with food

egg salad sanwich

2011-04-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

I used day old devilled eggs for this.

First mash up all the devilled eggs in a bowl with a fork.

I added a little bit of creamy salad dressing, and freshly cracked pepper.

I also chopped up a little shallot.

I just put a tablespoon of that mixture on my toasts and voila, here's my sandwich.

Nothing wasted, everything reused.

chicken barbeque with beer up it's butt

2011-03-26T14:12:00.001-07:00

We're having company over tonight so I'm making supper.
First I put a chicken in the crockpot, then I poured the rest of my bottle of plum sauce on the chicken.
Then I set the crockpot to medium.
I'm gonna cook that for a few hours.

We went to Calgary and we ended up buying from the Menonite store.
I bought 3 dresses for the price of three dollars each.
Emma bought a bunch of tops and Chandler got a wooden building game.
Then we went to Tim Horton's and had lunch with Jason.

I Placed the carrots that are going to be barbequed on a sheet of aluminium foil.
On top of the baby carrots is the rest of a strawberry-orange and brandi jam.
We'll close the foil and barbeque the carrots along with the chicken.
Oh by the way, Jon's planning on shoving a beer can up the chicken's butt.
That's going to be our barbeque.
I'm also planning to bake bell peppers with rice in them.

Spaghetti and meat sauce

2011-03-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today's supper included yesterday's meatloaf leftovers.

I chopped up my meatloaf into small little pieces in my frying pan.

I then added a large can of tomato sauce.

I seasoned it with black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes.

I boiled my pasta with a tiny drop of oil in the water to keep the pasta lubricated and keep them from sticking.

After the pasta is cooked, I drained the water.

After serving your paste and meat sauce, make sure to top it with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy.

Meatloaf and potatoes

2011-03-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's supper was easy and simple. I had a pound of hamburger meat that I thawed in the fridge and I added a good cup or so of packaged bread crumbs.
I added pizza sauce to my mixture and mixed that all up. Then I pressed my mixture into a plastic container and I transferred the pressed mixture in my crockpot.

I peeled potatoes and placed them whole around the meatloaf mold.
I watered down the rest of my pizza sauce, shook it all up and emptied it into my crockpot, covering the whole meat.
I cooked my meal for a few hours on the low setting.

Spaghetti & Clam Sauce- A Real Favorite

2011-03-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti and Clam Sauce (clear)

2 TBS OLIVE OIL OR SALAD OIL

1 TBS GARLIC POWDER

1 TSP OREGANO

1 BOTTLE OF CLAM JUICE

¼ CUP OF GRATED CHEESE

4 OR 5 CANS OF CHOPPED OR MINCED CLAMS

1 LBS OF SPAGHETTI

IN POT, BROWN GARLIC POWDER IN OIL, BE CAREFUL GARLIC BROWNS FAST, DUMP IN CANS OF CLAMS…..DO NOT DRAIN, ADD BOTTLE OF CLAM JUICE.
SPRINKLE OREGANO AND STIR, SPRINKLE IN GRATED CHEESE AND STIR, LET COOK ON LOW HEAT FOR A HALF HOUR. COOK SPAGHETTI AND DRAIN. PLACE SPAGHETTI IN A SERVING BOWL, ADD A COUPLE OF SOUP LADLES OF CLAM SAUCE. MIX AND YOU ARE
READY. ADD SAUCE TO YOUR LIKING.

ENJOY!!!!!

FRUIT PIE

2011-03-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

FRUIT PIE

DRAIN LARGE CAN FRUIT COCKTAIL

IN BOWL- 1 CAN CONDENSED MILK (EAGLE BRAND)

1/3 CUP OF LEMON JUICE---MIX WELL

POUR IN DRAINED FRUIT

FOLD IN CONTAINER OF COOL WHIP

POUR IN 2 SMALL GRAHAM CRACKER PIE SHELLS.

REFRIGERATE FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE CUTTING.

Enjoy......

lentils with sweet onions

2011-03-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a recipe I remember from an old boyfriend of mine who was czechoslovakian.
Here's how it goes:
You'll need to cut up a large onion and fry it slowly on medium low heat until the onion is caramelized. It will take a while so be patient.
Once the onions are nice an brown, add a heaping tablespoon of white flour to your frying pan, coat all the onion pieces.
Then add your can of lentils, season heavily with salt and pepper and put a couple tablespoonfuls of white vinegar.
Voila.
Serve wish a side of sausage, or with toasts.
It's so simple but so nutritious too.

2011-03-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

10 Must Have's In The Kitchen

Author: Dustin

Have you ever imagined how things are carried out in the ancient times? The common tasks we do today may be far different during the past with no modern equipment and gadgets. Consider cooking, for instance. If we can return for hundreds and thousands of years back, food was eaten raw. Aside from coal, people long ago started to use heated stones, improvised ovens, and wood when fire was discovered. Since before and up to now, salt has been the primary agent utilised in food preservation. Cooking, since long ago, provided an avenue for people to extend their variety of food that can be eaten when cooked properly.

Let us go back to present. With the various non-traditional styles of cooking, there are numerous gadgets that were also invented and introduced in the goal of improving the quality of cooking. Although there are many food devices and gadgets on TV or in magazines, it is still optional to own them all in your kitchen provided that you have the basic things. Here are several items that will surely make your kitchen ready to go for almost every dish you wish to cook.

Grater: Have you ever wondered when the grater was invented and introduced? 1540's. Yes, 1540's and this is an item that you'd need a lot in your kitchen. It is chiefly used for cheese to supply your favorite pasta dish an additional spunk. Besides cheese, you may also use the grater, just like a mini processor, for fruits and vegetables.

Bakeware: This is also the same with cookware as many cookware sets comprise of bakeware pieces. You will considerably appreaciate aluminum as it can certainly provide even heat distribution due to its heat conductor characteristics and your favorite cakes will certainly look perfect once you take it out from your oven. Just make sure that your bakeware pieces are tough and will make it not hard for you to take out your cookies from the oven without smashing them into pieces.

Mixing Tools: Food processors are nice, especially when it include blenders and mixers. Most modern processors today are compact devices that will practically enable you to do many kitchen functions in one single device- blending, mincing, mixing, juicing, and grinding!
Peeler: There are many people who use small and large knives in peeling. However, the potential risk of cuts and wounds are bigger. That is why others utilize peelers to make peeling safe, fast, easy.

Cutting Mats/Boards: These are suited for slicing the ingredients and use them as a funnel when you're putting your ingredients into a pot or bowl. Cutting mats which are self healing and have the ability to resist the torture from chopping are perfect pieces.

Measuring Spoons, Cups: It is perfect that you do accurate measurement of all your ingredients, specially when it will impact the taste of your dish. Guessing or using your gut feel sometimes vary, and may come out as a disaster. You would prefer to have a proper measure of salt, oils, etc. to be certain that the taste will be excellent.

Pepper Mill: Sometimes, a pinch of salt or a dash of pepper may be enough. However, not all the time! Pepper Mills have been in existence way back in 1842, and a must-have in cooking. The differerent types of materials for salt and pepper mills must be considered. While stainless steel, zince alloy, and carbon steel are perfect for pepper, ceramic grinders are suited for salt as it won't corrode.

Spatulas: They are viewed as the extension of a person's hand while cooking. Not unless you're numb to flip or turn food around towards the opposite side despite the boiling water or oil, isn't it? There is no kitchen in the world with no spatula as it assists the cook to turn the food properly and keep him or her safe.

Knives: A person can't just merely tear bits of meat apart or use his/her teeth in sizing up ingredients for cooking. If you do not have this at your kitchen, cooking is really a torture. It's as vital as a weapon in a cop, a knight or a warrior. Kitchen knives are the key weapons of cooks and chefs.

Cookware: You simply can't just hold anything up against the fire for apparent reasons, and how can you boil water without cookware? You will need the perfect cookware as this is the backbone of the kitchen and everything starts off with it. You have the freedom to choose the pieces you might generally use, so you must have a good set of cookware. Heavier cookware means greater heat conduction, but choose something which you'll capable of handle properly, to forestall winding up in spills and hearing the banging sounds on your kitchen floor. Be sure you take the main factors in consideration: grip, lids, clean up and weight.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/10-must-haves-in-the-kitchen-4355553.html

About the Author

For more personal chef training tips please visit us at Personal Chef Academy.

2009-09-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Scrumptious Thanksgiving “Sweet Potato” Recipes!

Author: Chris D Gardner
During Thanksgiving it seems like it’s never complete if yams or sweet potatoes aren't included in your Thanksgiving dinner list. If you're not an American the tendency is you're not familiar about this crop. The sweet potato originally is from the South Americas. They're now being harvested in warmer places. They were brought to American shores during the time the migrant slaves settled in America. The sweet potatoes are different from your regular potatoes since they're actually used as filling in pies and this has been practiced in South America. Below are some sweet potato dishes that have always been a familiar sight during any Thanksgiving celebration. 1) Simple Baked Delicious Sweet Potato Very easy and fuss-free to do. Just simply wash your sweet potatoes clean. Next, stab the potato using a clean fork to make holes for steam to escape during cooking time. Wrap each potato with foil and bake inside your 325 deg. F oven for about 90 mins.. 2) Twice-Baked Sweet Potato Just bake your sweet potatoes (skins on) until they turn soft. After they have baked, slice them into half & scoop their flesh out and place inside a bowl. Mash your scooped out sweet potato flesh then add in brown sugar, any spice you want and butter. After mixing well, place your mashed up potatoes back in their flesh then cover them with some bread crumbs. Place inside your oven and bake again for 25 mins. or until the crumbs turn golden brown. 3) Sweet Potato with Marshmallows A lot of families usually feel that it isn't Thanksgiving when they don't have different kinds of sweet potato dishes especially the ones with the marshmallows in it. There are lots of variations of the sweet potato dish with mallows and also families sometimes have their very own traditional versions. A lot of the recipes includes sweet potatoes (canned), crushed pineapples, spices, vanilla & brown sugar. Combine all your ingredients and bake them inside an oven-proof baking pan. 4) Simply Delish Sweet Potato Casserole Finally, sweet potato casseroles usually are the biggest hit during Thanksgiving. This way of cooking often requires minimal effort on your part. Very easy to make. You will just need to mash up your already baked sweet potatoes then mix them well with other ingredients that your family would love. After they have mixed well, just place all your mashed up and flavored sweet potatoes on an oven-safe casserole and bake inside your oven. Hope you enjoyed the simple sweet potato recipes that we shared here and may your thanksgiving be really sumptuous!

During Thanksgiving it seems like it’s never complete if yams or sweet potatoes aren't included in your Thanksgiving dinner list. If you're not an American the tendency is you're not familiar about this crop.

The sweet potato originally is from the South Americas. They're now being harvested in warmer places. They were brought to American shores during the time the migrant slaves settled in America.

The sweet potatoes are different from your regular potatoes since they're actually used as filling in pies and this has been practiced in South America. Below are some sweet potato dishes that have always been a familiar sight during any Thanksgiving celebration.

1) Simple Baked Delicious Sweet Potato

Very easy and fuss-free to do. Just simply wash your sweet potatoes clean. Next, stab the potato using a clean fork to make holes for steam to escape during cooking time. Wrap each potato with foil and bake inside your 325 deg. F oven for about 90 mins..

2) Twice-Baked Sweet Potato

Just bake your sweet potatoes (skins on) until they turn soft. After they have baked, slice them into half & scoop their flesh out and place inside a bowl. Mash your scooped out sweet potato flesh then add in brown sugar, any spice you want and butter. After mixing well, place your mashed up potatoes back in their flesh then cover them with some bread crumbs. Place inside your oven and bake again for 25 mins. or until the crumbs turn golden brown.

3) Sweet Potato with Marshmallows

A lot of families usually feel that it isn't Thanksgiving when they don't have different kinds of sweet potato dishes especially the ones with the marshmallows in it. There are lots of variations of the sweet potato dish with mallows and also families sometimes have their very own traditional versions. A lot of the recipes includes sweet potatoes (canned), crushed pineapples, spices, vanilla & brown sugar. Combine all your ingredients and bake them inside an oven-proof baking pan.

4) Simply Delish Sweet Potato Casserole

Finally, sweet potato casseroles usually are the biggest hit during Thanksgiving. This way of cooking often requires minimal effort on your part. Very easy to make. You will just need to mash up your already baked sweet potatoes then mix them well with other ingredients that your family would love. After they have mixed well, just place all your mashed up and flavored sweet potatoes on an oven-safe casserole and bake inside your oven.

Hope you enjoyed the simple sweet potato recipes that we shared here and may your thanksgiving be really sumptuous!

About the Author:

Chris is a food fanatic! You can check out his very popular Thanksgiving
Recipes website where he shares some of his Best Thanksgiving Recipes and Easy Thanksgiving Recipes

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Scrumptious Thanksgiving “Sweet Potato” Recipes!

2009-07-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Coffee Mugs : Feel the Elegance

Author: Allen Franklin

Coffee Mugs: My Unexceptional Life Story And my first "coffee date"

My favored memory of a coffee mug was my "coffee date" with my high schooling crush, Each thing is so vivid how we were timidly seeming at each other, sometimes silent,some times addressed direct about All thing below the sunshine. How I cared for that date to be under the moon supporting wine glasses. But now I visualize to make that passage to the "evening dates" taking wine glasses one had to start with "day dates" with coffee mugs. Earlier you think I am giving in to the urge of gassing about my risky ventures and I miss the point wholly, let me come to some thing which also produced my date persistent and kept me preferred consequences to think about reserve endowments to give to my lady friends,The coffee was serviced in Fishs Eddy's coffee mugs which were so clever for the function, polka dots handled cups, which was white in color and sprinkled with many grateful colored dots. Its another story after we started going tight she set up for one of those Eddy Fish coffee mugs to be presented to her. And all the while she was with me she reaped a rich glean of several Eddy Fish coffee mugs out of me. Over the years I have become very choosy about my pick of coffee mugs. I have arrive to understand that your dainty of coffee mugs makes the coffee more delicious. My most admired coffee mug is apparent, yes you guessed it right! it is always the most lovely existence of Fishs Eddy's Polka dotted coffee cup. There are few coffee mugs, so thoughtfully fashioned by Fishs Eddys, so reserve to use while exercising office work. Some times I have personally felt that they add to the set up of caffein to raise your pore and denseness while doing work. few representatives of some of those coffee mugs are Memo Ruled Mug Cream 12oz , Memo Graph Paper Mug 12oz , Memo Notebook Mug 12 oz, Memo script Mug Green 12 oz. Then there are coffee mugs for different moods and occasions, Whenever I meet my fellows for an common chat my taste is for Eddy Fish's Mud Indigo. Alphabet Letter Y coffee mugs savor plume of range on the extended mahogany table during board encounters. My red hot aroused mood always has Mug Red as a continuous associate. My feminist admirer jane cant do with out her We Do Mug - Women, she is always indebted to Fishs Eddy for being so serious about women phratry. Kids often are determined savoring their milk in alphabet lettered coffee cups from A to Zee and are often very paramount about those coffee mugs. If you can wear your governmental affiliations on your sleeves then what is precluding you from making them on your cups. Yes! Fishs Eddy has got Republican and Democratic coffee mugs easy for you. Then there is so very liquid Fishs Eddy Signature Mug, your coffee mug collecting is broken with out this simple but lovely knockout. For those who love art, Fishs Eddy have Nudie Mug Green and Nudie Mug Yellow. I just have one petition why not produce an Obama coffee mug so that whenever I am amazed some where at work and in pressing need of some quick adrenal kick, i could seize that cup take a big gulping and yell Yes We Can!!!!!

About the Author:
The coffee mugs makes the coffee more delicious available at http://www.fishseddy.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Coffee Mugs : Feel the Elegance

2009-06-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Italian Food And Wine

Author: Fiona Muller

When you think of Italian food and wine you think of little tavernas in winding streets with tables outside and lots of families eating and drinking together. Food and wine in Italy is a celebration of the Italian lifestyle and its something that you can enjoy in your home in homage to the nation.

When you think of Italian food, you think of spaghetti Bolognese, other types of pasta and lots of olive oil. There are thousands of ristoranti (restaurants) throughout Italy – each with its own individuality and with special dishes and wines that are local to them. These are the most formal type of place to eat. These are best to visit when you are not in a hurry as they can be a bit more upmarket than others but are family-run. Here people like to take their time when eating so you need to have time to have a leisurely meal. A little less formal than a ristoranti are the trattoria and osteria, where local speciality food and wine are served. In addition to these more serious eating places there are panineria which is a sandwich bar, where a quick meal and a glass of wine can be had at any time of the day and of course the pizzeria.

Although everyone loves Italian food, figuring out what kind of meal to have and where to have it can be difficult. Italian cuisine varies from region to region but, in spite of regional differences, Italian food in general is often characterized as being flexible and innovative, in fact many dishes are built on the seasonal food that is available at the time.

When it comes to wine you often think of heavy Italian red wine. However wine in Italy is much more than the traditional Chianti.

Its climate, soil and very old traditions of viticulture make Italy a natural wine growing and drinking nation. Of course wine has been a seriously important part of Italian culture for many years and the variety of wines available reflect this. The wines are as personal as a name, are all very different in taste and colour and as much a part of Italian life as almost 3,000 years of tradition can make them. The Etruscans of North-Central Italy, who created one of the peninsula's earliest civilizations, left evidence of how to make wine. The Greeks who soon after established themselves in the South gave Italy the name Enotria (the land of wine). Wine growing has been part of the Italian way of life for centuries and it is in the cultivation of the grape where you will find most Italian farmers. Viticulture is as important as it ever was to the Italian culture and economy and because of this a large part of the population is engaged in the vine and wine industry.

But of course the Italian love of food and drink does not stop at wine. There are also aperitifs and liqueurs that are popular and even a great line in fizzy water!

About the Author:

Fiona Muller has been writing for over 20 years. She is a qualified journalist and has worked in food and drink writing for the last few years. For more information visit Laithwaites.co.uk

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Italian Food And Wine

cooking with truffles

2009-05-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Truffles are hypogenous (underground) mushrooms that resemble stones and vary in size from a marble to a large ball. Few truffles are poisonous. However only a small number of truffles are considered to be delicacies by people throughout the world. Most truffles do not break the surface of the oil and instead must rely on animals to eat them and distribute their spores in order to grow more of their kind. To attract animals, truffles developed scents that grow stronger as they mature. Truffles grow 3 to 12 inches usually outside the roots of trees such as the oak, chestnut, and hazelnut and do not grow beyond the range of the branches. Truffle hunters or truffle farmers use trained pigs or dogs to locate the truffles that may be underground and ready to be taken carefully out. Truffles are not easy to cultivate and although farmers and scientists have managed through the last thirty years to improve the ability to grow truffles there is still not a full guarantee of growth. Truffles can take six or more years to mature before it can be seen if truffles are growing or not. When truffles are ready to harvest the process is very methodical, slow, and labor intensive. These facts about truffles make them one of the most expensive delicacies in the world.

After truffles are methodically harvested, truffles should be placed in paper bags with appropriate markings on the bag to differentiate the varieties that were harvested. This is especially important for truffle hunters to do because an expert will be needed to ensure they are edible.

Truffles can last for several days in a paper bag placed in a refrigerator. One should not place truffles in a plastic container because the lack of air from a sealed container is bad for them. A second way to keep truffles is to place them in a jar then in the freezer where they can last for several months. A third way truffles can be preserved is to put them in oil. However, if there is no pasteurization the shelf life of truffles at room temperature will be limited. A fourth way to store truffles is to put them in rice, but all the flavor of the truffles will be absorbed by the rice. The ideal way to use truffles is to consume them as soon as possible as fresh as possible.

When truffles are used in cooking they are generally eaten raw or are very lightly cooked because the flavor compounds of the truffle are highly unpredictable. Here are a few guidelines for using truffles in dishes.

First: The truffle should not to be used with other foods with strong flavors and overwhelming aromas. The flavors can clash so it is better to use truffles to flavor bland foods like pasta, rice, and potatoes.

Second: Fat is good for the truffle. Fat helps bring out the full flavor of the truffle, which is why they are paired with butter, cheese, and oils.

Third: One should maximize the flavor of the truffle by shaving, slivering, or slicing it. Anything more and the diner will not get the most taste from the truffle.

Fourth: Save the peel from a truffle. Do not throw away because the peel can add flavor to other recipes including sauces.

Fifth: If one has preserved truffles, they will not have the same flavor so if the is wish to enhance before preservation use Truffle oil or Concentrato or a Truffle Paste.

Sixth: Fresh truffles should be used within 3 days of purchase. Preserved truffles have a long shelf life if left unopened in the jar but once opened consume within a week.

Seventh: When using any truffle in a recipe one should be aware of the flavor it has before putting it with any food. Either trying the truffle first yourself or read about it beforehand to make the best use a truffle in a recipe.

The truffle is a world prize to those who farm it for profit, to the truffle hunters, to the people in the world market who sell it, and finally to those who cook with it. The truffle, although not fully tamed, has dazzled appetites and continues to grow in stature. It may take a lot to get a truffle to grow and come to harvest but the taste, aroma, and pleasure the truffle can bring to the taste buds is well worth it.

About the Author:
I am an internet marketer. I have done http://www.thegourmettruffle.com to introduce the truffle to whose who may not know about it or who know very little about the truffle. It is a unique and interesting gourmet food with an appeal around the world.

jello cantaloupe

2009-03-12T09:15:00.001-07:00

Here is something to try. One half of a cantaloupe, fill the center with red jello.
When cooled, put some cool whip generously on top of the jello. Just to top
it off, put a maraschino cherry on top. One cantaloupe makes two servings.
This is a good way to start a diet. Use low calorie cool whip. It's good !!!

2009-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Things You Didn'T Know About Coffee

Author: Fenton Wayne
Odd and interesting stuff about coffee. Botanically speaking coffee beans are not really beans at all, but berries. Contrary to popular belief, darkly roasted coffees contain less caffeine than lightly roasted blends. Caffeine is burnt off during the roasting process, so consequently the longer roasted dark blends have less caffeine. It takes between 4000-5000 coffee cherries to produce a single kilogram of freshly roasted coffee. Coffee is grown in over 50 countries of the world but is not grown anywhere on the mainland United States. Coffee is one of the most heavily traded products in the world, second only to oil. A coffee tree has a life expectancy of 70 years and it takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity. In Turkey, husbands were once required during their wedding vows to promise always to provide their wives with coffee and failure to do so could be used as grounds for divorce. Ludwig van Beethoven loved coffee and it is said that he used to insist that precisely 60 coffee beans were used to produce each cup of beverage he consumed. When serving coffee to guests, it is the local custom that the oldest person sitting around the table is served first in Turkey and Greece. Rather unusually, the terms 'supremo' and 'excelso' are used to indicate the large physical size of the coffee bean and not its quality as one might expect. The first commercial coffee house was opened in Damascus in Syria as long ago as 1530. 'Tipping' originated in the coffee houses of old London Town. Boxes labelled "To Insure Promptness" were displayed in certain locations where patrons were encouraged insert cash to obtain a quicker service. The resulting acronym TIP has stuck ever since. Caffeine only affects the body up to a certain point. This level depends upon the individual. After a certain number of cups of coffee have been drunk (typically 4 in quick succession), consuming further cups will provide no further stimulation as the rest is not absorbed. Coffee is the most popular beverage in the world apart from water and has been consumed for over a thousand years. Soluble instant coffee was invented in 1906 by an Englishman, living in Guatemala who later moved to the USA. Interestingly his name was George Washington. People from different parts of the world traditionally add different ingredients to enjoy their favourite drink. The Ethiopians add a pinch of salt, Moroccans' add peppercorns, while the Mexicans add cinnamon. Drinkers in the Middle East enjoy the addition of cardamom and spices, whilst Austrians add whipped cream. Egyptian coffee drinkers like it strong and dark and rarely add cream or sugar.

About the Author:

Find out much more about coffee and coffee machines at our newly opened Coffee School

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/things-you-didnt-know-about-coffee-799632.html

2009-03-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

Varieties Of Mixtures For Bread

Author: Justin Skinner

BATTERS AND DOUGHS.--The mixtures from which hot breads are produced are of different consistencies, and familiarity with them is necessary if good results in the making of such breads are desired. This difference in the consistencies is due to the proportion of flour and liquid used, a small proportion of flour producing a batter and a large proportion, a dough. It will be well to note, however, that some kinds of flour thicken a mixture much more readily than do others. Experience in the handling of flour teaches how to vary the other ingredients of a recipe in order to make them correspond to the difference in flour, but the person who lacks a knowledge of COOKING, or has had very little experience in the handling of foods, must know the general proportions that are correct under most circumstances. The names of the mixtures that the ingredients produce are thin batter, thick batter, soft dough, and stiff dough.

A THIN BATTER is one in which the general proportion of liquid and flour is 1 measure of flour to 1 measure of liquid. Such a batter, when poured, immediately seeks its own level and has the consistency of thin cream. The most common examples of thin batters are popovers and griddle cakes.

A THICK BATTER, which is known as a drop, or muffin, batter, is one that is made of 2 measures of flour and 1 measure of liquid. A batter of this kind may be poured, but it will not immediately seek its own level. Muffins, gems, puddings, and cakes are made of thick batters.

A SOFT DOUGH is one whose proportions are 3 measures of flour and 1 measure of liquid. A dough of this kind will stand up alone--that is, without support at the sides--and has more of the properties of a solid than of a liquid. Baking-powder biscuits, tea rolls, and certain kinds of cake are made of this form of dough.

A STIFF DOUGH is made of 4 measures of flour and 1 measure of liquid. Such a dough will not cling to the mixing bowl, can be handled with the hands, and will not stick when rolled out on a board. Pie crust, hard cookies, and beaten biscuit are made of such dough.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE OF GENERAL PROPORTIONS. While the general proportions just mentioned remain the same in the majority of cases, they vary somewhat when ingredients other than liquid and flour are added. Shortening and eggs in particular change the quantity of liquid required, less liquid being necessary when these ingredients are used. To get the best results from a new recipe, it is always advisable upon reading the recipe to notice the proportions that are given and then to try to judge whether they bear a close enough resemblance to the general proportions to make a successful dish. For instance, if a griddle-cake recipe calls for 3 cupfuls of flour and 1 cupful of liquid, the cook who understands what the general proportions for such a batter ought to be would know immediately that the recipe calls for too much flour. Likewise, she would know that a recipe for baking-powder biscuits that calls for 2 cupfuls of flour and 1 cupful of liquid would make a dough that would be too soft to handle. Besides enabling a woman to judge a recipe, a knowledge of the correct proportions for things of this kind makes it possible for her to combine the ingredients for a certain recipe without resorting to a cook article, or, in other words, to originate a recipe. Because of the importance of such an understanding, attention should always be given to details that will assist in obtaining a thorough knowledge of this matter.

About the Author:

For tips on benefits of onions and why do onions make you cry, visit the Fruits And Vegetables website.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/varieties-of-mixtures-for-bread-799775.html

2009-02-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

The Versatility of Frozen Fish

Author: Andrew Burt

Fish is probably the most versatile of all frozen foods. It provides a great source of protein, is low in calories and many varieties contain essential minerals and Omega 3 oil. It is also a very economical way to buy fish as there is no wastage. Brought frozen very little pre-cooking preparation is required.

Health:

People today are more health conscious than ever before. The health benefits of fish make it an excellent food source for children and adults alike. As white fish is easy to digest it is ideal for older people and those recovering from illness. While some people do have an allergic reaction to seafood, few have a reaction to all varieties of fish.

Fish such as sardines, mackerel, tuna, salmon, sea bass are an excellent source of Omega 3 oil. This fish oil can help reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease as well as having a beneficial effect in treating anxiety and depression. Recent studies have shown that children who have Omega 3 oil incorporated into their diet on a regular basis are able to concentrate for longer periods of time. Omega 3 is also used to help children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-ADHD.

Fish has very few calories-making it ideal for those on a diet, especially when steamed, baked or grilled. When oven baked or steamed many types of fish have little salt, no sugar or saturated fats. Fish which is frozen retains all the nutritional values of fresh fish when it is cooked following the manufacture's guidelines.

Convenience:

Fish which has been prepared and frozen is the ideal convenience food. The quick freezing techniques used by reputable companies produce small ice crystals which does not impair the flavour, texture or taste of the fish. Buying fish which has been frozen can be cooked straight from the freezer in a relatively short time, making it a perfect meal for people who lead busy lifestyles.

One of the great advantages of buying fish which has been pre-packaged and frozen is that there is no fiddly preparation. Having to fillet, de-scale and de-bone fresh fish can be tricky, time consuming and very off putting for many people. Pre-pared fish is the perfect solution for incorporating fish into a diet without any fuss. Some manufacture companies also include complete meals in their frozen ranges making them some of the most nutritious read-meals available.

Economy:

Fish is the ideal economy food when it has been frozen. There is no wastage, you simply remove the amount you need from the freezer. As fish cooks quickly, compared with many cuts of meat, it can be a cost effective way to save on fuel. With the continuing advances in souring and catching fish, all varieties are available throughout the year if they are frozen and the cost remains stable.

Choose frozen fish from reputable manufactures to ensure you are buying high quality fish which does not incorporate fillers or bulking ingredients. This way you can enjoy the convenience, health benefits and taste of one of the greatest sources of protein with confidence.

About the Author:
Youngs Sea Food offer a wide range of frozen fish.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/the-versatility-of-frozen-fish-784728.html

2009-02-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

Delicious Tuna Recipes

Author: Andrew Burt

Tuna fish are a nutrient rich source of food. They are packed full of high quality protein and are rich in minerals such as selenium, magnesium and potassium. They also contain vitamins B1 and B6 and most importantly essential Omega 3 fatty acids.

Essential fatty acids are called Essential because the body cannot make these on their own. Essential fatty acids need to be included and introduced into a healthy diet through eating foods which are rich in these such as tuna.

Tuna is one of the worlds best loved fish. Although canned tuna is delicious and nutritious, if you have never eaten fresh tuna you have been missing out on a pure culinary delight. Fresh tuna retains more of the beneficial Omega 3 than canned tuna.

Selected tuna steaks purchased from reputable companies who source their fish in a sustainable method and respect other aquatic life. To ensure you are buying the highest quality tuna steaks buy from a company who has been working in the fish industry for many years, in other words those who have built their business reputation on only sourcing, catching and selling the highest quality tuna.

If you have never tried tuna without the use of a can opener then the chances are you will not know how to prepare or cook tuna. Fresh tuna is available as either steaks, fillets or chunks. Choosing tuna steaks which have been pre-prepared provides a quick and easy way to enjoy this nutritious food without any fuss or bother.

Ideas for different cooking methods can be found in modern cookery books or online. The online option provides the opportunity to view pod casts and follow the step by step instructions. For some this new visual and audio innovation of learning how to cook a variety of different foods from around the world has provided them with the confidence to experiment and try new delicious recipes.

Tuna steaks and fillets are usually pan fried, grilled or griddled. They are also very tasty when cooked on a barbeque. Tuna chunks are great for making curries and casseroles. The only form of cooking which is not recommended for tuna is baking as this dries out the flesh.

Making a traditional French salad nicoise, a combination of tuna, black olives and green beans, has been a firm favourite for many years. Typically canned tuna is used, however seared tuna steaks are becoming an increasingly fashionable alternative. Tuna steak salads are great for those trying to lose weight, or those who just enjoy the beautiful taste of tuna. As tuna is low in calories, especially fresh tuna, it is the ideal diet food. The firm meaty texture of tuna provides a substantial and nutritious health food for all the family.

Search online for some mouth watering tuna recipes. You will be amazed at the wide variety of supper, lunch and dinner recipes available. Many of the online recipes have been specifically designed by master chefs to bring you tasty tuna dishes in the most fashionable and healthy ways. Bring the health benefits of tuna steaks to your dining table and enjoy the delicious taste of this amazing fish.

About the Author:
Youngs Sea Food offer a variety of

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/delicious-tuna-recipes-784415.html

2009-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Tasty Fast Fish Recipes

Author: Andrew Burt

Fish is one of the most versatile foods. It can be cooked and prepared in a wide variety of different ways, tasting equally fantastic on its own or combined with other ingredients. One of the greatest advantages of cooking fish is the speed in which nutritious meals can be prepared. Fish requires very little cooking time which ever cooking method is used.

Supper dishes comprising of pan fried langoustine can be prepared and cooked within ten minutes. Fresh fast food at its very best. A wide range of other fish dishes can easily be cooked and ready to eat in twenty minutes.

The days of fish only being covered with batter, deep fried and served with chips or served to children in the form of fish fingers remains popular, however, fast to prepare and easy to cook a wide range of equally delicious but healthier options are widely available.

The introduction of cuisine from around the world provides varied and unusual ways to use fish as part of a sumptuous dinner or as a fast and nutritious family meal. From gourmet dishes with exotic fish as the main ingredient to sardines which are simply grilled, fish offers a wide and varied ways to be cooked. You do not have to be a skilled chef to create wonderful fish dishes.

The importance of using fish as part of a healthy diet is regularly reinforced by nutritional experts and dieticians. Fish is a great source of Omega 3 which is necessary to help reduce the risk of heart disease and help lower cholesterol. Studies have shown that Omega 3 can also be used to help treat depression and anxiety as well as a whole host of other medical conditions. In the past people found the benefits of taking cod liver oil syrup to help prevent colds and ease the pain and inflammation of arthritis. Nowadays, with Omega 3 rich fish available throughout the year the use of cod liver oil syrup is declining among those who eat fish on a regular basis. Dieticians and nutritionists recommend that fish should be eaten twice a week as part of a healthy diet, as long as it is not always served as battered deep fried traditional style fish and chips!

As fish has very few calories when baked or steamed it an ideal food to help weight loss. The natural goodness of fish and the ease in which it can be cooked provides the ideal protein source for people on a diet. Dishes such as pan fried sea bass cooked with chilli soy beans is just one of many delicious fish recipes that can be cooked and prepared within twenty minutes. The mouth, watering combination of sea bass with chilli, served with Pak Choy brings a taste of the Orient to a supper table in no time at all. Treat the taste buds of your family to beautiful fish dishes from around the world by using fish recipes which have been specially designed to make cooking and eating fish a real pleasure. Fish is a great way to bring variety into the diet in a very healthy way.

About the Author:
Youngs Sea

2009-02-12T07:17:00.001-08:00

Do You Have Great Recipes?

Author: Ritu Sharma

Sometimes it seems like cooking is just too difficult to do on a daily basis, but food processors take a lot of the hassle out. If you don’t have a food processor, I highly recommend that you get one. In fact, go out and buy one right now! I use my food processor everyday, keeping it on my kitchen counter for fast use. Why? Because I have so many great recipes! Here is my top 10 favorite food processor recipes guaranteed to make you love your food processor.

1. You can make your own peanut butter or any other nut butter that you like in your processor. Cashews make wonderful nut butter too.

2. Speaking of peanut butter, peanut butter cookies are the easiest recipe in the world: 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup peanut butter, and a teaspoon of vanilla if desired.
For more details go to: www.cooking-groundbeef.com Toss them into your processor; give it a whirl for a few seconds until well mixed. Scoop out a tablespoon of dough and scrap it on the side of the bowl to even the spoon, drop onto a cookie sheet and smash it down with a fork to make the cross hatch design. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes and you have fabulous, gluten free peanut butter cookies.

3. Make steak sandwiches by chilling, but not freezing, leftover steak in the freezer until firm but not frozen. Slice with your processor and then add to a skillet in which you have been sautéing bell peppers and onions. Put it all on a sandwich bun, top with jack cheese, and enjoy. I know, who has leftover steak? Plan for this and throw an extra steak or two on the grill next time.

4. Specialty butters are definitely a favorite of mine. In fact, I get ideas from many restaurants, constantly seeking new flavors to spread across bread. Armed with my food processor, making specialty butter has never been so easy. My favorite is basil-garlic butter. By processing a stick of butter with a couple cloves of garlic, I can then add some crushed basil leaves and let it sit in the fridge for a week or so in an air-tight container. Then, it’s French bread and wine for dinner. Sometimes I even use it on grilled cheese with mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and bacon. So delicious!

5. For fresh lemon sherbet, mix equal amounts sugar, milk, and half-and-half with freshly grated lemon rind and some lemon juice.
For help visit: www.cat-head-biscuit.com then pours into a pan and freezes it, covering it for at least two hours. After frozen, use your food processor to blend it until smooth. Four hours in the freezer later, you have a wonderful dessert to go with anything you can cook up!

6. Another great idea is to take blackberries and sugar, blending them with your food processor until they’re smooth. Then, pour the mixture through a strainer into a pan and stir in some buttermilk. When frozen, break into chucks and beat with an electric mixer until smooth again, and then pour it back into a pan and cover it until firm. This is a great way to make a cold, berry concoction that the whole family will love, especially on hot summer days. And you can substitute blueberries or raspberries as well.

About the Author:

www.delicious-sandwich-recipes.com

www.chow-chows-secrets.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/recipes-articles/do-you-have-great-recipes-767164.html

2009-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Salmonella in our Food

Author: mike

It is becoming all too common of an event; salmonella is making its way into our foods and the FDA doesn’t seem to be able to get a handle on the problem. If it’s not tainted meat, it’s packaged lettuce or spinach that’s bringing this danger into our homes, our lives. There was the jalapeño scare that affected many prepackaged peppers, and not so long ago the big scare was tomatoes. The areas within the food industry it affected were astronomical; from the local grocery stores, to restaurants and fast-food joints. If that wasn’t bad enough, the latest scare may even top that one; tainted peanut butter. This has affected many prepackaged and processed foods, going way beyond the simple jar of peanut butter.

So what does this tell us about the current state of our food Industry and those who govern it? It tells me that it’s become such a profit driven money hungry business that safety and quality are less important as the bottom line, and with pockets this deep unsanitary practices and working conditions are somehow “overlooked” by those who are supposed to be there to protect us. Since it could take years, if at all, for such a broken system to right itself, we must see this as a wakeup call and rethink the way we eat. We have let our busy on-the-go lifestyles govern the way we eat for far too long, depending on manufactures to do all the meal preparations (premixed, precooked, premade) which allows the average person to know nothing more than how to operate a microwave. It’s time to get back to the simplicity of food, and leave behind what food manufactures are trying to pass as such.

Throughout all of the salmonella outbreaks I’ve mentioned, I have been able steer clear of the hazards without having to change my buying and eating habits. This is because my diet consists of mostly organic whole foods and minimally processed foods. The less number of processes food goes through, the less number of times it is touched by man or machine, and limiting this handling limits the chance of contamination; not to mention yields a food much higher in nutrients (which is commonly lost during processing and later added back in as in the form of synthetic vitamins and minerals). Instead of packaged produce, look for the fresh organic variety; local health food stores or farms can be a great place to purchase these, and your support will go locally instead of to the already deep pockets of large corporations. Instead of highly processed foods, look for organic minimally processed foods. Take the current peanut butter scare; I purchase freshly ground organic peanuts. That means there is nothing in the peanut butter other than, well, peanuts…fresh organic minimally processed peanuts.

Now compare that to the ingredients of a typical jar of peanut butter from a popular brand:

* “Made from Roasted Peanuts and Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono- and Diglycerides, Salt”

In deciphering this you can see they have sugar listed twice (once as sugar and again as “molasses”), and fat listed twice (once as “mono- and diglycerides” and again as “Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils “), both of which require a lot of processing; not to mention, neither of which are helping the obesity problem in this country. All of this added to increase the shelf life, but at what cost to your health?

Maybe people would be less likely to buy highly processed foods if the labels listed in detail these processes instead of their “pseudo names”. What if instead of “Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils”, the label read, “Hydrogenation is a high tech process. Vegetable seeds are cleaned and bleached to remove all color, taste, smells and impurities. The liquid vegetable oil is then heated to high temperatures and a catalyst (commonly nickel, but could be palladium, platinum or rhodium) is added. Hydrogen is bubbled through the liquid. The mixture is then filtered to remove the metal, leaving hydrogenated vegetable oil. Water, whey, salt, vitamins, colorings, flavorings and emulsifiers may then be added to produce hydrogenated margarine.”; or instead of “mono-glycerides and di-glycerides” the label read “The MGs and DGs added are usually by-products of fats and oils processing such as partial hydrogenation and various forms of extraction and interesterification processes.”

It’s time to simplify what we eat, down to the basic organic ingredients, and leave behind all of the processes found in highly processed foods!

About the Author:

http://www.cookingallergyfree.blogspot.com

Living with allergies can be difficult, some harder than others. Being allergic to both soy and dairy, I know this first hand. So with the hopes of educating others, I have created a very informative blog with a focus on living soy and dairy free, while maintaining a healthy diet. My belief in natural healing and natural cures is the driving force behind my desire to be as healthy as I can be...body and mind.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/salmonella-in-our-food-762598.html

2009-02-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

How to Make Easy Lemon Meringue Pie

Author: Vincent Platania

Easy lemon meringue pie is a great way to make an impressive looking and tasting dessert without a lot of fuss. Regular lemon meringue pie takes a lot of effort but there are a few shortcuts you can take in order to make an easy lemon meringue pie that tastes as good as one from scratch.

The first step in easy lemon meringue pie is the crust. If you’re in a really big hurry, you can use a pre-made refrigerated crust. If you have a little extra time, use one half of a box of graham crackers (one package) and a stick of butter. Let the butter soften at room temperature, and crush the graham crackers until they’re fairly fine. Mix the two and spread over the bottom of your pie pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. This is a delicious pie crust that will make your easy lemon meringue pie taste even better.

The next step in making easy lemon meringue pie is to prepare a lemon pudding mix according to the package instructions. Choose one like Rawleigh’s Lemon Dessert Mix that’s smooth and creamy and mix it carefully so it doesn’t taste powdery and no one will be able to tell the difference between this and lemon filling made from scratch.

Pour the dessert mix into the pie crust and add some lemon zest for a little extra flavor. The final step in making easy lemon meringue pie before baking is to create the meringue. There are no shortcuts for this step, but don’t let it intimidate you. Take three egg whites and ¼ a teaspoon of cream of tartar and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is foamy. Add 6 tablespoons full of sugar a little at a time and beat the mixture until stiff peaks form in it.

Spoon the meringue on top of the pie filling and make sure the edges are completely covered, otherwise the inside of the pie will get soggy. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes; when the meringue starts to brown slightly your easy lemon meringue pie is almost done. Finally, let it cool for at least three hours before serving. This easy lemon meringue pie is a real crowd pleaser that will earn you the same street cred as a chef as if you’d made it from scratch.

About the Author:

Rawleigh Products was founded in the late 1800s to create a line of "Good Health Products" that possessed both strength and quality. Visit http://www.rawleigh-products.com or Call # 1-800-992-1089

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/recipes-articles/how-to-make-easy-lemon-meringue-pie-762628.html

Caramel Streusel Topped Apple Pie With Flaky Pie Crust

2009-02-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

Caramel Streusel Topped Apple Pie With Flaky Pie Crust

Author: Linda Wilson

There may be nothing more American than apple pie but you just haven't had apple pie until you've tried this Caramel Streusel Topped Apple Pie. If you love caramel apples, you just have to try this pie! We have also included a recipe for a flaky crust that is easy and stays flaky. Yes, you, too, can make a good flaky pie crust. Don't let the long name of this delicious pie put you off--it is not hard to make, in fact it is easy.

FLAKY PIE CRUST:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
4 to 6 tbsp ice water

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Add ice water, tossing with a fork, until mixture comes together; form into a bowl. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Place in a 9-inch glass pie plate. Trim the overhang to 1-inch and fold under. Flute the edge. Use with the following pie.

CARAMEL STREUSEL TOPPING:
9 tbsp butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup toffee bits

APPLE FILLING:
6 or 7 Golden Delicious apples
3/4 cup toffee bits
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make the topping combine butter, flour, sugar, and toffee bits. Form mixture into two balls; refrigerate.

Filling: Cut each of the apples into quarters. Peel and core each quarter, then cut each in half. Toss the apples with the toffee chips, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Spoon the mixture into the crust. Dot with the butter. Remove the topping from the refrigerator and break into pieces over the apples. Bake for 20 minutes. Loosely cover pie with a tent of foil with a quarter-sized hole in the center to allow steam to escape. Bake for 1 hour or until bubbly and crust is golden at 400 degrees.

Enjoy!

About the Author:

For more Sweet Treats visit
href="http://ladybugssweettreats.blogspot.com">http://ladybugssweettreats.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/desserts-articles/caramel-streusel-topped-apple-pie-with-flaky-pie-crust-750043.html

Old Fashioned Recipes Are Still The Best Cooking Medium

2009-01-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

By: Eddie Yak

It seems like every day offers up a new medium online or on television for recipe lovers. On cable, channels dedicated to cooking have cropped up, and individual programs offer in-depth look at specific types of cooking, cuisine and recipes. And on the Internet, there are even more resources for new and old-fashioned favorite recipes, as well as forums and communities that let you search and share recipes with other amateur cooks.
There are more resources than ever available to recipe lovers everywhere, and new recipes that no one has ever heard of are invented every day. Yet even in the face of all of the new recipes and cooking styles, good old-fashioned recipes still remain the number one favorite of Americans as well as people in other countries, as well. While our cooking tools, implements and ingredients have changed dramatically over the last century (think of the microwave and fat-free ingredients, for instance), the favorite recipes are still those that were cooked up well over a century ago.
Old-fashioned favorite traditional meals still make up the majority of the meals that are cooked for families across the United States and other nations around the world. While the way we cook may have changed, the food that we eat really hasn't. Although it may be presented in different ways, the old-fashioned favorites are still showing up in recipes just as frequently as they were a century ago. And can you really blame anyone for enjoying old-fashioned cooking and recipes more than the new-age, bland, strange food that is served up in some new restaurants?
The best-tasting recipes are the ones that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers treated their families to many years ago, and some people count family recipes as their most prized possessions. They commit these family recipes to memory and pass them on to their children as heirlooms that are to be treated with reverence and respect. In fact, even suggesting a small change to grandma's traditional recipe is enough to anger some of today's cooks in their own home kitchens. But wait: what about new fat-free and healthy eating crazes that have captured much of the nation?
For some, it is heresy to transform traditional family recipes into fat-free or healthy versions, but luckily it is still indeed possible to create those traditional recipes while using healthier ingredients. Thankfully, many new healthy ingredients taste much the same as our traditional less healthy counterparts, so most people won't notice much of a difference. But just to be safe, it is probably better not to mention to the most traditional diners that you went out of your way to make their meal a little healthy. Let them eat and enjoy, and the healthiness of your traditional recipe can be your own secret!

Article Source: http://www.freeforallarticles.com

Aaron Cherry is a big time chef.

Your best standby on the food front: delicious pasta salad.

2009-01-30T11:19:00.001-08:00

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve been invited to a party and realize you don’t have a meal to bring. Not only that, but the party starts in an hour. What should you do?

You have four options:

Don’t go, and miss out on a really fun time. Show up empty-handed and explain red-faced that you forgot. Grab a casserole dish and head to the deli. Order your food and have them put it right into your casserole dish. Yes, I’ve done this. It’s expensive but it works.

If you get asked for the recipe, just wink and say “It’s Grandma’s secret recipe.”

Whip up a big batch of pasta salad for only a few dollars, and have plenty left over to eat for lunch during the week. You will save money and look good showing up at the party with a great dish.

Pasta salad is truly one of the easiest meals to prepare. All you need are noodles and salad dressing. You can use pretty much any salad dressing on the market – the standards like Italian, Ranch, or, if you’re ambitious, your favorite homemade dressing.

Now for the fun part. Cook the noodles, following package directions and then drain. Pour the dressing on while the noodles are warm so they will absorb that entire good oily flavor.

Look around your kitchen to see if you have any of the following ingredients:

Fresh veggies – carrots, broccoli, green onions
Frozen vegetables – frozen peas are wonderful in pasta salad
Cubed or shredded cheese
Garbanzo beans (also known as Chick Peas)
Black Olives

Toss in whatever you can find. It’s an ‘everything goes’ type of recipe. Bring more dressing with you in case you need to add it later, and voila! You’re done.

If you’re feeling fancy, you can bring some cherry tomatoes, parmesan cheese, bacon bits or sunflower seeds as toppings. It’s all good.

The next time you are invited to a party, don’t panic. Just grab these instructions and whip up a meal in minutes. Enjoy!

About The Author-- Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to recipes, cuisines, cookery tips, do please browse for more information at our websites. http://www.infozabout.com http://www.recipes.infozabout.com

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Baking Thoughts for Summer Foods

2009-01-30T07:56:00.000-08:00

Summer is a great time of year for baking. The natural response to the warmer weather would be to enjoy the outdoors rather than baking in your kitchen, but it is quite the opposite. Although you are working in the heat of the oven, the snacks you can create are enough to cool you off while enjoying the process of creating deserts yourself. The countless flavors that are fitting for the summer atmosphere will make you forget about the heat in the kitchen. Many baked goods also do well when served cold or frozen, making them perfect to help you cope with and enjoy the summer.

When it comes to baking in the summer, fruit is often the centerpiece. Strawberries, mangoes, limes and a wide variety of melons are commonplace. Homemade cream mixed with berries also finds its way into many summertime desserts. Muffins and pastries with exotic fruit flavors also stand out this time of year. Then there are the cakes. From decadent to fun, there is an abundance of variety available when it comes to summertime cakes.

Using fruit for baking is wildly popular in the summer. The sweet juicy flavors refresh the palate and provide a wonderful touch to recipes that fit the warm weather. Making jam is also popular in the summer. Taking your favorite fruits and turning them into jams and preserves is not only delicious, but also relatively easy. It is a baking activity fit for the entire family. If you really want to make the activity outstanding, bake your own bread to go along with the jam. You can even bake the bread over a fire when you are out camping for a perfect culinary adventure. Pies are also a popular use for sweet, summertime fruits. If a classic pie does not quite fit your style, you can use piecrusts, cookie dough or even basic pizza dough to make fruit pizza. Make the dough yourself, use yogurt or a similar spread able food for your sauce and spread fruit around the dough to make an irresistibly sweet delight.

Muffins and pastries are also very popular baked goods for the summertime. Mixing your favorite fruits into your favorite variety of muffin dough can make a perfect summer breakfast. Peaches, strawberries, raisins and bananas make for wonderful ingredients in your muffins and pastries with these fruits are a perfect baked good for your sweet tooth. Kiwi, pineapple and blueberries also go wonderfully in your muffins and pastries in the summertime.

A great part of summer baking is cakes. Fresh fruits find their way into cakes as well. Banana cakes, strawberry shortcake, pineapple cakes and others are all extremely popular when the weather heats up. Fruit filled cheesecakes also tend to be baked frequently in the summertime. You can also login onto www.cajuns-recipes.com. Including ice-cream with your cakes is a great way to keep everybody cool. Another summertime trend is making cakes in exotic shapes. Whether it is a watermelon cake both in flavor and in design or a towering castle of confectionary delight, the options for cake design in the summer are infinite. Other popular elements of design are flowers, butterflies, vines and collections of fruit.

As if the fruit muffins, pastries and cakes are not enough, summertime baking also features includes ice cream. Bake some French toast or Belgium waffles then add your favorite ice cream, fresh fruits and any other toppings you may enjoy. You will have yourself a dish to cool the summer heat and delight your taste buds simultaneously.

When you have exhausted these recipes, you can try making your own scones or fried dough. Another option is to make your own jam to go with your dough. If there is still more that you want to do, try fondue. Melt some chocolate or peanut butter and add in your homemade jams, this allows you have all the dips you could need. Bake some fried dough, mix in fresh fruit, and dip it all together to liquefy your dessert.

Baking in the summer has endless possibilities. However, in the end it all boils down to using a wide variety of fresh fruits. Whether you are making jam, bread, muffins, pastries, and cakes or enhancing your ice cream, the key to baking in the summer is in the fruit.

www.300-chicken-recipe.com

How to Design Your Own Beer Recipe

2009-01-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the greatest thrill in making beer is that innate desire of the individual brewer to create a truly unique, signature brew. This process of recipe design comes easy to some, but it can present a big challenge to others. Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics and remind ourselves that all beer essentially contains just a few key ingredients: malt, hops, yeast, and water. We know that the malt provides the fermentable sugars, and the yeast converts these sugars to alcohol, while the hops work to balance the sweetness of unfermented sugars. That’s the general process. It’s the manner in which we bring these and other ingredients together that determines the characteristics of the finished beer. Take the time to really familiarize yourself with these ingredients. For example, it’s fine to read about the unique flavors imparted by different varieties of hops, but you should also focus on the aroma of the hops as you use them. Seek out existing recipes that call for ingredients you have never used. Recreate these recipes, and keep a detailed journal of each brewing session. This journal should include a list of the ingredients, starting and finishing gravities, fermentation temperature, and all important dates and times such as time of boil, pitching, fermentation, secondary racking, and bottling. ProMash is just one of many software programs available to help with this task. I only mention it because it is what I use. If you would prefer, a pen and notebook will work just fine. Once you have found a recipe you enjoy, go back to your journal. Look for ways to make it even better, and make it your own. Perhaps there are other flavors, enjoyable to you but not always used in beer, that you can bring to this recipe. Begin the process of experimentation. Recently, I discovered a wheat beer recipe that I enjoy very much. My goal now is to recreate it, slightly lighter in body and with a hint of lemon and basil. Take the liberty to do the same with your beer. Just remember to keep the batch sizes small during the experimentation process. That way, if you don’t care for the finished product, not much is lost.

Ouzo - It’s all Greek to me

2009-01-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

Do you know why Ouzo appears milky? No? I’ll tell you then; It’s the anethole (be careful how you say it) you see. Anethole is what supplies the aromatic taste to Ouzo, and it dissolves in alcohol, but not in water, so when Ouzo is diluted, the anethole separates and turns the drink milky. Not a lot of people know that, as Michael Caine once said, but this isn’t a story about anethole, it’s about that wonderful Greek institution, Ouzo.

Like the drink, Ouzo’s history is a little murky too. Although the popularity of Ouzo as we know it today, rocketed during the nineteenth century, there are some who believe the drink to be much older. The claim is that Ouzo is the offspring of Tsipouro, a drink that was distilled during the Byzantine Empire and adopted by the Ottomans. The home of Tsipouro was said to be a monastery on the much revered Mount Athos, where fourteenth century Monks would prepare a type of Tsipouro that was flavoured with anise, and it was this that eventually came to be known as Ouzo.

Following Greek independence in the nineteenth century, distillers on the island of Lesbos began a tradition that is still strongly followed today, with the island being a major producer. The islanders have a strong claim to be the originators of the drink, at least in its modern form. When people fell out of love with absinthe in the early part of the twentieth century, they turned to Ouzo, which was described as absinthe without the wormwood so the drink gained status. Copper stills were introduced in 1932, which is now considered an essential for any Ouzo maker worth his salt. Varvayanis, who are located in the town of Plomari, are one of the main producers of Ouzo. You will also find the home of Pistillate in the same town.

One of the arguments cited by the pro-tsipouro lobby, is the visit to Thessaly in 1896 of Professor Alexander Filadelfefs, who claimed that the name changed to Ouzo after the following event; At that time, Thessaly exported fine quality cocoons to Marseille, and in order to distinguish the crates from the run-of-the-mill production, they were stamped with ‘Uso Massalia’, which means ‘to be used in Marseille’, so these two words in effect meant ‘Superior Quality’. When a Turkish diplomat by the name of Anastas Bey visited the town of Tymavos, he was requested to sample the local Tsipouro. As he savoured the aromatic drink, the diplomat exclaimed ‘this is uso Massalia my friends’, and as the story spread, the name Ouzo began to be used.

However, there is another explanation of the name; Sir G.Clauson tells us that the word Ouzo is a derivative of uzum, which is Turkish for grapes, so it would seem that not only the origin of the drink is in question, but also the source of the word by which we identify it.

Anyway, you could argue about it until you’re blue in the face, but I prefer to think about it whilst I’m drinking it. Ouzo is Ouzo; it just is. I’d rather discuss which is the best way to drink Ouzo. The traditional way is with water in a small glass, but the brave ones amongst you may like to try it neat. Adding Cola has become a very popular, but in my opinion, barbaric option which neutralises the liquorice taste. Go and drink an alco-pop if that’s what you like. It is also traditional to eat bite-sized snacks with your drink, or a small portion of sardines, much like the Spanish Tapa, but the real, main ingredient for enjoyment is the same as any drink; surround yourself with friends, Greek if possible.

Ouzo is also considered a medicine, especially by the older generation, who refer to the drink as ‘To Farmako’ (the medicine). It is said to relieve toothache, but I suppose any alcoholic drink would if you drank enough. Other medicinal uses of Ouzo are; as a liniment for aching muscles, to calm the nerves, as an expectorant, as a diuretic and as something to settle an upset stomach.

In 2006, Greece won denomination rights for Ouzo, Tsipouro and Tsikoudia, which disallowed foreign distillers from using the names.

Article Source: http://www.articleset.com

Chocolate Cookie Recipes (fun to Make With the Kids)

2009-01-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways to make memories with your children or grandchildren is to allow them in the kitchen with you. Kids love to bake and they enjoy eating and sharing with others the goodies they make. It is also a fun learning experience for them, one they don't even realize is a lesson. Organing ingredients, following the instructions in the recipe, working together to make something special, and don't forget clean-up. It is important for children to learn that after the fun, there is clean-up to be done. If you work it right, they will even think that is part of the fun. Counting and measuring is also a good math lesson. So don't try to keep your children out of the kitchen. Invite them in and have fun together. Homemade Chocolate Sandwich Cookies is a recipe they will love as they get to put the cookies and filling together to make "sandwiches". They may not get them perfect but life is not about perfection in everything. You aren't trying to make a masterpiece, just a cookie! And the kids will love dunking the Chocolate Dunk Cookies in the chocolate mixture. Note: When baking with chocolate and children, be sure they wear aprons, smocks, or older clothing.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES

This recipe is from an old Midwestern State church cookbook.

1/2 cup butter or oleo

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsps baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cocoa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in the order given. Beat until smooth. Drop by rounded teaspoon on buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool and make sandwiches using the filling recipe below.

Marshmallow Filling:

1/2 cup white shortening

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup marshmallow cream

1 tsp vanilla

3 or 4 tsps milk (adjust amount for the right consistency)

Cream shortening and sugar together and mix in rest of the ingredients. Spread between cookies and make sandwiches. Wrap individually in plastic wrap to store so they won't stick together.

CHOCOLATE DUNK COOKIES

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

8 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, divided

3/4 cup margarine, softened

2 tbsp firmly packed Splenda brown sugar blend OR 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup SPLENDA granular

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Coarsely chop 5 squares of the chocolate and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine, brown sugar, and SPLENDA with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg substitute and vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture beating until blended. Stir in chopped chocolate and nuts. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Dough drops should be two inches apart. Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks. Melt 3 squares of chocolate in microwave as directed on package. Dip one half of each cookie into the melted chocolate. Place in single layer on waxed paper and let set until chocolate is set.

Note: This recipe uses some ingredients that make it diabetic friendly. You can make the following changes, if you do not have diabetics in your family: Substitute 1 egg for the egg substitute and 3/4 cup granulated sugar for the Splenda granular.

Enjoy!

Herb-Tomato Grilled Chicken

2008-12-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

3 lb Chicken, cut-up 1 ds Black pepper 1 ds Salt

-------------------------------BASTING SAUCE------------------------------- 2 tb Oil or melted butter 2 Cloves garlic, minced 3/4 c Tomato ketchup 2 ts Dried basil leaves 2 tb Lemon juice Cut off excess fat from chicken pieces. Loosen skin away from the meat (this helps the basting sauce to reach the meat underneath). Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Mix together and blend well the oil, tomato ketchup, lemon juice, the garlic and basil. Place chicken pieces on rack. Brush both sides with basting sauce. Grill chicken for 12 to 15 minutes on one side, brushing with basting sauce from time to time. Turn chicken over. Brush again with sauce. Grill chicken for another 12 to 15 minutes or until chicken is done and juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Serve immediately with crusty bread and a tossed green salad, tomatoes, and crispy baked potato wedges.

About the author: Grab more free recipes at http://recipe-directory.net

About Indian Cooking

2008-12-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

Indian food is regarded as one of the most exotic and tasteful cuisines in the world. If you are up for something different to tantalize your taste buds, then Indian food is your answer. Its flavours are so incredible, variety are so wide and the infusion of spices are so intense. No wonder why people from all corners of the globe, whether you are brought up in a Western or Eastern culture, are so captivated by Indian cooking.
These days, instead of cooking their own Indian food recipes at home, people would rather eat out or order them in restaurants. Why? More often than not, people usually think that in order to produce the best tasting Indian meal, one must have all the special herbs and spices from India and one must know how to blend them perfectly. Aside from that, many of them think that in order to unleash the real Indian aroma and flavour of the food, it would take them long hours and a lot of tedious work to prepare for the ingredients.

But really, preparing a sumptuous Indian meal is not as hard as you think it is. You do not have to be a master chef or hardcore Indian food enthusiast. We all know spices are the souls of Indian cooking. If you get the spices right, you are as good as successfully creating a well-cooked Indian meal. The many ingredients as well as the herbs and spices that are required to produce a amazing Indian recipe are actually within your reach. Thanks to the growing popularity of Indian cuisine, many special whole or ground spices and a wide selections of curry pastes can be readily purchased from many local food stores and supermarkets, and even conveniently through online. Gone are the days where you need to peel, chop and grind your garlic or onion and to wash your cutting board, knife and blender afterwards. Ginger, garlic, onion and a wide range of other spices that are preservative free and as pure as having just prepared them are not hard to find. Therefore, the authenticity of the taste of the Indian food you are trying to prepare is not compromised.

Make sure that you get these basic ingredients that are frequently used in Indian food in your pantry. One of the main basic ingredients is the red onion. Aside from that, you must also include the three important G’s. They are the Garlic, the Green Chillies and the Ginger. Other equally important spices in Indian dishes that you must not ignore are turmeric, chilli pepper, black mustard seed, fenugreek and cumin. To add more zest and spiciness to your dishes, add more fresh red chilli as well as chilli powder as desired. Often, garam masala or Indian spice mix is used. This ubiquitous mix is a blend of various spices such as cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin seeds and coriander seeds. These are the basic ingredients that allow you to jump start your way of cooking Indian cuisine from your very own kitchen.

Cooking Indian dishes is not that hard as long as you obtain the right herbs and spices, which can be easily availed in the market or can be planted in your backyard.

Indian Food Recipes is an online Indian cooking website offering a collection of free Indian cooking recipes and cooking tips.

Mexican Food Menu: A Favorite Salsa Recipe

2008-11-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

When it comes to making the best food for our family, we choose the best in ingredients that will promote healthy living while provide exceptional flavor. Thankfully, today it is easier than ever to find the recipes we want via the internet. For my own family, I love adding this wonderfully delicious salsa to our Mexican food menu plan.

Why choose this salsa?

The answer is simple! It is super easy to make and everyone loves it! There is never any left over, and when it comes to leftovers, you can bet my family has a lot. This is great to add to a meal or even eat as a snack. Filled with deliciously fresh fruits and vegetables, this is one salsa your family will ask for again and again.

Favorite Salsa Recipe

Ingredients:

4 medium fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (up to 1 cup)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh green pepper (bell pepper)
1/4 cup oil
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh green chilies
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp cilantro (coriander) seed, crushed (or fresh cilantro leaves)
1 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill, stirring occasionally. Serve with was corn chips or tortilla chips.

Variations:

Instead of fresh tomatoes, you can use a high quality whole, canned tomato. Be sure to drain first!

Instead of a fresh green pepper, I like to add a variety of colors! Try adding a touch of the red bell peppers as well as the yellow bell peppers. This will make a colorful sensation that is delicious and well received.

If you are wanting to remove the red wine vinegar, you will be making the salsa all that more healthy without negating any of the taste!

Instead of regular table salt, try adding a healthier sea salt.

Try using different types of onions. Each onion has its own taste and flavor. My favorite is the sweet onion. Mm, mm, super!

Some of my family members are not a huge cilantro fan. Generally, I will split the batch or make a double batch adding cilantro to only one batch. This will insure everyone has his or her preferred taste!

When it comes to healthy living, this is a must have for my Mexican food menu plan. Salsa can be used with just about anything, and this also stores extremely well which means you can place in a non-metal container for later use if refrigerated. However, you should only store for a week to insure freshness.

Making a Mexican menu plan is a great way to add culture to the family dinner table. The combination of taste and appearance makes this cuisine one of the most popular in the world. When you can have salsa has a main condiment, you will be in control of the goodness your family eats. Even children love this cuisine, and for good reason.

If you have trouble getting the kids to eat their fruits and vegetables, try making a wonderful salsa that will appeal to him or her!

How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

2008-11-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

People have been making and enjoying ice cream for centuries, so much so that it is almost considered an art form. No doubt it has changed a great deal since ancient times but the process used today is mostly unchanged for the last few decades. When you make homemade ice cream, of course, you won’t use the same process that big companies use to pump out thousands of gallons of ice cream to be sold in parlors and grocery stores everyday. Your process will be smaller, fresher and have a personal touch.

There will only be a slight resemblance in the taste of your homemade ice cream and the ice cream you buy at the store. Yours will taste much better. The ingredients you are going to use, fruits, nuts and other flavorings are going to be fresh, not mass produced. You will put in your flair, personal attention and care and I know you will taste the difference in the finished product. Not to mention the enjoyable experience you will have spending time with family and friends making and enjoying your unique ice cream creation.

A good place to start, of course, will be with a good recipe. As you can imagine, there are hundreds of great ice cream recipes that you can use to get you started but you will undoubtedly want to come up with your own as you get more comfortable. Check with family members to see if there are family recipes that have been handed down through the years. The connection to the past is a big reason that many people choose to make their own homemade ice cream. What’s better than having ice cream “just like grandma used to make?”

Don’t fret if you don’t have an ancestral family recipe to start off with. The building blocks of any ice cream recipe are neither exotic nor expensive. You might do well to practice with the basics until you are happy with the ice cream that you are making. Then you can get fancy with delicious flavorings and combinations of ingredients. Here’s a basic vanilla recipe to get you rolling:

Ingredients:

1/2 pint (250 ml) light cream
condensed milk, small tin
1 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth

Once the ingredients are mixed and smooth, load it into the churn or ice cream machine. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the ice and salt and activate the machine to churn the ice cream. Or if you’re using a manual churn, turn the crank for about 10 minutes to give the ice plenty of time to freeze the cream in the interior compartment. You may need to crank a bit longer if the cream has not set up after 10 minutes.

Once you have completed the “hard labor” put the ice cream in the freeze for a couple of hours to finish freezing into your wonderful frozen treat. The last part of the process is the easiest. Take your ice cream out of the freezer and find some family and friends to indulge in your delicious creation. Now that you’re an expert at homemade ice cream, start planning your next big party or family get together to show off your new skills!

Author Resource: Cheri Brennan has been making homemade ice cream with her family for years. To get more tips and resources for making your own ice cream, click here today: http://icecream.newinfohighway.com

Article From: Article Asylum

2008-11-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

Pizza is one of the most popular fast foods in the United States. It tastes good, it’s quick, and it’s convenient. These three things alone make it a top choice for families everywhere. While these are some of the advantages of ordering pizza from some joint that delivers, there are definite and obvious advantages to trying your own homemade pizza. Get the family together in the kitchen, save some money, and control the ingredients you include in your pizza.

One of the first advantages of making your own homemade pizza is getting your family into the kitchen together. Dividing up the tasks of making a pizza among family members is a great way to slow down in a busy life and be able talk about your day, how everyone is feeling, and has general family together time. If you want more details visit at www.cat-head-biscuit.com. If you have smaller children, tasks like rolling out the dough, spreading pizza sauce, and placing the cheese on the pizza are safe, less-messy ways to have your young child help with the making of the pizza. They are protected and still feel like they are able to help and contribute. If you have older kids, you may consider letting them help you with more adult projects like cutting up the vegetables, cooking any meats, or putting the pizza in the oven when it is time. Bringing the family together in the kitchen then eating together at the table can strengthen the bond you feel with one another.

Another advantage of making your own pizza as a family is to save some money. While fresh ingredients can be costly, purchasing fresh vegetables at the farmer’s market can be very inexpensive. The ingredients it takes to make a pizza from scratch can cost far less than ordering take-out pizza these days. Some pizza joints charge upwards of 25 dollars for a large supreme pizza. You can make 2 to 3 pizzas at home for that amount of money; more depending on the type of pizza you make. The cost of take-out pizza definitely takes its toll when ordering for a large crowd. A few large supreme pizzas and you’ve spent an exorbitant amount of cash. Making your own pizzas for a party can make a huge difference in bang for your buck.

One final advantage to making pizza instead of ordering it is that you can control the ingredients that go into your pizza. Many times, fast food places use much unhealthier foods and ingredients than you would as an individual. With making your own pizza, you control how much salt goes into that homemade sauce. You can also login on to www.cooking-chinese-style.com.You can also be absolutely certain of the freshness of the vegetables. And you can know what kind of environment it was made in. Doing this can help your pizza be much healthier and better tasting. Those are two qualities that everyone wants in a pizza.

There are many reasons to make a homemade pizza with your family. Just a few are that it will bring your family closer, it can be less expensive, and you can control the ingredients that are included. All of these make creating your own pizza from scratch a great choice for dinner that you can feel good about.

www.camping-outdoors-recipes.com

www.thanks-giving-recipes.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

Easier Cooking With A Little Preparation

2008-11-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever cooked can attest to how much can go wrong despite a detailed recipe and the best intentions. That's because recipes don't describe how you should interact with your space and most don't include much instruction on preparation. It can take a fair amount of reading between the lines to determine what can or should be done before the actual cooking begins and how to best use your space to make your dish a success. Try these simple steps to ensure delicious results every time!

Prepare your work area

You don’t have to have a state-of-the art gourmet kitchen with a huge island and miles of counter space to make delicious meals for your family. All you need is a working oven, stove, and sink, and about four to six square feet of clear counter space. If the recipe requires prepping meats or vegetables, you may want to set aside a couple of feet next to your sink for your cutting board so that clean up will be easier. Take a moment to remove the homework, bills, little used appliances, Barbie dolls, and car keys from your kitchen countertop...can you tell I’m speaking from personal experience?

Read the recipe COMPLETELY before beginning

Your cooking journey will be full of surprises and our goal is to make them all pleasant! To eliminate the recipe-sinking variety of surprises, take some time to familiarize yourself with your recipe ahead of time. Take it from an experienced cook... many times I’ve started a recipe only to realize that the cream cheese should have been at room temperature, or that I need to use a food processor and mine has been loaned to my sister… Which brings me to my next point…

Gather your tools

If you’re working from a cookbook or some other recipe you’ll need to read through the recipe to be sure that you have all the necessary tools handy. Place all of the tools you’ll be using on the countertop. Delicate sauces can ruin while you root around in the drawer for the right whisk!

Gather all of youringredients

Place your meats, vegetables, spices, canned goods, and everything else in one designated area on your countertop. As you review your recipe ahead of cooking, take note of both the ingredients and the state of preparation your recipe prescribes. Any description of preparation listed with the ingredients indicates preparation needed before cooking begins. "Cubed" meats, "chopped" vegetables, "lightly beaten" eggs are all examples. One day, you'll be a famous cook with your own sous chef, but for now, you must prepare!

mise en place

This is a French term that means having all tools ready and ingredients prepped and premeasured in small dishes, ready to add at the prescribed time. This technique, used by chefs to make preparing meals easier, will also help you to become a better cook. Here are a few examples of mis en place:

• Oiling the muffin pan
• Chopping and measuring a cup of onions
• Measuring out spices

You don’t need to go out and buy special dishes for mis en place. All you need are a few small bowls or containers—coffee cups, custard cups, even cereal bowls will do. I use several small melamine cups that I bought at a restaurant supply store for less than $1.00 each. You can also purchase a set of small glass or stainless bowls at your local kitchen store. I like Mario Batali’s prep bowls because they do double duty—they can be used for mis en place as well as measuring. Five cups that range in size from 1/8 cup to 2 cups are included, and each one has a halfway mark for measuring.

Your recipe

Have it handy and hands-free. If you’re using a cookbook it can be challenging to find a place to put the cookbook so that you can read the recipe and not get splatters all over the pages. Use an inexpensive cookbook holder. The Lucite type works well. If you’re working from a recipe that you’ve printed off of the internet, simply tape the recipe to an upper cabinet at eye-level near your work area. You can also try a typing stand from the office supply store, or a clipboard that you can lean against the wall.

Now you're ready to cook!
Toni Scott
Toni Tanner-Scott, Personal Chef and Cooking Coach, Dinner Made Simple, http://www.dinnermadesimple.com

How To Stock Your Pantry

2008-11-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone lament having a full pantry and nothing to eat... We've all learned from experience that the difference between a full pantry and a well-stocked pantry is the difference between a delicious home-made meal and... well, takeout. Again. A truly well-stocked pantry has the utility food items that transform a few fresh ingredients into a full meal. The most important pantry items tend to be used in lots of different ways and enable your fresh meats and vegetable to become lots of different dishes.

Key items--like beans, rice and pasta--are the makings of great side dishes while sauces, soups, dressings and marinades are all a snap if your pantry includes broth, good vinegar, and good oils. Good quality olive oil is a must, as is your favorite cooking oil, but peanut oil is also good for frying and high heat cooking as is the versatile and healthful grapeseed oil. Try the broths in resealable cartons and experiment with different pastas. Always get couscous and other grains in plain varieties to jazz up according to your mood. Quantities of all will be dictated by your families tastes and appetites, but start with these:

Oils: Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Sesame Oil, Peanut Oil

Vinegar: Balsamic, Apple Cider, Red Wine, White Wine, Rice Vinegar

Broth: Vegetable, Chicken, Beef

Beans/Canned: Red Beans, Kidney Beans, Black Beans, Chickpeas, Tomatoes

Pasta: Spaghetti, Bowties, Penne, Orzo, Couscous

Rice: Long Grain White, Brown, Arborio, Basmati, Jasmine

Another key group of pantry essentials are the dry ingredients, including baking ingredients, seasoning and dry herbs. All purpose flour is very important, as is kosher or sea salt, fresh black peppercorns. While fresh herbs are always best, often dried herbs will do...just don't use the herbs that came with your spice rack! Fresh, dried herbs and spices can be purchased by weight in small batches in the bulk foods section of reputable markets. Here is a list to get you started:

Dry Goods: All-Purpose Flour, Cornmeal, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Bread Crumbs

Herbs/Spices: Oregano, Basil, Chili Powder, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Paprika

Seasonings: Kosher/Sea Salt, Black Peppercorns, Cayenne Pepper

Rounding out your pantry are condiments, dry beans and dry storage. The most important condiments to have on hand for cooking are Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. I like to have both a smooth Dijon with white wine and and coarse grained country mustard on hand. Dry beans and lentils are hearty, full of fiber and last forever in the pantry, so stock up on all your favorite varieties. Keep a 10-bean mix on hand for soups and stews. Your dry storage drawer or bin should contain your favorite varieties of potatoes (I like red skinned or Yukon Gold), onions, shallots, and garlic. These items should be kept in a cool, dry, dark space and used or disposed of before they sprout or become soft and yielding to the touch.

Here's a good list to start with:

Dry storage: Potatoes, Onions, Shallots, Garlic

Condiments: Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce

Dry Beans: Red Beans, Black Beans, Navy Beans, 10-bean mix, Lentils

Once you have your basic pantry items, you’ll want to fine tune your list a bit to your favorite kinds of cuisine. Here are some great items on have on hand, organized by cuisine type to enable what ever kind of food your family likes best.

Italian: Anchovy Paste, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, black olives (canned or in jars), Rosemary (dried), Basil (Dried), Cannelloni Beans, Thyme (Dried), Oregano (dried), Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Capers, Tomato Paste, White Wine, Red Wine, Cornmeal or polenta, Pine Nuts

Mexican: Tomato Sauce, Chili Powder, Cumin, Coriander, Oregano,Black Beans, Pinto Beans

Thai: Coconut Milk, Red Curry, Green Curry, Garam Masala, Fish Sauce

Asian: Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Hot Chili Oil, Rice Vinegar, Rice Wine, Sesame Seeds, Five Spice Powder, Ground Dried Ginger, Hoisin Sauce

Creole: Cajun Seasoning, Cayenne Pepper, Tabasco sauce, Red Beans
Toni Scott
Toni Tanner-Scott, Personal Chef and Cooking Coach, Dinner Made Simple, http://www.dinnermadesimple.com

either way you win

2008-11-05T07:51:00.001-08:00

2008-11-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

The Rudiments of French Cuisine.

By: Bimla Sheokand

The people living in France love their food and so they have perfected the art of making dishes which not only fill the stomach but also fill the heart of the person who eats them. As far back as the 1500s, it is acknowledged that French cuisine has been impacted by three aspects:

1. The incursions of Celtic Gauls resulted in the partition of land holdings, and the initiation of agricultural operations.

2. The conquering Romans who pioneered cheese making.

3. The marauding Moors who brought in goats to France. The Moorish impact held sway over the ingredients and cooking techniques in France. It is quoted the first French cookery books were greatly influenced by the exotic Moorish flavor. The earliest known groundwork for the present day French recipes has been established as far back as the 1500s. In this period, haute cuisine has been brought to French courts by a woman called Catherine de Medici, an Italian. Down the years, chefs have perfected the art of this style of cooking. The Italian inspiration has greatly changed French culinary recipes, the techniques, ingredients, and serving style. The Medici cooks brought about the use of butter, truffles, artichokes, innovative dishes, and cooking styles. The distinction between spicy and sugary dishes was also pioneered by them. In the year 1652, French culinary recipes progressed to using mushrooms, truffles, and spices to set off and enrich the flavor of food. The classical thick sauces gave way to delicate stocks and sauces, whereas meat is usually served in its own juice. At that time, a French cook called La Varenne, authored the first cookery book on French cuisine, with dishes listed alphabetically, together with cooking directions for vegetables. At present, French cuisine is based on the variations of the many regions of France. With each region being known for its celebrated culture, cuisine in France can be broadly classified into three categories: 1. French culinary recipes based on the northern regions of the nation comprises of trouts, pikes, salmon and birds. Meat dishes and tarts generally contain fruit. The famous Calvados and Camembert cheeses are also included in the preparation of their food. 2. French cuisine based on the regions of Central France is renowned throughout the country. The popular ingredients used in their dishes are red wine and garlic butter added to chicken or beef. The motivation to prepare innovative and home cooked food comes from Burgundy wines of this particular region. Homemade dishes are very central to this area of France. 3. French culinary recipes influenced by the southern regions of the nation comprise of olive oil, aubergines, tomatoes, Roquefort cheese, wild mushrooms, and garlic. In addition, the exotic range of seafood of this region greatly augments the reputation of its food. Across the word, delectable French cuisine graces the menu of many of the famous restaurants and hotels.

Author Resource:->

http://www.300-dip-recipes.com/

http://www.404self-improvement-tips.com/

Article From Freebie Articles

Baking Thoughts for Summer Foods

2008-10-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Summer is a great time of year for baking. The natural response to the warmer weather would be to enjoy the outdoors rather than baking in your kitchen, but it is quite the opposite.

Although you are working in the heat of the oven, the snacks you can create are enough to cool you off while enjoying the process of creating deserts yourself. The countless flavors that are fitting for the summer atmosphere will make you forget about the heat in the kitchen.
Many baked goods also do well when served cold or frozen, making them perfect to help you cope with and enjoy the summer. When it comes to baking in the summer, fruit is often the centerpiece.

Strawberries, mangoes, limes and a wide variety of melons are commonplace. Homemade cream mixed with berries also finds its way into many summertime desserts. Muffins and pastries with exotic fruit flavors also stand out this time of year.

Then there are the cakes. From decadent to fun, there is an abundance of variety available when it comes to summertime cakes. Using fruit for baking is wildly popular in the summer. The sweet juicy flavors refresh the palate and provide a wonderful touch to recipes that fit the warm weather.

Making jam is also popular in the summer. Taking your favorite fruits and turning them into jams and preserves is not only delicious, but also relatively easy. It is a baking activity fit for the entire family. If you really want to make the activity outstanding, bake your own bread to go along with the jam.
You can even bake the bread over a fire when you are out camping for a perfect culinary adventure. Pies are also a popular use for sweet, summertime fruits.

If a classic pie does not quite fit your style, you can use piecrusts, cookie dough or even basic pizza dough to make fruit pizza. Make the dough yourself, use yogurt or a similar spread able food for your sauce and spread fruit around the dough to make an irresistibly sweet delight. Muffins and pastries are also very popular baked goods for the summertime.

Mixing your favorite fruits into your favorite variety of muffin dough can make a perfect summer breakfast. Peaches, strawberries, raisins and bananas make for wonderful ingredients in your muffins and pastries with these fruits are a perfect baked good for your sweet tooth. Kiwi, pineapple and blueberries also go wonderfully in your muffins and pastries in the summertime. A great part of summer baking is cakes.
Fresh fruits find their way into cakes as well. Banana cakes, strawberry shortcake, pineapple cakes and others are all extremely popular when the weather heats up.

Fruit filled cheesecakes also tend to be baked frequently in the summertime. You can also login onto www.cajuns-recipes.com. Including ice-cream with your cakes is a great way to keep everybody cool. Another summertime trend is making cakes in exotic shapes. Whether it is a watermelon cake both in flavor and in design or a towering castle of confectionary delight, the options for cake design in the summer are infinite.

Other popular elements of design are flowers, butterflies, vines and collections of fruit. As if the fruit muffins, pastries and cakes are not enough, summertime baking also features includes ice cream.

Bake some French toast or Belgium waffles then add your favorite ice cream, fresh fruits and any other toppings you may enjoy. You will have yourself a dish to cool the summer heat and delight your taste buds simultaneously. When you have exhausted these recipes, you can try making your own scones or fried dough. Another option is to make your own jam to go with your dough. If there is still more that you want to do, try fondue. Melt some chocolate or peanut butter and add in your homemade jams, this allows you have all the dips you could need. Bake some fried dough, mix in fresh fruit, and dip it all together to liquefy your dessert.

Baking in the summer has endless possibilities. However, in the end it all boils down to using a wide variety of fresh fruits. Whether you are making jam, bread, muffins, pastries, and cakes or enhancing your ice cream, the key to baking in the summer is in the fruit.
www.300-chicken-recipe.com

Healthy Homemade Dogs Treats

2008-10-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

By serving your dog with healthy homemade dog treats you are giving them a treat they will definitely enjoy having. If you can learn to make your own healthy homemade dog treats, you can control the ingredients they contain. This is especially important if you have a dog that has a special diet or is allergic to the common ingredients that are in normal, store bought treats.
For dogs on a diet, you can provide them with treats designed to fit in their daily calorie intake.

There are some finicky dogs out there who only have a taste for certain foods and will refuse to eat anything else making it hard for owners to find any treats to please them. With healthy homemade dog treats, you will be able to remove the artificial ingredients such as colors, additives, fillers, and byproducts that are bad for your dog. Animals need a pure alternative to the left over ingredients used in their food and homemade healthy dog treats give them just that. The store brand treats are created from preservatives the manufacturer adds to keep these treats on the shelves longer and to prevent spoilage.

Healthy homemade dog treats will not have any of this mess in them that might cause your dog to be sick. Only the most natural and highest quality ingredients go into your special pooches treats. You can add fresh vegetables, fresh meats, and other soft, clean ingredients instead of offering them dry, stale, biscuits out of a box that has been on the shelf for months or years before you buy it. When you are baking your own healthy homemade dog treats, you can be flexible in the ingredients you choose to add.

Many different combinations can be used to create different special flavors they like. Dogs love flavors like cheesy garlic, chicken, peanut butter, and beef. There are also recipes available that will allow you to make healthy homemade dog treats that taste like chocolate but, in reality, have no chocolate in them. Chocolate, of course, is a bad thing to feed your dogs and cats because it contains ingredients that could make them very sick. So next time don’t complain that your dog is not healthy, serve her best healthy homemade dog treat.

About the author:
You might not be knowing that most of the dog diseases are due to bad dog food. Prepare the best healthy dog food recipe for your dog. Dog Food Secrets is a guide that explains the healthy homemade dog food recipes with pictures. Check out Dog Food Secrets Review and don't let your dog die young. Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com

Diet Vanilla Milk Shake

2008-10-12T20:47:00.001-07:00

Healthy Fast Food Menu Options

2008-10-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

Fast food restaurants have gotten such a bad rap in the past few decades as a major reason for the obesity epidemic in the US, that many of them have felt compelled to defend their existence.

Recently, the head of McDonald's, one of the most often cited restaurants in the blame for obesity, defended his restaurants saying that they were not responsible for the obesity rates in children.I must agree with him that it is no one's direct fault that there are increasing amounts of obese children as well as adults, but the sad truth is that here in the US there are a combination of factors in our culture that promote obesity and will continue to unless we change our ways.

According to statistics, obesity rates have tripled in just the past thirty years in adults. If that doesn't tell you something is amiss, then I don't know what does.In response to pressure from consumer and health advocates, many fast food restaurants have come up with lighter menu options and healthier choices for kids meals to do their part in at least offering the option to be healthier. The rest is up to the customer or the parents of children who are eating there, and that is where the true education and enlightenment must come in, which is a difficult thing to control.Wendy's, one of the most popular fast food chains, has started to offer mandarin oranges as a side option, which is a lot healthier and less caloric than french fries or a loaded baked potato. They also offer side salads with light dressings, and have quite a nice little menu of low fat salads that would tempt anyone's taste buds. In fact, Wendy's probably has one of the best salad menus of any popular fast food chain right now in my opinion.

They still have their triple stacked burgers and fries too for those who want the true naughty fast food experience, but those who are watching their weight or are just generally health conscious now have choices that are more palatable than they have been in the past.

McDonalds has also jumped on the healthier offerings bandwagon, and has salads to choose from, although not as impressive nor as tasty as Wendy's, and instead of french fries as their only choice for sides, they also now offer fruit and nut parfaits and apple dippers, a favorite with kids, which is sliced apples with a low fat caramel dipping sauce.They even have offered active meals for adults which include salads, bottled water, and a free pedometer and health guide. A recent news story where a man lost significant weight eating at McDonalds no doubt fueled the popularity of apple dippers and their fruit and walnut parfait, both of which he ate almost exclusively while on his diet.

I recently went to the drive thru at a local Taco Bell, and even they have added a lighter menu to their offerings. The lighter menu offers some of the same traditional tacos, burritos and soft tacos, only they hold the cheese and load up more on the veggies, salsa and lettuce to make the meal lower fat and higher fiber, as well as lower in overall calories.

Subway is one of my favorite fast food places to grab a quick and healthy bite to eat while controlling calorie intake. They offer a whole line of subs that are low fat as well as 400 calories or less, perhaps slightly more on some but not much over the 400 calorie mark, which is ideal for a lunch or a dinner since it is calorie controlled.

Their offerings include subs on high fiber bread, which is delicious, and low fat meats such as roast beef, turkey and ham. You should order them without the cheese, which I've found to not be such a big deal since the cheese is very thin and doesn't provide much additional flavor anyways.

Just ordering without cheese saves you roughly one hundred calories. They have such a great selection of fresh veggies to pile on that you won't even notice you're eating a healthy, low fat meal. Choices include spinach leaves (my personal high fiber, high iron favorite), cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, pepper, pickles, and black olives (to be used sparingly, they are high in fat).

Add to that the fact that they have some great condiments that are fat free like their onion sauce and their honey mustard, and you've got a delicious low fat meal that will make you feel energized instead of lethargic, and keep you fuller longer than a burger and fries will.Burger King, McDonald's oldest rival, also has some healthy menu options. They do offer a veggie burger made by Morningstar, which is quite tasty, however if you want to make it low fat skip the mayo, which they apply copiously unless you ask them to hold it. Add extra tomato and lettuce and maybe a little mustard for some flavor, and you've got a low fat burger replacement. Hold the cheese though of course.

Burger King also offers a nice list of salads and some low fat dressings to accompany them as well for a low fat, high fiber meal with protein such as chicken.

There is also a grille chicken sandwich that if ordered without the mayo is a somewhat healthy choice. However, unlike McDonalds, they seem to be lacking in the other more novelty healthy foods that keep it interesting, meaning they are probably sticking with their core audience who stops for burgers and fries.

And there you have it. That's just a quick summary of some of the healthier choices offered by today's most popular fast food restaurants here in the US. Hopefully we will start to see more healthy competitors opening their doors in the same neighborhoods, and that at least will give us a better chance at getting something that is healthy, but also interesting.

Lose 10 pounds the yummy way

2008-10-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Get Your Cooking Act Together With Modern Up-to-date Kitchen Organizers

2008-10-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Take a look in your kitchen and see if you have any type of kitchen organizers in place. If you don't then surly your kitchen is one where everything clangs and bangs when ever you work in it. Your drawers are full of cooking tools piled in with one another and all of your pots, pans and strainers are stacked together in various semi organized piles in your cabinets.

A Restaurant Kitchen
Have you ever had the opportunity to walk through a professionally organized restaurant kitchen? Do you think that they pile everything together the way that you do? Hell no they don't! Thats because they have a bottom line to address and they can spend time rummaging through drawers full of a tools when they have orders to get out.

A Well Organized Kitchen
Everything is in its place, using some type of kitchen organizer. Even the food and spices that they use are kept together in a cupboard or a walk-in, using some type of organizer.
If anything is needed, its right where it belongs on its organizer hanger or trey.

Island Kitchen Organizers
If you have been watching cooking shows and have any plans on getting your kitchen groove on the way that the people on those shows do then you have to get yourself dialed in with kitchen organizers. Heck! There are even “island” styled butcher block surfaced organizers that hold everything that you need below.Get Your Kitchen Act Together!

A spice rack is definitely a must also, to keep all of your spices readily at hand. Also, if you are still keeping all of your knives in a drawer, no one will ever accept you as a gourmet chef until you have all of your knives organized in a counter top knife organizer.

Why do we eat so much pizza?

2008-10-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

As I sit at lunch time eating my pizza looking across the street at the salad place. Knowing I should have got a salad instead of this pizza. I want to know why do they make it so darn good. If its not good for us shouldn't they just , stop making it. But noooooooooooo, they continue to make them better and betters. Today I had a Mexican pizza it was like a taco, but on crust. UMMMh it was delicious. I tried to limit myself to pizza only every now and then. That means 3-4 times a month, which is great . Did you notice how I rationalized that. My cholesterol is high, so I knowi it s not good for me.

Shouldn't that matter to someone?

Only me. The one pizza spot I was hooked to P.H. I could not believe how good they are. The even have a nerve now to put extra cheese in the dough. Like you need more calories. My daughter got a job there, and she brought so much at home, we actually go sick of it. Plus she explained how the dough was sprayed down with grease too. That is probably what make it so darn delicious. So actually cured of them. There should be pizza anonymous club because I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like it. My new thing is to a least get a pizza that has some vegetable or lettuce or tomatoes on it.

I feel like I am eating a little more healthier. We American create more problems then solutions. It seems to me if there are so many things out there that are so delicious, but we do not need to be eating it. We are slowly killing ourselves because of joy of eating. Perhaps we need to start production more things that are healthy. And not make the healthy things so much more expensive. No wonder we pick the unhealthy over the healthy, it also cheaper.

Something really is wrong with this picture.

About the Author
Vanessa Brown, enjoys swimming, bicyling, and skating.

Food: Sweet and Sour Vegetables

2008-10-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

This dish can also be made by adding strips of meat to the vegetables, stir-fry the strips of chicken, pork or beef in the garlic and onions and remove from the pan but keep warm. Then adding any seasonal vegetables and stir-fry as above. Return the cooked meat to the pan to combine at the end. You can also use up pre-cooked meat in this dish, left-over roast chicken works well. Try marinading the cold chicken for half an hour or so in a little soy sauce, sesame oil and add a sprinkle of sesame seeds, before adding to the stir-fry to heat through. Drain water chestnuts and bamboo shoots , rinse well, add fresh water and allow to stand until ready for use. Have all ingredients prepared and ready to cook. Prepare sauce ahead of time. :

Pour about 1 oz of the wine into a deep cook pot - preferably lined. Turn heat to high. When wine gets hot, add lecithin - if youre using it - and stir vigorously. Saute carrots for about five minutes before other vegetables, then drop in pepper, cauliflower, onions, green onions, garlic and ginger.

Begin stirring immediately and vigorously. When vegetables have softened, add small amount of wine, broccoli and pea pods with vigorous stirring. Saute for a few minutes and cover.
If too dry add a small amount of wine. Cook for about three minutes. Add tofu - if used - pineapple, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, stir thoroughly, cover and cook for an additional two or three minutes. :

Have all ingredients for sauce in a measuring cup, stir well and pour over vegetables and stir.
Turn heat to medium, stir constantly until sauce just barely bubbles and thickens.
Serve with basmati rice or quinoa - or whatever. Wash all the vegetables and cut into bite size pieces. Place the 3 quarts water in a saucepan and bring to a vigorous boil.
Add all the cut vegetables to the boiling water and turn off the heat at once.
Let vegetables stay in the water for 2 minutes. Drain off water and spread out the vegetables to dry on a platter. When vegetables are cooled, pack the pieces at random tightly into a glass jar or plastic container. In a saucepan, mix marinade ingredients and bring to a boil.
Remove from stove to cool. Pour marinating liquid over the vegetables until they are completely covered. Cap the container or jar and store in refrigerator.
Ready you are Sweet and Sour Vegetables
Please visit in the site www.indomunch.com for extra details.

Nutritionally Smart: Seven Simple Ways to Eat Healthier (with Strawberry Orange Sorbet recipe)

2008-10-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

The key to better health is learning the difference between healthy and unhealthy nutrients. The choices we make greatly affect our health. Making a few simple healthy and nutritious changes in our dietary choices can have a profound and positive impact on our health, well-being, energy levels and life span. For instance . . . • Healthy proteins provide the amino acids our bodies require to build and repair lean body mass (like muscles, skin, hair and nails), and are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and chemicals. Good sources include wild salmon, beans, legumes, soy products (tofu, tempeh, TVP), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin), nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts) and nut-butters (peanut, almond, cashew, etc.). • Unhealthy proteins are loaded with saturated fat, cholesterol, hormones, or antibiotics (like beef, lamb, beacon and sausage).

While they give your body the needed amino acids, they also clog arteries and compromise your immune system. • Healthy fats are unsaturated fats (mono and poly), omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Good sources of these fats include extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, ground flax seeds and walnuts. They help your body absorb fat-soluble antioxidant micronutrients like vitamins A, E, D, and K, and lycopene. • Unhealthy fats are saturated fats and trans fatty acids (trans fats), like butter and margarine. These fats contribute to heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, hypertension and obesity. • Healthy carbohydrates are high in fiber and are considered complex carbohydrates. Good sources include rolled oats, brown rice, whole wheat, broccoli, squash, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, beans and whole fruit.
These help lower cholesterol, aide digestion, regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, and reduce caloric intake.

• Unhealthy carbohydrates are high in sugar and are called simple carbohydrates, like candy, white bread, sodas, ice cream, cake and cookies. These spike blood sugar and insulin levels, and increase caloric intake (they are considered empty calories). Eating nutrient-dense foods that are high in antioxidants, photochemical and fiber help the body function optimally, promote overall well-being and improve digestion. These nutrients also help fight and prevent heart disease, cancer and diabetes, strengthens the immune system, slows the aging process, increases energy and improves cognitive performance. Additionally, as we age our appetite lessens, making it even more critical to choose foods wisely. When every bit counts, picking foods with the highest nutritional profile is more important than ever.
An easy way to make your nutritional choices is to look for foods that are bright in color, for they usually contain more beneficial vitamins, minerals and photochemical. For example, red and pink grapefruit have the heart-healthy cancer-fighting antioxidant photochemical called lycopene while white grapefruit does not. Here are seven more simple ways to start eating healthier.

1. Switch from iceberg lettuce to romaine lettuce. Romaine lettuce has more vitamins and minerals like vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium and potassium. It also has more fiber than iceberg lettuce.

2. Eat brown rice instead of white rice. Brown rice naturally has more fiber and riboflavin, and less sugars than white rice. It is digested slower and is more filling.

3. Switch from white bread to whole-wheat or whole-grain bread. Whole-wheat and whole-grain breads have more fiber, iron and potassium. Slice per slice, they are more filling and satisfying than white bread.

4. Drink iced teas (black, green and herbal) instead of sodas. Black, green and herbal teas provide antioxidants and photochemical that enhances your health. Unlike sodas, you can control the sugar content when brewing your own iced teas.

5. Choose whole-grain or whole-wheat cereals with bran instead of sugar-coated cereals. Whole-grain cereals and whole-wheat cereals with bran naturally have more protein, fiber, calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin than sugar frosted cereals. Besides having less sugar, they are metabolized slower and are more filling. So you have more energy during the day and you will not get hungry right away.

6. Switch from cow’s milk to fortified soymilk. Soymilk contains no cholesterol or hormones, and is extremely low in saturated fat. It also provides is flavones and other beneficial photochemical that promote good health. Fortified soymilks also contain easy to absorb calcium, vitamins D and B6, and some even add extra antioxidants (like vitamins A, C, and E), folate and omega-3.

7. For dessert, have frozen fruit sorbet instead of ice cream. Frozen fruit sorbet is fat and cholesterol free and has more fiber. It is also loaded with antioxidant vitamins A and C, and contains beneficial photochemical. To get you started, try Monique N. Gilbert's deliciously nutritious homemade sorbet recipe. It is cholesterol-free, and high in antioxidants and fiber.

Strawberry Orange Sorbet
1-1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup fortified soymilk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
Blend in a food processor or blender for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Place in the freezer until ready to serve. Makes about 2 servings .

Crock-Pot Cooking Tips

2008-09-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

Crock-pot cooking can offer some very tasty meals and desserts however some basic rules should be followed when using a crock-pot to cook with. You should be careful not to over stir their food while it's cooking in a crock pot. Taking the lid off during cooking causes vast amounts of heat to escape, therefore the food should only be stirred if it is clearly stated in the recipe. Some elements can only be added at the end of the cooking time. When using milk and sour cream be sure to wait until the last fifteen minutes of cooking time before adding these ingredients. Unless the recipe states otherwise, seafood only needs to be included during the last hour of cooking time. Pasta and rice cook requirements are quite different for crock-pot cooking.

For the best results with pasta, cook in boiling water until just tender, and then add the pasta to the main dish during the last thirty minutes of cooking time. You should also try to use long grain converted rice for the best results. If the rice does not appear cooked completely through, you can add another 1-1.5 cups of liquid per cup of rice. Always boil beans before adding them to the crock-pot for cooking.

Frozen foods can be used in crock-pot cooking. When cooking frozen means you should use at least one cup of warm liquid along with the meat. When preparing these types of meals you should all for and additional four to six hours on low temperature or two hours on high.
Contrary to popular belief, cooking raw meat in the crock-pot is very safe. During the cooking process, the meat's internal temperature reaches approximately 170 degrees in beef and 190 degrees in poultry. Two important things to remember however is to always cook the meat for its complete time recommended in the recipe recommend time. Secondly, do not remove the lid on the slow cooker. There is no requirement to brown meat beforehand unless the you prefer the look and taste of browned meat. When cooking in a crock-pot the best flavors will come from whole herbs and spices. Crushed herbs and spices rapidly lose their flavor during the long cooking time, but whole spices keep their flavor during the entire cooking time because they take longer to let go of their flavor. Crock-pots can be used to make desserts and baked goods as well. You should be sure not to over beat breads and cakes; and should always follow the recommended recipe guidelines. Never add water to the crock-pot unless it specifically says to do so. Always allow cakes and breads to sit and cool for five to seven minutes before taking them out of the pan. Vegetables like potatoes and carrots should be cut no larger than 1" thick, and put in the bottom of the pot, since they require more time to cook. Crock-pot cooking can be delicious for both meals and desserts when some basic guidelines are followed.

Source: Free Articles

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

2008-09-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Each year, eighty percent of the pumpkins grown in the USA are harvested in October. Commercially canned puree is probably the most familiar edible form of this popular autumn produce, however the mild, slightly sweet flesh of fresh pumpkin makes and excellent dish when baked, boiled, sauteed, steamed or microwaved. The pumpkin seeds, as well, may be toasted to create a marvelously tasty and healthy snack.

This article will discuss the process of selecting the proper cooking pumpkin and the technique for preparing homemade pumpkin puree.

Selecting and Storing Fresh Pumpkins...

<> For cooking, select the small 'pie' types, often called sugar, cheese or milk pumpkins – the 'jack-‘o-lantern' pumpkins are not as sweet and the flesh is tough and stringy. (If uncertain, ask your grocer to help select the proper variety.)

<> Always select firm, sound pumpkins that feel heavy for their size. The rind should not have any blemishes or soft spots and a 2- to 3-inch stem should be intact.

<> Fresh pumpkins may be stored in a cool, dry dark place for up to 2 months. Ideal temperature range for storage is 55 to 59F (12.5 to 15C). Do not store below 50F (10C) and do not store fresh pumpkin in a refrigerator or wrap in plastic.

How to Prepare Homemade Pumpkin Puree...

The following recipe will yield a minimum of 1-3/4 cups of puree -- equal to 1 (15-oz.) can of solid pack pumpkin puree. (Three pounds of fresh pumpkin will yield about 3 cups mashed cooked pumpkin.) Any leftover puree may be frozen – see freezing instructions below. Use this puree in recipes or substitute it in the same amount in any recipe calling for solid pack canned pumpkin.

1. Choose a 3 to 4 pound sugar (‘pie’) pumpkin for preparing puree. (Under no circumstances cook or eat a carved Halloween pumpkin as the cut surfaces breed bacteria.)

2. Preheat oven to 350F (175C).

3. Just prior to baking, rinse the pumpkin under cold water to remove any dirt or debris from the outside of the pumpkin; wipe dry with a cloth or paper towel.

4. Split the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and stringy fibers by scraping the insides with a metal spoon. Discard fibers and save seeds for toasting, if desired.

5. Rub the cut surfaces of the pumpkin with canola oil and place the 2 halves (cut-side-down) in a roasting pan. Add 1 cup of water.

6. Bake in preheated oven until pumpkin flesh is tender when pierced with a knife (approximately 90 minutes).

7. Remove the pumpkin halves from the oven and place them on a cutting board or other flat surface to cool.

8. When cool enough to handle, scoop the baked flesh out of each pumpkin half with a spoon.

9. Puree pumpkin in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade or mash by hand.

10. Place the puree in a sieve lined with a paper-towel or coffee filter and set over a deep bowl. Let drain, stirring occasionally until the puree is as thick as canned solid pack pumpkin, approximately 1 to 2 hours. (Important: Do not allow cooked pumpkin to set at room temperature longer than two hours in the process of making puree.)

Note: Pumpkin may also be cut into chunks and steamed or cooked in boiling water until soft. Remove pulp from rind then mash or run through a food mill or food processor. Because this technique yields a more ‘watery’ puree, it is important to drain out moisture as mentioned above, or by gently warming in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to remove any excess water before use.

How To Preserve Pumpkin Puree...

Homemade pumpkin puree freezes beautifully for later use.

To freeze:

1. Allow prepared puree to cool completely.

2. Measure puree into 1-3/4 cup portions and place in clean ridged freezer containers (leaving 1/2-inch headspace).

3. Label, date, and freeze for up to one year.

Cooking With Pumpkin Puree...

Not only is pumpkin puree an excellent source of vitamin A, low in sodium and fat-free -- it is also very versatile. Whether using homemade or commercially canned puree, it is an ingredient that may be used in preparing an endless number of pie, cake, cookie, muffin, sweet bread, pancake, creamy soup and elegant bisque recipes.

Why not try swirling some into a steaming bowl of cream of wheat cereal along with some maple syrup? Maybe consider perking up ordinary mashed potatoes by mashing in some pumpkin puree and sour cream. Just be creative and use your imagination – also keep in mind that most recipes that call for winter squash or sweet potatoes may be successfully prepare by substituting pumpkin.

Copyright: Janice Faulk Duplantis 2005

About the Author: Janice Faulk Duplantis, author and publisher, currently maintains a web site that focuses on Easy Gourmet and French/Cajun Cuisine. Please visit http://www.bedrockpress.com to see all that Bedrock Press has to offer. Janice also publishes 4 monthly complementary ezines: Gourmet Bytes, Lagniappe Recipe, Favorite Recipes and Cooking 101. To subscribe go to http://www.bedrockpress.com/subscribe.html

Food for fun, play foods for kids.

2008-09-17T19:59:00.002-07:00

The deadly American diet.

2008-09-17T19:59:00.001-07:00

Imagine reaching for a can of soda and seeing a picture of a diabetic amputee on the label.
Or the dissected, clogged arteries of a heart attack victim. Warnings on cigarette packets advise us of the dangers of smoking. beer, wine and alcohol also carry health warnings.

Yet, the health risks associated with consuming processed foods and drinks, which may be far greater than those linked to smoking, can easily by overlooked. We all know junk food isn't good for us, but seldom do we connect the dots between soda, fries or donuts- and our nations' soaring rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

It's not just that processed convenience foods are loaded with sugar, hydrogenated fats, and artificial additives, which pollute the body and undermine the immune system; these foods are devoid of the nutrients we need to thrive, Worse, they can interfere with the absorption of nutrients in our diet and use up the body's valuable nutrient stores. As a result, nutritional deficiencies develop, which are implicated in weight gain and a wide range of diseases.

The good news is that making simple dietary changes- and taking nutritional supplements- can help increase energy levels, control weight, minimize signs of aging and create a foundation for lasting good health.

My easy apple crumble

2008-09-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

I made apple crumble for an after supper treat, it was a big hit!

I started by peeling about 10 small apples, ( I have a hand peeler that words wonders, I just stick the apple and turn the handle).

You'll need to slightly grease the container the crumble will be in. I use the spray on stuff.

Then chop up the apples in bite size chunks and dump it all in your oven container.

Now for the crumble part:

I just use about a cup of rolled oats and a handful of flour, about half or a little more of brown sugar, and I cut in with a pastry cutter some hard butter or lard.

In the oven at about 375 F.

Did you stock up on vanilla ice-cream?

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Academic Apple Concrete Statue

Academic Apple Concrete Statue

chocolate-Covered Soy Nuts

2008-09-17T06:50:00.001-07:00

simple chicken salad.

2008-08-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am making chicken salad.

I use mayonaise, chopped onions, chopped peppers, and I always put in about two teaspoons of sweet relish to offset the onions.

Then I can spread it on thick slices of bread and place some tomatoe slices and lettuce on top ot that.

Cover it all with another slice of bread and call it a chicken salad sandwich -

YUMM !!!!

Apple pie diet nibbles from Revival

2008-08-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Italian soup from meat balls and potato leftovers

2008-08-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is an easy meal to make the day after you've had meat balls and potatoes.

Cook some onions in some oil in your soup pot.

Add some garlic as well to kill the flu germs.

Open up a big can of tomatoes and throw it in.

Add a little basil.

A beef oxo cube or some bouillon.

Add your meat balls and potatoes.

Throw in a handful of macaroni pasta.

Let it simmer for a while.

Simple, easy, and yummy.

No wasting leftovers!

easy scalloped potatoes in crockpot.

2008-08-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

I made a dish that I found the recipe for in one of those crockpot cookbooks.
I liked it a lot....but, again, do you think my family liked it??? NOPE!

I sliced 6 potatoes and layered it with some chopped onions in the crockpot.

After that I made a white sauce in the saucepan from a quarter cup of flour and 2 cups of milk, whisking away as it warmed up on medium heat.

After that sauce was made, I added it to the scalloped potatoes in the crockpot, added salt and pepper and a quarter cup of grated cheddar cheese.

I left it in the covered crockpot for a few hours, until the smell made me want to dig in!

Very simple, and yummy.... FOR A NORMAL FAMILY!

sausage omelette

2008-08-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

I made this sausage omelette for supper from the leftover sausages I cooked yesterday.
I came up with the idea from an old cookbook but I don't have a habit of following the recipe very well. Needless to say I skipped a few ingredients and a few steps.
It was very garlicky, and I managed to down half of what was on my plate....on the other hand Jon loved it!
Go figure! The meals I think are hits he barely eats any of it and what I think are flops, ...he loves it!

simple canelloni

2008-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

I created a simple canelloni dish for supper tonight, I liked it very much.

Ingredients:
half a box of canelloni noodles, cooked and cooled.
half an onion
1/4 pound gound beef
a orange pepper, roasted with the skin removed.
a large can of diced tomatoes in sauce
a couple cloves of garlic, crushed with salt, some indian spices, and pepper.
Shredded cheeses

Cook the beef, onion and garlic in a frying pan on medium heat. There is no need to add oil to the pan before hand because the beef is greasy enough....even lean meat!
Chop the pepper in cubes and add to the frying pan.
Dump your can of tomatoes and shut off the heat.

Open a canelloni noodle one at a time while shoving some mixture into each one and placing them on a lightly oiled baking pan.
Once that's all done (it may be a while!) dump the leftover frying pan mix overtop the noodles.
Drizzle a cup or so of shredded cheses and bake it all at about 360 for half an hour.