My Food and Drink Blog

Archive for December, 2008

Everyone who cooks can use some of these handy kitchen gadgets in their own home. While you can get by with a bare bones kitchen and a few old pots and pans,in this day and age you don’t have to. The items in this list can free up some of your time, help you make delicious meals, store leftovers and even make the kitchen a fun place. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite kitchen gadgets. I hope you like them.

Bread Maker: Imagine getting up in the morning to the smell of freshly baked bread, ready for you to take out of the machine and slice up for toast or for lunch sandwiches. And all you had to do was load the ingredients the night before, then set the timer.

Automatic Coffee Maker: This goes well with the bread maker. Add coffee grounds and water, set the clock and have coffee waiting for you when you stumble out of bed in the morning. Rise and shine!

Kitchen Knives with Block: For safe storage of your knives, you need a knife block. This way you won’t reach into a drawer and stab yourself, and they are easier to get at too. A high quality set will last a lot longer and stay sharper.

Plastic Food Containers: With a set of containers for food storage, saving leftovers is much easier. Many have lids with vents, for use in microwaves. Another way to use them is to freeze food for future use. They look better than old margarine and yogurt containers, too.

Hand Held Immersion Blender: Just like the name says, you hold these in your hand and put the business end into pots, mixing bowls or even drink glasses. For small blending jobs, a hand held blender is fast and easy to clean.

Toaster Oven: A quick way to toast sandwiches and smaller items, these little ovens don’t replace a regular kitchen oven. They make great garlic bread and work well for mini pizzas.

Sandwich Grill: For grilled cheese, tuna melts and patty melts, these grills seal the edge of the sandwich so cheese and other things can’t leak out.

And that gives you a rundown of my favorite kitchen gadgets. I hope you got some ideas of what you would like in your own kitchen. I have never regretted buying any of these, and we use most of them on a daily basis, especially the coffee maker!

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New Years Eve is one party night of the year. Many consume a lot of alcohol on this national holiday. Do we think of how we will feel the day after?

Many of us have had a hangover, but few of us think about what alcohol does to our body. There is more than a few empty calories, alcohol depletes your vital vitamins and minerals. To make things even worse, that night of pleasure makes digestion a problem, meaning you cannot easily replenish those lost nutrients.

Have you ever heard of Kombucha Tea? This is actually a food, very nutritious, tangy in its taste, and very easy on your budget. You can buy it at your health food store, or make your own.

When you drink Kombucha here is what you get: Enzymes, Acetic acid, Carbonic acid, Folic Acid, Gluconic acid, Glucuronic acid, L(+) Lactic, Usnic acid, Amino acids (various), Hydroxy acids (various), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2(Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin, niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin, cyanocobalamin), Vitamin C (from Lactic acid).

Kombucha will also help you get your digestive tract back on track. It restores pH balance, helps detox as well. Soon enough you will feel right as rain. You could add Kombucha to your overall health plan to give you more energy, nutrition, and balance in your body. Bonus ” a lot of people find their weight regulates itself when they are drinking Kombucha. Score!

When you drink alcohol you also reduce your mineral content. One loss is in Magnesium. Our body needs magnesium to properly use the calcium we are told is so important in our diets. Magnesium also plays a role in many areas of the body, including our heart.

When your magnesium level is low and your digestive tract is struggling you cannot absorb the nutrients, like magnesium, that is contained in your food. Another option is to increase the magnesium level through an IV like they do in the emergency room. Thats a little drastic. Try transdermal magnesium, like a magnesium bath, gel or oil applied to your skin.

You need magnesium to complete over 300 of the enzyme functions in your body. Magnesium impacts our blood sugar, our ability to calm ourselves, sleep, and many mental health functions.

You dont have to wait for a night out on the town to enjoy the restorative qualities of transdermal magnesium. In fact, you can sip on your Kombucha tea served in a champagne glass after your healthy soak.

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UK hampers are gifts that are normally presented in a wicker basket. The act of giving a hamper has a long history in the Western world and, before, was done as a giving gesture, using the hamper to present food and other home essentials to the poor. The basket the gift was presented in was also purposefully chosen as it was a practical household item that could be used and reused.

In modern times, hampers have come to be less a gift of necessities and more a gift of small treats, such as wine hampers for example. An emphasis is placed on quality products such as gourmet jams, fine chocolates, exotic coffee beans, quality wines and other premium products that can be enjoyed as a indulgence and will keep long enough for the recipient to relax when using the item.

There has also been a rising fashion to make specialist hampers – wine hampers that are filled with a different range and types of wine, chocolate hampers and bread and cheese hampers. Hobby hampers are an even more new innovation and are packed not with food but with helpful and wanted items to please gardeners or DIY enthusiasts, for example. The contents of a hamper are only limited by your imagination!

The versatility of UK hampers is why it makes such a perfect present. They can be modified to any special someone and can be filled with anything that would satisfy the recipient. When choosing the hamper you want to give, give careful consideration to what goods the recipient enjoys – are they a wine lover? Then wine hampers are a great idea! Are they a foodie? Then fill the hamper with premium food items. Are they expecting a baby? Why not give them a hamper filled with useful baby products.

UK hampers can be used for any occasion – for birthdays, for hens nights or bachelorette parties, for weddings, for anniversaries, for an expecting mom-to-be and, most popularly, for Xmas.

The Xmas hamper has become all the rage and, in an intriguing twist, the public are buying Christmas hampers to use for themselves instead of as a gift for other people. Often crammed with special Xmas treats such as shortbread, chocolate, wine, Xmas pudding and even turkey, they are purchased by individuals to be used over the Christmas period. Many UK hampers are purchased on a payment scheme over the year and then used for the Christmas period, helping people pay for the expense of the loved Xmas treats desired during the Christmas period.

There are many of businesses that specialize in making hamper gifts and most of them can be found quickly and easily on the net. Many of them will have pre-packed UK hampers – such as wine hampers or food hampers – and some may allow you to personalize a hamper and pack it with products of your choice. Almost all businesses will deliver your hamper, making it a convenient and personal present.

Of course, you don’t have to use a business to give a lovely hamper and it can be even more thoughtful to create your own. When creating a hamper, give careful thought to what they might like. Use helpful products and special products that the recipient may not consider to buy for themselves, to make it even more considerate. UK hampers also work best when filled with products that won’t spoil easily, such as white wine for wine hampers. If you do intend on putting in products that have to be kept cool or will spoil, then make sure the hamper is given as soon as possible and make sure the recipient knows that the products must be used as soon as possible.

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1: STYLE IS IMPORTANT

Pick a range with the features you are looking for, but remember that style is key. Ranges have become the status symbol of the kitchen and many treat them like a stage for performing. There are several types to choose from — free-standing, built-in or slide-in models. Usually you select the same type of replacement range to avoid renovations. The larger professional ranges need better ventilation systems and may need fireboards next to the adjoining cabinets, but they add glamour as well as heat.

2: COLOR IS STYLE

Most ranges come in white, black, metallic finish and stainless steel. Custom colors are available on many of the upscale models. If the dishwasher and refrigerator do not have custom covers then the stove should match them. Don’t assume the metal is really stainless steel, ask.

3: GAS OR ELECTRIC?

Electric and gas are both reliable and offer consistent heat. Gas allows you to select different levels of heat and when the burner is off, cooking stops. If you currently have electric and decide to switch to gas, you will need a gas hookup as well as 120 volt circuit for clocks and electronic ignition. Electric heat gives you very low heat, which is not always possible with gas, but it heats up and cools down slowly.

4: FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE

There are many programmable options such as delay and time-bake capabilities. Ask about even baking and custom broiling options. You may want to check out convection baking for superior baking results, low simmer and high heat options on cooktop.

5: THE MAINTENANCE CHECK

If you don’t want to waste your time cleaning your oven, go with self-clean options. The continuous clean never really gets the oven immaculate. Ceramic cooktops and glass need specific cleaners and care. The burners on professional ranges require considerably more care.

6: MEASUREMENTS

Before you make your final decision, be sure that the one you choose will fit into your existing or renovated kitchen. Most freestanding ranges are 30-inches wide, but can vary from 24 to 48-inches. Professional models measure from 36 inches to 60.

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Making clever cakes may seem easy when you look at it but the truth is it involves a lot of hard work. Cooking food is not just simply a case of mixing them in a pan and stirring them, it also involves cutting up the food, treating the meat as well as peeling them. The preparation phase represents about 50% of the whole cooking process.

In order to prepare and cook clever cakes, you will have to master the skill but this will take some time particularly if you are a beginner. However, you don’t have to learn the hard way. By heeding these small pieces of advice, you can be cooking and preparing your food the right way and in the easiest possible way.

1. Memorise The Measurements To Make Clever Cakes – Tools for measurement are probably the best things to have apart from recipes when making clever cakes. In fact, they are actually the ones that will give you the desired taste. If you use them well, you will be having great tasting food every time. The measurements that you choose will greatly affect the taste as you shall soon see. Too little salt will make the food bland while too much of it will make the flavour too salty. Too much flour will make the food taste like flour.

It’s important to come up with a good balance of ingredients for your clever cakes in order to create delicious cakes that your whole family can eat. For this very reason, it’s vital that you purchase good quality measuring tools. The tools that you possess or purchase must be ones with standard measurements if you are to add the correct amount of each ingredient. If you use just any teaspoon or coffee cup you can find around the house, you will probably not be using the right measurements. Remember that the taste of your dish will depend on the precision of your measurements.

2. It’s A Very Clever Idea To Follow The Time Indicated When Cooking Cakes – After you have measured the ingredients well, make sure that you are following the instructions in the recipe to the letter. Pay close attention to the time that is often indicated in the recipes. If it says 15 minutes, then let it simmer for 15 minutes. No more, no less. Under no circumstances, should you stop or modify a recipe, unless you are a professional chef. Keep in mind that the times indicated have been chosen for a reason.

If you want to be clever and make a cake following a procedure word for word, then it is a wise idea to use a timer. A good timer is one that sounds after a certain number of minutes. If you are unable to get hold of a timer, then a clock is fine especially if it comes with an alarm. Apart from that, you can put your memory to use.

3. It’s Vital To Use The Correct Ingredients In Your Clever Cakes – Don’t ever swap any ingredient for another at the commencement as this will only make the process more complicated and change the taste. Even though you may think that the ingredients are practically the same, the resulting taste and texture will be different. A good example would be changing a part of a beef, such as a sirloin to a shank. Even though they are both parts of beef, a sirloin is thinner than a shank, which means that it has fats between the meats and this will certainly affect the resulting flavour in some way.

The above instructions provide a great base to cooking clever cakes for everyone and the good news is that after some practice and experience, you can start experimenting and have even more fun!

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After several months of big meals, many folks run out of ideas for eating the many dishes of leftovers piling up in the refrigerator. I am guilty of forcing my family to eat endless repeats of the same old plates filled with the same old food. Chances are you’ll be throwing out food if you try to present that same plate a third time.

Being creative when serving leftovers is tricky. You have to think about the ingredients that went into the dish in the first place, and think about what other dishes incorporate those same food items.

1) Old Fashioned Potato Soup

When you have leftover mashed potatoes, you have the makings for a wonderfully creamy potato soup. Start with a big soup pot. Throw in 3 or 4 slices of bacon, diced, and cook until the pieces are crispy, then remove from pot. In the same pot, cook up some diced celery and carrots. Then add some diced onion and cook until soft. Then put in about 1 Tablespoon of oil, 1 Tablespoon of flour, and 1 1/2 cups of milk, and thicken. Stir in your potatoes and bacon and simmer very slowly. This is a very satisfying creamy potato soup.

2) Turkey And Gravy Barbeque Style

Cut up or fork-shred some turkey, both white meat and dark will do. In a large skillet, brown a little diced up bacon. Add some diced onion and minced garlic if you like. Put the cut up turkey in the skillet and top with enough leftover gravy to cover the turkey pieces. Now add just enough of a good barbeque sauce or grill flavoring or dry rub to flavor your gravy and turkey mix to give it that Sloppy Joe flavor. Scoop on top of a hamburger bun or crusty bread.

3) Curry Turkey Cauliflower Soup

In your food processor, pulse leftover cooked cauliflower until nice and smooth, adding a bit of milk as you go. Add about two teaspoons of curry, more or less to taste. In a soup pot, saute some diced carrots and onion in a bit of oil. Then pour the smooth cauliflower in soup pot. Cut up leftover turkey and add to pot. Let soup simmer until nice and cooked through and hot.

4) Creamy Tomato and Green Bean Soup

Green bean casserole already makes a great start to a creamy and cheesy soup. Tomatoes help brighten this cheesy soup just a touch. Begin by cooking some big pieces of celery in a soup pot, adding coarse diced onions and some minced garlic, cooking until just fragrant. Add a can of diced tomatoes, either fire roasted or regular. Add a little grill seasoning for extra flavor. Now put your leftover green bean casserole in the pot, stirring until it looks like soup. You might add a bit of turkey or chicken broth if you want the soup thinner. Cook slowly together until the soup is all hot and bubbly.

5) Stuffing with Egg Muffin Cups

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or brush with butter or oil. Spoon enough stuffing in each muffin cup to form a little cup with room for one egg. Break one egg into each cup and top with enough shredded cheese to cover egg. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the egg is done and cheese is melted. Let stand a few minutes before removing egg and stuffing from muffin tin.

Using up leftovers is always a challenge. No one wants to look at the same dishes being served time and time again. If you give some thought to the ingredients that went in to creating the dish in the first place, you’ll no doubt be able to add complimentary food items to build a whole new dish out of the old one.

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Can you name every type of plant or flower? What about every type of tree? Of course not ??” there is a ridiculous number of species and within those species hundreds of different types, each having their own name. It is impossible to remember the names of them all.

This has almost become the case with types of coffee. There are so many wonderful varieties out there to try. But who can remember them all? We may not remember the names but we will not quickly forget the taste. Let’s consider some uniquely names creations.

There’s the elegant and simple Frappe, but with a silent ‘e’. Widely consumed in Europe and Latin America, it’s a cold espresso made with two teaspoons of sugar and milk with crushed ice cubes. For a nice variation, add a quarter cup each of brandy and crme de cacao. Since it’s served with a straw, I just wish those drinking it were silent, too.

The counterpart to the innocent Frappe is the wicked Cappuccino Borgia, named for the famed poisoner. You’ll just die for one of these quarter-cup peeled orange, one and a half cup chocolate ice cream dreams. Add also six tablespoons of orange juice and a quarter-cup milk to an espresso, blend and start speaking 15th century Italian.

Another sweet drink with an interesting name is the Calypso Cooler. You sweeten a rich cup of coffee with 2 cups of coffee ice cream and a few bananas. Add to that about 4 tbsp of rum and you’re ready to dance.

While we’re adding alcohol to our coffee, let’s not forget the mysterious Latin: Caffee Zabaglone. A quarter cup of dry Marsala with a quarter cup of sugar starts the feast. Add a pinch of salt and four egg yolks, then wisk and cook until thick. Add a cup of Italian roast at room temperature and you’ve got a drink, breakfast and a hangover cure all in one.

Back to the silent letters, lets try a Mardi Gras (silent s). A good American coffee blend to which you add eggnog and bourbon and cup of heavy cream. That will have you dancing in the street.

Ordinary Turkish coffee is famous for its dark, strong flavor cut with cardamom. But they’re not the only ones to have discovered a good use for this ancient spice. Scandinavians make a Cardamom Kaffee.

Start with an eighth-cup of cognac and add two teaspoons of curacao, a teaspoon of sugar and a cardamom pod (cracked and seeded). Heat in the microwave for about ten seconds then light with a match. Pour on a half-cup of extra strength coffee and be prepared to douse a four-alarm fire.

Despite all the names, I have to give credit to the many creative inventors of all those different mixtures. They may not have invented huge bombs, but their products sure do give you a jolt!

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Do you dislike the way you look now? Are you feeling uneasy about yourself and therefore find yourself avoiding relationships with members of the opposite sex? If so, there is good news. You can make a shift in your life and adjust your habits so that you will have a body you can finally be proud of. The best thing about it for you is that if you decide to day to take action on these simple solutions, you’ll see real results even before President Elect Obama takes office. Wouldn’t that be cool, a new president and a new and improved you.

The first thing that you need to do to start making that change is to get your body moving. First thing in the morning when you wake up get yourself exercising. You have got to do this even before you eat breakfast because it will jump-start your metabolism.

Next, you have got to eat breakfast. There is a reason that it is called the most important meal of the day. Just like the exercise starts your body off on the right track, so does fueling your system at the beginning of the day. You have got to give your body fuel so that it has energy to continue moving throughout the day.

You’ve heard the old saying you are what you eat. Well, what would that make you? Most people would be giant soda cans or giant bags of chips. If this is true for you then you must make an immediate shift in your diet. Stuffing your face with Oreos and cinnamon rolls while sipping on a Diet Coke is not healthy eating. A proper diet has many fruits and vegetables as a primary staple of life.

The next step is for you to become a “water-holic”. Yes, I just made that up but I wanted to make a point to you that water has to become so part of your daily routine that people will literally think you’ll need a “Water Drinker’s Anonymous” meeting. Drinking water will lubricate your joints and ease painful muscle cramps or spasms.

Your next step is to count calories better than old Ebenezer Scrooge counted his pennies. By staying abreast on how many calories you are consuming each day, you are better able to plan meals an establish portion controls. The good news is that this doesn’t mean you give up what you love to eat, rather it simply means you might it less of what you love eat.

Eat early and eat often. This may be counter intuitive but it actually does work. Try it and you’ll discover that if you watch what you eat and how much of it you eat, that if you were to munch on smaller portions throughout the day rather than having only 3 large meals a day, that you would rarely feel hungry and your metabolism will shoot through the roof.

Documentation is the key to success. Many people live in denial as to what they are doing to themselves that affects their bodies. You must not be one of those people. Take the steps now to ensure that you are tracking everything you put into your body. Not only should you track what you ate but you should also track why you ate. You’ll find that more times than not, you are not eating to satisfy hunger.

Last but not least is the motivation factor. While eating the right foods at the right times and exercising are all very important things, none of those things are possible without proper motivation and support. Forget trying to do it on your own. If you could have done it, you would have by now. The best thing to do is to find a running buddy. Someone whom you can confide in and someone you can trust that will not let you give up. You two can support one another as you press forward toward creating the body you deserve by inauguration day.

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It’s essential that when starting to make clever cakes, that you commence from the beginning. You may not be aware, but cake decorators are in high demand the world over. Cake decoration is a wonderful skill to possess, especially after you’ve learnt the basics, when you can let your imagination run wild. These simple basics are what are needed, and you will get frustrated if you don’t learn these basics first and foremost.

It’s important to remember that if a cake doesn’t taste good, then it is not a clever cake. This means that you need to start with the cake itself. It doesn’t matter whether you use your hands to make your cake, or a premade cake, the one thing that it must be is tasty and damp. So before you begin decorating any cake, make sure that it’s going to taste good.

Once your cake has been baked, you must wait until it has reached a cool temperature before applying any icing on top. It’s common practice to make the cake an entire day before adding the icing on top. You should add icing to a cool cake because it will cause it to stick to the cake. On the other hand, a warm cake makes the icing drip.

It’s a good idea to turn the cake board upside down if you want to be sure that your cake tastes good and that the icing stick to it. It’s advisable you only apply a thin layer of icing in order to keep it from falling apart. Now that you have a flat bottom, which is now the top, you can begin a normal icing procedure. Following this, you should wet your icing tool with water and proceed to flatten the icing all around the cake with it.

Of course, there’s nothing clever about running out of frosting or icing for your cake. It’s important that you have enough before even beginning to bake your cake. You also might want to start with a plain white icing, and then add food coloring in order to have different colors while you decorate.

The saying that practice makes perfect could not be truer, and even more so when it concerns cakes. You may have to prepare a cake for an important occasion some day, so it’s highly recommended that you practice on wax paper first. Believe it or not, but your icing consistency will determine how your decorations will turn out. There is also a way to find out if your icing is too thin or too thick. If your decorations constantly fall apart, then you can be rest assured that your icing is too thin. On the other hand, if you find it too hard to get the icing to reach the tip of the icing tube, then you can be rest assured that your icing is too thick.

There’s little doubt that you will commit some mistakes, or even be a bit baffled, however, practice makes perfect and this is what cake decorating is all about. So remember, all talent takes time to grow – be gentle with yourself and watch your skills develop.

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I am not a big chicken fan. I don’t care if I never see another piece of baked or fried chicken. Chicken marsala, however, is a very different story. I love it.

But, it has been ten years since I’ve ordered it in a restaurant. For ten tears before that, I tried and tried, but I was unable to find a restaurant with chicken marsala that made me happy.

That is because Mary, my wife of thirty-five years, makes incomparable chicken marsala. Not even nationally known chefs can match her chicken marsala. Honestly.

Try her recipe and I bet nobody in your family will eat chicken Marsala in a restaurant either. Here’s how to make it.

Pound boneless chicken breasts until they are thin. After that, cut each breast into about six pieces.

Dredge the chicken in flour. Starting with a stick of butter, saute the chicken, and mushroom slices. After a few minutes of cooking, add between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup of Marsala wine. Cook until the butter/marsala mixture thickens a bit and the chicken approaches a golden brown color.

Serve over rice, pouring the remaining butter-marsala mixture on the chicken and rice.

Get ready for a treat.

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