By Craig Chambers
Ever notice that some people seem to know exactly what they are doing in the kitchen and have great cooking recipes? They place a pot on the stove, grab a few ingredients, stir it up, taste the spices, and they”re done; a perfectly seasoned pot of vegetable soup was created with seemingly no effort. Contrast that with the way you feel in the kitchen.
You spend time looking for the perfect cooking recipe. You gather all of the ingredients and cooking equipment, or so you think, and get started. Halfway through, you realize that you forgot to buy parsley, or lemons, or some other ingredient and don”t have the necessary cooking gear. So you run to the store. By the time you follow the instructions, dinner time is over and the rest of your family gave up and decided to order a pizza.
It doesn”t have to be like this. Cooking is not hard. It is also not simple. But the majority of us make it a lot more complicated than it really is. A great way to start cooking a meal and make it easy is to follow a good cooking recipe and buy and prepare the ingredients ahead of time. In general, there are several basics steps for cooking. Most people who have been cooking for a while follow them without realizing it.
The goal is to get to the point where these steps are automatic. If you want to follow a recipe, you can look online or in your favorite magazine or cookbook to find what you are looking for. If you”ve been cooking for a while, you may eventually find that you do not need to follow a cooking recipe for everything you do. In this case, all you would need to do is simply decide to prepare a dish you already know well. Either way, both of these things are part of step one.
Great ways to find cooking recipes include looking through your favorite cookbook to see if anything inspires you, looking in women”s magazines, cooking magazines, and fitness magazines for some ideas and inspiration or to ask a friend or family member to write down their signature cooking recipes. A lot of chefs also look around their house for inspiration.
Check in the pantry, your fruit basket, freezer, and produce bin for ingredients you would like to build a meal around. Then, either use the ingredients to inspire you or find a recipe that includes them. The internet has also proven to be a great resource for finding cooking recipes. Visit your favorite popular websites to find the recipes you need, or you can do a general internet search.
Once you find the right recipe, purchase all of the ingredients you need and gather them when you are ready to prepare the recipe. It is a good idea to find all of the ingredients and have them in front of you. That way, if you”ve forgotten to buy something, or you realize you do not have a key ingredient, you will not be in the middle of a crucial step when you figure it out.
In addition to simply finding the ingredients, top chefs understand that you should prepare all of the ingredients before you start assembling the recipe. That means you will do all of the initial preparations such as chop and measure out the ingredients before you get started. This may feel as if it is taking you a long time, but once the ingredients are all in front of you, assembling the recipe will be a breeze.
Cooking doesn”t have to be difficult and shouldn”t be. Simply, follow these steps to create fantastic meals using great cooking recipes.
About The Author
Craig Chambers is a cooking enthusiast who enjoys sharing cooking recipes tips and offers extensive free cooking guides, resources and a cooking handbook on his website www.cookingyourbest.com
» No Comments
By Craig Chambers
Outdoor cooking is something to be enjoyed in the warmer months. When we dine and cook outdoors it allows us the opportunity to enjoy the weather and have fun cooking and using cooking gear that we don”t usually enjoy when it is cold outside.
Cooking on an open campfire and grilling outdoors are two pleasures that define the warmer months. There are two basic kinds of outdoor cooking-cooking while camping and grilling. Both of them require a special set of skills to be learned and cooking equipment that you will need to invest in.
Camping is one of those pleasures that people who love the outdoors do regularly. However, there are different kinds of camping. Some prefer to backpack and walk all day, then settle down in the evening and relax and prepare good food. Or, you may choose to hike to a campsite and stay in the same spot for several days. The type of camping that you choose will depend on your personality. No matter which type of camping you choose, there are several different cooking options for you.
The option you choose will depend on what you would like to get out of your camping experience. If you choose to camp with a recreational vehicle, those usually come with basic cooking equipment like a stove and possibly even a conventional oven or a microwave oven. This option is for people who want all the comforts of home in an outdoor setting.
Cooking on the campfire is also a very popular option but can be a challenge because it takes a while to learn how to regulate the heat. There are several different levels of campfire cooking ranging from the extremely easy to the very difficult. Cooking on a campfire is an art and one that takes some practice. If you are interested in learning how to cook on a campfire, there are some things you can do.
Learning how to do simple things such as roast marshmallows and hot dogs, sausages, and vegetables are things that do not require a lot of skill. Basically, all you need to do is find a stick and pierce the item with the stick.
Hold it over the flame and rotate it until the item is cooked. You may also find it helpful to buy a cookbook with recipes designed to be cooked on a campfire. These will introduce some intermediate and advanced techniques that will help you gain an understanding for how to cook on a fire.
Grilling is another type of cooking that you can do outdoors and it is a more popular option than cooking on a campfire. It is easier to regulate the temperature on a grill, especially if you have a gas grill. There are two basic types of grills, gas grills and charcoal grills and several different styles of grills within the two types. So, the first step is to decide which kind of grill you want and find the model that seems best for your needs.
If you really love grilling, you may want to get one gas grill and one charcoal grill. Both of them are good for different purposes. However, if you only grill once in a while and it is usually the same standard foods, one grill will suffice. They also sell portable grills and cooking gear specially designed for grilling that you can take on picnics and while camping.
Most people only think of grilling meat. However, you can also grill things like vegetables and fruits such as Portobello mushrooms, pineapple slices, bananas, and zucchini slices. Whatever your style of cooking, whether on the campfire or on the grill, you will soon gain the necessary cooking skills and come to appreciate the experience of outdoor cooking.
About The Author
Craig Chambers is a cooking enthusiast who enjoys sharing outdoor cooking tips and offers extensive free cooking guides, resources and a cooking handbook on his website www.cookingyourbest.com
» No Comments
By Craig Chambers
Home cooking brings back to mind, time spent in my grandmothers kitchen as a little girl. She always had a tasty meal, hot and waiting for us when we came to visit. In fact, she didn”t feel it was a proper visit if she didn”t have the chance to cook for us. My love of home cooking has never stopped and I have worked hard to create the same kind of environment in my own home now that I am grown.
Today”s fast paced world doesn”t always permit the time necessary to create these tasty meals but I still find that sad hearts can be cheered and weary bodies refreshed after sitting down to a nice dinner and a little home cooking. A lot of people ask me how it is I have the time to prepare home made meals on almost a daily basis and I jokingly tell them that it is a science.
The truth is, home cooking is even easier in this day and age than it was years ago, thanks to better freezing methods, instant and already prepared foods and ready made ingredients. These items make it easy to put together a great home cooked meal in no time and is my secret to home cooking. Not everything has to be from scratch.
There are a lot of products and canned goods out there that can be used to make a meal that tastes just like grandmas. Cooking equipment and household items such as plastic containers and zip top baggies have also added to the facility of home cooking.
You can make home cooked meals ahead of time and freeze them for later in the week or easily take a great meal to work with you. Home cooking may require a little more effort than picking up the phone and ordering a pizza but you will soon see the health benefits of cooking at home and preparing foods for your family.
Not all home cooking is considered healthy though and that is one area where you will want to be careful if a healthy lifestyle is your goal. But, the many unhealthy items used in recipes of grandmas day can easily be substituted with healthier choices. Recipes that call for cheese, butter, eggs and even meat can be substituted with replacements easily found in many grocery stores.
Products such as beans are a very healthy choice and make a great substitute for meats. Adding bean products to your meals is not only delicious but also makes a great combination when added to salads, soups, stews and rice dishes. Healthy home cooking is very easy and just takes a little bit of creativity and a desire to learn how to make great meals at home.
Not really sure if you have the necessary cooking skills for home cooking? Why not try getting tips from the internet or cookbooks? These are great sources of information and you will find many easy recipes for those just starting out. You might also want to try taking some cooking classes from a local school or university. You will find courses designed for new cooks and also for those who are a little more advanced or learning a new area of cooking.
You will also learn the basic cooking skills necessary for home cooking and will improve your confidence in the kitchen. The most important thing to remember is learning takes time and if you are like me, you might have a food disaster or two before mastering a certain recipe. Be patient and don”t give up.
Soon you will have friends and family impressed with your cooking. skills and coming back for more of your home cooking.
About The Author
Craig Chambers is a cooking enthusiast who enjoys sharing home cooking tips and offers extensive free cooking guides, resources and a cooking handbook on his website www.cookingyourbest.com
» No Comments
By Gregg Hall
If you are like me every holiday makes me uptight trying to figure out what to buy for people, well at least I used to. Now I make it easy on myself and just get chocolate gifts for everyone because everyone loves chocolate! It sure beats giving someone cash or a department store gift certificate just because you can”t figure out what they may want. Since there is such a wide variety of chocolate gifts you can choose gifts in nearly any price range and buy chocolates for even the most discerning tastes.
Boxed chocolates are always a welcome gift. Give a girl a box of chocolates and you will surely melt her heart as easily as the chocolate melts in her mouth. Another great thing about boxed chocolates is that they generally include a diverse variety of different chocolates in the same box that can be shared. You can even get specialty chocolates for those that may be on some kind of restrained or limited diet.
One gift that I have found to be particularly loved by the ladies is that of chocolate covered fruits. These are not only delicious but sensual at the same time. I can promise you that if you bring your date a box of fresh chocolate covered strawberries along with a rose or two you are going to get big points. These sweet treats are a must have as dessert for a romantic dinner for two or even just to surprise her and let her know how much you care.
There are even gifts for coffee lovers such as a gourmet mocha chocolate bar or chocolate covered espresso beans and more. One of my favorites is the chocolate gift that has a coffee liquor center, such as Kahlua. There are many sources where you can find gifts such as this.
You can even find chocolates molded into all kinds of fun shapes such as different animal shapes for children or even cartoon characters. If you are not rushed there are even companies today that will personalize a chocolate bar for you with the person”s name or with a special event.
For people that you know are true connoisseurs of chocolate you may want to consider a chocolate basket. What is great about these gifts is that they always include so many different types of chocolates and you can get them with anything from mousses to traditional chocolate candy to even hot chocolate and fondue.
About The Author
Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about chocolate as well as french chocolate gifts at http://www.frenchchocolatedelivery.com
» No Comments
By Gregg Hall
I know of no one that has eaten chocolate and not just absolutely loved it. There are probably some exceptions, but I am not aware of them. This is especially true of chocolate bars which come in so many varieties these days there is surely something for everyone. When you consider that you can get chocolate bars with fruit, marshmallows, nuts, caramel and more there is hardly another confection that has so many diverse choices.
In the early 1800s the chocolate bar was introduced to the masses and by the early 1900s it exploded in popularity with worldwide appeal that continues to increase and has never slowed down. Many of the chocolate bars on the market now are still made with the same recipe as those of over 100 years ago. It is almost impossible to believe that until right after the Second World War these could be bought for only five cents.
Even though there is an almost endless variety of different types of chocolate bars manufactured now there are a handful of large companies that have a monopoly on the making and distribution of the confectionary delight. These larger companies are known for buying the smaller companies and then repackaging the products that they know are popular under their own name. The popularity of chocolate bars has led to some companies even adding protein to them to make them more attractive to the health conscious.
The chocolate bar that is probably most familiar to the majority of people is the Hershey”s chocolate bar which was brought to the market in the early 1900s by Milton Hershey of Pennsylvania. His recipe, though a closely guarded secret still consists of the process of choosing a dozen high quality beans which are then roasted depending on what type of bean it is. This process is followed by winnowing, grinding, conching, tempering, and then molding and packaging for shipment.
Due to the fact that some of the companies are in partnership with each other there are many of them that often use the same recipe to manufacture the chocolate with the only difference coming from the choice of cacao plant that they choose or from what area of the world they are in. Other companies have specific factories in different countries that handle certain aspects of the process.
Some of the needed substances that go into making a chocolate bar include cacao paste, cocoa butter, and sugar, as well as some optional ingredients such as vanilla, and lecithin. Regardless of the brand you go with you are sure to find a chocolate bar you will love.
About The Author
Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about chocolate bars as well as french chocolates at http://www.frenchchocolatedelivery.com
» No Comments
By Jim Corkern
Finding mold growing in your refrigerator is something that we cannot usually avoid, because mold exists everywhere we are and it grows on dead organic materials, just like what we keep in our refrigerator. There are ways, however, to reduce the amount of mold that will grow in your refrigerator.
You should take inventory of your refrigerator and anything that is outdated beyond use should be thrown away because if mold is not growing on it now, it will eventually. The sooner that you forget an outdated item is in your refrigerator, the sooner mold will begin to grow inside it and spread to other items nearby. The spread of mold in this way is especially true of fruits and vegetables that are often stored in a bin on top of each other. One infected item can affect the whole bin and make it inedible. It is best to go through these items as often as possible to make sure anything contaminated is removed.
When you bring fruits and vegetables home from the grocery store, we often have them in the plastic bags that we used in the produce section to pack them in. You should probably remove these items from the bags in order to reduce the amount of condensation they are exposed to. Condensation will build up inside the bag as water evaporates and mold will begin to grow.
Cleaning the refrigerator regularly is also essential to slow the growth of mold. Everything in the refrigerator should be washed thoroughly and since no surface inside it should be porous, using chlorine bleach to wash the inside should be fine to assist in removing any mold that has begun to grow. Whatever you choose to clean your refrigerator with, please do not mix household chemicals when cleaning your home. The results can be harmful or even deadly if you mix the wrong two, such as bleach and ammonia.
Before you really start cleaning it out, take the light bulb out of your fridge because they are not made to be left on for more than a few minutes and will possibly burn out if you leave the refrigerator door open for too long.
After you are done washing the inside of the refrigerator, take a few minutes and go through everything as mentioned earlier and throw out anything that you think is too old. Washing down the outside of the refrigerator is also a good idea.
About The Author
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.
» No Comments
By Jim Corkern
One of the most frequent and serious causes of fruit rot in strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries is gray mold. This can affect not only the fruit itself, but also the petals, fruit caps, and flower stalks.
There is not another disease as serious as this one during a wet, warm growing season. This is the most extreme during the years that have a prolonged cloudy and rainy period during the fruits blooming season or harvest.
Young fruit blossoms are typically the most susceptible to the infection and they usually start to show infection in a cluster of fruit. Blossoms generally show the fruit infection as a soft, light brown, and quickly growing spot on the fruit.
If it is let to remain attached to the plant, it will shrink, dry up, and become covered in a powdery, gray substance. This is where the disease gets the name of gray mold.
Fruit that are the most commonly affected are located toward the middle of the plant where the leaves and branches cause the humidity to be high and air circulation to be low.
When strawberries rest upon the soil or when one strawberry touches an infected one or just a dead leaf, the fruit rot will begin.
Mature fruits are also susceptible after they are picked, but the younger green fruits may become just as infected; however, the disease is not usually detected until later when the fruit is ready to be harvested.
Mature fruits are likely to be infected because of bruising or the breaking of the skin and if the conditions for the disease are favorable, mature fruits can become completely rotted as little as 48 hours after being picked.
To prevent gray mold from growing on your fruit, you should select a site to plant your fruit that has a good amount of soil drainage and air circulation. They should also be exposed to direct sunlight.
A good amount of straw mulch should be put between the plants to reduce the amount of contact the healthy fruit has with the soil.
Keep your fruit garden weeded, since it will slow the air movement in the canopy of the plant. Fruits need to be dry to reduce the chance of infection.
Remove any berries that have become diseased, but do not leave them in your garden. Take them away and make sure they do not come into contact with anything else you are growing.
About The Author
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.
» No Comments
By Jimmy Cox
From the first lollipop at the first children”s party to the gold-wrapped cherry cordial at a golden anniversary all of the festive occasions of a lifetime are associated with candy.
There is no holiday that is not enhanced by candy and if it isn”t a holiday, candy will make it one. There are the candies that set off every holiday throughout the year: candied popcorn stars and marzipan.
strawberries at Christmas time, pink and red hearts on Valentine”s Day, chocolate-covered eggs at Easter time, marshmallows to roast at the Fourth of July picnic and candied fruits and nuts on Thanksgiving Day.
To make candy is to assist at a miracle. Starting with sugar and water you can make fondant, white taffy, lollipops and barley sugar merely by boiling the syrup to higher and higher temperatures and adding flavoring. The change that takes place with each degree is the miracle.
It”s important to read through an entire recipe before you begin to make your candy. Then you will know just what equipment to use, how long the process will take, how much attention you need to give it at each stage, and whether you can take time out to peel the potatoes for supper. In making candy, timing is as important as it is in a comedy act. Doing the right thing at the right moment according to the readings of your thermometer is what will ensure consistent success for your efforts.
Equipment for candy making need not be elaborate, but must include a candy thermometer if you expect good results.
There are really only three essentials for becoming an expert candy cook – a candy thermometer, a willingness to do precisely what must be done if the sugar and chocolate in your batches are to stay under control, and recipes that are detailed enough so you will know what must be done and how and when to do it. The following recipe is an example of why candy making is such fun!
CANDIED POPCORN IN FANCY SHAPES
1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup water, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 quarts popped corn
Measure 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/3 cup water and 2 tablespoons butter into a saucepan and blend well together. Place over low heat and stir until mixture boils. Now put in the candy thermometer and continue boiling without stirring until thermometer registers 270 degrees. Remove from heat and add 14 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Have ready a bowl of freshly popped corn – about 8 cups will be sufficient for the amount of syrup cooked. Pour the hot syrup over the popcorn stirring well and quickly so that all the kernels are covered.
Popcorn balls can be formed if desired. Moisten the hands with cold water and quickly take a small amount of the candied corn and gently press into a ball. If other shapes such as Christmas trees, stars and wreaths are to be made, molds or cookie cutters may be used.
Press the candied corn into the mold, making sure that the corn is in all the small parts of the design. While the candied popcorn is still warm, place small pieces of colored candies to resemble the ornaments on a tree. Red and green colors are most effective and will make the popcorn Christmas tree a gay centerpiece for a children”s holiday party.
For wreaths and stars the candied corn is pressed in the cookie cutters. The points of the stars must be well filled to have the formation distinct. A doughnut cutter is good for the wreath, with colored pieces of candy added for holiday festiveness. If the candied corn becomes too hard to work into the molds, it may be placed in a warm oven and softened. For caramel corn use any preferred caramel recipe, cooking only to 242 degrees. This will be stickier and is not good for molding into shapes.
This recipe is delicious and easy to make. Enjoy!
About The Author
Long-Lost Manuscript Resurfaces With The Secret Candy Recipe To Win Everyone Over!
Click here for FREE online Ebook
http://www.candyrecipe.org/
» No Comments
August 7th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Knight Pierce Hirst
Who knew wines in screw-top bottles would become acceptable to knowledgeable wine drinkers? These are the same people who had to adjust to plastic corks. No wonder they drink.
My husband is a knowledgeable wine drinker. He knows what years produced good grapes and what wineries are best for which wines. I don”t. If I like a like a wine, I”ll buy it again. If I can”t remember its name, I look for the same picture on the label.
When John took me to my first wine tasting, I was the “con” in connoisseur. All I knew about a formal tasting was that I had to judge each wine by what I call the “Four S System” – stare, swirl, smell and swallow.
In the stare stage you describe the wine”s color – but you can”t use the word white or red. In the swirl stage a wine has “legs” if it leaves vertical lines on the sides of the glass – as opposed to the spots on our glasses at home.
A wine”s smell is referred to as bouquet because tasters use flowery words like cinnamon, honey and a touch of vanilla to describe it. Trying to add something to the discussion, I commented on the fruitiness of a wine. Unfortunately, I was smelling the waiter”s aftershave.
Wearing any scent at a tasting causes major dissent. The waiter, who was as red in the face as a Zinfandel – or maybe a burgundy, was banished; and we proceeded with the swallow stage – the only stage I”m good at.
Because wine has “body” if it leaves a full feeling in one”s mouth, I commented that a wine would have both legs and body if it had a fly in it. No one laughed, John gave me one of “those” looks and the tasting continued.
Although the tasters used words like earthy and oak to describe the wine”s taste, I use more mundane words, like good or bad; but I didn”t use them that night.
I like white wines better than red wines. They”re … fruitier – plus they remove red wine stains caused by tasters who swirl too enthusiastically.
During the general conversation after the tasting, I mentioned to a fellow taster that I often put an ice cube in my wine to lighten its taste. Immediately there were groans of dismay from the entire table. Poor John, I caused the “grapes of wrath”.
About The Author
KNIGHT PIERCE HIRST takes humorous looks at life.
Take a minute to make yourself smile at
http://knightwatch.typepad.com
» No Comments
By Gregg Hall
The chocolate chip cookie is almost mainly eaten where it hailed from in the U.S. , although it is most indeed popular around the globe, and contains chocolate chips in every bite of the cookie, of which there may be many different kinds and shapes. The chocolate chip cookie is also recognized as the Toll House cookie, and came into being accidentally when baked by a woman named Ruth Graves Wakefield who owned a hotel called the Toll House Inn.
When she was baking some chocolate cookies, Ms. Wakefield ran out of baker”s chocolate, and was forced to replace it with semi sweet chocolate that she thought would melt in the batter. Since that didn”t happen, the first chocolate chip cookies came into being and because they were so delicious she was also able to trade this recipe to the Nestle Chocolate Company, and in return she would get a lifetime supply of all the chocolate chips she ever needed.
According to recent surveys more than seven billion chocolate chip cookies are eaten annually, and as many 50% of all American households make them to eat at home. The main ingredients that go into a chocolate chip cookie are brown and white sugars, flour, eggs, and semi-sweet chocolate. Some people also choose to add nuts to the batter. Anyone can mix and match the ingredients to what they desire them to be, though the Toll House Cookie recipe is the one that most aspire to equal.
To bake the chocolate chip cookie, the baker would have to cream the sugar and butter at a very high velocity usually done with a whisk or electric mixer, then the brown sugar and eggs, and then add some flour and baking powder. Chocolate chips can be added to the mix at the end of the whole process before scooping the cookie dough and placing it on a baking sheet to bake the cookies, although many people like to eat it by itself, something I seem to enjoy as well.
This sort of cookie is a big thing in the United States, and there is much talk of it in the press. It is also mentioned in TV shows such as Sesame Street, who can forget the Cookie Monster? Midwest Airlines bakes and serves fresh chocolate chip cookies on board their flights. Also a fact not widely known to many is that the desert camouflage pattern that U.S. military wore during the first Gulf War was nicknamed “chocolate chip”, since it greatly resembled chocolate chip cookie dough having brown, black and light tan specks all within the pattern of the uniform.
About The Author
Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about chocolate as well as chocolate gift baskets at http://www.chocolatesforeveryoccasion.com
» No Comments
