Archive for Food And More
05.24.08
Posted in Food And More at 7:16 am by admin
Onions are absolutely one of the most delicious and flexible commodities you use in the kitchen. From savory steaming soups to satisfying homemade salsa, onions play an important part in our daily cooking.
Flavorful appetizers from onion dips to salad dressing, main course casseroles, even the onion focaccia bread accompaniment for dinner.
Buying onions is a simple task. Look for dry, papery skins with no soft spots. You should also notice the absence of any strong odor. A good dry onion will have very little to no smell to it at all. If it has a strong onion odor the onion has already began to turn bad.
Varieties of onion include, Vidalia, Texas 1015, Red, Green, the Walla Walla from Washington and Maui from Hawaii. Sweet onions such as Vidalia and Walla Walla are mellow enough to eat raw, but they are excellent “baked” on the grill and served with grilled steaks or burgers. Try them in the oven too.
Caramelizing onions during cooking will give a rich sweetness to recipes, enhancing kitchen aromas and have everyone asking, “What’s for dinner?” Followed shortly by “fabulous, superb and perfection.”
Capt’n Salsa has an almost comical way of storing onions, but it really works.
Grab an old pair of your wife’s panty hose, cut off the legs. Now you simply drop an onion down into the leg of the hose and tie a knot directly above the onion. Repeat this process until each onion is secured and hang the hose in a cool dry, well ventilated space, out of direct sun light.
To remove the onion, simply cut the hose with a pair of scissors right below the knot and the onion easily falls out. You should be able to keep your onions for about three months.
Kosher salt is one of the best things to use to remove the smell of the onion from your hands. Wash your hands using a little dish washing soap, water and about a teaspoon full of salt. Any salt will do, I just like the course texture of the kosher salt. Rinse your hands and repeat if necessary.
Tears when you chop those onions?
How do you get rid of the tears? Here are a few simple suggestions to “ease your pain.”
You can place the onion in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes prior to chopping or if you are in a hurry toss them in the freezer for about four to five minutes. The cold will tone down the sulfur compound in the juice of the onion. In addition be sure to use the sharpest knife possible to expedite your chopping chores.
Steve Melton, aka, Capt’n Salsa has a vast collection of homemade salsa
and Mexican Food recipes at his web site, www.great-salsa.com
discover the Magical Secrets to MouthWatering Mexican Food, too. Visit
today for a delicious winter time tomato salsa recipe. Remember Life is
better with Great Salsa.
Permalink
04.06.08
Posted in Food And More at 1:41 am by admin
The Roll of Oatmeal (Porridge) in a Healthy Diet
Oatmeal, or porridge if you live outside the US or Canada, play a major role in our modern diet yet few seem to know the true health benefits it gives. Oatmeal provides two of the required three daily servings of whole grains required in a healthy and balanced diet and this alone should help convince you to use it. However there is an added bonus because oatmeal (porridge) is the only whole grain recognized by the US FDA to help reduce cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Can’t you imagine all the Scots jumping in the air, waving their Sporrans in glee telling the world: “We told you so!!!” (Sorry I can’t type in a Scottish accent.)
There is also a school of thought that claims that by eating filling foods in the morning you actually suppress appetite later in the day and this makes oatmeal an ideal breakfast for weight-watchers. Research clearly indicates:
People who eat breakfast, like a bowl of oatmeal for instance, tend to weigh less than those who skip it.
Adults that eat cereals, cooked or cold, have a lower body mass index than those who eat a combinations of meat and eggs, or those who skip breakfast altogether.
On the subject of healthy eating and weight control - don’t forget that you need seven daily servings minimum of fruit and vegetables to maintain health. Again this is also good advice to weight watchers.
The biggest problem you are likely to face if you are trying to lose weight is serving sizes. I’ve lost count of the number of weight watchers who have told me that they follow a strict diet regime but never seem to lose weight, then they serve themselves at least double recommended serving sizes. Hey it doesn’t work that way. Serving sizes are the biggest problem that most weight watchers must contend with and when they come to terms with serving sizes they not only start losing weight they keep it off too.
Quaker has recently introduced Weight Control instant oatmeal, no doubt there are equivalents in all parts of the world and you can get some good tips at www.weightcontrol.quakeroatmeal.com
You can also find a free weight control program at:
http://www.recipesmania.com/weightlossprogram.html
Sometimes all it takes is a change in your daily habits to regain health.
This article is © Copyright David McCarthy 2005. It may only be reproduced in its entirety.
David McCarthy is webmaster of www.recipesmania.com a website dedicated to freely sharing knowledge about food, recipes, healthy eating and weight control.
Permalink
03.26.08
Posted in Food And More at 5:31 pm by admin
There are many different coffee makers available in the marketplace to choose from. One of them is the Bunn Coffee maker. The Bunn Coffee Maker is made by the Bunn-O-Matic Corporation. The Bunn-O-Matic Corporation was founded in 1957 and they are credited with introducing the first paper coffee filter. Over the years the company has evolved and started making commercial beverage equipment and, more recently, home coffee brewers. There are seven different types of Bunn Coffee brewers available which include; My Café Brewer. My Café Brewer brews one cup of coffee at a time. The Bunn coffee makers take pride in brewing coffee at home that matches the standards of the expensive restaurant cups of coffee. They have a stainless steel tank with an advanced spray head, which dissipates the water over the coffee, and a very effective hot water heater. The coffee machines are either black or white with a stainless steel trunk which allows them to blend with any of the home décor styles. The decanter on most of the machines can hold up to ten cups of perfectly brewed coffee. Bunn also makes the BCG Grinder for pre-grinding your coffee beans.
The Bunn Advantage claims that Bunn Coffee makers brew coffee that is robust in flavor without the common bitterness encountered with some coffee machines. Bunn Coffee makers do this by using a patented system that keeps the temperature at the ideal brewing temperature of 2000 Fahrenheit. The coffee maker has a fast brew cycle which exposes the water to the ground coffee beans for the perfect length of time for a perfect coffee flavor. The Bunn Coffee maker creates the right amount of turbulence via its spray head to suspend the ground coffee and extract it’s flavor uniformly for the perfect cup of coffee.
How to Use a Bunn Coffee Maker
Start with a good quality coffee that has been well stored. The coffee maker requires one tablespoon of ground coffee for one brewed cup. Use good clean odorless water preferably water that has been filtered. If you need to keep your coffee for more than 30 minutes store it in a thermal carafe; it can hold its flavor here for up to 60 minutes. Clean your decanter after every use, even the faintest trace of old coffee can taint your fresh pot.
Bunn Coffee maker replacement parts can easily be obtained from vendors and from the manufacturer. Parts for the Bunn coffee maker are easily accessible. On the companies website you can find access to customer service representatives who can answer your questions and help find the replacement part or accessory that you need. Bunn coffee makers are available at many different locations. You can purchase your coffee maker online at the different sites of the coffee makers distributors. There are Bunn coffee makers and replacement parts available on the different auction sites online; this allows you to purchase your coffee maker at a discounted price.
Eric Comforth is a consultant who writes on many consumer topics. Learn more about coffee makers at
Coffee Maker Central
Permalink
03.19.08
Posted in Food And More at 8:24 am by admin
Nothing perks up a lazy morning like coffee. What is this dark-colored substance made of and why can’t some people survive a day without having even just one sip of this stimulant?
Coffee, normally taken hot, is made from the coffee plant’s roasted seeds, called coffee beans. Considered the second-most traded commodity in the world, next to petroleum, it is hailed as modern man’s chief source of caffeine for that extra burst of energy. The perceived benefits and hazards of this potent drink remain the subject of debate among coffee drinkers worldwide.
How did the word “coffee” come into being? The term “coffee” is known by many names among various peoples of the world. It came to England in 1598, via the Italian “caffe.” The Turkish term for it is “kahveh,” while the Arabic word for it is “qahwa.” Its origin is still unknown, although some believe that the drink possibly came from the Kaffa region in Ethopia, where the plant originally named “bunna,” the precursor of coffee, came from.
Did you know that coffee drinking was outlawed in Mecca in 1511, and in Cairo in 1532? Due to coffee’s immense popularity, the law was made obsolete soon after. From then on, owing to the pioneering efforts of the British and Dutch East India companies, coffee found its way to Europe in the sixteenth century.
One of the two main species of the coffee plant is “Coffea Arabica,” its name implying that its origin was the Arabian Peninsula, but it is indigenous in Ethiopia. Although Arabica is more prone to disease, coffee lovers consider it to be more flavorful than “coffea canephora” (robusta), which holds twice as much caffeine. However, the later is proven to be a natural insecticide and stimulant, growing in places where the former cannot grow. Thus, it is used as an inexpensive substitute for Arabica in commercial coffee blends and in almost all instant coffee products.
Compared to Arabica, robusta is more bitter, with a burnt-rubber smell and taste. Robusta of finer quality are used in espresso blends for a foamy effect and for better affordability. In fact, Italian espresso blends are made from dark-roasted Robusta.
Some blend varieties are so popular and in demand that they command a higher price, examples of which are the Jamaican Blue Mountain and the Hawaiian Kona coffees. Often, these beans are mixed with other, less-expensive varieties and the term blend is added to the label, such as “Blue Mountain Blend” or “Kona Blend”.
So beat those morning blues with an adrenaline-pumping sip of this favorite drink among caffeine addicts worldwide.
Coffee provides detailed information on Coffee, Coffee Makers, Gourmet Coffee, Coffee Shops and more. Coffee is affiliated with Gourmet Flavored Coffee.
Permalink