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Showing posts from February, 2008

The Campers Guide to Outdoor Cooking is Everything a campsite cook needs to know!

by Max Power Cold tins of beans, burnt sausages, mud in your food, and charcoal flavoured everything is not how outdoor cooking should be! This campers guide to outdoor cooking will ensure that your camping experiences go hand in hand with great gourmet meals. How many times have you looked forward to your camping holiday or weekend away in the great outdoors, only to be let down by the food that you eat whilst in your camp? Poorly heated tinned food or burnt meats are commonplace in the average camp. In addition to the badly cooked food you often find youll be sharing your plate with bits of mud or grass added into the mix! It does not need to be like this! With a little preparation you should be eating as well, if not better, than you do at home. Look in any campers guide to outdoor cooking and they will start by telling you that preparation is essential to get the most from your campsite kitchen. Even before your journey starts, your preparation will ensure that your

Vegan and Vegetarian Gluten-Free Recipes Make for Healthy Meals

by Andrew Maule   With the increase of people practicing gluten-free diets who are either vegan or vegetarian, there is a surplus of delicious and healthy recipes readily available on the internet. There are a gluten-free vegan and vegetarian recipes for such classic gluten-containing dishes as pizzas, eggplant parmesan and a variety of others. If you haven't already you should go on and explore your meal options and be healthy in the process! Vegans and vegetarians with celiac disease are typically deficient in certain vitamins, making it even more important to eat healthier varieties come meal time. Vegetarians are typically deficient in iron, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids and protein while vegans are typically deficient in calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin b12, vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids and protein. That's no problem though. As long as you're eating the right things you'll be fine. And luckily, there's no better way of finding vegan and vegetarian glu

How to Make Your Kitchen Explode

by John Davis Jr. The day our kitchen blew up, the whole neighborhood had to stop by and ask questions. They ranged from the ignorant, like, "Was there an explosion?" to the inquisitive: "What happened over here?" Either way, my mother was as polite as she could be, then she casually escorted curiosity-seekers back down our driveway. My mom was a very experienced cook, and she owned a thick metal hand-me-down pressure cooker, which once was her grandmother's. The rubber seal, which sat firmly between the lid and the pot of the cooker, had seen its better days, however. It was starting to crack and peel in places, though it still largely remained intact. Being a kitchen veteran, my mother had pressured everything from poultry to beef, starches to vegetables. And that day, the meal order was green beans, otherwise known as pole beans. We were, after all, a good southern family, and what would Sunday dinner be without green beans? She had placed all

OzFree's Guide to Selecting Cookware Sets

by Mei Galang Have you ever wondered why your favorite dish, with a general recipe, taste different when cooked by different individuals? Cooking may be a common skill for most people but their different lifestyles will require them different styles of cookwares. The finished product can also vary depending on the cooking style of each person but at the same time the secret may rely on the cookwares used. Cookware sets are specially designed collections of pots, pans and lids that are designed to nest together, the entire set takes up the space of the largest pot. The common materials used to make cookware sets are stainless steel and copper. The price varies on the quality of these materials as well as additional styles added for handles, sidings or lids.   A person can trade the cookware's quality for a lesser price but the quality of the food prepared using it can be affected. They might save few bucks but the quality of the end product may be diminished beca

Home Water Filter Systems - Finding The Right Purifier To Improve Your Health

By Josh Neumann Home water filter systems are crucial to your health. Anyone can survive without food for 48-72 hours, but certainly not without water. There has been a lot of discussions recently about tap water and its' potential adverse health effects. This is due to the enormous amount of sediment and bacteria that seep through. If you find yourself with a lot of gas, believe it or not, the problem may not be your diet but the tap water you consume. Often times, a sickness derived from H20 can be untreatable and sometimes lead to death. Therefore, a home water purifier is a must to maintain good health. Believe it or not, Chlorine does not remove all the harmful chemicals in your water. In fact, there are 140 different bacteria that have been found in the tap water in most cities for which the EPA has done nothing to remove. Generally, the majority of home water filter systems are quite efficient, but consumers are very often persuaded to purchase a system for mo

Small Kitchen Remodeling: Making The Most Of Limited Space

by Ernest Jarquio Small kitchen remodeling is a challenge even for the most savvy of home owners. You may have little to work with but big ideas of what you want. By using a few tricks you can give your room a look of spaciousness. Get Flooring Patterns that Emphasize Contrasts Start with the flooring. Use flooring that is attractive and easily kept new-looking. Marble flooring is one example, and it will be less expensive for you since you have less floor space to cover. Another example is a durable linoleum floor. You can get patterns that emphasize contrasts, like black and white checkered designs. Designs that are too busy will not work for your small kitchen, though, because this will create an atmosphere of confusion. The best arrangement of cabinets and appliances for a small kitchen space is the galley kitchen style. This means that you put everything on two sides of a center aisle. In a cozy kitchen, everything is more orderly if you can move quickly across the

Why You Need The Right Kind Of Fire Extinguisher

by Michael Goldberg All families should keep a fire extinguisher in their home. However, there are different kinds of fire extinguishers for different kinds of fires. Having a basic understanding of fires and fire extinguishers can help prevent damaging flames and can even save lives. Fires have four elements in order to exist. They must have oxygen, heat, a chemical reaction and fuel. In order to successfully extinguish a fire, one of these elements must be taken away, that is, extinguished. There are five different classes of fires. These fires are lettered A, B, C, D and K. Each of these fires has a different fuel. Class A fires comprise of ordinary combustibles, occurring in wood, paper, plastic, trash or cloth. Class B fires are comprised of flammable liquids and gases, which include gasoline, paint, petroleum oil, propane, and butane (cooking oil and grease are not included in class B). Class C is comprised of fires that involve electrical equipment such as home ap

Choosing a Water Filtration System

A water filtration system is one of the most overlooked pieces of outdoor equipment Often thought of as a luxury instead of a necessity, most folks who venture out hiking or exploring never give a thought to what might happen if their water supply should for some unforeseen reasons become exhausted either through an error in planning or conditions beyond their control. You can go days without food - but not water. If you can locate a source of water it can be treated and used. What might have been a tragedy turns into a simple activity nothing more. Even if you have an obtainable source of water it more than likely will contain parasites such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium and Bacteria such as E. coli. And also animal waste. Lets take a look at some of the more common stuff found in our waters. Protozoa: Are single celled parasites that are mostly responsible for our Water related illnesses. They can only divide within a host organism. Malaria is caused by protozoa. Giardia:

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day

by Catherine A Grainger Eating healthy during your pregnancy is crucial to your baby, and to you. But even after that baby arrives, it is still important to your body for you to make sure you are getting enough of all the proper nutrients, even if you don't have the time to prepare elaborate meals. If you prepare and eat a healthy meal in the morning, you will have the energy and the stamina to get you through the day. Plus, maintaining the proper balance of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals within your body will also improve your mental health. You'll have better focus, memory, patience, and mood. If you have any degree of post partum depression, what you eat could factor in to how you feel. During the pregnancy and after, how quickly your body adjusts and recovers are also affected by how well you eat. Pre and post natal vitamins help with this, but healthy eating habits are worth becoming accustomed to. This recipe will start you on your way, to starting ever

Picking A Coffee Grinder

Picking the perfect coffee grinder can be a tricky endeavor. Mainly, because of the time needed to get the perfect grind, what type of blades are used in the grinder and what type of coffee bean is going to be grind. Those said let's take a quick look at the all-important coffee bean. When thinking about grinding a coffee bean, the grinder will have to account for the fact that coffee beans oxidize when exposed to air. And when the beans are ground they produce a much larger relative surface area for oxidation. Especially, since the ground now don't have any covering and can suffer even more of this effect. As a result of this oxidation, time and place need to be accounted for in order to produce the best ground. With that in mind the best place to grind beans would be at home. Mainly because more care for the product would be taken in a home setting, more so than in a corporate setting. Now back to time. Grinding can and is a very time consuming and messy action

The Varied Customs Of Korean Barbecue

You might not have had an idea of the Korean barbecue, unless you visited the peninsula. Japanese counterparts speak of it with an animal yearning. Its not just to be eaten, but a condition to aspire. You would find street-side restaurants with the smokiest grills all over Korea but due to language barrier and the variations in taste and custom most of this flavored local cuisine is not approachable for tourists. However, restaurants equipped with English speaking staff are all rocking with traditional menus on the table. There is an art of eating a Korean barbecue because it is served in a family style, which means everybody shares everything. It consists thinly sliced marinated beef, bowls of rice, miso soup and a dizzying array of small spicy side dish, all to be shared. There comes the art of sharing, which demands patience, rhythm and grace. Korean barbecue is to be enjoyed in a group. Anyone having it for the first time must watch the most experienced barbecue perso

Collectable Kitchen Plates Are A Great Decorating Idea

by Ernest Jarquio Collectible kitchen plates have been around for a long time. Your grandmother may have had a collection of antique or specialty plates. Decorating with these plates is one way to add interest to your rooms. There are many categories of these collectibles. Some of them were designed to be collected and some of them became more desired as their value and popularity grew. When these products were no longer available to be purchased new, they began to become prized parts of a collection. More Valuable if the Design is No Longer Available Some of these plates that started out as china to be used for dining are simple pieces. They may be blue cornflower, or have a hand-painted rose design. If the design is no longer available, they are valuable. Some are fancier but still considered as china. These may be embossed with the name of the place where they were used. It could be a restaurant, a hotel, a cruise ship, or even a plate used at government functions. Ot

Simple But Delicious Bread Machine Recipes

by Robin OBrien If you've tried all the recipes that came in your bread machine recipe book you may want to be a little adventurous and try out some new ones. To avoid baking disasters its best you start off with recipes that are simple and straightforward. But this doesn't mean you have to bake bland bread; far from it. If you've just been baking bread maybe you should be a little more adventurous and try making dough for bagels, brioche and other delicious pastries. As well as the bread maker recipes that follow, there's some dough ones too, that will, hopefully, whet your appetite enough to try them out. Autumn Seed Bread For me fall and the approach of winter signal the start of the home baking year. It's a time when the harvest is in and most ingredients that are used in baking are produced; things like wheat, seeds and preserves. Ingredients - this will make a 1.5 to 2lb loaf 1 cup warm water 1 (.25 ounce) package yeast 1/4 cup honey 4 teaspoons

How To Choose A Rice Cooker And Use It Effectively To Save Energy.

by Tuchchai Suwanawong Today, rice has become more popular among people, not only for Asian, but also people around the world. Because of rice has full of nutrition as well as it can be cook in many different ways, such as fired rice, boil, steamed etc. Therefore, as the reasons described above, most of families have to look for a good rice cooker, because this equipment will make the rice cooking work become easy and quick. The most popular rice cooker these days is automatic rice cooker. This type of cooker sometime also has rice warming and re-cooking functions. Apart from that, the type of rice cooker has been evolved. There are plenty of types and models available in the market. Some people want to buy a rice cooker that has all-in-one function, which include steam, fry in one cooker with automatic shutdown function etc. However, if you are the one who want to use this type of cooker, the most important this that you have to be aware of is the safety, including plug,

Non Stick Baking Pans For The Fully Functional Kitchen

by Robin Holland-Smith To run a well-equipped kitchen, you'll need to have an assortment of baking implements on hand. You might already have some of these, perhaps from when you moved out of your parents' house to live independently for the first time, or perhaps you received some of them as holiday gifts. You may have even purchased a few on your own when you identified the need to acquire a new piece. Eventually, you will probably want to overhaul your collection of baking implements and buy an entire new set of baking pans. While there are many options to choose from, the best is probably non stick baking pans. These pans are coated with a thin layer of a non stick material, enabling you to skip adding any fat to coat the pan when you cook. When you bake, your food will slide easily off of the pan, rather than having to scrape it off. You won't need to use any butter or flour. The secret to evenly baking beautiful and appetizing food is non stick baking pa

Valentine's Day Baking Recipes

Some interesting history about chocolate and strawberries: The ancient Mayans and Aztecs considered chocolate an aphrodisiac. Strawberries have been considered an aphrodisiac since ancient Rome. But the history of these two delectable treats hardly matters. All you need to know is that the combination is sure to please your lover on Valentine's Day. Chocolate Strawberry Cake Squares The decadent chocolate fudge combined with the sweet flavor of strawberries in this recipe will have your lover wanting more. And the best part is that it's quick and simple to make. It serves two so it is a perfect treat for Valentine's Day. 2 slices pound cake 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce 2 tablespoons Amaretto 8 strawberries, sliced 2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce, melted toasted slivered almonds vanilla ice cream In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce and Amaretto. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Put half of the sauce on

Is The Sunbeam 5891 Bread Machine Any Good?

by Robin OBrien The Sunbeam 5891 is a low cost bread machine and is a popular model. It looks nice, it has most features that other, more expensive, models have and it's priced very competitively. But, if you buy it, will you be getting a good product or will you be wasting your money? The answer depends on what you want from a bread maker. Not only does this Sunbeam bread machine have a small price tag, it also has a small footprint; measuring around 14.5" deep x 10" wide x 12" in height. But you still get a large window and a surprisingly large pan. All this, coupled with its rounded, oval shape design gives a very good first impression. Its good features don't stop at this either. The control panel is large with big, colored buttons that make operating it child's play. It gives you the features that would expect but it also gives you some that wouldn't expect from a cheap bread machine. For instance, as well as getting bake, dough, cake a

Crab Cakes - Tips to Making Perfect Crab Cakes at Home by Tom Lingle

Many fine restaurants offer crab cakes on their menu, now you can create perfect crab cakes in your own kitchen for family and friends. Crab cakes are popular for brunch, lunch or dinner, served as appetizers and as a main dish. Crab cakes are delicate cakes made from fine crab meat and a few select ingredients, notably eggs and breadcrumbs that help bind the cakes together and help the crab cakes from breaking apart during pan frying or baking. Start with the finest crabmeat and freshest ingredients you can find. Blue crab from the Atlantic, dungeness from the Pacific, and king crab from Alaska are all excellent varieties to make crab cakes. Jumbo lump and backfin crab meat are two excellent choices of meat to use from whichever variety you choose. Jumbo and backfin are premium meat from the crab and will have the best texture and flavor in your cakes. Fresh eggs, fresh herbs, fresh breadcrumbs, and fresh spices will all impact the flavor of your crab cakes. Crab cake pat

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Like A Pro

by Jeff Stevens Painting your kitchens cabinets is very simple and affordable. The great part is that your kitchen will look completely changed without having to remodel. You do not have to be a professional to paint. Anyone can do it. There are things you should know beforehand, though. Such as, some cabinets can not even be painted. Three common tools that you can use when painting are: * brush * spray gun * roller It is your preference on what would work best for you. Brushes can leave marks on larger areas. Spray guns are expensive and can overspray so you will need an area to enclose it. Possibly the best option is using a roller. It is the quickest and least expensive choice. It can cover areas with a single stroke. Before you begin painting you will want to remove all hardware which includes knobs, hinges, and pulls. Taking the doors off the cabinets will make painting much easier. Remember to label each door so they will be easy to put back once it has dried.

Valentine's Day Menu And Delicious Recipes

Majority of people will celebrate Valentine's Day by going to eat a Valentine's menu at the restaurant. But so many couples do this on Valentine's Day that we have to make reservation a long time before February 14th and in restaurants that do not take reservations we have to wait a long time before being seated. There is an alternative to the Valentine's Day restaurant: cooking dinner at home. Firstly, ask your partner to help you cook the meal: it is a great way to spend more time together. Do not plan an elaborate meal if your partner is not a great cooker. On the other hand, if you cook an elaborate meal, working together will ensure that your meal will turn out great. When you plan to cook your Valentine's Day dinner, ensure you to purchase the ingredients in advance in order to not scramble at the last minute to find the missing ingredients. This will also avoid an unnecessary stress. Another thing to consider when you cook your Valentine's D

Looking Out For The Best Microwave Oven

There are a lot of microwave ovens available for the ordinary consumer to choose from. The different models from the many brands available offer a host of features that can help make cooking for convenient, faster and simpler. In fact, the microwave oven of today has even taken the place of most cooking appliances at home. With the advances in technology, there are new types of microwave ovens now available to even give you more convenience and time saving innovations that more and more consumers are looking for. If you are looking for the best microwave oven in the market, you need to have a certain criteria which you could base what the best ovens should be like. You would also need to know that there are certain types of microwave ovens that are capable of doing more than any of the standard ones available. You should be able to know which models can be compared with the others in order to ensure a fair analysis. In today's microwave oven market, there are generally

Pulled Pork Sandwich Recipe

I concocted this a couple of weeks ago. Unlike the eastern North Carolina style pulled pork recipe (which I sent out last year), which does not include tomatoes or tomato ketchup in the sauce, this one is with a traditional style BBQ sauce (which includes tomato ketchup). I love both styles. I love doing pulled pork with this way, because you just roast it in your kitchen oven--and the layers of flavor provided by the spice rub give it a real barbeque flavor. Ingredients: 1 pork butt roast (about 4 lbs.) 2 tbsp. canola oil 1/4 cup water 10 to 12 hamburger buns For the Rub: 2 tbsp. brown sugar 2 tbsp. paprika 2 tbsp. chili powder 1 tbsp. ground cumin 1 tbsp. kosher salt 1 tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper 2 tsp. garlic powder 2 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. celery seed 1/2 tsp. ground mace For the Sauce: 1.5 cup ketchup 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion 1/4 cup cider vinegar 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp. soy sauce 2 tbsp. yellow mustar

Sunday Tea Recipe - Bacon And Egg Pie

A few weeks ago we had the family over for Sunday lunch, nine adults, four grandkids. My wife as usual turned out a cracking meal, Roast beef and lamb - The grandkids prefer lamb - roast potatoes, roast parsnip, cauliflower, small boiled potatoes, carrots and of course Yorkshire puddings with gravy and mint sauce for the lamb. All prepared and cooked by my long suffering wife, the only exception being the Yorkshire puddings which were precooked by "Aunty Bessie" and only needed to be heated in the oven. If you haven't tried "Auntie Bessie's" Yorkshire puddings, try them, they taste so good and are so reasonably priced that it isn't worth the time and effort of making your own. Anyway after singing the praises of "Aunty Bessie," I am blithering on as usual and need to get to the point. Well, after overindulging, also as usual, I sat with the two great grandmothers; my mum and my mother-in- law and we began to reminisce about Sunday

How To Install Your Kitchen Counter Tile

By Albert Lee Tile is long lasting and resistant to stains, moisture and heat that's why it is a very good choice for your kitchen countertop. Using ceramic tile can help you save a lot of your labor costs because even an average, practical homeowner can do the job of installing it. So if you haven't labored with ceramic tiles before, then mounting kitchen counter tile is a perfect project for a neophyte like you since the countertop is a relatively small and horizontal surface. As always, the key to a successful do-it-yourself job is planning. So before you start tiling your countertop, plan first the installation job in order to lessen the number of tiles you have to cut. Before choosing the kitchen counter tile to use, measure the counter top carefully. In estimating the amount of tiles needed to cover it, make sure to allocate space for specialty tiles like those that are required for a backsplash or for edging. Buy slightly more tiles that what you need so yo

What Is Culinary Art And It's Importance In A Chef's Career?

By Arindam Chattopadhyaya If everyone adores your cooking and encourage you to pursue a career in cooking, you should learn culinary arts. Culinary is the art of cooking. Here you will learn different topics of culinary arts. For quality cooking right measurements, proper selection and accurate combination of ingredients are mot important. To be an expert chef, it's necessary to learn which tool to be used, which are the best methods to prepare a dish and which ingredients to be used. Culinary art is a diverse field because of economic, aesthetic, nutritional, religious and cultural variances. Hence, it is necessary to join a good culinary school is the best place to learn culinary arts. 1. Fire is most important in culinary arts. Use of fire is closely associated with culinary arts. Heat changes the food's texture, flavor and nutritional contents and even its appearance. Heating also disinfects the food and makes it softer. On the other hand freezing only slows

Cooking Tips - Easy To Use Venison Cooking Tips

By Abhishek Agarwal A good many people will love to get their hands on a good recipe for a deer meat dish. For most, this is not the first time they will be trying their hand at cooking deer meat and for a few it will be and these people will be more than grateful to get a few good venison cooking tips. Irrespective of you being a seasoned cook or a newbie the following tips will be very useful to you: The first thing to remember is to never over-cook the meat. , the more you cook red deer meat the more it will dry. Once the meat has dried there are few and very difficult ways to moisten it again, and even the gurus have known to have given up. Set the internal temperature to not more than one hundred and forty degrees because this is the temperature the meat begins to dry. In order to accurately determine the degree of preparedness of the meat it is advisable to use a meat thermometer. Allow the meat to soak in the juices when you remove it from the fire. Keep it cov

The Botanical - An Iconic Restaurant Melbourne Australia Has To Offer

By Sia Nasios It was a quiet Saturday night along the streets of Melbourne when my sister and I went to The Botanical, an iconic restaurant in South Yarra. The occasion was her birthday so this was a special treat. It is difficult taking her out to a restaurant as she is an incredibly fussy eater and a vegetarian. Luckily for me she was willing to give the only vegetarian dish on the menu a go, it was the Pea & Ricotta Gnudi with Spring Herbs, Snow Pea Tendrils & Flowering Zucchini. Being a lover of seafood I ordered the Scallops with Truffles and White Asparagus. A side order of mashed potatoes was ordered just in case. I love trying different types of wines and have a love of any sweet red. I asked our waiter for his opinion and he recommended the 2004 Pepper Tree Reserve Merlot, Wrattonbully. It sounded wonderful so I said yes. It was very light and sweet. I was happy. A plate of oil with a squirt of vinegar was perfect with the lovely bread we were given. I