Best Kitchen Appliances

By Dee Marie I cook nearly all of our meals at home. This has allowed us to save quite a bit of money on our food bill. To do all this cooking at home, though, requires careful planning which begins with making a menu for the coming week. I've found that taking just a few minutes to make a thorough plan can make the whole process much easier and less stressful. First, I take a quick survey of what we already have. If there are leftovers in the refrigerator, those are scheduled to be used first. Then, I go through the pantry and freezer and see what meals I can make with what I already have. My menu plan will be partially completed based on this first step. Next, I browse the weekly sale ad for my local grocery stores. I look for the sale items, especially any buy one, get one free sales on any types of meats. I can now finish up the main parts of the menu. I fill in the remainder of the menu with side dishes for each of the main meals. When scanning the sale ads I a...

All we seem to hear on the news lately are the benefits seafood has on the body. Every day, researchers are pouring out new evidence confirming the healthy rewards of a seafood rich diet: better skin, increased memory, and even smarter babies. With all this valuable information about the health benefits of seafood, consumers are largely unaware of varying degrees in the quality of the seafood they purchase. Still today, unless shipped straight from the processor, it is difficult to find high quality seafood in many parts of the country. When compared to other forms of processed seafood, fresh seafood is generally viewed by the consumer as the highest quality product available. The use of misleading terms and phrases by many in the seafood industry has wrongly led many consumers to believe that fresh seafood is actually synonymous with high quality. In the seafood industry the word "fresh" specifically refers to a product that has never been frozen...

It is time for the big game. Your team has made the cut and it is time to see if they are up to scratch against the opposing team. It is Super Bowl time. The Super Bowl is not just a football game, because even if you do not have a favorite team or are not even a fan of football, you can still enjoy the energy that the rest of the country is feeling. The "Super Bowl Party" is a modern American tradition that only comes once a year (and for some, it is the best time of year). So while you and your friends are sitting around the TV watch the game or laughing at the famous Super Bowl commercials, you need to pay attention to the food that people snack on. Traditional Super Bowl food is all about finger snack, which has lots of salt or sugar, and lots to drink. Here are a few of my favorite recipes you can try to liven up the food part of the party: -- Bacon Wrapped Dogs Recipe -- Bread Boat Recipe Bacon Wrapped Dogs How much more American can you get? This is a g...

By David Lok Microwave cooking is a convenience way to cook, however knowing the right technique makes you a better microwave chef. Successful cooking with Microwave oven need to understand the followings points: Moist, not fat - Choose recipes that are cooked by moisture - steaming, boiling, braising, blanching. Foods that require fat and oil for a change of flavor are not as successful, deep-frying is impossible at all. Browning food - Foods do not brown readily in the microwave oven. You may find the following tips on browning useful. 1. Fat absorbs heat and if you remove foil covering fatty portions of a meat, these will crisp and brown lightly. 2. Baste with oil to give a better crisp to roast. Oil increase the temperature of the meat surface. 3. A browning dish, preheated, will brown food beautifully if you press food down, turning so that all surfaces make contact with the base of the dish. 4. Soy sauce, the ubiquitous flavourer of Chinese recipes, is an excelle...

The highly controversial topic, fluoride compounds in water brings about serious discussion among many people. Some of us are for, some of us against fluoride in our drinking water while others have not thought about it. I tended to be one of those who had not thought about it, until recently. For more discussion on this topic, please read on. Fluoride is a government initiative introduced by  many countries throughout the world to improve the quality of children's teeth by helping to prevent dental decay. The fluoride is added to our public water supply to ensure that everyone receives it. Some governments are for this, others are against. It has been in use for over 50 years. The type of fluoride used is not the natural occurring fluoride which is calcium fluoride. The type used is either silicoflouride, which is derived from the by products of the phosphate fertilizer industry or sodium fluoride, which is a by product from the aluminum industry. Two very highly to...

By Mike Selvon Many facets of the culture of Japan have changed drastically over the years, one of them being the cuisine in Japan. Modern Japanese cuisine contains influences from both the traditional culture of Japan and other civilizations from around the world. Some of the staple foods found in their cooking are noodles, rice, vegetables and fish. At their dinner tables, these foods can be found at most every meal. Many different foods from other cultures have made their way into their menus over the years too; however, most of them have taken on a Japanese flair and have become dishes all of their own. While rice is a staple in Japan and can be found in many different varieties, at one time the only type of rice that was grown there was the short grain variety. Long grain rice was introduced to Japanese people from the Chinese culture. Once referred to as meshi or gohan, rice has been a preferred item at the meal table since this time. Another widely used item in ...