Dessert Parties
August 14, 2007
Dessert Parties
by: Amanda Baker
Dinner parties are a hot trend and a great way to get together with all of your friends. But do you and your friends have a serious sweet tooth? Do you get more enjoyment out of the desserts than dinner? Why not host an evening dessert party? A dessert party can actually be hosted any time of the day, but a late evening party is typically best.
With desserts, the tiny touches really do completely the big pictures. For instance, doilies on dessert plates when serving a fine piece of cake is a beautiful touch. A nice espresso goes well with pastries.
If have a tasty pound cake and want to make it look beautiful when serving? Use wine or champagne glasses and a flavor or two of ice cream to serve desserts a la mode. Serve flavored coffees and teas with some fresh fruit. All by itself, it can serve as a dessert. Just don’t forget the decaf! Frozen desserts are a great idea for an unexpected get-together. Most of the fancier desserts can be frozen and thawed in warm weather for only about an hour.
Beer, Wine and Your Bones
August 13, 2007
If you like the taste of a good brew, then here is some good news! In a recent research study of over 2,900 women and men, researchers found that beer, which contains silicon, may promote bone health. Silicon is a mineral that is thought to stimulate collagen production, which is a building block in bone formation. Wine is rich is phytochemicals, which may also benefit bones. Research does not show, however, in the battle of the sexes, that beer or wine has better or less results in either men or women. In a recent WebMD interview, Katherine Tucker, PhD says that it is possible that two glasses of wine could benefit men, while women may get a bone boost from two cans of beer. Another study of 2,847 people from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study found that men and pre-menopausal women who drank the most silicon, about 40 mg a day, had the highest bone mineral density, a measurement of bone health. Silicon is rarely listed on food labels, so it is hard to tell exactly how much you are consuming. But, you can estimate that one 12-ounce beer has approximately 7 mg of silicon.
Barbeque and Grilling Blunders
August 13, 2007
Barbeque and Grilling Blunders | Learn to Eliminate Outdoor Cooking Mistakes that Kill Your Cookout
by: Billy Bristol
We all make grilling and barbeque cooking mistakes. Sometimes we don’t even know what they are until we realize that the barbequed and grilled food you cook is not as good as you’ve had elsewhere. Make a mental note of these outdoor cooking tips and get in the outdoor cooking game.
Your average backyard cook is no expert in the barbeque or grilling field. He has no television shows on the Food Network. He has no grilling cookbooks out. Nor has any of those been part of his lifetime goal.
No, your average outdoor cooking enthusiast makes more mistakes with bbq grilling than you could ever imagine. The meat ends up dry and tough time after time, despite marinating for hours. Or the meat is burnt or cooked too long.
These mistakes are made time and time again because your average backyard cook usually does not know any different.
Here are some of the more common mistakes and do’s and don’ts made in bbq grill cooking:
Fruit Cake
August 12, 2007
Are you the fruit cake in your family? Before you raise your eyebrow, I would suggest you read on to know what I mean.
The fruit cake has tantalized the world for centuries. When you take a lip smacking bite, you will experience the taste of culture and valued traditions. The fruit cake which I would love to offer you will be an ideal one, with a high content of fruits and nuts in proportion to the batter. You will taste the rich content of French cherries, almonds, California nuts, pineapple, orange peel and lemon. To make it more mouthwatering how about a dash of brand and liquor added to it?hmmm, expensive and irresistible, isn’t it?
If you want to go for a stronger aroma and sharper flavor, then relish the darker version of the fruit cake. The dark fruit cake contains prunes, dates, cherries, walnuts, brown sugar and molasses.
If you love the subtle taste, then you can go for the light fruit cake. The delicate taste is attributed to the presence of granulated sugar, golden raisins, pineapple, apricots and light corn syrup.
Be Healthier With Veggies
August 11, 2007
Be Healthier With Veggies
by: Christos Varsamis
The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.
When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.
Holiday Recipe: Filled Cookies
August 10, 2007
From the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm)
When I was a kid growing up on our dairy farm in Wisconsin 40 years ago, cookies with a date filling were my dad’s favorite kind. Here is the recipe.
- 3/4 cup butter or margarine (softened)
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- several tablespoons of milk if the dough seems too dry
- Jam: blackberry, black raspberry, strawberry, red raspberry, plum conserve, apple conserve, or date filling (recipes for plum and apple conserve and date filling are included below.)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. If the dough is too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk. If the dough seems too wet, add 1/4 or 1/2 cup of flour.
Roll out dough. Use either a small round cookie cutter or one large round cutter. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet. Put one teaspoon of jam (or other filling) in the middle of the smaller rounds or off to one side of the larger rounds. Place another small round on top of the small rounds; fold the larger rounds in half. Use a fork to crimp the edges together and to poke holes in the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until light brown.
The Spirit of Coffee: Coffees of the World
August 9, 2007
The Spirit of Coffee: Coffees of the World
by: Michelle Faber
Ever wonder where the coffee beans in your morning coffee come from? You probably know words like Arabica and Robusta in terms of taste, but did you know that these words can also tell us where those coffees were grown? Here is a look at three of the world’s best specialty coffees and the regions in which they originated. Read on to discover the rich history of these coffees.
Yemen Arabian Mocca
Grown in the mountainous region of Sanani in south Yemen at an altitude in excess of 4,500 ft, Arabian Mocca is the world’s oldest cultivated coffee, distinguished by its richness and full body with chocolate undertones. Yemen is on Asia’s Arabian peninsula, a stone’s throw from Africa. Since there are no other Arabian coffees, it is classified as part of the family tastes of North African coffees.
It is here that the term “mocca” was coined. Its correct spelling is Mokha, for the port city that Yemen coffees ship from. Yemen’s arid climate contributes to the production of one of the best-loved specialty coffees that led Europeans to fall in love with coffee many centuries ago.
Lean Healthy Recipes - Eat A Variety Of Veggies For A Healthier You
August 8, 2007
Lean Healthy Recipes - Eat A Variety Of Veggies For A Healthier You
by: Fritz Blanc
The only way to keep up with the latest about lean healthy recipes is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about lean healthy recipes, it won’t take long for you to become an influential authority.
The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings
of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier
than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.
Compact Refrigerators Are Great When Small Is Needed
August 8, 2007
The small refrigerator can be used in many places that a regular size fridge would not be practical. Many places including offices, apartments, student dorms, hotels, motels, and military housing can benefit from using compact refrigerators.
Many models of compact refrigerators are great for home use to. A finished basement with a family room or a “rec room” can make better use of a small refrigerator over a large one. And of course when traveling in your motor home the smaller frig is a must. There are many more areas in the home and office when smaller is more convenient.
Most compact refrigerators come with a multitude of features. Depending on your needs many include:
Small freezers
Ice trays
Fuzzy logic with automatic defrost
Door hang is convertible to left or right side
Adjustable shelves
Door racks with bottle fingers
Some are made specifically for keeping wine and beer cool. These come with double glass doors, adjustable shelving, and a shelf for wine bottles. These machines are very reliable and a nice solution for cramped spaces.
How to Make Beer
August 7, 2007
Making beer is easy, inexpensive, and most of all, fun. With the rise in popularity of homebrewing, there are a wide variety of top quality ingredients available.
You can literally make hundreds of styles of beer that will taste great and impress your friends. Getting started making beer will only cost you a small amount of money, depending on your level of interest. Most beer making kits range from only $60 to $200 and make great, unique gifts.
How to Make Beer
Making Beer is just like cooking. Each recipe requires different ingredients and techniques. This page is an attempt to go over the basics of homebrewing in order to give you an understanding of how beer is made.
First of all, beer is made from 4 basic ingredients: water, malt (malted barley), hops, and yeast.
Water
Water is the most abundant ingredient in any style of beer. When making beer at home try to use filtered water instead of plain tap water. If your water doesn’t taste good from the tap, you probably won’t like it in your beer either. Do not use distilled water because it has been depleted of its oxygen.
