Family Meals - Better for Children, Easier for You
February 29, 2008
Family Meals - Better for Children, Easier for You
by: Michael Colucci
Another day, another dinner to prepare. Are you having a difficult time finding easy to prepare meals that can satisfy your growing family?
You want to give your family the best, but time is in short supply and preparing a healthy meal has become a chore. Too often take out or frozen dinners have to do. Is there a way to combine healthy eating with convenience?
Yes! New methods of cooking and easy to prepare staples can change your eating habits and lead to a better eating style for your family. According to the ‘Kid’s Health’ Program created by the Nemours Foundation, family meals are an important part of developing healthy habits in your kids. Eating as a family will encourage your kids to eat healthy foods like whole grains and vegetables. It will discourage unhealthy snacking and even make them less likely to try smoking, alcohol or marijuana.
But how do you plan healthy family meals on a tight schedule? Here are some ideas to start:
How to Teach Your Children to Cook
February 29, 2008
How to Teach Your Children to Cook
by: Michael Colucci
If you’re ready to teach your children how to cook, here are some simple tips for teaching them the basics, and giving them skills that will last them a lifetime!
First of all, think safety. Any child that has to stand on a stool or chair in order to reach the stove is too young to cook. Start younger children off by letting them help set and clear the table, gathering ingredients, and stirring, mixing or adding ingredients.
Next, set rules about handling knives and other sharp instruments and handling hot pans or boiling ingredients. Some parents start teaching their children to cook by showing them how to make things that don’t require cooking first, and then graduating to letting them make food in the microwave.
Create a relaxed atmosphere that is fun when teaching your kids to cook. Remember what it was like when you were learning to cook? Chances are, you made a few messes and broke a few dishes. It happens. Learning to cook should be fun, not drudgery, although there are certain responsibilities that go along with the privilege, such as cleaning up as you go along, and leaving the kitchen clean when you’re finished.
Fine Tuning Bread Machine Mixes
February 28, 2008
Sometimes bread machines can be tricky. We were trying to help a customer whose bread did not rise enough. It seemed that he did everything right. Come to find out, he had an older model and a brand that we were not familiar with. (Bread machines are becoming more standardized but there are still different requirements for different machines.) So we tried to help him fine tune his mix to work perfectly with his machine.
Fine tuning may be required either because the mix does not perfectly match the machine or because of environmental conditions in your kitchen-humidity, temperature, or altitude. (Since temperature is a variable, make sure that both the mix and machine are at room temperature before beginning.)
Bread machines work on a timer. They mix, allow time for the bread to rise, and then bake. If the dough does not rise fast enough, then the loaf is dense with poor volume. If the dough rises too fast, it collapses with a depression in the middle. To fine tune a mix, we want to adjust the rising so that it is at peak height when the baking cycle begins.
African Bean Soup
February 27, 2008
Yoruba ethnic group from the Southwestern part of Nigeria call this traditional soup ‘Gbegiri’
Most of the ingredients can be got at ethnic Nigerian or African food markets
Ingredients:
To serve 4 people Beans - 2 cups of size of small tinned milk Dried crayfish - 2-table spoonful Beef - 1kg African snail ? 4 medium size Dried fish ? 1 large size ‘Stock’ (cod) fish (dried) ? 4 pieces or medium size Dried pepper or ground chilly pepper ? to taste (depending on your palate) Seasoning ? your choice of brand ?2 cubes West African Palm-oil ? 1 cooking spoon Large pepper ? 2 large size Tomatoes ? 2 medium size Onion ? 1 medium size Salt ? a pinch to taste Water ? as ?required Serve hot
The ingredients: Red pepper, tomatoes and onions, pieces or chunks of boiled beef, red palm-oil, dried crayfish, smoked catfish, ground and dry pepper, salt plus 3cubes of food seasoning, pieces of boiled African snail and pieces dried of ’stock’ fish and the washed beans with the skin peeled at the centre. (To save time, have the mixture of your ground tomatoes, onions and pepper in a blender to a smooth paste prior to the following steps)
Quick Reference Guide for Buying, Storing and Serving Cheese
February 26, 2008
Quick Reference Guide for Buying, Storing and Serving Cheese
by: Michael Colucci
Cheese is more than just peeling back the wrapper on a slice of American cheese. There are proper buying, storage and serving procedures that will help maintain freshness and ensure enhanced flavor and texture.
When buying cheese consider these three items.
1) Where to Shop
- Choose a reliable source such as a specialty market or gourmet grocery store.
- Find a cheese only market or a cheese restaurant. Many large metropolitan areas have restaurants that serve only cheese and wine.
- Shop at a gourmet food store that specializes in cheese.
2) Amount to Purchase
- Buy only what will be consumed with in a few days. Flavors and aroma of fine cheeses change over time in a home refrigerator.
3) Characteristics of Cheese
- Cheese should present the characteristics of that particular style. The interior should not have cracks, mold or discoloration in any form.
- Natural rind cheeses have a rustic appearance. The rind on the outside of these cheeses is a side product of production.
The Inn At Kristofer’s In Sister Bay Wisconsin Offers A Great Dining Experience
February 25, 2008
The Inn At Kristofer’s In Sister Bay Wisconsin Offers A Great Dining Experience
by: Dorrie Ruplinger
Door County, Wisconsin is a popular destination for tens of thousands of travelers every year. Small villages with populations of less than 500 people swell to large crowds during the summer weekends as people head to Door County for some rest, relaxation, time on the water, and good food.
The Inn at Kristofer’s, located on Bay Shore Drive in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, is a wonderful place to go for a special meal. My husband and I treated ourselves to dinner there during our latest trip to Door County and we were very glad we did. We had a great meal.
The first thing we noticed after being seated was the beautiful view of the water. The restaurant is directly across the street from the Bay in Sister Bay and large picture windows along the front wall of the restaurant showcase the water view.
Immediately after being seated our water glasses were filled and a wedge of fresh lime was added. We were given menus and fresh, warm, multi-grain rolls. The rolls were served with butter rosettes flavored with fresh basil.
All About Strawberry Shortcakes
February 24, 2008
Strawberry shortcake may be a 200 year-old American invention. With the advent of chemical leavenings in the early 1800’s, biscuits became popular. Since strawberries have always been readily available, it is likely that biscuits and strawberries have been together for quite some time. Before the middle of that century, strawberry shortcake recipes were showing up in the recipe books.
Today strawberry shortcakes are made from every recipe from biscuits to white cake and even angel food cakes but the original recipes always called for biscuits. Usually these biscuits are made richer with dairy products and sugar. This is an original biscuit-like shortcake. It is rich and tender and flaky and very, very good.
What follows are a strawberry shortcake recipe, a blueberry cream cheese shortcake recipe, and a chocolate caramel raspberry shortcake recipe.
Three Ways to Make Shortcakes
Our Pleasant Meal At C&C Supper Club In Door County Wisconsin
February 24, 2008
Our Pleasant Meal At C&C Supper Club In Door County Wisconsin
by: Dorrie Ruplinger
My husband, oldest son, and I had the pleasure of enjoying a meal at C&C Supper Club in Fish Creek, Wisconsin (in the heart of Door County) during a recent trip to Door County.
The building houses a supper club for dining along with a bar with games and live entertainment on many weekends.
We were very hungry when we arrived so we went directly to the dining room to eat. We were offered a table near the large fireplace in the dining room. It was a nice cozy place to sit on the cool fall evening we dined there.
The dinner entrees at the restaurant come with a choice of potato, soup or salad, and bread. In addition, the supper club has an extensive wine collection they have a suggested wine for each of the entrees they offer.
One of our diners opted for soup with his meal and ordered the French Onion soup. He said it was delicious and that it tasted how French onion soup should taste, with a thick hearty soup base, a piece of crusty French bread placed on top of the soup, and topped with bubbling hot cheese.
Storing Fats and Oils
February 23, 2008
The human body requires the intake of six types of substances for survival: Fats, carbohydrates, proteins, water, vitamins, and minerals. Certain fatty acids are essential to our health and fats and oils are important components of our food and their preparation. Fat is responsible for much of the texture, appearance, and taste of our baked goods. Since fat is both required for human health and an important part of our diets, we should include fat in our emergency preparedness plans–some combination of butter, margarine, vegetable oil, olive oil, and shortening. (Oils are liquid at room temperature; fats are solid.) Though we need to store these foods to maintain our lifestyles and our health, they represent a particular food storage challenge. As oils and fats age, they oxidize. Oxidation is the process that turns fats rancid. Rancid foods not only taste bad, they are unhealthy. As fats and oils breakdown, they become toxic. These oxidized oils promote arterial damage, cancer, inflammation, degenerative diseases, and premature aging. So it is important that we store fats properly, use all fatty foods well before they become rancid, and discard those foods that have been stored too long.
Grill Your Steak The Right Way
February 22, 2008
Grill Your Steak The Right Way
by: Scott Schirkofsky
No matter what you preference in a steak, maintaining good moisture should always be your goal. When searching for a good cut of beef, look for a cut with good consistent marbling. Fat equals flavor so very low fat content in meat will tend to dry it out and have much less flavor. You should not have to coat a great piece of meat with sauce just to get flavor, in fact you should avoid using a sauce at all. You want to see visible grains of fat running through the meat but not large pieces of fat. If you do see larger pieces simply trim them off. As you cook your steak the fat will melt and naturally tenderize the meat.
After removing the meat from refrigeration seasoning the meat with generous amounts of salt and pepper. Many other herb and spice combinations can be added to your taste just be sure you have plenty of salt and pepper in addition to any other seasonings. Allow the meat to come to room temperature before grilling.
