How to Make a Cajun Roux
June 30, 2008
The process of preparing Cajun food is in no way hurried and involves a layering of flavors which allows each ingredient to maintain its own identity.
The foundation of preparing authentic Cajun dishes like gumbo, sauce piquant and etouffee is the Cajun roux (pronounced ‘rue’). Good roux is neither undercooked nor overcooked. Undercooking will yield a less full-bodied flavor and overcooking to the point of being burned will yield a bitter taste.
The French roux is usually a blend of equal parts flour and butter cooked slowly until bubbly and well blended, but not browned. The typical Cajun roux is a blend of equal parts of flour and fat, cooked together in a heavy pot over high heat until a medium brown color is reached. Roux must be stirred constantly to prevent burning. Some people prefer a roux made with approximately one-fourth cup more oil than flour.
Most often, when Cajun roux is called for, finely chopped onion and bell pepper is added to the browned roux to arrest the cooking temperature and prevent the roux from scorching. This step begins the cooking of the desired dish, such as a gumbo or sauce piquant.
Ingredients:
Low Fat Banana Toasts
June 29, 2008
I love bananas for breakfast.
I think bananas a convenient food that can be easily combined with other things to make delicious meals, especially for breakfast.
They are a rich source of potasium (an essential mineral for proper muscle and never funciont), fibre (great to avoid constipation and hemorroids), and high levels of fructose (which is a natural sugar, providing a quick release of energy into your blood source).
A banana french toast is a delicious quick low fat breakfast recipe that you can enjoy almost on a weekly basis (unless you go bananas and decide to have it everyday!)
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup of skim milk
1 mashed banana
1 tsp sweetener
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
8 slices of whole grain bread
1 Tbs low fat butter (Cannola based is best)
This is what you do:
First, whisk together the egg whites, skim milk, banana, sweetener and cinnamon till mixed well.
Then, soak the bread slices into the mix on both sides.
Next, coat a large nonstick frying pan with cannola oil spray.
Beau’s Sweet-Sour Chicken Wings
June 28, 2008
Beau’s Sweet-Sour Chicken Wings
by: Luke Indran
My pal Beau’s famous chicken wing recipe has never failed to leave mouths drooling in eager anticipation. Put Beau’s wisdom to good use today and find out for yourself just why hordes flock to this grizzled foreman’s ranch every Summer just to get a nibble of his legendary sweet-sour chook wings.
20 Chicken wings
7 1/2 ounces Tomato sauce (half can)
2 tablespoons Orange marmalade
1 tablespoon Honey
2 teaspoons Ginger — minced
2 teaspoons Fermented chili sauce — (Summit brand)
2 teaspoons Pepper vinegar
4 Garlic cloves — peeled
1 teaspoon Salt (scant)
2 teaspoons MSG
1/2 cup Water (more as needed)
Douse in Tabasco to taste (or some other hot pepper sauce). Cut off spurs from chicken wing-tips and rinse chicken wings. Place in pressure cooker with water; bring to pressure and cook at high heat for up to five minutes. Remove from pressure cooker and place cooked-out fat in wide-mouthed, tapered jar for other uses.
Choosing Wine on a First Date
June 28, 2008
Choosing Wine on a First Date
by: Neil Best
First dates are nerve wracking enough without having to worry about what wine to choose to impress your new friend!
One of the great things about wine on a date is that one bottle is a defined amount, normally about five glasses. If shared equally it is unlikely that you will fall off your chair drunk after half a bottle of wine!
However, there are some other social sins that can be committed whilst choosing wine on a date.
Getting Started
First, you need to decide whether you want white, red, rosé or sparkling wine. This is perhaps the most important decision. As a general rule, red wine is more of an acquired taste and it can be harder to select a good red. Therefore, when you do not know your companion’s tastes it may be wise to steer clear of the red wine section.
Sparkling wine can make you appear a little pretentious or if you go for a cheaper version, a tightwad; so this is usually best avoided. If you are not sure whether your companion likes wine at all, rosé wine is often a safe option as it often lacks the sharpness that people commonly dislike in wines.
How to Make Your Own Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream
June 27, 2008
Sometimes, when you have set yourself in the weight loss journey, you may miss your old friends: snacks.
But life does not have to be miserable for you to lose weight. You can add flavour and colour to your life by learning a few smart eating recipes such as this delicious and easy-to-prepare low fat vanilla ice cream.
This recipe is ideal for diabetic people, as it contains no sugar, and it yieds only 3 grams of fat and only 60 kilocalories (250 kilo joules).
If you are in a Weight Watchers plan, that is the equivalent of 1 point per serving!
This is one of those recipes where the list of ingredients is longer than the actual preparation instructions. It is that easy!
In reality people should not have to eat like hermits (with food that tastes like cardboard!). You can prepare you own delicious meals and snacks, and this low fat dessert recipe is proof of that!
Ingredients:
2 tsp gelatine dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water
300 ml chilled low fat evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
sugar-free sweetener (equivalent to 4 Tbsp sugar)
This is what you do:
Traditional Cajun Chicken Wings
June 26, 2008
Traditional Cajun Chicken Wings
by: Luke Indran
According to the late great novelist Mark Twain, “New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin”. See what exactly Mr Twain meant by cooking up a veritable storm with my traditional Cajun Chicken Wing recipe featured below!
CAJUN CHICKEN WINGS
12 Chicken wings — tips removed
5 Bay leaves — crumbled into bits
3/4 teaspoon Caraway seeds
1/2 To 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon Ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon Ground coriander
4 Garlic cloves — finely
1 1/2 teaspoons Dry mustard
2 teaspoons Paprika — preferably 3/4 teaspoon Dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Brandy
2 tablespoons Fresh lemon or lime juice
How to Grill Most Any Vegetable You Can Think Of!
June 25, 2008
Grilling vegetables is easy. The fact that more people don’t do it is the strange thing. The general rule is to cut the vegetables into pieces that will cook quickly and evenly. All pieces should be of consistent thickness and no more than about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Soak vegetables in cold water for about 30 minutes before you grill them to keep them from drying out. Pat dry, then brush lightly with oil to prevent sticking.
Do not over cook and you’ll have vegetables better than you thought possible. If you like grilling vegetables and want to try smaller things use a grilling basket to keep them out of the fire. This list of specific vegetables will get you started. Asparagus: Cut off ends. Soak in water for 30 minutes to an hour. Pat dry and brush with olive oil. Place on grill, turning every minute. Remove when tips start to turn brown. You can added some extra flavor to asparagus by mixing a little sesame oil in the olive oil before you brush them. Bell Peppers: Cut through the middle of the pepper top to bottom. Remove stems, seeds and whitish ribs. Brush lightly with oil and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Versatile Zucchini
June 24, 2008
Versatile Zucchini
by: Sherry Fields
History
A zucchini is a small summer squash that can be either green or yellow with a ridged shape like a cucumber. It has smooth skin that can be striped or speckled. Summer squash is native to the America’s finding its origins in Guatemala and Mexico several thousand years ago, growing wild throughout the region. The early explorers and conquistadors brought this vegetable back to Europe as part of their “treasure”, along with the spices, coffee and bananas. The name squash was adopted by the early colonists in New England translating from the Native languages. Interestingly, a sweeter version was brought back to the Americas from Italy in the early 1900s.
Archaeologists trace zucchini to Mexico where they were developed about 7,000 B.C. In addition to maize and beans, zucchini was an integral part of the Mexican/Mayan diet. Summer squash is a relative of both the melon and the cucumber. Unlike winter squash, the summer squash varieties can not be stored raw.
Uses today
Tips and Advice for Hosting an Unforgettable Christmas Party
June 23, 2008
Tips and Advice for Hosting an Unforgettable Christmas Party
by: Catherine Spelling
It’s just about that time of the year again! Each year, around this time, people start to get into the festive spirit and decide to celebrate with a party of some sort. I host a party for my friends and family every year, and each year I learn something new. In my experience, there are a few things you can do to make the party enjoyable for everyoneyourself included.
Plan your party well in advance. The holidays are a busy time for everyone, so give your guest as much advance notice as possible. Your best bet is to send out the invitations in late November, so your guests can have the time to plan ahead. Organization is the key to a successful party.
It is important to have some idea how many people will be attending your party. You could include a stamped envelop with the invite, so your guests can RSVP. If you are unable to confirm the number of attendees, save yourself some trouble and plan to have a few more people than you invited. By approaching the party this way, you will be sure to have enough food and drink for everyone.
DWI and Blood Alcohol Concentration: What does it mean?
June 23, 2008
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and the elimination of alcohol in your blood. This is usually measured as the percentage of deciliters of blood. So if it is measured by how much blood you have, your body weight makes a difference on how much you can drink. There are a few variables that determine your blood alcohol level:
-Weight
-Male or female
-Amount consumed
-How long the time frame was while drinking
-How long it takes to get back to a 0 BAC
A BAC of .04 means you have 4 drops of pure alcohol for every 10,000 drops of blood. An average man at 160 lbs. that drinks two beers would have a BAC of .04 after about an hour, on an empty stomach. Someone who reaches a BAC of .10 will normally show signs of intoxication. On average, it takes about 1 hour for 1 drink to leave the body. On women, it takes long because usually women have lower water in their body and have a higher percent of body fat than men. The fatter you are, the longer the alcohol stays in your system.
