FoodJumper

Insalata Caprese

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:17:14 EDT

Because this salad is so simple, fresh, top quality ingredients are important.

Ingredients

4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

On a large platter, alternate and overlap the tomato slices, mozzarella cheese slices, and basil leaves.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Season with sea salt and pepper.

→ Yam Fries

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:58:28 EDT

Thought I’d share this tasty recipe I came across:

∞ Permalink

Grilled Cheese with Fried Apples and Sage

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:06:32 EST

This is a type of food I love—quick, aimed at instant gratification. It’s not always healthy, but it’s infinitely more satisfying than grabbing a slice of pizza on the way home or ordering in.

What you need

1 to 2 tablespoons butter
1/2 a crisp, tart apple (Cortland or Macintosh are good choices)
2 slices of your favorite bread
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated good-melting cheese
Pinch dried sage
Pinch salt
Freshly ground black pepper

How to make it

Core the apple and slice it into thin (1/8-inch or so) wedges.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a bit of butter to the pan.
When foaming subsides, spread out the apple slices in a single layer.
Fry, flipping once, for 2 to 3 minutes, just until tender and showing a bit of color.
Return the skillet to the heat.
Meanwhile, sprinkle half the cheese over one slice of the bread.
Once the apples are cooked, arrange them on top of the cheese.
Sprinkle with sage, salt, and a grind or two of black pepper.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over the apple, then place the second slice of bread on top.
Melt a pat of butter in the skillet. Carefully lower the sandwich into the pan.
Using a wide, flat spatula, press down on the sandwich periodically to encourage the cheese to melt and the bottom to take on some color.
Once the bottom is golden-brown, which will take 2 to 4 minutes, scatter a few flecks of butter on the uncooked top-side of the bread, then carefully flip the sandwich.
Press down with the spatula, periodically, and cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden-brown, another 2 to 4 minutes.
If the cheese doesn’t seem to be melting, you may want to cover the pan for one or two 30-second intervals, but no more than that or the sandwich will steam.
Serve hot.

Reuben Pizza

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:39:50 EST

This great pizza recipe was developed by chance, but it’s great for entertaining when you want a pizza that no one’s ever had before and will be blown away by.

What you need

1 (1 pound) loaf frozen whole wheat bread dough, thawed
1/2 cup thousand island dressing
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
6 ounces deli sliced corned beef, cut into strips
1 cup sauerkraut - rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles (optional)

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Grease a large pizza pan.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the bread dough out into a large circle about 14 inches across.
Transfer to the prepared pizza pan. Build up the edges, and prick the center all over with a fork so it doesn’t form a dome when baking .
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden.
Spread half of the salad dressing over the hot crust.
Sprinkle with half of the Swiss cheese. Arrange corned beef over the cheese, then drizzle with the remaining salad dressing.
Top with sauerkraut and remaining Swiss cheese.
Sprinkle with caraway seed.
Bake for another 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese melts and toppings are heated through.
Sprinkle with chopped pickle.
Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Gratin

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:31:42 EST

Sometimes, it’s nice to try something different from the usual mashed potatoes at holiday dinners, this au gratin is definitely a nice substitution for that.

What you need

1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
Chipotle Chile’s in Adobo Sauce (plus 1 tsp adobo sauce)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (my attempt to thicken it)
Olive oil spray
2 huge sweet potatoes, sliced 1/4” thick (I used a mandoline.)
1 large sweet onion, sliced 1/8” thick (Again, I used a mandoline.)

How to make it

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray a 3-4 quart casserole dish with olive oil.
In a blender or food processor, process the chipotle chilies, milk, and nutritional yeast until smooth.
Begin with a layer of sweet potatoes (about 2-3 cups) on the bottom of the casserole then a layer of half the onion. Add some of the chile-cream mixture (1/3 of the total), salt and pepper. Add another layer of sweet potato and the remaining onion and repeat with chile-cream, salt and pepper. Top with remaining sweet potatoes ending on the last of the chile-cream, salt and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour (or until potatoes are tender), stirring part way through if the top begins to become dry. Serve hot or room temperature.

Chicken Paprikash

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:01:59 EDT

A variation on the classic chicken and dumpling casserole, this flavorful main dish shows its Hungarian roots with colorful paprika used to season a sour cream sauce.

What you need

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces, with skin
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream

How to make it

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 cup of water.
Gradually stir in 2 1/2 cups of flour to make a stiff batter. Using two spoons, scoop out some batter with one spoon and use the second to scrap off the spoonful of batter into the boiling water.
Repeat until several dumplings are cooking.
Cook dumplings for 10 minutes or until they float to the top; then lift from the water and drain in a colander or sieve.
Rinse with warm water.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and add chicken; cook until lightly browned, turning once.
Add onion to skillet and cook 5 to 8 minutes more. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of water, and season with paprika, salt, and pepper; cook 10 minutes more, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
Stir 2 tablespoons of flour into sour cream; then slowly stir into the onion mixture remaining in the skillet.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened.
To serve, add dumplings to the sour cream/onion mixture, then spoon onto dinner plates adding a piece of chicken.

20 Head Smacking Food Cooking Tips

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:51:58 EDT

A lot of us are often given blurred visions of certain food preparation techniques that we forget many vital processes; thanks to commercialized quick-to-eat food products that make us want to pop them in the oven and voila! There are certain kitchen/cooking metrics that we Food Central do not encourage, but would like you to know so that you can be kitchen-smart. Here are a few simple cooking tips that you might find handy when you do cooking.

Here are a few simple cooking tips that you might find handy when you do cooking. Preparing ingredients are sometimes tedious work - Just like washing vegetables, peeling prawns, washing shellfish, dressing the sirloin and so forth. If you know what’s best for yourself in the kitchen, you might be able to run away from certain fuss by using these food techniques:

Salt your water when you’re hard-boiling eggs The trick to easy-peel hard boil eggs is actually adding in salt to lukewarm water, turn on the fire and start cooking the eggs. When your water is boiled, turn down your fire to simmer. Constantly check your eggs for cracks - Too hot of the water will crack your eggs (and if you want to save gas by putting in hot boiling water to boil your eggs, you might just crack a lot of them if you’re boiling in a chunk); salt your water by adding in around 1 handful of salt to 5 liters of water. The salt will lengthen your boiling time but it’ll make your life 100 times simpler.
Keep your knife hot when you’re slicing ‘vulnerable’ food items The trick to making the perfect slice for eggs or cheesecake (and some chocolate products) is to keep your knife hot, not warm. Stainless steel do not keep hot temperatures well, and looking at your thin chef knife, it won’t keep it for long either. Clean your knife, dip it into hot boiling water for a while or put them over naked fire then make your incision - You’ll notice that it makes a very clean cut.
When you slice eggs, keep the yolk on top Hard-boiled eggs are best sliced (usually into half) from their yolk section first. Always look for the yolk, then make your incision there. Slicing too far away from the yolk makes it hard for you to aim well - Also makes your egg portions uneven. In certain cases where you can’t see the yolk or it’s already out in the open, just follow No. 2 and do it your way.
Use egg whites to ‘smoothen’ your chicken If you’re marinading chicken, you can also add egg white into your marinade and keep them inside. For example, one whole chicken (portioned into 8), and one large egg white. After cooking the chicken, you’ll notice the skin is actually smoother.
Italian sauces are best left for a day before consumption Many homemade Italian sauces are great - Even better if you ‘age’ them for a day. As liquid evaporates from your sauces (giving you a more focused and intense flavor) and/or incorporates with other ingredients using its naturals, these sauces will not lose its flavor for a day but gives you a bigger punch the next day. Best few examples are basic tomato sauces, pesto and stocks like Velouté (white stock - Can be vegetable, fish, shellfish or chicken) or (X - can be any vegetable) Concasse.
For a better Parmesan, let it ‘sweat’ Many cheeses cannot be done this way, but for the special Midori brand Parmesan Cheese in a block, (found in Jusco & Cold Storage and sometimes Tesco) cheeses can be left to sweat and made better. Here’s how you do it - Open the packaging but only remove the top part. Leave it outside on your dinner table (under 20+C room temperature) and make sure it has no contact with sunlight and rodents. Keep it that way for 2 days - Now taste it. It’s different.
Let your Chinese Celery and/or Coriander live longer Putting them in your fridge alone (with paper or plastic wrap) will kill them fast. Get a small ‘deep’ tupperware or even a Milo tin, add water in it, and let them sit inside (with roots below). This will lengthen their shelf life.
Remove chicken skin with one incision and one pull If you need to remove the main chicken skin from your whole chicken, do this: Use a sharp knife and turn your chicken breast-side-down. Make a straight vertical incision along the ‘backbone’ of the chicken, then tear the chicken skin apart. This should remove most of its skin (except for the wings).
Non-stick a pan with food ingredients or few techniques Heat/Temperature control is your best technique. If you need your pan to be non-stick (but it’s not labeled or sold as non-stick), you can do a few things - Heat your pan thoroughly before cooking (dry), fry a full egg before cooking, cook a stick-able ingredient until the surface is cooked before touching it (with high enough heat), oil your pan and heat the oil (then remove it and place it in another container) before cooking and fry beansprouts or coconut husks before cooking.
Remove the ‘new’ smell from your Pan or Wok You can try this few ingredients. Don’t bother washing it too many times to rid the smell because some ‘cheap’ pans don’t work. You can try heating the pan to the maximum then pouring hot oil into it and throw away, fry beansprouts or coconut husks, leave it heated under hot charcoal for 30 minutes, make a simple ‘stew’ and throw them away. All of these works, but if you’re still getting the smell, then you know that pan won’t last long.
Getting ‘rust’ marks out of your pans and woks Chinese woks are famous for this, especially when they are old. You tend to leave your wok to hang (with some water intact) and you come back and find your wok has rust marks. You can use a few methods to combat this problem: After washing your pan/wok, use a kitchen towel and some oil then rub enough oil on it - This will enable water to not oxidize the metal surface of your pan/wok. Alternatively, you can also heat your pan/wok to the maximum, and then leave it to cook (do not let it come in contact with water. Wash before heating your pan/wok.
Don’t store shellfish into the fridge Storing shellfish into the fridge is the wrong way to go (applies for freshly live ones). What you can do is wash them under running water for a while to remove the dirt, place them in a container (without covering) then get a wet kitchen cloth and cover them. Make sure they’re in room temperature and is not kept for more than 1 1/2 days. Do this for live clams and local mussels (Malaysia).
Don’t use mayonnaise straight from the tub/container Commercialized mayonnaise taste absolutely ridiculous if you’re not challenging it with another strong-tasting ingredient. What you can do to ‘tame’ its flavor is to add in milk, salt & pepper, whisk them well to a thinner texture. If you’re adventurous enough, take a small portion of mayonnaise and add in a few more ingredients. You can add garlic, tomato/chilly sauce, Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins), Maggi Seasoning Sauce, Jalapeño juice, Pickles, cream, sugar, brine, onions, carrots, cabbage or anything you can find in the fridge. Its tastes are subjective, so be careful.
Test your knife with a tomato Want to know how sharp is your knife but do not know how to test it? Here are a few simple tricks for you to test them out: Slice a not-so-young-and-fresh (when pressed is quite soft) tomato, and you should be able to slice it without putting pressure on your knife blade. Another way is to slice big, yellow/red onions. If you cry fast, then it’s either your techniques or your blade. Another great way of testing is to slice plastic. Extremely sharp knives slice plastic bags almost too easily - Without even having to add any pressure. Simply move it along the plastic bag and see if it goes through.
Don’t wash freshly harvested mushrooms Washing freshly harvested mushrooms can be disastrous (to its natural flavors). If you’re looking for hygiene, PICK IT FROM A MORE HYGIENIC PLACE or get it from Tesco. Either way, they work better. If you’re not particular, simply use a pastry brush and brush off its sand. For certain mushrooms like fresh button mushrooms, peel their ‘outer’ skin before cooking. You can use that skin for your chicken stock.
Keep cockroaches away with this leaf Use ‘Pandan’ (or called Screw Pine) leaves to keep cockroaches away. They work extremely well. Pandan/Screw Pine leaves has hundreds of usage in thousands of recipes and home-uses.
Reheat your bread in the microwave oven with some water Put in your bread and a microwave-oven-friendly bowl or glass filled with water in the microwave oven and give it a quick 20 second high heat. This will not make your bread lose too much of its moisture.
Make your banana grow naturally juicier What you can do is to hang your bananas - Using a string or a hook, hang the banana on its comb and let it sit on air - This will give your banana a juicy boost and also make it brown evenly. Placing it on cold surfaces will blacken the skin (in one area first then spread to more later) faster. Bananas are naturally ‘bomb-smoked’ first in the farm before it goes on sale (to enable boost and uniform ripening), and when it’s done that way, your bananas don’t taste as good as natural ones.
Keep your rice from rodents and stick-free When you’re keeping uncooked rice, leave a few pieces of dried chilly in the container your store your uncooked rice. This will keep insects and rodents away. Besides, adding fresh dried chilly into your rice cooker will also make your cooking easier - The rice won’t stick to the bottom. Make sure you don’t cook the dried chilly (or make it come in contact with oil) first or it won’t work.
Naturally cook your ingredients a few times faster If you’re adventurous enough, you can try packaging (in a plastic bag) a few unripe apples and some chilly. Put in 4 apples to 4 pieces of red chilly. Put them in a bag together and place it in the fridge. You’ll notice that the chilly ‘reactions’ actually ‘cook’ the apples faster. Although this is not entirely ‘proven’ scientifically to many Chef’s knowledge, it does work in certain cases.

Von Cook is the Chef de Partie and writer of Food Central, a busy kitchen in Malaysia cooking for Royalties. Von Cook has ventured to almost everything of 10 Head Chef’s 20 or more years of food and cooking experience and is sharing his food knowledge now with you. Visit Food Central at http://foodcentral.wordpress.com/

Food Alternatives - Alternative Seasoning

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:50:56 EDT

What other food alternatives available for salt and sugar? Sure you do not want to use salt and sugar all the time. Use these food alternatives to spice up your cooking!

What alternatives to common food seasoning? When we talk about food seasoning, we always refer to common food seasoning like salt, pepper, chicken powder, monosodium glutamate (MSG) or Ajinomoto (it’s a brand name), white pepper, fish stock powder, etc. However, there are always ways to enjoy hot & cold, sweet and savory foods without the need to actually use these seasonings. Especially salt, when there are much health concerns about it. Food Central is trying to keep up with its Food Alternative usage by applying methods like Flavored Sugar & Salt and Flavored Oil as we mention of, plus other methods we use to reduce usage of common seasonings. Today, Food Central would like to introduce certain metrics and methods of Food Alternatives available in the kitchen that you can use other than just your regular salt. Besides, these tips rocks - And our customers really love them. Seasoning Alternatives

Cheese Cheese is one of the common seasoning alternatives we use. Instead of sprinkling some salt into our salads or pasta, we use grated cheeses (higher in sodium content). Also, be aware that certain cheese may only contain its flavor - Parmigiano Reggiano in powdered form has less sodium content. As an alternative, always ask your dairy supplier about these stuff.
Anchovies Anchovies are one of the best sources for salt - And they provide the ‘feel’ of meat in your dishes. If you’re using canned anchovies, be aware that they might not be as salty as you deem it would be - So look at the Sodium content at the can label. If you’re using dried ones, don’t soak them in the water or wash them too long - They will lose a lot of their sodium. Consider one wash and take them for a deep-fry, then pound into pieces.
Dressings & Condiments This can be mayonnaise or your favorite thousand island sauce, tomato & chilly sauce, thai sauce, mixture of cream and teppan sauce, fermented shrimp paste and grinded chillies, garlic + coriander + grinded chillies, basil leaves + onions + grinded chilly, etc.
Acid-based items For example lemon juice and olive oil, balsamic vinegar, bloodorange or the infamous Apple Cider vinegar. Mix this with your salads, marinade your meat items, cook them in your soup, mix them with No.

3, cold-cook your fish (Civishi), cold-cook your prawns, etc.

Canned/Packed items Canned items can vary from pickled items to infused with herb foodstuff like tomato and garlic, and pickles like stuffed olives or, you can also try cream cheese - They give you an extra bang of the richness of cream and cheese.
Pickled Vegetables A great example for pickled vegetables is kimchi. Kimchi gives a spicy, sour yet cheese-influenced power of knocking your tongue out. Others can be Szechuan, pickled white cabbages, sauerkraut and so forth. Use them to accompany your steaks, baked chicken or even salads.
Packed Nuts Packed nuts may contain a little salt, and if you toast then grind them well, they can give you a strong, coffee-influence ass-whooping flavor to your meats, salads, pasta and also fried rice. If you need more kick from the sodium, consider sprinkling them over your foods without grinding.
Stock Powders Beef stock powders, chicken stock powders, fish stock powders, and so forth. Some come in cubes, some come in powder or granules. No matter what, this can actually enhance the taste of your cooked ingredients like pasta, soups, salads, rice, appetizers and so forth without having the need to add more salt in - There are no more usage for that with these stock alternatives. Keep in mind that this applies only to salt alternative - And they contain a small amount of MSG mixture, so use cautiously.
Spreads Spreads make great use in substituting common food seasoning to raw items like bread, desserts or pastry items. Simply handling a good Danish butter for your puff pastry, margarine for your bread and jam mix for your pastry items will diminish your need for additional sugar. Also, some spreads that you buy may contain high amounts of sodium, so be aware and keep an eye on the label.
Smoked meats Smoked meats can contain very high sodium content - Almost 3-4 times higher than a regular ‘seasoned’ meat. This is good when you need to add into salads, breads, or maybe just a plain accompaniment. Alternatively, you can also mash these up for stuffing, roll them into roulettes to accompany cold items. By all means, this is a very good way not to use excess sodium in your food and also serves as an alternative.

Great Potato Soup

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:40:34 EDT

Potato soup is a meal in itself and is easy to modify.

What you need

1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1-6 potatoes (more if you want heartier soup leftovers may be used)
water
small bunch of parsley or dill or both to taste may be dried
1/3 cup flour
bay leaf

How to make it

Cook and mash potatoes, set a side.
Chop onion and celery, then saute in pot with margarine or oil.
Once celery is soft and onions slightly limp, stir in flour.
Once fully incorparted, use a whisk and add enough water so soup has 1/2-3/4 the final volume you want.
Now add bay leaf and dill or parsely or both.
Let sit until boiling.
Add mashed potatoes and stir, reheat and serve

Butterbeer

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:35:41 EDT

Ahh… have yourself a glass of butterbeer. For those who aren’t Harry Potter fanatics, you must be imagining a big mug of beer with a block of butter bobbing up and down. It’s the popular wizarding beverage that Harry, Hermione, and Ron drink at The Three Broomsticks and The Hog’s Head.

What you need

1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

How to make it

In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water.
Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream.
Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream.
Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass).
Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine.
Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Video: Boston Cream Pie Recipe - How to Make a Boston Cream Pie

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:46:36 EDT

Everyone loves a nice Boston Cream Pie and this video shows you a nice quick and easy way to make it.

Ingredients:

yellow cake mix, prepared according to directions
For the pastry cream:
1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons sugar (upon further review we’ve added another tablespoon of sugar)
2 tablespoon cornstarch
3 eggs
1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or to taste
big pinch of salt
For the chocolate ganache:
4 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, preferably bittersweet
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon butter

Video: How to Grill Ribs

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:41:41 EDT

Grilling ribs that are tender, succulent and fall-off-the-bone delicious can be both rewarding and time-consuming.

Ideally, the ribs will be seasoned and marinated for at least 24 hours and then cooked over a low heat grill for three to four hours.

This How to Grill Ribs page will show the proven methods for perfect ribs and a few shortcuts if you are short on time.

Grilling ribs that are tender, succulent and fall-off-the-bone delicious can be both rewarding and time-consuming.

Ideally, the ribs will be seasoned and marinated for at least 24 hours and then cooked over a low heat grill for three to four hours.

This How to Grill Ribs page will show the proven methods for perfect ribs and a few shortcuts if you are short on time.

Gluten-Free Buttermilk Pancakes

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:33:03 EDT

Pancakes are my daughter’s favourite breakfast food, actually their her favourite food anytime of the day, so I want

What you need

1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup almond meal
1 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon butter — softened
1 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
coconut oil
Pure maple syrup

How to make it

Heat the oven to 200°F.
In a large bowl, whisk the brown rice flour, almond meal, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, butter, honey, and vanilla.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined.
Coat a large nonstick griddle or skillet with coconut oil and heat over medium heat until hot.
Working in batches, ladle 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake onto the griddle or skillet, leaving a few inches of space between each to allow for spreading.
Cook until golden-brown on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes.
Flip and cook the pancakes until the other side is golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Transfer to a cooling rack set over a large baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
Apply more coconut oil between each batch as needed.
Serve the pancakes with butter and pure maple syrup.

Balancing Yin and Yang With Food

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:20:10 EDT

Concept of balanced diet in Chinese food philosophy. When used correctly, this will ensure health and vitality.

Traditional Chinese medicine practioners have discovered long ago that imbalances in diet contribute to many of our health problems. In other words, when the body is in balance it will be in a better position to fight diseases and maintan health.

This can be achieved when you manage the smooth flow of qi, that vital energy responsible for good health. In order to determine how foods can be used to maintain health and vitality, these practitioners have classified them as cold, cool, neutral, warm or hot. The grouping is based on their effects on the body and not on the physical nature or temperature of the foods itself. Energy-providing foods or “yin” are warm and hot,higher in calories and often used to treat cold and improve blood circulation.

Foods that are cold/cool or “yang” in nature, on the other hand, are lower in energy, and therefore serve to clear body heat by cooling the blood and eliminating toxins. Neutral foods serve to harmonize or neutralize, thereby bringing about a balanced state. To achieve good health, this is the state one should strive to work towards.

The type of foods that belongs to the 5 categories:

Cold/cool: banana, asparagus, watermelon, seaweed, crab, clam, salt, green bean, eggplant, apple, cucumber, barley, orange, wheat Hot/warm : chilli, durian, chestnut, pumpkin, garlic, cherry, chicken, prawn, beef, wine, ginger, leek, coffee, peach
Neutral : cabbage, egg, fungus, coconut, soya bean, carrot, abalone, grapes, pineapple, squid, rice

According to these Chinese practitioners, there are three important factors to consider when planning your food consumption:

According to the season and climate - in areas where the season is hot, consuming more cold/cool foods will counter external and internal heat. Conversely, during cold season like winter, if the cold absorbs into the internal organs, it can cause abdominal pains, cold sweat and other complications. This can be countered by eating “yang” foods that can generate heat to warm the body.
According to your body’s constitution - if your body is too hot or too cold, eating foods that are in conflict with your body’s constitution can cause imbalances and affect your health, even though some of them may have high nutritional value. You are able to establish your body constitution through several ways : * If you always have cold hands and feet, you are the “yin” type * Hard stool implies heat and “yang” state * Restless and energetic means you are the “yang” type * A very red tongue indicates heaty body * Slow pulse rate implies “yin” condition
According to age and changing body needs - as you grow older, your body constitution also evolves. When your body slows down and you become less active and energetic, you will have more “yin” than “yang” in you. It is a sign of the time when you have less tolerance for cool and cold foods. Over consumption of such foods will produce headaches, pain in the joints and bones. The Chinese concept of a balanced diet is to consume in moderation and not in excess and therefore food fads or extreme diets are contrary with these principles.

With greater awareness of yin and yang foods, you can achieve greater health and benefit by just following these guiding principles.

Formerly an advertising professional, Nora M now runs an online business. Also trained in baking, she owns a food site where she shares her passion for cooking and baking of east and west recipes. To understand more of Yin and Yang foods, please drop by: http://www.mycookery.com/blog/155/healthy-balance-chinese-food/

Beef Wellington

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:51:35 EDT

This classic beef wellington recipe is a delight for entertaining.

What you need

Beef Fillet
Flat Mushroom
Mustard
puff pastry
2 Egg Yolk
Olive Oil
Salt and black Pepper
Honey
Bacon

How to make it

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat oil in a large pan and sear the meat on all sides. Don’t cook the meat, just brown each side. Let it cool and then brush it with the english mustard and honey.
Chop the mushrooms in a food processor to make a puree. Throw the puree in a hot pan with no oil and sweat out all of the liquid. Let the water evaporate and then set it aside to cool.
Lay 7 slices of bacon down on a large piece of cling film, slightly overlapping, then brush with mushroom mixture.
Put the beef in the middle of the bacon and roll the bacon around the beef using the cling film. Twist the ends of the cling film to tighten the roll, then refrigerate it for 20-25 minutes to let it set.
Roll your puff pastry and then brush the edges with Egg Yolk. Roll the pastry over the beef completely covering it. Cut off any excess pieces.
Egg Yolk the top.
Put your roll back in the fridge for 5 minutes.
Egg Yolk again and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Turtle Cheesecake

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:12:08 EDT

This tasty treat is perfect for any cheesecake fan.

What you need

2 cups of crushed chocolate cookie
1/2 stick butter, melted
20 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
1 1/2 TBS flour
3 eggs
2 1/2 TBS heavy cream
10 ounces caramels
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

How to make it

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Crush cookies in a food processor, pulsing until smooth crumbs.
Combine crumbs and butter in a small bowl.
Press crumb mixture into the bottom of your springform pan. Use your fingers to evenly mash down the crumbs.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream chees, sugar and vamnilla until smooth and creamy.
Add in flour and eggs one at a time, blend well. Blend in the cream, mix well.
Pour mixture over the crust and bake 12 minutes at 450 degrees then lower the temperature to 200 degrees and bake for an additional 35 minutes or until set.
Once removed from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes.
Then gently go around the pan with a knife loosening any parts that may stick, slowley release the pan.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight prior to topping and for 6 hours or overnight prior to serving.
Melt the chocolate chips in your microwave for about 60 seconds.
Stir and place back in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds if needed for full melting, stir until smooth.
Place melted chocolate in a baggie, snip off the end and drizzle chocolate across cake.
In a small saucepan, combile caramels and cream.
Melt over medium-high heat, stirring constantly till smooth.
Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes…melted caramel is HOT.
Use a spoon and drizzle caramel over cake.
Sprinkle with pecans and refrigerate until serving.
Enjoy!

Video: The Perfect Hamburger

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:44:29 EDT

What is the perfect burger? In this video, that question is attempted to be answered.

In this video, CHOW wades into shark-infested waters of perfection: the burger. Josh Ozersky, author of The Hamburger: A History and former editor of New York magazine’s Grub Street blog (he’s now editor of The Feedbag blog), confers with Gail Simmons of Top Chef and Food & Wine magazine. For Ozersky, it’s the burger at Veselka in New York.

Easy Kale Chips

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:59:26 EDT

Kale chips… This healthy snack replacement is interesting and tasty.

What you need

1 tablespoon of chill powder (or spice of your choice)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch of kale
1 tablespoon of sea salt

How to make it

Cut kale away from ribs and cut or tear leaves into bite size pieces
Toss with olive oil and get leaves coated. 1 tbsp was more than enough, you just want the leaves lightly covered as otherwise they’ll crisp up too much and/or burn quickly.
Then sprinkle with sea salt to taste. This is where the end result gets a close resemblance to “real” chips in flavour. I used 1 tsp, but it was a bit much for our tastes given we eat very little salt in this house.
Then sprinkle with chili powder. Here’s where you can play, try parmesan, cayenne, garlic, any flavour you want.
Spread kale on baking sheet (lined for easy clean up if desired) and bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.
Serve in a bowl and enjoy

Cooking Indian Food at Home - Where to Start?

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:49:34 EDT

My first experiences of curry were of the generic variety which the British invariably cooked and ate when living abroad a few decades ago. You’ll also know that I then discovered “real” Indian cookery and decided that as I couldn’t afford to eat out that much, I needed to learn how to cook the stuff myself. My first stop then, was a local bookshop, where the choice of books on Indian cookery was somewhat limited.

Written in simple language but with lovely descriptive text and recommendations on what to serve with what, it was just what I had been looking for. There was a stumbling block, however, which was the endless list of spices, seasonings and flavourings in the front of the book. I didn’t know where to start - I’d heard of quite a lot of them, having watched a few TV programmes on Indian cooking but, “help” I thought, “buying that many all at once is going to cost a fortune”. If you’re thinking the same, don’t panic.

Check in your store cupboard. You probably already have some of the items you will need. For example, look for black peppercorns, bay leaves, chilli powder (if you’re already a fan of chilli con carne), ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon if you bake cakes or apple pies. Maybe you’ll find mustard seeds if you do your own pickling and sesame seeds if you make rolls or cook Chinese food.

That only leaves a few basic ingredients which appear in a lot of Indian recipes - cumin, coriander, turmeric and cardamom. Often you need ground cumin and coriander but if you buy the whole spices, you can grind them as necessary (and they keep longer that way too). The other thing I did was to choose a fairly simple recipe to start with and I just bought the spices I needed for that.

The next time I want to cook an Indian meal, I chose another recipe with similar ingredients so I had to just buy a couple more things. Soon enough I built up a whole store cupboard of the things I needed and it didn’t have had such a drastic effect on my wallet. Then there was no stopping me - I even know some recipes by heart now and you can do the same if you want to. You don’t need special equipment for Indian cookery, although I wouldn’t be without my electric coffee grinder (to grind spices) and it’s nice (but not necessary) to have the traditional dishes to serve your meal in.

Other than that, you need a bit of patience and it’s fun to cook with a friend so that you can share the chopping and grinding or have someone read the recipe out to you step by step so you don’t go wrong in the middle. The flavours are great, a curry evening is really sociable, so go on, give it a try.

About the Author: Liz Canham As well as a love of Asian cooking as demonstrated in her Asian Food and Cookery website, Liz seeks to help newcomers to the world of internet marketing with tools, tips and training from her Liz-e-Biz.com website.

Storage Tips for Food

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:48:57 EDT

Here are storage tips for food that will pay you big dividends in money and good flavor.

Here are some storage tips for food that will pay you big dividends in money and good flavor in the long run. A principle: promptly unpack groceries and store perishables as directed. Fresh vegetables: Wash, drain, and dry greens; wrap or put in plastic bag; chill. Scrub carrots, celery, radishes, and green onions under cold weather. Dispose of excess leaves and tops. Wrap or bag vegetables separately in moisture vapor proof materials. Store dry onions, potatoes, and winter squash unwashed in dark cool place. Clean when ready to use. Fresh fruits: Sort berries; spread on shallow pan or tray. Don’t wash. Chill. Wash and stem before using. Ripe avocados, melons, and pears at room temperature; then refrigerate. Do not refrigerate bananas. Store fresh uncut pineapple in dark cool place. After cutting, wrap pineapple and chill in refrigerator. Canned food leftovers: Cover and store in opened can for short period of time of transfer to covered refrigerator container. Meat: Plan to use ground meat within 2 days, roasts 5-6 days, chops and steak - 3 days. Store cured and smoked meats in refrigerator in original wrap. Canned meats keep on the kitchen shelf, except for canned hams which are marked “perishable; keep refrigerated.” For fresh chicken, turkey, or other poultry, store same as fresh meat below. Fish: Wrap tightly; refrigerate. Cheese: Wrap tightly and refrigerate. Chill cheese spreads in refrigerator once they’re opened. Store strong-flavored cheeses in tightly covered jars; refrigerate. Eggs: Store, covered, small end down in refrigerator. Don’t wash till ready to use. Dried fruits and nuts: Keep in covered jars or packages in cool, dry place. Nuts keep longer if stored in refrigerator. Cookies: Soft and crisp kinds don’t mix; store separately. Soft cookies stay moist when tightly covered. Crisp types of cookies keep well in jar with a loose-fitting lid. For more cooking recipes and food articles: http://www.101cookingrecipes.com http://www.desserts-recipes.com http://www.101vegetarianrecipes.com Author: Susan Carey Article Source: EzineArticles.com Electric pressure cooker